"Alright, gang! Time to hunt down some scorps!"

So said Brak, the so-called boss of the adventurer party, the "Cheerful Hunters". I gotta say, they are living up to their name. Always making jokes and fun. I'm so out of my league...

Who am I? Maybe I should start from the beginning.

My name is Mira Aureola. A peppy Light Sprite who was born and grown in the slums of Solomar, the demon-filled volcanic city located south on this continent.

Those days were lovely. I lost my dad, saw my best friend getting shipped off to somewhere I got no clue of, got sent to a combat school when discovered by "scouts" who searched the slums, and got to learn swordsmanship to the point where I could amass enough money to smuggle myself out of the city. Good times indeed.

Yeah, I'm not a good fit with these guys. But, a job's a job, and it pays well.

Brak Tejat, the party leader and Magic Swordsman who wears a cowboy hat and is armed with an estoc, stabbed one of the scorpion monsters with his weapon entwined with tornado-like wind, penetrating the creature's exoskeleton.

"Boss! You shouldn't crush the shell that much. It'll lower the loot's value."

The one complaining just now was Grubble Alshat, a Hobgoblin. His class is Looter, a scout-line class focused on transporting goods and skinning monster corpses. His weapon is a knife, but he's not for using it and rather relies on the bombs he has stored in his pockets.

"No need to make a ruckus. There is still much we can salvage."

That's Lester Belel. An Elf that has the Scholar class which focuses on gathering and recording information. He and Grubble seem to be the ones responsible for gathering materials. He's also damn good with Water-type magic. Even now he's keeping two scorpion monsters in check inside spheres made from water. Quite cruel for someone as scraggy-looking as him.

"...hmph!"

As for the guy who just crushed the skull of a scorpion monster just now is Terd Gakyrid. He's a warthog Beastkin, so he looks like a bipedal, humanoid warthog. Doesn't stop him from using his Warhammer with style, wearing his armor without any problems, or pushing back the big scorpions without batting an eyelid. He's showing that he's worthy of that Sentinel-class of his.

"And heal~."

The one casting a healing spell just now is Siris Larawag. Her class is the Cleric, which uses divine miracles to cure others. She's a human-like Brak..., or so she says, but I feel there is something more going on with that girl.

In any case, these guys are the five members that make up the "Cheerful Hunters".

"Mira! Get the big one!" - Brak

"Sure." - Mira

I jumped on the carriage-sized scorpion's back before it could react, then I stabbed its head before it could process what was happening. The scorpion (I think it's called a Sandwalker) tried to throw me off, but too late. After a few seconds of the wild ride, the scorp fell dead on the ground.

Meanwhile, Brak had taken care of several dog-sized Sandwalkersthat that tried to attack Siris. And covering Brak was Terd. He's just finished smashing the final Sandwalker...

"Hey! You can't salvage anything from bone dust!" - Mira

"......sorry." - Terd

You better be! Because one-quarter of the profits has my name on it!

"Now I get why you hired Mira." - Siris

"What? You thought I asked her just 'cause she's a beauty?" - Brak

"Yup." - Grubble

"It would not be the first time." - Lester

"...Mhm." - Terd

"Aw, come on!! You guys always talked about how you wanted another attacker, didn't you!?" - Brak

"Yeah, but leader's leader after all." - Lester

"What he said." - Siris

"Can I go and cry now?" - Brak

Ouch. It's not just a drought for water in this region, but respect as well.

The strategies in fighting scorpions are to either crush the monster, destroy the scorpion with magic from afar, or strike the gaps in the exoskeleton. No need to say that the last choice is the best one when the goal is to obtain decent stuff to sell at the Union, and I haven't been training with this sword here for so many years for nothing.

"Now that you mention it, I've never seen anyone use the sword so skillfully. It shows that leader's skills are just something he bought with Skill Points." - Grubble

"Alright, Grubble. You said you wanted a free vacation? Then you go!" - Brak

"GYAAAAAHH!!" - Grubble

With that, Brak's patient snapped and he sent Grubble flying. Literally. ...is he gonna be alright? That wind-type spell seems to be far from what your average Joe could use.

"No worries. This is their usual routine." - Lector

"No, no, no. Nobody blows people away with wind spells as if they were doing a comedy gig," - Mira

"Grubble has obtained [Wind Resistance] after all these years. He will be fine." - Siris

No, excuse me? If he had resistance to it, then the spell should have failed in blowing him away from the start.

*CRASH*!!

I knew it. Better go and patch him up-

*Rumble, rumble, rumble*

"Whoa-!? Earthquake?" - Lester

The ground shook all of a sudden and forced us all on our knees. It lasted for half a minute, and after it subsided, we saw a dust cloud on the horizon, close to the mountain..., I-don't-remember-its-name. I'm new to this region, so cut me some slack.

"What was that?" - Mira

"I don't know, but I smell money from it. Get Grumble on his legs and keep moving." - Brak

Siris followed Brak's orders and went to cast a healing spell on the unconscious Hobgoblin. I'm all for money, but shouldn't you treat your friends a little better?

---

"This is one heck of a cave..." said Grumble, looking no worse for wear than before getting hit by that magical tornado, as we looked into the cave that the earthquake had uncovered for us.

The hole in the mountain led to an underground labyrinth filled with glowing-blue crystals. Several unknown monster species could be seen even from the entrance, and the whole atmosphere reeked of unknown danger.

"Let me guess. Dungeon?" - Brak

"It is a Dungeon, alright. What should we do?" - Lester

The Scholar had deduced the identity of the caves, but the question of what we should do was still unanswered. After thinking for a while, Brak finally concluded.

"We're taking a look at this place, gather some evidence, then flee with our tails between our legs. A hidden Dungeon in this location has to be somewhat related to the drought. I'm willing to bet my favorite hat on it." - Brak

True. This mountain was rumored to be the source of the drought. So an unknown mystery Dungeon built inside the mountain got to give us some clues on what's going on. My only problem is...

"We're not trying to figure out what is going on by ourselves?" - Mira

"Please. I'm in no hurry to die. And this here's way above our abilities. We got to have the Union's full support if we want to understand what's going on." - Brak

That's...reasonable. Fame and cash are awesome, but only if you're alive and capable of using them.

"Then we shall do that." - Siris

"...fine with me." - Terd

"Okay, gentlemen and ladies. If you have no objections..., what're you looking at, Grumble?" - Brak

"Nothing... I think. I thought I saw something over there," said Grumble and pointed at an empty spot.

"There isn't anyone there. Did you hit your head or something?" - Brak

"Yes, I did! And whose fault do you think-!" - Grumble

"Let's keep a move on, people! Drinks are on me when we return!" - Brak

With skilled moves, Brak ended the conversation (or rather, prevented the blames from being fired at him) and made our group go deeper into the Dungeon.

...there is nothing there, right?

---

"Okay, I think that's enough." - Lester

Lester gave us the go-time after having studied the crystals, the dirt, the water, and the monster corpses of everything that's tried to attack us when we were busy investigating the Dungeon.

"Damn snake," said Terd as he inspected the sorry remains of the reptile that had been greeted by the business end of Terd's Warhammer.

"What? Snake got your tongue?" - Grumble

"Too hard. These aren't normal snakes." - Terd

I agree with him there. My hands are still numb after I tried to cut them apart. I know they got scale armor and all that, but smaller-sized snake monsters are supposed to be slick and speedy. Not tough and durable.

"It seems they are a mutated species unique to this Dungeon." - Lester

"Huh? How's that possible?" - Grumble

"Is it that weird?" - Siris

"Why, yes. Dungeons can spawn practically any monster species that are registered in the World System, but these snakes are not. It is almost as if this Dungeon has created its own, independent system." - Lester

"...okaaay, that's more than I imagined." - Grumble

"And way past our payroll. Wanna split?" - Mira

"You heard the temp. We're leaving!" - Brak

About time. This place is freaking me out. It feels like I'm back in the slums for some reason...

"*SHHAAAA!*"

"What the-!?" - Grumble

A large roar, or maybe a shriek, came from behind us. And it came from a snake. A big one. Too big for my taste. Except that it would be a lovely wallet if it wasn't, you know, alive and monster-ish.

"Crap, where did that come from?! Terd, Mira, to the front! Siris, get ready to use those support spells at a moment's notice. Lester, you're on watchman duty. Notify us if something gets too close for comfort. And Grubble, you're with me. Get those bombs flying!" - Brak

"Roger!"

The "Cheerful Hunters", who didn't live up to the first part of their name right now, moved quickly after hearing Brak's commands. They got some real teamwork going on. Guess the latter half is their true name.

I joined with Terd on the frontline after being given a defense-improving support spell from Siris. Terd had already gotten him, and prioritizing him was a smart move. The big snake had done the same and slammed the poor warthog-man with its gigantic tail. Despite its size and power, Terd survived. More than that, he's holding the tail in a place like a winch. The snake's between a wind spell and a solid pig. Literally.

Just as I made my jokes, several bombs went off by the snake's head. The creature tried to escape, but Terd didn't allow that. Instead, it got its left eyes (yes, it got two pairs of eyes on each side) blasted by shrapnel, and right after, it got a lance-like tornado striking its jaws.

"This creature does not seem to be used to fighting an equal opponent. We got it!" - Lester

Ever the Scholar. But he's right. If the snake had some experience, it would have tried to move only its head and not its whole body when the bombs struck. Big stats and fancy skills are worthless if the user is.

The battle continued, with Terd being the MVP for keeping the snake on one spot, and Siris being the #2 for keeping Terd's strength at max value. The snake seemed to notice that, so it tried to shoot large volumes of water at the girl, so I had to protect her by splitting the water blast into two every time. Sorry, pal. But you're not the only big beast I've faced. If you want to play with the experienced ladies, you gotta prepare to be burned.

Speaking of burned, Grumble's bombs, delivered by the "Brak's-wind-spell" air service, are giving a world of hurt to the reptile. It got burns and wounds all over its head. Not enough to surpass what Lester says is its self-recovery skills, but we should reach that point soon. Just how deep are that Hobgoblin's pockets anyway? He's used enough explosives to take down a whole neighborhood already.

Now, I've been only on guard duty for now. It's about damn time I got into the-

*CRASH*!!

...action? Hmm? A stalactite?

The snake we had been so busy fighting with all this while had met its abrupt end from a piece of rock falling from the ceiling and crushed its skull. With all its contents. And seeing how my level has not increased from this big creature's death...

"Someone dropped that rock." - Mira

"Go figure. Lester, did you see anything?" - Brak

"I think...it was a...demon? Sorry, I cannot say for sure. It was enveloped by some dark...fog that I have never seen before." - Lester

A demon? In this place?

"Whatever the case, we should leave for real now. I don't want to face more of this thing-" - Brak

"Wait!" - Siris

"Something's wrong?" - Grumble

"We have to take this guy back! Can't you imagine how great-looking a purse made from this creature's leather would be?" - Siris

I hear you, sister! The men don't seem to share the sentiment, even as they prepare to store the snake's corpse in Grumble's deep pockets (aka, his Storage-type skills). Not my loss, so I don't care.

...a demon, huh.