Descending to the next floor, the group encountered almost the same situation.
Skeletons lying around, debris, and smashed tools.
Following the same procedure, they managed to clear the floor in half the time they took on the previous.
After they installed the spells, they went down to the next.
The process repeated itself five more times before they spotted an anomaly.
As they descended the stairs, Akihiko's nose picked up the strong scent of dirt.
Before he could convey it to the others, the frontline halted their advance.
"Elizabeth, there's a problem." – Olivia whispered.
"..." – Elizabeth didn't answer. Her eyes were focused on said problem.
Before them, the stairs ended. The stairs were destroyed in such a way that it looked like something dug them as only a hole lay ahead.
In the hole which was almost the equivalent of a freefall, the group could also see other parts of the stronghold such as rooms, stairs, and even part of the mountain, all of which had also been dug.
The hole seemed to be kilometers in diameter and encompassed a great part of the whole structure, to the point that some among the group questioned how the place was still standing.
It looked like a laser passed by and obliterated everything it touched.
The problem was that deep down, kilometers below where they were, possibly even lower than the ground floor, there was a plain made of earth with several holes spread across it.
On this plain, humanoid beings could be seen walking around while mounted on top of giant moles.
"I guess we found what Aki warned us about…" – Elizabeth muttered and the glow in her eyes increased.
Her vision distorted before zooming in on those things.
The height of a human adult, donning dirty and old cloth clothes with masks completely covering their heads and without any holes on it, be it for the mouth or eyes.
They didn't wield anything and aside from their clothes, had nothing on them.
The moles were roughly 8 meters tall and a bit more than 20 meters long, and aside from their sharp nails and maybe their tail, they didn't have anything that looked threatening.
"Those things appear to be a species that live underground…" – Elizabeth muttered to herself – "Combat on the ground will be dangerous." – Her mind quickly worked on strategies in case a battle broke out.
"…" – Melody's throat dried when she saw those beings.
She felt the urge to shout at everyone to just get away from those things but that would spell a mountain of problems.
'We have to get out of this stronghold.' – Being inside a building with those creatures is the same as wanting to get buried by debris.
She turned around and was about to speak but someone was faster.
"I think it's best if we back off for now." – Nyza broke the silence – "Those things might have sharp senses." – Her vision couldn't pick many details given the distance but seeing that those things appeared to live underground, she surmised that their hearing might be sharper than their other senses.
"…" – Hearing her, Elizabeth slowly nodded – "Rearguard, start going back slowly."
Under her orders, Melody unconsciously heaved a sigh of relief.
"Don't be too anxious." – Diana nudged from the side – "Those situations are normal." – She comforted the girl, misunderstanding her worries.
Melody smiled awkwardly – "T-Thanks…" – She started retreating and averted her eyes, a glint of guilt flashing in them.
Seeing the rearguard retreating, Elizabeth motioned for the center and the flanks of the formation to do the same.
Before long, the frontline also pulled back.
However, when they were retreating, Lathz's feet touched a pebble near the edge of the hole.
The pebble rolled toward the edge and fell inside the hole, almost dramatically.
Soundlessly falling, the pebble took a few seconds before crashing to the bottom of the hole.
"Tsk…" – One humanoid being turned its face up.
"Tsk, tssk, tskk!" – It clicked its tongue harder, seemingly shouting to those near it.
Two others mounted on top of moles nodded and also turned their faces up.
The moles put strength in their legs before jumping up.
They jumped more than 10 meters in a straight line and before their momentum died down, the ones mounted on them jumped off.
They violently crashed on the destroyed walls and started crawling up.
'Elizabeth, there are two of them coming.' – Elizabeth's master warned her – 'They don't seem to have noticed you yet.'
Akihiko's ears twitched.
Elizabeth glanced at the rearguard – "Move quietly and stay ready for battle, there are two coming up." – She whispered.
Melody's body stiffened.
Flashbacks of "game over" screens appeared in her mind.
The background image of a mountain of debris and the faint sound of something digging the earth.
Finally, she couldn't keep it anymore – "We need to get out of here." – Her voice was hoarse and shaking, almost shouting – "Now."
The others turned to look at her, confused at her sudden small outburst.
Elizabeth's eyes narrowed at Melody – "And why is that?"
Trying to come up with an excuse, Melody braced herself – "That's-" – But her words were cut short.
Akihiko put a hand on Melody's mouth and made gestured for the group to stay silent.
"Tsk, tsk." – The faint sound of a tongue clicking could now be heard by everyone.
Slowly turning around, the group looked ahead and saw two humanoid beings walking toward them.
"Tsk! Tsk!" – When they got less than 5 meters away from the group, one of them started to click its tongue harder and its body shook.
"Tsk, tssk." – The other appeared to become cautious.
They were faster than the group thought.
The team briefly froze upon seeing the strange things before them but recovered just as quickly and assumed battle positions.
"What are they saying?" – Darlan, with both swords in hand, asked the stupid question plaguing everyone's mind.
"…" – Elizabeth's face remained serious and borderline expressionless – 'Master…'
'Yes, they appear to have some intelligence.' – Her master confirmed her suspicions – 'I would classify them above goblins and maybe around the same level as orcs regarding intelligence. However, I might be wrong.'
"Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!" – The most agitated one turned to its companion and seemingly shouted at it.
"Tsk, tss…." – The other answered more calmly and then turned back to the group – "Tsk, tsk, tssk?"
Melody's body shook. Scenes of this same sequence of events flashed in her mind.
In the game, those things were called earth dwellers. They were added in a later update as a race that lives under the ground and rarely comes to the surface, being essentially a primitive civilization living in colonies with tunnels and caves.
Normally, to stumble on them, the player would need to dive deep underground in caves, canyons, huge craters, and so on, places where they didn't usually go.
The reason why they were so feared among the players was that if someone entered their territory and didn't have someone with a mana affinity related to earth, they would attack the player the moment they were spotted. This resulted in scenarios like characters being devoured by a mole jumping from one wall to another, collapsing places where the player tried to hide, and so on, basically making the ground unsafe.
And if the player had someone with mana affinity related to earth, the earth dwellers would come out and try to talk with the player, however, there were no relates of a skill available in the game related to understanding the earth dwellers' language. In the end, as the player was unable to answer something they understood, the earth dwellers would deem the player as an enemy.
"Whu gu ult horo." – Melody spoke with her mouth covered while sweat trickled down her forehead.
Akihiko's skin crawled and he felt as if a hammer hit his head when Elizabeth's voice echoed in his mind.
Suppressing his discomfort, he took his hand off Melody's mouth.
Noticing that the situation wasn't going in a good direction, and observing that the group had no reaction aside from taking positions, he decided to act.
Stepping forward, he calmly walked among the group and bypassed the frontline, standing face-to-face with the earth dwellers.
"Tsk! Tsk!" – One earth dweller clicked its tongue at Akihiko.
Akihiko put a hand on his neck and felt the phantom pain of a slash ripping his throat open.
He coughed a few times before parting his lips – "Tsk, tsk, tss, tskk." – He clicked his tongue in a strange rhythm.
"Tsk?" – The second earth dweller tilted its head.
"Tss." – Akihiko answered.
"Tsk, tss, tss, tsk."
"…" – Akihiko took a moment to ponder before answering – "Tskst, tss, tsk."
"Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!" – Akihiko clicked his tongue harder.
"…" – The two earth dwellers faced each other and clicked their tongues, talking for a few seconds before nodding.
They then turned to Akihiko and clicked their tongues in the same rhythm.
"Tsk, tsk. Tss, tsk?" – Akihiko inquired.
"Tsk." – One of the earth dwellers moved its arms, gesturing – "Tsss, tsk, tskk."
"Tsssssssk?" – When he asked this question, Akihiko's instinct warned him of danger.
"Tsk." – The other earth dweller responded.
– The reaction to his words was immediate.
Everyone flinched and their complexions darkened.
It was an unspoken rule to always prioritize those from the Cathedral since they were the only ones who could use proper healing magic, making them extremely important to any team or base.
If there were really a nun and a paladin with the earth dwellers, then the group couldn't just escape and destroy the building.
Especially considering the relationship between the Academy and the Cathedral. Escaping would spell not only failing the exam but also getting marked as someone who abandoned acolytes, something that would render a ticket to a sure-death mission on the frontline, at the best of the cases.
"…" – Akihiko remained silent until both earth dwellers turned around and motioned the group to follow them.
Elizabeth thought for a moment but, in the end, denied –
Akihiko resisted the urge to click his tongue in annoyance, the earth dwellers might think he was saying something. He suppressed his growing discomfort and forced himself to remain calm.
Melody's face paled.
'What do you think, master?' – Elizabeth already knew there was no backout from this situation.
'You know it too, you will need to rescue the acolytes or at least confirm their situation.' – Her master's words were as she expected – 'If someone gets wind of you all escaping, you might be spared but I doubt the same will happen with the others.'
'So we can only choose the lesser evil.' – She wanted to click her tongue but held back – 'Thanks, master.'
<…> – The others belatedly processed the situation and seemed convinced.
– Except for one.
The group turned to look at Lathz with surprise.
"…" – Akihiko didn't answer and clicked his tongue, speaking with the earth dwellers.
"Tsk, tsk." – One of them nodded and the other started to tap its feet impatiently on the floor.
Eventually, one by one, more people become inclined to Lathz's opinion.
Casting a glance at the group, Elizabeth noticed that the opinions were now divided, and reaching a middle ground would be hard under the current circumstances.
Lathz had broken the union of the group with her refusal.
Considering her options and taking into account they lacked time, Elizabeth's eyes turned icy cold –
Lathz stared Elizabeth in the eye, her expression resolute – – Her hands were shaking slightly.
<…> – Elizabeth looked at the other party's trembling hands and then back into her eyes –
No one raised their hands.
Not even Akihiko's group.
As it was an exam, Evelyn had warned them beforehand that she would be near but wouldn't supervise them as she did during the episode on the nest. This time, they were on their own.
– Elizabeth didn't take it to heart.
Tightening her fists, Nyza looked at Elizabeth and then Akihiko before making her decision –
Olivia walked forward without a word.
"Tsk! Tsssk!" – The earth dwellers were starting to become impatient.
He then walked toward the earth dwellers as Elizabeth, Olivia, and Nyza followed behind.
She flinched when she felt someone putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Calm down." – Darlan whispered – "It's ok."
She raised her head and noticed the others looking at her with similarly conflicted expressions on their faces.
"Let's go." – Darlan gently nudged her.
Turning her gaze to the group going down the hole, she closed her eyes before recomposing herself.
"I'm sorry." – She whispered and felt the connection being cut.
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