Kyle was trying to keep up with the rest of his group members. However, he was bitterly struggling to carry the heavy bags of supplies and mana crystals from the monsters they had killed.
"Hey Pipsqueak, quit fooling around and pick up those crystals. I'll kill you if you dare miss one or even try to steal from it because I'm counting it." A brown haired boy named Ryan and was also the leader of the squad yelled.
Kyle hurriedly tried to pick up the crystals as quickly as he could, but he suddenly tripped against a rock and fell to the ground which caused some of the crystals to spill out of the bag.
"This clumsy bastard..." Ryan scoffed in disdain before walking towards Kyle and kicking him hard in the chest.
"Argh!!!" Kyle screamed in pain as he rolled backwards on the ground.
Ryan grabbed Kyle's shirt as he lay on the ground and pulled his face closer to his. "Shut up, you useless trash and pick all these crystals up quickly. Now we're going to waste more time because of your stupidity." Ryan glared menacingly at Kyle as he spoke.
The rest of the group members quietly watched the scenario without interfering. Some were even laughing mockingly as they were enjoying how Kyle was being mistreated.
"Tsk tsk..... if you were this weak then why are you putting so much effort into becoming a hunter with your trash ability? This place isn't for someone like you and even if you eventually pass there is no doubt that you won't survive for long if you continue on this path." The instructor in charge of guiding them during this test muttered while shaking his head pitifully as he walked past Kyle.
Kyle heard the instructor's comment and it was undeniable that he made a very valuable point.
It has been twenty years since the first few dimensional gates appeared in various places on earth.
Monsters such as goblins, orcs, kobloids, dragons and other creatures that were originally thought to be just a myth or fantasy imagination began to pour out of these gates and wreck havoc on mankind.
Thousands of people lost their lives and the number of deaths would have continued to rise and humanity would have lost hope of survival if the awakeners hadn't appeared.
When the dimensional gates appeared, all living things were exposed to mana. However, only a few special humans with high potential could control this mana which also granted them special abilities.
The awakeners fought against these monsters for the survival of the planet and won. The gates closed but the war didn't end.
The gates continued to spawn at random locations and time.
Hunting became the lucrative profession of awakeners who decided to continue raiding these gates before another monster outbreak which could be devastating for mankind.
Although some of these outbreaks can't be controlled sometimes and Kyle unfortunately lost both of his parents due to these unexpected outbreaks.
It was his aunt that took him in and accepted the responsibility of taking care of him but life was also challenging because they lost all their assets in the outbreak leaving them in a huge amount of loan debt.
That was the moment Kyle decided he needed to become a hunter in order to have revenge on these monsters that ruined everything in his life.
However, he awakened an F-rank ability that only gave him a small boost in his physical stats than a regular human but it wasn't enough to even kill the lowest rank goblin.
Nonetheless, Kyle applied to the Hunters Academy but he always failed the graduation test each year and this was his fifth trial.
These past four years he kept training relentlessly to make a breakthrough despite the malicious, hateful and mocking remarks from everyone.
Today, Kyle was in another dungeon with another batch of trainees conducting his fifth trial of the hunter's graduation test. This was his last opportunity to prove himself or he could forget about becoming a hunter ever again.
His regular failure created a detestable reputation for him which was why he was always bullied both inside and outside the dungeon. Therefore, Ryan's behavior and that of the other group members wasn't surprising to Kyle because he was used to it by now.
Even the instructor would only just watch and not interfere as long as they don't try to kill each other.
****
The group finally arrived at the boss room after spending three hours inside the dungeon.
While the others rested to regain their lost stamina and heal their injured wounds before opening the door to fight the boss of the dungeon.
Kyle was busy picking up the mana crystals as it was his duty as the porter of the group. He was assigned this position because he was the weakest member of the group which could contribute much to the fight.
After a while, Ryan approached the door of the boss' room. "Is everybody prepared?" he asked without looking back at the rest of his teammates.
"Let's do this." one of the group members said confidently.
"Hey, don't get in our way as soon as we enter that room or else we will kill you first." Ryan threatened Kyle who was standing at the back of the group before he pushed the door open.
Inside the room they found the alpha wolf resting on his altar as they marched into the room.
They all charged at him at once except Kyle and the instructor who was just here to observe them.
Kyle was amazed as he watched how Ryan and the rest of the squad kept throwing coordinated attacks at the alpha wolf. He had to admit that Ryan was a jerk but he was definitely going to be an excellent hunter.
They managed to defeat the alpha wolf in forty minutes. They were now resting as they waited for Kyle to remove the mana crystal from the dead body of the alpha wolf.
"Hurry up twerp, I want to get out of this damned place and get a hot shower." Ryan was the one that complained loudly yet again.
"I'm sorry but the alpha wolf skin is much sturdier, maybe you could help me slash it with your sword it would be easier for me to dig into his flesh faster." Kyle tried to explain as he was struggling to get the mana crystals out of the goblin's body.
"Do you want to die?" Ryan shouted furiously. He dashed towards Kyle and grabbed the collar of his shirt."Are you asking me to do your job for you now?"
"I'm sorry...." Kyle pleaded as he tried to free Ryan's grip from his collar which was choking him.
"Pathetic..." Ryan spat on Kyle's face before he flung him against the wall near the altar.
When Kyle's body crashed against the wall, his body unconsciously pressed a button hidden in the wall.
A small hole opened at the top of the altar and a red mana crystal slowly revealed itself, surprising everyone.
"What are you doing? Grab the damn crystal, even if it's a low quality crystal it would still be worth some cash." Ryan urged.
Kyle was hesitant because he knew the risks of such acts. They all knew it wasn't just a low rank crystal considering how well it was hidden and such items could be cursed if they were handled carelessly there could be a severe backlash.
Although Ryan wanted to use him as a scapegoat, Kyle could not refute him when nobody countered.
To retrieve the crystal, Kyle hesitantly climbed the altar under the watchful gaze of everyone. Immediately he grabbed the crystals the entire dungeon began to rumble and an ominous aura filled the air.
A crackling sound caught everyone's attention. They all shifted their attention towards the dead body of the alpha wolf which was now getting back on its feet with his eyes glowing bright red.
"What in the..." One of the group members wanted to comment but in a flash the wolf launched itself at him and instantly killed him.
"Everyone run back now," the instructor yelled as he charged at the wolf before it attacked again. The bloodlust of the monster was beyond the level the trainees could handle which was why he had to interfere.
The monster's reaction speed was fast. It swiftly invaded the attack flying to him by moving to the side and counterattacked by breathing out a dark energy wave from its mouth.
The instructor managed to block the incoming attack by using his sword as a shield but he was still thrown backward and land heavily on the ground.
"What are you still doing here? I thought I told you to run out of the dungeon." The instructor screamed when he saw that none of the trainees had left.
They all snapped out of their dazed state and immediately headed for the door of the boss room.
Kyle was the furthest from the door and he was slower compared to the rest so he was the last one to arrive at the door. He was surprised to see that the rest of his teammates were still waiting for him but the moment he tried to walk out of the room he felt a sharp sting in his stomach.
Kyle shifted his gaze downwards to look at his stomach and was surprised to see that he had been stabbed by Ryan.
"Why...why are...are you doing this?" Kyle asked in a trembling voice as he slowly took a few steps backwards.
"Sorry twerp, but this is your last duty as for today, besides this is the time to be the hero you've always dreamed of becoming and we will make use of this well." Ryan replied with a wicked smirk on his face as he raised the bag of mana crystals to show Kyle before he shut the door close.
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AUTHOR NOTE
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