As far as my eyes can see— there's only darkness, the wind howled past my ears, sending an unpleasant chill down my spine.
Above us, the moon hung in the sky. Casting a dim white light, but… due do the large trees surrounding us, the thick trees blocks most of the moon light, engulfing us in the darkness.
The small flame Anna just casted burned rather intense for a low tier spell, and this only concluded one thing: this land is rich with [Fire Essence].
But this isn't [Pyrestone].
I clenched my jaw, this place is without a doubt…
"Demon Continent."
As those words escape my lips, I noticed everyone's reaction:
Trembling hands, wide eyes and pale faces.
Horror.
Extreme horror.
"…!"
"Wh-What do you mean Demon continent!?" Julius is the first to break the silence. His words cracked, "h-how can you be so sure—?!"
"Look at Anna," cutting his words off, I pointed towards Anna.
All eyes went towards her.
Anna's crimson eyes glowed faintly in the darkness, catching everyone's attention, her small flame ignited more fiercely illuminating the surrounding with it's orange hue.
I turned to Julius. "Can you sense your Earth Essence?"
His throat bobs. "…Only a little." He admitted, lowering his eyes, his trembling hands curled into fists.
"Aria, what about your Ice Essence?" gazing towards Aria I asked.
"…Barely."
She shook her head, her almost composed expression was now fractured for the first time.
I finally looked at Anna. "And you?"
Anna blinks. "I feel… powerful, it's like I am back in Pyrestone."
That confirms it.
I explained further. "The current time in Pyrestone is 11 AM."
"Now look up." I pointed.
"…"
Darkness.
No sun. No daylight.
Only an endless, suffocating night.
Silence.
Julius stumbled back. "T-This can't be h-happening," his face went pale, he stared at me with horror, "How did we get here? N-No human has ever—ever stepped foot on the demon continent. We are as good as dead!"
I can't blame him.
His fears are justified.
No human ever dared to visit the Demon Continent before, the risks are too fatal. Their geography remains a mystery to us. No matter how many satellites we send over demon continent— the only thing it captures was darkness.
That means, we are the 'first' humans to ever set foot here.
"Try to calm down Julius," I placed my firm hand over Julius's shaking shoulders . "We don't know what threats this place holds yet."
I was calm, despite the situation we are in.
I have to stay calm. If I break, they will too.
I glanced around.
We are alone.
The rest of our classmates are missing.
'I'm glad I held everyone's hand.'
But the others…
I greeted my teeth.
I was too slow to realize the threat. I should have warned everyone sooner.
Sigh…
There's no time for regrets.
I need to stay focus.
"Lets find out classmates first," I said meeting everybody's eyes, "our seniors were probably got teleported too."
"Yeah… and the Rank-69 hero too." Anna said.
Silence.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"What?" Anna tilted her head, "He is a double-digit hero—don't underestimate him."
"Pfttt-hahahaa," a quiet chuckle left Julius's mouth.
Then another.
Laughter.
Anna's comment somehow made all of them calm.
Utilizing this moment, I activated my skill.
[Elemental Sense]
I adjusted my range up to 50 KM's, the distorted images took shape in my mind.
There's nothing.
Not a single sign of life.
Everywhere I concentrate, I could only see trees, small lakes, and caves.
That… odd.
It's too quiet.
I felt a sudden chill of déjà vu.
Memories of [Flora Island] resurfaced my mind, before I got swarmed by those Wraiths and… killed by that mysterious figure.
"How are you so calm?" Aria asked, standing next to me.
Her question pulled me back.
I exhaled. Forcing myself to stay calm.
'Because, I have to.'
Because, if I'm not—then none of us will make out alive.
"Let's first find a place to stay," I suggested, " we'll talk later."
Actually, when I used my skill I already found a place— it's a cave, and it's nearby.
Everyone nodded.
We started moving south.
I had already found a cave when I used [Elemental Sense], but I didn't lead them straight to it. Instead, I walked ahead, pretending to search. If they believed they found it themselves, it might give them a small sense of control in this nightmare.
Rustle. Rustle.
The wind rustled through the trees, the leaves danced making a whistling sound.
But then…
"I found one!" Julius suddenly called out, spotting the cave.
I glanced at him and smiled. "Good job, Julius."
We all went inside, Anna's flame lit up the cavern, casting flickering shadows on the wall.
The interior was hollow and dry, coated in dust with a pungent smell. There were large chunks of stone scattered on the ground.
"Gross." Anna wrinkled her nose.
"Julius," I turned to Julius and requested, "create a stone wall and block the entrance."
Only he can use Earth Essence according to them.
"That's a good idea," Julius responded, "but… it may take a while, as the Earth Essence is weak."
"Alright, take your time."
Julius moves to the entrance and activated his skill. "Stone Shield."
Rumble. Rumble. Rumble.
The ground trembled as the wall of stone slowly rose, sealing the entrance.
After two minutes the entrance was completely sealed.
"Done." Julius said wiping sweats from his forehead.
"That was rather quick." I praised him, nodding my head.
Aria, and Anna looked at my direction, probably analyzing my decisions.
Aria was the first to speak, "Impressive."
Julius grinned, "Aww, thanks Aria! It was no—"
"Not you. I was complimenting Zane." Aria said.
"…"
'Cold as ever.'
Julius froze mid-sentence, his expression was stuck between shock and betrayal.
'Look what you did to him!' I thought inwardly.
How embarrassing, I feel bad for him.
"I-It was nothing," I replied awkwardly, "I have read lot of survival books, that's all..."
"…"
"…"
"…"
The way they all stared at me made it painfully clear—lame excuse.
Anna sighed and facepalmed. 'You're screwed.'
I shot her a pleading look. Help me.
Noticing my silent cry for help, Anna decided to intervene.
"Enough with the unnecessary questions, we have a bigger problem to deal with."
She continued. Glancing the surroundings.
She turned serious.
"How are we going to find our classmates? Where are they? Are they even safe?"
Silence.
She continued, her voice rising.
"We don't even know how we got here! And worst of all—does the Nova even know our location!?"
Her breaths were heavy with Frustration.
We all stared at her. No body dared to stop her.
Why would they?
All her questions are genuine.
We were teleported to the Demon Continent—a place no human had ever stepped foot in.
"Teleported to the Demon Continent— heh, that's the last place anybody could guess."
I tried calling Envy a moment ago but it seems, that communication to the human domain was cut off.
The air grew heavy.
The temperature dropped.
Everyone's face returned back to their initial state of horror.
'What should I do?'
Clap!
The sharp sound of my hands colliding echoed through the cave, drawing their attention.
"First rule of survival—gather as much information as possible about your surroundings."
Anna narrowed her eyes. "Huh? What the hell are you talking about?"
Ignoring her, I continued.
"Who wants to hear about the history of the Demon Continent?"
Silence.
Julius and Aria blinked, trying to process my question.
"…"
"…"
"You… are insane." Anna said, "No, body in their right mind would agree to this shi—"
"Alright, I want to know." Aria said, raising her hand.
"Me too." Julius joined.
"Son of a bit— haaah!" Anna let out a deep sigh, "Ugh! Fine! I will listen too, go on professor Skylark."
She slumping onto the ground, puffing her cheeks.
"Alright. Let's begin."
End of chapter.
[A/N]: In the next chapter, I will add a bit of world building, please bear with me, the action scenes and mystery portion will come after this.