Stumbling out of the spider dungeon, the members of team 0 took a moment to reorient themselves.
The battle with the [Mutated Spider Matriarch - Newborn] had been difficult, but the meeting with the mysterious man had completely drained what was left of their strength. Withstanding his aura alone had been enough to push them to the brink of unconsciousness, and James knew he had held on so well only because of his skill, Thakinetic Resistance.
Luckily for them, the powerful stranger had at least the decency to finish the job, killing all the remaining spiders in the dungeon. If he hadn’t also taken away a couple of levels by destroying all the remaining eggs, they’d feel truly grateful.
“I feel like we can’t really complain that much, considering how lucky we were in finding the eggs and not getting nuked by the Arachne.” Ezekiel commented, sounding exhausted but relieved to be out in the sunlight.
“I’m still not done elaborating all that happened in there.” Lauren responded.
“We came so close to dying.” Maria whispered, staring far off in the distance. “There really was nothing we could have done had that man not intervened.”
James pressed his lips together, agreeing with the sentiment. His killing of the gigantic spider might have been a great accomplishment for a H-rank Awakener, but that didn’t mean anything against the might of a B-rank monster. They would have died, plain and simple.
They continued their trek in silence, slowly exiting Clarence Fahnestock State Park. They had left everything behind, from the mana stones to the valuable corpses. Even if they still had the strength to take them, they couldn’t have.
After the mess with the Arachne and the mysterious man, they needed to immediately alert the AA, which would send a senior team to investigate the scene. The appearance of a such a powerful monster in an unmonitored dungeon was not something to be taken lightly, after all.
Even the sleepy agency would have no choice but to get off their asses and thoroughly investigate how they had missed it. Of course, most of the blame would fall on the Golden Sun Guild, but since it was already in the process of being dismantled, they wouldn’t be able to use it as a scapegoat.
Miss Walker alone would probably want to push for an in-depth one. This was supposed to be a simple dungeon for them to get some levels without the shadow of powerful guilds trying to make them fail for their own gains. Instead, what should have been a routine operation had turned into a near-death experience with monsters beyond their rank and a man who carried a power they could barely fathom.
The sight of Carmel’s church in the distance was more soothing than James would have liked to admit. It meant they were reentering their world, filled with its own monsters, of course – political, economic, and societal – but it was a world they knew how to navigate.
“Do you think that man will be angry if we talk about him?” Ezekiel asked, his voice filled with uncertainty.
“I don’t know.” James replied, expression grave. The stranger had seemed indifferent to their existence, only interested in the red stone he had found within the depths of the spiders’ lair. “But we have to report everything to the AA. If he’s a threat, it’s their job to deal with it.”
They all nodded in agreement. Even if they were just low-ranked members, they were still part of the organization tasked with monitoring and managing the supernatural elements within the United States. It was their duty to report such an encounter, and the responsibility would then pass to those higher up the chain.
James pulled out his phone, glad that it finally had some signal. He immediately called Miss Walker, the only person in the AA he knew was undoubtedly on their side.
The phone rang three times before the woman answered. “Yes, James, is everything ok?”
“We’re ok, but a lot has happened. You need to send a high-level team here. There was an Arachne, which was then killed by an unknown man. A very powerful one.” He answered, keeping his response short and to the point.
A beat of silence was followed by a long sigh. “You come back to the Headquarters immediately; I’ll handle everything else. Good job getting out of there alive.” And she hung up.
James looked at his phone, chuckling his head at the abruptness. “Alright, guys. Let’s get out of here.”
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
----------------------------------------
Reaching the AA HQ took longer than expected, as New York traffic bottled them at the entrance to Manhattan.
James was almost tempted to just get off in the middle of the road and walk from there, but one look at his teammates’ exhausted faces told him he would not have company.
Their disheveled appearance and dirtied uniforms would have stood out too much amidst the crowd of city dwellers anyway.
He noticed Maria clutching her arms, as if in an attempt to hug herself. Her eyes were haunted and lost, and he couldn’t help but bump her shoulder with his, offering comfort “We made it out.” He whispered, a reassurance for both of them.
“Yes.” She replied, her voice barely audible over the noise of the train. “Yes, you are right. We made it out.”
She fell back into silence, but she kept her shoulder pressed against his in a silent request for support, which he gladly obliged.
The moment they arrived at the AA, they were waved in through the subterranean garage by a uniformed individual whose presence blazed with power. Evidently, they were being expected.
As soon as they got out of the van, they were bustled into the labyrinthine maze of corridors by two more uniformed Agents. They took an elevator, different than the public ones they used to access their training room, and arrived at one of the upper floors, where they finally got to their destination.
A set of blast doors opened with a hiss, revealing a conference room with all the bells and whistles, coupled with refreshments on the side.
What captured James’ attention, however, were the three people sitting at one end of the twelve-seater table, which he instantly recognized as his teacher, Miss Walker, her own mentor, Mr. Bethany, and the last was a nondescript man, which he knew to be the most powerful person in the room.
“Welcome, team 0. I’m sorry that our first meeting has to be in this condition, but rest assured that I have carefully monitored your growth.” The Regional Director, Alfred Meyer, said, gesturing for them to take a seat.
As they shuffled into their seats, one of their two guides entered the room with them while the other took post outside, closing the door behind him. The one who had come in walked over to the refreshment table and poured several glasses of water, bringing one to each.
“Thank you.” James murmured, now truly feeling the exhaustion of the day.
James found it difficult to meet the eyes of the Director. There was something unsettling about the man, as if he wasn’t what he appeared like. His vision kept telling him that he was a harmless middle-aged man to which he shouldn’t pay that much attention, while his skill and instincts screamed that he was very dangerous.
To prevent the budding headache from worsening, he focused on the glass of water in front of him.
“Please tell us everything.” Miss Walker finally said, breaking the spell of silence.
And so they launched in their retelling of their dungeon dive. They were interrupted several times with questions about the mana detection tool’s results, the webs' density and the eggs' consistency.
When they finally spoke about the battle with what they had believed to be the Boss, James spied a glint of pride in his teacher’s eyes. It wouldn’t make the news, not with all the mess that followed, but it was truly an impressive accomplishment.
“And then I felt a massive presence. Bigger than anything I ever felt before.” James said, which made the three executives sit up. This was what they were genuinely interested in.
“We just had time to realize what kind of corpse it was that had been thrown through the entrance that he walked in.” He added, trying to recall every little detail about the man.
“It has to be said that James’ skill has not failed yet. It’s possible to hide from it at a high level of stealth.” Miss Walker interjected, gesturing towards herself. “But nothing has managed to falsify its results. If he says he felt the man was stronger than me or Marcus, I believe him.”
James smiled in thanks, grateful that she’d go out of her way to give credence to his words.
The Director just nodded, apparently willing to accept his expertise.
“And he was just interested in this red stone?” Mr Bethany asked, his eyes glinting with curiosity.
“Yes, sir.” Ezekiel nodded. “He didn’t seem to care about us at all, though we found several smaller spiders dead after we left the chamber. He couldn’t have considered them enough of a threat to fight them, so he might have wanted to ensure we’d get out.”
The largest man in the room waved that away negligently. “Bah, better not to make assumptions. He might just be a very thorough man. I know I never liked leaving jobs half done.”
“Mr Summers, could you describe his aura as clearly as possible?” the Regional Director suddenly asked, his voice calm but carrying an undercurrent of tension.
James nodded “Yes, sir. It was… overwhelming. Like a tidal wave, but not malicious or aggressive. It was just immense. It felt like the weight of a mountain, bearing down on me without effort.”
Director Meyer hummed, leaning back in his chair. His fingers rhythmically tapped against the armrest. “Did he say anything? Any indications of his intentions or affiliations?”
“Just that we were too weak to learn the truth of the world.” Lauren answered, sounding a bit miffed. “He said that if James ever got to B-rank, he may have to contact him.”
At that, the attention of the three high-rankers shifted to him, and he answered the unspoken question. “I managed to withstand his aura a bit more than he had expected, I think. And he was surprised I was able to feel the evil within the red stone.”
“Evil is a strong word. Do you mean that there was a thinking mind entrapped within it?” Miss Walker followed, red eyes trained on his.
“Not so much a thinking mind, as there was a craving, a strong determination about what direction the energy contained had to take. Just enough mental energy to have resolve. It didn’t feel like it had thoughts, at least.” James explained, feeling frustrated at his lack of details. He had been dead tired and not particularly focused on the stone, after all, and he could only recall so much.
The room fell into a tense silence, the implications hanging heavily in the air.
“It’s above our pay grade.” Mr. Bethany finally said with a hint of dry humor, trying to alleviate the weight in the room, but his eyes were serious as they met each theirs. “We’ll have to escalate this to the National Office.”
The Director stood up, his posture radiating authority. “I commend you all for handling such an unexpected situation with bravery. Rest now, let the agency handle the rest. We will keep you informed of what we can tell you as we unravel this mystery. For now, you have earned some rest.”
They all murmured their thanks as they stood up and filed out of the conference room.
James’ mind was a mess as he tried to make sense of everything that had happened. One thing, however, kept popping up. None of the three had seemed surprised to learn that the powerful man had been there for the stone.