The two boys stood motionless for a while as Hal couldn't believe it; they actually killed the thing. Hal and Tailow slumped down and sat on the crystal floor, shallow, their tired breaths escaping their lips.
Tailow offered a fist bump to Hal, who hesitated for a bit before accepting the young swordsman's gesture, and as soon as he did, Tailow fell onto his back as he spoke in a relieved tone.
"I can't actually believe that worked. You are a genius. How did you find out about the vibrations?" Hal was actually taken aback by Tailow's actions, but to be frank, he did just save the guy's life in a way.
He scratched the back of his head as a fulfilled voice left his lips, "Well, I was kind of investigating this cave since I woke up here, so it was easy to identify that something was off"
Tailow got up and helped Hal get on his feet before stretching and sheathing his sword. Once again, he seemed a little more revitalised and motivated as he said,
"Let's get going, we have to find a way out of this cave before we encounter any other creature like that one and to think it was just about to evolve into a dominant beast"
"So wait, that wasn't a dominant beast" Hal's voice was filled with terror. If that thing was not a dominant beast, then what was?
Tailow looked back at him with a smile on his face as he spoke, "Yeah, we call those kinds of monsters half or near dominant beasts, they tend to develop weaker versions of their abilities, half or near to their evolution"
Hal was not having it with this world, so that was a weaker version of its abilities, which also meant that it was not as intelligent either way. He was not having it, but at the same time, what could he do about it?
They continued through the cave safely, having not encountered any unwanted visitors along the way. They exited the corridor of the cave and arrived in a cylindrical room that stretched a little below and above them.
The place had multiple pathways leading away from it along its walls, lining its walls from top to bottom, reminding Hal of the great Roman Coliseum, just bigger and with more exits.
Tailow held Hal back as he placed a finger on his mouth and carefully peeked over the edge into the descending structure, where Hal was shocked to see the lizard-like creature patrolling its floor.
"I thought we killed that thing!" Hal found himself unable to control the surprise in his own voice as he gazed upon the beast, which was now heavily damaged with different open wounds covering its dull blue scales
Tailow looked down with a thoughtful expression before handing his bag over to Hal, who stared back, confused at Tailow's actions.
"I'm going to go face that thing while you find a way to escape and save yourself" Hal couldn't believe his ears. This guy was willing to sacrifice himself as if doing so would win him a grand prize.
"Hey, you don't have to act noble in front of me; it's fine if you chicken out and run" Tailow turned around and stared at Hal with indignation. Was his statement really that offensive to him?
Tailow let out a sigh before continuing to say, "I'm not doing it for any sort of hero's honour or anything, this is just my purpose, the reason why I live"
Hal could not process any of these words "What do you mean by that?" Tailow drew his blade and pointed it straight at Hal, which sent a shiver down his spine
"This sword belonged to my father; he was a great swordsman who protected my village. I always looked up to him, and I still do; that's why I must surpass him. My dad never left an enemy alive, and neither will I"
Tailow spoke with enough determination to assure Hal that nothing he said or did would be enough to convince him not to go, and so Hal only looked as he jumped over the edge to go face the threat below.
Hal let out a stiffed scream as he sat down thinking of his options, he knew almost nothing about this world, from the money, transport, cities or anything for that matter.
Even if he got out, nothing would ensure his survival, especially with how deprived of information he was, so the only choice he had now was to depend on Tailow.
"He may not survive a confrontation with that thing, but even if I want to, how am I supposed to help him?"
He stared up and saw all the stalactites that lined the ceiling of this part of the cave, and with that, a smile appeared on his face.
He quickly got up and made his way to a wall nearby that was covered with crystals. He looked around and grabbed a stone that he used to strike the crystal surface, sending vibrations throughout the entire crystal surface.
He struck it repeatedly, forming cracks that grew larger with every strike until the entire wall gave way, the crystals covering its surface spilling down onto the floor.
Hal backed away to dodge the several crystals that came crashing to the ground before gazing upwards, measuring the distance he had to scale
He took a breath and got to work scaling the idea of the wall. On his way up, he heard the clash of sword against scales and the short hisses and roars that came from the battle below.
But the fear of falling kept him from looking down, so he just kept going. Failing was not an option, cause if he did well, he really was not in the mood to find out.
His muscles strained to hold him up, but the adrenaline pumping through his body kept him going, and soon he found himself at the top of the cylindrical cave room.
He looked around and saw the nearest stalactite; this cave's crystals were prone to shattering once the right intensity of vibrations was applied to them.
Hal was not as violent as to cause that intensity of vibrations, but he didn't have to; the crystals in this cave had a property that made vibrations not only travel through them but also bounce around inside the crystals.
If the source of the vibrations were to be continuous, the intensity of vibrations would amplify, which was exactly what Hal was aiming for
He looked down at the battle below and saw Tailow jump on the back of the beast and sink his sword deep into the open wound of its back, causing it to release an ear-piercing shriek that caused vibrations to slightly resound throughout the cave.
Tailow seemed disoriented for a bit, but soon came back to his senses and dug deeper with his sword as the creature tried its hardest to shake him off.
"He is doing his part, so I should do mine" Hal now turned to the stalactite and picked up a stone lying on the floor, and then he struck it with full force.
Subtle vibrations permeated the cave for a bit before Hal struck again and again, causing the vibrations to become more violent as a humming sound resounded throughout the cave.
He struck at the structure, increasing the vibrations with each strike. He felt the warmth of his blood, but that was not going to stop him now.
Tiny cracks appeared before enlarging and spreading throughout the entire cave, and now it was time to enact his plan. He looked down at Tailow's battlefield and shouted.
"Tailow! RUUUN!!" The swordsman looked back for a brief moment before turning around to run towards the nearest opening available to him, as Hal brought his attention back to the stalactite
He lifted the rock and struck the stalactite for the last time, causing the stalactite and all the crystals in the room to explode at once
The shards were everywhere as they illuminated the entire cave, even the tiniest pieces looked like tiny dancing lights falling to the floor, making him feel like the entire sky was falling.
Hal backed up on instinct as he couldn't believe the scale of the outcome 'Did I really do this' The question lingered in his mind as he stared at the most beautiful and frightening thing he had ever seen.