I needed to calm myself. I had to lead this squad safely. I took a slow, deep breath, clenching my trembling hands into tight fists until the shaking finally stopped.

  Once I regained my composure, I turned to the squad. "Listen to me. We are going to stay completely quiet, and we are going to find our way back to the surface."

  They looked at me, sheer terror still visibly paralyzing their faces.

  "I promise to get us out of here safely and quickly, okay? But to do that, I need you all to stay calm." I gnced at Mathilda. Her face was completely pale. As a veteran, she clearly knew that hiding from a draconic creature in its own territory was not an easy matter. In fact, it was almost impossible.

  "Look, we have two elite trackers in our squad—me and Mathilda. We have a great chance of moving out of here undetected." I nodded subtly to Mathilda, silently begging her to py along and remain calm. She swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and nodded back at me, forcing her expression to settle.

  Good. Now I need to calm the other three.

  "Take a deep breath," I told the rookies. "Calm your nerves. We will only move when your heads are clear."

  The three of them closed their eyes. After taking a few deep, shuddering breaths, the color slowly returned to their faces.

  "Good. Remember your training. You guys are already stronger than you were a week ago. You managed to survive an ambush from a red aura Master, didn't you?" A subtle, proud smile tugged at the corners of Hoiler and Patrice's mouths. "And you, Kenny. You have already proven that your magic control is getting better. We are going to get out of here."

  Kenny gripped his spear tight and gave a firm, confident nod.

  "Excellent. Now, Kenny, I want you to cast your silence spell on yourself, Hoiler and Patrice."

  Kenny nodded and silently wove the spell, muting their movement.

  "There’s a path on the left," Mathilda pointed to a narrow crack in the cavern wall. "I can feel a faint draft coming from it."

  "Perfect. Let’s move out, guys. Keep your weapons tight. There might be some Saurians left in these upper caverns."

  We moved in a single-file line toward the crack, leaving the massive, charred chamber behind. It was absolutely necessary for us to take the narrower paths to avoid being caught by the dragon in an open space.

  The path we took wasn’t easy. The damp, rocky terrain made it hard to maintain our bance, and the narrow tunnel was suffocatingly dark, with very few glowing minerals to light the way.

  After walking for some time, we found another cave chamber, though much smaller than the st one.

  I stepped out first to check the perimeter. The chamber was narrow, but the ground here was made of smooth, packed dirt. I crouched to inspect the floor.

  Cw marks. Dozens of them, all overpping and heading in the same direction. The surviving Saurians stampeded through here to escape the dragon. It might lead directly to an exit.

  I signaled the squad to enter the chamber. We reformed our diamond formation and ventured further in.

  Suddenly, Mathilda halted. She raised a closed fist. "Nine Saurians ahead," she whispered, her elven hearing picking up the threat.

  "Alert?" I asked.

  "Resting. Only two are standing guard at the far exit."

  "Alright. Bring it in." I crouched in the dirt. "Map it out, Mathilda."

  She knelt beside me, quickly dragging her finger through the soil to mark the positions of the nine monsters.

  I analyzed the board. "Here is the py. We execute a synchronized, silent ambush. If we make a ruckus, the dragon wakes up. Hoiler, you take the two on the left fnk. Patrice, the two on the right. Kenny, you skewer the closest one. I take the two in the center. Mathilda, you snipe the two guards at the far exit."

  They gave sharp nods, their eyes locked on the dirt map.

  "Nobody moves until I strike first," I ordered. "And remember your bestiary training. Strike under the jaw or pierce the soft belly. Do not hit their back scales—your steel will just bounce off."

  I looked up, making dead-serious eye contact with Kenny and Hoiler. "No aura. No magic. We use pure physical force. If you fre your mana down here, that dragon will smell it like blood in the water. Is that completely understood?"

  They nodded grimly.

  "Great. Get ready."

  We silently crept closer to the Saurians' location.

  Once we were close enough, I drew my dagger. Crouching low, I pushed off my back leg, pouncing silently toward the cavern wall. I used the stone to pivot, unching myself directly into the center of the sleeping pack.

  Ssh! My dagger sliced cleanly through the soft tissue right beneath the jaws of the first two Saurians.

  Before the rest of the pack could even react, Hoiler and Patrice pounced on their targets.

  Hoiler swung his bde horizontally, severing the throat of one beast, then smoothly pivoted his momentum to slice open the belly of the Saurian beside it. Meanwhile, Patrice managed to gut one of the monsters before spinning her heavy battleaxe to decapitate the other.

  Kenny threw his spear like a javelin, impaling his target directly through its soft stomach.

  At the far end of the chamber, the two Saurian guards snapped their heads toward the noise. Thwip. Thwip. Two bck-fletched arrows materialized in their throats. They dropped without a sound.

  We had managed to assassinate all nine Saurians in a matter of seconds.

  Thud. A massive shadow dropped from the ceiling, nding heavily right behind Patrice.

  "An armored one!" Mathilda hissed. "Patrice, dodge!"

  I whipped around. A towering, heavily armored Saurian was already bringing a crude, massive club down toward Patrice’s skull.

  Shit! I dug my boots in, preparing to unch myself. But before I could move, the cavern was blinded by a fsh of lightning-blue energy.

  Shraaaak! Hoiler bypassed me in a blur. Using an explosive burst of blue aura, he closed the gap and delivered a single, pinpoint thrust. His glowing bde punched straight through the beast's thick armored scales, instantly piercing its heart.

  The massive beast colpsed, a gaping, smoking hole in its torso.

  "Why did you ignite your aura?!" Patrice hissed, rounding on him furiously.

  "Tch. You’re welcome," he scoffed, smoothly sheathing his sword.

  " You reckless idiot! You just broadcasted our position to the dragon!"

  "And do what instead?! Let you get crushed by that thing?! Do you want to die that badly?" he fired back.

  "You—!" Patrice stepped into his space, her fists balled.

  "Enough," I interrupted, stepping between them. "We need to move, and fast, before the mana residue tracks back to us."

  I sheathed my dagger and looked at the swordsman. " Good work, Hoiler. Thank you for stepping up."

  He looked at me, his anger defting, and gave a stiff nod.

  "Alright, let’s move."

  We returned to our diamond formation and pushed our pace. Along the way, we spotted a few more small groups of resting Saurians. We executed them exactly as before—fast and silently. Luckily, we didn't encounter another armored variant.

  The cave yout was surprisingly vast. We had been moving for gods know how long, but we still hadn't found a viable exit route. I occasionally checked the Wayward Stone hanging on my chest, ensuring it wasn't glowing to confirm we hadn't stumbled into an illusion space.

  Moving through the pitch-bck tunnels made it impossible to track time. It felt like we had been marching for a full day without stopping. I noticed the squad's postures sagging with extreme fatigue; even I could barely feel my own legs anymore.

  "Let’s find a pce to rest," I whispered, my eyes scanning the jagged walls for a defensible location.

  "Over there." Mathilda pointed to a small, jagged fissure in the cavern wall, her breath ragged. "There’s a hollow space behind that crack."

  "Alright. Squeeze in."

  We filed through the crack into a small, dimly lit alcove.

  "We take turns on guard duty," I told the squad as they immediately slumped onto the cold stone floor. "I’ll take the first watch. You guys get some sleep."

  They nodded exhaustedly.

  "I’ll wake one of you when it's time to rotate."

  Without another word, they were dead asleep.

  Good. They must be completely drained. I sat cross-legged near the fissure entrance. Now, I need to map our route.

  Using a piece of broken stone, I began to draw a map in the dirt floor. I marked the massive charred chamber as the anchor point. Assuming the crack we entered faced west, I drew a line indicating our path, adding small pinpoints where we had encountered the Saurian packs.

  My finger traced the single, unbroken line. After a moment, a cold realization hit me.

  Fuck. The path hasn't branched once. We've been moving directly down a single, linear tunnel. Shit. It probably leads directly to another massive chamber.

  I closed my eyes, rubbing my temples. Stay calm. We have to find the exit door, no matter what lies ahead.

  I pulled a scrap of parchment and a piece of charcoal from my pouch and copied the dirt map for our records.

  Some time ter, I heard the rustle of leather. Hoiler was sitting up.

  "Mentor. Let’s switch," he whispered.

  I looked over at him. "Are you rested enough?"

  "Yes, sir," he replied, his voice low but steady.

  "Alright." I moved away from the entrance, letting him take the guard position. "Great work today, Hoiler."

  "Hmm?" He blinked in the gloom, caught off guard.

  "Thank you for saving Patrice back there. It was a smart, necessary move."

  He looked down at his boots, frowning in the dim light. "I’m sorry for risking our stealth with my aura, sir."

  "No, it was a necessary risk. If you had moved even a second ter, the blunt force of that weapon would have been fatal for her." I leaned forward slightly. "You controlled the output perfectly. I’m proud of your progress."

  He gnced at me, a subtle, genuine smile touching his face. "Thank you, sir. Really." He looked back down at the dirt floor. "I just... I couldn’t stand still and watch something happen to her."

  I leaned my back against the cavern wall and chuckled softly. "I see."

  " I’m going to make sure she gets out of here safe."

  A warm smile drew on the corner of my lips. "Of course you will, Hoiler."

  Realizing how his vow sounded out loud, Hoiler's eyes went wide. Even in the dim light, I could see his face flush bright red. "S-Sir, it’s not like that!"

  I let out a quiet, muffled ugh so as not to wake the others. "Don’t be ashamed of it, especially if it gives you a purpose." He looked up at me. "A man without a purpose fights recklessly. But a man with a purpose fights with calcution. Do you understand?"

  He held my gaze, his embarrassment fading into a confident smile. "I understand, sir."

  "Good. Watch our backs. I’m getting some shut-eye."

  "Rest well, Mentor."