The journey through the land of lava was filled with a suffocating silence. The air was thick with the scent of sulfur and impending death. The group of ten moved behind Grace, maintaining a precise formation—not too far, yet close enough to feel the collective tension.
With Grace's help and her almost supernatural sense of the tectonic rhythm, they navigated the hellscape. Mitsuki, usually the first to charge, found herself impressed by the mage's cool-headed analysis. The lethal ground became a solvable puzzle under Grace's guidance.
After what seemed like an eternity, though it was only ten minutes, Grace finally stopped walking. She raised a hand, halting the column.
"Why are we stopping?" Nina asked, her voice trembling slightly as she stared at Grace's back.
"Look." Grace pointed her finger ahead. A straight line of volcanic vents blocked their path, bubbling ominously. Beyond that lay another line, and another, forming a tiered defense of nature that guarded the forest entrance.
"Ok everyone, watch." She added.
The group watched as the first line of holes erupted in a violent curtain of magma. As it subsided, the second line followed, then the third. It was a rhythmic, cascading wave of destruction, the splashing lava drying up instantly.
"This is the plan."
Grace squatted down, the heat radiating from the ground making her brow slick with sweat. She brought out her mage staff and drew a square in the ash, adding ten lines to divide it into rectangles. She tapped ten dots outside the square, representing them.
"Now... We aren't going in a straight line here. We will run side-by-side." She stood up, a slight frown on her face, her eyes dark.
"Each of the holes have ten meters distance from them." She pointed at the first line, then the second. "And it erupted every fifteen seconds, so during this time, we must cover ten meters distance... In a simpler form, from here onwards, we run. The slowest will be left behind and will end up dead." She said, her tone serious, even stunning her group.
Grace had always been a quiet observer, the one who spoke only when necessary. But now, her tone carried the grim certainty of a general sending soldiers over the top. She wasn't asking; she was telling them how to survive.
"Do you all understand?"
Carl and the group nodded their heads, swallowing hard as they watched the geysers ahead continue their deadly cycle.
"Get ready. On my mark, Run." Grace said. Her eyes narrowed, counting the seconds. She watched as the holes 50 meters away erupted, then the ones at 60 meters. The moment the geysers 80 meters from their location erupted, she yelled:
"Make sure to keep a ten meters distance from the ones ahead! Once the geysers hundred meters away erupted, the whole set-up will start right here and move towards us! Now run!!!"
BOOOOM!
Without hesitation, the team shot forward. A surge of adrenaline flooded their veins, pushing their bodies beyond their limits. They ran not for glory, but for their lives.
"We can do it!! Keep running!" Carl yelled, his voice cracking over the roar of the volcano as the 100-meter mark erupted ahead.
"Faster!" Daniel added, sprinting alongside Carl, his eyes scanning for footing.
BOOOOM!
The ground behind them exploded. Some of the group looked over their shoulders in horror as the geysers they had just passed erupted. But to their shock, the timing was wrong. In five seconds, the next line followed, then the third. The cycle was accelerating.
"This?!" Conner was stunned, nearly tripping.
"I can see it!!" Mitsuki gritted her teeth, her hand gripping her hilt. "The speed of the geysers' eruption just increased dramatically! Connor and miss Grace! I think this should be the right time for some boost!!" She yelled.
"Yes!"
Grace and Connor raised their staffs into the air, not slowing down one bit.
"Lucky I got some skills before entering this gate!" Grace muttered. Her black eyes glowed with an intense emerald light.
"Stats enhancement!"
The two mages yelled in unison. A wave of spirit energy washed over the team, and instantly, they were enveloped in shimmering green energy barriers. Their limbs felt lighter, their strides longer.
"Yes!!"
Ken yelled, feeling the wind whip past his face. He shot forward with renewed speed, the others following right behind.
BOOOOM!!
The geysers increased their speed again. Each line erupted only three seconds after the last, the heat licking at their heels.
"Fuck!! Just a little longer!!" Carl yelled. He could see the end of the lava field—the last line of vents stood between them and the safety of the forest.
"Come on!! Everyone! There is no other way to get through the last geysers, we must jump it! Everyone! Be careful!!" Janet yelled, increasing her speed, gathering energy in her legs for the leap.
Carl looked over his shoulder. The wave of lava was chasing them, a tsunami of fire. Time seemed to slow, and a memory flashed in front of his eyes.
___
[A month ago.]
"Senior sister, how did you know about this hidden trap?" Carl asked, looking up at Mirabella. She sat nonchalantly on the head of a dead dragon, the monster's violet blood staining her black armor.
"Carl, we have been stalking this monster for one week, learning its patterns and how it attacks..." She looked down at him, her legendary sword Sunder resting beside her, the blade plunged deep into the dragon's skull.
"Never overlook anything... Even if you think you are safe! Make sure to always be prepared, and..." She looked at the setting sun, her silhouette fierce against the orange sky. "Always get ready for the worst! And make sure to follow your gut."
She opened her palm, and a golden skill scroll materialized.
"Is that?" Carl was stunned. Gold meant Legendary.
"Yes... This is a Legendary class defensive skill scroll... You will gain a random defense skill from it." She said, flicking her wrist so it floated towards Carl.
Carl blinked and caught the scroll. He could feel the power vibrating within the parchment. He exhaled softly and slowly unwrapped it.
"Remember Carl... Always be on guard!" She stood up and drew Sunder, the blood on the spirit sword dripping onto the monster's head with a rhythmic tap, tap, tap.
Carl looked up at her, awe in his eyes, and nodded: "I will, Senior sister!"