The sound of footsteps echoed through the narrow, cave-like passageways as the group navigated the winding path. They had chosen to follow the middle route, guided by Argus's decision.

Along the way, the walls were adorned with glowing crystals filled with evolution energy. Arlo, taking on the role of the group's porter, quickly and efficiently mined the valuable resources without slowing down their progress.

"That's an experienced porter for you... he gets the job done quick," Argus muttered, glancing over his shoulder at Arlo. "Maria mentioned it had been over half a year since you last visited the Hunter's Association. Were you working as a miner during that time?"

Arlo, who was gathering the freshly mined ore and placing it in his carrier's bag, looked up at Argus before lowering his gaze in shame.

"N-No, I was a shut-in..." he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

A deafening silence followed as they were all shocked by his confession.

"Seriously?" Argus asked, surprised as he looked back at Arlo.

"Seriously..." Arlo confirmed, his head hung low as he walked dejectedly.

Arlene, who had been walking ahead of Arlo, glanced back at him with a mischievous grin, as if looking down on him. An angered vein flashed on Arlo's forehead, but he remained silent and ignored her.

'Argh, well, this reaction is about what you'd expect, so I can't complain...' Arlo thought to himself, resigned to their judgement. ‘Still, I should’ve just came up with a lie…’

Sensing the awkward tension, Argus attempted to change the subject. "W-Well... uh... oh right, isn't it strange how we haven't encountered any monsters yet? Even though there are so many resources here."

Labyrinth monsters were known to gather around energy crystals, yet despite the abundance of crystals they had gathered, not a single monster had appeared.

"Yeah, it's been very quiet," Alexander agreed, his brow furrowed in concern. "Normally, we would've encountered some by now. Something feels off."

"I-I'm getting a bad feeling..." Liam commented nervously, his voice trembling with unease.

Arlene, unfazed by his concern, reassured him, "Aren't you always getting a bad feeling? We'll be fine."

With that, the group pressed on, their focus sharpened by the potential dangers that might’ve been waiting ahead. As they continued down the path, a glimmer of light began to emerge at the end of the passageway.

Upon reaching the light, they found themselves standing before a grand temple, its appearance nothing like the cave they had just traversed.

Two interconnected bridges formed a cross, their surfaces made out of concrete. The ceiling soared high above, its top barely visible from their vantage point.

Below the bridges was a dark abyss, its depths unfathomable and seemingly endless. However, the group's attention was quickly drawn to the center of the bridge, where two monstrous creatures awaited them.

At first glance, the creatures resembled massive serpents, their bodies covered in dull grey scales. Their heads were triangular, with slightly elongated snouts and mouths filled with sharp, venomous fangs.

But these were no ordinary serpents. Their size dwarfed the humans by two or three times in both width and length and from their upper bodies, a pair of bat-like wings extended outwards.

As soon as the monsters spotted the group, they shot forward, their wings propelling them through the air at alarming speeds.

Reacting quickly, the group assumed their battle formation. Liam took the lead, his shield raised and ready to defend. Argus and Alexander flanked him, their weapons poised to strike. Arlene brought up the rear, her bow drawn and aimed at the approaching threats.

"Winged serpents... they're troublesome." Argus called out as the monsters closed in. "Liam!"

"I-I'll stop them," Liam responded, his voice wavering but determined as he stepped forward, his shield braced for impact.

In a matter of seconds, the two monsters were upon them, their gaping maws ready to devour the group whole. However, their advance was abruptly halted as they crashed into a large, glowing barrier that materialized in the air, taking the shape of a shield.

[Defence Manipulation: Large Shield.]

As the two monsters collided with the shield, they were knocked back, creating a momentary opening. Seizing the opportunity, Argus and Alexander darted in, their weapons flashing as they nimbly slid beneath the monsters, slashing at their underbellies in the process.

The monsters roared in pain, their blood splattering against the floor before they lunged at the two who attacked them.

[Wind Manipulation: Wind Step]

Alexander stepped back, the air around him propelling him backwards and away from the monster's lunge.

Argus, on the other hand, remained at the front, nimbly dodging to the side to avoid the serpent's bite. He countered with another slash to its mouth, further injuring the creature.

The wounded serpent pulled back, but its companion continued its assault, lunging towards Argus with its venomous fangs bared. Argus kicked off the body of the injured serpent, using it as a springboard to backflip away from the second monster's attack.

Despite missing its initial strike, the second serpent persisted, thrusting its mouth forward in an attempt to sink its fangs into Argus. However, Argus swiftly avoided each attack, swaying from side to side while slowly retreating backwards.

The injured serpent soon joined the fray, both creatures focusing their attacks on Argus. Yet, he continued to evade their strikes with ease, his movements fluid and precise.

"[Foresight Manipulation: 1 second]," Argus whispered, his eyes glowing as they darted left and right.

Arlo watched with awe. "He's taking them both on his own... Isn't he only C-Rank?" he muttered, impressed by Argus's display of skill.

Taking on two winged serpents of such size was no small feat, especially for a C-Rank hunter.

Stolen story; please report.

"Yeah, but that guy can't get hit by something like that. He can see their movements clearly before they even make them," Arlene explained as she steadied her aim. "That's his ability, future sight—"

Her words were cut short as she released her arrow, sending it whistling through the air, leaving a trail of electricity and blue energy in its wake.

The arrow seemed to miss its mark, passing right by the two creatures.

'She missed? No, wait..!' Arlo thought, his eyes widening in realization.

"[Wind Manipulation: Wind Current]." Alexander whispered, his voice barely audible.

Arlo watched as the arrow passed through an invisible air current, turning in mid-air and heading straight for the creature's mouth, precisely where Argus had cut.

The moment the arrow pierced the serpent's mouth, Arlene flashed a smile.

"Nice assist, Alex—" she began, but her words were cut short by a sudden beep.

In an instant, the arrow exploded, releasing a bright blue electric shockwave that tore the serpent's mouth and head to pieces. The creature's lifeless body collapsed onto the floor, its death instantaneous.

The remaining serpent, witnessing its companion's demise, whipped its body around to face Arlene. However, before it could strike, Liam's giant shield manifested above it, pinning the creature down.

The serpent squirmed beneath the shield, its wings flapping desperately in an attempt to escape. Argus seized the opportunity, quickly slashing off the creature's wings, rendering it immobile.

The serpent roared in agony, its cries echoing through the temple. Alexander, his sword raised high, began to approach the restricted creature with a powerful surge of wind swirling around his blade.

Argus stepped aside with a smile, watching as Alexander closed in on the helpless serpent.

[Wind Manipulation: Vortex Slash]

With a single, decisive swing, Alexander brought his wind-propelled blade down upon the creature's head. The sword sliced cleanly through the serpent's scales, cutting its head in half.

Poisonous purple blood spurted from the wound, and Alexander quickly stepped back to avoid contact with the toxic substance.

And with that, the battle was over.

'They took out those two monsters without any difficulty... I thought magic was overpowered, but I guess I can't look down on abilities either... Still, I think magic is the best,' Arlo mused, feeling a twinge of competitiveness as the group regrouped at the center of the interconnected bridges.

Argus, noticing Arlo's expression, commented, "What's wrong, Arlo? You've got a weird look on your face."

"Nothing's wrong, I was just thinking how impressive your teamwork was. It was pretty cool..." Arlo responded with a nervous smile, scratching his cheek.

The group, pleased with the compliment, smiled in return. All except for Arlene, who humphed and said, "Well, that's to be expected, isn't it?"

Arlo glanced at her, frowning. 'Can't you just take a compliment...?' he thought to himself.

"Now we have three different paths to choose from again," Argus muttered, contemplating their options. "Do we keep heading straight, go left, or go right?"

As he mentioned, the temple's bridges led to four distinct paths. Behind them was the cave they had emerged from. To their right, a large, shiny temple door blocked the way. Directly ahead, an even grander door stood, flanked by two large, lit torches burning with flames. Finally, to their left, a door similar to the one on the right awaited them.

"Hm... we picked the path down the middle last time, so why not go with it again?" Argus suggested.

With no objections, the group proceeded down the center path. As they walked, Argus pointed to the glowing crystals dotting the temple walls, their brightness casting a unique glow.

"Aren't you going to mine those?" Argus asked, glancing back at Arlo.

"I-Is that a joke? Of course I'm not going to mine those! How am I even supposed to get up there?" Arlo asked.

"Climbing, isn't that obvious?"

"And risk falling to my death? A-All it'll take is one slip, and I'll be heading straight down into the abyss below, you know!" Arlo retorted, pointing fearfully at the darkness beneath the bridges.

Seeing Arlo's reaction, Argus broke into laughter. "I was joking, joking~" he said.

Arlo frowned, staring at Argus's back as he walked ahead of him. With a sigh, he continued forward, the group making their way towards the grand door that awaited them.

As they reached the grand temple doors, the group came to a halt, their eyes drawn to the large torches burning with dark flames. The fire flickered, showing no signs of extinguishing.

The patterns inscribed on the door were incomprehensible to everyone, but they seemed to capture Arlo's attention as he gazed at them intently.

Liam stepped forward, placing his hand on the door, ready to push it open. Just as he was about to apply pressure, the sound of something approaching from below the bridge reached their ears. It wasn't just one or two things, it was multiple, and they were closing in fast.

"What's that sound...?" Liam asked, turning around, his brow furrowed in confusion.

The others were equally perplexed, their eyes scanning their surroundings, trying to locate the source of the noise.

Sensing the urgency of the situation, Argus decided to use his foresight ability to its maximum output, allowing him to peer a few seconds into the future. His eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of what was to come.

"Door! Push it open, now!" he yelled..

Liam, hearing the desperation in Argus's voice, quickly began pushing against the door with all his might. The others, seeing the urgency of the situation, joined him, their combined strength quickly causing the door to budge.

As the door finally swung open, a horde of winged serpents came flying past the bridges at breakneck speeds. It wasn't just one or two; there were several dozens of them, their numbers overwhelming.

Before the monsters could launch an attack, the group rushed through the open door. As soon as they were all inside, the door slammed shut on its own, sealing them off from the impending danger.

"Haa..." Arlo sighed in relief, staring at the closed door. "So that's where the monsters were."

“No wonder we hadn’t spotted any earlier…” Argus muttered as he also stared at the door.

The others shared his sentiment, a surge of relief rushing through their bones, grateful for having escaped the situation.

"It... It can't be..." Liam muttered, his voice trembling with fear.

Confused by his reaction, the group slowly turned around to see what had frightened him so much. As their eyes fell upon the sight before them, their eyes widened in disbelief.

"Oi... is this some kind of joke...?" Argus whispered, as they all stared at the scene that had rendered them speechless.

Before their eyes was a vast, spacious temple chamber, its ceiling soaring several hundred meters into the air. However, it wasn't the size or appearance of the room that had shocked them, but rather the single creature lying on the polished floor at the center of the chamber.

The monster was huge, its size incomparable to the winged serpents they had encountered outside. Its serpentine body was covered in crimson scales, its long, muscular neck supporting a powerful torso and a lengthy barbed tail. Large, bat-like wings were connected to its body at the shoulders, giving it the appearance of having arms.

The creature's head was triangular, with a pointed snout and a large mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. Two horns protruded from the back of its skull, adding to its menacing appearance.

As the group stared at the creature, they could feel their hearts racing, their bodies trembling involuntarily as every instinct screamed danger.

In that moment, the monster's bright golden eyes snapped open, revealing reptilian pupils that narrowed into vertical slits. Its gaze locked onto the group, piercing through them with an intensity that sent shivers down their spines.

"T-That's... a wyvern," Arlene whispered, her voice trembling as she took a cautious step back. "What's something like that doing in a C-Rank Labyrinth...?"

Suddenly, a red screen appeared before Arlo, its words glowing with an ominous light.

[Quest Update!]

[Unique Quest -> Emergency Quest.]

[Emergency Quest: Wyvern Slayer.]

[Objective: Kill or be killed! You must slay the Wyvern in order to survive.]