Nel had never thought that even with all his careful movements, those two could still track him down. He hoped to sneak out with the help of the crowd and enter the dungeon silently. But the plan failed even before he implemented it.

The burly man smiled at him as he stood in front of the rift that was the entrance to the 5-star dungeon. Nel was surprised to see he wasn’t wearing the mask. He took a few seconds to observe his face.

Angular jaws, brown eyes, and a small brown goatee made up his facial appearance. There were no visible scars or blemishes he could find.

Nel clicked his tongue in annoyance. This man looked better than him.

The smile he wore irritated Nel even more. He really wished he could rush in and slug that handsome face until it gets so deformed that even his mother wouldn’t recognize him.

Since the man had already noticed him, Nel stopped hiding and came out of the dark alley. There was no point in it anyway. He looked around to find where the other one, the one with the crossbow, could be. Out of the two of them, he was most scared of the archer.

The burly walked over. Nel promptly put his hand on the handle of the speartip that doubled as a dagger. His eyes narrowed into slits while his chest tightened. But, he held on without stepping back.

Instead of running, he decided to face the man head-on. Besides, one of the stronger branches of HA was right beside him. If he remembered right, there should be two 2-star hunters stationed in this office.

That gave him some much-needed courage.

“That was a nice punch.” The man said with a smile after coming to a halt just a few meters away from Nel. His brown eyes bored deep into Nel.

“Thank you?” Nel rose an eyebrow. ‘Did I punch him? Wasn’t its him doing it the whole time?’

He stared at him cautiously as his fingers traced the edge of the speartip strapped to his waist. The engravings on it bolstered his courage and gave him a much-needed assurance.

“Now, don’t look at me like that. It’s not like I’ll bite you,” He said jokingly. But Nel couldn’t laugh. To him, it was more scary than funny. Not to mention how disgusting it sounded.

“What is your motive?” Nel went directly to the point. He was so annoyed by the constant attacks at this point.

“To the point, huh?” The man shook his head. “Cool! It saves me time. Alright, tell me where is she?”

“Who is she?” Nel asked back. He genuinely didn't know who were they asking about.

But the man clicked his tongue. “Now, this is not cool.” He hummed as his eyes narrowed.

The hairs at the back of Nel’s neck stood up as the temperature around him dropped several degrees.

“Now, this isn’t nice.” The man’s voice was barely above a whisper, sending chills down Nel’s spine. “Here I’m trying to give you a chance to solve this peacefully. But you…”

“But, I really don’t know about whom you are talking,” Nel hastily said. His eyes betrayed the terror he felt at that moment. It was like he was standing naked in the middle of the road on a cold night.

“Sigh~” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Look, there’s no use lying to us. You are giving off [Cursed Star]’s aura like a beacon, which means you’ve already met her.”

“Wait? Cursed star? What is that?” Nel questioned as it was the first time he heard that phrase.

“It's better for you to not know about it.” The man sighed as he rubbed his face. Now everything made sense to him. He also realized why a completely unrelated man was giving off the cursed star aura.

“I know you are trying to protect her from us. But, did you not realize that you are being used by her?” He gave Nel a pitying look.

“Wh-? What do you mean?” Nel was getting more and more confused. This man was not giving him a straight answer.

“Sigh~ alright listen-”

XXX

Chen winced as he held on to the sides of his ribs. The left side of his blue shirt has stained red from blood. Leaning against a tree, he stared ahead at the heated battle going on between Loui and the masked assassin against a strange woman in a black bodysuit.

Even though it was a 2v1 situation, she was easily handling them. She was able to keep both of them at bay while holding their healer, Miss Rhia, in her left hand.

“Tch! I was careless!” He clicked his tongue in regret. “I shouldn’t have let my guard down.”

It happened after the argument. Following Gambi’s departure, the team decided to stop monster hunting and take a short break. Nighttime was approaching. Soon, it’ll become dangerous inside the dungeons.

Although it was advisable to abandon the dungeon at night, they have gotten strict orders from their higher-ups to not leave until further instructions.

There were no further follow-ups. It was clear, they had to spend the night in this place. The assassin, whose name was Shader, asked Chen to find a safe place for the night.

After brief thinking, Chen proposed they should spend the night near the teleportation gate. In case when something sudden happens, they can easily leave the place.

Everyone agreed to it, even Rhia didn't complain.

Who would have thought that they’ll get ambushed on the way? And the one to do so was none other than the very woman who had ‘last-hit’ their Rank-II monster.

She appeared out of nowhere and stabbed Chen in the chest. Then she took Rhia hostage when Loui and Shader launched their counterattack.

Chen looked on at the battle as confusion filled his heart. He couldn't guess the motive of the woman. If it was to kill the healer, there was no reason why she’d go through so much trouble to take her hostage.

What did she want?

Chen looked at his chest and thanked his luck for wearing sturdy inner armor. He’d have died otherwise.

XXX

Sword clashed against sword, making ‘ting’ noises.

Loui narrowed her eyes when her sword was easily blocked. Without giving her opponent time to react, she used her opponent’s strength to front flip in midair, aiming her heel at her head.

The woman let her sword go and jumped back, avoiding the axe-kick.

Shader appeared behind her like a ghost. His dagger was glowing purple as he swiped at her back vertically upwards.

As if possessing eyes behind her back, she easily sidestepped the deadly knife and even counterattacked by kicking his waist.

Shader crossed his arms and protected his privates from being pulverized. Though he succeeded in blocking the kick, the force behind it sent him flying.

“Twin-dagger Swipe!” Loui took the time the woman was distracted to use her Skill. An orange glow coated the blades as she cross-swiped them at the woman’s chest.

However, instead of tearing open a fatal wound, her daggers passed harmlessly through the woman’s body. Then it vanished into a puff of white smoke.

“Where are you aiming?” Loui heard the woman’s voice behind her. Following that, she felt a heavy kick on the middle of her back, sending her skidding face first.

“Thanks for the gift~ haha~” The woman smirked behind her mask as she faded out of existence, leaving a torn apart battlefield behind.