"This place is haunted with ghosts, too!" Ace flinches back as y/n grabbed a stray wooden stick and swings it around wildly at the ghosts, semi-successfully chasing them away,"We don't have time to deal with every single one of them. We'd better hurry!" Deuce urges the group and Acw glares at him,"Don't think you can just order me around. We wouldn't be in this mess in the first place if you hadn't done something so idiotic." he spat as he's forehead to forehead with Deuce.

"You wanna talk about who started it? It's 'cause you wouldn't clean!" Deuce shouts in his face as y/n took notice of the ghosts fleeing suddenly,"Oh, we're pointing fingers now? That furball over there burned the Queen of Hearts' statue first!" Ace points to Grim.

"Ffgna! That's on you! That's what you get for making a fool outta me!" Grim growls as y/n hears something strange in the distance,"All of you! Do you understand our situation right now? We're all expelled if we don't get back with a magic crystal by tomorrow morning!" Deuce reminds them as y/n heads the strange noise getting closer to their group.

"For the last time, stop acting like you're in charge here. It's really ticking me off." Ace glares at Deuce,"Would you all calm down for a sec? I think I'm hearing a voice..." y/n tells them, silencing the arguing males.

"...on't......ive......wo..."

It sounds deep, but also as if it was drowning. That alarms the rest of the group,"Wh-What's... this voice?" Ace shakingly asks,"Cry...stal....sssss....mine..." the voice says as it got closer,"I think it's... getting closer..." Deuce says fearfully as he pulls y/n back to him.

That's when it appeared. A giant monster made out of black tar wearing a red, torn jacket and a red pointy hat. It's head was made out of a round jar that's cracked, leaking some of the black tar-like substance while carrying a pickaxe in its left hand and a later in its right,"Crystal.... IS MIIIIIIIIIINNNNEEEEE!!" it roars.

"I-It's heeeeeeeeeeeeere!!!" the group scream in terror before making a run for it with the monster chasing after them,"What the heck is that thing!?" Deuce screams after they found a hiding spot,"Ffgnnnaaaa!! Crowley didn't say anything about that!! Let's get outta here!" Grim screams as he clings onto y/n, who holding him tightly against her body.

"It's so nasf! But didn't it mention a 'crystal'!?" Ace remembers,"It did! It actually did!" y/n pants,"Eeeh!?" Grim exclaims with surprise,"Cry...stal, won't...give...!" the monster shouts, surprising the group with its words.

"So there really are magic crystals left!" Deuce exclaims with relief,"N-n-n-n-n-nope! Nope! I'm a genius, but I don't stand a chance against that thing!" Grim yells with a rapidly shaking head,"But we'll be expelled without it... I'm going!" Deuce declares determinedly,"You've gotta be kidding!?" Ace's jaw drop at this.

"Deuce, that's a reckless idea! It's too dangerous to go out there by yourself. Let me go with you." y/n says with a stern expression. Deuce nods before looking back at Ace,"I cannot, under any circumstances, be expelled!" he shouts, that unfortunately attracts the monster's attention to them.

The group start running again all the while casting spells at the monster,"Leave! Leave!! Leeeeeaave!!!" the monster shouts as it threateningly held it pickaxe up,"Guuuh!!" Deuce grunts as the blunt side of the pickaxe sends him flying into a stone wall,"Deuce!" y/n shouts with worry as the entire group stops running.

"Stand back if you have no control, Mr. Serious! I'll stop it! Haa!" Ace casts his wind magic, but his barelt had any affect at all,"Wuuuuuuoooooohhh!!!" the monster screams, clearly displeased with the ongoing attacks before also sending Ace flying a bit away from Deuce and y/n,"Guuhaaah!!" he screams before hitting the wall,"Ace!" y/n shouts with even more worry.

The monster then faces Grim and y/n, the latter of which gasps sharply with fear lacing her eyes,"Ffgnaaa!! Stay away!!" Grim screams with horror before blowing a stream of fire at the monster. But, the monster blows it out with a single swing of its arm,"Grrr!!!" it growls at Grim.

"I-It's not working at all!" Grim cowers back before y/n scoops him up in her arms and runs over to Ace and Deuce. She hums when she notice something sparkling behind the monster,"Hey, look over there! Did something just sparkle?" she points to behind the monster.

"Behind that thing! At the end of the tunnel, something..." Ace squints, trying to make out what's glittering in the dephts of the tunnel while he and Deuce got up, albeit shakingly,"Is that light... from a magic crystal!?" Deuce exclaims with hope.

"GOOOOOOOOOOHHH! WON'T GIVE!!!!" the monster shouts with furiosity as it starts to near the group,"L-L-L-Let's get out of here! We're done for at this rate!" Grim yelps as he grips onto y/n tightly,"He's right! Let's get outta here, you guys! Retreat for now!" y/n nods before she and the group ran for the exit of the cave.

"Gggggggoooooohhh!!!" the screams of the monster grew quieter and quieter the further they ran for the exit, meaning it wasn't giving chase luckily.

"Is this far enough?" Grim questions as he jumps out of y/n's arms whilst he pants from the sudden rush of adrenaline,"Oooww... What in the world was that? No one said anything about that!" Ace groans as he rubs his backside.

"It didn't seem like any old ghost." Deuce speculates softly with a hand to his chin,"Let's give up and go home. I'd rather get expelled than fight that thing. Whatever." Ace sighs with hands laced behind his head,"Huh!?" y/n gapes at him with shock.

"What!? Don't screw with me! I'd rather die than face expulsion!" Deuce spat as he glares at Ace before pointing at the entrance of the mine,"There was a magic crystal in front of us. You think I could just give up and leave!?"

"Ha. You talk big for someone worse at magic than me. Go alone if you want to. I'm done." Ace says as he goes to leave,[Did they forget I'm here too?] y/n sweatdrops as she stares between the two with Grim.

"Oooh, that right? Then stay right there cowering like a spineless coward!" Deuce spat with such venom and glare, that Grim and y/n had to do a double take on his sudden switch of personality.

Deuce's words causes Ace to whip around and face him,"Huuuuh?? Coward?" he hums with a mocking smile as he walks up to Deuce,"Who exactly are you talking about?" he teases with hands on his hips,"U-uuuh... Deuce. Did you switch up your character?" Grim asks with a raised brow.

That's when Deuce glances at y/n's wide eyed expression and then composes himself quickly before clearing his throat,"My bad. I lost my composure a bit." he stammers with an embarrassed blush,"It's fine, Deuce. We're all a little bit on edge here now." y/n reassures him.

"So, what do we do? Can magic help us at all in this situation?" she asks with a hand on her hip,"Like the Headmaster said earlier, magic isn't all-powerful. If you can't imagine it, then it won't materialize. Large-scale or complicated magic requires a lot of training to us." Deuce explains before Ace pops into view.

"But that's why we have schools for magic. You have to practice a lot to use magic just as it comes to mind. Bluntly speaking, you'll screw up if you lose your cool." he adds in,"So all of you have been using it willy-nilly then?" y/n raises an accusing brow.

"Stuff you're good at, you can go off instinct." Ace waves her off,"At any rate, I'm going in there. I'll figure out how to beat that thing and come back with a magic crystal." Deuce says as he faces the entrance to the mine.

"Oh please. Judging by the chandelier incident and your actions so far, you're a complete idiot, aren't you?" Ace scoffs with a roll of his eyes,"You couldn't land a single hit earlier, but now you'll 'figure it out'? It's going to end the same." he states.

"Come again!? You think of..." Deuce glares at Ace as they start to argue again,"Here they go again." Grim sighs with y/n, who shakes her head before slapping both boys upside their head,"Will you two assholes knock it off already!?" she shouts with a dark glare that made both boys alarm and quiet.

"Whoa. Why are you shouting all of a sudden?" Grim stares wide eye at y/n,"This is exactly why neither one of you could do anything to that thing back there. You argue too much!" y/n scolds with a pointed look that made all of them flinch.

"Ff-fgnnaa..." Grim's ears flatten against his head,"Guuhh... B-but... What exactly should we do?" Deuce asks her and y/n sighs,"We gotta come up with a proper strategy to defeat that thing." she says as she held a finger up.

"Strategy? You mean get along and work together?" Ace blinks with a smirk before frowning,"Ha! You're not funny. You have no problem saying lame things with a serious face, huh." he sighs and Deuce nods,"Agreed. No way I'm working with this loser." he says pointing at Ace.

This made y/n frown and Grim stares up at her before looking at the two boys,"But... I feel like it's way lamer to get expelled on the first day of school." he says and y/n gives him a thankful smile.

"Uuh, that's..." Ace avoids eye contact as Deuce grits his teeth at this,"Yep, so not cool. In fact, it's so lame, that'll we'll be the laugh stock of the entire school and maybe other schools." y/n milks it with a sigh and pouty lips that made both males blush.

"...Haaaahh..." Ace ruffles his hair with an annoyed expression,"Fine! We just have to get it done, right! So, what's your plan?" he grins as he and Deuce nears y/n,"Okay, so the plan is..."

Afyer explaining her entire plan to the group, Grim and herself found themselves standing right in front of the entrance to the mine,"You... really think it'll go as planned? I'm sca... no, just nervous." Grim shakes off his dear and y/n smiles down softly at him.

"No worries bud, we'll be fine. And if not, we'll just have to accept our fate then." she says with a nervous stiff smile,"Haha, you're too stiff! Just go with the flow." Ace pats her back,"Let's get this over with!" he adds and Deuce nods,"Right. Let's go!" he says loudly before he and Ace gets into position.

"Hey, beasty! O-O-O-over here!" Grim shouts into the mine, successfully catching and luring the monster to the entrance,"Grrrr... LeaAAAAAVVEE!!!" it shouts as Grim and y/n starts to slowly back up from it.

"Gah! It's coming!" Grim whimpers before y/n digs through her pocket and takes out a gem that she snatched near the entrance,"Over here, beasty! Look what I've got~" she waves the gem around putting the monster's attention entirely on herself.

"Grr!? There... thief... too. Won't give... Mine... Mine!!" the monster roars as it swings a punch with the lantern at y/n, who immediately rolls out of the way. The lantern just nearly grazing her head as it lands in the ground where she once stood.

"Pyah! That punch looks like a knockout if it lands!" Grim panics as he stares at y/n with worried eyes, paws placed on his cheeks,"Let's go! We gotta lure it as far away from the tunnel as possible!" y/n says as she scrambles onto her feet and she along with Grim ran further from the mine, the monster following after them.

"Go away! Go away!!!" it screams,"It's pretty far from the tunnel now!" Grim comments and y/n nods before stopping,"Now! Go for it!!" she screams and Ace jumps out of his hiding spot,"Ok, I got this! Let's go, Extra Large Tempest!" he casts his spell that sends a powerful wind currents swirling around the monster,"And the Great Grim's Fire Special! Ffgnaaaaaaa!" Grim blows a stream of flames.

The flames mixes in with Ace's wind, creating a raging inferno around the monster,"Guaaaaah!!?" the monster roars in alarm as it's vision is blocked off from the group,"How's that! I can even fan Grim's shobby flames into an inferno!" Ace grins,"It's not shobby! Ugh, every word out of your mouth pisses me off!!!" Grim glares at Ace.

"Guys, this is our chance! Deuce, go for it!" y/n shouts as Deuce approaches the fiery tornado,"Calm down... Take aim... The biggest, heaviest... thing I know..." Deuce takes in a deep breath as he points his magic pen above the tornado,"Come forth, cauldron!" he shouts.

A massive cauldron materializes above the tornado and falls right on top of the monster,"Guaaa!?" it roars as it's squashed to the ground, the tornado clearing up to reveal this to the group.

The group cheers at this. Ace even went as far as to pick up y/n and spin her around a bit,"Got it! Nice work, everyone!" Grim grins widely before pointing at the monster,"Hey, look! The monster looks as flat as a pancake. Just like Ace was earlier!" he snickers.

"You don't need to bring that up again! Jeez, today just isn't my day." Ace sighs as he rubs the back of his head,"Let's go get the magic crystal while that thing can't move." Deuce suggests and they all made their way back into the mine, ignoring the monster's wails.

"Waaaaaaaiiiit!!!!"

They search around for a bit before Deuce spots the item of their mission,"There! A magic crystal!" he exclaims with joy and relief,"Hands ooooooofffffff!" the monster screams from outside as the group heads struggling from its part,"Crap! That thing is almost free!" Ace panics after they made it back to the entrance.

"Oi, Deuce! Throw some stuff on it!" Grim says and Deuce hands the crystal over to y/n,"Eeeh, something heavy!? C-Come forth! Cauldron! And, uuummm, ummm, cauldron!? One more, cauldron!" Deuce stacks more and more cauldrons on top of the monster, that grunts at the increase of weights.

Even though the weight increased, the monster continues to claw at the ground to get out from under the cauldrons," Do you have nothing but cauldrons in your repertoire!?" Ace shouts at the navy haired boy.

"Shut up! I'm at my wits' end over here!" Deuce shouts back before Grim blows fire between the two to stop their squabble,"We got the magic crystal! Let's skadaddle!" he points out,"Roger!" Ace nods before they all made a run for it.

"That. Is... MIIIIIINNNEE!!!" the monster roars as it unbelievably throws off all of the cauldrons from its back and gives chase after the group,"You're kidding!? It brushed off all that stuff and came after us!" Ace panics as they ran.

"Uuuh... uuuughhh...! Give... it ba...ck!!" the monster shouts as it drew closer and closer to the group,"Shoot, it's gonna catch up to us!" Deuce notes with worry and y/n glances back at the monster,"But it looks weaker after our sneak attack! We might be able to take it head on!" she shouts and the group skid to a halt.

"Aaah, fine! Let's finish this! Don't let me down, Mr. Serious!" Ace whips out his magical pen along with Deuce,"You, too!" he nods,"I'll show off my true power!" Grim declares as y/n remembers something,[My gun!]

She pats down her pants as the others fought off the monster. Y/n quickly grabs hold of her weapon and stares up at the monster's cracked glass head,"Please let this work..." she whispers before pocketing the magic crystal and takes aim at the monster.

"Whoa! Whoa! Where the heck did you get a gun!?" Ace gapes in shock at y/n, who doesn't answer and instead fires at the monster. The bullet flies through the air and straight into the monster's head, successfully causing it to burst and all its contents fall to the ground.

The monster collapses before it starts to evaporate and the boys pant in exhaustion while y/n takes in deep breaths from the sudden rush of adrenaline,"We... did it?" Ace pants,"You mean I did it." y/n raises a brow at the boy, but shrugs it off since they technically did most of the work.

"W-We won... We actually won!" Grim cheers as he hugs y/n's leg, who puts her weapon away,"Hooray!" Deuce cheers as well,"We did it!" Ace faces Deuce with Grim now jumping between the two,"Victory high-five~!" he shouts and the trio high-five each other.

Y/n smiles at this with a chuckle,"Well, would you look at that. Seems like you boys are getting along now just fine." she teases with a smile and the boys blush,"...Ag. N-no. This is nothing like that!" Deuce denies quickly,"Y-Yeah, yeah! Could you stop saying weird things?" Ace stammers with a pout,"W-We win, thanks to my genius! It's not because we pooled our strength!" Grim boasts.

"Uh-huh, whatever makes you guys sleep at night." y/n playfully sighs with a roll of her eyes,"...I guess making excuses is pretty lame." Ace smiles while ruffling his hair,"I hate to admit it, but we won thanks to your plan." he pats y/n's head before blushing and pulling away.

Deuce was uncharacteristically glaring at this before composing himself as he gently pats y/n's shoulder,"...True. We got the magic crystal because you gave us level headed instructions. We can prevent our expulsion this way." he takes in a breath with a smile,"...I'm so relieved."

"It's all thanks to our awesome teamwork!" y/n beams before bringing the boys into a group hug by their necks,"I'm just super relieved everyone's alright." she breathes out before Ace pulls himself away from the hug with a red blush,"Yeah, yeah. We're all relieved. And seriously worn out and battered. Let's go home." he says, stretching his neck a bit.

"I'm starving from using so much magic..." Grim pats his tummy before his nose twitches,"Hmm? What's this?" he follows his nose and picks up a black gemstone.

"A remnant from that monster? A magic crystal...?" Deuce hums as he studies the stone in Grim's paws,"But I've never seen one pitch black like coal before." he admits as Grim sniffs the stone closely,"This thing smells really good..." he drools a hit.

"No way!" Ace shakes his head,"I call bull on that Grim!" y/n claims before Grim holds up the stone like a trophy, a grin stretching his cheeks,"This has to be candy the monster was hiding! Oooh, I can't hold back! Time to dig in!" he announces before eating the entire stone in one, big bite.

"Oooh, gross! He actually ate it!? Grim, spit it out! Come on bud!" y/n gags at the disgusting sight,"Uuhh!!!!" Grim's entire body suddenly freezes up,"Hey, you alright!?" Deuce asks with worry,"Jeez. That's why you don't eat things off the ground~" Ace scolds.

"D... D-D-D-D-D... DELICIOUS!!" Grim screams in a smile as he holds his cheeks, a flowery aura surrounding his tiny form,"What!!?" y/n and the two boys shout in disbelief at what Grim just said.

"It's full-bodied, but also rich, with an aromatic sweetness that blooms in my mouth... Like a whole field of flowers in my mouth!" Grim comments and y/n sweatdrops,[He sounds like a professional food critic.] she thought.

"Bleeeeegh. Do monsters really have different tastes than us?" Ace gags as he sticks his tongue out in disgust while Deuce tries to keep his food down,"...I guess so. But more than that..." he takes in a breath,"Most people wouldn't even put a mystery object in their mouth without a thought." he says.

"Grim, buddy, are you sure you're alright?" y/n asks with concern,"Gahahaha! Tasty, tasty! Don't worry, my stomach isn't weak like yours." Grim reassures her before climbing onto her shoulder.

"Don't come crawling to me when you get sick later." Ace huffs with crossed arms,"Alright. Let's switch gears and get this magic crystal to the Headmaster!" Deuce smiles as y/n hands him the crystal back. With that, they all went back to NRC.