Ray encased the entire group in a barrier made of the toughest type of Azure Winds he could summon.

Azure Winds could be soft like cotton, hard like iron, or sharp like a legendary weapon that could cut through steel like mud.

The barrier he shaped from them was strong enough to hold its own against many types of onslaught. It wasn't comparable to the level of defense provided by the rune of defence and the turtle shell armor, but it was near their level!

Holes opened in the walls and ceiling, and then, hundreds of arrows rained out

Tink! Tink! Tink!

They clanged and sparked against the azure dome, failing to pierce through it.

The assault was relentless.

When it started to show signs of shattering under the barrage of arrows, Ray reinforced it with even more Azure Winds. This led to his magic power being depleted faster than it was being replenished. This situation couldn't last forever!

Fortunately, no more arrows came out of the holes after a while. At the same time, the uncomfortable sensation gnawing at Ray died down.

Ray exhaled softly, "The coast is clear. It's time to move."

He maintained the azure dome as he advanced through the corridor with the rest of the group.

Everyone found him dependable. They stuck close to him. Even the disdain in the Female Elf's gaze dispered, replaced by new emotions. She started to see him in a new light.

Click.

The tile beneath the cat woman's feet sank down.

"Guys, I think I have triggered a trap," she gulped.

Her warning had only fallen when the floor beneath their feet split open.

His Azure dome offered no protection this time.

The group plummeted into a pit fitted with iron spikes long enough to skewer horses.

"Ahhh!"

Lucy and several others screamed as they fell toward certain death. At the last moment, an azure platform bloomed into existence beneath them.

They crashed into it, groaning, while Ray landed on it lightly.

"Are you guys alright?" he asked.

Lucy and the female elf each raised a hand from beneath Mabo and the cat-woman, giving him a weary thumbs-up.

'Looks like some signs are universal,' Ray thought.

Although they were crushed beneath others, they weren't seriously hurt. But it was an embarrassing experience nonetheless. Not to mention, the people who crushed them beneath their butts still hadn't moved off of them.

Mabo was pinched so hard he scrambled off them like a startled cat. The cat woman was fast to realize something was wrong. She got off them before a tail twist could come her way.

Mabo and the cat woman apologized to the two victims of the unfortunate accident, even though it hadn't been their fault. Everything happened too suddenly. They had no time to react. Lucy and the elf woman accepted their apologies half-heartedly.

The group once again expressed their gratitude to Ray.

'I feel like a pro carrying a bunch of noobs,' Ray thought as he resumed leading them through the deadly corridor of death.

"Be careful where you step. The floor is inlaid with mechanisms that can activate hidden traps," Ray said to the group. His words were as much a warning as they were advice.

"All the tiles look similar. How do we know which ones are dangerous and which aren't?" the female elf asked.

Ray had thought about it too. "Try to step on the same tiles I step on," he replied.

As a heavenly being he could sense danger in advance. It had a lot of practical uses. Just by focusing on the guidance provided by his sixth sense, he could sense which one was a pressure plate that activated a trap and which one a simple tile that could be stepped on.

The group followed his instructions without hesitation.

The female elf, despite her pride, decided to put her trust in him again as she had no better option and he had saved her life. To be honest, she had no means of dealing with the rains of arrows that came from all sides. She wasn't a tamer and her skillset was more suited for ranged combat rather than neutralizing traps.

To their surprise, no traps were triggered in the next 2 hours and they faced no danger. A few of them were drenched in sweat because of walking so long nonstop in a claustrophobic environment. The corridor was long and winding. Despite steadily marching through it for hours, there was no end in sight.

During that time they introduced themselves to each other.

The cat-woman was Sylvia, an iron rank hunter.

Hunters as explained before were beings with powerful souls, but no taming seals

She had learned martial arts and her innate skill was charm-based. She could use it to confuse her opponents' senses, clouding their judgment, and making them hesitate at critical moments. Against beasts with low willpower or enemies who relied too much on instinct, she was deadly, but she admitted such talents weren't very useful in a place filled with traps instead of living foes with low intillegnce and willpower.

The hulking humanoid crocodile introduced himself as Elvis. For someone who looked like a nightmare come true, it was a pretty name.

He was a rank stronger than Sylvia. His thick scales provided him with a level of defence comparable to bronze rank armor, and his innate skill was all about channelling his magic power into his body to increase his brute strength.

The female elf gave was Lia. She only gave her rank. She didn't tell her innate skill. Her innate skill was her greatest trump card. Revealing it to strangers never crossed her mind. She simply mentioned her name and revealed she was a peak bronze ranker.

When their introduction was over, Ray understood thoroughly why Tyrant One had said that humans were considered one of the weakest races in the known universe.

They all were born with powerful traits!

Humans, on the other hand, unless they continuously enhance their souls, they simply can't catch up to the more powerful races.

For example, for humans without the Tyrant's Soul cultivation method, they would need to advance their soul to the gold rank before they could unlock traits.

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