With a single move, Val had completely changed the atmosphere around their group as she recklessly charged ahead without a care in the world.
However, Ryan knew better than to call her actions right now reckless, despite all his earlier plans, this was actually the best way they could explore a desert-type rift without spending at least 4 days in just the exploration part of the mission.
As the monsters in such a region generally hid or lived underneath the scorching sand, they couldn't just take the route of caution as none of them had any abilities similar to X-ray vision.
Without the ability to completely scan the area for monsters, they would just end up exhausting themselves in the scorching heat in their attempt at being cautious.
While Ryan's ability, namely 'Eagle Vision', allowed him to see across considerable distances, as well as observe a battle with a bird's eye view. It didn't grant him any such convenient effects such as X-ray and infrared vision.
His ability was also only limited to his sight and all his other senses didn't receive the same boost. In a desert such as this where the terrain remains the same no matter how far he looked, their only option would be to move quickly.
They didn't have to defeat any monster they met but simply confirmed their location before making a hasty retreat. Still, this Rift had made their exploration a lot harder as the risk involved had been considerably multiplied.
"Hey Lisa, just focus on your ability and let us know if you sense a monster nearby. We'll have to run through this rift as fast as possible."
"Okay."
"Ini, be ready to terminate the monsters aggro at a moments noticed."
"Roger, Roger."
As the group chased after Val, Ryan began instructing his team on an improvised plan as he used his ability to maintain a perfect awareness of their surrounding.
Lisa was one of the team's Archers as she had a support type ability called sensor. It was a type of radar that let her know when an enemy or monster was within a 100-meter radius, while Ini was a warrior with the ability to influence the aggressions in others, especially monsters.
As those with abilities receive a boost to their physique when they awakened, their awakened ability and body type played a role in the aspect they received an increase which was the major determinant factor in their Rifter class.
While Ryan had a sensory-type ability like Losa, his physique awakened him as a warrior instead of an archer because of his natural body type. Hence, those who were naturally strong would be awakened towards becoming a tank or a warrior which included both swordsmen and brawlers.
Those who were naturally fast would be awakened as a rogue or an archer and those with some levels of intellect would gravitate towards mages.
Not to say there wasn't any exception to this rule because there was. It's just, that the majority of Rifters awakening tents to follow this universal constant.
Of course, this meant some would train and nurture their children into awakening as a certain class. For example; one of the top five ranked guilds in the world, the Shadow RIFTERS, consisted of a single family that had trained their descendants in the ways of the assassin just so they would be awakened as rogues and their abilities would become useful in the family's underground business.
It was currently public knowledge that their family had been assassins even before the end of the world came but as they had been the leading factor in humanity's survival, not even the current world governments could do anything about them now.
"Two monsters, approaching rapidly, 1 O'clock! Size large. Estimated to be worm types."
"Oh… hell yeah!"
As Ryan's mind wandered aimlessly and out, Lisa yelled at the group after sensing something rapidly approaching them and Val had immediately stopped in her tracks in excitement.
"Sand Worms?"
Ryan quickly focused his ability on the direction and instantly saw the sand rapidly shifting in their direction.
'Crap, this is bad, isn't it. They appeared faster than I'd hoped and if they're headed this way, not only would we not be able to learn their territory, we won't even be able to escape.'
With the speed at which the two worms were heading their way, there was absolutely no way for their entire group to escape even though they were all selected for being the fastest in the guild.
Worst of all, this completely throws their exploration plans into disarray as the monsters didn't seem to stick to a particular portion of the rift like the monsters found in 7th grade Rifts.
"So this is what a Grade 6 rift feels like. It's only one grade apart yet it feels so much more intense than a Grade 7."
Nothing was going as planned so far and it looked like they would have to face these monsters in battle if they wanted to survive.
They could only hope that this was an anomaly and that the monsters in this rift didn't just roam about the desert randomly. That surely wouldn't be favorable to their guild's style of operating.
'Did the Union choose this rift for us on purpose? Do they also want us to fail?'
"Hey, Ryan! What's wrong with you? Get your head out of your ass and let's do this. It doesn't matter what rift we were given we'll crush them all the same!"
Ryan's attention was snapped back by Val's yelling. It was truly rare for her to call him by his actual name so Ryan knew she was no longer messing around.
It seems she must've seen through his worries and she was right. This wasn't a Grade 7 rift and so what. This was what they wanted. The chance to change their destiny with their own hands.
"Alright! Everyone, get into formation. We're gonna take those bastards worms down as quickly as possible and move on. We're clearing this rift in record time!"
"YEAH!!!"
"Now that's my man."
Seeing Val and the others not get depressed but excited at this turn of events even though the danger was real. Ryan felt his worries wash away.
They always knew that things would not go as smoothly in a Grade 6 rift as they would usually in a Grade 7 one. So they were prepared to make adjustments and battle their way back if they had to.
Even if they could not execute phase one of their Rifting plans by exploring the rift ahead of time, they only needed to regroup with Ben's group and re-enter the Rift fully prepared.
As the group rounded out their battle formation to face the worms, one of them shot out of the sand and immediately lunged at them with its mouth wide open, aiming to swallow them whole in one gulp.
However—
One of Ryan's guild members immediately charged ahead of the group and activated his ability. Immediately, the body of the sandworm felt as though it weighed a tonne and the worm lost its momentum and came crashing down on the sand.
This person was named Gean, the only tank Ryan's group had brought along in their exploration of the rift as he was the fastest and most nimble amongst the tanks.
While he would be considered weak in comparison to other tanks in his ranks, his agility and ability separated him from the rest.
His ability was a form of Gravity Manipulation that increased the weight of anything he saw within a certain range for 5 seconds. He could increase their weight by up to 3 ton but the more weight he added the shorter the duration of the ability.
While this ability should've made him a valuable addition to any guild, it's short duration and short range, not to mention it's limitations to a single target had classified him as only an F ranked Rifter.
However, when used in a certain situation, his ability made him a valuable member to Ryan's guild exploration team.
His job in their current party was to delay any monsters that attacked them for as long as he could, to aid in the group's escape as they explored the rift. He didn't have to stop his targets for long, using his ability on a charging monster for even a split second woulda immediately disrupt their momentum and bring them down.
However, as they had decided to fight those worms, he would have to bear the full responsibility of being their sole tank and stand his ground with the help of the warriors.
The first worm, whose size was beyond the levels of their expectations, came crashing down. The second one then shot out of the sand and lunged at Gean who could not use his ability on multiple opponents at the same time and was currently defenseless even with his large shield.
"Alright. All Rangers, attack. Warriors, let's move!"
Ryan immediately gave his command as he charged ahead with a few of his party members to intercept the worm aiming for Gean.
"Aye aye captain."