After the first barrage of attack launches, Greg, Caen, and Emma readied their weapons. They move closer, ready for a follow-up attack if the first one does not hurt it. Three of them stand a few meters away around the figure. 

They waited until the thick dust smoke slowly dissipated. Surprised, they saw that the darkness creature they had struck earlier was uninjured. The tall sentient creature was still standing in the middle of the crater, unmoved.

The three of them, undeterred by the creature's resilience, charged forward with their weapons drawn. 

But their weapons, swung with all their might, passed through the creature's body without any resistance. The humanoid figure slowly dissipated into thin air, leaving the attackers stunned, including Clara and Edward, who watched from a safe distance.

Clara hurriedly took off from her position, running towards the three vanguards. Edward followed her from behind. When the five of them rallied back together, Emma asked, shocked.

"What happened?"

"Guys, I don't like what I see!" Caen also expresses his worries.

As the five of them were still confused, they greeted them from the edge of the crater. The rocks at the edge of the crater move and roll down into the crater. The five of them turned to look at the edge, and their eyes slowly widened.

All around them, dozens of darkness creature silhouettes, with their twisted forms and glowing black void eyes, stand tall, gazing down onto them. A chilling sensation strikes each and every one of them. Then Caen's voice breaks the silence.

"Uhh, guys. I'm not seeing things right?"

No one dares to answer the question. Everyone tries to stay silent as much as they can, but then Greg shouts.

"Everyone! Stand your ground!"

Greg turned around, scanning each creature that surrounded them. He could tell that each darkness creature there had once been a citizen of Veloria. His resentment towards darkness grew stronger. He glanced towards his comrades.

"Everyone, form a circle. Clara stays in the middle."

But then Clara immediately interrupts.

"Uncle, we need to get out of here. It's a trap."

"I know, but we are completely surrounded now."

Emma speaks about her worries.

"So what now? We fight each of them here?"

Greg immediately answers.

"No, we'll move out of this crater. I will take the vanguard position. Caen, Emma cover the sides and Edward covers our flank."

Everyone agrees without any fuss. They immediately move into position. Even though Emma is considered the highest-ranking among them, she still follows Greg's instructions. That is because in the past, Greg was a renowned hunter himself. 

His achievement has been sung in Veloria. He once led an expedition into an abandoned cave, rescuing kidnapped villagers from a darkness creature in the nearby village. Everyone, including his team, survives the rescue mission unscathed. 

There are many other heroic stories about Greg, and that is why he is respected across the town. But he has already retired from being a Hunter and opened a weapons workshop in Veloria. 

His reputation was not the only thing that helped his business; his own skill as a weaponsmith helped him rise to become one of the famous blacksmiths in Veloria.

Greg continued.

"Clara, provide support fire, but try to prioritize your mana for healing."

Clara just nodded. She unsheathed her short sword from the scabbard and held it in her arms.

Right after that, another howl comes from the darkness creatures all around them. Then, every dozen creatures rapidly descend into the crater, rushing towards the five people.

"MOVE!!!" Greg shouted.

The group of five immediately moves. Clara, Edward, Caen, and Emma move following Greg's lead. When a group of darkness creatures approached Greg, he raised his hand and cast ice magic. 

A huge chunk of ice appears in front of him. He swings his hammer onto it, breaking it into smaller pieces that fly onto his enemy. Each creature that gets hit falls to the ground due to the substantial impact. 

Some did not get hit by it and continued rushing forwards. Greg's skill with the hammer is unmatched, and he uses it to smash every creature that is on his path.

Caen, who is on the right wing of their group, faces enemies on the right. He cast multiple lightning spells to strike his opponent. He does not have personal magic, but his mastery of lightning elemental magic cannot be underestimated. 

He can cast any type of light magic, from offensive to defensive. Even so, he still needs to be careful with his mana reserve.

Humans are known for their low mana capacity compared to other races. They are the race with the least affinity to magic. That is why humans pursue Sorcertech in these modern times. 

Because with Sorcertech, they could access the wonders of magic that they weren't capable of.

And that is why Caen only cast multiple weak lightning spells, only enough to stunt the enemies.

On the left side, Emma did not use any magic but instead struck her opponent using her sword. Her sword is different from the one Edward and Caen received when they joined the Veloria city guard. 

The blade materials look slightly different from the guard sword, as they reflect light more beautifully. The sword of the royal military was tempered with more high-grade materials, making it more durable and able to withstand more rune sorcery on it. 

The royal military had one extra rune engraved on it, which is lightweight. This enchantment reduces the sword's weight, helping its user wield it with ease and preventing them from getting tired quickly.

Emma slashes her enemies with high precision. She did not aim to kill them off; instead, she aimed to disable them from moving. This way, it is more efficient for her. 

Instead of trying to hit every weak spot of her enemies, disabling their movement is more proficient. Because their number one priority right now is to get out of this pit hole trap. Emma tries to save her magic by only using the runes on her sword.

Then there is Edward at the back covering their flanks. He was having slight difficulty handling his part. Trying to stop the assault of darkness creatures while his back is towards them is not easy. 

If he turns to face them, he might get left by the group. So that is why he cast earth magic, triggering a ground tremor that sent those creatures falling.

A few shortcomings of humans in magic are the spells they can cast. Humans can only use elemental magic; the only exception is personal magic, but that is also random, and not everyone has it. 

The elemental magic they cast can only be activated right in front of them. The maximum range that the spell can be activated is only half a meter from them, but that limit is only applicable to activation. 

Any projectile magic can be shot far enough, depending on the user's magical capability. Luckily, Edward was in the back position, so he could activate his ground tremor magic without worrying that it would hit his group. 

And because of that, he could increase the area of effect of those ground tremors, hitting as many enemies as possible.

Some creatures manage to jump over it and continue their pursuit. The one that got past the magic was dealt with by Edward using his sword. The five of them barely manage to navigate the sea of darkness creatures.

Clara, who was in the middle, also lent her support from time to time. Among all of them, she is the most proficient in elemental magic. She can use up to three elemental magic, which are water, earth, and fire. 

In this world, anyone who has been blessed with healing magic can automatically use fire magic. But even if someone can use much elemental magic, it still does not change the fact that humans have a small mana capacity.

Clara, from time to time, shoots small fireballs in every direction, helping the others, and sometimes uses her healing magic if there is someone who was severely injured.

Their group of five handles their challenges smoothly, even if they move slowly. Everything was sailing according to plan. Everyone was busy with their tasks, covering all directions against dark creatures. 

Until a claw suddenly grabbed onto Clara's clothes on the back. Those claws then rapidly lift Clara up into the air. She was unaware of the creature that assaulted her from the back. Clara immediately screamed the moment she was lifted from the ground. 

The other four people also only noticed the situation when they heard Clara scream. They took a quick glance and were shocked to see that Clara was being carried by a human-sized black bird. The tainted bird then flies off away from them.

"UNCLE!!!"

"Clara!!!"

That was the last thing they heard from her. Everyone was left stunned by what happened, but they still fought off the incoming darkness creatures. Then Greg talks; his voice is stern, but a hint of worry can be heard.

"We need to move. Fast!"