CHAPTER 24: DUNGEON EXPLORATION [2]

The descent to the twentieth floor felt heavier than the others. The walls, once rough stone, were etched with faint runes that pulsed like veins of light, feeding some hidden power deeper below. The staircase ended in a vast chamber that made the students halt in collective awe.

The place resembled a ruined cathedral buried underground. Jagged pillars leaned at broken angles, the cracked floor inscribed with strange glowing carvings. The air was thick with an ancient weight, almost humming with mana.

But what made their stomachs knot were the statues.

Dozens of them—stone warriors, hulking beasts, grotesque humanoid figures—lined the hall, every surface inscribed with glowing blue runes. Their blank eyes stared ahead, frozen in place.

"Statues..." one boy muttered. "Creepy, but harmless."

A laugh followed. "Relax, they’re just stone."

Samuel’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. He simply rested a hand on his blade, gaze scanning the room.

Then came the grinding noise.

One statue shifted, stone shoulders cracking as it moved. Then another. Then another. The glowing runes across their bodies flared brighter, eyes igniting red.

The "statues" stepped forward, weapons of carved stone raised.

"Golems!" Jason shouted.

Jason roared, charging the nearest enemy. "[Iron Fist!]" His punch connected with a crack, splintering the stone chest. The golem staggered back—then another swung from the side, its stone mace smashing into his ribs. He flew across the floor, coughing blood.

"Jason!" a girl screamed.

Spells lit the air immediately.

"[Elemental Slash!]" Sam shouted, his sword glowing with fire as he cleaved downward. The flaming arc slammed into a golem’s chest, leaving a glowing mark but not breaking it.

"[Lightning Spear!]" a mage cried, hurling a crackling bolt of electricity. It struck one square in the head. The golem staggered but didn’t fall—the runes across its body absorbed some of the shock.

"What the hell!? It absorbed that!"

"[Flurry Strike!]" Andrew yelled, blades blurring as he slashed in rapid succession. Sparks flew, chips of stone scattered, but the golem grabbed him mid-swing and hurled him against a pillar. His shoulder bent at an unnatural angle, and his scream echoed through the chamber.

"Ahhh!"

"[Healing Light!]" Amy cried, rushing forward. Golden radiance poured from her hands, knitting flesh and bone. The boy gasped in pain but at least could breathe again. Sweat poured down Amy’s face as she pushed her mana harder. "Stay still, you’ll live—"

A golem’s blade swung toward her.

"[Windstep!]" Evelyn flashed in, body blurring with speed, pulling Amy back just as the stone sword carved through the ground where she’d been standing.

"They’re aiming for the healers now!" Evelyn snapped.

The battle only worsened.

Fireballs, frost lances, and lightning bolts filled the chamber, crashing into the rune-clad bodies. The sound was deafening—shattering stone, roaring flames, exploding air.

But the golems did not fall easily.

Emily’s "[Fireball!]" struck a cluster, engulfing them in flame, only for the runes to glow brighter and the creatures to march straight out of the blaze. Liam’s "[Earth Shatter!]" stomped into the ground, cracking the floor beneath them, but the golems pushed through, weapons swinging.

Every time a student thought they had the upper hand, another came from the side.

"Behind you!" Oliver shouted, but his voice was drowned in the chaos. The boy he warned swung too late. A stone hammer crashed into his leg with a sickening crack. He went down shrieking, bone protruding through skin.

"[Greater Heal!]" Amy rushed, hands glowing bright gold. She pressed her palms to his mangled leg. "Please hold still!"

Blood soaked the floor regardless. Her healing closed the wound, but the bone remained twisted. He wouldn’t be walking soon.

"Move him back!" she shouted, voice shaking.

Jason, furious, bellowed and charged again, ribs still aching. "[Titan Punch!]" His fist shattered through a golem’s head at last, the stone face exploding in shards. He laughed in triumph—then two more crashed into him, slamming him between their stone bodies like a ragdoll. He fell in a heap, coughing blood, his chest caved slightly.

"Jason!" Emma screamed. She unleashed "[Wind Blades!]" sharp enough to cut steel, the slicing gusts tearing at the golems. One lost an arm, another staggered—but they still kept moving, eyes burning.

"They don’t stop!" she cried.

Daniel fought harder than all of them. His sword flashed, steel moving in blurs. "[Elemental Slash!]" rang again and again, arcs of fire and lightning cleaving through the enemy. He shattered one’s arm, split another’s chest. He was fast, precise, cutting down twice as many as the others combined.

But even Daniel began to sweat. For every one he downed, two more pressed in. His blade cut deep, but it never finished them outright.

"We can’t keep this up!" Evelyn hissed, back-to-back with him, deflecting a strike with a glowing dagger.

"Stay calm!" Daniel snapped, voice commanding. "Focus on defense, don’t break formation!"

But his words were nearly lost in the panic.

Blood spattered across the cracked floor.

A girl screamed as a spear pierced her thigh. She collapsed, clutching the wound, her eyes wide in terror. Another boy tried to drag her back, only for a golem’s mace to crash into his shoulder, crushing bone with a wet crunch. His scream echoed until Amy threw herself at them, mana pouring desperately from her hands.

"[Mass Heal!]" she cried, golden light spreading in a wave. Cuts sealed, bleeding slowed, but the injuries were too severe for complete recovery. Her face was pale, mana nearly drained. "I can’t—hold much longer—"

"Protect Amy!" Evelyn shouted.

Samuel stood at the back of the hall, unmoving.

When a golem approached him, he decapitated it with a single lazy strike. When another swung its mace at him, he sidestepped and cleaved it in half. Each motion was efficient, effortless.

But he didn’t move to help the others.

He watched them bleed, watched them scream, watched their bravado turn to panic. His eyes remained cold.

This is the reality you refused to see. You thought yourselves invincible. Now you see what true monsters are.

His blade rested at his side again, casual, while the students fought for their lives.

"[Chain Lightning!]" a mage screamed, electricity ripping across three golems at once. The creatures jerked and staggered—but still pressed forward, one crushing the mage under a stone foot. His scream cut short, blood pouring from his mouth.

"Pull him out! Pull him out!" someone shouted.

But the mage didn’t rise again.

Another student swung his sword in desperation, "[Flurry Strike!]" slicing rapidly, but a stone fist caught him mid-motion. The sound of ribs breaking filled the hall as he hit the floor coughing blood.

The rune-lit chamber seemed to pulse brighter with every drop spilled, the walls themselves glowing as though feeding on the carnage.

Oliver crouched against a wall, eyes wide. He saw everything—the glowing runes, the patterns in their attacks, the way they pressed weak points. He wanted to scream warnings, to guide them, but his voice vanished in the uproar.

No one listened.

No one cared.

And as he watched blood splatter across the ancient carvings, he clenched his fists in silence.

By now, half the group was injured. The floor was slick with blood, the students’ formation in tatters. Their shouts had changed from confidence to desperation.

"Help me!"

"Where’s the healer!?"

"I can’t—ahhhh!"

The earlier arrogance was gone. All that remained was fear.

Samuel’s eyes narrowed slightly. Not much longer. Any more, and they’ll start dying for real.

Still, he waited, letting them drown in their panic just a little longer.

The twenty-first minute of fighting began.

And the students were breaking.

~~~

The chamber rang with screams, steel, and stone. Blood smeared the cracked floor, students stumbling back-to-back, their breathing ragged.

"D-Don’t let them surround you!" Daniel roared, his sword wreathed in lightning. He swung in a blur, "[Thunder Cleave!]" ripping through a golem’s torso and blasting sparks across its rune-carved chest. The construct collapsed in rubble, but more pressed in.

For a moment, the students rallied behind his lead.

[Aerial Step] Evelyn flickered upward, blades flashing as she rained cuts from above.

[Blazing Arc!] William cried, his greatsword glowing with flame as he slashed downward.

[Ice Lance] shouted a mage, spears of frost exploding against a golem’s chest.

[Stonebreaker Thrust] another pierced through a rune core, shattering it in sparks.

The floor shook under the spells, light flashing in bursts—but every strike came with blood. Their stamina was gone, arms trembling, wounds piling up.

A sharp cry echoed. A spear tore through a boy’s side, pinning him against a cracked wall. His scream filled the chamber.

"Amy!" Daniel roared.

"I’m here!" Amy’s hands blazed golden as she shouted, "[Sanctuary Heal!]" A dome of light pulsed, closing his wound partially. But his breaths remained shallow, his face pale. Tears slipped down her cheek. "It’s not working... it’s not enough..."

"Hold on to him!" Daniel barked, cutting another golem with "[Storm Edge!]"

Then came the breaking point.

A mage screamed out, "[Arcane Tempest!]" A spiraling storm of raw energy lashed through three golems, tearing glowing runes from their bodies.

But the nearest golem moved faster than expected. Its stone fist crashed into her chest with a sound like snapping wood. She flew across the floor, blood spraying from her lips.

"Lila!" another girl shrieked, rushing forward.

The mage twitched once... then lay still, staff clattering from her hand. The glow of her magic died.

"She’s— She’s dead!?"

Panic spread like wildfire.

The formation shattered. Some turned to flee, others swung blindly.

"DANIEL! WHAT DO WE DO!?"

Daniel’s jaw locked. His sword trembled—but he forced his body to move. "We stand and fight! Don’t break!" He slashed again, his blade glowing, "[Lightning Crash!]" cutting through another golem. "Hold together!"

But his words were drowned out in screams.