Dragon Master: The SSS-Ranked School Belle Asked Me To Contract Her

It was afternoon with the sun hanging above them, showering the sandy beach with its bright sunlight. But even then, it wasn't hot as the cool winds from every side made the atmosphere even better.

However, Veer's group didn't feel that way as they were forced to stop by a small underground cave. It was artificial, as was very obvious from the structure.

Curious, they thought of exploring it, as it could mean there were other humans here. If that was the case, then they would have a larger group.

Unfortunately, they had not even taken a step inside when they stumbled upon a scene which shocked them to their core. Their eyes remained wide open, seeing the scene before them.

In the cave, they could see a large group of over twenty people sitting while hugging each other. They were wearing the battle suits of the academies, making their identity clear. There weren't any signs of battle or even signs of struggle.

It was as if they were all sleeping peacefully, using each other as support. But what shocked the group most was that none of them showed signs of life and, worse of all, every single one of them had their eyes missing.

It was a bone-chilling scene, as the group had died without any struggle. They had not even put up a fight before they were killed, and their eyes had been removed.

Veer clenched his fist and thought, 'I knew it! How can this be any normal?'

Having a cool mind, he turned to look around the cave for any clues. He couldn't just turn back, as they would have to make their camp not far from here.

His group could potentially end up in the same situation, and they wouldn't even realize it. That was why he hated such enemies who always lurked in the dark.

The unknown was the most terrifying.

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He could even fight something powerful like Solvar, but against enemies like this, he was powerless. It didn't matter how strong he was; the Unknown would always be stronger than him.

'The unknown... why does this sound familiar?'

"Did you find anything, Boss?" Rock asked as he went to check upon the corpses. Frowning, he said, "There isn't a single wound aside from the fact that their eyes are missing. It was as if their souls were sucked dry, which is possible."

"Unfortunately, no. Your guess is probably correct," Veer said as he returned to their group, still carrying Elara on his back. "I think the absence of Magical Creatures is related to this. Who knows, maybe there is something that hunts in the Shadow?"

He asked, turning towards Aurora and Rain, "Do you find anything unusual?"

Shaking her head, Aurora said, "No! The cave was recently carved out, judging by the soil's condition—probably like fifteen hours ago!"

She was an Archer and could see minor details to an extreme degree. If even she didn't find anything, there likely wasn't anything in the cave.

"Boss, I don't know how to explain it, but there's a delicious aroma here," Rain said as she sniffed the walls and ground. "Yes, I'm sure of it. Something delicious was here."

"Anything related to Corruption?"

"No, Corruption had a different feeling," Rain shook her head. "It's like those trashy meals I used to eat—disgusting but could be delicious too."

Veer's gaze softened upon hearing her, but he tried to ignore it and said, "So, basically, we can only wait! It's probably a natural force or something from the Dark Era. What a fucked world it was!"

"Is there really nothing we can do about it?" Aurora asked.

"We can try running away from here, but I doubt it'll work," Veer said, his gaze distant. "I'm sure the whole island is like this, following a certain terrain and pattern. Also, we didn't see any Magical Creatures while crashing, did we?"

Seeing their frustrated look, he sighed, "We can't take any reckless action. Remember how we defeated Solvar when she was just at Novice Stage? We are nothing in front of these monsters of the Dark Era, so be a coward. That's the only way that we can fulfill our mission."

As much as they disliked it, they knew it was the right decision. They only came to this floating island for one reason, so they just needed to focus on completing it.

"Don't worry, I'm just telling you that we shouldn't disturb that force. If it comes after us, we'll deal with it. Also, I have some plans for it," Veer smiled at them.

His smile seemed to have filled them with confidence as they nodded in understanding.

"Alright, let's go," Veer said, giving one last glance at the corpses. 'Eyes... did they see something they shouldn't have?'@@novelbin@@

After inspecting the cave and its surroundings once again, they left it and approached the river's bank. The incident of those students still lingered in their minds, making them wonder if they too would become the same if they slept.

However, they were people who had seen the worst and even dared to fight a Saint Stage powerhouse. So, they got over it quickly and began to do their work.

Crossing the river to get to the Iron Throne would be tough, so they decided to make a tent first. Of course, they chose a location far away from that cave, as they were still cautious.

Elara also woke up by that time and had recovered slightly. Using that as an opportunity, Veer had her fight with Rain so that she could recover even more using her Sub-Aspect.

Rain also needed to adjust to her new strength after she devoured Solvar's corruption and digested it. What could be a better way than this?

As they fought in the distance, with Rain injuring Elara from time to time, Veer was busy making tents for them. Fortunately, Aurora had lots of things in her survival kit, which included top-tier tents so they didn't have to worry about sleeping in the open.

By the time they were done with their preparations, which even included their meal, almost two hours had passed. Elara had also returned to normal to some extent, while Rain had become even stronger and faster.

"Aur, do you have a barrier-type Rune Formation?" Veer asked.

"I have it, but I was saving it for emergencies," Aurora muttered. However, remembering the state those twenty students were in, she didn't hesitate to pull it out.

She carefully placed it around their tents and returned, only to find Veer and others surrounding a campfire. She also took her seat and asked Elizabeth, "You're proving to be useless, you know."

She looked in the direction of that cave and said, "Please do tell us if you know anything about the—"

Her sentence was cut short by a loud scream, making her whole body shiver. Her head snapped to her side, only to see Elizabeth rolling on the ground and screaming loudly, with her fingers scratching her face—and, most importantly, her eyes.

Before she could do any permanent damage, Veer caught her hands and held them tightly, restricting her movements. Surprisingly, it was tough even for him, as she was using all of her strength to fight it.

Her screams just grew louder and louder before they turned into painful moans and wails. The group wanted to help her in any way, but they didn't know how.

She was most likely getting a vision, and there was nothing they could do to stop it. This was the suffering that Seers had to go through, and it was the reason why the world had so few Seers at higher stages.

The majority of them would die early because of visions or by losing their minds with the knowledge of the future. So, awakening as a Seer was considered a curse for many.

Veer tied her hands behind her back and then stroked her blue hair. He didn't know if it would work or not, but he wanted to at least give it a try.

He wanted to let her know that someone was there for her, waiting for her. It wasn't anything significant, but it gave the individual hope and the will to survive. And they were very necessary for Seers.

"Fight it! Win!"

Veer didn't even realize what he was saying or why he was even trying to save her. Perhaps it was because they needed a Seer, or perhaps her earlier words had affected him.

Elizabeth's vision didn't end for over three minutes, meaning she continued to wail and moan in pain the entire time. Elara and the others, who were wary of her, also began to sympathize with her.

They could only hope and pray that she survived—and that she did. After three minutes, she stopped screaming as clarity returned to her eyes alongside exhaustion.

Her chest heaved up and down as she looked at the clear sky. She raised her hand unconsciously and muttered, "White flames..."

Veer and Elara shook as they made eye contact. This was bad news—terrible news at that.