Harold transformed his injured leg, flesh morphing into centipede segments. A power signature emerged from the shadows and his blood ran cold. Luna. Luna was here, standing before him. ’But then...’ his eyes widened in shock. ’Who did we capture?’ ♢♢♢♢ Moments earlier... 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂 Luna raced toward the caves, her shadow wolf merging and reappearing as they advanced. If the energy disturbance came from below, it was the most logical place to search. Everyone seemed to be heading in that direction. But suddenly, her wolf’s ears drooped, and it whimpered softly. Luna stopped, noticing how her beast seemed uncomfortable. "What is it, did you hear something?" she whispered, kneeling beside her companion. The wolf’s dark fur rippled as shadows played across its form. The wolf perked its ears, nose twitching as it caught something in the air. Without warning, it turned and began guiding Luna in the opposite direction, toward the iron rank students’ food storage. When they entered, the place appeared empty. Shadows stretched between old containers and boxes, but Luna could see clearly, though there were no signs of movement. The wolf, however, insisted. Its nose worked frantically until it caught a particular scent. But suddenly, the beast recoiled, whimpering in pain. Its eyes began to water. Luna caught the scent then too, a nauseating smell that seemed to contaminate the very air. Her eyes traced the trail to an opened box. "The bean preserves," she muttered while quickly closing the box, wrinkling her nose at the pungent aroma. After a few moments, when the air cleared somewhat, the wolf resumed sniffing. This time it led them to the corner where the old barrels rested, its nose moving with renewed determination. Luna carefully observed the area. Something wasn’t right. Her fingers brushed the wall and found a strange texture, a flexible covering that shouldn’t be there. When she pulled it away, a wave of mana energy hit her with such intensity she nearly stepped back. ’They didn’t enter through the mines,’ she realized with horror. Hurried footsteps resonated above their heads, someone on the upper floor had sensed the disturbance too when she unblocked it. Moments later, two perception auxiliaries rushed down the stairs. Continue your journey at freewebnovel "Lady Luna!" one of them approached quickly. "The energy..." "Here," Luna pointed to the hidden tunnel. "Someone has been digging." One of the auxiliaries immediately left to inform the director and reinforcements. The other, an earth specialist, began examining the tunnel. "I’ll go in, wait here..." "I have to enter with you," Luna insisted. "My cousins could be down there." "Lady Luna, I cannot allow…" "I’m not asking permission," her eyes glowed dangerously. "I’m going in. You can come with me or stay here." The auxiliary hesitated before nodding resignedly. "At least let me check the path first... I’ll take the front." They descended the tunnel carefully, the auxiliary using his beast to ensure it wouldn’t collapse on them. When they reached the crack in the crystal barrier, however, they found another obstacle. "I can’t pass," the auxiliary admitted after several attempts. The opening was too narrow for an adult. Luna looked at the crack, then at the auxiliary. Her wolf was already merging with the shadows, ready to follow her. "I can," she declared while sliding through the opening. "Let the others know where I am." Before the auxiliary could protest, Luna had vanished beyond the crack. ♢♢♢♢ It was clear they wouldn’t listen. Taro took up his guard position, his Living Tunnel manifesting as well. Ren adopted a defensive stance and quickly evaluated the situation. The two agents, Mako with her earth wolverine and Shizu with her Night Ambusher, were at a higher level than the girl he had subdued earlier, the mana flow control he’d used on her wouldn’t work against opponents of his same standing, bronze rank or higher. ’We’ll have to do this the hard way,’ he thought, analyzing his opponents’ battle pattern. "Taro!" he called without taking his eyes off the agents. "Maximum concentration on your defense! Use all your plates and convert earth to living mineral whenever you can!" Taro was the perfect counter… the Living Tunnel’s living crystal would be immune to the wolverine’s elemental control and couldn’t be used by the Night Ambusher. The only problem was that Taro hadn’t fully mastered his new abilities yet, his movements still clumsy from inexperience. ’I’ll have to keep them busy,’ Ren prepared as his hydra’s scales gleamed under the dim light. But his beast’s true ability wasn’t its crystalline armor, that was just its manifestation. The hydra’s elemental nature was light. Yet the powerful light beam from that day, its signature ability, would be available at that level in gold rank, where its power would be devastating. But for now, it wasn’t worth using like that... Energy concentrated in his hands. Where Mako had mineral earth claws, Ren manifested claws of pure light, blazing with blinding intensity. The combined buff of his beasts, 40% from the hydra plus 20% from the mushroom, gave him a total 60% strength increase. Time to put it to the test. Mako attacked first, her wolverine summoning more earth for her companion. Shizu moved like a shadow while seeking a weak point, her Night Ambusher’s speed making her almost blur. Ren blocked the first blow with his light claws, the impact sending sparks through the air. The force of the clash surprised Mako, clearly she hadn’t expected him to match her strength. Let alone exceed it. His physique, molded by Lin’s training, made better use of the enhancement. Shizu attacked from the flank, or tried to, but Taro had created a living crystal barrier. Her earth spikes bounced uselessly off the crystalline surface. Taro touched Shizu’s claws while Ren contained her. "The earth can’t destroy his defense!" Mako shouted in frustration, her wolverine growling inside her. "Tell me about it, my claws are breaking!" Shizu responded, her Night Ambusher’s attacks becoming increasingly desperate. "Because they’re not earth anymore!" Ren grinned as his light claws cut through Shizu’s claws in his next attack. "It’s living crystal!" The Night Ambusher changed tactics, its speed increasing as Shizu searched for an opening. But Ren’s light claws and crystalline armor denied her damage, and each blow backed by that 60% strength increase reverberated through her muscles, leaving them increasingly fatigued. Mako tried to create more earth for her companion, but Taro was transforming every chunk into living crystal before she could control it. Their perfect coordination was crumbling before a strategy that completely negated their synergy. "We’re not Yino spies!" Ren blocked another attack while backing toward Min and the king’s daughter. "If you’d let us explain...!" "Silence!" Mako roared in frustration, her wolverine’s fur bristling. "Only the royal family knows the secrets of double beasts!" Ren sighed. It seemed they would have to resolve this the hard way.