The sun was just beginning to set as Team 0 emerged from the dungeon, their steps heavy with the fatigue of their recent battles. The vast desert landscape they had become accustomed to over the past days now gave way to the more familiar forests of upstate New York. The air was fresher here, free from the oppressive heat and swirling sands of the dungeon, even as the storm had begun to die down with the death of its residents.
James was busy considering all he would have to do in the coming days. He was sure the Emerald Guard wouldn't let him off the hook so easily. The AA would help, he knew, but his gut told him even if they managed to protect him from legal consequences, he'd still have to watch his back.
Beside him, Daniel walked with a determined stride, his shield strapped to his back. He broke the silence, his voice tinged with a mix of exhaustion and satisfaction. "We did good back there. The dungeon was chock-full of monsters, despite the poachers. I'd say this was pretty successful."
Maria nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I still would have liked not to constantly face meddling, but this was a good one." Having dealt the final blow to the Boss, and with her Talent being the one thing that had allowed the rest of her teammates to fight it in the first place, she had taken the lion's share of the experience, meaning her level had been pushed up quite a bit.
The cleaning effort afterward had netted them at least two more levels each, meaning they had firmly left the early G-rank behind them and were now somewhere in the middle of the power scale.
Their conversation continued as they reached the edge of the dungeon, where they were greeted by Mr. Robinson, their reliable driver, and a group of AA agents. These people had waited for them for days, protecting them from possible retaliation, which made James very grateful. They eventually signaled with the transmitter that they were good to come out, which Team 0 had received with relief.
Well, it's not like they would have been able to do much beyond calling for reinforcements if a powerful Awakener had come along, but with all their equipment and training, they are more than capable of dealing with up to an E-rank threat. I know being hit by a hail of bullets from those rifles would shred me to bits, armor or no armor.
After all, the equipment provided to a regular Agent included a Colt M7 Titan, a type of Carbine explicitly designed with the enhanced bodies of an Awakener or a monster in mind. The bullets, specially made with mana-rich materials, pierced through almost any protection available to low-rankers like them, and a hail of them would mean certain death.
Of course, the Agents were not particularly stronger than an average human, beyond being fit and well-trained, but the M7 Titan was more than enough for this kind of operation.
They still don't have the reflexes and agility necessary to clear a dungeon, which is why low-level places like this are not swarming with Agents. Well, that and the AA uses them to train rookies like us. We wouldn't be able to grow at all if they just carpet-bombed every dungeon.
Mr. Robinson, a stoic man of few words, gave them a slight nod of recognition as they loaded their gear into the van. "Welcome back, Team 0."
The next couple of hours were spent choosing which monster parts to bring back and which to leave behind. Of course, the mana stones would all return to New York with them, but the space available for transport was insufficient to bring even just one complete Sandwurm carcass.
Most of the Boss had been too damaged by Maria's attack to be worth bringing along, but its mana stone would fetch a pretty price. The golems, on the other hand, were likely to be the best earner of them all. Any creature made of tough enough materials was worth a lot, as construction companies were always hungry for enhanced stone they could mix with ordinary materials to increase their buildings' hardiness.
That meant they left behind most of the organic beasts, beyond just taking a few of the Boss' teeth and some chitinous armor from the Sandwurms.
After that, they all piled into the van. The drive back to New York City was quiet as they left the lush forests behind, with the city's skyline slowly coming into view. The familiar sights and sounds of civilization starkly contrasted the desolation they had endured inside the dungeon.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
When they finally reached the AA Headquarters, they were met inside the basement by a woman James recognized as the Regional Director's assistant. She was no-nonsense, and as soon as they had all gotten out of the van, she bustled them off toward the medical ward. "Director's order." That was all she said, and she didn't allow them to get a word in edgewise.
Luckily, they found a friendly face waiting for them at the entrance of the infirmary. Miss Walker eye-smiled, giving them a cheery wave and ushering them in. "I know you are not used to this kind of treatment, but we need to be extremely thorough in documenting everything."
An entire team of doctors - in scrubs, masks, and gloves - met them inside and immediately started working on them. Their hands glowed with potent diagnostic magic as they scoured every part of their bodies for potential injuries.
The middle-aged man caring for James evidently sensed his hesitation, so he explained what he was doing. "We don't expect anything to be wrong with you since you have a healer on hand, " he said, nodding towards Ezekiel, who nodded back, grateful for being acknowledged. "But we're trying to get a history of your bodies for the last couple of weeks so that we can demonstrate you were not under any altering substances while you fought with the poachers."
Ah, that makes sense. They are trying to prevent any line of inquiry the Emerald Guard might use by having already done all the proper checkups.
James grunted in understanding as the doctor continued his examination. After some time, the medical team gave them all a clean bill of health. Miss Walker then ushered them out, leading them back to their private room.
Once seated, she began. "First, let's put what happened with the Emerald Guard to the side. We'll have time to talk about it later. More than that, I want to know how the rest of the dive went, what you think you might have done better, and what you did right."
James leaned forward. "The Boss was a lot stronger than expected." Then, he corrected himself. "Well, it's not right to say it was strong. It was just in the perfect conditions to use its Talent, and we were in the opposite situation."
Daniel nodded, adding. "I think we might have gotten too used to being able to improvise on the spot. It's not a bad skill, but we should conduct a more thorough examination before jumping in. Especially of the Boss. It was closer than I like to think about."
Maria chimed in, her expression thoughtful. "Our teamwork was on point. We adapted and used our strengths effectively, especially when it came to neutralizing the crocodile's advantage with my fire construct. But Daniel is correct in saying that, at least the first time, we got too close to getting buried in a sandy grave."
Miss Walker nodded. "Your growth as a team and your ability to adapt in challenging situations is commendable. I'm generally not too explicit with my compliments because I don't want you to get a big head, but that you learned this lesson without losing someone genuinely amazes me." She said, eye-smiling at the chilling silence that followed.
Was she expecting one of us to die sometime soon so the others could learn something from it? Fucking hell… I forget sometimes that this woman was forged in the early days of the Apocalypse.
"Now, let's talk about levels." Their teacher said as if nothing had happened, gesturing for them to get a move once they all stayed quiet.
James cleared his throat, shaking himself out of his contemplation. "You already know I got quite a few levels from killing that guy." And isn't that still a mindfuck? "But beyond that, I got three more as we cleared the rest of the dungeon. It was massive, and I even took a backseat so the others could catch up more. This means I'm now level seventy-five and I used my stats according to my plan, focusing on STR and SENSE."
I still can't believe I'm already halfway through the G-rank. I know it gets harder to gain levels as one keeps growing, but the situations we have been through put us against enemies so strong that my growth has never stalled. At this rate, I'll cross the next Tier sometime soon.
The others quickly jumped in, explaining their own growth. Thanks to James not interfering with most fights, they had almost caught up, especially Daniel and Maria, who had been instrumental in the battle with the Boss.
The Fire Mage had especially received most of those experience points, while the Tank had gotten more than any other save James from the F-ranker, as he, too, had participated in the fight.
Lauren had already been slightly beyond them, which meant she was now on par with the others. Ezekiel was the only one left slightly behind, but when he voiced this worry, Miss Walker reassured him that she had a plan. "It still has some moving parts that I need to work out, but after we are done with the annoying bits, I'll take you all on a new training trip. Your growth has been quite exceptional, don't misunderstand, but for the enemies you'll be facing in the future, it won't be nearly enough. Despite how serious the situation has been until now, what with several Guilds deliberately sabotaging your dives and keeping an eye on you, the only time you were in any real danger was during the raid on the Radiant Guild, and that was something we started."
The woman sighed. "Despite how much I despise their behavior, most major guilds know not to get involved in the affairs of low-ranker Awakeners. This means they have been passive enemies until now. You can imagine how things will be different if they go on the offensive."
Then, she shook her head when they all made to ask further questions. "I'll explain more later. However, moving forward, you need to be more cautious. The incident with the poachers has drawn attention, and we need to navigate this carefully. We can't be seen as running away entirely, which is why I allowed you to come back here, but staying inside this building is not a good idea, as being in close reach of the authorities means you'll be less protected by the regulations around being an AA Awakener."
Ezekiel spoke up. "What about the legal implications? We were defending ourselves, but I'm worried about what they might try to claim. It's not like we have a recording of the fight, and while they shouldn't have been there in the first place, a death is not an easy thing to explain." He gave James an apologetic glance for having brought the sensitive matter up, but he just shrugged. James didn't like having to think about it, but he had gotten over the worst of it, and he, too, wanted to know what to expect.
Miss Walker reassured them. "You'll meet with the legal team soon. They're working on ensuring your actions are framed within the context of self-defense and your mission parameters. For now, we need to lay low. The situation with the Emerald Guard is delicate, especially with so much of the AA's attention tied up elsewhere. The Guilds have gotten bolder."