The land quaked and growled with every tremor. It was the sound of a beast prowling beneath, a massive monster that moved the earth with each step, waiting for its chance to pounce upon the helpless prey above.

The heavy stench of its anger burned the air with hostility and it was suffocating. The weaker marked ones clutched their chest while gasping for air, and the soldiers without a mark fell to their knees. The stronger ones raised their weapons and stood their ground, sweat glistening on their skin and soaking into their clothes.

The humans waited, but whatever was beneath the surface did not attack. It came like a crashing tidal wave, shaking the earth and consuming the weak before receding away. Then, there was only silence that remained.

Rana stood in vigilance until the smell of hostility faded completely. She turned to Jin and snapped her fingers to rouse the woman from her stupor. Jin blinked, droplets of sweat splashed from her hair, and let out the breath she held. There were many other marked ones that reacted in a similar fashion. The danger was so immediate and intense that it took them quite some time to realize that the danger had passed.

There were a few that realized the danger passed instantly, and those were the ones Rana had to pay close attention to.

The Fire Shield leader began to bark orders and the mage-class marked ones quickly went to work. The expedition force was not attacked, but the pressure from the monster alone did some damage to many of their members, most of them were the ones without a mark. Those without a mark could not generate mana, and those without mana would not be able to receive the effects of healing Spells, but the damage they suffered was mostly psychological and the soothing aura of the light element should calm them down.

The soldiers were lucky that the enemy's hostility was not directed at them.

Rana looked around her. She and Jin were the only people still standing. It was not unexpected. The group she trekked with was comprised of the weakest among the expedition. It was no surprise that none of them could withstand what just happened. Still, it seemed like they would have to wait for some time before a mage-class marked one came to help them. They were of the lowest priority after all. She also had to make sure she was not near them when the healing process started. She could not stand being near the light element.

“Let’s go to the front,” Rana said and began walking without waiting for Jin. Her liaison with the duke tried to hide it, but she could tell the woman was excited to finally leave their traveling companions behind. However, she still needed to uphold appearances.

“Oh, so we are not helping them then,” Jin said as she took a glance at the soldiers still wincing in pain and slumped on the dirt. She did not care for them. She simply wanted to take a jab at Rana. “I always pegged you for the cold type.”

“You are free to stay and help if you want.”

“I rather not.”

“Of course,” Rana said, not at all surprised by the swift answer. “There is nothing life-threatening with their condition. The other mage-class marked ones would tend to them eventually. I rather not waste mana like this when danger is still lurking about.”

Rana and Jin moved towards the lead group. The light element on the way made her skin feel like it was being pricked by needles, but aside from discomfort, there was no damage. It would be another story entirely if she made direct contact with it. She reached the group and found that they were deep in discussion and did not acknowledge her presence. She decided to listen in on what they were talking about. However, before she could, one of them noticed her.

“Hey, step back! We are discussing important matters here,” a man said. She remembered him being the second in command of the Fire Shield guild and always followed Hamilton around while barking orders. He acted like how he looked. She ignored the angry dog and met the gaze with one of the duke’s marked ones she recognized.

“This woman here is a marked one personally invited by the duke of Nye,” said the duke’s marked one. “She will be assisting us during the main and had been given special autonomy privileges to act as she sees fit during it.”

Rana took a glance at the second in command before ignoring him. The man was taken aback as his bravado was stamped out before he could shout some more. She then returned her attention to the conversation, but it seemed like someone else was still harboring complaints about her presence.

“That is not something that I like to hear,” said Hamilton, the Fire Shield vanguard commander. His face was like a grizzled wall, and the scar down the side of his face and carved his beard into two showed his experience. “The success of any raid is dependant on soldiers following the orders of their commanders. The chain of command is what ensures a successful Dungeon conquest, and the absence of it will doom it to failure. ”

“Then you best make sure that I am all caught up with your plans,” Rana said. She would usually not risk confrontation with a marked one as powerful as Hamilton without foreknowledge of what he is capable of, but she knew that the duke needed her for the raid, so his men would no doubt prioritize her over Fire Shield. At this point, the picture of the truth behind the raid was slowly revealing itself. “Unless, you wish for me to act without knowledge of your plans and you risk your men getting in my way.”

Hamilton glared at Rana before bellowing out in laughter.

“You have spunk, I’ll give you that! You should be grateful that we are in alliance with the duke. I have killed people slighting me for less.”

“Should I congratulate you on your demonstration of bare minimum self-control?”

“You’ll die young, lass,” Hamilton said with a smirk after a scoff.

Rana rolled her eyes ignored the subtle and ironic threat. Hamilton then began to explain their current situation and their plan going forward. It confirmed many of her suspicions but there were a few key points that caught her interest. The first was that their plan was a very general raid strategy. It was as if none of them have any experience with the Dungeon. When asked, Hamilton admitted that no one has ever stepped foot inside Sunset Spears. He was telling the truth, but only to him. The duke’s men either knew of allies who did enter the Dungeon or had done so themselves. The second was that the weaker members of the expedition were actually not going to enter the Dungeon and be part of the main raid. She guessed as much, but it seemed like they not here to confront the monsters on their way and had another objective. The last was that none of them, not even the duke’s men knew what the thing that caused the earth to tremor was.

However, Rana knew what it was and the duke of Nye knew too and hid it from even his own men. She would not have guessed if she did not have experience with the distinct smell monsters who have Foundation Rings as their power source. She did not know how many, but at least one Sunset Spears guardian monster escaped its Dungeon.