Getting the group to the closest F-ranked dungeon was the easy part. Having all of them get in was the hard part. Some of them, like Ciara, Tasha, and Pirlo, were raring to get into the dungeon. The others seemed like they wanted to bolt at a moment's notice, and at the end of the day, it took Nathan telling them that they'd either fight whatever was in the dungeon or fight him.

It wasn't like he was actually going to go through with it, but the threat of facing him was the best he could come up with at the spot. Lady luck and common sense seemed to interfere, and those who wanted to bolt calmed enough to actually listen to reason. He'd brought out his sword from his bag of holding—just for show.

It's for their own good.

That's what he'd told himself at the moment, and to be honest, it kind of made sense. He didn't need the F-ranked dungeon; they did, even if they couldn't figure out why they'd risk their lives in a dungeon. He'd hoped that the actual squad leaders would've chipped in with a word or two, but Ciara and Pirlo seemed disinterested in motivating anyone to get into the dungeon.

The pair having an intense gaze in their eyes, no doubt the information about the threshold restriction already in their minds. So the task had fallen to Nathan, and he'd reluctantly played nanny to a bunch of scared kids. At least he'd started by playing nanny before realizing the big bad bully persona would work better, so he switched to that one.

Its success was more of a matter of time than a question of effectiveness. The rest of the squad folded, swallowing up their complaints and questions as they prepared to get into the dungeon.

For the most part, Nathan was trying to decide if he was even supposed to get into the dungeon alongside them. They were having their first go at a dungeon, and he was pretty sure it was a step up from the tower they'd gone to during their tutorial session.

F-ranked or not, the monsters here were level six and above, and from the information he had on the ground, most in the group weren't even up to level five. Leaving them alone to battle entities that were would basically be him indirectly sending them to their deaths, so he'd have to follow.

My competitors are out there leveling up

while I'm here babysitting teenagers.

Nathan resisted the urge to groan at his reality. Those who would compete with him for the top spot—if there was anything like that—would probably be battling creatures that would crush Ciara and her squad like bugs.

And that's why I'm doing this.

He conceded the fact that they wouldn't survive long without him, so this would be the first step. With two weeks at the minimum, he should've been done with babysitting them. Pirlo and Ciara had that hunger and desire to grow stronger, so it seemed. No doubt the weight of responsibility and the deaths of their squad mates weighed heavily on their shoulders.

"Alright, time to get in. Remember to stay calm and level-headed. Your lives are in your hands," Nathan said.

His words ended the bickering between the rest of the squad, excluding Ciara and Pirlo. The pair standing at the threshold with burning focus, one that seemed comical to Nathan considering how beneath him the foes they were about to face now seemed.

While those two stared into the abyss that was the dungeon with focus, the rest of the squad gazed at him, fear and anxiety clear in their eyes. They didn't find the succor they were looking for in his eyes as Nathan maintained a stoic expression. The only person he felt bad for was the priestess in their midst—Diane. While she wasn't well-equipped to deal with battles on her own, Nathan believed that she would benefit from participating in the run.

I'll keep an eye on her.

"When you step up to the threshold, you'd be offered a choice: step forward and accept the challenge or turn around and leave," Nathan's voice boomed. "I assure you, anyone who turns back would have to face me, and I don't mind going against all of you at once."

It's for their own good.

Nathan kept repeating those words in his mind. He wasn't

it to bully them or oppress them; they needed this run more than they realized. If they decided not to do the run and he just let them be, they'd still meet a monster in the forest that was way higher-leveled than them. Heck, the bunny that had stayed behind at Blood-rock was a prime example.

"So what's it going to be?" He asked rhetorically.

As one, the rest of the squad that were hesitant to do the dungeon run let out murmurs of protests before crossing the threshold, Pirlo and Ciara ahead of them with Nathan right behind them. He didn't even bother reading the system information on which kind of monster was in there or what the clearance requirement was; he just stepped in there confident in his ability to handle every and anything there.

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Besides, I'm just here to chaperone.

If everything went to plan, he wasn't supposed to lift a finger. At most, he'd keep an eye on the priestess and make sure that whatever monster was in the dungeon would play fair. Of course, that meant hoping that Ciara and her squad were competent and organized enough to clear out the dungeon.

The setting seemed dark, not all that much to him, but he was certain that the squad would be affected by the poor lighting conditions. Just like the wolves, he expected the inhabitants of the dungeon to be very familiar with moving in the dark, which meant that for the most part, the squad would be at a small disadvantage.

"If you got free points, chuck a few into perception. You're going to need it," Nathan called out.

A couple of grumbles echoed in the dark space, but Nathan didn't care. He'd given them his two cents on the matter; it was up to them to allocate their points however they saw fit. Leaving them to their decision, he looked around the dark space, his enhanced perception piercing what was supposed to be oppressive darkness with ease.

It's like I have night vision goggles on.

Except instead of the green interface he saw in movies, he could actually see clearly the dungeon they'd stepped into, just as he'd be able to see in a dimly lit room. It wasn't optimal, but his eyes could pierce through the darkness his brain told him was there.

The place seemed to be a round hall with the exit behind them, just a couple of feet in front of the group were a couple of short-looking monsters wielding what looked to be daggers. Nathan was torn between alerting the group to the presence of these monsters as they still hadn't figured it out, but he decided to keep shut.

Let them get the full experience.

He stood still and watched as the rest of the squad continued to walk towards the monsters in front of them, oblivious to the threat. Out of curiosity, he decided to scan one of the monsters. Monsters who'd started to spread out, forming a sort of semi-circle with a monster Nathan assumed was the leader at the helm.

[ Kobold

Level 7 ]

Nathan resisted the urge to snort at the information. Level seven was light work—for him. Regardless, he stayed on his guard, keeping one eye on his surroundings and the other on the priestess, which had unsurprisingly been placed at the center of the group. The rest of the squad protecting Diane from all angles.

"Diane, buff me," Ciara called out.

The order had been called out a couple of moments before they'd stepped into dashing zones with the kobolds. Judging by the way Ciara's head was tilted towards Pirlo, it was safe to assume that the rogue had been the first to spot the kobolds.

From what he could see, their makeshift formation was kind of solid: Ciara and Pirlo at the front; Ruben at the left, Diane at the center, and Tasha at the right; Daniel and Yola brought up the rear. It was a little bit surprising to him that Ruben wasn't upfront with Ciara and Pirlo, but he wasn't going to question their tactics if it was one that worked well for them.

Well, it seems like it's time for the two o'clock show.

"Rargghhhhhh," a voice that sounded suspiciously like Pirlo's echoed before the rogue himself charged at the nearest kobold. Metal on metal echoed in the hall as dagger met dagger, and as expected, Pirlo's second dagger came down like lightning, killing the kobold before it even had the chance to realize that it had been played.

A fireball stole the spotlight from Pirlo—literally. Apparently, Ciara wasn't going to be outdone by her squad mate, so she'd thrown a fireball at a kobold trying to creep up Pirlo's side. The fireball illuminated the room for a brief moment before it made contact with its intended target, burning off the skin of the unlucky kobold who let out a frustrating shriek.

Can't these monsters have nice voices? What's up with all these screeches and shrieks?

Nathan knew he was just being an asshole. Shrieks and screeches didn't bother him right about now. His fight seemed to now be between mostly silent and sentient creatures like the panther or goblins and dwarves. He shook his head.

With a glance, he did a quick head count of the amount of kobolds still remaining, coming to a disappointing twenty-two. There wasn't going to be enough kobolds to level up the squad that much. It was then that Nathan discovered the problem with going for dungeon runs in groups.

Sure, it was way safer than doing it alone, but at the end of it all, each individual would come out with little gains compared to someone who soloed a dungeon. Heck, he'd be surprised if anyone in this squad would gain up to three levels at the end of this dungeon, and if there was anyone that was going to exceed his expectations, it'd be the rogue—Pirlo.

Dispelling the thoughts, he continued watching the battle, an eye on the fights and an eye on the priestess. Ruben seemed to have been given the role of protecting the priestess, and while it was something Nathan didn't quite agree with, he could respect it in some ways. Leaving who was supposed to be your frontliner behind to protect a single member of the squad when he could've been in front of the squad leading the charge made no sense to him.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

If this was how they handled their problems in the tower, then it made a lot more sense why they had decided to keep on using the same formation. It'd worked, and for them, it'd probably be wise to stick with something that they had experience with. So far, Ruben hadn't been tested, but the berserker stuck close to his charge—Diane.

The rangers, on the other hand, had their hands full—literally. Arrows were being launched at the kobolds at an alarming rate. All three archers, firing and reloading as fast as they could. It took Nathan a few moments of watching them and their shots to come to the conclusion that they were shot rangers. More than two-thirds of their volleys didn't hit the kobolds, and the ones that did hit didn't land on any vitals.

To be honest, he was quite surprised how they'd managed to avoid shooting themselves or their squad mates, for that matter. Looking at their faces, he chastised himself a bit; his perception was good enough to pick out the fear on their faces even in the poor lighting. They were scared, and that was probably having an effect on their accuracy.

Finally.

Keeping an eye on the priestess had paid off after all. A couple of kobolds seemed to be headed straight for her, and the only thing in their way was Ruben. Nathan resisted the urge to charge straight at the daring kobolds, instead waiting to see how the berserker would handle the situation. The same berserker seemed to be lost, as he wasn't making any moves towards the kobolds that were fast eating up the distance. Ruben seemed to have frozen at the sight of incoming threats, so Nathan did the only other thing he could do besides joining the fight: he yelled.

"DO SOMETHING, RUBEN!!!" Nathan yelled from where he stood.