NOVEL NEXT Chap 226: Withered tree.
Joaki's point of view:
"Someone is watching us." Gator, our team's scout, has incredibly sharp senses. He has saved us countless times by detecting danger or hidden presences before anyone else.
His slim build and shorter height make it easy for him to hide while scouting. The green uniform given to us by our sponsor makes the job even easier; it camouflages perfectly with the environment, especially on Gator.
I'm still a bit excited we got these for free. They're engraved with runes that let you change their color when you inject mana, and they can even clean themselves.
"Can you tell where they are? Monster or human?" As the leader, I need to prevent any possible danger. Having information is the key to survival.
"To our right. I can't pinpoint the exact location." Gator and I try to look in that direction as casually as possible to avoid raising suspicion. "They must be more than 100 meters away. Whoever it is seems skilled—skilled enough that I can't find them exactly. Monster or human… I'd say there's a 70% chance it's human." While pretending to laugh and moving our lips without speaking, we keep watching.
A few seconds later, we still don't sense anything unusual or any intelligent presence. The vegetation here is extremely dense; it blocks visibility and makes it easy for someone to hide without being detected. Whoever—or whatever—it is must be skilled, according to Gator. Since we haven't seen any hostility, we stop searching, but we remain alert.
"I want to rest and take a bath. I'll take either one at this point," our little healer complains, sitting on the ground to recover her energy. The last few nights have been unbearably hot, and most monsters went crazy, becoming even more dangerous.
She's our main healer, so she has to be fully alert in every dangerous moment. We were lucky to survive those two nights. With such a large group, finding a safe spot is hard—we can't risk getting trapped in one place and forced to defend all night.
"When we get to that rocky area, you'll be able to relax, Yuly." She has slept less than any of us because she's been healing us after every fight.
We're lucky to have another person with a life affinity in our team. Almost no group with fewer than 20 members can boast having two life-affinity users. Our mage/healer only handles minor wounds for several reasons; we can't risk severe healing complications, and she spends most of her mana during battles.
"That area looks like a natural fortress. It's probably taken over by some sort of pack-type monsters. We'd better prepare for a tough fight," says Murill, our second-in-command and tank, carrying his huge shield on his back. He's always been a ball of muscles with a surprisingly good head on his shoulders, but his shiny bald head tends to reflect the sunlight into our eyes.
"Murill is right. In this dungeon, no monster is easy. According to the studies, most monsters here are upper grade 3, and some are technically grade 4 in strength." Everyone nods. Our lives and futures are at stake.
If we do well, this might be one of our last missions. It could even be the key to retirement for most of us. We're all between 30 and 40 years old—we've survived many dangerous situations, and we intend to survive this one too.
The rewards are extremely high—high enough to tempt us into this madness. We could get guaranteed long-term work directly for the city, earning a high monthly salary, or simply retire in comfort in a decent city.
In the end, we'll vote, like we promised. Our dream is to retire together in the same city. Working as security in one of the best cities in the world, with good pay… that's a dream worth fighting for.
"It's time to go." I take one last look toward the direction Gator mentioned, but we still can't find whoever is lurking. Since it's only one person, we don't have to change our plans. That rocky area is incredibly advantageous for us.
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We move carefully, avoiding fights as much as possible—we need energy for when we take that rocky zone. While walking, I check my storage bracelet. I'm surprised by how many cores we've collected. If we sell all of this, we could each live comfortably for about six months, and that's only from two nights of work.
We wait in a safe spot for Gator to return. He went ahead to scout some caves.
Our scout returns as silently as always. "There are only golems up ahead. They seem very hostile. That must be why there are no other monsters around." We haven't been attacked by anything since entering the rocky zone, and Gator's theory makes sense—many monsters avoid golems.
"Are you all ready? If we want a chance at killing the boss—or at least earning enough contribution—we must take this position. We can't spend every night fighting for our lives. If we do, it will take forever to explore this dungeon, and we'll die of exhaustion before anything else."
Everyone's eyes burn with determination. They're ready. We're experienced in dealing with golems—they're not usually fast or agile but are tough and strong. Their weakest point is their core; one strong attack can kill them instantly.
We just need to take the energy source that regenerates the golems. If we can disable or destroy it, this natural fortress will be ours.
Murill goes first. We encounter the first group of golems. Murill takes on two, and our second tank takes the last one. Before we can destroy them, more golems arrive.
We fight for over seven hours before finally finding the energy source that regenerates them. Our fire mage casts a powerful spell; the construction slams into the source, making it tremble. I follow with my empowered sword, cutting the energy flow completely.
"We can finally rest." I drop onto the ground, exhausted. This rocky zone has several entrances and exits, but we can only be attacked from one direction, and we can move through the tunnels without much trouble. We've learned part of the structure while fighting.
I open my eyes suddenly when I sense danger approaching. I jump to dodge a lightning-like spell. The explosion sends me flying several meters, but I manage to adjust and land safely. It seems my team also dodged the attack—everyone except one.
"Rotu!" I shout toward our second tank, who couldn't avoid the enemy attack—not because of a spell, but because someone stabbed him in the neck.
The assassin laughs hysterically while staring at us. Rage boils inside me, but before I can charge at him, someone grabs my shoulder.
"Calm down. If you rush in, you'll fall into his trap. If you die, we all die." Yuly tries to calm me. Her furious eyes force me to think straight. My experienced team is already forming a tight defensive formation.
"I expected nothing less from you. You defeated the golems, avoided my surprise attack, and kept your composure." A sharp voice echoes. Someone enters the cavern with eight others—ten in total with the assassin. All of them wear black clothing, and on their hands, I see a tattoo of a withered tree.
This insane group. A massive organization with members ranging from emerald rank to obsidian rank. They work only for money and are completely unhinged. They don't care about killing people inside dungeons and ignore public opinion entirely.
Their main base is unknown, and the others are in remote areas where access is difficult. In those places, they are the rulers.
"You bastards… I knew it. You were bound to ruin this mission." My team is still injured; Yuly didn't have time to heal everyone. We haven't recovered our mana, and we're exhausted after so many hours of fighting.
This damn group waited for the perfect moment to ambush us. We're in the worst possible situation.
Their leader chuckles again. "We happened to pass by and saw you fighting." My blood boils even more. "If you want to live, just hand over all your cores and leave this base to us."
I look at my team. We're all burning with anger, wanting nothing more than to kill these bastards. But as leader, I must stay rational. A few seconds later, I make the only decision we can afford.
"Fine. I'll give you the cores, and we'll leave." No one complains—we've been through this before. It's the best option. We can gather more cores later and find another hideout near the lake.
"A wise choice." His disgusting laugh echoes again, and the anger threatens to explode. "You could also leave that healer behind. We've been under a lot of stress these two days, and we need to blow off some steam." My mind freezes for an instant.
"What did you just say, idiot? Do you think we won't fight!?" That crosses every line—we'd rather die than hand over a teammate.
"I'd like to see you try." His laugh fills the cavern. He creates an enormously strong and fast lightning spell.
A wall of ice appears instantly, blocking the attack. We all freeze. I look at our ice mage, but she looks just as shocked as we are.
Footsteps echo from a side tunnel. We turn and see a red-haired boy approach. When he is fully visible, an overwhelming bloodlust erupts from him—so strong it nearly makes me drop my weapon.
Is this the boy who entered alone? If I recall correctly, his name is Maki.
"You there, in black, leave all your cores and get out." He says. He intensifies his bloodlust, directing it entirely at the withered-tree group. "Or should I relieve my stress using your bodies?"
The boy's gaze is terrifying. How can someone so young create such crushing pressure? How many monsters has he killed to emit such dense killing intent?