We agreed to meet up at a coffee shop near the hunter's association, so I have to take the subway again. Arriving at the shop, I look around trying to find the other members. Outside the shop, a group of 3 people is sitting on a table, one of them stands up and waves at me. He isn't particularly tall, but he is a little chubby. It isn't rare to see hunters without an athletic physique, it does hold you back a little, but old habits die hard. He is also a little older looking, the scruff on his face doesn't help.
"William, hi, I'm Sam," he says as I approach the table. "These are Anna and Chris."
Anna has a small frame and short hair. She wears glasses, which is unusual, hunters don't have bad vision. Chris on the other hand, is the spitting image of a hunter, tall, broad shoulders and muscular. The stereotypical scowl is also there, although his hair is long enough to cover up some of it.
"Hello, everyone, I'm William," I say.
"We know that, idiot," says Chris.
"Hi, Will, I'm this team's archer," says Anna.
"We should wait for Daniel to arrive to talk about our roles," Sam interrupts.
With those small introductions out of the way, I sit down and order a drink. Contrary to my expectations, the atmosphere isn't that awkward. The trio continue chatting with each other and Sam occasionally asks me questions. After another 15 minutes, Daniel finally arrives. He is as tall as me and his scowl is even deeper than Chris's. Despite being his head being bald, the rest of him is quite hairy. 'That beard puts Sam's to shame.'
"You're late," says Sam.
"Whatever let's get this over with," replies Daniel.
The group ignores the aggression, after this raid there will be more time to look for a different member.
"I'm Sam, I'm this team's leader and tank. When we are exploring, we will vote on decisions, but during a fight you should listen to my orders. Hesitation is a hunter's worst enemy," he says.
"Anna, archer. If you get hit by one of my arrows, its your fault," she says.
"Chris, swordsman," his displeasure increases for no reason.
"Will, spearman, this will be my first raid, I hope you treat me well," I say.
Chris and Daniel both scoff at the same time. Anna holds back her laughter; she seems to struggle a lot when both men start a staring contest.
"Daniel, scout. Don't talk to me," he says, still glaring at Chris.
Sam claps his hands and says,
"Very well, with that out of the way, let's talk about the dungeon I chose. It is an E rank dungeon; it should be a typical cavern dungeon. Expect to find hellhounds, lesser ghouls, and demonic rats. Will, can you reinforce your full body?"
"Uh, yeah, I can," I answer.
"Good, it is impossible for E rankers like us to have it on throughout and entire dungeon. You should get some armor and only reinforce the exposed areas. Even then, always keep an eye on your mana, the moment you run out, you die," he says.
I nod. Sam continues to talk,
"I will be in front of the group, Will and Chris are going to stand to my sides and Anna at the back. Daniel, I assume you know your role?"
"Of course, I do," answers Daniel.
"Don't stray too far, we might need your help if things go south," Sam incudes this, the implication doesn't fly above my head. Daniel simply glares at Sam, also getting the meaning of his words.
"That's it then, anyone objects to going in tomorrow?" ask Sam.
'Tomorrow! Dammit, I also need the money, but I don't feel ready yet.'
Solidifying my thoughts, I don't say anything, and neither does anyone else. Tomorrow, I enter a dungeon again, but this time, I will not be cowering in the back. My past as a porter flashes through my mind, when it does, I ask Sam a question,
"What about a porter?"
"We have one lined up already, he will take 5% of the earnings. Speaking of which, we will do an even split with the other 95%," he answers.
'5% is pretty good for a porter.' My respect for Sam grows a little more.
"5% is too much for a porter," says Daniel.
'Of course…'
"You are welcome to carry the stuff then," Sam stands his ground.
Daniel's eyes narrow, but he does nothing more than that.
Now that we all have been introduced and the dungeon has been described, we end the meeting. Daniel wastes no time; he stands up and leaves without saying a word.
"This will be our only raid with that guy right Sam?" asks Chris.
"If he is reliable inside the dungeon, we should try to stand his attitude. I would like to avoid wasting more time looking for another member," Sam replies. "By the way, Will, want you join us in some team training? Knowing each other's roles is not nearly enough."
"Yeah, I would love that, but where would we train?" I ask.
"I know a guy," he says with a prideful face.
We walk into the association building and Sam talks to the receptionist for a bit. When he finishes talking, he asks us to wait for his friend to arrive. After about 10 minutes, someone familiar enters the lobby.
"Instructor?" I ask dumbfoundedly.
"Oh? You know him too?" asks Sam.
"I taught him a thing or two," says the instructor.
"Well, if you where his teacher, then I guess we can trust his abilities," says Sam. "Speaking of, you got a spare spot we can use?"
"You don't plan on paying do you?" asks the instructor, his voice sounds like he has given up.
Instead of answering, Sam simply smiles.
"Fine. You only get an hour. No more."
We follow him into the training building, and he unlocks a door for us. The room is a lot smaller than the gym I used during the intense training camp. Despite being smaller, it can easily fit a team of 5, or rather 4 people. 'I wonder if Daniel would've agreed to team training.' Besides the room's size, I also notice that it is empty, so I ask about it,
"These rooms have a hologram system installed, so there is no need for anything inside," answers Anna.
"What a bumpkin," says Chris.
"He only recently became a hunter, cut him some slack," Sam scolds him.
"Cut the chit chat, your hour starts now," says the instructor as he leaves the room.
Sam goes up to a panel on the wall and taps a couple of times on it.
"Alright, Chris to my left, Will to my right. I will hold off the rats while you to attack them. Anna will cover our backs and provide general over-watch," Sam's tone has changed, it is very serious and direct.
I do as he says, walking to his right side and readying my spear. The room darkens, I can't even see in front of me. To my left, Sam's shield begins to shine. 'An enchantment?' Before I can ask, a group of 5 rats appears, the hologram is quite realistic. Demonic rats are about the size of a large dog, but they act more like piranhas. Sam hops towards the rats, drawing their attention. Chris is quick to follow up, positioning himself right behind Sam. I'm- 'huh?' A rat has slipped past Sam and is dashing at me. It lunges at my feet, trying to get a bite. Before it can get a taste of me, an arrow strikes at the rat, causing it to shatter into light.
"Get a hold of yourself!" yells Anna.
I snap into focus and mirror Chris's position, stabbing at the rats in front of Sam. Most of them are focused on the shield, it's shine draws their attention. Thanks to that, I easily kill another one while Chris kills his second one. Sam bashes the last one with his shield, staggering it. He finishes it off with his short sword and the battle ends; light slowly returns to the room.
"That was easy…" I say.
"That's because it was only an introduction dumbass. Actual rat groups usually contain at least 15. Even 15 is the low end, let alone the fact that you fucked up right now," retorts Chris.
"Chris is right, we would be lucky if we only encounter groups of 15. He is also right about your mistake, but that's why we came to practice isn't it?" says Sam. "At least you got a chance to see Anna in action, don't get used to it though, you don't want to get complacent."
"Oh yeah, thanks, Anna," I say. She nods lightly at my words.
"Now that you got a taste of how we fight, let's bump the numbers up," says Sam.
He walks back to the panel and taps a couple more times. By the time he returns to the front, the room is dark again. 15 rats appear now and without hesitation, I get into position. Sam's shield is quickly covered by rats, they even block the light coming off it. I take the opportunity to thrust my spear towards them, but that was another mistake. A rat off to the side rushes at me while I stab the other ones, I'm mid thrust so I can't do anything about it. Another arrow saves the same, making me feel a bit ashamed.
"Sam can handle the rats pounding away at the shield! Focus on the ones that are trying to get around it!" Anna immediately points out my mistake.
I follow her advice and focus on the rats that aren't dogpiling onto the shield. There are only about 5 of them, but they are already heading towards me. I use a slash to prevent them from advancing any further, one of them gets caught by my spear and dies. The others managed to dodge backwards, but I won't let them get off that easy. I thrust my spear at the nearest rat, killing it instantly. The remaining 3 leap at my face simultaneously, I only manage to kill one of them. The leftover pair have completely passed my defenses, except that one of them gets hit by an arrow.
I lift my arm, using it to block the last rat. It bites down into it, but I feel no pain. Despite the lack of pain, I still kill it as fast as possible, using my free hand to stab it with the spear. Then, I return to Sam's side, only to see that a couple more rats have given up on the shield and started to charge me. One is killed by an arrow, that prompts me to thrust at the other one, killing it as well. Now that no rats are roaming free, I focus on Sam's shield, only to see it is empty. Light returns to the room, all the rats are dead.
"Are you always going to have me kill all of them?" says Chris, his tone does not make it sound like a question.
"Come on, Chris, let's just keep practicing," replies Anna.
Sam nods and goes back to the panel, preparing another round.