"Hahaha, look at him!"
"He thinks he's strong just because he became a Hunter!"
"I'll show you who's in charge here!"
The words came with kicks and punches. My battered body couldn't resist them at all. Blood filled my mouth as I tried to curl up, but a swift kick to my stomach bashed that idea.
"Ugh..."
A groan escaped my lips as I covered my head with my fractured arms. Tears fell from my eyes as I tried to hold on to life.
I was dumb. I was a fool. I shouldn't have challenged them.
I had overestimated my worth... I was a pathetic wuss who couldn't do shit.
"P-please..."
I whispered and the beating stopped for a moment.
"Oh? What, you are going to beg for your life?"
"Y-yes..."
"Huh, if you are really sorry, then you'll increase the amount of money you'll give us each day, ok?"
"B-but that's- I-I already give you guys all the money I earn-"
"Doesn't matter. If you can't, we'll kill you right here. How about it?"
"I-"
--------------------------------
I opened my eyes and groaned.
"Not that dream again..."
I called it a dream, but it was close to a nightmare instead. Sighing, I sat up inside the tent.
Judging from the light outside, it was morning already. I yawned and crawled out of the tent.
I then washed my face in a nearby well before readying my sword and potions. I needed to go dungeon diving today... The money I had left wasn't enough to last me another day. The bread cost me 10 bronze yesterday.
As I packed up, my eyes suddenly fell on the charcoal on the ground. Or more specifically, the book laying beside the charcoal.
"... Didn't I throw that in the fire yesterday?"
Did I miss the fire then? Maybe... But I felt odd for some reason.
Even so, I picked the book up and put it inside my bag. Even if this was full of bullshit, I had paid half a bread for it... I wanted to get the maximum use out of it.
Which was why I opened the book, tore the first page and used it as a match to create a fire. I then boiled some water from the old well and put it in the canteen. Once it was filled to the brim, I walked towards the city gates.
--------------------------------
"Come, join our party! D rankers and up!"
"Flying Wings wants a scout! Join us if you are a C-ranker!"
The entrance to the Death Flower dungeon, which was in the middle of the city, was lively as always. Countless parties were looking for new permanent or temporary members to join. Vendors were selling low-quality potions nearby while blacksmiths were trying to sell their weapons and equipment.
A few food stalls were selling skewers and kebabs. There were even drinks available.
It looked like a festival scene... But all of them knew that they were going to face death. That one of them... no, many of them might die today.
Going solo in the dungeon was a death wish. As such, a party was necessary. I wasn't an exception to that.
But...
"Aren't you an E-ranker?"
"Yikes, get away from us. We might get bad luck from you."
"You are a rogue class AND an E-ranker? Shit, how bad can you be? Get outta here."
No matter where I went, I was rejected. Well, that was what I was expecting so it wasn't a surprise.
My class was Rogue Knight. It was a balanced class that could scout, assassinate and take the aggro of the enemy.
But the issue was... it wasn't the best in any of those categories. An all-rounder was unnecessary in a dungeon party... At least in the main party.
"Do I go solo today too... ?"
I could go alone and hunt on the dungeon's beginner floor... But the rewards were shabby. It wouldn't last me today if I went solo again.
Just as I was thinking about my possible plans, someone called out to me.
"Hey, you aren't in a party, are you?"
"Huh?"
I turned around and saw a handsome young man with blonde hair smiling at me. His blue armour shined brightly under the sunlight... Two swords were hanging from his waist. All of his equipment look top tier.
Three girls were standing behind him. I quickly took note of their equipment. One was an archer, one seemed to be a priest and the other seemed to be a mage.
It was a well-balanced party... except it was lacking a scout.
"Uh, you were talking to me?"
I asked, a bit sceptical. There were many high ranking scouts available around us, so why would they go out of their way to invite me?
They seemed to be a high-ranking party themselves.
"Yeah, you're Axel, aren't you?"
The man said with a refreshing smile.
"... I am."
"Well, Axel... Were you going dungeon diving?"
"Yeah..."
"Why not join our party then?"
"Huh... Why are you asking me to join, can I ask?"
I decided to be blunt. There was no point in beating around the bush. And as the man hadn't shown hostility to me yet... he wouldn't be like Bayek. Though I could be wrong and maybe a punch was waiting for me, who knew?
"Haha, aren't you cautious? Well, as you can see, we are lacking a scout."
"Scout... You can find a lot of B-rankers and below out here. Why don't you invite them?"
"I can, but I need something you have."
"Something I have?"
"Yes... You have the default E-rank skill [Bad Luck], don't you?"
"... I do."
Each rank came with a default rank skill and a few unique skills based on the rank. The former was common across all Hunters of the same rank whereas the latter varied from person to person.
E-rankers were, by default, given the [Bad Luck] skill... Which was why we were so hated. We also only had one unique skill... E-rankers couldn't have any value.
"We want to hunt a lot of monsters and level up our party to C-rank. How about it? We'll pay you 50 silver."
"50 silver..."
That was around 5000 bronze... I could live happily for a long time with that money.
"Alright... Fine. I'll join you."
I said with a bow. This offer was too tempting for me to refuse.
--------------------------------
We stepped into the third floor of the dungeon via the teleport stone.
"Alright, you'll go first and draw the aggro while we'll attack the monsters. Easy, right?"
The man laughed amicably and patted my shoulder. I took a deep breath and nodded before pulling the mask over my face.
[Long Run]
I activated the only skill I had and sped up.
My daggers flashed in the light of the gemstones embedded in the dungeon walls.
As I rushed through the narrow corridors, monsters appeared from the doors left and right. This was an undead floor... Meaning most of the monsters were zombies and ghouls.
I pulled all of their aggro towards me while narrowly avoiding their grab.
"Anytime now, captain! The numbers are going out of hand!"
I called out to the party leader.
"Yeah, Axel! Got it! [Phoenix Breath]!"
Right after that, extreme heat reached my back. It wasn't aimed at me so I wasn't hurt, but the undead creatures behind me were wiped out. At the same time, I stabbed my dagger into a nearby zombie. It didn't die instantly but was stunned.
An arrow hit it in the head right as I pulled out my dagger.
"Focus on scouting, Axel!"
The archer of the party called out to me in a bell-like voice.
A fireball then hit the ghoul aiming for me, killing it instantly.
"We'll cover you! Keep drawing the aggro!"
The mage laughed as a wave of energy filled my body.
"[Warrior's Breath]!"
The priest healed the small wounds on my body. I turned around and nodded only to get a smile in reply.
I had to say... It felt good. For the first time... I was playing an active role in a party. I wasn't just a carrier or a mule.
I felt happy.
"Thanks!"
Shouting those words, I pushed my body to the limit. The corridor soon ended and I stepped into a large underground colosseum.
Behind me was a big horde of zombies and ghouls.
"Don't stop running, Axel!"
Shouted the captain as I dashed across the colosseum. The sound of sword and magic tearing through rotten flesh reached my ears.
My daggers flicked left and right as a few of the ghouls focused on me. Once again, the damage wasn't significant. It gave me enough time to move away from them, though.
"[Crusher]!"
The captain shouted and the whole colosseum rumbled. The ground beneath my feet became uneven as I stumbled forward. Cracks ran through the ground and several monsters fell into those cracks.
"S-shit!"
But the broken ground was a bane for a rogue knight like me who depended on speed. I fell to the ground and rolled forward.
"W-what!"
My rolling speed suddenly increased and I headed towards the opposite side of the field at an alarming speed. Soon my body crashed into one of the pillars of the colosseum and stopped.
"Gah... It hurts..."
My vision was blurry and my ribs felt like all of the bones were broken.
"... Captain!"
I called out to the party trying to get their attention. If I could get a heal then I would be able to continue without issue.
"Captain?"
No one replied.
The sounds of the monsters and zombies came from far away. I waited for my eyes to stabilize and then looked around.
"Where are they... ?"
The colosseum was empty. Not even monsters were there, let alone my party.
Where had they gone?
"Ugh... It hurts..."
I forced myself to stand up. My entire body felt like it was burning. My broken ribcage ached every time I moved slightly.
"My potions... Dammit."
The low-grade potions I had brought with me... All of the vials were broken from the impact.
"Captain!"
I yelled and staggered forward. The pale blue light coming from the roof of the colosseum didn't do enough to eradicate the darkness around me.
Yet I moved forward. There were several corpses on the ground but none of them was from my party. The monsters hadn't turned into ashes for some reason.
"Archer! Mage!"
I called out again, frustrated. My voice croaked as I finally reached the end of the colosseum. In front of me was the entrance I had come in from.
However... It was blocked.
The corridor had collapsed and blocked off the exit.