Chapter 8

On this day, Rion had felt that the mood of the morning was somewhat gloomy. He'd woken up with a heavy feeling and his usual quickly beating heart was nowhere to be seen, instead only beating leisurely and quietly.

Very calmly, he lightly pulled away his covers and robotically began getting up. There were many thoughts in his mind, of which included a sense of future helplessness

What would become of the portal after they cleared it? Would it turn into an S-Class Portal? At that point, how would they even be able to go up against something like that?

...What of the Sentinel? Could they really beat something as terrifying as that?

The thought of the blank-faced gray-colored humanoid did not color the end of this tunnel brightly.

It wasn't that Rion's will to fight had diminished, but he merely put things in retrospect in this clarity-filled morning. They have gotten lucky by having complete survival rates in the two runs that had occurred for this multi-floored dungeon; who's to say the extreme A-Class will be the same?

In the end, whatever it was, Rion would keep doing his job as he'd always been.

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This time, several reporters had shown up at the scene. All unrestrainedly taking pictures and filming the setting.

Most of the gazes were set on the portal that had a purple hue. It swirled mysteriously and every so often slight twirls of mana would reach out to the surroundings. The colors would pulse purple-ish and a deep blue.

If one looked past the possible terrifying aftermath such a gate would leave, it might become a calming scene; one that would hypnotize any living being. Such was the existence of Mana. Many would declare it to be of the most beautiful existence, and some would even debate the existence of dungeons, a small price to pay for the introduction of such an ethereal substance.

The portal pulsed and rotated carefully. This stable appearance would no sooner turn into a scene of chaos with cracks and terrifying bursts of mana if the dungeon was not cleared soon enough. Proof to this statement was the fact that the purplish-black gate held an exceedingly more active and quicker movement of mana than a week ago.

The hunters watched the object that caused the two contrasting emotions, peace and dread, with a severe gaze.

For this A-Class dungeon, a great twenty A-Rankers and fifty of the most competent B-rankers, and five B-rank cameramen would fill the dungeon capacity.

It was without a doubt, one of the most formidable dungeon parties at the moment. Still, the risk lay in the fact that such a high number of the world's strongest Hunters would be sent to this one dungeon they had no information of.

Gathering information for dungeons was difficult because the risk of entering alone or in few numbers, just to scout the area was too high. People could not afford to send people willingly to their deaths and at the same time, there was a lot of faith in these A-Rankers who had previously cleared A-Class dungeons as well.

From the many hunters here vast in experience, skill and senses refined from having brushed hands with death multiple times, Rion's only disadvantage was his inexperience.

It was only his very youthful face that contrasted with the others who had slightly more mature appearances.

Though low leveled, his technique and fighting ability instantly raised his capabilities to that of a higher B-Ranker. One might even say that if he leveled up a slight amount, Rion would be head to head against an A-Ranker purely in fighting ability.

Soon, the capabilities of Earth's Hunters would be put to a test of grit and will.

The hunters entered in a rectangular formation, planned before, through the portal. As their backs slowly disappeared into the black gate, none turned back, as the thought of not being able to come back was too wrenching to think about.

The ones on the other side of the portal saw the scene of an unusual blood-colored room. Ominously, they all stiffened their breathing while their experienced eyes analyzed every nook and cranny.

Usually, upon entering a dungeon, hunters would find themselves in a safe zone. No monsters or hostile creatures would face them directly; because of this, intelligent monsters usually opted to set ambushes and tricky traps directly after the safe zone.

Entering this unusual dungeon, the hunters all knew that the norm could not be followed and they immediately spread out into a formation as more hunters began entering behind them.

The entering hunters immediately got into battle-ready stances without questions upon seeing the scene and also analyzed the room.

Twenty A-Rankers, Fifty B-Rankers. The party was an unfathomably strong one; yet none wore any expression of confidence nor complacency.

"Hold…" One of the leading A-Rankers commanded to keep the formation compact.

All the hunters had entered the room by now and awaited the tense surprise.

They were in a bare and unfeeling room, the walls and floors colored a crimson blood-red; an ominous color that triggered memories of spilled blood.

There were no decorations, no doors, no hallways. The room was a square filled with hunters inside.

"...There's nothing behind the portal… Would it be unreasonable to suggest moving forward?" A short brown-haired Archer suggested.

"Suggestion: Move forward in maintained formation. A pace of 42 beats is suggested until more information is received," Ryoha, the green haired mage with an unusual method of speaking suggested.

Unfazed by the robotic-like speaker, a familiar red hair took the lead at the front of the formation and walked at the suggested speed.

Not many people really knew what Ryoha meant by 42 beats except for a few others such as Larsson who had previously raided a dungeon with her.

Rion followed Larsson's steady step. This time, Rion was placed in the front row of the berserkers; a prize of his valued combat power.

His Dread had become black-colored after being combined with the essence of the Dullahan's sword. What was previously a longsword was now thicker and wider; still, its sharpness was not lost, but rather augmented.

His body felt more active than he had ever felt before, with energy coursing through his blood. He felt like he had been injected adrenaline and his brain felt like it had become a machine whose cogs had been replaced by finer and quicker ones.

Like blacksmiths, alchemists were not unusual either. Alchemists concocted potions that would strengthen every aspect of the hunters inside a dungeon. These Dungeon Potions were highly sought after and in low demand due to the numerous ingredients in the world being unavailable.

For this dungeon run, it would be very worth it.

"Hold," Larsson moved his arm up and gestured to the hunters to his side and behind him.

The red hair did not need to say anything.

A strange marking had become visible once the hunters had walked enough steps forward.

It was pulsating a gloomy black that throbbed in energy like a heart.

In front of the hunters, a circle with countless markings appeared on the floor and began lighting up to the symbol's pulses.

Slowly as the pulses sped up, so did the intense bright light of the circle.

Strangely, the hunters thought the beating might have resembled a telephone call.

In an instant, a familiar being made itself known by appearing inside the circle.

Its head slowly tracked and scanned the faces of the hunters; with the confidence of a superior being.

[Sentinel]: "Ah", its mouth opened, "it is… good to see you again hunters."

Since last time, no one had greeted it back, the hunters opted to respond this time.

After all, maybe the reason the floors were more difficult before was that it had grown indignant after being ignored. The possibility seemed small but the action being taken was small too.

Alessandro coughed once to the floor and looked up at the blank gray humanoid.

"Greetings, Sentinel."

For the first time, the being with no face laughed in good humor.

It was until a few seconds that it resumed its stone mannerisms.

[Sentinel]: "I assume you all are ready… for the next trial?"

Some stiffened and some glared at the Sentinel at the words 'trial'.

The wording seemed to hint at something deeper. After all, dungeons that have served as a constant reminder of impending doom, being reduced to a mere 'trial', did not sit well with the hunters.

A cameraman zoomed in on the Sentinel's face while others recorded the room, the teleport circle on the floor, and the strange black marking.

"...Yes, we've done a lot to prepare for the next… challenge."

The Sentinel's face warped into something akin to a pleased smile.

[Sentinel]: "Then, I shall send you all on your way…" it paused slightly, and continued, "to the Wisp Hallows."

The Sentinel immediately waved its hand and the scenery changed.

Their gamble had gone well. Talking to the Sentinel gave them the reward of knowing the place's name.

It was obvious that with the place's name, it would also help the hunters analyze and procure an educated guess on what they would face.

They were faced with the dark night sky, ominously empty of stars, filled with gray clouds, and surrounded by spirity high green trees.

The trees seemed old and ashy but stood as vigorously and firmly as a tree could be.

The crown of the trees seemed to cover the empty dark sky and hung over, the branches too long and old.

"Wisp Hallows... Ryoha, analysis?"

"..." the green haired mage was quiet.

It was a deafening silence that was quickly broken again by Ryoha.

"...Wisp Hallows. Wisp refers to a line of smoke… or something delicate. Previous context might also imply spirits... Hallows refers to a sacred place. Hypothesis: Most likely ghost based enemies."

Ryoha's calm analysis reached the words of all the hunters. For the hunters, hearing they'd embark on a journey on a spirit-themed dungeon did not evoke any feelings of pleasure nor relief.

Contrarily, hunters looked around their surroundings warily, searching the high trees and the low bushes for any activity.

"Mages, use Mana Sense immediately," Larsson spoke as his brows furrowed deeply. "Other mages, prepare Mana Barriers, healers use Revealing Light." His commands were barked out with strict efficiency, and the orders were followed with practiced discipline.

For this battle, berserkers like Rion and Larsson would not have a big of a role. Sure, some had mana skills but their passives, skills, and stat distributions were more suited towards physical combat.

"Since the setting has been immediately set as night time, prepare for hit and run tactics. Do not separate from the group, leave the running hostiles to the archers," Alessandro spoke up after Larsson.

Rion's keen eyes looked around the field. The hunters were now in place, the leaders of the run debating whether to move or to stay.

His intuition said staying would be the correct decision. If they advanced, they might walk into traps and ambushes. As Larsson said, A-Class dungeons are a whole different ball game; not just because of the increased difficulty in fighting monsters but the insane difficulty and danger in traversing the dungeon.

"Mages, if the barriers are prepared, set them up now. Let us not get hit by a surprise attack. Sensors, any luck?"

Immediately blue circles were erected around their vicinity, all of them sturdy and protective of the hunters inside.

The sensors shook their heads.

"...It's the trees."

This dungeon was strange in the fact that the trees were radiating intense mana. The mana was so intense that it outshined any other presence, even their own.

"Well, good thing we decided to stay outside the high forest," one A-Ranker cracked a cheerful grin.

Some gave laughs to quench their nerves.

Larsson merely nodded at the rest and spoke up, "We're going to need to scout for information."

Rion knew what this meant. Small groups of units would be sent out to explore the dungeon. Moving in huge units was too slow, and staying inside a dungeon for too long was never too good. Not only that, high-scale magic attack ambushes would be too easy to aim at such a large and slow moving group.

"Since Archers are quicker and also have a speed boost, we'll be the ones going out, right?" one archer asked seriously.

"See… that is my dilemma. Archers naturally have better eyesight so they'd see better in this nightly setting, and they're also faster. Knowing this is an A-Classed dungeon, if we sent archers, wouldn't we be doing exactly what they're expecting?" Alessandro, ever the experienced A-Ranker, spoke up after moments of consideration.

"What should we do then?"

The hunters were stumped. In such a disadvantageous setting, there was not much they could actively do other than be in a pensive mood. The risk of being active threatened their throats.

"...Ryoha, any recommendations?"

She was quiet before hesitantly speaking,

"...Expand our circle of perception. Send groups scouts in units of four, unit spacing should be within each other's perception… Three should pay attention to surrounding units' safety while one leads the way. The result should be a web of communications."

It was a quickly thought-out response, but the explanation was enough to understand the task.

Rion would be sent out as a scout unit alongside two archers, a mage, and himself.

The commands were quick and the hunters quickly got to preparation.

The scenery was still relatively peaceful. It felt like the serenity before something bigger.

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