(Scout’s P.O.V):-----

My name is Steve and I’m a scout.

Because of recent recession there are no jobs available in the imperial city anymore, and even if there are, they are all taken by them more dignified scumba... I mean noble people.

I also want to work in the imperial corps but…

*sigh*

It’s not easy.

Why I want to work in the imperial corps you ask?

Well, for most people it’s about dignity, pride and whatnot, but for me…

It’s about money.

Yes, I love money. I mean who in their right mind would not do any and everything in their hands to get some of that bling!

I have been an adventurer all my life, and it’s a poor line of work. Especially for those who are not strong enough for Monster hunting, most of us E, F and D rankers.

Well, most paid jobs are all related to monsters, or those which demands you to fight with your life on the line, like monster hunting.

There is always the danger of dying while fighting monsters, and even if you don’t die from monster attack, there is also the danger of being backstabbed by your own colleagues over some stupid loot. Then there are wars, protests and all the shit dragging low level adventurers into it, making their life nothing less than misery and nothing more than a mess.

An Adventurers life is like a magnet, a magnet attracting all of the shit toward itself.

But today, my luck shined. I saw a job for scouting an area somewhere near ‘The Devil’s Pass’.

Well, it looked quite easy, so I picked it. I mean, no fighting with monsters, no dangerous work, just need to scout the area and give the information back to the guild.

And if someway or somehow I come in contact with a monster, I’ll just need to run away and inform the guild about the monster for a little extra on the reward.

Though this area is a bit dangerous, but the danger here does not come from the monsters, but from the name of this place itself. ‘The Devils Pass’ it sounds literally like the entrance to hell after all.

Climbing these mountains is dangerous, and nowadays, no one try to cross this gate to hell anymore.

There are many myths connected with the other side. Like, how there is an ancient dungeon on the other side of the mountains, and like a dragon ancestor is the dungeon guardian protecting its core.

Well, all heresy and whatnot.

But the place I am going to is not that dangerous, as there are no monsters there. According to rumors, it used to be a lush green place, but some calamity destroyed everything and made it barren. No greenery, no monsters, and also no profit for your average muscle brain adventurer.

*Sigh*

I’m here to investigate, find anomalies, run back and inform the guild. See, not dangerous at all.

The story for this job goes something like this,

Some days ago a giant explosion occurred somewhere near here. Although it caused no commotion or disturbance, but still, one should know what grows in his backyard. So the guild put out the job.

After all, things don’t just blow up for no reason. I know this job might not be as easy as I am making it to be, but it’s still better than having to fight monsters for some petty silvers. At the very least that I will get out of this job is a gold coin.

**********************************************

“Ah this damn forest!!”

Do I have to say anything about the forest at the foot of the mountains?

There are so many monsters here I don’t know what to say.

Those shitty wolves! Let me check whether they are still following me or not.

“Phew, it’s safe.”

I really thought I was going to die. A whole pack was following me after all. Well, good thing that my job has got nothing to do with them.

And now that I am done with them, I’m finally there.

I can see it. It’s in front of me; the aftermath of that explosion. Well, I don’t see any crater, though there are Dirt and stones everywhere.

‘Oh! Maybe, it got covered by all the debris and stuff, though it sounds a bit impossible. Let’s move a bit closer, maybe I’ll find something to show off with after going back.’ I thought.

Slowly, but surely, I walked closer to the area of impact, then I understood why I could not see the crater. It really was hidden behind a shit load of dirt and stones, which were covering it like a crown. And in the centre, there it was, a wide and black hole, going who knows how deep into the ground.

There was a boy standing right outside the entrance to the hole to who knows where, and a dead wolf lying at the side.

‘Another party?’ I thought.

I might not know how deep or what was inside it, but I know that I didn’t want to go inside there without anyone protecting my arse.

On further observation it looked to me like it was an ant mound. An opening at the centre, sand and stones everywhere around it, what else could it have been.

If that really is an ant mound then I don’t think I have any work left here, because if I went down there then it will only result in a quick death for me. My brain worked without any one asking it to.

I think it’s an ant mound, but I don’t see any signs indicating ants walking out from there or even anyone moving at all, except for the boy behaving like there is a party going inside.

I moved a little bit closer to the hole so I could see inside, all the while thinking about ants.

Fact number one,

Ants don’t create explosions to open a hole to the surface, they just work it out quietly and live happily, enjoy their hunting, eat their prey and increasing their numbers. They are not free like us humans; they have got work to do.

Fact number two,

Ants are strong. How strong? They are an adversary given ‘F rank’ by our leaders.

Hahaa…

Ok, an alone ant is not strong. Alone, it is one of the lowest ‘F rank’ monsters, but in their home, where there are thousands, if not millions of them, it becomes another story altogether.

Inside their mound they become a ‘C Rank’ level threat, not so easy. But if there is a fire mage in your party, then it’s a done deal. After all fire is the bane of most if not all the insect type monsters.

Anyways, when I reached the optimum place to see inside the hole without being found out, I saw some people: kids, fighting monstrous ants inside and winning.

‘Mission accomplished.’ I pumped my fists, but before going back I looked one last time at the boy.

I saw him going through the state of curiosity to cheering and then dread. Like him the atmosphere of the cave deviated between tense, calm and then a sudden shower of blood lust, which was followed by a scream from the boy.

The sounds and monster roars, well that’s what they sounded like, made it sure that I wouldn’t go inside, and the rest of my hesitations were blown away when the ground started tumbling and a few minutes later the boy jumped away from the hole.

While I was busy balancing myself in the forest and trying not to blow away my cover, an awful amount of energy came gushing out of the hole like a geyser.

The hole erupted with the most baleful energy I have ever felt. The shower continued for a whole five minutes before the energy dissipated into the surroundings.

‘Well, my job here is done.’ I saw the boy getting up after watching that spectacle and running to the west with his tail between his legs. Not an actual tail, just a metaphor to tell how scared he was.

I did what I could, picked myself up and following his example ran back to the capital saying, “To hell with scouting!”

Third person POV with focus on Will:

On the flip side, Will was having a blast.

Firstly, he got to scout for an upcoming hero team. And secondly, he got to watch the team literally decimating the monster like ants to the ground.

All the members played the roles given to them, but for him the one who outshined them all was his vice leader Rae.

He had already seen her hot side, but became a fan of her, when he saw her cutting the big ant apart like they were made out of tofu.

Yes, although most of the work was done by the athletic team leader Ren, but who said he couldn’t cheer for his crush.

If Rae’s beauty had stolen his heart at first, then her vicious attacks just tore it apart.

‘Go, Rae, go!!’ he yelled, but his voice didn’t reach her.

But the festive mood soon turned into mourning, when the smaller ant that had gone into hiding made a cheap shot and killed Rose.

Wills eyes became watery, and his voice got stuck in his throat, when he saw her getting stabbed by that bastard ant.

It was the first time for Will to helplessly see someone he knew die in front of his eyes. Yes, he had heard of the soldiers of the fort dying before, but to him they didn’t hurt like the murder of Rose did.

He forgot to breath, his vision became blurry and his legs started shaking.

He heard Ren’s angry voice and saw his blurry figure turning toward the core, but then noticed that before Ren could even move, Rae had already started hacking away at the core.

She attacked ten or some times before the core started shinning purple.

Will couldn’t believe everything that happened after that. It was like a comeback by the villain from the sad stories that he used to hate as a kid.

A pulse came from the core and made everyone stop in their tracks. Then his eyes met with Ren’s and he saw his anger, grief, pain and even dread that he felt toward the core in them.

Ren’s mouth moved, but before the sound of the words ‘Run’ could reach Will’s ears, a huge amount of energy came blasting outwards from the core, and engulfed everything inside the cave within it.

Will hurriedly jumped backwards to get away from the path of destruction travelling upwards through the slope, as he was standing directly in front of the entrance.

But he still got blown back from the pressure created by the blast and lost conscious for a minute.

“Ugh.”

Will woke up with a mild headache and ringing ears. His eyes teary and the last words from Rae rang inside his mind.

‘If for some reason we aren’t able to return, it will be your duty to return back to the fort and inform the commander about everything.’

He looked once inside the cave and saw a crater at the centre of where the core once used to be and no sign of anyone else.

Wiping his eyes with his sleeves, he tried to stand up, but stumbled and fell down twice.

*Sniff*

He got himself together and finally stood up, as a stabbing pain in his chest held him from falling down again.

Yes, his team mates had died. Yes, he was all alone in enemy territory, and yes, he was scared of the unknown monsters waiting in the cave, but Rae last words held his mind from breaking.

He ran toward the forest. With his back unguarded and sun setting in front of his eyes, he ran. Though he ran at the top of his speed, he didn’t forget all that Rusty had taught him about scouting or sneaking around in enemy turf.

“Don’t just look straight, look down too.”

“Hey, what are you doing? Don’t just look down, look up too!!”

“Hey, you idiot! Who is going to look at the sides, and stop making so many noises!!”

A laugh blossomed on his face when he remembered those words. His body automatically making slight adjustments, he was able to move a little more like a true scout; silent and efficient.

“Oye! Stupid pervert! Don’t just run in a straight line. Use your environment to your benefits.”

“Hey, hey… not there stupid! Up here! Don’t look at me like a noob. Tell me, who is going to look for monsters above in the trees? Want to get your party killed, huh?”

*Sniff*

Will just couldn’t forget his words, the teaching of his brotherly teacher. Rusty in a day had become the big brother that he never had. A big brother, who was too eager to teach him everything that he knew.

Rusty’s voice still fresh in his ears, and with his foolishly smiling face appearing in front of Wills eyes, he ran as tears fell from his eyes on to the forest ground, entangling and becoming a part of nature themselves.

The memories of all the members of squad no 8 tortured will, as he made his way back toward the fort.

He remembered Ren, Raymond, Riana, Rose …

And he remembered Rae. He remembered her smile, her perfect face, her smooth voice. He remembered the time when she had come walking out of the forest and walked toward him, revealing the angel hidden behind her unusually usual getup.

He remembered that she was the first one who had come to talk to him in the group. Will felt a pulse originating from his heart, and traveling through his body, as he once again remembered her asking,

“What happened? Are you alright?”

Fortunately for Will, the wolves who were always on the hunt in the forest were busy somewhere else. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to reach the fort, even with all the techniques that he was using to move.

It took him four hours to return back to the fort and by the time that he had become utterly exhausted. He had forced his body to move past its limits and that had taken a toll on his health too.

He came out stumbling from the forest and felt bliss seeing the all too familiar face of that old mugger Mason, who was still standing in front of the gate. He took a breath of relief and with that all the exhaustion that he was keeping at bay with his willpower came back.

He fell all the while seeing blurry figures running toward him through the last strands of his consciousness.

“I’m back.” He mumbled, before his conscious faded away.

That night the fort went ablaze with the news of losing five upcoming elites to some ants. Wills testimony and the news of him having returned alone spread through the fort like a wildfire.

Will answered all the questions that commander Stan asked him, and didn’t forget to tell in detail the blast that took the lives of Ren and his team.

It confused and intrigued Stan learning that what took their lives was an unknown purple blast of energy and not the ants of the dungeon.

Stan and the captains of the elite squads like Anton, Smith and Bernard, who were present in the fort held a meeting through the night, and in the morning an announcement was given.

It was decided that captain Bernard and his team would lead the investigation of the site and if the dangers of the dungeon were accessed to exceed level C, then it would be eliminated.

Bernard and his ten men squad was scheduled to move out next week, during which they were made to check and rehearse their plan of action time and time again.

The news of the second best squad being give the job left the people of the hideout contemplating about the danger involving the case. After all the total level of these men exceeded 700 and Bernard was an evolved ranker himself; the alpha wolf of his pack.

Three day later, Will decided to leave the mercenary group, to gain the kind of strength that he knew wasn’t achievable living and doing missions as a mercenary.

With his heart on fire and having ‘not again’ on mind, he left the fort after thanking Stan and Anton for everything they had done for him.