A massive explosion echoed throughout the entire chamber.
This was Ryan's strongest attack — Dragon's Breath, the technique he had recently learned after entering the stage of Aether mastery.
Ryan quickly returned to his human form, brushing the dust off his shirt. With a proud tone, he said,
"This attack has finished everything. All you need to do, Teel, is blow this dust away with a flap of your wings."
Teel was also amazed by the power of that attack.
"Hahahahahaha! So this is what Dragon's Breath means!"
Teel's wings spread wide from his back. With a powerful flap, he blew the air around them aside, as if a storm had swept through.
But the scene that appeared before them when the dust cleared was unbelievable — the massive door hadn't moved an inch!
The sight was truly shocking. Ryan's face stiffened in disbelief, and so did Teel's.
Teel wasn't even thinking about mocking Ryan anymore; all he could think about was how they were going to get out of here.
Both of them looked upward, staring at the ceiling. The same thoughts haunted them both — how did they even fall here? How did they get here in the first place? They had sunk deep into the lake; this place looked like some kind of hideout or ancient ruins. But that wasn't the real problem — the ceiling had no openings or portals they could have fallen from.
It seemed like this chamber existed inside a hollow space within a mountain, not beneath the lake.
Ryan and Teel might be reckless and irresponsible, but both had strong survival instincts — that's what had kept them alive this long.
For them, this was nothing more than another minor trial they were destined to overcome.
"Hey Teel, do you have any idea how to open this door?"
Teel replied, "I don't think so… but I'm sure that if Tala were here, she'd find a way. It seems this door won't open by force, which means we'll have to find another way."
"Hmmmm… haaaa… no matter how much I think, I can't figure out anything. Stop whining and keep searching the room — the walls, the floor, anything. Maybe there's a hidden switch or mechanism somewhere."
That was Teel's idea. All they could do now was search the entire room, hoping to find something useful.
Meanwhile, faint whispers could be heard in the darkness somewhere far away.
"Are you sure of this?"
"Yes, my lord, I'm certain. There are intruders who have entered our lands."
A loud crash echoed — a human hand had smashed the wall beside him.
"Then why are they still free, continuing to trespass in our territory?"
"I'm sorry, my lord! I truly apologize. I've already sent a squad of elite Chimeras to track them down. I'll deal with them soon enough."
"Heh heh heh… Wait. Who are they? Do you know them? From which kingdom do they come?"
"In truth, my lord, I don't really know. But the marks we found on the bodies of some of our soldiers weren't the kind that would be left by any knight or mage belonging to any of the kingdoms."
"What? That's truly strange… Very well, get out of my sight. Don't return until you've dealt with them."
"Yes, my lord."
At that moment, Teel and Ryan had reached the point of despair.
They'd been searching for almost an hour, and there was nothing — absolutely nothing.
All that surrounded them were cursed stone walls and the giant gate before them.
The two sat down, leaning their backs against each other.
"Hey Ryan, aren't you the leader of our gang?"
"Ahh, yeah, I am. And by the way, it's called an organization, not a gang."
Teel scoffed, "Doesn't matter whether it's an organization or a gang — if you're the leader, then it's your job to get us out of here. It's your duty to protect your teammates."
The two argued as usual, but this time their voices were faint and lifeless, as if they had gone months without food.
"Hmmmm… fine, looking back, maybe I should've listened to Tala's advice a bit more. We probably would've found a way out by now. She's really a genius, beyond anything humans could imagine."
Suddenly, Teel stood up abruptly, as if startled by something.
"Haaaaa! What is it? Why did you stand up like that? What's wrong?"
"Ryan! Look at the gate!"
"Hmmm? What about it? It's the same as before, nothing's changed."
"You idiot, I know that! I mean look — didn't you notice those strange markings on it?"
"Ha? Yeah, so what? They're just scratches, nothing more."
Teel placed his hand on his face in frustration. "I seriously don't know why you're our leader."
Ryan replied, "That's obvious — because I'm the founder of the organization!"
"Teel: Fine, fine, that's not important right now. Don't you remember what Tala once told us? About those gates that only open using specific codes? Just like the one in our headquarters within those old ruins."
Ryan jumped up in shock. "Yes, yes! If it's the same thing here, then we've been acting like fools all along — the solution's been right in front of us! These markings that look like magic circles — they're codes that open and close these annoying gates!"
Suddenly Teel interrupted Ryan's excitement. "Yeah, yeah, I know! But there's a problem — this gate needs an energy source. We need to channel Aether through these runes. We're, as you know, second-grade mutants. But wait a second, Ryan, that attack you used earlier — how did you even use it?"
"Ha?!" Ryan scratched his head. "I honestly don't know. I was just imitating dragons without realizing I could actually breathe fire like them."
"Well, that's not surprising. You are a dragon mutant, after all."
"Hey Ryan, you really are stupid. You may be a dragon mutant, but you're not an actual dragon. That means that breath attack isn't something you naturally possessed — it's more like a magical attack."
Ryan interrupted sharply, shouting, "Stop, stop! But we mutants can't use mana — how can you call that magic?"
"Ryan, you idiot! That wasn't magic from mana — it was a flame born from Aether itself!"
End of Chapter