Melo POV:

Destruction: buildings eradicated—consumed by fire falling from the sky. Explosions rippled over the floor, creating clusters of smoke that burst apart from the roars and screams.

“IT’S ONLY ONE DAMN SCOUT!!! KILL HIM!!”

The earth rose; its fragmented form moulded into platforms that I sprinted from until my open palm met a Crazy Deadmin’s. The compression of air between the two sides prevented them from touching. It impacted the surrounding area and summoned clouds to quell the flames.

“!!!”

Lips curved upwards when the force favoured the Hawk. Blood tribal markings glowed. Red eyes widened, but a gust of wind tore through the monster’s frame. I spun to the side, avoiding legs wrapped in bone armour—no longer possessing the fur its kind once had.

“GRUAAAGHHHH!!”

Bone-shaped spikes penetrated through its flesh. The stench of blood caused a hazy mist to hide the monstrosity within and healed the wound I had created. The flap of a torn cloak imploded the depression, shooting me halfway across the Dungeon Floor.

I weaved through the assault of other monsters. Organised movement made it difficult to combat them. Efficient techniques, despite the mania, made the wounds stack.

…

‘!’

I sat up on the bed, sweat accumulating across my forehead. I winced—winced in pain. The flashes came against my will. The memories of the past—of that dungeon suffocated me.

….

A detailed air whip struck the giant Warhog’s behind. I grabbed hold of its thick fur when it shot forward. Two tusks extended, streamlining the air it manipulated. Dark yellow eyes strengthened the monster’s natural high-density Ki Armour as we bulldozed through the monster horde.

Most of the public misunderstood the difficulties that Scouts went through. The only luxury a Scout had came in the first four years of the job. They could decide when they worked and what dungeons they entered.

Then reality came. Then the burden came.

Whether it was the Guild, Imperial Office, Government, or any other administration, they would be required to progress through the Scout Ranks since Scouts were a necessity for the country.

The Warhog rammed into a Bloodborne Orc, forcing me to kick off its back. An axe cleaved the air but blurred. Barriers of wind stopped the enraged Orc from closing the distance when I dashed away.

“Imminence is… Bliss!”

Hundreds of Imminence Reavers surrounded me. They took advantage of the opening and unleashed thousands of Imminence Slashes within that same time frame.

“Hawkins Style: High Pressure.”

Ki Pressure inverted itself, launching me into the clouds of fire.

“Hawkins Style: Eyecall.”

Hidden techniques became visible through the heightened perception when High Pressure reached its limit. Ki Pressure emanated; it rotated in a condensed form around me and crashed against the attacks that arrived.

Scout Orientations were mandatory. Senior Scouts taught the new recruits about Scout Commands, Multiple Scout Dungeons, Scout Baiting, Dungeon Theory, Scout Trauma, and more. Orientation lasted for one year, with quarterly exams to assess the recruit’s performance.

Score too low, and penalties were applied to salary, work quota, and holidays.

Score too high, and you’d find yourself in higher-ranked Dungeons with less experience.

“How did he reach the 380th Floor?!!”

“MURDER HIM!”

I soared through the sky toward the Floor Exit when a Highborne Orc opened the clouds. Long hair fell over a feminine frame; its chest crystal concealed behind several layers of blue fabric.

“Human, that way.”

The monster pointed to the left, but its eyes shifted to the right. My fist smashed into a raised guard before a zone of air transported the creature deep underground, near the other end of the Floor. I spun past the attacks from below until the monsters fell from above.

Tower of the Renegade Catastrophe.

It was a SSS+ Ranked Dungeon situated on the southern border of Yoran, facing Efros. The public didn’t have time to worry because the Blue Wolves knocked on my door, requesting I enter it. They acted before Central Guild did, but that wasn’t much of a surprise given who their leader was.

In most cases, SSS+ Dungeons aren’t challenged: the failure rate was around 1,000 to 1. The cause was the strength of the monsters; they eclipsed the Adventurer Limit by a ridiculous amount. Scouts only went in to assess monster forces, monster movement, the Boss Monster species, and any other variables. Once the halfway point of a Dungeon was reached, Scout Exit is used since the information gathered is usually enough for Central Guild to carry out the Lockdown Procedure.

When a Dungeon Break occurs, Ki Artifacts are transported to other Dungeons through the Dungeon System, so Scouts don’t take them into consideration in SSS+ Dungeons. Once the last wave of monsters leave the Dungeon, the Boss Monster gains the right to exit, which causes a Dungeon End to occur.

…

‘!!’

Fingers trembled. I clasped my hands together, attempting to control the past with the present force, but the strength slipped away. I watched the tight grip fall on either side when another wave of pain came.

….

“Incalculable.”

A brown leather strap snapped away, and each one rose my base. 1x, 2x, then 3x. Light orange eyes contained a subtle glow through the activation of an ability.

“Incalculable: Suction Emittance.”

I splayed my hand forward. The air stilled before everything in my line of sight stirred. Fur ruffled, clothes flapped, and hair tilted toward the open palm. As long as I couldn’t calculate the exact strength of the accumulated monster force, the power of my ability quadrupled.

“G-GUUAWWGGRGUU!!!”

I ripped away their sense of direction. I ripped away their techniques until I took everything I could. My hand glowed orange and black. My hand shattered jaws and redefined the entire landscape.

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“…Ugh.”

Blood poured out of my nose, but I still stood. The sea of corpses was the least of my worries; I needed to climb 20 more Floors to reach the halfway point based on the dungeon layout.

‘An 800 Floor Dungeon… The limit has increased again…’

“!”

A tornado spiralled down to block a powerful stream of fire. I retreated to the side before the flames tore past the defence I created.

…

‘This is enough.’

Sweat drenched my exposed upper body. I searched for a towel, but the chains extended from my collarbone and locked me in place.

….

A red serpentine tail slapped the bedrock; its spikes lacerated it like butter and shook the entire dungeon. Deep red eyes bent in the middle before their corners fell to the rising boulders. Its forked tongue licked the blood off nearby corpses when flames made scales shimmer under their light.

“Hehe.”

Codename: Mare.

The monster roared, and I shot forward.

Ranked Scouts used codenames to refer to specific monsters without causing the less experienced scouts to panic. Mare was the name given to a sadistic species known as Zuhin.

The Dungeon Floor became the battlefield. Incalculable was still active, so this fight wasn’t hopeless.

The most distinctive feature of a Zuhin were their eyes: three primary colours bordered with a white frame and containing no overlap. They attached to the perimeter of a black pupil and represented the monster’s neutral mood.

I flipped over the salamander’s long tail before empowered wind caused a slight cut to open on its cheek.

The second distinctive feature was that Zuhin had four forms. Each form represented the colours in their eyes, with the neutral state taking on a humanoid appearance. Within those forms, there were variations. These variations were based on the Zuhin’s talent and potential.

Thick quills rained down from the sky when the bedrock sealed my feet. A splayed paw didn’t hide the excitement on a black-and-white striped face. Quillig resembled a fusion of a porcupine and badger but more ferocious; it was also the strongest yellow variant a Zuhin could have, just like the Salamander red variant.

“Incalculable: Big Bang.”

An outstretched hand detonated the entire Floor. The dungeon shook several times from the tremendous implosion: a release of everything taken from Suction Emittance, then empowered by up to 10x from Big Bang.

“Keuk…”

My arm withered away, losing most of its muscle and functionality over the next 12 seconds. I ran through the dust clouds without looking bac—

“Hello.”

Two blue eyes floated beside me. Indented and angled, much like the aerodynamic head with flared gills. Talons gripped my neck before the sky turned upside down. The Raplarz ascended at a speed that made blood flow out of my nose until I was piledrived deep underground.

“Ugh…”

The sound of a siren echoed, accompanied by flashes of light. A hand dragged me through the darkness when I removed the monster’s fingers to stand again.

“Hawkins… Style: Re… trace…”

I clenched my teeth, hardened my resolve, and sprinted along the path that brought me here. The longer the road, the stronger the wind. The stronger the wind, the higher my base rose.

“ZUHIN!”

A hand blasted the darkness away while a body accelerated upward. The Zuhin bent its arms in, stopping the long fins from letting it glide before shooting downwards. Rings of air approved the increasing speed of the two forc—

…

‘!!’

A quaking finger touched uneven skin. It ran down the rough texture on my neck until the doors closed shut against my will.

….

Months.

Tied to a chair, dyed a dark maroon colour, alone in a hidden room. Deoxygenated blood splattered the stone tiles. Thick talons ripped the flesh away. Fire scorched my insides, but water helped repeat the process all over again.

Months.

I broke from the torture. I broke from the mind-bending pain that lasted for several hours; it forced me to awaken, but it still wasn’t enough. The monster’s thin fingers moved long brown hair to the side, revealing the Zuhin’s feminine visage.

“Hehe.”

Smooth ash-brown skin remained consistent through the monster’s open mouth: an ominous echo incapable of reflecting itself on neutrality. Then it changed. A colour was chosen, and eyes bent upwards. Shoulders rocked along with the screeching cackle that made blood spew out of my nose.

‘Bar… bara…’

No other Ranked Scouts came to my aid. I held on with the hope a colleague would take the risk, but this is what it meant to be a Scout.

‘!’

The Zuhin’s fingers wiped the tears before they could fall. The monster ripped the earth restraints away and took a step back when its full lips parted.

“Run along, boy.”

Its eyes enlarged.

“Run along, boy.”

Its pupils dilated further with time.

“Run along, boy.”

The same words were repeated, over and over, forcing the fear binding me to the chair to act in a different way. I stood on unbalanced legs; each step forward widened the curvature of the monster’s smile. Its eyes followed me without moving its head until I stepped past the Zuhin.

Then I ran.

I sprinted forward and dashed out of the Hidden Room. The adrenaline kept the broken body together—long enough for the Scout Exit command to be used.

The first person I saw after the light faded was Barbara, along with hundreds of others. I walked down the stairway and gave a report amidst the cheers of support. The only one who didn’t smile was Barbara, and then it happened.

The next thing I saw was darkness, and the last thing I heard were the same words that set me free.

“Run along, boy.”

…

‘!’

My head fell now that the recollection was over. The coma took me 4 months to wake up from; I was never the same. Bed-ridden and broken, incapable of doing anything by myself but…

“Baby.”

Soft hands wiped the sweat away before tilting my head up toward her: Barbara Hawkins. She put her career aside to be my carer. Those dark violet eyes held a deep warmth that supported me night and day. Barbara fed me, washed me, and did everything for me while my mind struggled to heal.

‘…’

I couldn’t look at her. It was a burden she wasn’t meant to carry, but I placed it on her shoulders for three years. The number 1 ranked Scout in all of Idora became a shell of his former self.

“Don’t make that face when you know I did it willingly. It was my choice to be by your side.”

I glanced at her messy hair that led me to loving eyes when she pulled in her lip.

“Melo, I-I…”

Blood rushed to cover her cheeks before Barbara turned her head away.

“….I love you. Y-you were always with me.”

The shaking stopped, and my cheeks rose. I was one of the few people who applied to be a part of her squadron at the Hunter Agency. She had high standards, demanded results, and stuck to a tight schedule. A year after the Agency approved my application, I was the only member remaining in the squadron.

“I love you too, Barbara.”

My hand turned her face back toward me.

“You are my strength.”

I would never forget the nights she spent holding my hand, trying to have a conversation with me. I would always remember the way she cleaned the drool leaking out of my mouth.

“Thank you.”

The words of encouragement didn’t fall on deaf ears, so I got to my feet, cracked my neck from side to side, and kissed her forehead. Barbara spun around before placing a hand on her wide hips.

“…Melo, thanks for trying to heal.”

She scratched the back of her head and walked out of the bedroom. I rested my fingers against the aching scar when my lips spread into a slight smirk.

“I’ll see you soon, Zuhin.”

***

The grass looked more vibrant from above, but without the wings to view it from that angle, I observed it up close. The faces of the children using the swings, scaling rock walls, and running through the obstacle courses in the playground never changed. They were bright and cheerful.

I cuddled Barbara on a bench in front of a giant tree. She took me to Jubilant Park once a week in order to clear my mind. Sometimes we would sit on one of the several hills, gazing past the park’s confinements to examine Yoran’s beautiful architecture. Other times, we would sit in the cafe and admire the surrounding nature.

“Will you ever work again?”

“That depends on you. I don’t feel confident enough to leave you alone yet, so let’s leave it at that, Melo.”

Her firm tone shut down my intentions to take another step forward. I watched the children play with each other; their parents interacting with solemn expressions, discussing the horrific event that took place in quiet whispers.

‘…’

I called to mind the hundreds of Dungeon Tutorials I did with Barbara once the Adventurer Era began. We tried our best to dissuade those thinking of it as a game, or some easy way to fame, but the Grand Chancellor’s plan drew out the public’s dangerous emotions: the desire to be special and acknowledged by the multitude.

Barbara rested her head against my chest. She had been a key part in handling several thousands of SS+ to SSS+ Dungeon Breaks. She was more than a former famous Monster Hunter: an Ex-Imperial Soldier trained by Jyn, an ex-candidate for the 2 Council Member positions that were chosen by the late Emperor, and a powerful Grandmaster.

That was who my wife, Barbara Hawkins, was.

“…I’ll train you later. Focus on healing for now. C to B Rank Dungeons is a good sign of your improvement.”

“Alright.”

The confidence withered halfway through. Eyebrows quivered, and the scar ached. Barbara noticed the weakness; she kissed my cheek, but I couldn’t meet her gaze.

“…I have a meeting tomorrow with an Oracle.”

“Who?”

“Bedisa.”

Barbara placed her head on my shoulder, choosing to remain silent for some time. The experience I went through in that Dungeon wasn’t enough for me to quantify my wife’s strength via my own assessment.

“I’ll go with you.”

I stared at the grass rustling in the wind before parting my lips.

“…Alright.”