Beacon #6 was the most dangerous D-rank otherworld realms in the region, close to becoming a C-rank realm as the ORA classified realms based on the difficulty and the SP limitation. Within the realm, the terrain was treacherous with cliffs and flying monsters, and black portals appeared often to spawn monsters. In the past week, multiple parties had failed to kill any monsters, creating a dangerous environment for future hunting parties. To control the monster population, the ORA hired a specialized mercenary team to eradicate as many monsters as possible.

“It’s unusual to see you here without Mitch,” said Reja, a buff looking woman with a pair of utility knives sheathed by her side. As a tank specializing in shields, she wore a bright orange utilitarian suit to attract monsters. In comparison, Mitch was a tank specializing in managing the party's aura, hiding their aura while putting a target on himself. He could cast powerful shield, but not as well as Reja. The remaining mercenary members all wore camouflage. On their chests were insignias of their team name, the Vagabond.

“I missed out on his other party,” said Ian as he loaded his backpack with the party’s extra gear. It was mostly crossbows and arrows, but considering the value was the same as a house, they also felt heavier than most equipment. “What happened to your usual porter?”

“He caught the flu at the last minute,” Reja replied. She reviewed the contract from her phone and noticed that Ian was simply listed as a porter. “You’re not a doctor anymore?”

“I am still a doctor, they removed the title to avoid people confusing me with physicians. What idiot would confuse me for a physician?”

“Me,” Reja replied, not at all embarrassed by the mistake. “You’re not a medical doctor?”

“I never said I was.”

“Well, at least you perform better than the real ones.” Reja shrugged. She didn’t care. Ian had helped her out a year ago. If it wasn’t for him, her arm would have been amputated. She still had scars, although there were potions out there to remove them, she would rather keep the money than send it on cosmetic potions. “We’ll go over the strategies.”

Reja’s team members gathered intel from the previous party while in the rental hall. The standard etiquette was to warn the next party if the hunt did not proceed as planned. It usually meant that there were more monsters than usual. However, not everyone followed etiquette. Most parties sold intel at a higher cost to cover the financial loss of a failed operation. Judging from the previous party's lack of injuries, they had likely chickened out at the last minute and returned. Or, they were scavengers, rankers who relied on luck to find carcasses and dropped weapons.

The team agreed on a full frontal assault. It was the riskiest maneuver, but it was the best way to quickly take down as many monsters as possible. Their mission from the ORA was simple: kill as many monsters as possible. They didn’t need to carry back carcasses for payment.

[Ten rankers and one porter registered. Contract approved.]

Upon entering the realm, a yellow sunset hue appeared in the background. The rocky pathway ramped up toward the center of the plateau with pine trees growing on both sides of the terraced cliff. Screeches from the cabor eagles circling above the plateau echoed could be heard even from the bottom. The piercing vibration of their cry shook and rolled the loose rocks and debris down the slope.

The team hiked up toward the top in hiking boots and trekking poles. They navigated through the occasional gravels and debris flying toward them from above. A piece of gravel hit one of the members on the shoulder, knocking his shoulder back before deflecting onto the ground. The member gritted his teeth to bear through the pain and continued moving forward. Reja’s protection barrier spell was enough to protect them from serious injuries, but it was still an annoyance and painful to get hit by falling rocks.

Reja looked back to check up on Ian. As the porter, Ian carried the most weight. He dodged the larger gravels with ease, but the smaller dust of shards flew toward him like a sandstorm of fire ants. Thankfully, his ski mask protected his face and Reja’s internal protection spell kept the shards from penetrating through the skin. Reja could cast a mana shield to completely block the debris, but it was better for her to reserve her spiritual power pool for the actual fight. Once she used up all her spiritual power, she needed to wait or sleep before it would recover. There were recovery potions, but they were expensive.

Near the top, they regrouped behind a large boulder. The members rested while counting the number of cabor eagles flying above. There were at least two dozen of them. Too many for most parties to take on and make a profit. Cabor eagles were smart enough to avoid most traps. They also worked together in coordinated attacks, making it difficult to separate one from the convocation.

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“Cabor eagles will usually die after a head shot. Otherwise, limit your arrows to two shots per eagle,” Reja instructed her team. Beacon was profitable, but also the most difficult to recover arrows and long-range weapons. “I’ll stand in the center. Team 1 will take the north quadrant and Team 2 will take the south quadrant. The sub-tanks on each team will be in charge of their team's protection and I will provide support for both team.”

The teams moved into their position and mounted their crossbow on a stand. Reja looked at Ian, who was surveying the prairie plant on the side. It was his typical behavior, but he was usually more alert in the beginning.

“Are you ready?” Reja asked Ian.

Ian nodded and moved back closer to Reja. As a porter, Ian was defenseless. The safest position was behind the tank. However, even Reja was shaking with fear. No matter how many times she had entered Beacon #6, she always felt nervous at the start of the raid. The cabor looked harmless from far away, but when the 6-foot monstrosity dived down at over 250 miles an hour, even a well protected ranker could feel the impact of its attack.

With everyone in position, Reja gave the signal to start. The team began their onslaught of attacks. Arrows from both teams shot toward the cabor eagles. Two cabor eagles immediately fell, but two other cabors with arrows sticking out of their body retaliated, clawing toward the mercenaries. Reja released her mana shield to reflect their attacks. A clear mana shield crackled the moment the cabor clawed toward two of the members protected by Reja’s shield. Any mistake from her part would result in heavy injury or even death to the members.

Throwing knives laced in poison shot toward the grounded cabors. The cabors were close and their large 10-yard wingspan made them an easy target. Both knives hit their chests and the large feathery birds slammed to the ground.

The mercenary team quickly reloaded for the third round of attack. This time, the cabor eagles blocked the arrows with their wings and reflected the arrows. The mercenaries from team 1 evaded reflected arrows while team 2 knocked down several more cabors. One large cabor eagle screeched furiously from seeing its dead brethren. It charged down toward team 2 and snatched one of the members up. A nearby party member quickly pulled onto a rope tied to his partner. The partner, caught between the cabor and the rope, screamed as the cabor tore out his arm. The member screamed again as he fell.

Reja activated her shield to break the member’s fall, but the crackling of the bones could still be heard. Ian ran toward the member and quickly pulled him toward Reja while the other members returned to their position and continued using up all their arrows on the remaining cabors. Once Ian moved the injured mercenary within Reja’s protection, he searched for a tourniquet in his backpack.

“How is he?” Reja asked while maintaining her eyes on both her team.

“Not too well, but he’s alive,” Ian responded as he checked the mercenary’s breath and pulse.

Reja nodded and focused on protecting the other members. Ian removed the mercenary’s outer jacket and examined the left shoulder blade. The joint bone was visible between the broken nerves and blood vessels.

“Can you recover his arm?” Asked Ian.

“That’s going to be difficult. We need to shoot the cabor when it flies over the plateau area. I can’t guarantee it. Give me a crossbow.”

Ian took out a crossbow from his backpack and threw it toward Reja. She snatched the bow and followed the path of the cabor with an arm in its grip. The odds weren’t good, but Ian had faith in her ability. He returned to dressing the wound in hope that the arm could be reattached at the hospital. Ian sanitized the open wound and wrapped the gauze tightly to control the bleeding. Reja aimed at the cabor as it flew over the plateau area. The shot hit the cabor on its right wing. Although it wasn’t a kill shot, it was enough to anger the cabor. The cabor aimed directly toward Reja and nose dived toward the bright orange target. Reja prepared herself for the attack and as it flew in closer, she focused her mana onto the arrow and threw it directly toward the cabor's head.

The cabor, with an arrow in its right eye, dropped from the sky and toward Reja. Reja sidestepped to avoid collision and recovered the arm, still clutched in the dead cabor’s claw. The exposed bone from the bloodied flesh horrified one of the newer members. Reja shot a firecracker to signal a retreat before asking Ian for a status.

The firecracker exploded, shooting out flamed meat bait. The cabor eagles dispersed to follow the bait. In the meanwhile, all the members packed up the crossbow and moved toward the large boulder. Hidden behind the boulder, Ian cleaned the blood off the dismembered arm and examined the claw marks.

“It’s still manageable,” said Ian as he took out a suture kit.

Reja was surprised that he wasn’t going to bag it. “You’re going to sew his arm back on? Is that going to work?”

“I’ll have to use your agia grass salve. Can your team carry the both of us back on the stretcher?”

The agia grass salve was one of the most expensive items, but it was an emergency. If they carry back three cabor carcasses, it would nullify the expense. Reja called two team members to carry Ian and the injured member out on a makeshift stretcher. In the meanwhile she and the members carried out the carcasses.

With the injured mercenary laying on the makeshift stretcher, Ian saddled near the edge. He sutured the arm with the suture kit, but paused as the mercenaries lifted up the stretcher. While astride, he lowered his upper body closer to shoulder and dismembered arm, and continued sewing. Every time the mercenaries jumped over the rocky slope, Ian’s body shook and he cursed underneath his breath. Trekking up was painfully slow, but going down the slope while trying to sew up an arm was like being on a roller coaster with no safety belt.