By nightfall, the motorboat reached District U21. Upon entering the city, miles of carnage lay in their wake. Just like in other districts, the smell of ash and rotting flesh penetrated the air.
'Not matter where we go, the scene of death always greets us.' Dawn mournfully monologued with downcast eyes.
"Be on the lookout! Even though this area has fewer monsters crawling around, you never know when one may pop out!" warned Kris.
Dawn stayed vigilant, but it was Neko-chan and Rin who sensed the danger first. Up ahead in the middle of the street, a group of goblins fought against three humans, males from the look of it. One guy held a spear, which he used to stab the goblin attacking him.
The guy with the shield was bulldozing a few of them down. At the same time, another guy summoned a sphere of water with which he drowned a handful. From afar, arrows flew in the sky and took out the goblins that tried sneaking up on the three men.
'So they have an archer, huh?' Dawn was content with just watching the scene play out as it didn't take the group long to defeat the goblins.
Signaling the group hid behind a building that had its top blown off. She ducked down but sensed something heading her way, and saw an arrow flying straight for her face.
Before it could hit its mark, Rin stretch out his hand and caught it. Freezing the arrow, he squeezed his fist, shattering it to pieces.
"Who dares to attack my mistress?" A murderous aura flared from the ice elf. The voice of a woman signaled them out.
"Stop hiding and show yourself!" demanded the woman who hopped down from the rooftop of a three-story building.
Dawn saw a girl with turquoise-green hair styled in a long braid standing with her hands on her hips, eyes locked in the direction of the rubble where Dawn and the rest of her party concealed themselves.
"That girl's got some scary vision. So do we fight or keep hiding?" Kris looked at Dawn, awaiting her orders.
"We speak the truth," replied Dawn, confusing him as he watched Dawn show herself to the girl with her hands held up in the air.
"We come in peace!" These were the first words Dawn said, and Kris facepalmed.
"We escaped from our district, which has been overrun with monsters, and is looking for a place to rest." Dawn lied and a look of realization and sympathy overcome the girl.
"You must be escapees from District Z26?! Just last week, we escorted survivors from that district to our base!" The girl came up with her own assumption and dropped her guard, satisfying Dawn. Seeing this working in their favor, why would she want to correct her?
'This works just fine for me!'
"Yes! We barely managed to stay alive!" Dawn continued with her lie.
"Lily, what's going on over there?" The girl, Lily, was soon joined by the rest of her group. The one to ask this question was an average-looking guy in his mid-twenties with brown hair and eyes. He was the one Dawn saw fighting with a spear.
"Fredrick, they're survivors from District Z26!" Lily answered the guy.
"I'm impressed! I've heard that district is nothing but a sea of monsters with a high death toll. Only a few have been able to escape so far. It must've been tough on you guys to make it here." Fredrick showed his sympathy, but Dawn could sense that the man did not fully believe her story.
Dawn could see behind Frederick's smile; his eyes held suspicion.
'Hmm, it seems he's not as naïve as his friend.'
"Lily, you can't just drop your guard because they're escapees," berated the group's mage, a young boy who looked to be in his late teens.
"A good person always protects those in need!" Lily tried to justify her actions, which in turn earned her two blank looks from two of her teammates while the latter threw his head back and laughed obnoxiously.
"Only Lily could say something like that even after seeing this world go to shit! You have a good spirit, kiddo!" laughed a stocky man, who reminded Dawn of a pro-wrestler, clamping a hand over Lily's shoulder.
The impact sent a shock of pain through Lily which she berated the man for.
"Damn it, John! How many times have I told you to learn to hold back that monstrous strength of yours!?"
"And Daniel!" She pointed at the young man in their group. "Who gave you the right to talk back to your senior, you cocky brat!?" Lily punished Daniel by pinching his cheeks.
"Since you're looking for a place to rest and eat, you can follow us!" Fredrick showed a friendly smile and volunteered, running his eyes over the rest of Dawn's group that had joined her.
Lily, who was in the middle of pinching Daniel's cheeks, stopped when she caught sight of the two attractive males, feeling her own heart skip a couple of beats.
'They're super hot~!' Lily swooned, unaware of how her actions greatly displeased Daniel, who began glaring at the men of Dawn's group.
Meanwhile, Dawn was busy looking at the power levels displayed above the group's heads. 'Hmm, so they're all ranked at level 8.' Dawn thanked the group for lending them their aide as both left the scene.
The trip took at least an hour. Dawn heard from Lily that the route they took was the longest, but safest to the base. There were quicker routes, but they were laced with uncharted danger. Fredrick, the group leader, was the type not to take any unnecessary risk. Again, words Dawn heard from Lily.
"Alright, so here is our base!" Lily happily announced, pointing towards the entrance of a school. Once through the gate, the group walked past a water fountain before entering the doors.
"Oh, snap! I forgot to warn you guys about 'him'!" Lily shot them an apologetic look as Dawn could sense someone walking their way.
"Once again, you brought an extra load of baggage to our base, Fredrick!" Walking past the display cabinets stood an overbearing, heavy-built man with a mane of wild raven hair and sharp animal-like eyes.
"Trevor, please don't cause a scene! They're escapees from District-" Lily pleaded for them, but the man interrupted her.
"Don't care! This base already has enough mouths to feed, and we don't need to add more to it! If they want to stay, then they'll have to prove themselves! If you can land a hit on me. You can stay, if not, leave!" The man boasted, brimming with confidence, as Dawn looked over his head and saw the man's rank read: {Pawn-Lvl.9}.
'I should be able to take him since I'm ranked at level 10.' Dawn's current rank boosted her with confidence, already picturing her win when a hand gripped her wrist.
"Mistress, do not underestimate this man. He has an aura reek of a beast." Rin grabbed her hand, who, thanks to the mask Dawn bought from the item shop, costing her 1,000 coins which she gave to him prior to landing ashore, concealing his elf ears and status as a monster.
"What are you trying to say? That he's some kind of demihuman?" Kris found it hard to trust the words of Rin, who was labeled as a monster, a member of the sadistic race of ice elves, but mostly because he couldn't find it in him to like Rin.
Rin ignored Kris's remark and instead shot a look toward Neko-chan, who was also glaring warily at the man.
"Don't worry! I can handle myself!" Dawn thought Rin was just being worry-wart and shook off his concern.
"Alright, big-guy, show me what you got!" Dawn activated her contract with Neko-chan, surprising Lily's group as they saw the girl's change appearance.
"You're one cocky brat!"
Trevor murmured before disappearing in a blink of an eye to Dawn's and Kris's shock. By the time the man reappeared, he delivered a strong kick that sent the small girl flying straight out the door and crashing into the water fountain stationed outside.
"W-What the hell?!" Everything happened in a split second that Kris couldn't make sense of it and ran outside with Rin. Broken pieces of the fountain fell onto Dawn's soaked body. The blow from the hit made it hard for Dawn to regain her breathing and eyesight.
'Didn't his rank read Lvl.9?!' The poor girl was barely able to keep her eyes open; pain shot throughout her body. Dawn felt her bones turn to jelly. The last thing she saw before blacking out was the sight of Trevor's triumphant smirk as he turned and walked away.