tbate | The Storm Gods Chosen [Dropped]

Ch 30 Dire tombs I

To the others surprise and disgust, the batrunners that had just been killed began to reanimate, their bodies snapping into place as the ones that had been burned just seemed to rise up again from their ashes. I had known this was going to happen and wasn't suprised.

We chose to ignore them and advanced into the next room while Elijah quietly casted an earthen wall over the entrance so that the batrunners couldn't follow us.

The opening on the other side of the cave led us through another dark corridor just wide enough for four people to go through at once.

I could tell everyone was a bit more relaxed upon leaving the first cave but I couldn't shake an uneasy feeling.

As if to answer me, a barely-discernable click and faint whistle caught my attention.

Art immediately drew his sword and sidestepped in front of Samantha.

his shortsword blurred as he instinctively parried the projectiles aimed towards Samantha, the sharp ring of metal on metal echoing through the dim corridor.

"Th-Thank you..." Samantha muttered mindlessly. Even under the dim blue lighting, I could tell that her face had paled as the metal spikes that almost killed her landed on the ground, harmlessly, beside her feet.

"Something's wrong...there were no traps last time." Brald picked up one of the pointed spikes to study it but was baffled.

"I don't think they were traps but strategically placed mana beasts, which doesn't make the situation better," Art said, noticing the faint scuttle of the small beasts on the walls.

"Stay alert, everyone," Brald said, kicking the spikes to the side. Jasmine already had her twin daggers guarding her vitals before Reginald and Kriol readied their weapons. Samantha inched a bit closer to Art, her hand pinching his sleeve as her free hand gripped tightly at her wand.

we reached the end of the hall with no other traps deterring us. The next cave was similar to the previous cave, but twice the size and littered with suspicious holes all over the ground.

"Don't get near the holes. They're geysers that shoot extremely hot streams of gas up. It should be fine as long as you're not in direct proximity of the blast," Brald announced as we all looked for any signs of mana beasts.

As if on cue, the cave trembled, shaking the sharp stalactites overhead to a nerve-wracking degree. Forcing my attention from the wobbling spikes, a large figure erupting from the ground.

"Was that here last time, Brald?" the pot-bellied Kriol asked in a worrying tone as we all peered up at the mana beast.

there's the worm that kills Oliver, and take Bralds Arm.

"N-No, it wasn't-I don't get what's happening. It doesn't make sense for new mana beast species to enter a dungeon like this."Brald had a wavering look, his mask of confidence all but gone.

"Cheh. It's not a big deal. It's just an oversized insect," Lucas quipped from behind.

We braced ourselves for its strike, but to our surprise, the gigantic red worm didn't attack us. Instead, the beast burrowed back underground, leaving in its path another gaping hole.

"It doesn't seem to be after us," muttered Elijah while his sharp, bespectacled eyes studied the hole the giant worm had left.

The red worm-beast was now burrowing itself into the walls of the cave, creating more holes from all different angles, but it never confronted us.

"Are we just going to stand around watching the worm dig or are we going to go?" Oliver, our lanky emitter, shoved Brald out of the way, fearlessly taking the lead as he strode towards the other end of the cave.