"Beta! Johann!", Brian and Domian shouted quickly.

Everyone stopped whatever they were doing as they looked at the direction where the duo was looking at. They have been too worried about them ever since they went out to fight a whole group with just the two of them. They knew that the danger involved was no less than what they had experienced last night judging by how the other team was able to survive that horrible event as well.

The injured were able to recover quite fast due to the care of the other members. They were also able to rest well while waiting for any news regarding Beta and Johann. They have been anxious for a while but it was a good thing that the two of them showed up when they were about to set off and look for them. They were really glad to see the two of them well and alive.

Beta and Johann were instantly surrounded by the whole group and were questioned about what happened on their journey. Seeing their worried and excited faces, the both of them sat down first before iterating what happened. Excited cries were heard and the group was visibly moved by all of the actions in the fight. Of course, Beta and Johann had tweaked the whole fight a bit as to not reveal too much of their secrets. It would certainly be enough to reveal just a little of what they could do as a reference for future group fights.

"So, how is everyone? Did you heal up completely yet?", Beta asked to interrupt the endless inquiries.

"Everyone who has been severely harmed is now perfectly fine. Once we got into the camp, one of our teachers healed us up.", Brian said happily.

"Healed up completely? That's great! This means we can proceed with the search for the key since it's not that late yet.", Beta announced loudly.

Their expressions were kind of awkward as they heard that. After all, the event last night was quite fresh in their minds, thus, they couldn't help but hesitate a bit. But seeing their leader's enthusiasm, they couldn't say no. Plus, they definitely didn't want to say anything against his orders for they knew that Beta's orders are absolute. So, they just silently agreed and nodded to his order.

"Alright, there's no time to waste. Since we don't have any other lead, let's just follow the key we have right now first. This time, we have to go north of where we were before and stay in the city overnight again. No worries, last time it went haywire because of the other team and us not hiding well enough. But I have a plan to prevent something like that from happening again. I'd rather not have to escape once again after all. I won't do the same mistakes twice, you can believe me with that.", Beta said in a serious voice, making clear that he knew what he was doing.

"No one thought that you would do something unreasonable. Even the first time, it wasn't your fault and I'm sure that it won't happen again because anyone who tries to mess with us will die a horrible death.", Brian said with a devilish grin, clearly pumped since he was left behind and missed the big fight. So, he was really eager and itching for another big battle.

The whole squad agreed too, as they were not willing to suffer through such a predicament once again. They were even anticipating to fight another group to experience the thrill that the both of them did. It was such a pity that they missed the opportunity to see their leader go full blast. So, they could only hope and pray that maybe someday, they will be blessed with that kind of opportunity.

Also, Beta had talked about a certain great reward they had gotten after the fight. Even though he didn't specify what it was, he wanted to surprise them with it... Judging by Beta's tone and seeing Johann's expression, they knew that it was something really good. Johann's gaze, whenever their reward got mentioned, showed how great it was. It looked as if his eyes were falling out of their sockets out of excitement and anticipation. And yet, it was accompanied by a wariness that the squad hadn't seen in him before. It made them very curious but could only wait for the time when Beta will reveal it to them.

Holding in their curiosity, Beta's squad then moved out once again after packing their things. At the exit of the camp, some people recognized Beta and Johann who passed by them earlier and was thought of as strugglers. At first, they felt bad for the both of them guessing what happened, but then they were surprised once they noticed that they were being followed by a team. Though, it was nothing new to see other people joining new teams after their own team died, the time they spent in the camp and their action was too quick of a change.

"They didn't even grieve for their last team and already joined a new one..."

"What's with these kids? I seem to recall that when they arrived into the camp earlier, they were still clean after spending the night at the ruins! How could they possibly come out clean while all the others died? They must have abandoned them!", said a young man strongly, as if acting righteously.

"They are the worst!". This line was spoken by multiple people as they stared down at Beta and Johann with their team.

Beta's squad heard their comments and insults but didn't even care about it. They knew the truth and that was more than enough. Also, all those remarks hit them more than it did Beta and Johann. They were the ones that had a leisure time in the camp while Beta and Johann fought a tough battle on their own. They were weak so they couldn't go with them while the stronger ones were helpless due to their duties. Hence, they couldn't really care less about what the others say in their hearts, the truth was crueler than the lie. Hearing the strangers curse at their two brave teammates, they all took it as punishment for themselves. They all stood tall with full resolve to live through this mission and also to be of proper use as they kept on moving forward through the countless strangers who were insulting the two.

The way to their destination was just like the first time they went through the city, it was uneventful. The same kind of beast was roaming around as before and nothing changed. At least, not until they reached the area of the river. The closer they got to the river, the more toads they encountered. Of course, they were not the normal kind of toads, they were Jump Toads.

These kind of toads were around half as big as a grown-up human, meaning, not much smaller than Beta and his friends. The toads' specialty was to jump high up and squash their enemies. It was weird to fight them because their bellies were especially armored, so you couldn't just stab them as they came down. It was necessary to wait until they came down to the ground and attack them before they could jump again. Indeed, fighting one of these toads wasn't a problem, but a group of them was very annoying as their team had to constantly dodge, unlike the toads who were more coordinated as they even covered for each other to defend their fellow toads.

"I don't understand it... it should be around here somewhere, so why can't I see it? or is it that... Just how am I supposed to get there and where exactly is the entrance?", Beta muttered as he stood in front of the river.

The key had led him up to here but it suddenly stopped right at the river. He was quite hesitant as he mumbled the questions, where exactly the entrance was, how they could find it, and if it was in the water... also, were they supposed to dive in? Looking at the river water, it was littered with fish that seemed to be rather interested in them. They were watching Beta's squad intently, anticipating, and waiting for them to jump in. Beta couldn't really verify it, but he was sure that they seemed to like meat.

"Johann, Leonie, Sophie, Pia, use your soulpower to search inside and around the river for an entrance of some kind. Anything that leads down is of interest, so tell me anything you see. Harald, Gerhard, you two dig a hole and create a big room that can accommodate our team's size. Lastly, Brian, Domian, and Tristan will kill all the toads that are in the area as you scout the surroundings for any hidden entrance.", Beta commanded quickly while dividing the tasks efficiently according to their elements and expertise.

He then waited for Harald and Gerhard to finish their job with creating a hole. After they were done, Beta jumped down the hole. He looked at the size of the room and nodded with satisfaction.

"Alright, this should work.", Beta muttered while stroking one of the walls with his hand.