Chapter 130: Similarity
Calien and Erik jumped at the sound, their hearts thudding so loud it felt as if they could hear them in their ears. The roar had come from somewhere deeper inside the tower, a savage and ear-splitting bellow that raised the hair on the back of their necks and froze them where they stood.
"What the hell was that?" Calien whispered, eyes wide as he glanced at Erik.
"Don’t tell me this is like one of those games," Erik replied, his voice trembling despite himself. The two exchanged a look as they thought back to their secret training with Nolan. Back when they’d been thrown into fight after fight with infected humans in what felt like a deadly simulation. Even as they were hurling knives and cutting down the humanoid octopus creatures outside, it had all felt like some strange echo of that game they’d played in class. Could it be that this was something even worse? Could this monstrous roar mean a boss fight was waiting up there for them?
"Gods..." Calien muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "This really is just like one of Teacher Nolan’s games."
Behind them, Chief Varros frowned, the concern plain on his face. "That sound," he began cautiously, "means we ought to go back. This is more dangerous than what you’ve faced so far. You heard me—let’s go back!"
But Calien and Erik exchanged a look of pure determination and shook their heads in unison. "No," Calien replied firmly.
"You’re joking," one of Calien’s attendants stammered, glancing up at the cracked windows of the tower as if expecting some monstrous shadow to leap out at any second. "That thing could crush us like bugs. The chief is right—we need to retreat."
"Exactly," echoed Erik’s own attendant, who wrung his hands nervously. "We must return, young master. This is too risky!"
Calien brushed them both off with a quick wave. "That’s exactly what Teacher Nolan would say if we weren’t prepared," he countered, grinning with an almost reckless light in his eyes.
"You’re wrong," Varros argued, his brow creased with worry. "Your teacher would never send you into something like this."
But Erik straightened up, crossing his arms with a stubborn expression that told everyone he’d already made up his mind. "That’s where you’re mistaken, Chief," he said. "Teacher Nolan trained us to face anything. Even this."