Chapter 115: The Darkness

The two boys did not immediately take off, taking a moment to take in their situation. They were heading into dangerous territory with little to no information on what they would find.

A moment was more than needed.

Hearing a soft clicking from Adam, Aurelius looked at his partner. He raised a brow and then asked, "Will you still be using the guns? I’ve seen what you’re capable of with a sword. Wouldn’t that be better?"

"Naturally, the sword is far more versatile," Adam replied as he finished reloading, glancing at his partner. "But I’d much prefer to minimise swinging as much as possible to conserve stamina."

"Right..." Aurelius shook his head. "Just say you don’t want to get in too close and risk getting injured."

"There’s that too, I guess."

Adam did not deny Aurelius’ words, as they had some truth to them. Although guns came with a glaring flaw, he had a solution to that too. All he needed to do was master the Space Element to achieve that.

But that was for the future.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Just a sec." Aurelius glanced at his shadow and commanded, "Come out, Ranger. You should have recovered already."

At his words, the SilverIce Wolf, his first tamed beast, slowly rose from his shadow. The massive wolf shook its head hard and looked around, its pale-blue eyes locking onto the only other person nearby—Adam.

Adam stared back at the beast, recalling how bloody it had looked after that raid. It had received some cuts and bite wounds during the raid. Now, however, the beast looked spotless, like it had taken a well-deserved rest and bath.

"Is your shadow some unique space for your tamed beast to recover or something?" Adam could not help but ask, as none of that was written in the texts he had perused before.

"Something like that," Aurelius answered vaguely, not saying anything more. He looked at Adam and gestured. "Let’s move."

He wasn’t willing to disclose that information as it was a weakness they never shared with outsiders; it wasn’t personal.

Adam acknowledged the response calmly, staring at Ranger a bit more before shifting his gaze.

For this part of their investigations, taking it slow was the best bet. The two boys walked in the direction Adam had pointed, while Ranger took the lead, sniffing and staying alert for any surprises that might come their way.

Once they crossed into the boundaries of the woods and vegetation, Adam took the lead, his eyes darting about in vigilance. There had been no beast attacks since they made it through the Lianas field, which Adam found very strange.

He had expected various beasts to attempt to stop them from going any further, as whatever creature that had been directing the beasts would not have wanted to be found.

’They could be a surprise waiting for us in the caves as well.’ Adam silently thought to himself, looking over his shoulder at Aurelius.

The beast master also had a suspicious look on his face as he looked around. Turning to focus on his task, Adam carefully made his way through the vegetation and trees, slowly scaling the side of the mountain.

He could not stop his racing heart, as the quietness of the surroundings made him anxious. And after several tense minutes of careful manoeuvring and vigilance, the duo came to a stop behind a thicket of bushes.

"The entrance to the cave is right past that thicket of bushes and creepers," Adam whispered as he pointed ahead.

Aurelius narrowed his eyes as he carefully observed the surroundings around the area Adam had pointed to. He could see traces of beast footprints and disturbed vegetation.

They were in the right place.

Growl...

Ranger suddenly let out a low growl as it crouched forward, baring its fangs.

"What is it?" Adam asked in a hushed tone.

"He’s caught the scent of several beasts coming from that direction." Aurelius interpreted, a dark expression on his face.

Adam swallowed nervously, not liking the expression on his partner’s face. If there were several hostiles waiting for them, why hadn’t they made a move yet?

If the SilverIce Wolf could smell them, then so could those beasts. The air currents he had tracked earlier showed that the flow of air currents changed from time to time.

"Let’s get a move on."

Aurelius was the first to move past the bushes, slowly but carefully approaching the thicket of bushes and creepers ahead. Ranger followed beside its master closely, the smart creature making sure to not make too much sound.

Adam pulled out one of his guns and followed after his partner. He looked back for a moment, committing the terrain to memory. There were still no signs of beasts anywhere in the vicinity.

It was an observation he did not like at all. His passive hearing hadn’t picked up any strange sounds from the surroundings either. Deciding to put the thoughts aside, he looked over to his partner, who had reached the edges of the cave entrance.

The beast master looked back at his partner and gestured for him to move to the other end. Adam nodded and carefully made his way over, his vigilance at its highest. The cave entrance looked like a natural depression in the side of the mountain, about seven metres high and four metres wide.

Past the first few feet into the cave was nothing but darkness; the spookiness combined with the strange aura in the air made his heart race more.

The ground around the entrance into the cave showed fresh prints through the dirt and groundcovers. And the cave entrance was a spot one could easily miss if they weren’t paying attention.

Looking over to his partner on the other side, Adam took a deep breath and nodded, informing his partner that he was ready to push forward. The beast master nodded back and took out the same pair of sophisticated and sleek-looking glasses, wearing them over his eyes.

Adam did not waste time, activating his Thermal Vision as well.

Exchanging one final glance, the two boys and the SilverIce Wolf ventured into the darkness. For more than two minutes, the surrounding areas around the cave entrance stayed silent.

Suddenly, a loud and ear-piercing screech tore through the silent forest like clothes being ripped apart. A few moments later, the ground began shaking, snarls and growls filling the air.

Hundreds of beasts of various species tore through the forest as they made a mad rush for the cave entrance, uncaring about stepping over other beasts.