Emotions were high, and after setting down the limp body of Ben against the ramp the earth mages created, they took five minutes to recuperate as much mana as possible. If Alessia found them hanging out, the chance of them failing would be high. The whole point of this test was to prove their worth.
Elijah led the group through the dim cavern. "Trey, please make arrows in the earth every now and then to make sure we don't get lost. Part of the test is also to return safely, as the examiner is no longer here."
"Understood."
The voices of the group of five were silently walking through the dry cavern. Alexia was uncomfortably close to Elijah as they walked silently while closely observing their surroundings. The dim green and purple glows coming from the plants gave them enough visibility to see around the seventy foot wide cavern, but didn't allow them to see what lies at the end.
However, three minutes of walking allowed them to see an incredible sight, what Elijah would consider the main event of the exam.
Tall coliseum-like pillars that were in no way man-made rose to the ceiling and the sides of the walls in unorganized patterns. A small waterfall with a small yellow tint fell from a ledge of what seemed like the second level of a cave with much more to show. Flowers, vines, lily pads, and dripstones were littered around the small pond created by the waterfall before it flowed into a small hole on the right side of the cave. Lone blood bats flapping their wings and dripstones created sounds that echoed through the cavern.
"Wow! This is incredible!" Elijah lost sight of his emotions as positive and grateful ones flushed into his mind with the sight of something that was definitely not possible on earth. Nothing was trying to kill anyone, and no beasts were in sight besides the small amount of blood bats that flew away at the rhythmic sounds of the footsteps created by the group.
Alexia's long blonde hair appeared in front of Elijah. "Something feels off about this place. It smells weird."
This statement made Elijah think, because after taking a couple more steps forward, a familiar smell found its way into his nostrils. Sulfur! "Don't go inside yet. There is a toxic gas in there that will kill us if we stay too long. Although based on the smell, it is not very strong."
"How did you know that?" Niko confidently asked Elijah the question as if he already knew the circumstances of this cave.
"It's obvious, and based on the way you asked me that question, you already knew." Elijah's words gave Niko a slap across the head as he started walking forward into the cave.
Elijah whispered into Alexia's ears after Niko had walked into the cave. "Stay close to me, if anything happens I'll grab you and leave."
"Okay" Alexia felt safe with Elijah around, and with what Elijah just told her, her worries had washed away.
What seemed like smooth man-made steps, led the group up to the second level where they had a view of the glowing pond that flowed into a small hole or tunnel that led somewhere unknown. The pond had a slight yellow tint to it, which was due to the sulfur, not the mana.
"WoaH!" Cora slipped on the moist steps causing her to make a loud noise. This put everyone on high alert as anything could happen.
Niko stopped as soon as his head reached over the top of the steps and into the second layer, and slowly ducked down with the palm of his right hand facing the group behind him. "Beasts, not as many as before, and they all look like kappa's."
"The human-like turtles?" Elijah received a dumb response from Niko that spelt obviously.
Elijah took the lead. "We have to form a plan this time revolving around stealth. The more kappa's we can pick off, the less we have to fight in an all out war when they see us." All Elijah wanted to do was fly above them silently and split the space to massacre them all within minutes. However, there would be no idea of growth in that option. Elijah understands his biggest flaw is the way he sees reality. Ten years in a new life is nothing compared to one-hundred.
"And how do you plan to stealthily slay these beasts?" Niko asked a valid question that was upvoted by Cora surprisingly. She seemed to have her own motives, and had maybe lied to Elijah when she said she was scared of nobles.
"Simple, Do you see that angular stone pillar that starts from the right side and moves up to the top of the left of the cavern? If we can travel on that pillar and get high ground, we can draw them closer with noises and have Alexia pick them off using her near-silent air magic."
"Heh, that actually sounds really good. You are a lot smarter than you look. However, how are we going to get there? We would be in the open after walking up these steps."
Elijah couldn't tell if that was a joke, or if Niko was just an idiot blinded by his privilege. "Trey, can you create a stable earth path that attaches to the wall of the waterfall?"
"I can, but there would have to be gaps, and we need to move quickly. The changes in the noises of the waterfall could be heard by the kappa's."
Elijah smiled at his plan coming together. "Okay, that works. Get started, and be careful everyone. If anyone falls into the water, we have a tough battle on our hands.
Trey conjured thick and small steps that protruded about one foot from the wall of the waterfall. Sweat was dripping down the necks of the hunters as they slowly made their way to cover. Unfortunately, due to being above the water, the steam increased the effect of the sulfur gas entering their lungs. The plan had to move rather quickly, and they needed to return directly after this.
The group, led by Elijah, climbed slowly onto the stone pillar and lightened their steps to soften the noise, and to prevent any loose rocks from falling off the ledge.
"Ready?" Elijah looked at everyone, and received a nod from each person. A small rock was picked up by Niko, and thrown into the small pond below. The folded ears of the kappa's were instantly perked upwards, and soon they started moving towards the sound.
Elijah signaled to the group as the slouching beasts slowly approached. The goal was to have them be directly underneath them as the speed and force of Alexia's attacks wouldn't be affected by gravity, but enhanced by gravity. "It looks like there are more than thirty. Get ready Alexia. Use your wind blades quickly one at a time, and aim for the head. They should easily be chopped in half without any mana coursing through their bodies."
"I got this!" Alexia quietly hyped herself up. She was the main reason for the soon to be victory, and she was excited to be contributing greatly to the team.
"Go!"
Swish!
The first wind blade cleanly sliced the kappa's head in half until it stopped at the shell on its back. Three more quickly followed and easily hit their targets spot on. Alexia was ecstatic with joy after realizing her practicing her control was the best course of action. Elijah was so smart!
Surprisingly, it took time for the kappa's to notice where they were being hit from. Unfortunately, by the time they noticed, eight of their comrades were laying on the ground with blue blood flowing out of their heads.
With another signal from Elijah, the rest of the group began firing their own spells. Water blades, fire balls, earth horns. Everyone except for Cora.
While being positioned directly behind Elijah, Cora stood up and started materializing ice around her right foot. With a loud grunting sound, she sent a hard kick straight into the back of Elijah the moment he turned his head.
Bang!