"Hey, Porter! Come here!" one of the armored men on the right side of the cave shouted, his voice echoing loudly. His finger pointed at a slender young man with jet-black hair and deep-set blue eyes.
That young man was Noah Nightshade. He wore simple trousers and rugged boots, with a massive backpack strapped to his back that seemed too large for his frail build. Despite its imposing size and weight, the bag posed no challenge for him compared to the grueling training he put himself through daily.
At first glance, Noah looked like an ordinary university student, if not for the oversized bag that distinguished him from the rest. He was a porter, accompanying a group of elite hunters.
Now, he stood silently in the cave, clutching his backpack, observing the hunters as they skillfully fought monstrous kaiju.
"A little longer... I'm so close," Noah muttered, his blue eyes gleaming with a mix of excitement and fierce determination as he watched the hunters mercilessly slaughter the beasts before them.
"Right! Focus!" Noah jolted from his thoughts, snapping back to the present. His voice was filled with tension as he quickly replied, "Yes, sir."
After receiving the bronze badge of the Adventurers Association from the white-haired man, Noah hurried to the hunters' gathering point the next day.
The profession of a hunter was woven into the very fabric of life for any adventurer, and killing a kaiju beast was a rite of passage.
Noah's heart raced with anticipation. He couldn't hide his eagerness to join one of the dungeon raids, even if it meant recklessly accepting the first party's offer. The web of adventurers stretched endlessly, yet Noah knew that his path to awakening lay within the perilous dungeons that appeared without warning.
Though the job of a porter was fraught with danger and meager pay, Noah never complained. Every step was a stride toward his goal, a goal that burned in his chest like a fire that refused to be extinguished.
"Water, porter!" a voice rang out, interrupting his thoughts.
Noah turned toward the source of the command: a white-haired man with a bloodstained sword, none other than the party's vice-leader, Mr. Joe.
His face was stern, etched with the hardships of battle. Noah lowered his head as he swiftly pulled out a flask from his pack, handing it over.
"Finally, a little refreshment," Joe muttered, but his brows furrowed as he brought the flask to his lips. "This water's not cold enough. What kind of service is this?"
Noah's stomach tightened as he quickly searched for another flask, retrieving one with cooler water this time. But it was no use. Joe's patience had already worn thin.
"Damn it! This is too cold now!" Joe shouted in fury, his rage boiling over as he grabbed Noah by the collar, lifting him off the ground with a single hand.
The weight of his strength made Noah feel like a ragdoll.
"When I ask for something, you answer with words, not with that pathetic bowed head!"
Boom-!
Mr. Joe slammed Noah into the cave wall, the impact sending sharp pain radiating through his back. He crumpled to the ground, gasping for breath as the other hunters chuckled.
"Why treat the porter like this?" one of the hunters asked, a mocking grin on his face.
"Because he's an idiot," Joe sneered. "First, he gives me warm water, and now, water so cold it burns!"
Noah struggled to his feet, wiping the blood from his mouth.
Rage simmered beneath the surface, but he was used to this kind of humiliation. After all, he had spent his life in the shadows, waiting for the moment he could break free, to awaken and claim the power he longed for.
"Soon..," Noah whispered through gritted teeth, barely containing the storm brewing inside him.
The hunters were finishing up, collecting the blood crystals from the kaiju corpses scattered across the cave floor. As they prepared to leave, one of them shoved Noah again, causing him to stumble. Laughter filled the air.
Noah sighed softly, rising to his feet once more. He no longer cared about the abuse. Every second, every insult, was just another step closer to his destiny, the day when everything would change.
After they had packed up, Joe and the other hunters regrouped, ready to exit the cave.
The leader of the raid, Hyun-Woo, strode forward, his face set in a grim expression as he approached from the front lines.
He was a man in his late twenties, and the way he moved exuded authority and raw power. As Hyun-Woo sat on a boulder, he gestured to Noah. "Porter, bring me some water."
With a weary sigh, Noah grabbed another flask from his pack and handed it to the raid leader.
Hyun-Woo drank deeply, his mind reflecting on the day's events. The kaiju they had faced had been numerous, though not particularly strong, but the sheer volume of them made the battle an exhausting ordeal.
"Is this just a one-star dungeon?" Hyun-Woo murmured aloud, glancing at one of his companions, Elijah Parker who approached with a grin on his face.
"Yes, Boss," Elijah Parker laughed, carrying his massive axe and shield. "It's nothing to worry about."
"You seem happy for someone who just fought off a horde of beasts," Hyun-Woo commented, his gaze sharp.
Elijah Parker let out a hearty laugh. "Boss, the more beasts, the bigger the payout! You know how it works. The more, the better, right?"
Hyun-Woo sighed but nodded. "You're right, but still... all those weaklings. It gets tedious."
As Noah handed out water to the rest of the hunters, he moved to retreat, but his feet stopped when Hyun-Woo's voice called him back.
"Porter," Hyun-Woo's tone was low and commanding.
Noah's heart sank as he turned slowly, meeting the raid leader's eyes. "Yes, sir?"
Hyun-Woo gestured for Noah to come closer. With a sigh, Noah walked back toward him, clutching his bag tighter as he approached the seated leader. He could sense the impatience in the air, the subtle condescension in every glance from the hunters.
Noah bent low to retrieve another flask, wondering when his moment would come. When he would no longer be the one fetching water but the one leading the charge against the beasts, no longer in the shadows but in the light of power.
'Soon. Very soon.'
The captain gestured for him to come closer. Noah sighed quietly and approached the leader, who was sitting on one of the rocks in the cave.
As the porter drew near, the captain said, "I want you and Mr. Joe to go ahead and call Miss Samantha and the rest of the party from the front."
Upon hearing the captain's words, Mr. Joe turned around, attempting to refuse and complain, "Why do I have to go there with this porter? If it's just to call Miss Samantha and the rest of the members, one of us can go alone."
The captain narrowed his eyes in anger as he looked at Mr. Joe, then said in a sharp voice, "Are you challenging me, Joe? I gave you an order, not an invitation to discuss. If you have a problem with my decisions, we can talk about it later, but not now."
"Still...Why can't he go on his own? I don't have time for this.", said Mr.Joe without moving an eye on Noah, the porter.
"..", Noah was silent as his anger reached the top.