-- Half an hour earlier --
"I'm so late! I'm so late, so so so so sooooo late" Running across the road, Lauri was almost hit by a car.
"Get out of the road!" The driver honked his horn repeatedly until Lauri had made it out of the way.
Panting, Lauri clenched his fist, standing up. "All I need is determination, yes!" He threw his hand into the air.
A mom and her son walked past.
Pulling on his mom's skirt, the kid pointed at Lauri. "Mummy, what's the strange man doing?"
The mom didn't even glance at Lauri. "Keep walking, try not to make eye contact."
Lauri deflated as the mother and son walked away.
Shaking his head, Lauri turned around, running into the nearby park.
"Come on, come on, still be there." Turning down a path into a heavily wooded area of the park. After a few minutes of further running. Within a clearing, Lauri smiled, seeing two people standing beside a floating Gate. 'Yes!'
Coming to a stop in front of them, Lauri rested on his knees as he began to pant.
Looking up from the sword he was sharpening, Elbert grumbled. "And what time do you call this? You're almost half an hour late, not making good first impressions."
"S- so sorry, I'm late." Panting, Lauri nodded. "It won't happen again, I swear."
The woman next to Elbert, Carolynn chuckled, "You don't have to be so harsh on the kid Elbert, you were much later than he was for your first expedition, plus. We're still missing two people. One of them being our Guild Master."
Recovering his breath, Lauri smiled. "I'm excited for our first expedition..." Lauri attracted Carolynn and Elbert's attention.
"This isn't your first time?" Carolynn asked.
"No no," Lauri pressed his fingertips together. "I've kind of been bouncing between Guilds and temporary parties for years, they keep me around to carry their rewards, but sooner or later they'd kick me out not wanting to pay for someone to just carry their loot." Depressingly chuckling, Lauri looked at the ground. "I was two weeks away from just quitting being a Hunter and going to find a corner store job. That is... Until I found you guys. The Funny Crusaders."
Taking a few steps forward, Carolynn clapped Lauri on the shoulder. "Don't worry Lauri, we're far too lazy to carry our stuff, so don't worry about us dropping you anytime soon."
Elbert chuckles.
Carolynn glares at the swordsman, "What?"
"Nothing," Elbert tests his sword on a piece of long grass. "It's just saying 'dropping you anytime soon' makes it sound like you still have plans on dropping him."
"Oh shut up you," Carolynn charged back at Elbert beginning to argue with him.
Holding his fist to his chest, Lauri smiled as his two Guild mates bicker. Although they were arguing, Lauri found it almost comforting. Like watching two siblings argue about who is getting the last slice of pizza.
'To think only a week after finding these guys we get to go into a dungeon. I'm so excited,' Lauri lightly giggled. 'Even if I'll only be collecting monster drops.'
"Nice to see you all made it." A booming voice almost made Lauri jump.
Turning around, he let out a relieved sigh. Marcus, the Guild Master of Funny Crusaders, had arrived, followed close behind by the Guild's one and only mage, Chester.
"Sorry for our delay, traffic is always the worst so early in the morning." Marcus let out a jolly laugh, resting his hands on his hips.
Rolling his eyes, Elbert stood up. "It's fine, not like we were waiting for half an hour or anything."
Striding over to Elbert, Chester slammed his palm into the man's back, causing him to stagger forward. "Wonderful! I see you brought your sword instead of having our new recruit hold onto it for you!"
Elbert groaned, looking away, "Do you have to be so loud? I kept my sword because I'm not trusting some random guy we've only known for a week. Imagine he runs off with our weapons, we'd be out of pocket for so much coin. So I kept mine."
Sweating slightly, uncomfortable, Lauri held his hand up. "Y- you don't have to worry, I'd never run away. Plus, I kinda need this job so, yeahh." Putting his hand down, Lauri wrung his hands. "I hope to have a good expedition with you guys."
"That's the spirit!" Marcus bellowed without even trying. "Now pass around our weapons, and we can get a move on."
"Oh, right, of course." Lauri put his hands together.
[B-Tier Skill: Sub-space Inventory
About: Allows the user to access a pocket dimension which only they can access. Items can be freely stored and withdrawn from this pocket dimension. If the user attempts to store a living entity within the pocket dimension, it will be removed. The weight of whatever is within the Sub-space Inventory will be shared with the user at 50% of its weight.]
Pulling his hands apart, a small hole appeared, reaching inside, he dispensed the weapons to his guildmates.
A bow and quiver to Carolynn.
A large shield to Chester.
And a long wooden staff with a crystal on the end for Chester.
"Well then, I suppose we should get going. We are burning daylight, after all. Let's clear this C-Rank Dungeon and go home." Taking a step towards the Gate, Marcus turned to Lauri. "It's for the best you wait a minute or two for us to make sure the entrance is clear. It would be a problem if you jumped in with us and there were monsters everywhere. On account of you being an F-Rank." About to turn around, he added with a soft smile. "No offence."
Lauri enthusiastically shook his head. "No offence taken, it makes sense you would make sure to clear the area. After all, I'm not…" Losing part of his enthusiasm, Lauri put his hands together. "I'm not that good in a fight."
Marcus was the first to jump in, followed close behind by Elbert and Chester.
Lightly punching Lauri's shoulder, Carolynn smiled. "Chin up Lauri. Sure, you might not be able to help us in a fight, but you're doing us a real service by collecting and lugging around all the loot we're going to get. Hell, I'll make sure you get a nice share."
Lauri couldn't help but smile. "T- Thank you, Carolynn."
Winking at him, Carolynn hopped into the Gate.
Left on his own, Lauri went through everything he knew about the dungeon they were about to go into. Raising his hand, Lauri waved it, causing a blue screen to appear.
'Where was it, the message we received from the Awakened Association.' Flicking through the screen, Lauri found what he was looking for. 'The reports said this dungeon was C-Rank.' Lauri looked at the blue, swirling gateway into the dungeon. 'It's a pity we can't discern the rank of a dungeon just from the colour of its gate, they are always just. Blue. Oh well, the rest of the report said that this dungeon was a cave dungeon, the occupants of the dungeon were unknown at the time.' Tapping his chin, Lauri idled away his time as he waited for two minutes to pass.
Putting his hands together, he again opened his Inventory. Reaching inside, Lauri went over what he had put in. He pulled out a glass bottle filled with a red liquid, "Healing potions, check." A bottle filled with blue liquid, "Mana potions, check." Going through a few more things, Lauri dropped a spool of rope back into his inventory. "Okay." Dusting off his hands, Lauri smiled. "I think that's all set, and I think I've wasted enough time out here."
Closing his inventory, Lauri took a step to the Gate.
"A fresh start, that's what this will be," Taking a deep breath, Lauri stepped in. "Wish me luck, Elza."
As Lauri vanished through the Gate, flecks of gold began to creep through the Gate's churning blue energy.
----
A nauseous feeling ran through Lauri's head as he dropped out of the Gate.
"Haha, we should have seen that coming," Holding Lauri's arm, Carolynn supported him. "I forget, low ranks aren't as resistant to travelling through the Gates. Take a moment to steady yourself."
"Ughh, agh…" Lauri grumbled, holding his head.
Blinking, Lauri took in his surroundings. As the reports had stated, the Funny Crusaders found themselves in an empty rocky tunnel.
Seeing dead bodies lying on the floor, Lauri hopped back, "What the hell." He squeaked.
"Your first time seeing stuff like this right?" Carolynn laughed, "Don't worry Lauri, it's only goblins."
Upon closer inspection, Lauri let out a sigh of relief. The entrance to the Dungeon was littered with the corpses of goblins, some missing arms, some missing heads, some cut in half, some with stab wounds.
Lauri let out a small laugh, "You guys sure do work fast. You killed so many in just a few minutes."
The group was silent until Elbert spoke up.
He spoke in a dismissive tone, "This wasn't us."
Lauri froze, "What? If you guys didn't kill them, then what, what did?"
Carolynn slapped Elbert on the back. "Could be anything, this could be a dual-Dungeon, could be a turf war, there are hundreds of reasons why."
Marcus surveyed the area, "Lauri." He spoke with the authority of a leader. "Don't worry about collecting the items here. Whatever enters your inventory puts an amount of weight onto your shoulders correct? These are right near the entrance, so we can collect these when we leave." "Chester!" Marcus barked, "Which way we're heading?"
"One second," Holding his staff with both hands, Chester closed his eyes.
[C-Tier Skill: Detect Life
About: The user can detect life within a radius. The radius can be increased by channelling mana.]
Channelling a majority of his mana into his Detect Life, Chester could detect his four Guild mates. As the area increased, Chester detected a mass of lifeforms down one of the paths.
Opening his eyes, Chester pointed down one of the tunnels. "I found something that way. Too grouped up to distinguish the number."
"So either a lot of small things, or something large." Rubbing his chin, Elbert looked at Marcus. "What are we thinking, boss? Could be the dungeon boss, a hobgoblin, or a bunch of lesser goblins?"
Marcus was uncharacteristically silent as he looked down the path Chester had pointed out. Looking at his team, Marcus nodded.
"We move slow and steady, this dungeon isn't due to collapse for another two hours. I'll take the lead. We still have yet to figure out what killed these goblins" Reaching into his pocket, Marcus pulled out a small orb. Channelling mana into it, the orb began to glow.
[Item: Glowy orb
About: By channelling mana into the Glowy orb, the orb will float and illuminate the user's path.]
Readying his shield, Marcus began walking into the now light cavernous path.
As the party began to follow behind Marcus, Chester moved next to Lauri.
"Lauri hey, can I get a mana potion?" Chuckling slightly, Chester shook his head. "I put too much mana into that Detect Life. I just couldn't find anything."
"Oh, right right." Putting his hands together, Lauri made a portal to his Inventory. Reaching inside, Lauri produced a mana potion, handing it to Chester.
Taking the stopper off of the potion, Chester watched as Lauri closed the portal. "That's quite a good skill to have, y'know. Inventory related skills are surprisingly rare, and mass-produced inventory skills are as expensive as they come. Are you really only an F-rank?"
Sighing, Lauri rubbed the back of his neck. "I got three skills when I became an Awakened. My B rank Sub-space Inventory and two F rank skills, one that lets me quickly put things into my inventory, and one that quickly lets me take things out. I didn't awaken with B-tier physiology or anything that lets me be good in a fight, or, or anything like that… So, it's hard to rank high in the Hunter exams when you can't even kill a goblin…"
"Ah, I see." Drinking the mana potion, Chester put the stopper back, returning the now empty potion to Lauri. "Well kid," lightly knocking Lauri's shoulder, Chester smiled. "We'll be sure to put your inventory to good use, so no slackin you hear."
Grinning, Lauri nodded his head. "I hear you, I won't slack one bit!"
Softly shaking his head, Chester turned to face forward. "Good on ya ki-"
A spear of white light struck Chester in the face, killing him immediately.
Blood splattered over Lauri's face as Chester's corpse was thrown backwards.
A second spear struck the Glowy orb, plunging the party into darkness.
"What the!" Marcus brought his shield up, slamming it into the ground.
[B-Tier Skill: Wall of Immovable Will
Forms a wall in front of the user that can be freely manipulated.]
Expanding out of Marcus' shield, [Wall of Immovable Will] stretched from one side of the cavernous path to the other.
Another spear flew towards the shield, the spear shattered as it hit the shield, leaving a small hole that quickly repaired itself.
"What the hell is that!" Carolynn cried, "Chester, it killed Chester!"
Elbert had frozen, seeing Chester's body. Snapped out of this state by Carolynn'swords. "Shut up, stop yelling!" Elbert responded, shouting louder than Carolynn had been. "What's attacking us, Marcus? Is it the same thing Chester detected?"
Marcus glared down the dark path ahead of them. "I don't, know. We need to get out of here. Whatever is attacking us has no reason to be in a C-Rank Dungeon. Either we have been lied to, or there's an Excursion. Lauri get out an Escape Stone."
Lauri hadn't heard Marcus. As the party was attempting to remedy their situation, Lauri touched his face. A warm, sticky liquid met his fingers. It wasn't too hard to guess what it was.
Chester's blood.
"Lauri!" Marcus shouted the boy's name, causing him to jump back to his senses.
Lauri's body violently shook as he turned to Marcus, "Y-yes!"
Marcus repeated, "Escape stone!"
It took a moment for Lauri to process what Marcus had just said. "R-right!" Slapping his hands together, Lauri tore them apart, creating the entrance to his Inventory. Reaching inside, he pulled out a blue stone the size of a kiwi.
[Item: Small Escape Stone
About: Upon being destroyed, opens a portal allowing for up to 10 people to pass through.]
Attempting to crush the stone, Lauri struggled for a moment as a purple light glowed within the darkness.
Escape Stones: A must-have item for clearing dungeons, as it allows the user a quick escape should something happen. Coming in four varieties: Single-use, small, medium and large. In dangerous situations, a Hunter may have to escape within seconds. For this reason, Escape Stones are not tough by any means.
But for an F-Rank like Lauri, it took him an extra second.
The purple light within the darkness faded away as Lauri crushed the escape stone, Lauri stood still.
The party froze.
Carolynn was the first to speak. "Why, where is the escape portal?"
"Because," Marcus deactivated Wall of Immovable Will. "This is no longer a C-Rank Dungeon. Escape Stones cannot be activated in Dungeons A-Rank or higher."
"Marcus," Grabbing Marcus' arm, Carolynn shook him. "Are you crazy, put the wall back up."
"There's no point," Pulling his arm out of Carolynn's grasp, Marcus turned back. "It's no longer there."
Readying her bow, Carolynn nocked an arrow.
[C-Rank Skill: Fire arrow
About: Sets an arrow alight with magical fire]
Letting go of the arrow, it sailed into the darkness.
Flying further and further, it illuminated the empty path until bouncing off a rock wall dozens of feet away.
Elbert gripped his sword with both hands. "Where'd it go?"
"Not here, that's all that matters…" Marcus' previous loud demeanour gone. "It's teleporting, which explains how Chester didn't detect it. I don't believe that is what he detected."
"Not what he detected, are you going mad man!" Elbert was on the verge of freaking out.
"Shut up for a second," Carolynn looked to where she had fired her arrow.
"What! Don't tell me to shut up-"
"Do you not hear that?" Carolynn snapped her fingers.
[C-Tier Skill: Delayed Bang
About: Upon being activated, the user can detonate any projectile they have fired]
The arrow at the end of the cave exploded, lighting up the darkness.
Hundreds of small crystalline insects skittered across the floor, the walls, the roof of the cave.