“Get ready, guys. Clara, to the front! Rob, go and support her. Lamda, you go to the back.” Ellie played her role as the team captain excellently. She was quick to regain her composure and assemble everyone. Ray watched in fascination how the team obeyed her commands without a single complaint.

‘Such a wonderful party. I’ve only seen similar parties a few times in my career.’ Teams like this always had the best chance of surviving the dangerous dungeons. Ray ran to the backline almost instinctively. Years of working as a porter had ingrained some of the qualities to his very bones.

Ray quickly pulled [Wyvern’s Breath] from its sheath. Just then, a lot of messages appeared on his head in an orderly fashion.

Equipped [Wyvern’s Breath]

Attack +20

[??? activated!!]

[Checkpoint #2 is set.]

‘This is the first time I saw it!’

He had this skill ever since he awakened. However, he had never seen that particular message. ‘Is it because the skill hadn’t awakened until yesterday?’ Ray made a lot of wild speculation. ‘Anyway, I will think about it later, for now-’ He lightly touched the edge of the sword and uttered a simple word, “Inspect!”

[Wyvern’s Breath]

[Rank: Two-Starred]

[Attribute: +20 ATK]

[Durability: 100%][Weight: 17 kg]

[Special Ability 1]

Flame Breath – Creates a sea of flames around the user in a conical shape, covering 4 meters of area. Deals 50 fire damage per second until the fire is put out. Has a 10% chance of placing [Burn] debuff on your enemies. Note: The fire will usually last for 15 seconds. Number of uses(In 24 hours): 3/3

‘wow!’ Ray marveled at the detailed description the [Inspect] provided him with. The sword may have less attack power compared to other weapons of the same rank, but it makes that up with its special abilities. And, coincidentally, it was the ideal sword to deal with spiders since fire deals tons of damage to arachnids.

“Everyone, giddy up!” Ray’s musings were cut short by Ellie’s shout. He narrowed his eyes and looked ahead. Densely packed uncountable sets of compound eyes that were glowing red stared back at him from beyond the darkness that shrouded the path ahead. “They are here!” She warned.

“I am ready!” Clara was the fast one to reply. She stood in the forefront with her shield poised in front of her. Ray saw an earthen glow coming from her metal shield. He was too familiar with that light. It was often used by raiders, who chose the role of a tanker.

[Hardening]

It was the name of that ability.

Kat! Kat! Kat!

With clattering sounds made from the strong legs of spiders hitting the stone pavement of the dungeon, masses of blue-colored spiders with a size comparable to dogs came rushing at them. Their eyes glowed red, and corrosive green saliva oozed from their mouths. They were the denizens of this dungeon, one-starred Acid-Spitting Spiders.

“Clara block them! Bob, aim at the ones who are about to jump on us. Rob, help Clara.” Ellie barked out commands after commands as her team quickly fell into their respective roles and positions. As the spiders approached them, Clara reacted first. She rose her hammer and slammed it on the ground.

Boom!!

A shockwave generated from the point of impact. The spiders suddenly went crazy and headed for Clara all at once. Clattering noises became intense. Ray felt his heart shivering at the sheer size of the monsters coming towards them. The clusters of compound eyes and the ugly face were enough to arouse a primal fear from his heart.

However, he wasn’t an experienced Porter for nothing. He quickly brought his heartbeat and renegade emotions under control as the grip on his sword’s handle tightened.

It was then, the spider on the lead collided against Clara’s shield, followed by a few more. Yet, the timid girl in the knight’s armor held her ground firmly. Her stance didn’t break, and she wasn’t even pushed back a centimeter.

“~Fire Ball!!~” Just then, he heard Ellie’s calm voice as a sudden light illuminated the hallway. A ball of fire, the size of a basketball, hovered above Northerner’s team captain's outstretched right palm. The temperature around him increased slightly. Ellie made a hand sign with her other hand as the fireball hurled automatically towards the dense-packed spiders.

Kroar!!

The poor arachnids screamed in pain as the fire, their natural nemesis, burned their bodies to crisp. Rob wasn’t just slacking. He quickly killed the ones attacking Clara with his ax. Ray saw him using no special abilities, yet he was able to kill so many spiders swiftly. The team composition was so great that they were easily dealing with so many spiders without panicking. Ray stood there, eyes wide and mouth agape at how well the team worked. Everyone filled their roles perfectly.

‘It’s a textbook example of a perfect run!’ Ray took a deep breath and looked towards Ellie, who was creating her 12th fireball. ‘She is a good leader!’ He acknowledged. Ellie’s experience in leading her party and her situational awareness allowed her to lead them perfectly.

“Wonderful, isn't she?”

“Huh?” Ray looked over at the only man who was standing in the backline, doing nothing, Lamda. Like him. Said man had a relaxed smile on his face, with his hands inside his pocket as his eyes stayed on Ellie’s back. Ray observed a look of reverence as well as fondness in them.

“I mean, Ellie.” Lamda clarified. His voice was calm and gentle, like that of autumn wind. “Look at her, the way she leads this team, isn’t it amazing?”

“Ah!” Ray chuckled and looked towards Ellie’s back as well. “I guess! She is amazing, indeed. In my years of experience, I have only seen a few teams with a leader like her.” Ray turned towards Lamda, “But it isn’t only her who is amazing. Everyone is filling their roles perfectly.”

Ray pointed towards Clara, who was doing her best to attract all the spider’s aggro with her ability. “Your tank is doing her best. She is well timing her abilities to match her teammates’ ability cooldowns instead of spamming them all at once.” Then, he pointed his finger towards Bob, “Your ranger is doing an excellent job in keeping track of all the monster’s movements. I don’t see any spider getting a fast one on your tank yet. Your fighter has yet to use his ability and yet he is cleaning them up perfectly.” Ray smiled as he gave his verdict, “Your team is excellent.”

Lamda looked perturbed for a second before bursting out in laughter. He patted Ray’s shoulders before speaking, “You got a good eye, Ray. And, I thank you on the behalf of our team for those kind words.”

“Ray, You said you want to hunt as well, right?” Suddenly, Ellie’s loud voice echoed, stopping the two backliner’s idle chat. “I will give you that opportunity. Bob, protect our porter. Ray, come to the front.”

“Yes!” Both Bob and Ray shouted in unison. Ray jogged to the front and stood right beside Rob, with his sword poised above his shoulder. Just then, the third wave of spiders arrived in the same way as the two before them.

“Ray, get ready!” Rob narrowed his eyes, trailing them on the path ahead, where rows of glowing eyes approaching them fast.

“Yes.” Ray nodded as he controlled his breathing.