Obeying the old man's command, Sico generated a long and sharp ice shard in his hand and hurled it towards the beast with tremendous force. The grotesque beast was covered with thorny bones, and its skin was as hard as modern-day tanks, but the ice-shard was able to pierce through its skull cleanly, leaving a gaping hole in its head. The scene left Ashen completely baffled. After the beast was slain, the ten people sat down on the ground, exhausted.
'How did he kill that monster with just one move? And how was he able to summon ice like that?'
Ashen, still dazed, didn't realise the ten fighters were heading towards him, or more precisely, the three spectators. All of them looked the same age, their faces filled with guilt. After approaching them, all bowed deeply and spoke in unison.
"We are sorry, master. We learnt our lesson."
"No worries," A voice replied casually. "Just reflect on your action, lads!"
Surprisingly, the owner of the voice was not an old sage but Ashen. Sico, with an annoyed expression, smacked Ashen on the head. After a minute of awkwardness, the real master spoke.
"Seems like the trip was not in vain. Reflect on your actions."
The voice belonged to the old man, Bole.
"...Didn't he just repeat what I said?"
With that remark, Ashen earned another punch to the head from Sico. The disciples, after looking up, gazed at Ashen. One of them spoke.
"Who is this person, Sir Sico?"
"I don't know. We will find out after we reach our base."
With that, they began walking through a dense forest right behind the cliff. Ashen reluctantly followed behind them. None of the disciples approached him during the journey. After a while, they reached a cave near a river and went inside.
Helen spoke up.
"Won't this kid see the entrance?"
"Well, since he's not a spy and seems to be lost, we're going to take him in. So it doesn't really matter," Bole replied.
'Take me in? They didn't even ask me if I wanted to be taken in.'
Bole extended his hand, and it emitted a bright light towards a stone embedded in the cave wall. The rock trembled, and the wall slowly descended, revealing a hidden passageway. Following Bole, everyone went in. Once everyone was in the wall slowly returned to its original position.
What lay beyond the cave was not another part of the cave, but an entire kingdom. A sun shone brightly in the sky, and birds chirped and flew around. There was a huge town, which looked as if the buildings there were a mixture of medieval and modern architecture. At the centre of the city stood a massive castle, surrounded by towering walls, just like something straight out of a fantasy novel.
.