The roar echoed through the dungeon chamber.
Dust drifted down from the ceiling as the ground trembled slightly.
Avdhoot's fire sphere flickered in his palm, casting shifting shadows across the cavern walls.
The tunnel had opened into a massive underground chamber.
Jagged stone pillars rose from the ground like the bones of an ancient beast. Strange blue fungi clung to the walls, glowing faintly and filling the cavern with dim ghostly light.
Water dripped from the ceiling.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Priya rotated her shoulders, flames dancing across her gauntlets.
"Well… whatever that thing is, it's big."
Raivan's frost blade released cold mist.
"Stay alert."
Manaswini crouched slightly, examining the ground.
"Look at these claw marks."
The stone floor was deeply scratched, as if something massive had dragged its body across the chamber countless times.
Avdhoot's eyes narrowed.
"It lives here."
Another roar exploded from the darkness.
This time closer.
Something huge shifted behind the stone pillars.
Heavy footsteps followed.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
Priya grinned.
"Here it comes."
From behind the stone pillar, a creature slowly emerged.
The students froze.
It was massive.
A Stoneback Ogre Lizard.
Its body resembled a giant reptile nearly four meters long. Thick rocky plates covered its back like armour, each plate jagged and layered like natural shields.
Its claws were the size of daggers.
A long tail dragged behind it, smashing smaller rocks aside.
Its eyes glowed deep crimson.
The creature inhaled slowly.
Then—
ROOOOOOAR!
The sound shook the entire chamber.
Manaswini's voice tightened.
"Tier-2 monster… maybe even higher."
Priya cracked her knuckles.
"Good."
Raivan stepped forward.
"Don't rush blindly."
But Priya was already moving.
She dashed forward like a cannon.
Flames erupted around her gauntlets.
"Let's see how hard that shell is!"
BOOM!
Her punch slammed into the creature's side.
The impact echoed through the chamber.
But—
The monster barely moved.
Priya blinked.
"…You're kidding me."
The creature turned its massive head slowly.
Its tail swung.
WHOOOOOSH!
Priya barely jumped back in time as the tail smashed into the stone floor, cracking it like glass.
Raivan moved instantly.
His sword flashed.
A streak of frost cut through the air.
CLANG!
The blade struck the rocky armour.
Ice spread across the creature's back.
But the armour held.
Raivan clicked his tongue.
"Too thick."
The monster roared again and charged.
THUMP THUMP THUMP!
The ground shook under its weight.
Manaswini raised her staff.
"Stone Bind!"
Mana surged through the trap set on the ground.
Stone pillars shot upward around the monster's legs, trying to trap it.
For a moment—
It worked.
The creature struggled against the stone prison.
Avdhoot moved.
Fast.
Low stance.
His dagger glowed faintly with condensed mana.
He dashed beneath the monster's body.
"Cover me!"
Priya immediately attacked again.
Her flaming punches hammered against the creature's head, drawing its attention.
Raivan slashed repeatedly at the legs.
Ice spread across the stone floor.
Avdhoot slid beneath the creature's armoured belly.
His eyes scanned quickly.
Then he saw it.
A narrow gap between two armour plates near the lower abdomen.
"I guess that's the weak point."
He leapt upward.
His dagger thrust forward.
STAB!
The blade pierced the gap.
The monster shrieked.
A horrible, high-pitched scream echoed through the cavern.
It thrashed violently.
The stone prison shattered.
Avdhoot jumped back just as its claws slammed into the ground.
Dust exploded everywhere.
Priya laughed wildly.
"There we go!"
Now the monster was enraged.
Its tail swung wildly, smashing pillars apart.
Stone debris rained across the chamber.
Raivan shouted.
"Spread out!"
The group separated instantly.
The creature lunged toward Manaswini.
Its jaws opened wide.
Rows of jagged teeth gleamed in the dim light.
Manaswini barely raised a mana barrier.
CRASH!
The impact threw her backwards across the floor.
Avdhoot dashed forward.
His dagger flashed again.
But the creature's tail intercepted him mid-air.
WHAM!
He slammed against a stone pillar.
Pain shot through his ribs.
Priya roared.
"HEY!"
Her gauntlets exploded with flames brighter than before.
She jumped high into the air.
Both fists came crashing down onto the creature's skull.
BOOOOM!
This time, the impact staggered it.
Raivan seized the moment.
His blade glowed bright blue.
"Frost Sever!"
He swung with full power.
A freezing blade of mana shot forward.
The attack sliced across the monster's leg.
CRACK!
One of its rocky plates shattered.
The monster stumbled.
Avdhoot forced himself up, breathing hard.
His mind raced.
The armour is strong… but the joints are weak.
He looked at the others.
"I'll distract it."
Priya smirked.
"That's my line."
But Avdhoot was already moving.
He dashed straight toward the monster again.
Sliding between its legs.
The creature roared and turned violently.
That moment was enough.
Raivan's sword struck the exposed joint.
CRACK!
Priya's flaming punch smashed the same spot.
BOOM!
The armour shattered completely.
Manaswini extended her staff.
And created another trap circle.
As the monster's head touches the stone, the ceiling trap magic activates.
"Gravity Pulse!"
A wave of mana slammed the monster downward.
The creature collapsed onto one knee.
Avdhoot appeared again beneath its body.
His dagger thrust upward.
This time deeper.
Straight into the exposed flesh.
The monster released a final deafening roar.
Then—
Its body collapsed.
THUD.
Silence filled the cavern.
Heavy breathing echoed across the chamber.
Priya wiped sweat from her forehead.
"That thing was tough."
Raivan cleaned his blade.
"Good coordination."
Manaswini adjusted her glasses, still catching her breath.
Avdhoot stared at the monster's corpse.
Something shimmered beneath it.
A faint blue glow.
He stepped closer.
Near the creature's body, half-buried in the stone floor, was a mana crystal vein.
Small crystals glowed softly.
Manaswini's eyes widened.
"That's…"
"A natural mana deposit."
Priya whistled.
"This dungeon just became very valuable."
Raivan frowned slightly.
"But if this vein exists…"
Avdhoot finished the sentence.
"…Then this dungeon goes deeper."
The cavern suddenly rumbled again.
From the tunnel behind them—
A distant growl echoed.
Much deeper.
Much heavier.
Priya slowly turned.
"Tell me that's not another one."
Raivan's eyes narrowed.
"No."
The growl echoed again.
This time the entire dungeon trembled.
"That… is something bigger."
Avdhoot tightened his grip on his dagger.
The darkness of the tunnel seemed to breathe.
Something more dangerous than this stone lizard was waking deeper below.
And it had noticed them.
[End of Chapter 28]