Chapter 259: Temple Of First Rebellion [II]

It took us eight more hours to climb down the escarpment and finally reach the jungle floor.

Eight more hours! At least nine in total!

By the time my boots hit dirt again, I was ready to throw myself at the nearest Spirit Beast and beg it to end me.

Unfortunately, today of all days, the universe decided to nearly grant my wish.

Because the lower we descended and the closer we got to the floor, the more Spirit Beasts started spotting us and attacking.

First, we were ambushed by killer bees. Those things were the size of small bikes, buzzing around with stingers as long as our bodies.

One grazed past my shoulder and nearly skewered me like a kebab.

Ray, naturally, screamed like a dying goat while filming the whole thing on his drone.

Then a large swarm of human-headed cockroaches dug their way out of the cliff face and surrounded us. Each one was the size of a wagon and disgusting enough to make us retch.

They screeched, spat bile, and had the nerve — the absolute

nerve

! — to slam their ugly bodies into the cliff, knocking loose entire boulders that rained down on our heads from above.

Vince almost threw up. Not from the fight. But from looking at their faces too long.

We barely survived that mess before the jungle decided it was time to introduce us to a giant snake with humanoid limbs.

Yes.

Humanoid limbs

.

Gaunt arms and legs stuck out of its scaly torso, which the snake used to scuttle toward us like some grotesque spider as it hissed black venom.

Michael, bless his heroic stupidity, charged it head-on.

He eventually brought the thing down with Alexia and my help, while the rest of the gang held back a small horde of gigantic mushroom monsters that flanked us during the fight.

By the time it was all over, I swore I would never,

ever

complain about the Academy’s curriculum again.

Because at least that didn’t involve being nearly stung, crushed, and eaten alive in the same hour.

Anyway, it looked like we were safe for the time being.

Everyone was alive and mostly unharmed — though some had sustained small injuries — and all of us were so exhausted that even breathing felt like a chore.

So we moved in lethargic silence, wearily looking around for a relatively safe place to set up camp.

But even now, there was one among us who somehow still had enough energy to just keep on yapping.

It was, of course, Ray Warner.

"Hello and welcome back to my channel, Ray-diants!" he said far too cheerfully to his camera. "It has been thirty minutes since our fight with that snake, and according to my clock, we’ve now officially entered day seven! Yes, you heard it right, dudes and dudettes! Your boy has been stuck in this jungle for seven days!"

He skipped to the front and panned the camera across our faces one by one. "As you can see, my companions’ morale is low. Or is it morales? Eh, whatever. Grammar is for people with energy, and I’m currently running only on charisma."

He shoved the drone closer to Vince’s face.

Vince swatted at it like it was a mosquito. "Get that thing away from me before I eat it."

Ray gasped dramatically. "You wouldn’t eat my drone. Not after

everything

we’ve been through together."

"Watch me! I’m so hungry right now I could chew plastic!" Vince snarled, clutching his stomach. Then he frowned and pointed at his drone. "Wait, come to think of it, how has that thing not run out of battery already?"

Ray shrugged. "Oh, it did. I just charged it."

I wasn’t paying much mind to their babblings, but when Ray said that, my attention spiked.

I stopped, blinked, and slowly turned to face him.

And so did everyone else.

He blinked back at us, confused. "...Ah, what?"

"How the hell did you

charge

it?" Michael asked.

"Power bank, duh!" Ray replied matter-of-factly, pointing to a satchel on the utility belt of his uniform. "This little thing right here is a storage artifact. It can hold as many things as it takes to fill up a small backpack. And I’ve stuffed it with all my camera equipment and power banks."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Then Vince exploded. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! You’ve been carrying camera equipment in a storage artifact instead of, I don’t know — FOOD?!"

"Correction." Ray raised a finger like a smug professor. "Camera equipment

and

power banks."

"What part of that makes it better?!" Vince barked, clutching his head. "Storage artifacts are supposed to carry emergency supplies! Rations! Medical kits! Not—" he jabbed a finger at Ray’s drone, "—whatever vlogging nightmare that thing is!"

Ray gasped dramatically. "Excuse you, my Ray-diants are not a nightmare. They’re family."

"Oh yeah?" Vince snapped. "Can they feed us when we’re starving?!"

"Yes," Ray said confidently. "With likes and emotional support."

Michael, ever the peacekeeper, held up a hand. "Alright, alright, calm down. Instead of fighting, we should—"

A loud

crunch

cut him off.

Everyone froze.

Slowly, they all turned... this time to look at me.

I was leaning against a mossy tree, casually munching from a bag of butter popcorn, one hand wrapped around an ice-cold can of energy drink wet with condensation.

For a heartbeat, no one spoke.

Then Vince erupted again. "ARE YOU SHITTING ME RIGHT NOW?! You had food all this time?! Actual food?!"

Ray clutched his chest. "Bro. Bro! Where did you even get popcorn?!"

Lily blinked rapidly. "Why didn’t you tell us you had rations?"

I calmly popped another fluffy kernel into my mouth and chewed. "You didn’t ask."

Vince staggered like the words physically hit him. "Wha—? Ask?! I’m sorry! Who the hell asks someone,

’Oh, by the way, are you secretly hoarding snacks while we starve?!’

"

Michael pinched the bridge of his nose. "Samael, just— just share it."

I tilted my head. "Why should I? What do

I

get out of it?"

Vince’s jaw dropped in disbelief. "Why? Because we are dying! Do you want something in return for saving your fellow Cadets?! And here I thought

I

was the most selfish bastard I knew."

I smirked. "Never assume you’re the best at anything."

"Oh, you smug piece of—!" Vince was halfway through raising his middle finger when Michael groaned and cut in.

"Samael. Stop antagonizing him. And please share the food," he said.

I rolled my eyes like a martyr being asked to sacrifice everything.

Then I reached into the inner pocket of my robe and flicked out cans of soda, bottled water, and sealed snack packets from its dimensional storage, scattering the items across the floor like treasure.

The group lunged at them. Even Juliana snagged a bottle of water with a casual flick.

Only Kang didn’t take anything. Instead, he went to scout the perimeter.

Within seconds, wrappers tore, caps twisted, and the sound of desperate chewing filled the air.

Ray wiped crumbs off his chin. "So, uh... what else you got in there?"

I sipped my drink, unbothered. "Nothing much edible. A few more packets, some water. The rest’s just clothes and Essence Stones."

Vince froze mid-bite and glared at me. Then he buried his face in his hands and groaned.

"Why," he muttered, "why are all rich people so stupid?!"

I scowled. "Excuse me?"

"No! No, I

won’t

excuse you!" He barked like I’d personally wronged his entire bloodline, then pointed between me, Ray, and Alexia. "Storage artifacts were invented to carry

emergency

items! They’re rare, but they’re not luxury! They’re not so that you nobles don’t have to commit the arduous labor of carrying your own luggage!"

Ray tapped his shoulders. "Whoa, buddy. Calm down. Who hurt you?"

"No, shut up! Listen to me!" Vince flung his hands up. "The three of you packed designer clothes, camera equipment, and fancy tents! Which one of those screams

’life-or-death emergency’

to you?!"

Alexia raised her hand sheepishly. "Tents are considered survival gear."

Vince made a strangled noise, somewhere between a scream and a sob. "You can live without tents! A simple tarp and cords are enough! You can’t live without food and water!"

"Well, sorry for being accustomed to the luxury we were born into," I snickered.

"Arghhh!" Vince

physically

pounced on me like a rabid dog.

Michael had to wrestle him back down.

"My goodness," Lily muttered. "He’s

livid

."

"I’m

livid

at the heavens for not making me born a noble! If I was born into money, I’d have filled my storage artifact with practical things! Canned beans! Water filters! Rope! Do you know how useful a good rope is?!" Vince ranted, his voice breaking as Michael struggled to hold him back. "But no! You brats pack expensive jackets and snack food!"

Ray grinned. "You forgot my tripod."

"Oh my god, shut up!" Vince howled, thrashing in Michael’s grip. "You don’t deserve that storage space! You should’ve been forced to carry your crap in your teeth!"

Alexia scoffed smugly. "You sound jealous."

Vince froze, then pointed at her with a shaky hand.

"Jealous? Jealous?! Of course I’m jealous! Do you know what I’d give for a storage artifact?! I’ve tried to find one, I’ve tried to smuggle one... but I’m always either short on money or my sources fail me!" His eyes welled with

actual

frustrated tears. "When I was little, I had to hide loaves of bread in dead rats just so bigger kids wouldn’t steal them from me!"

Ray recoiled. "...Dude."

"What?!" Vince shouted.

"That’s disgusting."

"It was survival! You don’t know hunger until you’ve gnawed bread crumbs out of a rat’s ribcage!"

Lily blinked, disturbed but fascinated. "Wait... did you actually eat the rat, or just use it as a container?"

"Does it matter?!" Vince shrieked.

"Yes," Ray and Lily said in unison.

Juliana, sitting cross-legged a little distance away with her bottle of water, finally chimed in. Her voice was cold and flat. "He ate the rat."

Everyone turned to look at her.

"What— no! I didn’t!" Vince yelled, indignant. "Why would you just assume that?!"

Juliana unscrewed her bottle without looking up. "You’ve got the face of a rat-eater."

Ray

lost

it, choking on his soda and coughing violently. "Oh my god! Rat-eater! I’m clipping that!"

The sound of his drone whirring back online made Vince snap his head around.

"Wait— you’re recording?!" Vince lunged for the camera, but Ray held it high.

"Ohhh yes," Ray grinned. "This is gold!"

"You son of a—" Vince flailed wildly, missing the drone by inches. "Delete that or I swear I’ll—"

Thankfully, before they could continue their catfight, Kang walked back in.

"You guys," he said. "I’ve found something I think you should all see."