NOVEL NEXT Chapter 158: Job accepted
Atlan didn't think that he would be offered to join them. There was a 4-stage difference between them, after all.
Of course, Atlan had multiple LifeSkills in the 4th stage or below. It was enough to add up the strength that equaled that of 6th-stage Saviors. But they didn't know that.
Even though they were rude, her teammates only told the truth. In normal circumstances, inviting a Savior four stages below the accepted difficulty level was far from what would be considered safe. Not to mention the fact Atlan had only been in one mission, he was completely unqualified to even go to a mission one stage above his level, much more four.
"Don't sell yourself short, Star Porter. You've already faced stronger opponents than us and lived to tell the tale."
Tarish talked about the fact that Atlan survived the colossal Canzer that was rated at the Specialist difficulty. If she or any one of her teammates was put in the same situation, she wasn't confident she'd survive the way he did.
Technically speaking, Atlan was stronger than them. As soon as he used his 1st stage Pre-Intern Bloodline Transformation LifeSkill, he could even defeat Canzers rated above that of the Student level. But the risk was still there.
And before he could answer Tarish's request, some of the dwarves approached him with pleading eyes.
"Young man, I beg you, please! You have to join the mission."
"Only you can make sure that the heat wave disappears from our homes."
"Without your help, they can't do it!"
The 6th stage Saviors couldn't believe their ears. The dwarves trusted a 2nd stage Student like Atlan better than them!
Their thinking was completely backward. They don't believe that the people who were assigned to the mission could finish off the Canzer. They believed that a 2nd stage Student porter was the only one who could help them deal with the symptom! Porters don't even kill Canzers!
Before deciding, Atlan asked some questions about the mission.
"Can you tell me more about the Canzer?"
Tarish nodded and took out her stone tablet.
"According to the Canzer Report, we'll be fighting an Infection Canzer called the Gastros Enterifrits, colloquially known as the Ifrit."
"Infection Canzer? Is that different from a Destruction Canzer?"
Every Canzer that Atlan encountered in the Remedium had been a Destruction Canzer. They were the Canzers that could regenerate their injuries endlessly.
The Deiztruphia was a destruction Canzer, as well as the colossal Humanoid Wolf that he encountered in Pocket Dimension.
He witnessed first-hand how troublesome they were to deal with. Unless they had an Operator's construct ready and deployed, fighting a Destruction Canzer was a losing battle, no matter how weak they seemed.
"Oh my gods! He doesn't even know what an Infection Canzer is!"
"Tarish. It's irresponsible for you to think he's qualified to join us."
But despite their pleas, Tarish ignored them and spoke only to Atlan.
"There are two types of Canzers. The first one is a Destruction Canzer, which I'm sure you're all too familiar with—endless regeneration and all that.
The other type is called the Infection Canzer. If a Destruction Canzer's strength is their durable chitin and their fast healing factor, an Infection Canzer's threat comes from their ability to clone themselves endlessly and at a fast rate."
They can clone themselves, Atlan pondered her words. It gave him flashbacks to when he ran away from the horde of Pseudo Canzers in the Pocket Remedium.
"Is it similar to the stampede that I experienced?"
"Yes and no. A Pseudo Canzer is different from a real Canzer. Real Infection Canzers are much more dangerous. They have powers and abilities that can bring destruction equivalent to hundreds of Pseudo Canzers. And worse, they don't die, they duplicate. But the good thing is that the clones are easy to kill."
Atlan thought for a second. If I want to learn more about Canzers, then I have to fight more of them. I can't shy away from this opportunity.
"I'll do it."
Tarish rejoiced while her teammates were dismayed.
Atlan joined the mission because this was his chance to reap the death of a high-level Canzer. The stronger the opponent, the higher the rewards.
Those that cause suffering need to taste their own medicine, Atlan thought to himself.
Whichever Canzer caused this symptom was responsible for all the deaths he reaped in the Masamune district.
He had to kill it.
According to his estimation, it was exactly the kind of opponent that he could defeat using his powers.
Of course, he couldn't show his real strength to the 6th stage Saviors so easily. He didn't know if his Modify Memory Spore would work on such high-level Students like them. He'd have to reserve his real strength until things get too dire.
"This is not good."
"I can't believe this is happening."
"Tarish. Even if he is the Star Porter, he can't just—-WHAT?!"
Before they could continue their complaints, Atlan walked over to the three men holding the extremely heavy golden oil lamp and picked it up with just one hand.
The three men had their jaws on the floor. Seeing Atlan pick the oil lamp like it was nothing made them feel they were as feeble as newborns.
Who were they? They were tanks with strengths of that of a 6th stage Student. But now, they felt like a kid whose parents suddenly came and took their favorite toy they'd been struggling to carry.
He's only a 2nd stage Student?!
Even though he was a porter, and his LifeSkill was tailor-made for carrying heavy things, they didn't think that he'd have the strength equivalent to three 6th stage Students!
Tarish smiled and looked back at her teammates. "Still think he's a burden?"
Atlan held the oil lamp as if it wasn't an Operator construct weighing thousands of kilograms. He'd have no trouble running, walking, or jumping even while holding that construct. He was the perfect Porter.
The rest of her team finally shut up their complaints. Seeing why they called him the Star Porter first-hand made them realize that the rumors about him weren't exaggerations at all. He's strong—very strong.
With him carrying the construct, the Saviors didn't have to worry about it missing in the Remedium. No one was better than Atlan as a porter.
"We shouldn't have underestimated you."
"I feel honored if you become our porter."
"You'll save us a lot of trouble."
Each one of them offered their sincere apologies to Atlan, which Atlan accepted. Now that they were going to be teammates, they needed to settle all differences now rather than inside the Remedium.
They needed to get acquainted with each other before embarking on this dangerous mission.
"I'll introduce the team. We have three tanks with us and four mages."