CHAPTER 41: STILL TRAPPED

Theo can no longer hold himself. He laughs like a madman. If any of the Montroses see him now, they would think Thea has completely lost her mind.

Theo laughs freely, surrounded by the dead bodies of wolf haelions. He waves his hand, and blue flames start to burn the carcasses.

In less than two minutes, the carcasses have been burned to ashes completely, and Theo notices that the ashes dissipate into the wind. He can feel traces of mana in them.

"These haelions have mana? Like the beasts in my old world. But the beasts there had mana because Mother Nature hated us. And I don’t feel that hostility in this dungeon."

Theo is deep in thought when he hears a faint, desperate scream.

"Someone’s in trouble. I need to help... wait. I can’t show up like this. They’ll recognize me sooner or later. Maybe I can..." Theo opens his palm gently, and his image blurs.

"This illusion spell should be enough for now. Oh, before I forget." He takes off the gold chain that functions as his space pouch from his watch, changes it into a simple gold ring, wraps the watch with his own shield, and puts it in the space pouch.

"With this, the watch won’t keep beeping every time I use magic. I’ll need to figure out how to turn off the alarm."

When the blue sword rained on the Haelions, its flame illuminated his surroundings. Only then did he realize that he was inside a large cave with a high ceiling. Apparently, it was the wolf haelions’ lair.

Theo steps out of the cave. Since he has the illusion spell on him, he no longer restrains himself from using magic. He conjures a larger light orb, bright enough to illuminate his path.

Another scream echoes through the air.

"It’s coming from straight ahead." Theo immediately sets out.

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"HELP!"

"Somebody, please help!"

"Help us!"

"Please, somebody!"

A man in his late forties and a woman in her mid-thirties are screaming at the top of their lungs, sobbing in terror. Their backs are pressed against a large dead tree trunk, while in front of them stand three hyena-like haelions.

The beasts have tusks and a single eye in the middle of their faces.

The two humans cower helplessly. Two others lie motionless on the ground, one on his side and the other on his stomach, each surrounded by a pool of blood.

Thin glowing trees rise around them like dim lamp posts. The faint light makes the one-eyed Haelions look even more terrifying, drool dripping from their snarling mouths.

The woman shuts her eyes tight, crying and praying. The man curls inward, covering his head, refusing to see his fate.

This is the scene Theo arrives to.

He sends a light orb forward for a clearer view, just in time to see a shadow lunging toward the pair.

He instinctively fires a blue flame at the shadow. It shrieks in pain as the fire hits it.

The other two haelions turn toward Theo. Without hesitation, he fires two more blue flames. Both strike true, and the beasts shriek and scatter.

Theo does not know if these creatures can call for help, and he is not about to risk it.

This time, he conjures three blue flame arrows and releases them. They pierce through the haelions as easily as knives through butter.

All three beasts drop dead. Soon, their carcasses dissolve into the wind, just like the wolf haelions before them.

Theo quickly approaches the survivors while scanning his surroundings.

"Hey," he whispers. "Hey, are you okay?"

The woman slowly opens her eyes and looks around. She notices that she can see more clearly now. Her gaze moves up to the light source, then down to Theo. She blinks a few times, then nods.

The man opens his eyes next and takes in his surroundings. When he sees the two other humans lying in pools of blood, he gasps. Their bodies are mangled beyond recognition.

"Hey," Theo whispers again. He keeps his voice low in case there are still haelions nearby. He crouches to meet their eyes.

"You okay?" When they both nod, he continues, "Can you walk? We need to get out of here."

They nod again, more firmly this time.

"Yes, please. Save us," the woman pleads, still crying.

"There’s a cave nearby. It should be safe. Let’s head there and plan our next move," Theo says.

They both nod without hesitation.

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When they arrive at the cave, Theo asks the two survivors to stay outside while he scouts ahead to make sure it is safe. Once he confirms it, he calls them in.

The three of them sit around a campfire, trying to calm down, especially the survivors.

Theo stays silent, lost in thought. He is trying to recall everything he has read or heard about dungeons, especially how to get out of one.

The man clears his throat. "Thank you for saving us. I’m Ron."

The woman nods quickly. "Yes, thank you. I’m Meg. May I know your name?"

Theo looks at them and automatically starts to answer. "I’m Th..." He stops himself, clears his throat, and tries again. "I’m... Aldri..."

Theo stops again. He had been about to say Aldric, but then remembers to check what illusion he is actually using. How does he look to others right now? Male or female?

Then it hits him. He only cast the illusion to hide his hair color and face, not his other physical features.

"Hm? What did you say your name is? Aldri? Short for Aldriana, I suppose?" Meg says brightly, clearly relieved to have met another woman.

Ron speaks up. "Are you a Sentinel? You were amazing. You must be a high-ranking Sentinel. Are you a Monfort Sentinel? Only Monfort Sentinels fight like that." He babbles excitedly, his admiration overflowing.

"I’d know because my old neighbor was a Monfort Sentinel. He retired a few years ago, but his movements and reflexes are still better than average. You—"

Suddenly, the cave rumbles and shakes.

"Earthquake?" Theo asks, more to himself.

Ron and Meg hold on to each other, pure terror on their faces.

The cave shakes even harder, and the ceiling begins to collapse.

"We need to get out! Move!" Theo shouts.

All three of them rush outside the cave, but once outside, the earthquake continues. The ground splits open.

"Oh my god! We’re all gonna die!" Meg screams.

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"What the hell is going on?!" Dumar shouts in shock. He turns to Julian, who usually has all the answers, but Julian is busy tapping on his tablet.

"Jules! What the fuck is going on?!" Arthur can no longer keep his calm.

"How the fuck am I supposed to know?!" Julian shoots back, frustration clear in his voice.

No one dares to speak or even produces a sound.

"Jules! Any explanation? Anything?" Arthur presses. He knows Julian is the only one there who could possibly give a tangible answer.

Julian sighs. "If I have to guess, I’d say the gate just mutated into a higher level."

"The fuck?" Dumar exclaims. "The gate is leveling up? Is that even possible?!"

"Well, apparently it is. That’s the only thing I can think of. Look at the width and the height. If a gate appeared like this, we’d classify it as level eight. As to why or how it goes from level five to level eight... I’ve got nothing."

"What about Thea?" Arthur whispers, his voice breaking.