-Mysterious Dungeon(2)-

“Hello, I am Hiroshi. He is my friend, Kunita.” As Kenshin and others arrived at their pre-chosen spot, the other seven hunters were already there, waiting for them. Two young men who stood close to the direction they came from, introduced themselves first. Kenshin nodded at them and shook his hands with them, followed by Joy and Chiba. Well, during Chiba’s shake, two young men behaved a little strangely, but it was nothing extreme.

“I am Matsuri, a backline support hunter.” The only girl they chose, a short fair-skinned girl with short dark hair, introduced herself curtly. There was a black guitar case hanging from her back. She greeted Joy and Chiba the same way as well.

“Hello, Mr. Kenshin, Mr. Joy, and Miss. Chiba, I am Douglas, nice to make your acquaintance. As you can see, I am a vanguard warrior type hunter.” A man around his late twenties, with a head full of faded blonde hair, introduced himself. A huge buster-sword was hanging from his back. Although he had a gentle face, his aura was as violent as a raging bull. Joy gave a few looks at his buster sword, before giggling. The man noticed this and glared at Joy with a frown. He knew what this bald man was thinking.

Kenshin nudged Joy’s ribs angrily upon realizing what he was thinking. He gave the man, Douglas, an embarrassed smile, “I am sorry, Mr. Douglas. This friend of mine likes to joke around a lot.” Kenshin apologized sincerely. They were trying to enter into an unknown dungeon filled with dangers and mysteries. A form of trust was absolute between the party members. It will save them of many troubles and even result in their safe return.

How many parties were wiped out even in the lowest level of the dungeon because of their infighting? There were too many cases to count. Kenshin didn’t want them to become the next victim of this unfortunate event.

“Haha, It's alright.” Douglas shook his hand and brushed it off. Since the other party had apologized, he couldn’t hold a grudge now. He wasn’t that petty. Besides, it wasn’t the first time people gave him that look.

“Hello, I am Toru. Nice to meet you. I focus on speed and like to kill my enemy with one single strike before retreating. I am not good at long-drawn battles.” A young man around his early twenties, cropped black hair, and square face, smiled showing his rows of white teeth, as he introduced himself. Two short swords were hanging from both sides of his waist. He had a thin and agile build, which was very common among hunters who like to focus on speed and explosive strength. Together with his specialty, he also mentioned his weakness.

Kenshin smiled and nodded at the young man. This man was sensible. In this kind of situation, everyone should focus and mention more on their weaknesses rather than strengths. If they were already aware of their weakness and plan accordingly, it could save lives. Unfortunately, not many hunters adhere to this rule. And due to that, these kinds of loose parties had the most mortality rates.

“I am Osamu, nice to meet you. If you are familiar with RPG-type games, I am, what they call, a Tank. Haha!” Osamu was a well-built man, covered in heavy metallic-looking armor. There was an obsidian rectangular-shaped shield strapped to his back, and looked very intimidating. This shield had a very unique appearance. It had a stone-like texture and looked very similar to a monolith.

“Hello, Mr. Kenshin, Mr. Joy, and Miss. Chiba. I am Tadaka. I have read a lot of things about you three. Your exploitations on the fight against those weird monsters were very famous among the circle of us hunters.” Tadaka was a well-built man with defined muscles. He had an angular face, narrowed eyes, and a head full of black spiked hair. There was a small scar on the extreme left of his forehead, which looked faded. Kenshin saw no weapon with this man, but from the profile, he knew this person was a magic skill user who excels in debuff type magic.

He was the best kind of support one could get.

“Oh, you have? That’s really surprising.” Kenshin smiled awkwardly. It was the first time someone praised him directly to his face. In fact, the exploits of Kenshin were enough to shock the whole world. However, he never remained at the scene to hear the praises. Even before the authorities and reporters arrive, he would already be long gone by then. However, the incident with the Fake Dragons happened right in front of countless eyes. How could everyone not know about it?

“Well, before coming here today, I did some research,” Tadaka said with a smile. Indeed since they don’t know each other, it was necessary to do a little research. The dungeon was a very dangerous place where anything could happen at a moment’s notice. Knowing your allies would allow them to plan accordingly in case of sticky situations.

“Us as well. It is an honor to meet you finally.” Hiroshi said, pointing to both Kunita and him. The quiet girl, Matsuri, also nodded. She too agreed with them.

After the exchange of pleasantries, they finally left for the dungeon.

…

“Please sign these two contracts. The second one is to ensure you didn’t divulge anything you encounter inside the dungeon to the outside world.” The DCB office stationed at the mouth of the dungeon entrance handed them two forms. After reading briefly, Kenshin and the rest signed it before preparing to go into the dungeon.

The official who collected their papers continued, “The dungeon rule is as such, at any given time, only twenty people shall entre. Which means two groups are allowed each time. There are no time limits on how long they can stay inside. Right now, there is a group already reading inside. They entered two days ago and have yet to return. You can join them and fight, or you can roam on your own.” After saying what he was supposed to say, the man excused himself.

“Alright, let’s go.” Osamu, who claimed himself as the ‘tank’ of the team, stepped inside the portal leading to the mysterious dungeon. The rest followed him behind. The last one to enter was Kenshin, who was observing his surrounding before stepping inside the portal.

[You have entered a piece of an abandoned dungeon.]

[Offensive and Defensive abilities will receive a 2% boost. All attributed abilities, Holy, Evil will receive a 30% debuff.]

[You have unlocked a quest.]

[Quest 32]

Clear the first floor of the abandoned dungeon in an hour.

[Rewards]

2 skills points. A random C-grade equipement. 500k EXP

‘Wow! It's been a long time since I saw this exact notification…’ Kenshin thought as he read through quest details. He had to clear the first floor in just an hour, which was something impossible as it was a level 10 dungeon. However, a team had already gone before them. they must have killed many monsters in their way. Perhaps that’s why the quest only gave him an hour to complete. The number of monsters was definitely less than what it should be.