The Author's POV

Not far from them was another group of lower ranked members scouting the area ahead. They were the main force in charge of the operation. On the other hand, Amber and she were merely there to ensure that nothing occurred to them. Somewhat like bodyguards in disguise.

Their presence shouldn't be out of the Monolith's calculation.

"That's good."

Amber responded, her tone sounding rather low. It was her attempt at hiding her nervousness.

"Don't worry."

Her nervousness didn't slip past Donna. She placed her hand on her shoulder and reassured.

"We've got the upper hand. We may be walking towards a trap, but the fact that we know that should already be enough of an indication that we aren't going there without a plan. Have faith in the Alliance Master."

"You're right."

Amber took a deep breath and stabilized her heartbeat.

She looked at Donna and asked.

"...Is he trustworthy?"

"The Alliance leader?"

"Yeah..."

Amber bit her bottom lip.

"He seems rather young, and there's not much that I know about him. It'd be a lie if I said I wasn't worried."

"..."

Donna wordlessly stared at Amber.

'Is he trustworthy?'

Donna's mind was just now starting to wrap around how far Kevin had come in such a short amount of time compared to when they first met. From having a rank of around a to now being on par with her.

...Then there was Ren as well. Nothing needed to be said about his accomplishments, which surprisingly overshadowed Kevin's already absurd ones.

'Now that I think about it... what kind of monsters did I train? Is my teaching that effective?'

She shuddered at the thought.

Perhaps she was a way better instructor than she had expected.

"We're here."

brought her out of her delusions. Raising her head, Donna's eyes focused on an enormous beacon that was deeply etched in the ground with four

shooting into the sky and absorbing the mana around it,

"Mana Compressor."

main target of their excursion. As long as

It was just that...

Report. There appear to be

...It was completely deserted.

no

feel several presences beneath the ground. There's

A subtle hue

tell

"No."

with a tense look. With thin vines secretly spreading from her

can feel several threatening auras. About seven of them to

"That many?"

aback. The Monolith seemed better

retracted her vines from the ground and cast a solemn look

do we do

"I don't know."

They were currently pretending to scout the location while, in reality, they were just

her brows as she turned to face Amber. She finally took a deep

the exact location of all

"More or less."

clear to her whether or not she had tracked down all of the individuals hiding in the ambush. Her vines might not have been able to extend to the spot

She looked at Donna.

what do you want

"Start a direct attack."

shone brighter than before, slowly extending to the area around

that they're waiting for us. It's best if we attack directly to have the

down

let the combat

"Got it."

the distance. Seeing their bodies tense, she knew that they'd received

eyes, Amber carefully sensed the auras of her opponents. She couldn't help but feel rather tense at the moment. The feedback she was receiving through the vines led her to believe that there were a significant number of powerful adversaries lurking in

hope I didn't miss

locked on all the

"I'm ready."

lowered her hand and fixed her gaze toward the distance. Her amethyst

"Okay, get them out."

"You got it."

her mana into the vines, which burst forth from

Rumble―! Rumble―!

shake violently, and out of the ground came thick vines that were about the size of three tree trunks. The very tip of

"We have been discovered!"

"Engage with the enem―"

the Monolith

"Stop."

sound of Donna's voice quietly spread across the entire battlefield, and the figures that emerged from the ground froze on the

Click―!

clicked at her step, and she brushed

wide, the world took on a

a favor

words, but the moment they spread, the eyes of

themselves tempted by her

down the

Boom―! Boom―!

they got. Blood sprayed all over

Boom―!

the cries of desperation coming from those who

of those who emerged were gone, leaving behind only those that held a considerable amount of power. As they looked at Donna, whose

you

movements. It was only for a moment, but it was

"How dare you!?"