They said the most embarrassing thing in life wasn't the time your parents caught you stroking, it was the time you got jumped. An assault so coordinated that you can't even break free of it unless your opponents want you to. So the power of friendship was real and true; extra people mean extra hands, similar to soccer, but you, my friend, are the ball.
[Sei Ju focus! Find the one close to you. They'll be the initiator. There's none in the front; your side is clear. Nowhere below. Jump!]
A foot suddenly burst from the ground in his rear, aiming to sweep his legs, but with Ace's quick intel, he avoided it. He jumps to evade the sweep in time, and as he does, a mole bursts from beneath his spot, catching his left foot and intending to drag it down. Unluckily for them, this follow-up takedown was broken the moment he shot an explosion from his bounded foot.
[Thats a bad move. You startled them so much that every one of them retreated to the ground. What now?]
"You saw what I did with Nightcrawler, right? Let's see if they can hide for so long. When everything is in flames!!!" He stomps the ground sending forth a large amount of Ether to apply immense heat to the ground
"Kriek-" Sei Jun stabbed the nearest mole with his knife and the farthest with a combustive ball, which exploded, killing them in one blow.
[Nice approach, but you're low on Ether- Hey, stop wasting all that food! You'll need to save that for what is to come]
"From how you've explained all of this, I predict you didn't dove deeper. Maybe there's a treasure here. Don't ya think?" Sei Jun eats a handful of uncooked meat, and as it burns the poison, the Ether inside him replenishes in response.
[You might be onto something. Even after I mostly did my time in the beast den, I didn't come first. I assume there might be a valuable treasure here that gives points on finding it and may even help you progress]
"Mr. Kang, it's fancy seeing you here- whoa, what's with the sudden fireball? I wasn't even intending to kill you,"
A blue-haired man emerges from one of the tunnels near the big and narrow hole stretching deeper into the ground. It was none other than Khan Ugero Eljis having his clothes ruffled from getting jumped by the moles. He raised his showing his clear intention of peace, and yet Sei Jun passed through him with a continuous blast from his feet.
"I'm busy..." Sei Jun plunges from what seems to be a deep and long fall until his fall is broken by a pool of water.
"Seriously, you can't even take a moment to talk. Is it because of that girl? I didn't think you had a mediocre taste in women. Hey, don't ignore me!!!" Ugero was dumbfounded that even his insults didn't went through as he was once again ignored by Sei Jun.
[You're not gonna ask him if he knows the girl's whereabouts?]
"She's not my dead sister, Ace. My sympathy for her is nonexistent. She's no more than a resemblance,"
Although Sei Jun seemed heartless but he wasn't wrong, Maple was a stranger, no more and no less. She didn't have any relation with him apart from being rescued the first and second time on the first day of the test. The silence that remained by his side vanishes as countless tremors in the dark tunnel present themselves.
"Kriek!!!"
"Out of my way!!!" The approaching moles intending to slow him down retreat from the intense radiation originating with him at the center.
[Great, you've finally wielded your fire in the most efficient counter. Although they're great at coordination, they wouldn't try to charge ahead to a flame. The Combustive Cage, or so I call it, scares away those who try a head attack and even burn away projectiles.]
"Holy hell- what the heck is this!!?"
Once he reached the clearing, he found himself at the place where hundreds of moles gathered around a wide hole. A few of these moles were yanking what seemed to be examinees tied to one another and placed near the hole. They wave their hands in a weird motion calling something from the depths and a ginormous head emerges from below
"Orakakakachaka!!!" The giant mole swallows the examinees whole and yells as if to say it yearns to feast on more.
"That's enough! Let go of them, you damn fiends!! I'll kill all of you!!!" One of the moles near the hole changes appearance to an examinee which Sei Jun had particularly known
[Is that Maple? Well, that's a bad move. She's gonna die... there's nothing worse than being in a room of hundreds of moles.]
As Ace had mentioned Maple's surprise attack was easily stopped after a mole burst from the ground and lunged at her. This led to her being jumped by dozens of moles; Sei Jun wasn't sure why he was distraught, seeing as he hardly knew her. Saving her wouldn't bring her dead sister back, then he realized a promise he once made, not for his sister, but for himself.
"So that's why..." Sei Jun plunged his left foot forward sending a fiery streak of flame warding off the rampaging moles, targeting Maple
[I don't get it? Why would you save her even though you didn't care? Are you a hypocrite or something?]
'I promised myself that I'd give a helping hand to those who were suffering once I become strong. It was a dream so stupid that I only told my sister; having met Maple, I realized why I was so incredibly attached. The moment I gained power, I changed for the worse; I killed anyone who denied my will, angered me so little. I didn't even talk things out to resolve a conflict and fan flames of destruction, and wherever I go, ruin follows. I seek to change this unfair world but was consumed by the power, manipulated by the immersion, instead of truly wielding that power,'
[Target of Immersion:
• The story of Kokonoa Zero a swordsman wielding three blades and his journey of mastering the sword
• Quality: Average!!! Excellent condition has been properly preserved, its materials composed with a premium leather cover, artistic design, and overall good whatsoever!!! A rating
• Borrowed Power: [Sword Mastery], [Triple wield], [Sword Body Unity], [Heavenly Trisection Blade Arts], [Evil Slaughtering Edge] all at (A) rating
• Taboo: You can't use any form of attack without having a sword at its base
• Duration: 10 minutes
• Bonus: The effects of [Speed Reading] this book before, grant you an extra 5 minutes on your timer]
"Thanks for reminding me, Maple. The promise I had forgotten so long. What I strived to be when I became strong," He takes three well made swords holds two on both hands and the last went to his mouth.
"To change this god forsaken tower," His mind grew certain, even if the books changes manipulates his mind, as long as he remember his dreams