Free Web NovelChapter 19: Chapter 19: The Fog of the Ravine
Cold wind swept across the carriage station outside the Whispering Ravine.
Dozens of first-year students gathered near the stone pathway leading down into the canyon while academy instructors checked equipment and communication crystals one final time.
The massive ravine stretched across the earth like a giant scar.
White fog rolled endlessly from the depths below, even from above, the place felt dangerous.
Lina stood quietly near the back of the crowd while nervously clutching the strap of her bag. Qhuin rested inside with his fluffy white head sticking out from the opening.
His ears twitched slowly as he scanned the area.
The smell of damp stone, monster blood, and raw mana drifted through the cold air, and it was much better than classrooms.
Several armored instructors moved among the students as they activated blue communication arrays around the entrance.
The glowing crystals flickered weakly as they got closer to the fog.
Professor Valerius stood near the front with his arms crossed.
"The Whispering Ravine blocks long-range mana signals," he said calmly. "If you lose contact with your assigned unit, survival becomes your own responsibility."
Some students immediately looked nervous.
Others tried to hide it.
Marcus stood near the center of the group with his Storm Eagle perched on his shoulder. Unlike before, the bird stayed strangely quiet.
It did not look at Qhuin once.
’Good. At least the thrall understood basic survival.’ Qhuin thought watching it.
A cheerful voice suddenly spoke nearby.
"Lina!"
Lina turned quickly.
Chloe and Mei jogged toward her through the crowd.
The moment Lina saw them, some of the tension left her shoulders.
"You made it," Chloe said with a grin.
Mei adjusted her glasses nervously. "You looked pale earlier..."
"I barely slept," Lina admitted weakly.
"That makes two of us," Chloe sighed.
She raised her hand and summoned her beast beside her.
A sleek little otter appeared in a splash of water before sliding across the stone path happily. Tiny frost crystals formed beneath its paws while its white whiskers glowed faintly blue.
"This is Ripple," Chloe said proudly.
The otter chirped before spinning in a circle.
Mei summoned her own beast next.
A tiny green-and-yellow bird fluttered onto her shoulder while soft leaf-colored mana drifted around its feathers.
"My Leaf-Finch mostly helps with tracking herbs," Mei explained softly.
Compared to the giant wolves and armored beasts owned by the nobles, their creatures looked harmless.
Qhuin almost respected it.
Not every beast needed to roar every five seconds.
Ripple suddenly noticed him inside Lina’s bag.
The otter leaned closer curiously. Qhuin stared back silently, causing Ripple to instantly freeze.
Then it quietly backed away behind Chloe’s leg.
Qhuin’s nose twitched smugly.
’Wise animal.’
A loud horn suddenly echoed across the canyon entrance.
Valerius stepped forward.
"Move out."
The students slowly began descending into the ravine.
The deeper they walked, the colder the air became.
Huge cliffs rose around them while thick fog swallowed more and more of the pathway. Loose rocks crunched beneath boots as the first-year students followed the winding trench routes downward.
After only ten minutes, the academy entrance had completely vanished behind the mist.
Visibility dropped badly.
The communication crystals attached to several students flickered weakly.
The fog carried raw mana through the air, disrupting everything.
Qhuin sat quietly inside Lina’s bag while observing the environment.
Narrow pathways, blind corners, and Unstable cliffs.
A perfect terrain for killing.
Far ahead of the group, Marcus casually adjusted the strap on his weapon belt.
At the same time, the Storm Eagle silently spread its wings and flew upward into the fog-covered cliffs above.
Nobody paid attention, well except Qhuin.
Through Blood Turn, he felt the eagle’s movements clearly.
The thrall obeyed Marcus’s hidden command without hesitation.
’Interesting. So this was the plan.’ Qhuin laughed in his mind
The class continued deeper into the trenches.
Towering stone walls blocked out most of the sunlight now. The pathways became tighter and more uneven while fog rolled endlessly through the canyon.
Lina nervously stayed close to Chloe and Mei.
"This place is horrible," Chloe muttered quietly.
Mei nodded quickly.
"It feels like something is watching us."
Qhuin’s ears twitched.
’Something probably was.’
Then—
A sharp cracking sound echoed high above the trench,most of the students froze instinctively.
Several instructors looked upward immediately.
"What was that?" someone shouted.
The fog overhead shifted slightly.
Then the cliffside exploded.
BOOOOM!!
Massive rocks crashed downward into the trench behind the group.
Students screamed as dust and debris blasted through the canyon.
The ground shook violently.
Lina nearly lost her balance.
Qhuin jumped from the bag onto her shoulder automatically as stone fragments scattered across the pathway.
More rocks collapsed behind them.
The trench was filled with smoke and dust.
By the time the noise finally stopped, a massive wall of broken stone completely blocked the path behind Lina’s section of the group.
Panic immediately spread.
"We’re cut off!"
"My communication crystal stopped working!"
"Where are the instructors?!"
The thick fog swallowed most voices before they could travel far.
Lina looked around anxiously.
"Chloe?! Mei?!"
No answer came.
The collapse had separated students into different sections of the trench.
Qhuin narrowed his eyes slightly.
Above the cliffs, hidden behind the fog, Marcus’s Storm Eagle quietly landed on a distant rock formation.
The thrall had caused the collapse perfectly, no one saw it.
To everyone else, the unstable cliffside had simply broken naturally.
Marcus slowly stepped through the dust toward Lina with several other students nearby.
His expression looked calm and concerned.
"Is everyone alright?" he asked.
Lina nodded shakily.
"I-I think so..."
One of the other students looked nervously toward the blocked trench.
"We need to regroup with the instructors."
Marcus glanced toward a narrow pathway leading deeper underground.
"I think there’s another route through the lower trenches," he said. "It should reconnect with the main path further ahead."
Qhuin remained completely still on Lina’s shoulder. freewebnσvel.cøm
’Lies.’
The eagle had already shown him the route earlier through their connection.
Marcus was leading them downward intentionally.
Unfortunately, Lina was too panicked to notice.
Another student swallowed nervously.
"We can’t stay here. Wild monsters will come after all that noise."
Marcus nodded immediately.
"Then let’s move."
The small separated group quickly followed him deeper into the canyon.
The further they descended, the darker the ravine became.
Eventually, even the weak daylight overhead nearly disappeared behind the towering cliffs.
Cold air drifted through the narrow pathways, and water dripped slowly from the stone walls.
Lina’s footsteps became shakier with every turn.
Qhuin quietly memorized the route.
The lower abyss, exactly where the ambush was waiting.
After several more minutes, Marcus finally stopped near a massive limestone archway leading into a dark cavern below.
The entrance looked ancient.
Jagged claw marks covered parts of the walls.
Lina slowed immediately.
"...This doesn’t look safe."
Marcus turned toward her calmly.
"It’s just a shortcut."
Qhuin’s ears twitched sharply, he had movement, several mana signatures hidden nearby.
Then—
CLANG!!
A giant iron grate suddenly crashed down behind Lina.
Her eyes widened.
Heavy chains locked into place instantly across the cave entrance.
The other "students" immediately stepped backward.
A glowing magical barrier activated behind the grate.
Lina spun around in panic.
"W-What is this?!"
Footsteps echoed from deeper within the darkness.
A tall figure slowly stepped out from the shadows beyond the barrier.
Marcus smirked slightly.
"Right on time."
Lina’s face paled.
The man standing there was older than them.
A senior with dark academy markings lined his coat while a long scar crossed one side of his jaw.
Marcus’s cousin.
His cold eyes slowly moved toward Qhuin, hatred flashed across his face instantly.
"That rabbit," he said quietly, "is the reason my shadow Hound is dead."
Lina stepped backward immediately.
"I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!"
The senior ignored her completely.
Instead, he reached toward the darkness behind him.
A heavy metallic sound echoed through the cave.
Chains rattled slowly.
Then a massive iron cage became visible deeper inside the abyss.
Something huge moved within the darkness, low breathing echoed across the cavern floor., as two enormous red eyes slowly opened inside the cage.
