After scolding us for being so enthusiastic about wanting to fight Titans, the 4 of us quiet down a bit.
Tripp may have been a mood killer to some members of the group, but I completely understand where he's coming from. The blond-haired dagger wielder is just looking out for us. He must have lost some teammates to one in the past, judging by his tone.
As we carry on deeper into the dungeon, the base-level mobs begin to appear. I let Maria and Abby handle them, they're a bit more trigger-happy today than usual.
They are both much more agile than the charging monstrous Rhinos and have the perfect magic abilities to aid their fight. Frozen solid and skewered by stone, the charging beasts don't stand a chance against this duo.
Arie and I decide to stand back and watch. The monsters are too low-level to gain any exp, engaging in battle with them would be more of a resource drain than a worthwhile fight.
Tripp realizes pretty quickly that all 4 of us are no normal newbie C-Class group of recruits and strikes up a conversation as the girls battle it out with another beast.
"I heard from the Director that your squad was going to be a special one. He told me both of you have some pretty rare abilities and rather unpredictable luck."
He pauses for a moment, then continues.
"The old man stressed that you'd be a bunch of battle junkies with a death wish. I assumed you'd all be decent fighters, but had no idea you'd be able to fight off these mobs this easily…"
Arie grins.
"Oh just wait until we see one of those mutants, I can't wait to go all out. I'm still pissed off at that examiner named Rodrigo, he wouldn't let me use my bow in our final boss fight. I could have definitely joined the action with you Jay."
I raise an eyebrow, remembering the 16th-floor showdown that seemed like an eternity ago. To Arie, it was less than 2 days in the past….
"Oh yeah? You could have handled the boss?"
"Yeah easy, one arrow to the head and it would have been over-"
I laugh with a satisfied smirk, appreciating his confidence, but doubting his strength.
Tripp jumps in again.
"So, Jay. Now that we're not under the lurking eyes and ears of the Association, you have to tell me how you did it?"
"How I.. did what?"
Tripp's face curls into a goofy yet devious grin, like a little kid with a secret.
"You know… how you trained with me during the exam? I was on guard duty during the C-Class exams. I've been thinking it over and over in my head like a madman. There's no plausible explanation. How could you have possibly been in the labyrinth and at the Dungeon Hub at the same time? I even looked in your records, the only skills you have logged are Swordsmanship, Dagger Mastery, and your Advanced Fire Summoning."
"…"
"Come on, you said you'd tell me, remember?"
I gulp. Vaguely remembering the day I signed my contract with the Association. I do recall Tripp asking how I did it… and I brushed it off like it was nothing.
"Well… I uhm…"
Arie lets out a laugh.
"Oh, you really used that thing? I thought you were saving that teleportation item for a rainy day. Don't tell me you actually used it in the exam between tests…"
The tan-skinned bow wielder continues to laugh. I crack a thing smile, deciding to go along with his nonsense.
"Well, I guess I just thought now or never right? Magic items are meant to be used aren't they."
I crack another fake grin. Tripp looks at me dumbfounded.
"You… you used a teleportation item… to do a few hours of extra training… during an exam…?"
I scratch the back of my head and visually cringe. Next, I throw my hands up in the air replying defensively.
"Hey, you were probably better off not knowing."
"…"
"Now ya do. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone I wasted an item like that. Alright?"
"But how- and where- a teleportation-"
"I'd rather not talk about it anymore, okay?"
We continue walking in silence for a moment. I'm left wondering if Tripp actually bought that excuse or if he's just playing along to our obvious lies.
An awkward amount of time goes by before Arie strikes up a random conversation about the Hunters Association hierarchy structure. I begin to zone out as their boring talk of numbers fills my ears. I watch Abby and Maria continue slaying beasts as we run into them on our way through The Great Plains.
I'm just happy to be alive. It feels like I'm viewing all the events of today from above like an out-of-body experience. Maybe it's a defensive mechanism built in to deal with all of the excess stimulation my brain is taking in today.
I did get pretty used to staring at white walls and focusing on a single task… every… single… day….
I let out a sigh.
Simultaneously, Arie lightly elbows me in the gut.
"Hey, we're already 5km in you know. Are you that confident you haven't even taken out a weapon?"
I shake myself out of my daydreams, then firmly nod a few times.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure they can handle it. I'll wait for the mutants to have my fun, you're thinking the same thing aren't ya?"
Arie grips his bow.
"Yeah. Mutants or Titans, whichever comes first right?"
I gulp, then let out a few words in a shaky tone.
"Mutants… Mutants are fine with me. Tripp probably knows best, we shouldn't even joke about Titans right now."
There's a pause of silence, then Tripp laughs and puts an arm around my shoulder.
"I think that's the first intelligent thing that's come out of your mouth since I met ya! Hear that Arie? Even this battle-crazed psycho that would waste a one-of-a-kind item for an adrenaline fix isn't dumb enough to fight a Titan. Read a page out of his book!"
The bow wielder rolls his eyes.
"For the short time I've known Jay, I think I have a pretty good read on him. Wait until one of these things shows up. He'll be the first one into action."
I reply in a soft tone as we continue forward.
"Yeah, yeah…"
After some more casual conversation and a whole lot of walking, a mutant finally shows up.
I take out my sword and the 4 of us go in for an attack. My blade slices through the mutant like butter. Abby and Maria easily trap the beast in place with Ice and Earth while Arie lands a thin white glowing arrow through the monster's forehead.
The Mutant never stood a chance.
The girls cheer and Arie grins, but I'm not emotionally moved in the slightest. I just stare at the scene in front of me and mumble to myself.
"Why does this always happen to me? Why am I never satisfied…?"
The 3 of them wait around the Ice covered burning corpse to wait for it to drop its loot. I let out a sigh and activate my enemy detection skill.
My small use of MP shocked my system into wanting more all of a sudden. That release of power is making me shake, I clench my jaw craving more.
Eventually, the loot drops and I take a few deep breaths to curb my temptations. All 5 of us venture further in.
We're about 7-10km into the dungeon now. I can expand my range pretty far, closing my eyes and do so as we walk. I concentrate and reach out into the depths of the dungeon locating 10 more mutants within a 10km radius.
I push my skill a little further, sensing a creature at the same level as me moving at high speeds around the backside of the dungeon about 15km deeper in than us. I grin, registering that it must be Ember.
At the same moment, as I continue to expand my range, I hit a very familiar wall of infinite nothingness another 5km in. I immediately shiver and deactivate my enemy detection skill.
We continue the hunt.
All 5 of us wander around the 10-12km range for the next 6 hours straight. We've run into 8 mutants in total, this is thanks to me leading the way. The only one that doesn't know I have some kind of advanced perception skill is Tripp. It just seems like we're getting lucky to him.
In reality, we're actually getting the opposite. After 8 mutants and over 20 of its underlings, the only loot we've managed to pick up is mana crystals. I can tell the team's morale has been slowly declining…
Tripp calls out to us after this recent kill.
"Hey, let's do one more then call it a day."
The four of us nod in agreement.
After defeating our next mutant, I decide to plant the Strengthening Fragment I looted from my long battle with the Titan into the mutant's corpse during one of my close-range attacks. As it dissolves, the small black crystal drops, and I hear Maria scream with excitement in her voice.
"Guys! Guys! Look we got one! We got one!"
I grin while the others flock over to her, examining the small black gem. Crossing my arms, I watch my team's spirits rise. Maria's smile brightens my mood. Abby's willingness to whole-heartily support the cheerful blond as she fixates on the black gem puts faith in our teamwork.
Watching Arie smirk while gripping his bow reminds me of how he helped me in the exam and also covered me with a little white lie earlier today.
I'm back to the outside world with a team I can trust. I guess… this isn't too bad…
The 3 of them pass the gem around, then I walk over to take part in the fun. Tripp watches from a distance wide-eyed and pale-faced.
The drop rate is pretty low, we beat the odds of a 1% chance and got a Fragment in just 10 or so kills.
I would also be surprised if I were in his position, but the sheer expression of bewildered horror on his face suggests that there is more to this situation than meets the eye.
I hear him mutter a few words under his breath.
"I-Impossible… They actually got a Strengthening Fragment… out of a Mutant…?"