Mitch scrolled through his usual contacts on the ORA app and found a party looking for a substitute tank. From the usual rumor mill, Mitch recalled that the Red Scorpion guild had lost a tank the previous week. The guild was likely interviewing for a permanent member. In the meanwhile, Mitch sent his request through the app and then contacted the branch manager directly from his messaging app.

[Mitch: Hey James, have a position for Ian?]

[James: You’re kidding me? Didn’t the ORA remove his doctor qualification?]

[Mitch: So what? You know he’s useful.]

[James: But we already have a healer and porter with us. Money is tight in the guild, so we can’t afford to spend $1,000 for a porter we don’t even need.]

[Mitch: Even with a healer, isn’t it still better to have an experienced porter with you? Who are you using as a porter now? That cowardly guy who’s a ranker, but runs away at the first sight of blood?] Mitch hesitated to send the next line of message. [What happened to Kyle?]

[James: Beacon. It’s already a blessing that we made it out alive. There were two monster spawns within twenty minutes of each other. We weren’t prepared.]

[Mitch: In Beacon as well? The otherworld realm is getting more dangerous.]

[James: There are whispers on the forum, but it’s only a matter of time before the ORA issues a statement about them. Some say it’s the sunspots.]

[Mitch: Give me a break, we’ve had several sun spots already. Why is it suddenly happening now? It’s not even 2012 yet. You already know that if Ian was there, the odds of surviving would be better.]

James paused to think about it. He had been on several excursions with Ian, and they all went smoothly. That said, the underlying reason was Ian’s connections with his siblings, all relatively famous rankers in the local region. [We can add him in for 600, that’s my final offer.]

[Mitch: 800. You’re getting a guy who can carry more equipment for you and ensnare monsters for others to escape. It’s practically a steal.]

[James: 750. I’m just a branch leader, I can’t approve anything beyond that.]

[Deal.]

Two days later, Mitch drove Ian to the western checkpoint of Gremlin Field. They passed through the grassy pastures and simple farm houses surrounding both sides of the road. The occasional pockets of sheep herds and trees added scenic touches on the backdrop of the green rolling hills.

“Why am I suddenly worth $750?” Ian complained on the way. “This is worse than a typical porter rate.”

“Oh how the great has fallen,” Mitch knew it stung Ian’s pride, but it was getting tougher to enter the otherworld realms. “Haven’t you been checking the forum? Monster spawn has been unpredictable lately, so many guilds are encountering setbacks.”

“Oh,” Ian had been too busy with the item creation to look up current events on the forum. If guilds encountered a bad run, they needed time to recuperate and hire additional people. It usually means delegating funds for headhunting. “Are you applying?”

“James asked me about it. I might consider it since there’s a stable income. Mia thought it would be a good idea as well.”

Mitch was approaching thirty. While the peak age for most rankers were in the late thirties, Mitch had to contemplate his own future and family. His girlfriend can’t wait for him forever, and achieving B-rank required immense dedication and time. Despite his efforts, Mitch worried that high C-rank might be his ceiling. Only exceptional geniuses dared dream of reaching A-rank by forty. Beyond that age, most rankers experienced declining growth. It made sense for Mitch to seek a more stable position within a guild.

“I have saved up enough to buy a house and start a family,” said Mitch. “I might dial down a bit.”

“Thanks for setting this up,” Ian said.

“Not a problem. Did you screen your SP earlier? What was the result?”

“Three,” said Ian.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

“Why don’t you sound happy? You gained another SP!”

In most circumstances, Ian would be happy, but something felt off. “I just have this unsettling feeling.”

Mitch nodded. “Yeah, tell me about it. Everyone seems more tense than usual.”

When they arrived at the checkpoint, they saw the other members of a Red Scorpion guild. James was the C-rank branch leader with 19 members under his wing. For the Gremlin Field, he had six members and one support. He decided to remove the porter instead of having two. It wasn’t to save money, but because the porter had requested to sit out. He was still reeling from the death of a colleague.

At the rental counter, James handled the payment for the team’s operation. Hoping to encounter more than one monster, James leased the large wagon with four wheels. It was a luxury item, costing $10,000 per wheel. One advantage of working with a guild was their budget.

Mitch geared up in the usual iron chest plate, greave and gauntlet. Anything else would reduce his movement. Ian, like usual, opted out of renting equipment to maximize his payout. He sat by the gate, sketching any plants in view. Unfortunately, the rating for the plants closeby to the gate was lower than the plants closer to the center of the field.

When the party finished preparation, they passed through the checkpoint gate. Inside the field, everyone looked through the 4x binoculars, the best magnification used within the realm. Gremlin Field was one of the few realms that people rarely need to buy a map. The field itself was entirely flat and made from tall grassy fields around five feet tall.

The flat grassy plain seemed unthreatening, but the monsters that lurked behind the grasses were known to be fast and a master of camouflage. The previous party left them information regarding the remaining monsters still lurking the field. There were likely several grassblade snakes and needled lacerta. Although they weren’t known to cause many fatalities, both creatures were known for their painful venom. Even with a healer, the pain persisted for days. The best way to spot them was to watch the movement of the grass. The monsters often followed the direction of the wind, but there were moments when they moved against the wind, bending the grass in the opposite direction.

During those rare moments, one of the members pointed toward the direction and raised all five digits. The monster was five minutes to the north. The party members all nodded. As they prowled closer to the north, each member placed their goggles over their eyes to signal the others that they had spotted the monster location. With the target locked on by all members, they split up to enclose the creature.

Ian remained in place to guard the wagon and to draw as many field grass as possible. Ian quickly sketched out the tall fescue’s long lines of veins and inflorescence. There wasn’t much time in between being vigilant and creating more image cards.

James, the leader of the group, was the last to move into position, on the opposite side of Mitch, forming a hexagonal formation around the creature. They moved closer toward the creature, partially guided by a magician’s spell that concealed their presence. The monster was unaware of their approach, but once the monster was alerted, it would either flee or attack.

The rattling and hiss of the glassblade snake suddenly stopped, a sign that the snake was aware of their presence. The party gripped tightly onto their weapons while the snake formulated an escape plan in its head.

The giant 14-feet long snake hid low from the ground as the rest of its body remained in a coiled position, waiting as it gauged its incoming foes. For its survival, it planned to attack the weakest link, a short scout on the west side. It could bite the foe on the angle and then slither away. However, it had to continue running away from its burrow. The other option was to attack the strong aura to the north and hide in its burrow.

The snake took a gamble, sprung out from its position, and lunged toward the north. James, who had already casted his magic as soon as the snake realized their movement, released his fire spell. A fireball, the shape of a soccer ball, shot toward the snake’s head, burning the path of the field. The glassblade dove down toward the ground to avoid the fireball, but the fireball curved down by the force of gravity and hit the back of the main body. The snake whipped its tail in retaliation, a sweeping mass of flesh and scales slammed toward James and a nearby warrior. The warrior ducked out of the way, but the tail connected with James, launching him 10-feet into the air. Mitch ran within range to cast a protective cushion on James right before the fall. At the same moment, the other party members were already within range of the snake, and they all pierced and stabbed the snake. With its last breath, the grassblade snake sprung around manically until it was lifeless on the ground. Everyone within distance braced for the impact, and blocked the blunt of the attack with their gauntlet.

James, still on the ground, squirmed from the pain on his right side, but got back up on his feet. He brushed the tinged field grass from his armor. The flames nearby died out, suppressed by the realm’s environment. Without the protection of the realm, the flame would have spread naturally throughout the field. However, the realm protected the field and made it possible for the burnt grass to regrow overnight.

Ian pulled the wagon close to the snake and everyone coiled the carcass onto the wagon. There was barely any space left on the wagon, but the trick was to pile the carcass on top and then tie it down. The most difficult part was moving the wagon to collect the next carcass. Using the same strategy, they made it out with two large carcasses valuing over 120k.

“Dammit James, you should have kept your other porter!” Ian complained in the locker room, still flushing red from pulling the wagon.

“It’s not like you didn’t have help,” James laughed gleefully. Everyone in the party was either pushing and pulling the wagon. Still, even with seven people, one ton of carcasses was still a chore to haul back.

Ian was also glad he was able to draw many images for the item creation, but all the labor went into the usual porter work. He needed another way to get into a realm and draw more accurately.