Aediva had to admit. She is scared. Fear had easily overcome her when seeing the monster harming Arthur and Eden but she’s even more scared if the two died. It was that fear that drove her into reckless actions - one which she could easily regret. She just hopes she could get out of this mine alive and with the two, alive. She joked about bringing their bodies back but then…

“It’s not funny anymore” she said to herself.

“It’s not funny if all of us are dead! You both haven’t told me your damn address yet!” she shouted, facing the two-headed hound that growling at her - ready to charge at any moment. Aediva felt the heavy weight burdening her arms and hands. Arthur’s sword gleamed as she ready her stance. It was an instinct, she only follows.

The moment Orthrus charged at her, she felt as if the sword guided her and she evaded the monster at the nick of time before swinging the sword down to its back - doing more than just a light graze this time round. The monstrous creature roared angrily.

The next time it charged straight into the sword in her hand and its claws grazed at Aediva’s cheek. Aediva winced as she pushed back the monster - noticing how close they are to the edge. A running river just a step away down the deep crack of the cavern's floor.

“Arthur! Eden! Can’t you use magic to push this thing away?!” Aediva asked, jumping back when Orthrus swiped its claws towards her. Arthur and Eden, who had finally been able to regain a bit of their composure back, looked at the girl facing the monster by the edge of the grounds.

“We can try!” they both answered in unison.

“Good. We’ll push him down that chasm. I pray you fall on your damn heads. Hyah!” Aediva said, charging straight at the monster before it shifted its attention to the two young mages. The dance of blade and claws raging in front of the two freshmen who looked at each other and aimed their wands towards the direction of the fighting female and the dog monster.

“Hah!” Aediva exclaimed as she leaped into the air to avoid the enraged monster’s paws. Landed on the paw, she leaped again, this time straight to its nuzzle and with one fluid move, she stabbed the eye of the monster before retreating.

As the monster reeled back from the pain of its newly blinded eye, it backed away and the moment it almost slipped at the edge of the cliff where the cavern’s ground cracked into a deep chasm with a flowing river at the bottom.

“Take this!” Eden shouted, firing concentrated balls of condensed air towards the monster, followed by Arthur’s magic water bullets. Volleys upon volleys of magic air and water bullets from their wands hit the hound and at the end, it slipped before falling straight to the cliff - desperately clawing the ground in front of it but bound to fail when Eden and Arthur fired larger magic bullets towards its paws. The three youths only stared in silence as the monster fell with a howl and a final yelp before the sound of something crashing on top of the body of water.

Timidly, they stepped close and looked at the river - finding the dead corpse of the monster they had just slain. They looked at each other and as relief washed over them like the underground river washed over the dead monster's corpse, they hugged each other - celebrating their victory.

In the end, their adventure in the mine - their very dangerous adventure, came to an end. They took a few magic stones that was broken off from their fight and to their surprise found a little elevator at a secluded corner of the cavern. They were suspicious at first but after searching no other way out from the cavern, they used the lift that later brought them back to the mine entrance.

Enough said, they all had a very rough first day. As a janitor and as students.

“Hah… Fresh air…” Eden sighed tiredly.

“We came out of the mine alive…” Arthur sighed in relief. Aediva trudged silently behind the two students and when they turned around, the two boys immediately felt guilty. Aediva let out a sigh.

“Damn. You’re like, still bleeding” Eden said, quickly jabbed by Arthur at the waist. Eden groaned.

“Aediva, here, use this handkerchief to clean the blood off your face. We must go to the infirmary at once” Arthur said, dabbing the piece of cloth on Aediva’s forehead. Maybe she was too tired to reply, she only nodded. She looked at both Eden and Arthur baffled when they went to her sides and each took her arms before letting it wrap around their shoulders as they supported her.

“Thanks, man. You really saved us back then” Eden said with a wide grin.

“Yes. If not for you saving me at the chasm as well, I would've plummeted to my death. The way you handle the sword is pretty amazing too” Arthur supported. Aediva smiled.

“Shut up, you damn rascals. I better expect some kind of offering for saving your asses from certain death down there” she said. Eden and Arthur grinned.

“By the way, why didn’t you use that damn sword of yours in the first place, Arthur?”

“E-eh? Uh… I… I forgot.”

“What?!” both Aediva and Eden shouted.

“It didn’t cross my mind to draw my sword. And the wand was in my hand too…”

“The sword was that heavy and you actually forget about it?!”

“By the way, guys. Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?” Aediva suddenly asked.

“Probably not that important if you forget about it” Eden replied. Aediva nodded.

“Probably right” she said before they all stopped in their tracks when seeing a familiar-looking little monster running past them while being chased by a rolling wave of white bunnies hopping about towards him - their eyes glowing red as they chatter. The three looked to the direction the feline monster ran to, all rather impassive.

“Isn’t that Cath?” Arthur asked.

“Ah fuck, why can’t I just forgot about him entirely” Aediva cursed.

“... You’re one cruel woman, Aediva” Eden commented.

“SAVE MEEEEE!!!” From afar Cath shouted. The three teens let out a really tired sigh.