The decision Ross made was a smart move if they had continued moving forward without observing their surroundings, it could have ended badly.
The instant they came to a stop, the wall that Ross noticed instantly moved at speeds no less than their moving speed. It instantaneously moved to close the path forward with a loud boom.
Abigail swallowed nervously as her heartbeat increased. 'That could have been bad.' Her facial expression was gloomy and filled with dread. She then looked behind and saw the path they had travelled along was similarly blocked off, cutting them off from the other four students.
Paths closed and new ones opened, students were trapped, and others were plunged into despair as they were locked in with void creatures. The unfortunate ones that were directly in the path of a fast-moving wall and not fast enough were crushed to death.
Alex and his friends were now standing with their backs facing each other in a small circle. Each watching out for any potential danger. However, nothing seemed to happen in the first few seconds as the walls shifted and their space expanded to look like a large hall.
'This can't be good…'
A large space like that could be indicative of a fighting space. "Stay sharp and get ready. I think we'll be having company soon." Alex said with a stern expression and retrieved his staff, taking its spear form.
Abigail and Julia nodded and retrieved their weapons as well. They glanced slightly in Alex's direction and noticed how the wall was moving slowly.
Because of the moving walls and resounding booms. They could barely hear the sound of any void creature. But they were not about to be deceived.
Abigail was particularly scared as she had not fought any creature yet. She even doubted if she could finish off one on her own.
'I still need to gather my own points, otherwise, what is the point of even being here?' She reasoned and infused her specially designed arrows. Because she had a wind ability, the aura that the arrows gave off once infused with her mana was grey-coloured.
Just as predicted, once the wall shifted over and exposed the other side, a group of 24 void creatures was exposed. They quickly sensed the mana from the group and as creatures driven by instincts, dashed forward without thinking.
SCREEECH!
ROAR!
The irregularly shaped creatures screeched and the beast-like ones roared as they approached. Because their distance from the group was less than 50 metres, they quickly reached them and released all kinds of abilities.
Of course, before they could reach the group, Alex had instructed Abigail to gain some distance from them and shoot from behind them. As an archer and not much of a melee fighter, that was her best bet.
Alex had also informed her that he would try as much as possible to send some creatures her way once he had dealt heavy damage to them that required a single attack to completely finish off.
"Roger." She replied with a serious expression and backed away from the melee fighters. As soon as she did, the void creatures and their attacks were already upon them.
The trio split up to create room for themselves. Alex went left, Julia remained in the centre and Ross went right, all the while ensuring that the gaps between them were covered to prevent any of the void creatures from passing them by unless they allowed it.
Julia brandished her sword and infused it with her mana, creating a cold environment in a five-metre radius of herself.
Once the first three void creatures, one beast-like, another irregularly shaped and a third a combination of humanoid and beastlike closed in, she swung her sword in a wide arch that cut through the void creatures.
However, that was not enough to eliminate them. Taking the momentary pause caused by her attack, she appeared before the regenerating three and swiftly did a fast-paced sword dance that turned them into mincemeat, leaving nothing but cold blocks of ice.
Without rest, she dashed forward to eliminate the ones approaching.
Ross performed a fiery dance, using his body to execute complex manoeuvres infused with the flames of his abilities. He created fiery arcs, blades, and explosions to attack the void creatures, as he carried no weapons.
His unrelenting attacks and complex dodging techniques allowed him to evade most of the abilities thrown his way. Of course, the few that hit him did barely any damage to his armour. Of course, any hit he took from the attacks of the void creatures slightly pushed him around.
However, his combat skills were not simple. Every time he was pushed by the attacks of the void creatures, he used the momentum to readjust himself and deliver other powerful attacks. Most of the time, these attacks left the void creatures with only a third of their bodies remaining.
He was the loudest of the bund due to how he was using his fire abilities, as there were constant explosions resounding in the large hall brightening his immediate environment in an orange and yellow hue.
However, the heat from his environment did not harm him. After all, he can't be damaged by his own abilities.
Not even a minute had passed and already, seven of the attacking void creatures were dead from Julia and Ross' side, completely obliterated.
Abigail observed the fighting prowess of Ross and Julia and was once again impressed by the capabilities of Alex's friends. The presence of Alex had cast a sort of shadow on the other elite students, hence, their genius was often times overlooked.
'Alex isn't the only amazing one of the bunch. I bet his class is full of students as powerful as them.' She mindfully mused while making sure her attention was not lax.
"Abigail!"
She heard Alex exclaim and when she focused on him, noticed how he had already killed three out of the five he was fighting and the remaining two were already on the verge of death. What's more, those two were sent her way.