As I looked down at the Parasite Hunter that had attached itself to my side and injected its acidic venom, I felt a numbness. What was I thinking to myself about? The three things that I found out about Dungeon Clearing? What was the third thing again?
The numbness shifted into an enveloping cold, and I felt myself slip into darkness.
***
INCIDENT REPORT NO.: 193.1A
DATE OF INCIDENT: 25/07/20XX
DATE OF REPORT: 26/07/20XX
LOCATION: FALCON PLAINS DUNGEON (D-TIER DUNGEON)
WRITTEN BY: ANNA TORREN
ANNOTATED BY: PENELOPE PRITCHER
DESCRIPTION: The Dungeon Clear Quest started as per usual. We followed the party formation that was recommended to clear a dungeon like the Falcon Plains. Warren Aster was on point, as our Party's Tanker and led the way. Aaron Pitt and Ivan Gaffer followed behind Warren, while new guild member Eric Stoller was behind them, and I was tasked with looking after our six.
As we followed Warren's lead, numerous falcons would swoop down on us and while I activated barriers to protect us, Ivan Gaffer as our main DPS Player would kill the monsters.
We continued this method of slowly progressing into the Dungeon and killing falcons for ten (10) hours until we reached campsite CAV-1 where we decided to camp for the night.
While we were in the middle of setting up camp, all Players received an ominous warning message from the System. (See attached personalised notification log.)
Before we could understand what the warning meant, a juvenile Parasite Hunter (see Dungeon Monster Archive volume 12, figure 25a.) burst through the ground approximately one metre away from guild member Eric Stoller and launched itself at said guild member.
NOTE: Parasite Hunters have previously never been found in the Falcon Plains Dungeon or in any arid or dry environments. ~P
From what could be observed by the rest of the Party members, the Parasite Hunter seemed to have melded with a Maston Falcon as well as a rather large Kaden Salamander as it had the pronounced sharp beak of the Maston as well as the ability to dig underground like the Salamander. (See attached picture of the Parasite Hunter corpse.)
NOTE: Kaden Salamanders are commonly found in rocky environments and are excellent diggers. They are not fauna to the Falcon Plains Dungeon. ~P
Utilising the abilities of the melded monsters, the Parasite Hunter was able to slash Eric Stoller's left arm away and used its piercing tubular tongue to deliver its acidic poison directly into Eric's bloodstream.
As this all happened within a few seconds of the ominous System notification, the reactions of the Party were not optimal. Trapped within the cramped area of the cave, Warren was not able to do much due to his stature.
With my help, casting a trap spell, after a short struggle, Ivan was able to destroy the head section of the Parasite Hunter, while Aaron Pitt, our Party's healer started to heal Eric Stoller, who at this point, was unconscious and unresponsive.
As Aaron was only a C-grade Healer, there was no way for us to reattach Eric's arm back to his body within the Dungeon. So, I quickly cast Freeze onto the arm and Eric's wound site on the side of his body.
Aaron utilised the First Aid within the Mule Pack and placed the Caarrabeen Bandage tightly around Eric's wound site to prevent further bleeding and periodically Healed Eric to keep him alive.
NOTE: Healing skills that allow for reattachment of parts or regrowth of destroyed parts are only available from the System for those who are graded A or above. Both Aaron and Anna did all they could within their limitations. ~P
At this point, Warren who had secured the perimeter around campsite CAV-1, contacted the outpost for medical backup. A-grade Healer, Penelope Pritcher who was nearby on leave, was the only other healer capable enough. So, she was called upon to enter the Dungeon with the backup Clear team.
NOTE: Even though I did not have the Replantation spell, I was able to alleviate the stress of periodically healing Eric and allowed Aaron to recuperate. ~P
The backup Clear team, which consisted of guild members that were generally of a higher grade than us easily cleared the Dungeon within the time limits and we were able to bring Eric Stoller safely and quickly out of the Dungeon.
Once we exited the Dungeon, Eric Stoller was taken back to the main guild office in Melbourne for specialist Healer treatment. Penelope Pritcher also went with him in order to continue to periodically Heal.
~Anna Torren (D-Grade Leader of the Melbourne branch)
FOLLOW-UP RECOMMENDATION (TO BE FILLED BY SUPERVISOR): The appearance of a Parasite Hunter in an innocuous Dungeon such as the Falcon Plains is extremely concerning. Though Parasite Hunters have spawned in the same environments as Kaden Salamanders, the fact that it seemed like this particular Parasite Hunter seemed to have crossed over from a whole different Dungeon — something that we all have assumed to be impossible in the first place — is especially alarming as it puts everything that we thought we knew about the way the System and Dungeons work into question.
-Further research into the nature of the Dungeon Dimension is needed.
-Research into the nature of "Anomalies" in Dungeons is also recommended. What triggered the System's warning?
~Pat Yevvis (C-grade Staff Supervisor)
***
Edward Pritcher walked into the room Eric Stoller was in. He saw his daughter sitting beside the young man's bed with a worried look on his face. She looked up at him with exhausted eyes and acknowledged his presence, but didn't say a word.
"How is he doing?" the man asked indifferently. He distanced himself from everything and everyone. That's how he coped. This was the son of one of his trusted confidants during the Tutorial World days, and the best he could do was act stoic.
His daughter looked at the time on her smartphone and sighed. She reached out her arm, her palm facing downwards, and held it above Eric's chest and a light-green light trickled down from her fingers and palm and seeped into the young man's chest.
"He's still unconscious. His body is still fighting off the effects of the venom. For some reason, no Healing spell seems to work on removing it from his bloodstream."
Edward looked at his own smartphone and sighed, "Erlina Wittimaker won't be here till Thursday. There's been a complication with her travel visas. Maybe once she attaches his arm back, his body would be able to fight off the venom."
"This shouldn't have happened," his daughter suddenly stood up and stretched. He had never seen her look so distraught as when she arrived back at the main guild building with the young man on a gurney, "The Dungeon was a small D-tier Dungeon. It should've been a cakewalk for Eric since he was just there as a Mule."
Her voice started to crack as she spoke and Edward fought against his own rigidity and distancing habits. He wanted to comfort his daughter, but he had never been an emotional kind of person. Even before the Event.
"I know."
That was all he could respond with.
He cleared his throat, "There are others who could take your place. Maybe you should go home and get some rest—"
"No, I'm fine," Penny snapped. She rubbed her eyes, sighed, and sat back down on the chair, "Was there anything else?"
Edward's jaw tightened at his daughter's attitude, but he knew that she was stressed about Eric's situation. He knew they were close when they were young and since Eric had joined the guild, his relationship with his daughter had started to improve as she started to open up to him more and more.
"No, I just came to check up on you," Edward said, "And him."
"Okay."
With nothing else to say, Edward turned and left Penny in the room in silence.
She groaned in disappointment at her behaviour and closed her eyes tightly. She was so tired, but she couldn't sleep. She was wracked with worry.
It had been two days since she and Eric arrived back in Melbourne, and he had been unresponsive the whole time. She glanced at the mug of blue liquid that sat at the small table in the room. The blue liquid was a mana potion, and Penny had to occasionally down the drink to replenish her mana to continue performing Healing spells on Eric.
The fake-fruity taste of the potion was never pleasant for her, but she drank it without any complaints just to keep Eric safe. They had just rekindled their friendship after so many years apart, she was not ready to let it end yet.
She just sat down again and was too tired to get up and grab the potion herself, so she decided to let "Future-Penny" worry about it when it was time for her to Heal Eric again.
Just as she was about to doze off, she heard a rustling noise come from Eric. At first, she thought that she was starting to hallucinate from her exhaustion, but when the rustling continued, she realised that after almost three days of being unconscious, it seemed like Eric was starting to wake up again.
She sat up and reached for the button to notify the hospital staff when Eric's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist tight. causing her to squeal in fright. At the same time, a notification Window popped up in front of her.
[PLAYER: ERIC STOLLER WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO JOIN HIS P̴͓̅A̴̤͆R̶̤̕T̴̗̏Y̸̳͒.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACCEPT?]
She could see his eyes bloodshot and dark eyes behind the slightly transparent Window, and he grimaced in pain. Through tightly clenched teeth, he hissed, "I don't have much time, but I have to tell you something. But first—"
"Just hang on Eric! Keep fighting the venom, we'll figure something out!" Penny begged him as she reached for the button with her free arm.
As if the staff members were all waiting just outside the door, as soon as she buzzed, they came racing in for Eric, but he ignored them and continued to stare at Penny. His grip on her wrist seemed impossibly tight.
"Accept the invite, Penny!" He growled through his clenched teeth, but a red warning Window popped up in front of both.
[WARNING!
DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF AN ANOMALOUS ACTION WITHIN THE SYSTEM, FURTHER SUPERVISOR ACTION IS REQUIRED!]
"Shit!" Eric hissed under his breath, "Too late! System, activate the Prestige Ability!"
Then everything went white.