Chase entered the Dungeon and immediately started laughing. The Hunters marched in after him, their stern expressions melting to stupor when they saw their surroundings.
“It’s beautiful!” David yelled. He turned to Chase with an incredulous look. “What the hell is this?”
“I think it’s an omen,” Chase answered. “Definitely some god or goddess giving us a thumbs up.”
They stood in the middle of a dense mangrove forest, a bed of snaking roots all that separated them from the water beneath. The ground — if it could even be called that — swayed as they moved, like a floating island tied to the surface world by just a single chain. Daylight filtered through where it could, illuminating a path into the shamrock forest.
Jamie advanced along the bank, checking the water. “Keep an eye out for Marshguts, I’m guessing?”
Chase nodded. “Yeah, and Helligators. David, if a seven-foot spiky red bastard jumps out of the water, you need to hold it down so we can kill it quick.”
The C-Rank set his shoulders and began scanning the turquoise water around them. It was clear and still, which would make it easy to see anything approaching from the depths. They needed the extra precaution, because they wouldn’t hear anything coming. Each Hunter was equipped with a set of radio earmuffs that would protect their ears from Chase’s shots, whilst still letting them communicate. Chase just had to remember to mute his mic before he shot.
Still, they couldn’t sit around and admire the view all day. This kind of terrain would be difficult for the Haulers to deal with, which meant they couldn’t waste any time. The team pushed forward, Chase and David in the lead while Jamie and the other two Hunters followed close behind. Chase held his Luger in front of him, loaded and ready to fire. As the vanguard, he would take care of any large monsters, however he’d leave the small fry to the others. They could rest and replenish his mana, whereas Chase could not manifest more bullets into his pocket.
“Marshguts, close left!”
He spun, lifting the Luger and taking aim at the monster. David had it pinned, but he couldn’t hold his targets for very long. The C-Rank was built to restrict single targets for a few crucial seconds.
CRACK!
The monster reared up on a mass of tentacles before seizing and falling backwards, dead. Chase rushed forward, grabbing the slimy monster before it tumbled into the water and sank out of reach.
“Nice kill!” Jamie cried.
He bowed and accepted the praise. “First of many. Save your breath from here on out. We’ve got lots of ground to cover.”
They set to work, systematically cleansing the mangrove of monsters. Chase emptied two clips in the first three clearings, taking out seven monsters. He wasn’t exactly satisfied with his aim, but he put it down to nerves and the fact that he hadn’t cleaned the pistol since he started using it. He was afraid that he’d take it apart and not know how to reassemble it.
“Gotta take it to Darryl,” he murmured.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing, talking to myself. Does that look like a nest to you?”
Ahead, the path of tangled roots split two ways, forming a donut shape around a tall, twisted tree. At about eye height, the wood curled around a gaping hole in its bark, showing them a hollow interior. It looked like the tree was yawning. And in its dark mouth…
“Fleagles!” Chase called. He heard David snicker at the harmless-sounding name, but that was quickly cut short when two massive grey birds launched themselves from the tree and spread their wings. To the untrained eye, it looked like the monster’s skin was rippling and shifting, but that was not the case. The hellish creation was the product of a mutualistic relationship where a crude variation of an eagle was covered in a sea of tiny flea-like monsters. The swarm of fleas provided camouflage for the eagle whilst they fed on its foul blood.
The prescribed method for defeating this abomination was to burn the fleas off en masse, then destroy the monster underneath.
“Jamie, you’re up!”
He fired a warning shot at the smaller Fleagle as it dove in to strike. The monster screeched, wheeling around and preparing another approach. Jamie rushed forward, taking stance and concentrating on the larger beast. He slowly raised his hands, tracing complex patterns in the air while muttering a long string of words in some otherworldly tongue. A green aura surrounded him, nearly blending with the mangrove’s colour palette. Finally, when it almost seemed too late, he interlaced his fingers and pushed out from his chest.
Chase had seen this attack before, but it never failed to amaze him. A direct, unwavering beam of energy pulsed from Jamie’s palms and caught one of the Fleagles in its path. The monster froze mid-air, its body convulsing and vibrating at an unbearable speed. After a few seconds, there was a resounding snap and the monster fell to the ground, dead. Even with earmuffs on, the sound was clear enough to send shivers down Chase’s spine.
David and the other two Hunters dealt with the remaining monster, decapitating it and crushing the fleas with a combination of well-timed attacks.
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“Shizer,” David said. “I forgot how brutal your Talent is, Jamie.”
Their lone A-Rank grinned. For a guy capable of such damage, he had a remarkably serene demeanour. “Yeah. It took me a while to get over the sound, but now I just tell myself that I’m giving them a quick death.”
“You got that right. You’re faster than Chase when it comes to the bigger monsters.”
Chase opened his mouth to protest, then thought better of it. For one, it was probably true, but even if it wasn’t, it wasn’t like they were competing. If Ballistic had another powerful member, that was all for the better. He hadn’t started the guild for the purposes of an ego-trip. It was to escape Majesty’s iron grip on his life and put his discovery to good use.
Once the novelty of the pretty scenery wore off, the Raid became a slog. Most Dungeons (at least those that took place in dark, musty caverns) had a fairly direct path to the boss room, with only a few false tributaries that might delay a raid team for ten or fifteen minutes. This mangrove, however, seemed to throw them into long, winding passages with trees so dense they could barely see daylight above them. The worst setback they had was a forty-five-minute detour before a moss-covered wall of branches signalled a dead-end.
With only thirty minutes before the Haulers were scheduled to enter, they found the boss room. There was no specific indicator that the room was anything special — they only knew they’d found their goal because the hulking monster standing before them dwarfed everything they’d encountered previously. The boss looked like the lovechild of a huntsman spider and a willow tree. Great swathes of moss tendrils draped over its many wooden limbs, and it clack clacked around the room like a troupe of tap-dancers.
David looked troubled. “Uh, Chase? I don’t think I can do much against that.”
“All good, David. Relax. Just stick to the plan as best you can.”
They advanced on the scuttling creature. At a range of about twenty metres, Chase emptied his magazine into the monster’s abdomen. It was hard to miss such a big target, and with each shot he saw splinters of wood flying into the air like fragments of a grenade.
The boss barely noticed the damage.
“Oh shit,” he breathed. “Jamie? This might be all you, man!”
“What? Why?!” The A-Rank didn’t look worried, just confused.
“It hasn’t got organs, it’s just a possessed piece of fucking driftwood! My bullets don’t do shit!”
Chase wished he’d saved some of the bullets that had Nebula’s essence imbued into them. The crystalline explosions they provided could’ve eroded the monster’s legs in moments.
He darted behind the group as the boss came within melee range. Without his Luger, he was as vulnerable as any other Talentless person. Unlike those with Talents, if he wanted to be faster, he had to run. If he wanted to be stronger, he had to lift. If he wanted to be smarter, well, tough luck. He had to make up for it with hard work and study.
Jamie pulled Chase from his daydreaming with a hoarse cry. “Shields! Forward!”
His two friends shuffled forward with their tall rectangular shields. Made of wood with some metal bracing, they didn’t look like they could withstand much, but each was magically enhanced by its user’s abilities. The boss reared and thumped a leg into each shield, pushing the Hunters backwards, closer to Chase and Jamie.
“One more! Give me time!”
Jamie was completing an even more intricate spell than he’d produced against the Fleagles. His eyes were closed, but his head twitched and his lips fluttered as he rushed through the incantation. It was exactly the kind of Talent that Chase had always wanted; something that could be honed and studied until it was a devastating force.
“NOW! Out of the way!”
The Tanks threw themselves sideways as Jamie let out a salvo of colossal attacks. Rather than the near-instantaneous beam of energy that destroyed the Fleagles, this time there were three slow-moving balls of pure annihilation that crashed into the boss like nuclear detonations. The first ripped through its front legs like they were kindling, the second collided with its abdomen and nearly tore it in half, and the third sealed the deal. Jamie crumpled to a sitting position, breathing hard and laughing manically.
“Holy crap! That’s the biggest I’ve ever done!”
“Yeah, no fucking wonder,” David replied. “You minced that thing, man.”
Chase went and inspected what remained of the boss. He wasn’t used to harvesting them, because the variation in appearances and constitutions made their parts extremely hard to price accurately. Some guilds took trophies and sold them as artwork or gifted them to the Hunters that were responsible for the kill, but most guilds just left the remains behind.
It was the treasure they were after.
At the rear of the creature’s dwelling was a dark hovel containing just enough room for the boss to lay over its hoard. There wasn’t a lot there — any self-respecting dragon would look down its nose with contempt at such a poor display — but it was a decent reward for their first Raid. Chase yanked out a set of duelling daggers with purple blades and jet-black hilts, as well as a few arrowheads made of some extra-terrestrial metal.
He’d give them to Herb and see what the alchemist thought.
As they trudged back to the Gate — making several wrong turns — they were all singing Jamie’s praises. The star of the show tried to offload some of the praise onto the two Tanks, but they wouldn’t let him hide from the spotlight. Chase was beginning to worry that he was limiting the A-Rank by employing him. With attacks like what he’d shown in that Raid, there was no telling how powerful he’d become once he mastered his Talent.
They made it back to the Gate three minutes before the Haulers were due to come in. There was a simultaneous sigh as they reappeared, as though the entire group had been holding its breath. Jenny rushed to Chase, holding her clipboard.
“Raid Leader Chase, please confirm the completion of the Raid and the destruction of all present monsters.”
He laughed at her business-like approach, then shied away from the scowl that followed. He’d hired a Raid Manager, and Jenny was going to manage the shit out of these Raids.
“Right, yes, sorry. Confirming all monsters and the boss have been destroyed.”
“And the Haulers may proceed into the Dungeon to begin appropriate scavenging procedures?”
“Yes, Jenny.”
She peeked over the top of her clipboard at the five Hunters circled around her. “And no injuries were sustained?”
Jamie jumped in. “I think David pissed himself.”
The C-Rank jumped to his own defence. “It’s sweat! It was boiling in there!”
Jenny looked him over and scribbled something on her clipboard. “I’ll bring a spare pair of pants to the next Raid.”
“Hey, wha—”
“Alright, listen up!” Chase called. “Haulers, you’re set to enter the Dungeon. Hunters, we are now the security team. Let’s get in and get out so we can all go home early.”
The Haulers grabbed their implements and strode through the Gate. The Hunters groaned, not as eager to trek through the Dungeon a second time.
“Do we have to?” David asked.
Chase grabbed two bins and wheeled them over, handing one off to David. “We do. You’re getting extra pay for this, remember?”
The C-Rank seemed to mull it over, then hurried in after the Haulers.
The looting had begun.