"Several acid hounds a few feet ahead," The black-haired woman says, barely audible enough for me to hear, "Several acid hounds a few feet ahead, all with asura between 2 and 3, E rank."

The man beside her nods, pausing in his step to look around. The hawk-like diamond-shaped badge flashes as he moves, momentarily blinding me.

Typical Aequitas. They always opt for flashy designs. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were compensating for something.

"Can you sense any other abnormalities from those hounds, Ivy?" the man whispered to the woman.

"They seem normal from here, but I'd need a closer look to be certain," Ivy answered, slowly rising to her feet. "Even if they have abnormalities, I don't think it's much of a concern. All their asuras are below D rank dungeon level, so it's unlikely to trigger anything."

"Yeah, whatever," the burly red-haired man beside Mark interjected, flexing his muscles. "I say we go in and bash some hound heads."

Rolling my eyes, I hold in a sigh.

Why did they decide to choose him for this scouting assignment again?

As the redhead prepares to charge in, Mark grabs him by the shoulder and pulls him back.

"Our goal is to scout the road ahead for any possible dangers," Mark chastises, holding the redhead in place. "We do not engage in fights with monsters unless their asura is appropriate for a D rank dungeon and they are native to it unless directed."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," the redhead relents, backing off. "No need to get your tails in a twist."

Mark glances back at us and points to the ground. "Stay behind me to monitor the porters," he instructs. "You're inexperienced; I don't need you charging at any monsters you see."

The redhead scowls at us, his black eyes searing into mine. An intense heat and pressure press against my body, making the tentacles whine in pain through the bond. This goes on for several long minutes.

"Fine," the man says, "but those porters better not get in the way.

The pressure against my body gradually lessens before completely dissipating. Letting out a sigh of relief, I glance up. The two other porters beside me look slightly shaken, their shoulders hunched together.

"I'm detecting a group of monsters above D rank," Ivy suddenly pipes up. "All their asuras seem to have an affinity with ice."

She turns to the right, where a massive tree trunk stretches across the chasm to the other side. Mark looks at where Ivy is facing and frowns.

"That's the path our team will be taking for the expedition," Mark notes, playing with the tip of his beard. "Can you sense what type of monsters they are?"

"They're just a bunch of rock monsters. Dangerous, but manageable," Ivy says, her pink asura glowing. "Should we engage?"

"Yes," Mark nods and steps onto the tree trunk. "It might be more troublesome to leave them for our team to deal with."

As he walks across the trunk, Ivy and the redhead follow behind him, their asuras glowing from their bodies. The other two porters glance at me nervously before one of them approaches.

"Hey, uh, do you mind going first?" one of the porters, Kevin, asks. "Both Melissa and I are apprehensive about you walking behind us."

His eyes keep darting toward my back where the tentacles are, while he twiddles his fingers.

Right. They must think I could still infect them. Well, at least I'm not going last; that would leave me vulnerable to possible enemies.

"Sure," I answer and step onto the trunk.

As I carefully place one foot in front of the other, I look ahead. Mark and the two people behind him have already made it across. They stalk toward a group of monsters on a rock ledge surrounded by trees.

'Crack!'

The trunk jerks harshly beneath my feet, and a wide crack gradually travels across its surface. Several tentacles prompt me to turn around just in time to see a black blur lunging at Melissa.

"AHHHHH!" A bloodcurdling scream rang out from behind me.

Swiftly turning around, I yank the knife from my coat's sleeve. A clump of black sludge lies on top of Melissa, pinning her down, its scorpion-like tail mere inches from her arm.

A Blobby?!

'Skhiek!'

A limb flies into the air as blood spurts when the monster's tail comes down. Shaking out of his stupor, Kevin morphs his asura into a small projectile and launches it at the Blobby. The creature jumps out of the way and lunges at him.

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

'Bam!'

The monster slams into the shield Kevin hastily made. Millions of cracks spider across the barrier's surface, pushing him dangerously close to the edge. With knife in hand, I cautiously approach, causing parts of the trunk to give way beneath my feet.

Suddenly, Kevin flings the monster off, sending it flying toward me.

"Khhhieek!" The monster shrieks, its tail swishing wildly in the air.

Swiftly batting the creature away from me, I stomp on it. Black sludge-like limbs immediately wrap around my boot, yanking harshly and throwing me off balance. My body rolls to the edge and I tumble off the trunk. Fear surges through the bond.

As I plummet, sweat gathers underneath my gloves, adrenaline coursing through my veins. I quickly grab the vines lining the trunk's underside, temporarily halting my descent.

'Puak!' 'Puak!'

Several tentacles latch onto the small crevices of the trunk's surface, slowly pulling me up. At that moment, a black scorpion tail comes into view. Letting go of some of the vines, I grab the limb and pull it down. The monster falls off the edge, scrambling futilely for a grip.

While the monster wildly flails around, I haul myself up, flopping my back against the trunk and rapidly breathing in and out.

That was way too close. I'm way off my game today.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I close my eyes.

"Everything is going to be alright, Melissa," Kevin says as someone groans. "Wait, no, don't close your eyes. Stay with me, you're fine. Everything is fine."

Quickly rising to my feet, I walk toward where Kevin is kneeling with Melissa in his lap. White asura flows from his hand, covering Melissa's stump as her face grows pale.

Two dark holes where her eyes should be staring right back at me, her face pale, drained of all life, colder than ice.

'Crack!'

The cracks in the trunk begin to spread, causing a few wooden parts to break off.

Fantastic. This day keeps getting better.

"Hey," I tap Kevin's shoulder, "We need to get back to the other side. Now! This makeshift bridge won't hold all our weight."

Without waiting for his reply, I haul Melissa onto my back. As her body presses against mine, an image of several tentacles tightly clutching Melissa flashes through my mind.

Good. She looks secure enough.

Taking Kevin's hand, I pull him along and quickly cross the bridge.

'Crack!'

As I near the end of the trunk, I leap across the remaining distance, landing gracefully on the dusty ground. Kevin's legs give way, and he tumbles to the floor.

'Crack!' 'Cprak!' 'Crack!'

Slowly lowering Melissa to the ground, I glance behind me. The middle section of the trunk is gone, leaving a wide gap over an empty chasm. Suddenly, pain shoots through my wrist as nails dig into it.

I jerk my hand away and glance down at the source of the pain. Melissa's face has turned pale, her eyes unfocused as she opens her mouth in a silent scream. She flails her limbs around, leaving numerous scratch marks on the ground. Kevin is beside her, his hands continuing to apply pressure to her wound.

Melissa looks pale, having lost too much blood. Kevin managed to stem the flow, but as a porter, he likely doesn't have enough potent asura to heal her.

I slip my backpack off and hastily open it, digging around inside. Pulling out several blankets, I wrap them around Melissa's body. My fingers occasionally slip as I fumble with the fabric.

A copious amount of blood seeps through the bandage, staining it in red.

Stop fumbling with the blankets! I've done this before; it shouldn't be bothering me.

"Koeff!" Kevin covers his cough with a hand, wiping it on his pants. "Melissa, hey, you're doing alright. Just focus on me, okay? I—Koeff!"

Blood trickles from his nose as he tries to stifle another cough. His asura briefly flickers as he places a hand in front of him.

"Aaaagghh!" Melissa screams, tears streaking down her face as a small pool of blood forms beneath her stump.

This is much worse than I thought. Kevin's asura can't stop blood flow once he lets go.

While carefully cradling Melissa's stump in my hands, I retrieve a roll of bandages from the backpack.

Kevin, could you please relax your asura a bit?" I ask while the tentacles begin unrolling the bandage. "I need to wrap up Melissa's wound."

Kevin nods wearily, struggling to keep his eyes open. Slowly lifting his arm, he allows some of the asura to dissipate. This action causes Melissa to claw at everything around her with her intact hand.

"Hey, Melissa, hey," Kevin lightly touches her shoulder, "It's just me, see? Everything's alright, okay? You're safe now."

Grabbing the bandage roll quickly, I carefully wrap it around Melissa's wound, ignoring the scratches she made on my legs. Some tentacles hold down her limbs as she continues to squirm.

"There," I say, finishing wrapping Melissa's wound. "This should hold for now."

Kevin lets out a loud sigh and allows his arms to relax. The asura around Melissa's stump becomes more transparent, loosely encircling it.

"Do you have any pain medication?" Kevin asks, rubbing his forehead. "I'm not sure I can fully release my hold without causing her pain."

...I don't think I restocked on any pain medication after running after the expedition.

Turning to my backpack, I search inside as the tentacles steady Kevin and keep him upright.

There really is no pain medication. Worthless dumbass. Can't even do anything right. What am I supposed to do? Kevin can't keep Melissa's pain at bay forever, his asura organ must be near empty by now.

"Unfortunately, I'm all out," I say, taking out a random bottle and something wrapped in tin foil. "Can you stand?"

Kevin nods slowly, placing his hand on Melissa's forehead.

"I can, just... need a quick moment."

Quickly unscrewing the cap of the thermal bottle, I hand it to him. Kevin takes it with shaking hands as I retrieve the object wrapped in tin foil.

This is the food Mary gave me earlier. It should help Kevin regain some of his energy.

Kevin slowly sips from the thermal bottle, then looks at me confusedly. "This is tea."

"Here," I say as I unwrap the tin foil and hand it to him, "You'll need the energy for the journey back."

'Kiok!'

"Great, my armor is scuffed," someone huffs from behind me, "This will take forever to buff out."

When Kevin takes the food, I briefly glance behind me. Mark and the redhead stand near the remains of the trunk, watching Ivy float across the chasm with her green asura.

Mark pats the redhead's shoulder and chuckles, "You'll survive, I'm sure. We all have to sacrifice something when we come in here." Slowly approaching us, he shakes his head in amusement, dragging a monster behind him. "Here," he says, placing a packet in Kevin's hands and dropping the corpse near me, "That should be enough painkillers for the journey back. Be careful when removing the hide; the guild needs them intact. Let me know if you need a knife replacement for tough skins."

Without another word, he walks away, motioning for the redhead to follow suit with his pile of monsters.