The freshmen who followed behind Leonel felt as though they were walking into a paradise. After so long without seeing the sky, they realized how much they had taken something so simple for granted. Still, what they were the most shocked about was the fact that they had actually made it out at all.
After the seniors left, many of them had been thrown into the pits of despair. Though Leonel had managed to lead them to the mine itself, following underground tunnels was a completely different animal and there were even many times they thought it was all over.
Yet, Leonel had actually succeeded. And, to make matters even more shocking, despite running into several enemies below, the grenades Leonel had given them were just strong enough to kill them without also bringing the tunnels crumbling down around them.
By this point, many looked toward Leonel's back with hints of worship, even Ingkath and Irolana were no exception.
"Hey! You lot! What the hell are you doing here?!"
Leonel inwardly smiled, thinking that yet another group of King of Ores guards were going to get in their way.
What the group of freshmen following behind Leonel didn't know was that he had been confident in leading them out because he had seen Sarrieth's network of mines. Though that map hadn't had the underground tunnels marked on them, Leonel was able to deduce which might be connected based on the ores they produced and their proximity.
From the very beginning, Leonel knew he would be able to find a path out even if it took some trial and error.
However, for the first time, Leonel was surprised to find that his deduction was wrong. What he found weren't the guards of the King of Ores faction, but rather a group of blue belts who still had their former Peak emblems on their person.
From Leonel's understanding, they were from Loyal Peak. But, after scanning the situation, he realized that it didn't matter much.
The group was now so close to the mountain pass that it was within eyeshot. But, compared to the past when there might have been just a few groups travelling up and down the path, it was now flooded with activity.
In truth, the number of people here now was so large that it was surprising that their group was noticed at all. It could only be said that these patrolling seniors were on high alert.
Recovering quickly, Leonel explained the situation.
"We were on a mission when we ran into a pair of Titan Hyena's and their Oryx partners. We were lucky to escape through the mine tunnels and make it here."
As expected, the blue belts didn't seem surprised by the mention of the Oryx. Rather, they were surprised that a group of freshmen actually managed to make it so far.
This alone made the reason for the hustle and bustle of the mountain pass obvious. It seemed that the news of Oryx activity had finally made it back to the organization.
The reason the seniors were shocked was because many had already signed off all the freshmen in the area to death after receiving reports of where the Oryx had targeted. Never did they imagine that not only would some survive, but that there would actually be so many of them.
The blue belt at the helm took a deep breath.
"Since that's the case, it will likely be necessary for you to answer some questions about your experiences."
Leonel nodded. "Understood."
"My name is Garlando, I'll take you all to be processed. We've got some new procedures now so bear with it, please."
Leonel looked back at the group and nodded.
Garlando was a bit surprised to find that every single one of these freshmen was looking toward Leonel as though to seek approval. Was his word as a senior not enough? What was going on here exactly?
Shaking his head, Garlando didn't have the time to mind this. These freshmen were the first to come back after having contact with the Oryx. If not for this, how could he be so polite to a group of black belts?
Even as Garlando shrank to his own thoughts, Leonel had also done the same.
'There's definitely more security issues to deal with in an era of abilities, their caution makes sense. Who knows if one of the Oryx awakened a disguising ability or not?'
The group was quickly led away, having no idea the kind of commotion their returns would cause.
…
Leonel was separated from the group. In fact, they all were. It wouldn't be much of an interrogation if they were all kept together.
Still, Leonel wasn't very worried. He sat silently, a light smile on his face as the dim lights of the interrogation tent flickered. His mind, finally free from having to account for the safety of over 70 individuals, began to work on other matters. As far as he was concerned, they could take their time.
Leonel's mind focused on his Mage Core.
'If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be dead right now, hm?'
Leonel shook his head. That close call with death was still fresh in his mind. Sometimes his infallible memory was a good thing. But, in regards to things like this, it definitely wasn't.
What if the Oryx's ability was like Little Nana's and not space based? Would he still have been able to escape? Leonel really didn't want to think about it, but with his speed of thought, he always seemed to circle back to it.
This was the first time in a long time Leonel had felt this way. He gained so much strength day by day, improving in hours what it would take others months to accomplish, so the fear of death had been slowly washed away.
But, this wasn't because he had become braver. It was rather just a confidence in his own strength.
This, however, was most definitely a rude awakening.
Hours later, the flaps of the tent finally moved as three figures walked in.
One was an elder Leonel recognized, that old man who oversaw the freshman exam, the one Aphestus called Elder Tobis. As for the other two old men, Leonel didn't recognize them. But, they both wore red belts just like Tobis did.
The three sat down across from Leonel without a word of introduction and got right to it.
"How did you survive?"