"I mean, does this college president have some sort of unspoken quirk?"
Jared grumbled in a very disgruntled tone as he looked down the darkened underpass.
(Yes, what if you get your clothes dirty in a race like this?)
For Caroline, neither dragons nor zombies were as threatening as the dust and cobwebs of the underground passageways. In fact, the main reason why Jared complained so much was that the competition announced by the academy president and the so-called guardian quiz was simply the same mold: enter the underground labyrinth, find a certain treasure, and then bring it out. I don't know if it's because the Headmistress is unoriginal or because she's really keen on this rat-digging game. But for Jared and Caroline, they were tired of this boring treasure hunt. The only redeeming factor was the fact that they were able to go underground instead of through the portal, which made them feel a little bit better. After all, after that kind of thing, it's normal to have a psychological shadow when seeing a teleportation array.
You can't expect someone who's been in a plane crash and barely made it back in one to go back again.
So things changed for a while.
Jared didn't have much light to work with, no candles in the dimly lit tunnels, and even the light he could borrow was pathetic. Caroline, on the other hand, frowned at the thick layer of dust that rose with each step in front of her, staining the edges of her dress in a way that made her very uncomfortable. Tavana, on the other hand, was horrified to find that neither of them seemed to be getting into the swing of things as opposed to their previous openness.
At least that's what it looks like.
"According to Freudian doctrine, the desire for adventure is a delusion and obsession with the mystery of the body of the opposite sex, and perhaps that college president ..."
(Jared?)
"Okay."
Jared shrugged his shoulders and kept his mouth shut. After all, there was little Tawana, and she shouldn't have to hear some of the more juvenile things that were going on.
(How's it going?)
Caroline frowned as she dodged the cobwebs that were falling in front of her, and at the end of it, she looked back to make sure she wasn't hanging on to herself. At the same time, she leisurely asked Jared a question. Little Tawana walked between them in silence, she seemed to have changed a bit since then, not sure if it was for the better or for the worse, but both of them were happy about the change. Independence is something everyone has to go through, and the choices you make after being lost and confused can last a lifetime. Caroline had been there too, trying to find a new way of life by breaking away from the team and leaving Eminence. But in the end, she came back to Jared - not because she had failed, but because she had finally realized that it was the best thing to do.
Have those aged people forgotten that they too were once young when they laugh at the youthfulness of their juniors?
"... Those guys aren't so bad."
Even in the darkness, the structure of light itself did not change much, and Jared quickly sensed the presence of the remaining three. According to the academy leader's arrangement, all four groups entered the underground arena at the same time from different passages, and the first one to get the deepest chanting elf pendant would be the winner, as well as the leader of the team. Obviously, no one except Tawana was stupid enough to know what this meant. The equality of the five Chanting Ambassadors made it impossible for any of them to choose a leader, so they had to rely on their strengths to decide the winner.
That way no one will complain.
Jared didn't use his rune armament, but rather casually carried a standardized steel sword, after all, their principles were there. When a weapon is unsheathed, blood must be seen, and this is the rule of death, whether it be against a companion, an enemy, or someone who is about to become a companion or an enemy. It was the rigidity of this rule that made it impossible for them to compromise, and it was the discipline and the will that kept them going. That's why even Caroline wasn't carrying her umbrella as usual, but the same standardized steel sword, but it was obviously a bit uncomfortable for her. After all, the standardized steel sword was quite different from the runic sword, so it wasn't easy for Caroline to use it.
Tawana stopped dead in her tracks.
"Brother Jared, Sister Caroline ... me ..."
She was biting her lower lip, obviously trying to say something.
"If there's something to be said, say it afterward."
Jared interrupted Tavana as he stared down the darkened passageway in front of him, and gradually, from the depths, came the sound of clashing steel.
And so the silver-white maiden knight stepped before them, longsword in hand.
"Ms. Serenity ... I don't think you have time to chat with us right now ."
Jared looked at the knight with an easy smile, but the girl was still as cold as ice.
"I have to stop you from moving on ..."
"And the reason?"
"Although the likelihood is not high enough, but anything in the world can produce accidents, and on the battlefield, in order to avoid unforeseen events, it is necessary to eradicate the disturbing factor as early as possible." Serenity said coldly while shifting her gaze to Tawana." I won't allow that to happen, because out of all of these people, she is the only one I'm not comfortable with as the leader of the team. That's why I have to stop you all, especially her from winning."
How stubborn, I didn't realize that you would even give up your rights to prevent Tawana from winning?
"Since we're about to join the same team, I think it's only natural that we make the judgment call that's best for the team's actions. Isn't that right?"
The Maiden Rider had a very good point. In fact, Jared didn't think she was wrong. The girl had obviously received a rigorous education from a young age, and had a very strong sense of belonging to the team as a group of organizations. From the fact that she even gave up her own rights to stop them, it was clear that the girl didn't particularly dislike Tawana, but rather, because of the objective, Tawana was not only weak and indecisive, but also completely incapable of defending herself in the event of an attack. The existence of such a person in a team is barely tolerable. But if such a person is the leader of the team ...
Jared wouldn't want to work for a guy like that.
So the girl's attitude is very cold, but very tough.
Jared eyed her carefully, apparently quite pleased.
(It's perfect for honing Tawana.)
Caroline said what Jared was thinking inside.
"I know what you're trying to say."
Jared carried his sword upside down, not the one he was used to, but it wasn't a big deal.
"But I'm sorry, we're not going to let you have your way ... Caroline, take Tawana and go first."
(I see.)
"Wait, Brother Jared ..."
Tavana tried to say something, but she didn't get a chance to before Caroline took her away.
The Maiden Knight kept her icy gaze on Jared, not even looking at Caroline and Tawana, who were walking past. It wasn't until they disappeared into the darkness that she asked.
"Why?"
"No reason."
Jared takes two steps back and shrugs his shoulders.
"Go ahead, beat me and you'll still have time to go after them."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a powerful sword aura suddenly rose upwards and stabbed at Jared.
It's a waste of time.
Jared leaned over slightly, while looking intently at the sword in his opponent's hand. Then, something strange happened.
The long sword in the girl's hand actually took the initiative to deviate from its original path and angled towards his side. In this way, once the girl could not control the force, she would crash into Jared's arms. Seeing this scene, the girl was also shocked, she hastily retracted her sword, and at the same time, vigilantly watched the man in front of her. In fact, Serenity herself was also shocked, she clearly believed that she could stab Jared's shoulder, but she did not know why her hand actually deviated from the original track, she did not even receive the impact of external forces? She subconsciously took several steps back, and looked at Jared indifferently and carefully.
Jared was still standing there with his steel sword upside down, not moving. What the hell did he just do?
"Please continue..."
Jared was polite, even putting on a gentlemanly "ladies first" demeanor. He also wondered why Serenity, who Tawana had told him was a magician in the Tower of Darkness and one of only a handful of trainee Chanting Ambassadors, didn't use magic instead of a sword. He knew that the Tower of Darkness practiced both magic and martial arts, but the magicians of the Tower of Hierarchy didn't have guardians because they could just summon creatures to assist them in their attacks, but there was no need to use a sword.
Speaking of which, this girl is really strange, not only is she wearing a knight's light armor and a longsword on her waist, she doesn't look like a magician at all, and compared to Kylie or Kura, there's just too much difference.
As if to confirm Jared's suspicions, the girl began to chant.
Her voice sang out from her mouth, as if it were a beautiful and soft song. But of course Jared didn't give her time to sing, he immediately stepped forward and struck his opponent's body with his long sword. Of course, since this was just a test, neither side wanted to see blood. Otherwise, when they set off, one of them would be crippled and the other would be half-crippled, so what's the point of investigating?
The water in the air was suddenly thick, just when Jared's sword was about to hit the armor, the thick water suddenly shot out, like a mist that covered everything. Jared only felt a cold cold air in the hands of the long sword flying up, he hastily threw away the steel sword, only to see that the sword then in the thick water mist into a piece of ice damask, blast burst.
"You'll get the hang of it, won't you."
Jared's a little unsure now.
"I'm just going to beat you, so please cooperate with me."
The mist is gone.
At this moment, Serenity finally showed her true power as a trainee chanter who had already entered the realm of chanting. Three slender women, made entirely of water, stood in front of her like a shield.
In these narrow passages, can we just pile up?
Jared frowned.
Things are getting a little rough.