She adjusted the backpack on her shoulders, took Helena's hand, looked at Anton, and said coolly, "Since it's a vote and you all have already made your statements, whether Helena and I raise our hands or not won't change the outcome. Senior, simple logical reasoning, can't you do that?"
"Pfft—", Yuna couldn't hold back her laughter.
Diane also covered her mouth and chuckled.
Raymond even laughed loudly while slapping his good brother's shoulder, "Got choked up by a little girl, can't say a word~"
Anton indeed had a thick skin, but that was only among his peers.
The sharp words of a five-year-old child were stabbing right into his heart.
Anton's old face turned red, but he still managed to keep his composure. He strode forward with big steps and said, with his back to Noah, "Then let's head out quickly, I can't wait to see you crying, junior."
———
Following the guidance from Yuna's bracelet, everyone headed to a remote area.
Of course, so-called "remote" was only relative, since in this uninhabited extreme northern land, all one could see was snow. Everything looked pretty much the same.
During the journey, Senior Diane took out a compass from her pocket.
The compass indicated the direction of the needle, along with a string of numbers.
"Do we still keep going? The positioning compass shows we're already far from where the teacher is."
The compass was specially prepared for students who hadn't yet mastered location magic, to prevent them from getting lost in the snowy wilderness.
Yuna looked down at her bracelet. The flashing frequency was already extremely high.
It could even be said the bracelet had entered a constantly lit state.
This meant that the 'thing' was already very close.
However, everyone looked around, and there was no sign of any obvious landmarks or buildings.
"Could it be this bracelet is just randomly flashing?", Anton asked.
Yuna sighed, "Looks like we really got excited for nothing. There's nothing here."
She gently traced her finger over the bracelet her father gave her, her tone filled with disappointment.
"Not only did we get excited for nothing, we also wasted a lot of time we could have spent capturing dangerous beasts."
Anton snorted coldly, "This time the assessment score is toast~"
Once someone in the group starts being negative, the mood quickly plummets.
Even though their usual bickering was a habit, in this kind of "lose the wife and the army" situation, they could only listen to Anton rant on his own.
But Noah didn't plan to stop here.
She carefully observed her surroundings, nothing but endless white snow.
And when Yuna took a few more steps forward, the bracelet shifted from constantly lit to rapidly flashing.
This meant that what the bracelet wanted to show them was right here. Going further or retreating would go beyond the range of the 'thing.'
But if there were no buildings nearby in sight...
Thinking, Noah looked up at the sky, then slowly moved her gaze downward to the snowy ground.
She squatted down, reached out and brushed away layers of snow, then looked back at Yuna, "Senior, can you try placing your bracelet here?"
"Oh, okay."
Yuna quickly stepped forward, half-squatted beside Noah, and tentatively placed her bracelet there.
Just as Noah expected, the bracelet's glow became even stronger, practically screaming, "It's right here! Right here!"
"We couldn't see what the bracelet wanted us to find because it's buried under the snow."
Noah stood up and looked toward the seniors, "Everyone, use dragon flame to melt the top layers of snow, let's see if we can find anything."
Yuna, Diane, and Raymond had no objections.
Anton muttered something like "Why are we listening to a brat," but still obediently prepared dragon flame.
Even Helena conjured a small fire spell in her hand.
"Hey Noah, you can't use dragon flame?", Yuna asked.
Hearing this, Anton interjected, "Even if she's in the young dragon department, not knowing dragon flame is a bit negligent, no? When I was in the young dragon department, I already—"
What cut off Anton's ramble was a sharp explosive bird-like chirp.
Noah held a ball of lightning, the blue light reflecting on her cold little face, "My natural affinity is lightning. I haven't chosen a second attribute yet, so I'll have to rely on you guys for now."
"To use Lightning Thrust so proficiently at such a young age..."
Yuna softly praised, "If my dad saw you, he'd definitely try to recruit you."
Noah withdrew the spell, shaking off residual sparks from her hand, "Senior, you flatter me. Everyone, let's hurry. If there's really nothing here, we should head back."
Everyone got to work.
Dragon flame sprayed out, gradually melting the snow below.
Not long after, they noticed the flame had reached something it couldn't burn through, a 'barrier' of sorts.
They stopped. Once the snow fully melted, a massive stone slab was revealed beneath.
"There really is something good here," Diane exclaimed excitedly.
"But this stone slab... what's it for?", Raymond asked.
"Let's go down and see."
While speaking, Anton leapt down, landing on the stone slab.
He squatted and inspected it closely.
The slab was covered in ancient dragon language and intricate magical rune patterns.
"These inscriptions likely record a piece of history, a history about... the ancestors of the dragons."
Anton said, "And these runes... look like some kind of seal, needing special magic to open."
After speaking, Anton tried to pry at the slab and added, "Rather than a stone slab, this is more like a door. What the bracelet wants us to see is hidden beneath it."
Noah blinked and leaned toward Yuna's ear, whispering, "He knows all this?"
Yuna smiled, "Anton comes from a very ancient tribe. When it comes to this stuff, he's an expert."
Noah nodded.
Though this senior was a bit arrogant, at least he had some real skills.
The others also jumped down onto the slab.
"So how do we open this door?", Diane asked.
Anton turned and extended his hand toward Yuna.
"What?"
"Give me the bracelet."
"Oh. Be careful with it. If you break it, my dad's gonna scold me," Yuna said as she took off the bracelet.
"Don't worry, I'll pay if it breaks," Anton took the bracelet, squatted down, and pressed it in the center of the slab.
They waited.
No response.
More time passed.
Still nothing happened.
"Welp, looks like this treasure hunt is officially over," Raymond joked.
The others also couldn't hide their disappointment.
Just as they were about to head back, the slab beneath them suddenly began to shake violently.
"W-What's happening? An earthquake?"
"Hey lady, this is a snowy mountain. No earthquakes, only avalanches."
"Oh, that's a relief. As long as it's not an earthquake."
"Hello? Avalanches can kill too!"
In the panic, they all tried to retreat back up.
But just as they pushed off, the stone slab split open from the middle, making them lose footing.
Gravity took over, and the six of them fell into a bottomless cavern below.
The children's cries echoed upward, swallowed by the wind and snow.
———
No one knew how long had passed before Noah slowly opened her eyes.
"Ugh..."
She barely managed to sit up. Once her vision cleared, she immediately scanned the surroundings.
It was a vast and grand building. Stone steps and pillars were engraved with ancient dragon characters. Torches lit up the space. By their light, Noah saw several lifelike dragon reliefs on the walls.
The floor was made of finely crafted reflective material. Noah had never seen anything like it. This building must be at least thousands, or even tens of thousands, of years old.
Looking around, she spotted Yuna and Anton lying nearby, but Helena, Diane, and Raymond were nowhere in sight.
Panic rose in Noah's heart. Enduring the pain surging through her body, she stood up.
"Helena! Where are you?"
Her solitary cry echoed in the massive space but received no response.
Just then, Yuna and Anton groaned and slowly woke up.
"Damn, that fall really hurt."
Anton muttered, standing up and looking around, confused, "W-Where are we?"
"Below that door."
Yuna paused, then added, "Or rather, under the ice sheet of the extreme north."
"Ah... what the hell, there's not a soul here."
Anton looked around and also realized three people were missing, "Where's Raymond and the others?"
Yuna shook her head, "Maybe we got separated during the fall?"
"Helena!"
Noah's shout interrupted them.
The two turned and saw her small figure walking toward the only doorway in the structure.
"Noah! Don't go off! We don't know what's behind that door."
Yuna warned, "According to the combat exam rules, in unexpected situations, once safety is confirmed, we must stay in place and wait for rescue."
Noah stepped onto the stone stairs and looked back, speaking one word at a time, "I'm going to find Helena. She came here with me. I can't let anything happen to her."
"But—"
Before Yuna could finish, the ground shook again.
Anton bent his knees and lowered his center of gravity to maintain balance, "You gotta be kidding! Again? We still can't fly yet!"
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