Matthew found it hard to keep pace with Luke as they both ran through the crowded streets of New York. There were several times when they had to quickly enter the subway station and bolt through the entrance and across the railway to the other side just to save some time.

"Did... the gate inspector... say how long since the party went in?" Matthew asked through a few heaves of air as he finally caught up to his fellow hunter.

"Bout' a day." He shouted briefly before shooting up the stairs of the subway in no more than two bounds. Matthew followed behind a second later.

"Inspector said an injured hunter came from the portal and was sayin' something that his squad was getting wiped," Luke explained before he bolted down the street, hopping over an oncoming taxi in the process. Matthew followed briefly behind, partially stumbling as a car nearly struck him.

"Just a few more blocks, c'mon. Every few seconds could mean death for the squad. Hurry up." Luke encouraged, grabbing the bag from Matthew's shoulders. "I'll carry this, just keep running." He said, once again, before sprinting down the sidewalk.

Even without his heavy luggage weighing on his shoulders, Matthew was still out of breath by the time he'd caught up with Luke across the street from the chapel.

Despite being in a rush, Matthew couldn't help but gawk at the church's sheer size for a split second. It was made purely of stone with intricately carved windows and statues. Its front gate was well over 10 feet tall and made from a mix of thick wood and iron. Although inside was an additional modern iron gate to keep out unwanted guests; due to the opening of a gate, it had been opened to let hunters through.

Several police personnel kept a crowd of onlookers at bay as they all tried to peer into the chapel at the swirling blue gate that rested in its interior.

As Luke and Matthew approached one of the guards, Luke flashed his hunting license, and the guard quickly moved aside.

Luke set Matthew's luggage by the large door as they entered the chapel. "I assume you packed your hunting gear?"

Matthew quickly opened the luggage bag to produce a metal briefcase within it (and various other items one would commonly have for vacation). Matthew clicked open the case to reveal two halves of a metal spear.

"In the place with some of the highest gate density in the U.S.? No, completely forgot." He retorted as he pulled the two halves together and locked them in place, the center of the weapon giving a loud click to signify it was secured.

It was a fine piece, from shaft to tip, it was completely forged from mana-infused metal. The spearhead was somewhat broader than most compared to the length of the shaft. As such it was weighted to be useful for wide swings as well as thrusts.

"Hope you've gotten some good use from that spear. A-Rank equipment isn't cheap." Luke retorted sarcastically as both of them marched across the chapel to the gate.

"Don't worry I have." The other hunter remarked as he propped the spear on his shoulder.

Matthew constantly felt the familiar pressure of mana as they approached the gate. It looked like a black and blue whirlpool hovering in the air. Matthew couldn't help but shake away a bit of anxiety as it began to creep into his stomach.

Suddenly, a man dressed in a simple black suit approached them. He held a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other. Hanging from his ear was a small black earpiece wired to a phone mounted on his chest.

"Hunter Sirius thank you for-" He abruptly paused and glanced over to Matthew, then back to Luke. "Whose he?" He asked in a slightly less professional tone.

"He's helping me today. But get to the point, what do we need to know?" Luke asked giving a quick snap of his fingers.

Both the man and Matthew tensed slightly at the gesture.

"The gate is C-Rank, Hunter Sirius. A six-man raiding party was sent in 3 hours, 17 minutes ago. It consisted of 1 B-Rank Fighter, 4 C-Ranks- 1 tanker, 1 healer, and 2 rangers-, and 1 D-Rank Mage," He said quickly skimming through his notes. "He's the one who had run out of-" Luke quickly patted the man on the shoulder.

"All I needed. Matthew let's move." He replied before pulling his revolver from its holster and walking towards the gate's entrance alongside Matthew.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Luke turned back to the inspector. "You guys sit tight, we'll be out before you know it." He assured with a joking nod, as both hunters entered the gate's swirling maw.

***

"Alright, I know the gate is a bit above your rank. Just stick to me and keep that spear ready." Luke said as he glanced back just as he saw Matthew exiting the portal behind him.

Matthew nodded as he quickly assessed their surroundings. He briefly felt the blood rush from his face. They were standing in a bog surrounded by trees so thick their canopy blotted out the sky. So much so the only bit of sunlight flowed in thin rays between the foliage.

He could see glimpses of himself being mauled by lizardmen from the time he'd nearly lost his life. For a moment his stance faltered, but came back just as quickly when Luke set a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. This won't turn out like that story you told me." He said with a smile. "I've got your back like always." He patted his friend on the shoulder and turned toward the thick brush of trees. "Let's head towards that downed squadron." He ordered as he began jogging through the bog, revolver in hand.

Unsurprisingly, the jungle was a nightmare to navigate. It would have been near impossible if Luke didn't have a skill that could help.

"Three beasts up ahead, about 300 feet. One at 2 o'clock, 500 feet." He said as he quickly glanced around the forest. His eyes were glowing a faint sickly green through his sunglasses.

"Any sign of the other hunters?" Matthew asked, staring in the direction of the three beasts, although he couldn't see anything through the dense foliage.

Luke just shook his head as the light in his eyes faded. "The range of my skill is limited, but, no, I didn't see any awakened." He glanced around the thicket of trees with his normal vision now. "To be honest, I haven't even seen traces of them, have you?"

Matthew shook his head. "Do you think they've killed the boss already?"

"I doubt it. If so, I wouldn't be seeing the life signs of magic beasts. Not to mention if they did make their way back to the gate we would have come across at least one of them by now." He explained, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. "Let's just head deeper in, I'm sure there'll be signs of them somewhere."

With that he spun the chamber of his revolver and started in the direction of the three magic beasts, his eyes glowing green once again.

Not long after, Luke held up a hand, signaling Matthew to stop. "Get ready." He mouthed silently to his friend who promptly got into a stance, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

Almost without warning, breaking the silence of the dungeon, Luke fired a single shot of his revolver into the foliage; a thin streak of fire coming from its barrel.

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed through the air as Luke began to take a few steps back. "Get ready." He repeated.

Not a second after a large gorilla with deep red eyes burst from the foliage straight towards Matthew.

Like he had done hundreds of times before, Matthew tensed up his body as his spear began to pulse red. In one powerful motion, he thrust his spear forward at the ape's silver chest. For a brief moment, the tip of the spearhead stopped at the hide of the magic beast, but as the red glow reached the blade it gained one last burst of momentum, digging deep into its rib cage.

Matthew quickly stepped back, dislodging the spear from the beast as it roared and wildly swiped around it.

The hairy beast began to lunge for Matthew, But it took no more than one step before the side of its head burst from the explosive gunshot of Luke's revolver.

As soon as the ape fell in a heap on the floor another one leaped from the trees, straight above Luke.

Matthew was about to shout a warning to his friend when he seamlessly aimed his gun above his head and fired twice.

The explosive force of the blasts engulfed the gorilla completely. All Luke had to do was step out of the way of the magic beast's falling corpse.

Matthew readied his spear one last time, facing towards the brush awaiting the emergence of the final beast.

Luke, however, relaxed as he spun the chamber of his gun; small blue specs of light flowing into his discarded bullets to replenish them. "That's all of them. Did you think that first shot was a warning?" He asked, with a half-joking smile that quickly faded to a series grimace. "Let's get moving." He ordered once again.

Magic gorillas weren't the only beast that dwelled within the bog. The dungeon was also home to giant alligators and poisonous spiders, one of which nearly tore a chunk out of Matthew's ear had Luke not blown its head off.

Despite scrounging around for any traces of the hunting squad for many hours, Luke nor Matthew found any trace of any of them, safe for faint signs of battle that seemingly led to nothing.

However, they soon came upon a large gate made crudely of thick logs and sticks. It lay against a cliff's base. The cliff climbed up far above the tree line, higher than either hunter could see.

"Think we found the boss room," Matthew mumbled. "Luke, see anything?" He asked, turning to Luke, who had one hand pressed against the gate while his green-lit eyes stared forward.

"The boss is definitely still in there, but nothing else." The green light faded as he looked at Matthew. "Either they haven't made it here yet, or their corpses are inside."

Matthew stiffened slightly at those words. He found himself gripping his spear even tighter. "Do you think we can take it on? Assuming they did make it inside, the boss killed them all. Do we have enough firepower to kill the boss on our own?" He asked, turning to Luke.

Matthew couldn't help but show a tinge of fear in his expression. While the monsters they had faced coming here weren't an immense threat, at least with Luke with him, the dungeon boss was, quite literally, on another level.

Luke looked and scanned the large gate up and down. Matthew could feel a slight sense of unease from his friend. But then Luke turned to him with a reassuring smile. "You need to learn to trust my gun more." He said, tapping his revolver on his head.

His expression turned serious again when he grasped the middle of the gate. "Just be ready for anything when we walk through this gate." He said, before pushing it open and walking through.