Inside a dark cave, with barely any light and devoid of any life, a spatial gate opened. From it emerged two young men, their bodies covered in wounds, exhaustion etched on their faces. The two youths were expelled from the gate so quickly it was as if the gate itself was kicking them out, causing them to fall to the ground and groan in pain. Of course, the duo were none other than Damian and Arthur.
"Ughhh," the two groaned from the fall. Damian looked around, unable to see anything, not even Arthur, due to the darkness. He decided to create a Vitality Flame and threw it on himself, which accelerated his recovery and provided light, allowing Damian to see the cave and Arthur's body lying beside him. Damian created another Vitality Flame and threw it on Arthur to help him recover.
The duo sat in silence facing each other. Neither had any intention of speaking just yet; there was too much to process. Although Damian had used the Vitality Flame on himself and Arthur, their wounds would still need more time to close and for them to fully recover.
"That was quite a day," Damian began, looking at Arthur, waiting for the other to respond. But Arthur didn't reply; he seemed lost in thought, his eyes empty as he stared at the ground. Damian looked at Arthur's face and sighed. How could he not know what was on his mind? It was certainly the thought that the death of the children and Ms. Sophia was his fault, a result of the killers chasing him for some unknown reason.
"This wasn't your fault, you know that already," Damian said, hoping for any response from Arthur. Damian noticed that Arthur clenched his fists tightly in response to his words. Damian decided to continue speaking. "I don't know why those people wanted to chase you, but I know that if we somehow get out of this place and they somehow find out you're alive, they will chase you again. So, I strongly suggest that if we somehow get out of this place, we become—"
"Strong,"
Arthur interrupted him with a hoarse voice as Damian was about to finish his sentence.
"Exactly,"
Damian replied to Arthur. Then the two sat in silence again. Damian then said, "I'll sleep while you guard. We'll switch after four hours." Arthur nodded, and Damian rested on his right side, head on his hand, and closed his eyes.
Black Pit City
While the duo was in the cave, in the outside world, there was a commotion throughout Black Pit City. Security forces and many experts, including Director Julius, arrived at the destroyed orphanage. They stood looking at the massacre that had occurred.
"Father, what happened here?"
Director Julius heard his daughter's voice and looked at her. It was Amelia, the third-ranked student, who had come to the destroyed orphanage after hearing about the massacre.
"I don't know. There are no signs of the attackers, but there's an expert with a tracking class who will explain exactly what happened here. Wait a moment," Director Julius replied to his daughter, seriousness on his face.
Half an hour later, all the experts, including Amelia, stood before a man, waiting for him to speak. "Mr. Han, can you explain what happened here?"
Mr. Han nodded, saying, "It seems the perpetrators of this massacre were not amateurs. There's a lot of blood, most of it belonging to the children or the orphanage director, Ms. Sophia. But there was also blood from unknown individuals, which I suspect belongs to the killers. And it appears that Ms. Sophia was killed, although her body is missing. But the strange thing is, after the lady's death, the killers moved after two individuals who were escaping from them. I can confirm that the two individuals are the boys, Damian and Arthur. The scent of their blood and their footprints matched the scent of their personal belongings. It seems the boys escaped in that direction, with many vehicles behind them." Mr. Han finished speaking, pointing towards the forest.
"Alright, we will split into two teams. One team will follow Mr. Han, and the other will remain here in case anything strange happens."
"Father, can I come with you, please?" Director Julius looked at his daughter, then sighed and finally agreed.
The Black Pit
A few hours later, Mr. Han's team arrived in front of the Black Pit, seriousness etched on their faces.
"Are you sure, Mr. Han?" Director Julius asked.
"Yes, without a doubt. This blood belongs to the two boys. And judging by the amount of blood on the ground, they were wounded in many areas on their bodies, but it's unlikely any vital organs were hit. If any vital organ had been hit, I doubt they would have reached the Black Pit and jumped into it," Mr. Han replied, a gloomy expression on his face. Mr. Han sighed, then turned his gaze to Director Julius and said, "I apologize, Mr. Julius. I heard they were your favorite students. There's nothing we can do but hope they are alright."
"Thank you for your effort, Mr. Han. Can you track the location of the killed attackers' bodies that were taken?"
"Well, I can, but given that the killers were precise in taking the bodies, I doubt they would keep them. I'm sure they would throw them into a volcano or a sea, or find any way to dispose of them. And by the time we reach the location of the bodies, it will be too late," Mr. Han said, dismissing Mr. Julius's idea.
Mr. Julius nodded, then thanked Mr. Han again. After that, all the experts present departed, leaving Director Julius and his daughter in front of the Black Pit.
"Father, do you think they'll be alright?"
"I don't know. Let's hope so."
Mr. Julius had no intention of entering the Black Pit because he had no confidence in surviving it, let alone two mere fifteen-year-old students.
After eight hours of being in the cave.
the duo stood facing each other, armed with the weapons the school had given as a parting gift to the students. These weapons had been in Damian's Primeval Shop inventory the entire time since they exited the Goblin Dungeon, along with their two backpacks.
During the time Damian was asleep, Arthur tried his Rune Library skill for the first time and spent most of his time there. He could access the Rune Library even while sleeping. During this period, he learned the basics of runes and mastered the Fire Arrow rune and the Enhancement rune, which allowed him to enhance his own body and Damian's. Of course, the longer the enhancement lasted, the faster mana would be consumed.
The duo stood opposite each other, all their injuries now gone. Damian nodded at Arthur, then started walking in a random direction, with Arthur following him. The Black Pit was just a small obstacle for Damian; he was confident he would emerge from it, unlike those who had entered this place before him.
"Let's go."