Gates of Cypress Town

While Lan was reveling in his newfound mastery over a new element, he had nearly forgotten about the recent intrusion, more preoccupied with the newfound mastery over water.

Meanwhile, the invading party in question was still rather shaken from the whole encounter, they by no means came back unscathed.

All this led to the current scene playing out.

The four managed to make it back to the town, but currently, they were walking toward the tower in the center of the town, all the while receiving glances and hushed whispers about them.

"Woha, what the hell happened to them?"

"Dunno, last thing I heard was about them being sent out somewhere east."

"Damn, what happened to Stacy?"

Such a thing was understandable, as the party was well known in the town as one of the most capable scouting teams, which were also competent in combat.

Usually, they came back hauling back corpses of monsters or bringing back the knowledge of mystical places from their expeditions.

Hell, one time they even subjugated a Monster Nest all by themselves, which usually required at least two Hunter teams, consisting of 5 people each.

Now, however, they weren't bringing back any trophies. On the contrary, Johann was carrying unconscious Ian over his shoulder, his backpack seemingly abandoned. Johann's armor was covered in deep scratches, even torn through in some places, leaving people to wonder what he battled.

Meanwhile, Anna was supporting Stacy, the remaining arm of the Warrior over her shoulder. Her uniform was torn apart at the shoulder, bandages covering the skin underneath.

And lastly, Stacy had the most visible damage. Apart from her armor being in an even worse state than Johann's, what caused people to gasp was her arm missing under the elbow, leaving only a bandaged and blood-soaked stump.

The team trudged through toward the central part of the town along the main road, reaching a plaza around the central tower. The tower itself was called the 'Magic Tower', mainly because mana-sensitive people, or 'Mages' as they were called nowadays, were working and living in there, sensing flows of mana and researching various things.

The Magic Tower could also be said to be an early warning system in case of a Monster Nest appearance or the consequent Monster Tide.

The plaza, simply called the Central Plaza, had housing for the best exploration and hunter teams, which was a profession that was responsible for the direct safety of the town, and thus commanded great respect among the people.

Thus only the strongest warriors could live here, and the exploration party was one of them.

Johann stopped in front of one of the houses and reached for a key, however it was left behind along with his backpack in order to bring Ian back.

"Curses... There was a spare one here I think... Here it is."

After a brief search, he reached under a loose plank in the stairs leading up to it, pulling out a spare key.

He then opened the door and walked into the house revealing a cozy kitchen and a living room. Behind him, Stacy and Anna followed. Johann then quickly put down Ian on the couch nearby, and turned to the two women.

"Anna, since you are mostly healed, look after Ian and Stacy. Rest here, but don't forget to visit the Mage healers later. Ian might have patched you up, but you could be better. Stacy, follow me for healing immediately."

Anna only nodded at his words, too exhausted to bring out her chirpy personality.

Meanwhile, Stacy let go of Anna and leaned on a wall with a sigh.

"...Seriously bossman, can't a lady get some beauty sleep?"

"No, if you don't want to lose more than an arm. Who knows what else bit you in there."

"Fine..."

The two then walked out into the plaza and toward the tower. The doors into it were open, various people going in and about their business.

What greeted them was a hall with stairs going up opposite the entrance, reception on the left and right sides. The left side is for accepting missions, the right side is for submitting the results.

However only Johann went to the right side, and Stacy went toward the next floor, which featured a treatment center with Mage Healers, available for exploratory teams or anyone else but for a fee.

Johann went up to the free receptionist, a man in black glasses greeting him.

"Oh, hello Johann. Have you completed the eastern exploration mission? You're not looking too good."

"...Mission partially completed. We weren't able to subjugate the Nest."

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"Well, it's good that all of you made it back alive... What is the threat level?"

"Level 4."

The receptionist nearly jumped, clearly startled.

"Level 4?! Are you sure? Have you got any details?"

"I'm sure. Without at least three experienced hunter teams it will be impossible to kill the boss, let alone subjugate it."

"What do you mean? Killing the boss is subjugating it?"

"The boss wasn't the end of the Nest, there was a passage leading downward."

The receptionist put his fingers to his temples, and after thinking for a minute, answered Johann.

"Sigh... I alone will not be able to deal with this. I need to report this to my superiors. Please wait here for a couple of minutes."

He then stood up and walked out from behind his stand and went up somewhere upstairs.

Meanwhile, Johann sat on one of the available benches. And as minutes passed one by one, he gradually descended in thought.

The Monster Nest was clearly different from the ones they usually raided. By Ian's words mana density was much higher than normal, when in a 'normal' Monster Nest, it was usually a small mana-rich point, directly occupied by the monster boss.

Although they didn't fight that much on their way to the boss, the boss itself was too strong, let alone the two of them. It was a rule that the boss was always alone, never were there multiple bosses.

And their strength... Had it been any other exploration team, they would've been obliterated, as Johann's team was one of the best.

But he was snapped out of his thoughts by a voice coming from above him.

"Johann, the leader of the Exploration Team four? The Tower Master wants to see you."

When Johann looked up, he found that the receptionist had returned, followed by an older man in a researcher's coat. The old man was the one talking.

Johann simply nodded and followed. He was then led up the tower, which consisted of 10 floors, all having their own purpose. The Tower Master's office though was on top of all of them, taking the entire 11th floor for itself.

The Tower Master rarely spoke with anyone, being a rather reclusive and pragmatic woman. However, she was the most knowledgeable and powerful Mage around, having proven herself many times. She could also be called an unofficial leader of Cypress Town, as she often took decisions affecting the state of it, be it safety or construction.

When Johann stepped through the carved doors, the older Mage bowed his head towards the woman noting down something in one of her books.

"Tower Master, I've brought him."

"Thank you. You may leave."

Following a few cold words, Johann was now facing the Tower Master alone.

"Greetings, respected Tower Master."

"Sit. It would seem that we have a peculiar situation on our hands."

She gestured toward an armchair facing her desk. Johann promptly did as he was asked.

"So then, I hear that your team found a particularly... Anomalous Monster Nest? I would like to hear more details. A case such as yours was never witnessed. I've heard the report, continue where you left off."

"Yes, Tower Master. The Monster Nest itself is an opening leading underground, on top of which grows a... A giant tree, for lack of a better description. Our Mage reported that it was emitting large quantities of mana."

"I see. But you told me that although the tree emits mana, it was not guarded by the Boss?"

"No, it was devoid of guarding monsters. Instead, the nest lay in the space below it. The cave below it possessed even denser mana, to the point where even I could sense it."

It would seem that his report attracted Tower Master's attention greatly, as she had opened one of her notebooks, and was actively taking notes, drawing out guesses and theories.

"Curious... Does that mean that it was influenced by the ambient mana? But then why does it emit mana by itself?.. Don't mind me, go on."

Although startled by the abrupt change of attitude, Johann continued.

"...Yes, and though it was similar to usual mana-influenced environments, with various kinds of vegetation being pronounced, there were also various kinds of surface plants. Even trees were present."

Followed by furious scribbling of a pen, the Tower Master was muttering under her nose.

"Strange... Never happened before... Continue."

"Also, in the ceiling, there was a big crack, from which light was coming, or rather something emitting light was beyond it. Our Mage reported that there was a tremendous amount of mana in there. We didn't investigate it due to a lack of tools and ability."

"Did you see what exactly was there?"

"No, but the Mage told us that it was spherical. Perfectly so."

"That's worrying... In nature, spherical things are few and far between. Possibly artificial? But how..."

"Although the monsters were nothing special, the end of the cave had a... Passage into the room where the boss was. It looked clearly artificial."

At the follow-up statement, the Tower Master furrowed her brows, various worries and theories intervening.

"Truly troublesome... Could it be a work of Beast Worshippers? An outpost perhaps."

She then looked back up at Johann, stopping her writings and mutterings for the moment.

"So then, if you call it a boss room, then I suppose that you found the boss?"

"Yes, although it would be more correct to say that the boss found us. We were ambushed. The beast somehow... Hid among the shadows. It took us by surprise."

"Could you give a description of it and its abilities?"

"Of course. It seemed to be a wolf, around 2 meters in height. A notable feature would be the fact that its fur was so dark that it was indistinguishable from shadow. Its strength was higher than other wolf-type bosses."

"Is that all? I doubt your party would have been bested by that much. I also remember you reporting a 'second boss'."

"Yes, I'm getting there. A worrying aspect of it was its intelligence. It seemed to learn from our clashes, and it aimed for the Ranger or the Mage instead of me or our Warrior. We did manage to almost kill it, but then that happened..."

The Tower Master nodded along, finishing the sentence.

"The second one appeared."

"We were ambushed yet again. It had some kind of invisibility ability. We did not see it up until it attacked. It just... Appeared. It must have been some kind of Beast Ability."

"Yes, we did occasionally find monster bosses who fling rocks and water at us, but that is a rare case. Usually, they are just stronger than normal. But the intelligence part is worrying. Continue."

"It was the one that took Stacy's arm. We did manage to kill the first boss before retreating, but our Mage had to use 'that'."

"'That'? Do you mean the 'Mana Overcharge'? You do know that it leaves the Mage unable to use magic ever again, right?"

"We were aware, but we had no other choice. Before we retreated, however, we did see a passage further downward. The mana coming from below... Was even denser. I suspect that... There may be more bosses down there."

The Tower Master closed her eyes and began tapping her fingers on the table rhythmically. It was a thing she was known to do when in deep contemplation.

"Alright. Is that the entire report?"

"Yes, that was as far as we managed to explore."

"Understood. You are dismissed. On your way back, tell that Old Thing to come in."

After Johann exited with a brief bow, the elderly mage re-entered the office.

"You called? Looks like it's quite serious. Also, when are you going to stop being so stuck up?"

"Enough with the jokes, Larring. Issue an emergency dispatch to at least four Hunter teams."

"That bad?"

"Yes. They are to subjugate a level 4, possibly even level 5 Nest..."

"Code name 'Dungeon'."