A party..." Arlo's voice trailed off while he lowered his gaze.

His eyes grew hollow as painful memories flickered across his mind, casting shadows of the past.

"Those guys, they were really nice people… It would've been better if they'd never met me..." Arlo muttered, his head bowed in shame, eyes hollow and devoid of light. “If they hadn’t, they might have still been alive…”

Lost in the painful memories that haunted him, Arlo remained motionless for a few moments before finally letting out a heavy sigh. As he raised his head, he found himself face to face with an unfamiliar presence, mere inches away from his own.

"Gah!" Arlo yelped, startled by the sudden intrusion. He stumbled backward, toppling from his chair and landing roughly on the ground.

Groaning in pain, Arlo rubbed his head and looked up at the person who had caught him off guard. To his surprise, the stranger was crouched beside him, studying him intently.

The young man before him had wild, dark blue hair and piercing black eyes. He appeared to be around Arlo's height and wore a tight-fitting black battlesuit that accentuated his muscular physique. Daggers hung from his hips, adding to his imposing presence.

"Hey, you. Do you want to join our party?" the stranger asked abruptly, his voice cutting through the silence.

"Huh?" Arlo blurted out, taken aback by the unexpected question.

"I said, do you want to join our party? You've been sitting here for a while now with a depressed look on your face. It's because you don't have a party, right? Or were you rejected after confessing your feelings to a girl or something? Don't worry, man, it happens to the best of us." the young man continued, extending his hand to help Arlo up.

"N-No, you were right with the first guess. I don't have a party," Arlo stammered nervously, grasping the offered hand and allowing himself to be pulled to his feet.

"That's perfect! We're missing a person. Come join our party," the young man declared, his grip tightening around Arlo's hand as he began to drag him away.

"Huh? Wait, I never agreed to this—" Arlo protested weakly, his words falling on deaf ears.

"It's fine, it's fine. Don't worry about it. It's just temporary," the young man reassured him, flashing a bright smile as he led Arlo away from his spot.

'How did I end up in this situation?' Arlo wondered, his mind reeling from the sudden turn of events. ‘I need a party but… Is it really fine? Is it really fine if someone like me joins them?’

“Hey… I think, you should look for someone else… I’m not really someone you would want to have in your party.” Arlo muttered as he lowered his gaze.

“Nah, you’re exactly what I need.” He responded.

‘What he needs? What does he mean by that?’ Arlo wondered, puzzled by his response.

-

Shortly after registering under the young man's party, Arlo followed him to the parking lot in front of the building, where a large van awaited them. As they climbed inside, Arlo found himself in the presence of the other party members.

The first was a towering, muscular man with an intimidating expression. His messy black hair and sharp features added to his imposing presence. In addition to his black battlesuit, he wore heavy plate armor that further emphasized his formidable stature.

Beside him sat a middle-aged man with short brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard. Unlike his companion, he exuded a relaxed demeanor that put Arlo somewhat at ease. A sword rested on his hip, and he wore a black battlesuit with light steel armor protecting his vital areas.

The third and final member was a short, well endowed girl with long pink hair braided into pigtails that cascaded down both sides of her face. She, too, donned a black battlesuit, which was partially concealed by a cloak draped over her shoulders. Surprisingly, she appeared to be unarmed.

Arlo initially thought that her adorable features would make her approachable and easy to get along with. However, when their eyes met, her expression soured, and she looked away with a dismissive "Humph."

'...W-What?' Arlo thought, taken aback by her unexpected reaction.

"Yo~ I'm back, and I've got our fifth member right here," Argus announced cheerfully as the car pulled away from the parking lot. "Let's do introductions. I'm Argus, the leader." He flashed a friendly smile before gesturing to the others. "Feel free to introduce yourselves."

The tall, intimidating man was the first to address Arlo. He extended his hand for a handshake and introduced himself in a surprisingly gentle tone. "H-Hello, I'm Liam."

"H-Hey, I'm Arlo," Arlo responded, nervously shaking Liam's hand.

Despite his appearance, Liam seemed to be a little shy, just like Arlo. This realization brought a small measure of comfort to Arlo, who found it difficult to maintain eye contact with anyone in the group.

"I'm Alexander, but you can call me Alex," the middle-aged man chimed in, also offering his hand to Arlo. "I'm our swordsman."

"N-Nice to meet you," Arlo stammered, shaking Alex's hand.

Finally, Arlo's gaze settled on the third and last member of the party. She had her hands crossed and seemed to be staring at Arlo with a frown.

"I'm Arlene, our healer," she declared coldly, her gaze fixed on Arlo.

"Yeah... Nice to meet you," Arlo responded, forcing a twitching smile.

It was clear that, out of all the party members, Arlene seemed to harbor a particular dislike for Arlo, though the reason remained unclear.

"Now that we're all acquainted, we can finally get to work," Argus announced, clapping his hands together. "Today, we're going for a C-ranked gate—"

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"Hold on a second." Arlo interjected, his tone filled with concern. "You never mentioned anything about C-ranked. That's basically suicide for an F-rank hunter without an ability like me—"

Arlene cut him off, her voice dripping with disdain. "An F-rank without an ability?! Seriously, Argus? This is who you decide to bring this time?! He'll obviously hold us back, not to mention you're planning on splitting the rewards evenly among the five of us? I refuse to accept that!"

Argus shrugged, unfazed by her outburst. "Well, we need someone to carry our resources, and there aren't any porters willing to join us."

Porters, they were hunters who took on the role of carrying the spoils from the Labyrinth for other parties.

The Labyrinths held a wealth of valuable materials and resources, making the services of porters highly sought after by many parties. Despite the lower pay, the risks faced by porters were no less significant than those encountered by the hunters themselves.

Arlo's thoughts raced, his arms trembling as he clutched his grimoire tightly.

'It’s obvious that you couldn’t find any porters. Porters are mainly F-rank hunters who need to make a hustle. No sane F-rank hunter would be crazy enough to enter a C-rank Labyrinth. I worked as a porter for a year and never even stepped foot in a D-rank one!'

"Even so—" Arlene began, but Argus interrupted her.

"What's the harm in it? Arlo here is an experienced porter. He's not going to get in our way, and he'll carry our stuff so we can focus on combat—"

"How did you know I was a porter?" Arlo flinched, his eyes narrowing. "I only told you that I was an F-rank hunter without an ability."

Argus grinned. "Maria. She said that you have experience working as a porter after I asked her to recommend someone to me. She pointed at you. That's why I went up to you to recruit you."

Arlo's mind flashed back to the receptionist's face when he had gone to register under Argus's party.

'So that's why she looked so happy when I went to register under his party! That girl... I know she saw my details in the system, but doesn't she know that you shouldn’t leak a hunter’s information without their permission!’

"Look, I know I agreed to join your party, but this changes things..." Arlo muttered, his head lowered as he contemplated his next move. "I don't know if I'm ready to take on a C-rank Labyrinth."

Cold sweat trickled down Arlo's face, his heart racing as he tried to find a way out of this predicament.

'I won't be able to use magic or an ability. Even though I've increased my stats by a few points, I doubt I'll be able to survive entering a C-rank Labyrinth... I should quit while I still can... That's what my experience as a porter is telling me, but... at this point, I don't have another choice.'

Arlo's grasped his head, desperately searching for an alternative solution. 'Is there really no other way I can enter a gate without joining a party? I doubt I'll be able to find a party to join as easily as this one... but I believe private guilds are authorized to deal with gates. However, I doubt some guild is going to recruit or let a random nobody like me take on a gate on my own.'

Within the hunter association, guilds existed as independent organizations often established by hunters or sponsors. These guilds not only had access to certain gates but also had the autonomy to handle them as they saw fit, as long as they successfully cleared them.

Starting a guild was no easy feat, so joining one seemed like a viable option for Arlo. If he managed to join a guild, they might allow him to clear a gate on his own if he desired.

However, joining a guild was equally challenging. For an F-rank hunter with no connections, it was virtually impossible to gain entry into any reputable guild. Even if Arlo somehow found one willing to accept him, it would likely be a shady organization that would force him to sign an exploitative contract.

'Do I really have no choice...? Damn it!' Veins bulged on Arlo's forehead as he buried his face in his hands, frustration overwhelming him. 'Stupid party rule! This would all be so much easier if I was on my own!' he screamed inwardly, his hands clenching into tight fists.

"Look, if he's having second thoughts about joining us, why bother?" Arlene scoffed. "I mean, sure, he might have experience, but he's weak as hell. An F-rank without an ability? That's the lowest of the low. Not to mention, he's wearing a tracksuit and doesn't even look like he can afford armor. Why bother with someone like him?"

Veins bulged on Arlo's forehead as he looked up and stared at her, his smile twitching and eyes narrowing.

'C-Calm down, Arlo... She's right in a way. Don't let what she says get to you. You have to stay polite when dealing with others... You don't want to be hated, right? If you're kind and polite, others will respond in the same way... Just stay calm… just like always…'

Liam attempted to intervene. "Arlene, that's going too far. You should apologize-"

But Arlene cut him off, her words sharp and unrelenting. "Apologize for what? He's not saying anything because he knows I'm right. Let's stop the car and look for another guy. I'm sure there are plenty of people here who can replace him! Don't you think there's a reason he's not in a party? What kind of party would be stupid enough to recruit a guy like him—"

Something snapped inside Arlo, and before he realized it, the words tumbled out of his mouth.

"Oi, you bitch! What's with that attitude?! You think I asked to be here?! Your leader was the one who invited me! Maybe the reason he's looking for another member in the first place is because your stuck-up ass was too difficult to deal with!"

Arlo's chest heaved as he finished his outburst, his eyes locked on Arlene, who seemed taken aback by his sudden retaliation. The other two party members facepalmed themselves while sighing.

As the weight of his words sank in, Arlo's heart plummeted, realizing the gravity of what he had just said.

“...Ah.”

"B-B-Bitch... You really just called me a b-b-bitch, didn't you..." Arlene repeated, her voice trembling as she lowered her head, a unsettling giggle escaping her lips, as if she couldn't believe the words that had just been uttered.

'Shit… she mentioned party so I lost my cool for a second—'

Arlo's thoughts were abruptly interrupted as her fist suddenly grazed past his face, stopping mere inches beside it.

A thin trickle of blood ran down Arlo's cheek as he slowly turned to look at the fist before shifting his gaze back to Arlene, who was grinning with a menacing expression.

'She's a healer, right...? Is a healer normally able to punch that fast?'

"F-rank or not, it appears that you have some backbone, haha..." Arlene continued. "Okay then, I'll allow you to join the party... But you better not hold us back after saying all that shit. Otherwise, I'll make sure that if it's in the labyrinth, no one will find your body when I kill you, haha..." Her laughter echoed in the confined space of the car, sending a chill down Arlo's spine.

"...B-Bring it on..." Arlo responded, forcing a nervous grin as he averted his eyes.

"Humph," Arlene huffed, turning away from him and staring out the window, her gaze fixed on the passing scenery.

'I don't like her, she acts like a spoiled brat even though she looks to be the same age as me. That being said, this is obviously a dangerous idea, but it’s not like I have another choice, worse case scenario I’ll use magic and worry about the consequences after...' Arlo thought to himself as he tried rubbing the cut on his cheek.

Upon doing so his eyes widened when he noticed that there wasn’t a cut or drop of blood there.

‘Huh? I thought it was bleeding after her punch grazed me, did I imagine it? Or maybe… she healed me?’ He wondered as he glanced at her.

The girl was silently gazing out of the window with an annoyed look on her face.

‘If she really did heal me then she might not be so bad… No, I still don’t like her.’ Arlo thought to himself as the car engine hummed in the background, propelling them towards their destination—the gate.

Suddenly, a notification appeared before Arlo's eyes, its contents causing his heart to sink.

[Unique Quest Unlocked.]

You've got to be kidding me...' Arlo groaned inwardly, his eyes reflecting the details of the quest notification that had unexpectedly materialized before him.