The group slowly stepped out of the thick, dark jungle. One gets out of it, then the other one… then some more, and finally, all of them were out of the death maze.
They had gotten out, but it wasn't without paying a price.
Most of their clothes were torn, their faces covered in dirt, blood, and sweat. Almost all of them had some minor to deep injuries. Some were capable of moving, while some were barely moving forward.
One could only hear the sound of their ragged breathing. No one said anything and was just following Gareth.
Soon, the environment in front of them changed.
In front of them stretched a wide field of pale, gray mushrooms, swaying gently in the cold wind. The sky above was mostly clear. The field was full of warmth.
They were now in the mushroom field.
The group jumped into this new, unknown land and moved forward.
Gareth was leading the way, unsure— despite showing his capabilities at the moment. In the center of the group, the injured were helped, wrapped in torn cloth. At the back were students who had sustained minor to no injuries.
They moved like corpses. No hope in their eyes for any future. There were just tired breaths and the soft crunch of mushrooms getting crushed underfoot.
Everything was filled with the smell of damp, death, and rot.
After a while, Gareth suddenly stopped. The students, paying attention to their surroundings instead of what was in front of them, slammed right into their classmates.
Soon they corrected themself and surrounded him from all side.
While they were looking at him, he looked at something with fear, yet with a bit of hope. Maybe it was their way to salvation.
As he was standing there for a while, a student moved forward and asked, "I-Is everything okay... ahh! Teach?"
"Ahh! Ohh! Sorry, I was just looking there... there seems to be a cave entrance far away there. I think we can shelter ourselves there for a while," Gareth replied, still looking at the cave entrance.
"Finally, a place to rest..."
"Huuu..."
Most of the students agreed to the proposal instantly, but there were a few students who showed skepticism about entering into an unknown cave.
"B-But would it be good for us to enter this unknown cave like this? I-I mean, it could be a hiding place or shelter for some monster," one of them raised his concerns.
Hearing this, Gareth nodded his head.
"This is exactly what I was thinking... but we don't have any option either. We have to make an effort to know at least." Gareth didn't want to do it either, but he knew there was no other choice.
It was adrenaline that had made them move this far with that much injury and trauma. If they were in the real world with this much happening, they would have long dropped down.
There was no way they could've endured this much. But here they are enduring exactly this much.
He sighed and remembered a saying his commander often said to trainees...
Do you know what ancient gods called us?
They called us bastards. Stubborn fucking bastards who hear no one... follow no one. Ones who don't know when to give up.
No matter where we drop... we would claw, crawl, and curse our way out of it. There's a reason they call humans bastards—we just never know when to quit.
So, now tell me... what are you... a good boy who listens to his dad or a fucking bastard?
'Sigh! I wish you were here instead of me, sir. You would've found a way out in no time... Can I protect them? I'm not worthy of leading anyone…' Doubt was creeping into Gareth, but before it could overwhelm him, a sound broke the silence.
"Teacher... I can help."
Looking around, Gareth saw a frail-looking student moving forward.
The boy was around 1.5 meters tall, with short black hair. He looked ordinary—too ordinary, in fact. It was to the point that if one explicitly didn't pay attention to him, he would just slip past their consciousness.
"Yes... tell me," Gareth asked, not expecting too much from the boy.
"I can turn invisible." Without wasting any time, the boy muttered directly.
Listening to his words, Gareth was taken aback for a moment.
It wasn't because he didn't know about these powers. No, he had long been aware of the existence of things like [Desire], [Ember], [Rank], and [Remnants].
Even with no one telling him, he could feel some changes that had happened in his body. He could feel a new... something strange was flowing within his body.
He had known about these, but hadn't used these powers yet. Or, to be more precise, hadn't gotten the chance to use them. After all, he couldn't risk using some unknown power while already facing a problem.
Gareth knew a simple rule... There is nothing free in the world. There is a price for everything, and he couldn't afford that price yet.
Who is to say what could happen after using these strange powers? I mean, the world hadn't been kinder to them... what gift would it be now?
But now a student in front of him... tells him they could use this power to their advantage.
'Should I do it…'
Gareth looked at the student. He seemed scared, but he could see a hint of confidence he had in himself. A faint radiance around him that was whispering I can do it.
"How long can you turn invisible for?" Gareth asked him.
"I can remain until my essence runs out," the boy replied.
"And how long is that?"
"I don't know."
"Sigh! Is there any other catch?"
There are always catches. And he would be a fool to trust otherwise.
"No... it says I can remain invisible until I use any other power," the boy read out the description.
What's that supposed to mean? I have only one power. Does he have more than one? Thinking this, Gareth looked at him and muttered,
"Don't use any other power than. Do you understand?"
The boy nodded his head.
"Let's get a bit closer. You can turn invisible after that."
Saying this, he moved, and along with him moved the entire group. Soon, they were close enough to the cave for him to turn invisible.
"You can go now."
Nodding his head, the boy moved forward. He was about to turn invisible when Gareth asked him a question.
"Uhhh! I haven't asked this, but can you tell me your name?"
Smiling, the boy replied, "Of course, sir, it's Adam."
Only sounds rang as Adam was nowhere to be found.