"Get ready to engage."
The order rang out in the tense silence that enveloped the expedition party. Marcus raised his gaze to the vice captain of the group, Bella Vandal. Her soft facial features that were slightly obscured by a canopy of curly blonde hair hid the hardened interior that had been sharpened through years of dedicated service to her nation.
Shaking his head, Marcus turned his attention back to the task at hand. He was taking on a support role in this mission and could not afford to be distracted.
"Attack!" Bella yelled and dashed out, a sharp silver glow erupting from her body and covering her, like armor. The party burst out of their hiding place upon the signal. The three vanguards rushed forward, their weapons blazing. Behind them, two tanks stood by the three supports that had come along with the party. One followed the vanguards while the other stayed behind to protect the supports. Marcus was one of the supports, and he was a temporary addition to the party.
Dark brown light flowed in Marcus' vision as he harnessed his abilities, buffing his party members' damage resistance and toughness. Although it sounded basic, he had chosen these abilities in his last gene assimilation because they were essential in the Outworld.
Bella and the two other Vanguards were suddenly wrapped in a light brown aura that made them feel much more confident about their defense and damage resistance. A faint green aura also wrapped around their feet, adding to their movement speed. This was a buff from the second support in the party. As for the third, the person was solely dedicated to healing the team.
Up ahead of the team, the rocky pathway that they were traversing opened up into a vast cavern that was covered with glowing blue crystals. The cavern had four corners, and one of those four corners was the path that Marcus and his party had just emerged from. Each corner had another exit, leading elsewhere.
However, at this moment, several four meter giants stood at the passages of the other three corners, holding menacing weapons that could crush an average human without much effort. Bella and the others were prepared for this.
Marcus examined the four meter tall creatures. These giant creatures were the targets of the party's expedition. They were mutated beasts that possessed a special gene. This gene was rare and very valuable to researchers. The party would earn a decent sum by supplying the extracted genes. Glowing with radiant light, Bella and the others rushed forward and engaged with the giant mutated creatures. It did not take too much time and effort to put down the giant mutated beasts. This was routine work to most of them, as they were strong and experienced warriors.
"Alright, we are done here. Let's return." After dealing with the creatures, Marcus and the others came forward and retrieved the genes that they needed from the creatures using a gene extractor. A gene extractor was a piece of technology that resembled a thick black syringe. It only needed to be inserted into the body of the desired creature, and the genes that were needed would be extracted.
In most mutated creatures, there was only one prominent gene strain. This strain usually represented their ability, or the most outstanding feature of the creature, like a tough shell, or hardened skin. Upon refinement of these genes, special gene reagents could be created that would grant permanent of temporary abilities to the ones who used the reagents.
Marcus sighed and looked around, examining the cavern where they had just fought. He did not get to do much. Despite being labeled as a support member, he was actually quite good at combat. The genetic ability that he had gotten during his advancement to B rank was just too good as a support ability, hence the reason he had filled in for a support role in the party this time.
The team took a short break before heading back out the way they had come. An hour later, they emerged from a one meter tall passage in a rock wall. Marcus took a look around, taking in the desolate landscape. Dark brown rocks and tall rocky formations stretched out for a long distance. Marcus shook his head as he recalled that they were called hoodoos; a funny name.
"We should make it back to the city by nightfall." Bella told the group as they began to move. There was no reason for them to waste time. It was a three hour trip back even with their transport vehicle that was well equipped for the terrible conditions in the wilderness.
Marcus and the others soon reached a certain spot that hid a well concealed heavy duty truck. It was painted a dark, dirty brown color, allowing it to meld in seamlessly with the surrounding dark brown rocks that surrounded it.
With a low hum, the heavy duty truck started on command from Bella. The doors swung open and everyone got in.
"Good day, Miss Bella. Did your hunt go well?" A projection popped up beside Bella as she sat at the front passenger seat. The projection resembled an upside down cone with facial features on it. One of the tanks took the driver's seat. His name was Hank. The holographic projection was Bella's personal AI assistant. It handled the car and was in charge of watching over everything while she was out on the field.
"Phillip, did anything happen while we were gone?" Bella asked as the car began to move. With its heavy modifications for all terrains, it was not difficult for it to move through the rough terrain of their current environment.
"Nothing important, Miss Bella. A few packs of weak F rank mutated beasts crossed the area, but nothing stronger." The AI assistant, Phillip, responded.
"Alright, set course to Emperor City." Bella said as she fasted her seat belt. The truck began to speed off and Marcus finally let out a sigh of relief, relaxing a bit as they left.
BOOM!
However, just them, the earth a short distance ahead suddenly exploded!