Quite early in the morning, when the sun was still barely above the horizon, the front courtyard of Lunavond Family’s mansion had a number of people gathering. There were about 30 people in total, and most of them were armored soldiers. There were also six horse-drawn carriages standing by while a number of people were loading stuff into them.

Elana along with the Mountain Squad were among the people, waiting for the departure time. She glanced at the Mountain Squad, which originally had consisted of four members but now only had three after losing Victor Clarke.

”Tch...!”

Elana clicked her tongue as silently as she possibly could. Merely recalling Victor’s name made the gruesome scene of his death flash in her mind. The vision of the horribly crushed leg, bloodstained suit, and the stench of fresh blood all over the seating room. Everything resurfaced within Elana’s mind at once, and an overwhelming feeling of nausea along with guilt followed.

Ugh...

She didn’t want anyone else to notice her being unsightly, so she tried her hardest to remain stoic and hide what she was feeling.

“Something wrong, Captain?” One of the squad members asked.

Without looking, Elana replied. “Nothing to be concerned about, Ulysses.”

“Sorry, Captain. But, are you sure?” Ulysses asked again, audibly showing genuine concern in his tone of speech.

Elana turned her head towards Ulysses and looked at him in the eyes. “This is my personal thing, so yes. No need to concern yourself over me.”

“...Alright if you say so, Captain.” Ulysses said. “But, if it ever eats you up inside, please don’t hesitate to share it with the others, or at least just me.”

Elana’s response was just a slight smile.

Ulysses Reid, you’re a good guy as always.

“Elana Mayer?” An armored man asked as he approached Elana. His armor was visibly more sophisticated than other soldiers. Not by much, but enough to show that his rank was higher than other soldiers. There was also another man walking along. The other man wore what seemed like a scholar’s robe, so Elana assumed that he was one of the surveyors whom the soldiers would be protecting.

“Yes. That is me.” Elana replied.

The armored man made a slight nod before speaking again. “I’m Jerome, the leader of the soldiers coming in this expedition, and this is Robin, the head of the surveyors. Looking forward to working with you.”

“Looking forward to working with you too.” Elana said.

“I wonder.” Robin spoke with his eyes squinted. “Why do we have to bring adventurers along? I don’t think we need them.”

“Hey, don’t speak like that.” Jerome lightly hit Robin’s side with his elbow. “It was the decision from the higher up, so just go along with it, okay?”

“Heh.” Robin let out an obvious sigh while rolling his eyes. “So be it.”

“Is there anything from us you find unsatisfactory?” Elana asked while maintaining a professional tone of speech.

“Telling you will only be a waste.” Robin turned around and began walking away. “Let’s just go and get this over with.”

After Robin was far from them, Jerome spoke up. “Sorry about that. It seems he has a distrust towards adventurers. Anyway, I’m also in charge of the group in general, so I’m letting you know that you’ll be boarding the fourth carriage. We’ll depart in a few minutes so go ahead and get in.”

“Will do.” Elana replied, and she went to the carriage numbered four along with the Mountain Squad. More than half of the space inside was used up for cargo, but the remaining room was still just enough for the group of four to sit with sufficient comfort. Elana sat down at the frontmost free space which was practically right behind the driver, while the others took the remaining space. Now, all they needed to do was wait.

As previously informed by Jerome, the carriage began moving less than five minutes later. Perhaps on purpose, Jerome was also riding the same carriage, sitting next to the driver in front. He threw a glance at Elana along with a smile, and Elana responded by doing a similar gesture.

Elana then glanced at a different corner of her vision. Courtesy of the Probe Drone, she could see a live video of the convoy in bird’s eye view. From there she could see that other than the total of six carriages, there were also a number of soldiers on horseback escorting them. Currently all the soldiers were ahead of the carriages, but Elana expected it to change once they were out of the city.

Soon, the convoy passed through the city gates and proceeded south. Elana glanced at the live feed again and she saw the soldiers changing their formation, spreading to all sides.

“Sir Jerome?” Elana called out.

Jerome looked back and replied. “You can call me by just name. What is it?”

“The amount of escorting soldiers is pretty high. Is there something we need to be wary of?”

“Oh, nothing actually. This is merely formality, if you know what I mean.”

“You mean for display?”

“Correct. This is what all soldiers working under a noble family do when they have the chance. Keeping up images and all that.”

“I see.”

“But once we arrive, things may be different.”

“Hmm? Care to explain?”

“You might know already that the mine itself was filled with toxic gas until recently, so there should be no living creatures settling there. However, the nearby abandoned village may tell another story.”

“Abandoned village?”

“When the mine was still operational, most of the laborers were recruited from various villages. Some of their families chose to follow them and settle down there, thus making a new village. The village lost its purpose when the mine was closed, so nobody lives there anymore.”

“So the empty houses might be used as hideouts for bandits. Is that what you’re saying?”

“That’s a possibility since the last periodic inspection was two months ago. Anything can happen during those two months.”

“I see. We better be prepared for combat then. Thank you for the information.”

“Just leave the bandits to us!” Jerome laughed. “Inside the mines is when we will be relying on you!”

Elana only smiled without a word in response. She then moved herself nearer to the Mountain Squad and spoke. “Weapon status?”

“Everything’s fully loaded and ready to deploy anytime, Captain.” Lillie replied.

“Good. But the squad’s weaponry is likely too excessive, so in the case of combat against bandits let’s use only handguns at first and make further decisions from there.”

“Affirmative.” Lillie said. “You heard the Captain, guys.”

The other two guys nodded, then Ulysses took his handgun out and began performing an inspection on it. Meanwhile the last guy, Gregory Strider, leaned back to the side of the carriage and dozed off.

The trip was in general uneventful. Probably because of the soldier escorts, the convoy had no interaction at all with any passerby they encountered. The weather was fair and remained that way throughout the day, and as previously mentioned, the convoy was nearing the destination by dusk.

“The abandoned village will be in sight soon! Better get ready just in case!” Jerome spoke to Elana. Hearing that, everyone from Mountain Squad pulled their handguns out and held them in a way that they could instantly jump in if combat began.

Meanwhile, Elana reactivated the nanomachine link to the Probe Drone. She intended to use the bird’s eye view provided by the drone to her advantage. However...

Huh? Why is the drone...?

For some reason, the drone had relocated itself while Elana had not been looking. Its location now was quite far north.

Did Billy order it to move? But the only control device is right here with me. Guess I accidentally pressed something then.

With the quick conclusion in mind, Elana ordered the drone to go back to her position. It would take some time until it arrived, so for the time being the scouting advantage was lost and therefore she had to be as vigilant as she could. Following the Mountain Squad members, Elana also pulled her handgun out and put herself into a combat-ready stance.

Thankfully, no combat happened. The group of soldiers sent to scout ahead returned with news that the village was totally empty. Elana overheard the news and so she, along with the Mountain Squad, put the handguns down and tucked them back into their suit pockets.

“Good. Let’s set up camp there and call it a day.” Jerome said.

Later, a campsite was set up in the midst of the abandoned mining village. The sky was quite cloudy, obstructing a large portion of moonlight, thus the darkness and the empty houses around the encirclement of tents gave out some kind of eerie feelings for those who tried walking out of the campsite. In the very center of the encampment, a bonfire was lit, providing warmth and illumination around.

Elana’s group, along with Jerome and Robin, were sitting in a circle around the bonfire eating their rationed meals. Robin still seemed to be as unfriendly as before, trying to not make any eye contact with anyone from Elana’s group.

“Tomorrow your work will begin first thing in the morning.” Jerome said. “Are you all ready?”

“Anytime.” Lillie replied.

“As long as nobody gets in my way.” Robin said while still looking indifferent.

“Hey.” Gregory said. “We just met this morning, yet you act like we’re some dubious guys. What’s your problem, really?”

“Tch!” Robin clicked his tongue. “There’s no use explaining.”

“Why you-!” Gregory said with his voice raised, but Elana quickly put her hand in front of him, and thus he halted.

“Look.” Robin said. “I’m not here to make enemies or friends, but for work. Let me do my job while you do yours, and we can just forget each other once we get this over with.”

“He has a point, Greg.” Ulysses said, putting one hand on Gregory’s shoulder. “It’s our purpose here to begin with, alright?”

“Don’t you feel upset, even just a little?” Gregory retorted. “Being disliked out of the blue by a total stranger just like that?”

“A little, maybe.” Ulysses replied. “But we have no idea what kind of things he has been through. If he isn’t willing to share, let’s just respect that.”

Gregory didn’t immediately respond. After a couple seconds of silence he sighed. “You’re always like this, eh Uly?”

“Alright!” Jerome spoke. “You all got a lot of work to do tomorrow. Rest up and leave the night watch to us soldiers!”

The night then passed and morning came. Elana walked out of her group’s tent and stretched her body a bit. Now that there was some illumination from the sun, the abandoned houses didn’t look so eerie anymore. Some of them still looked pretty livable, in fact. Too bad that Elana couldn’t admire the scenery for long, because there was work to do after breakfast.

The abandoned village was located on uneven land to the side of a mountain. A long stretch of winding dirt road enabled easier access for carriages, although the road itself naturally had considerably worn down after being exposed to the elements without maintenance for years.

The mining site related to the quest was located further ahead, taking about half an hour of a carriage ride to reach. There were multiple mine entrances visible from where the carriages were parked. According to a quick scan courtesy of the Probe Drone, some of them were connected. But the fact still remained that there were multiple separated tunnels.

“We’ll start from this one. Don’t trip on the rails.” Robin said while standing in front of one of the entrances. He had two similarly-dressed subordinates, one male and one female, who were carrying some mechanical devices which Elana couldn’t quite comprehend what they were for. Regardless, the trio of surveyors went in and Elana’s group followed. Jerome and two soldiers were going in as well, being ahead of Robin’s group by a short distance while carrying some kind of illumination source which looked like flashlights at a glance. However, those flashlights were not being used yet because there were several active illumination sources sprawled along the side walls. Those light sources looked like wisps trapped in lantern-like objects.

“What are these lights?” Elana asked.

Jerome was the one who answered soon after. “Magic lights. They can last for years, and they are normally only put near exits.”

“I see.” Elana said. She then looked at Lillie and called her out. “Lillie.”

“Yes, Captain?”

“Remember what we talked about last night.”

“Yes.” Lillie nodded while looking straight ahead with a sharpened gaze.

Robin looked back towards Elana’s group and began speaking. “I don’t know what you talked about last night, but it better not jeopardize this expedition.”

“Let me assure you that it won’t.” Elana replied in a straight, professional tone of speech.

“We will try our best.” Lillie said, also in the same manner as Elana. “However, informing us about what your team will be doing and possible hazards to watch out for will be helpful for our performance. Would you be so kind to provide the information?”

“Tch!” Robin clicked his tongue and briefly gritted his teeth while his index finger adjusted his glasses. “What a waste of breath, but can’t be helped. Listen up!” He took a breath before speaking again without slowing his walking pace. “What my team will be doing here is to make sure that this mine is safe enough to be brought back into operation. That means, we will be checking the integrity of the timbers, presence of hazardous gas invisible to naked eyes, and other things which may potentially endanger the lives of miners who will be working here again.”

While Robin was speaking, Elana’s group activated their Torch feature, summoning light wisps which hovered above their heads and illuminated everything around them.

“I sure hope those aren’t fires or such.” Robin remarked with his eyes glaring on the light wisps.

“No worries.” Lillie said, looking up at the wisp above her head. “These won’t ignite flammable gas, if that was your concern.”

“Heh!” Robin said with a subtle smile that only lasted for a brief moment. “Finally I got some decent adventurers for once. Anyway, here’s our first stop.”

The spot the group was currently at was a four-way intersection with a thick wooden column right in the middle. Looking up, it seemed that the column supported the structural integrity of this intersection.

“This timber still looks sturdy at a glance, but don’t be fooled by looks.” Robin spoke while touching the column with one hand. Robin’s female subordinate also touched the column while the other hand moved in a telling way that she was casting a spell.

Both Robin and the female subordinate radiated green aura briefly, and so did the wooden column.

“As I thought.” Robin said. “It’s decaying from dry rot. Neil, it’s your turn.”

“Yes.” Neil, the male subordinate, approached the wooden column and immediately stabbed the center with a device which looked like a large syringe. He then cast a spell and the device briefly glowed red. Nothing else happened visually, and he pulled the device out. “All done.”

“Good.” Robin then slapped a sticker onto the wooden column. The sticker was yellow and it had some numbers printed on it. He then looked at Elana’s group and said “If you’re wondering, this means the timber has to be replaced within a year. What Neil did wasn’t a cure but merely a treatment to slow the decay.”

“So this is what you’ll be doing for the rest of this expedition?” Lillie asked.

Robin folded his arms and glanced at Lillie. “Mostly, yes. Anyway, let’s not waste any more time. We’ll go left from here.”

The group then headed left from the intersection. The tunnel was slightly wider than before, but the group’s formation remained the same.

Soon enough, Jerome halted and spoke. “The path’s blocked.”

Indeed, the way ahead was blocked by debris. Anyone could easily guess that the section had collapsed some time ago.

“I heard the details from Jerome last night. Seems it’s time to do your magic, adventurers.” Robin said, stepping aside to give way.

“Will do.” Lillie said right before equipping her exoskeleton suit. Ulysses and Gregory also equipped theirs, and Elana could hear someone whistling in awe at the spectacle. The trio then walked steadily towards the pile of debris and began their work.

Thankfully, the debris pile wasn’t a long one. Fifteen minutes later most of the debris had been moved away and the path was open. During the period, Robin and his crews had examined the ceiling from which all the rubble had fallen from and concluded that it was safe, and thus the expedition continued after Lillie and her squad unequipped their exoskeleton suits.

“Hate to admit it, but having you around is helpful, indeed.” Robin said with his arms folded.

The pattern of work remained the same for quite a while. The mine was a vast one, with each tunnel leading to more intersections as they went. At this point, it was natural to grow worried of getting lost. Darkness was no concern for the time being, but even the Torch feature would eventually run out of energy. Not to mention food and water, which would run out sooner than illumination if the worse case happened.

“Sir Robin?” Lillie asked while walking. “I don’t mean to doubt your skills, but... we aren’t going to lose our way, are we?”

“No worries.” Robin replied without looking. “Claune has been taking notes, and even if that fails we can follow the white arrows. Like that one.”

While speaking the last part, Robin pointed at the left wall. Indeed, there was a white arrow mark pointing to the opposite direction.

“Good to hear.” Lillie said.

Not too long later, the group arrived at another intersection. This time it was a three-way one shaped like the letter Y, and the group was coming from the foot part.

“E-Eek!” Claune, Robin’s female subordinate, suddenly shouted.

“What’s wrong?” Lillie asked while dashing to Claune.

“T-There’s a skeleton. Sorry...” Claune replied while averting her eyes from a spot. Her eyes were quite watery and it was clear she was holding it in.

Lillie came closer and lent her shoulder for Claune to bury her face on. “You don’t have to look if you don’t want to.”

“Indeed, there’s a skeleton here.” Jerome said while looking down at the left tunnel. “And another just behind it.”

Elana approached the left tunnel to see the skeletons for herself. Both of them were lying prone on the ground with their hands near their respective necks. They seemed to be wearing miner gears, although not much was left after all the years they had spent within the darkness of the mine.

“Victims of the accident, I presume?” Elana asked.

“Most likely.” Jerome replied. “Their pose implies that they choked to death. The toxic gas vein mentioned in the job is likely beyond this tunnel.”

“Give way!” Robin said, yanking a device Claune had been carrying from her hand. He then approached the tunnel entrance and pointed the device into it. There were several beeping sounds coming out from it. “Yes, indeed. This tunnel is dangerous. Nobody should take even a single step into it.”

Hearing Robin’s words, both Elana and Jerome immediately took a few steps away from the tunnel entrance, while Robin himself tucked the device into his coat pocket.

“I was exaggerating a little, but better safe than dead.” Robin said. “Let’s go to the other tunnel.”

The group then proceeded to walk into the tunnel to the right of the intersection. The marching pace was slower this time because now Robin’s group were extra careful, waving the detection device around as they walked.

“Sir Robin?” Lillie asked.

“Just... drop the ‘Sir’! Doesn’t feel good in my ears!” Robin said. “What is it?”

“The toxic gas inside the tunnel back there. What kind of gas is it?”

“Let’s just say that if you inhale too much of it, you suffocate and die. That’s what the tunnel is laden with.”

“Why is it not all over the mine now?”

“The tunnel slopes down, and that particular gas is heavier than air. Think of it like the tunnel’s flooded, but with gas. Understand?”

“Yes, I think. But it once covered the whole mine, didn’t it?”

“Right. But the gas itself changes over time, becoming similar to your regular air. Though I wonder why it happened this fast. I actually expected this to take at least five more years before we can survey the mine like we’re doing right now.”

“I see- Hmm?” Lillie turned her head behind. “Did anyone hear that?”

Robin stopped walking and turned around. “Hear what?”

“I think I heard clicking noises from behind.”

“What? I don’t hear anything. You’re probably mistaken.”

Elana raised her right hand and put her left index finger over her lip. All the others nearby immediately shut up by reflex. She then put her wristwatch closer to her mouth.

“Activate enhanced hearing mode.” Elana ordered the nanomachines within her.

The nanomachines responded with a single word only Elana herself could hear, since it was projected directly into her senses. “Affirmative.”

Click! Click! Click! Click! Hisss...

“Revert.” Elana quickly spoke while holding her forehead in slight pain and also mildly panting. But she soon regained her composure and looked at Lillie with a sharp glare. “Mountain Squad! Equip your suits!”

Lillie, Ulysses, and Gregory immediately equipped their exoskeleton suits without question. Meanwhile, Robin and Jerome along with their respective crews looked confused with a mix of worry written on their faces.

“What’s happening?” Robin asked. “Is something really there?”

“I heard multiple clicking footsteps and the hissing of a creature. No, multiple creatures. Do you know anything like that? Is it possibly hostile to us?” Elana asked, but nobody gave an immediate response. “Anybody!?”

“We should run.” Jerome suddenly spoke.

Elana stepped closer to Jerome within a second. “You know something? Speak.”

“I-I only heard this once from an adventurer long ago.” Jerome said. “He told me a tale of a Calamity Beast species that lurks in caves, known for their clicking footsteps and the hissing sound of their breath.”

“Captain!” Lillie shouted while preparing to pull out her weaponry. “The sounds are closing in on us!”

“What is it!? Hurry up!” Elana shouted at Jerome.

“It’s a swarm of red centipedes!” Jerome shouted back. “A cave or a mine like this is their home turf! We have no chance!”

Just right after Jerome finished speaking, the source of all the sounds came into view from the distant darkness of the tunnel. As Jerome had said, it was a swarm of creatures akin to centipedes, but each had the size of at least a python. Contrary to their name, the only body part which had the red color was the tip of their legs while the rest were dark brown. Interestingly, those red parts emitted light like neons in the dark. The movement of their legs would make a mesmerizing light play if not for the fact that they were Calamity Beasts.

“Fire at will!”

BRRRRRRRTTTTTT!!!

Lillie shouted the command while firing the gatling guns she had already pulled and wielded on both hands. Ulysses and Gregory did the same, raining a barrage of bullets on the swarm of centipedes.

“Run ahead while they hold them off!” Elana shouted to the others, who instantly ran for their lives without a second thought. She immediately followed right behind.

“Why!? Why do I have to-!” Robin said while running at the front. Claune and Neil were right behind him, and Jerome’s group was slightly further behind.

“Robin!” Elana called him out from the very back. “Is there an exit this way?”

“Eh!? Uhh...! Yes, there is one!” Robin replied. “But-!”

“Then lead the way as if your life depends on it, because right now it is!”

“J-Just keep following the rails!” Robin replied while running and running short of breath.

At the same time, Claune tripped and fell.

“Aaaah!”

Thud!

“Claune!” Robin immediately stopped and kneeled next to her. The rest of the group stopped as well. “Are you hurt?”

“I don’t want to die... Help me...” Claune weakly spoke with tears running down her cheeks. Her right knee was bleeding quite badly, and the same applied to her left elbow.

“Ah, come on!” Robin shouted, lifting Claune up and carrying her in a princess-carry stance within an instant, followed by running with all his might and making everyone else wonder from where the strength had come from. “There’s no way I’ll let you die after all these years together!!”

Hearing Robin’s words, Claune looked confused for a second and then she lowered her head with a blushing face. The group resumed running through the tunnel with the same formation as before.

“Are those three going to be alright?” Jerome asked Elana.

“They won’t go down easily and they know when to retreat if things go bad.” Elana replied with nothing but determination written on her face. “I believe in them.”

Soon, the group arrived at an area where the tunnel was notably wider, about the same width as the city’s main street. The railway they had been following along pierced through the middle ground of the tunnel, and there were magic lanterns similar to the ones back then, which meant an exit should be nearby. However...

“No...!” Robin stopped running and spoke in a tone which expressed disbelief. It didn’t take long for the others to see the cause of his grim expression. The path forward was completely blocked by rubble, likely the result of a collapse in the past.

“Is there any other exit?” Jerome asked frantically, at which Robin only shook his head in response. “No choice then! Body Strengthening!”

Jerome clasped his hands and his body glowed in red hue briefly. His muscles then expanded within seconds, resulting in a visibly athletic-looking body underneath the armor he was wearing. Not wasting any more time, Jerome began throwing the rubble blocking the way aside. The other soldiers helped him, although they didn’t use the same magic Jerome had used.

“We have to-! Use the time-! The adventurers are buying for us-!” Jerome spoke without stopping from shoving debris left and right with his strengthened body. However, before long...

BOOM!

A loud explosion was heard from behind. Everyone immediately looked and saw a puff of smoke at a distance. Before anyone could question what had just happened, three heavily armored figures, who were the Mountain Squad, emerged from the smoke, sliding along the rails with jet thrusters firing from their backs as propulsions. They stopped right before the group, and Elana immediately approached them.

“Report what happened!” Elana said.

Lillie immediately went into salute and replied. “The bullets from our gatling guns were not too effective against their carapace, but we still managed to slay a number. However, the rest of them started to spit on us and we chose not to find out what the spit does.”

“It’s explosively flammable!” Jerome said without stopping his effort to dig through the debris. “It explodes even from getting stepped on by the beasts themselves!”

“Rather than talking, how about you three help him get rid of all this debris before the monsters get here!?” Robin shouted while in the middle of bandaging Claune’s wounds together with Neil.

Hisssss!

Elana looked towards the source of the hissing sound just now and saw that the red centipede beasts had caught up. “Someone has to hold those monsters off. Ulysses! Gregory! Help Jerome! Lillie, hold the line with me!”

“Yes, Captain!” All three members of Mountain Squad replied. Lillie stepped forward towards the incoming beasts while the other two instantly folded their guns and went to the blocked path to help Jerome.

Elana pulled out a compact box from her suit which unfolded into an assault rifle within a second. “If you ask me, them being able to set off their own spit so easily doesn’t make sense.”

“They’re Calamity Beasts! They never make any sense!” Robin shouted again.

Elana didn’t pay much heed to Robin's words. All she knew was the fact that she and Lillie had to hold the line until Jerome, Ulysses, and Gregory managed to open the path to the exit. Therefore she glanced at Lillie and spoke. “Use armor-piercing weapons.”

“Roger that!” Lillie said. Within a second, her gatling guns folded themselves and disappeared into her suit, and then a new weapon unfolded on each of her hands. Unlike the gatling guns these weapons only had one longer, slightly larger barrel.

“Set this to armor-piercing mode and...” Elana quickly flipped a switch on her rifle. “Fire at will!”

BANG! BANG! BLAM!

The sounds of heavy firearms spitting their bullets echoed within the enclosed space of the abandoned mine. Each bullet coming out of the muzzle would fly through the tunnel at a speed impossible for normal humans to perceive. Each of them would then either miss their mark and drill a hole at the tunnel walls or floor, or hit a beast square in any body part of theirs...

...The latter of which was far more likely due to the fact that both the people firing their respective weapons were trained and experienced soldiers who had gone through many dangerous situations, and also the fact that there were so many of the centipede beasts that the whole tunnel at the distance was literally covered with them.

“Hey! How do you normally deal with those gross monsters!?” Gregory shouted as he threw a rock aside. “We’re foreigners who’ve never dealt with this kind of thing!”

“They’re Calamity Beasts!” Jerome shouted back. “Only high-ranking adventurers deal with those, and we’re not even adventurers!”

Elana and Lillie kept shooting at the coming swarm, steadily slaying one with every shot or two. But there seemed to be no end of the swarm as more of the centipede beasts kept coming out from the tunnel. Slowly but sure, the swarm advanced towards the group, creeping closer with each second passing.

“Dammit! How thick is this debris pile?” Jerome spoke in frustration. He was audibly running out of breath.

Robin, having finished bandaging Claune’s wounds, stood up and shouted. “Everybody cover your eyes the moment I shout!”

Without waiting for any response, Robin clasped the palm of his hands together and immediately began casting a spell. His hand moved in a quite intricate pattern with his eyes closed, then after a couple seconds he opened them and shouted. “Blinding Flash!”

Within an instant, Robin’s whole body emitted an intense light which would likely blind any human looking at it for a moment. Thanks to the forewarning, nobody got blinded by the bright light. Meanwhile, the centipede monsters became disoriented, walking around aimlessly and bumping each other. This made the job easier for Elana and Lillie, who kept shooting the monsters.

“Get to work! I can use the spell again but they might adapt!” Robin said.

“Hey!” Ulysses called out. “I can see sunlight!”

“Really!?” Gregory asked before looking at the remaining debris pile. “Oh, you’re right! We’re almost there!”

Expressions of delight and relief were all over the faces of everyone who heard the news. They were almost out of the cave which was swarming with centipede monsters. All they needed was a final push to get through the rubble.

“Greg!” Ulysses called. “Jackhammer!”

“Got it.” Gregory replied, and then both he and Ulysses pulled out a weapon on their right arms. As the weapons unfolded, it was shown that the weapon had a solid dark metal cylinder at its end, connected to the main body with a thick metal pipe. “Everybody stand back!”

Jerome, his soldiers, Robin, Claune, and Neil immediately stepped back to make distance from Gregory and Ulysses. Elana and Lillie, who was already several meters away from the two kept shooting at the swarm of centipedes, which had largely recovered from Robin’s blinding flash spell.

Meanwhile, a set of small spikes came out from Ulysses’ and Gregory’s metal exoskeleton boots. Those spikes pierced the ground around the boots within an instant, effectively planting their legs firmly to the ground they were standing on. Both of them then aimed their weapons toward the blocked path.

“Three, two, one, FIRE!” Ulysses shouted.

BLAM! CRASH!

The metal pipe of each weapon extended forward at an incredible speed, slamming the dark metal cylinder against the debris wall violently before retracting. All the rocks and pebbles were violently launched away from the spot, and what was immediately visible next was the brightness of sunlight. The exit was open, and it was right in front of their eyes.

“Oh no...” Lillie said, looking at the centipedes which began standing up. “They’re going to spit!”

“Get out of here now!” Lillie shouted as she replaced her armor-piercing weapons with a tower shield. The soldiers and surveyors immediately ran with all their might past Gregory and Ulysses who were still in the middle of folding their Jackhammer weapons and unplanting their feet. Not asking any questions, Elana dashed to the exit right behind Gregory and Ulysses who by now had finished and began running as well. She didn’t look back until the moment she stepped out of the mine, and right at the second she looked back...

BOOM! Drrrd!

A violent explosion occurred, shooting thick smoke and dust out of the mine entrance. Along with those, Lillie herself was also blasted off like a cannonball out of the entrance. Both Gregory and Ulysses caught her before she hit the ground and safely put her down on her feet. At the same time, the mine entrance collapsed, burying everything under it with stones and rubble and hopefully preventing those centipedes from coming out.

“Are you okay, Leader?” Ulysses asked. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No worries.” Lillie replied as she dusted herself off.

“Did we...” Neil said. “Did we really make it out alive?”

There was a complete silence for a few seconds before both the soldiers and the surveyors broke out cheering from the top of their lungs.

“We made it!” Jerome cheered along with his two soldiers. “We made it out alive!”

“I can’t believe it!” Robin said as he embraced Claune and Neil in a group hug. “We survived an encounter with Calamity Beasts!”

Elana let out a sigh of relief. The first significant job had turned into a deadly encounter with a different type of Calamity Beast, from which everybody thankfully made it out alive and relatively well. However, she still couldn’t let her guard down because those centipede monsters were still just behind those piles of rubble. The best course of action would be to get away, return to Arxhige, and report this to the guild.