Chapter 145 - Escape

The following minutes passed as if it were only a few seconds in the eyes of the noble heirs, but to the instructors it was like the span of several grueling hours. None of them blamed their charges, after all they were not trained in this aspect, having been kept safe in towns and cities, taught from luxurious settings. They had never been in true danger, the closest being Jien's encounter with the bandits. This time they had just found themselves in situation above their level, a common mistake on the battlefield if you lack intel. Now it was time for the mentors to pick up the slack and then teach their students a lesson regarding how to better handle these predicaments in the future.All the noble children only saw a blur of motion between the actions of their mentors and the attacks of the controlled koi in the pool. Mark was on retrieval and Johnathan was on defense, using the large boulder he carried and a few spells that were meant to solidify and then increase the density of the stone itself. This shrunk the stone as if compressing coal into a diamond, but the end result was able to endure several bursts of water from within the mostly dissipated smoke, revealing a beautiful rose and fish floating gracefully in the water as if it had not just attacked at all.After all the children had been handed off to the prim and proper instructor who had introduced herself formally once they had entered the forest as Iris. Oddly enough she was Barret's mentor which caught everyone by surprise. They all thought that the roguish looking, blind Julian with his sunken dark eyes, penchant for dark clothes and short black hair would be the stoic boy's teacher. They had later found out that Julian was instead Olivia's instructor, teaching her the way of the blade.Iris caught each of the noble children that had been dropped off by Mark. Her expression was the definition of noble etiquette, stoic yet not so cold as to be unapproachable. She caught each of the heirs with movements so smooth, refined and gentle that one moment they were flying at speeds they could never reach on their own and the next they were standing orderly by the woman's side in a perfectly ordered row with their vision still spinning.Only after Mark had retrieved each of them, starting with those that were furthest back from the entrance and making his way inward, that he finally came to a skidding stop, his legs bulging with the pure effort of slowing his momentum. He had used the same spell combination and mana manipulation repeatedly to boot his speed continuously until the other instructors could hardly keep an eye on his position. They knew that Mark would likely be spent for a while after this so the rest would have to wrap up the retreat.As they had expected Mark ended up hobbling over the last few steps to the entrance as Johnathan backed away from the controlled beat, never turning his back or his head away even once. By now the stone that had been one and a half times his height looked to be the equivalent of a tower shield to his bear like frame, its surface glistening as if in the process of being refined to a more durable substance. Iris maintained her stoic position at the entrance as a form of guard as Julian and David, Lesley's very average looking instructor helped their charges back up through the path once again.The retreat was swift and orderly like a controlled military exercise. By the time Johnathan had reached the cavern entrance the stone had been forced to the size of a common buckler, but its weight had not increased. As he crossed the exit behind the others, he used the hardened substance and his own physical strength with the help of mana manipulation to punch the ceiling of the narrow path. Without much resistance the entrance to the cavern caves in with a cacophonous sound of falling stone that echoed to the initial cavern where the noble heirs were currently recuperating.Even without speaking a word the team of mentors had chosen their tasks and abided by them perfectly. They had all silently decided that the cavern with the fish should be sealed, at least for now and had acted on that decision swiftly. They knew it wasn't impossible for the rose and its host to break back open the cavern but given that it had attacked from the pool rather than trying to reach land meant it likely had a reason, either not being able to or not being willing to. This meant that they would likely be safe in the upper cavern, not that they wouldn't keep an eye out to be sure.It took a full half hour for their charges to calm down enough to be able to properly absorb the situation and what had happened. During that time Mark was forced to sit, his legs swollen from pushing the muscles too far. Mana could do many great things, and the human body was great at adapting but only to a certain threshold. He had pushed that threshold to ensure the safety of the children, trusting that the other mentors would be able to handle the situation while Julian used a few spells and offered some salve to bring down the swelling, which Mark accepted gratefully.Meanwhile Iris and David, watched over the children and when they finally seemed to have their wits about them prepared to give them a lecture regarding their mistakes and how to better handle similar situations. They did not appear upset in the slightest, simply sticking to the demeanor they had always had, like an etiquette instructor in the case Iris and that of normal townsfolk for David, casually leaning on the cavern wall and humming a tune to himself.