Chapter 41: Ancient Trees
Terrence was forced to not think ahead. With the rest of the squad entering, stepping sideways just to squeeze their ways into the maze, he had no other choice but to follow them rather than be left behind alone.
His chest tightened with his limbs shaking involuntarily, becoming weak with fear of what could possibly happen inside this tight maze. He had no way to move properly and even fight for himself. The only way was to summon his beast in case of a threat.
He pushed his breath out then moved his way, shortening the gap between the convoy in this maze.
Winter guided the trail while Gilbert delayed his movement, letting Terrence pass through. Terrence was just silent as he was still controlling his emotions.
Technically, this would be his first attempt to clear a dungeon as a tamer. Before, it was his fantasy to venture into a dungeon, but now, he had to clear one just to prevent a possible breach.
’Focus... Calm down... You won’t die here. If you die, then so will they. They are not afraid, so it means they have ways to survive here.’ Terrence firmed his mentality as minutes passed, where only the rustle of different fabrics against the rough surface of the rocks echoed.
"Terrence."
Finally, the silence was broken. Gilbert showed a warm smile at him, as usual.
"What did you feel when you became a tamer? Were you happy?"
"That’s a question out of the blue. Why do you ask?" Terrence replied with a question.
Gilbert sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. "Because, if I were in your situation, I would think about maybe... forsaking my family already. Take revenge on them."
"Which, we are doing now, right?" Terrence retorted.
"I guess so... But what I meant was a darker version of it. You know, just straight-up killing them?"
Terrence sighed while shaking his head. He didn’t reply. He didn’t feel the need to respond to it. What lay before him demanded he focus entirely on surviving in this maze. The memories from the past could just be set aside; to be exact, he wasn’t being sentimental or overly emotional right now.
He had learned to control his rage against the family. Even if he was reminded of it, he wouldn’t just go out of control. He had learned how to plan ahead.
Even if there were times he was just being impulsive, these winding paths of fate needed some planning at least. The revenge, for example, needed proper timing. Even though he had gained power, he didn’t just blindly jump for revenge.
They stopped for a while, as Winter raised her hand to hold them to their positions. She turned to face the rest of the squad, with Jean standing just behind her and the twins following close by. Terrence and Gilbert were at the rear.
"Prepare your beasts to be summoned," Winter commanded in a low, firm tone. "At least give them space. If they can run on the walls, that would be better. Just be careful, we have some enemies ahead."
Terrence summoned his Shadow Hound while the rest of the squad did the same, except for Gilbert.
Jean summoned a giant snake, while the twins summoned monkey-type beasts. Their combination of beasts wasn’t exceptionally high-tier, but there was a collective pressure that felt domineering enough to surely drive weaker dungeon beasts away.
Terrence peeked from behind, trying to get a good view of Winter’s beast, but she had already commanded it to fight some approaching presence further down the corridor.
"What kind of dungeon beasts are up front?" Terrence mumbled.
"Probably Arachne beasts or bats. I am not sure, but they are common in this kind of sub-biome," Gilbert explained smoothly.
Terrence simply nodded. Having experienced tamers around indeed helped reduce the need for lengthy explanations from time to time.
"Why didn’t you summon your beast?" Terrence asked, glancing at Gilbert’s empty hands.
Gilbert simply smiled, crossing his arms over his chest. "No need. Winter will clear those beasts before we are even needed. She just called us to be ready just in case."
"Really?"
Just like what Gilbert said, the other three squad members soon dismissed their beasts back into their Pocket Sanctuary. They looked at each other and snickered quietly before moving forward again.
Terrence returned the Shadow Hound back to the Beast Sanctuary.
Moments passed. While still feeling claustrophobic within the narrow stone walls, Terrence noticed dark streaks of red blood smeared along their path. However, there were no carcasses left at the scene.
’This is where Winter’s beast fought the threat, huh. She even got her beast to clean our path so we wouldn’t stumble.’
Another hour passed in total silence until finally, they began to pass out of the maze, a bright light ahead giving them hope.
Terrence could finally breathe properly without constantly calculating every step. This was a nerve-wracking experience he didn’t want to go through again anytime soon. However, he couldn’t help but notice that his respect toward Winter was growing; she was proving to be a remarkably reliable ally.
"Finally!" Terrence groaned silently as he stretched his back and limbs. "That was making my bones crack."
Terrence continued to stretch his arms as his eyes adjusted to the area ahead of them. This time, the biome had shifted to a more expansive, natural state typical of this dungeon type. The trees were much bigger, reaching skyward with an ancient, imposing vibe surrounding them. There were wider spaces between each trunk this time, giving them a proper clearing to move around in.
However, his stretching abruptly stopped as a heavy iron stench mixed into the woody scent carried by the wind, directly hitting his nostrils.
Terrence’s eyes widened in shock. "What the hell..."
Just a few meters away lay the corpses of several humans, bathing in pools of their own blood upon the grassy ground. A few meters beyond them lay the carcasses of various beasts—different species clustered together, indicating they were the contracted beasts of the fallen tamers.