Part Ten – C-Rank Dungeon

Portal to C-Rank Dungeon

Type: Siege

Rules: Any number of challengers may enter. However, all challengers must enter within an hour. Dungeon will last one week and escape is not possible in that time frame. After one week, challengers may escape, at the cost of losing Dungeon clear rewards.

Misc.: Presence of NPCs detected.

Description: An entrance point to a dungeon.

Yep, this is exactly what I’d expect from a freaking C-Rank Dungeon. It’s pointlessly difficult and elaborate. No wonder they didn’t want to clear this one themselves. A whole week before you can even escape! And that might not even be all! What are NPCs? And why do we have to give up our clear rewards?

I was more apprehensive than ever. The sheer difficulty of the Dungeon had stumped me. And that wasn’t even counting what monsters were inside! Fuck! This is going to be a massive pain in the ass.

“Oh my god! Michael, is this similar to the one you went through?”

“No, that one was worse. Considering it only allowed one person inside and you couldn’t take any items in, I’d say it was far more difficult. Though I won’t know for sure until we see what monsters are inside”

That seemed to reassure her, as she’d heard of the horrors of the Nightmare Labyrinth. I wouldn’t even try to attempt another Dungeon like that. A single mistake could cost me my life.

“What do you think they’re talking about?”

Soon after we arrived, Cameron and the other leaders of the groups had met with those in charge. Presumably, they were hashing out the details of the operation.

“Probably boring stuff neither of us is any good at. I’d probably just cut someone’s head off after they pissed me off. And you’d just run away.”

“I would not! I’m a better negotiator than you! I can at least be civil!”

“Pffft. In what time-line? You’ve never once shown me any civility.”

“That’s-.” Heh, I win again.

Our comedic skit aside, the other mercenaries were observing us, so we’d been whispering to ourselves. I had no idea what these other people might be thinking, or what motivations they had. I’d have to keep an eye out. I feel like I’m getting more paranoid.

Looking around, there were close to a thousand mercenaries here. The promise of a large payout had drawn them in like moths to a flame. Well, we aren’t any different.

I took this opportunity to scope out their equipment. And I was not impressed. For people who were preparing to attempt a job of unknown difficulty, they were woefully underequipped. Most of the armors I could see were Soldier’s Sets, with a few Vagabonds thrown in. Admittedly, there were some I didn’t recognize, which could be better equipment that didn’t have a set. That I wore a completely mismatched set was living proof.

But I wouldn’t hold my breath. Most of the weapons were definitely E-Rank. Which were okay, until you came across a D-Rank that specializes in defense. Hm, but they’re different.

“Alicia, look over there, but don’t turn your head.”

She quickly complied, looking out of the corner of her eye at the group that was equipped much better than the others. With over thirty members, they were easily the largest group (considering most had around ten, we were easily the smallest) and they all had the specialized D-Rank sets. Or at least, I assumed they did. I recognized most of the armor they wore, having received it as a drop myself.

“Well at least someone else knows what they’re doing. Here I’d thought we would have to do everything.”

“Hey! That sounds like something I’d say. Why are you being so pessimistic? I’m sure the others have some useful Skills.” Must keep straight face.

“I wish they’d hurry up. I’m getting tired of all the odd looks. We don’t look that strange!”

I think that’s a matter of opinion. I know I must look rather odd. I’ve got dark green armor, which I think I should replace by the way, dark red gauntlets and boots, and what looks like a monster’s skull on my head.

“Ah, here he comes. How’d it go over there?”

“More of a mixed bag than anything lad. The larger group over there is in charge. Their leader's a man by the name of Braddock. He took control of the situation almost as soon as we started.”

The man in question had just rejoined his group. He was fairly large, at least six feet, and had a massive shield on his back. He’s probably some sort of tank. Add in his plate mail and he should make a pretty good wall.

“They decided on using a flat rate for purchasing Dungeon drops, based on the Rank. And they’re paying in Euros. Some of the other groups even sold some unneeded items they had.”

“So that should mean that they’re less likely to try and off us. Do you want to try selling some of ours?”

"That’ll help our financial difficulties. I’ll take some of the extra E-Rank stuff we have over.”

I quickly pulled out an extra E-Rank Magic Bag from storage and began to fill it with drops we didn’t need. After I handed it to him, Cameron went over to the officials in charge of exchanging items. Even with us losing those, we still had plenty of back-ups. In truth, we could have given them D-Rank stuff, but I figured that might draw unwanted attention.

“So what would you like to get as a clear reward?” Are we really doing this? Fine, I’ll play along.

“If I had to pick, I’d say either a new Skill Scroll or a new set of armor. Mine got pretty busted up during the fight with the spiders. It should hold for now, but any severe impacts will have it bust open like in an eroge. And no one wants see that.”

“Should I be worried that you just casually referenced that. What exactly do you do while we’re sleeping?”

“I plead the fifth.”

“That only works in America! And you basically admitted that you play porn games!”

Haaah. Why do I have to go through this? Everyone can hear you. So quiet down. Can I go kill things now?

“Can everyone quiet down for a few minutes? I would like to take this time to ask for your compliance.”

Oh? Somethings happening.

[Cameron’s POV]

He’d just finished up exchanging their excess items, when one of the other mercenaries had called out to everyone. The man had been part of the leader’s meeting and was very vocal about his disapproval of the country selecting the operation’s leader. This would surely be a continuation of that.

Oh, he’s over near Michael. This’ll probably resolve itself. If the young man tried anything too drastic, he was sure his comrade wouldn’t hesitate to stop it. In probably the most violent and extreme way possible.

“It is my belief that leadership should fall to those who are most worthy of command. Not those who are unfairly picked, due to ‘charitably’ donating unwanted items. This is a travesty and a farce!”

He proceeded to rant for five more minutes before asking the others to band together. There was zero response to that. When he realized that he was being ignored, he stormed back to the rest of his group. Glad that ended well.

“I guess some people just have no self-respect these days. Going on and on about what they think they’re entitled to. It’s a disgrace.”

Cameron turned in shock, startled that someone had snuck up on him. Braddock was well into his fifties and easily the oldest person here, but the air he gave off was of a different caliber. You could tell with one look that he’d seen his share of fighting.

“We didn’t get chosen to lead because we bribed them, those items showed we had the ability to fight better than anyone else here. That brat has E-Rank equipment at best. He’d stand no chance against a C-Rank.”

Here, he turned towards him and stuck out his hand. Cameron took it, intending on not offending those who were probably just as strong as their group.

“Good handshake. Very firm grip, but your not trying to crush my hand. I believe you can tell a lot by the way someone shakes hands.” He chuckled to himself here, amused by something.

“And it’s not just that. The boy you’re with, I’m certain his equipment is better than mine, yet you only turned in lower ranked equipment. Meaning you aren’t hung up on wealth. Ah, you don’t have to answer that, I can guess some of your reasons.”

Just as he was about to reply to him, screams rang out from behind them. Ahhhh, he really did do something.

The loud man from before was laid out on the ground, while Michael was menacing a small group of people who were presumably his allies. Since he held both of his swords, he was clearly ready to fight.

“Oh? Looks like someone has a short temper.” At least he’s amused by this. “Still, couldn’t he have handled it better than that? He’s obviously much stronger than them.”

“Doubtful. This is him holding back. We’re just lucky no one got killed. Or beaten within an inch of death.”

It wouldn’t be the first time. He’d outright kill anyone who tried to harm them, and the one time someone tried to rob their hotel room, he’d beaten the man senseless before kicking him into an alley. Michael just had no tolerance for people who tried to take advantage of him. He wasn’t normally violent, it was just that in certain situations, something in him would snap.

“Wow. I can’t tell if he’s brave or reckless.”

“It’s a bit of both. I’ll go pull him off, or who knows how long we’ll be here.”

[Protag’s POV]

“Come on already! If you’re going to bitch about me flooring your ass of a leader, you should be able to back your words up. All you’ve done is cower like a bunch of puppies. Where’s your balls?” all of this was said in a low growl, made as menacing as I could.

Why the hell do I keep getting into these situations? All I did was punch the creep who kept hitting on Alicia after she’d told him to back off. So why am I the bad guy?

All of this started from a bit of bad luck. After his attempt to gain control failed, the entitled oddball had started going around trying to convince people individually. At first, he’d ignored us, since there were only two of us, but after an abrupt gust of wind pulled down the cloth Alicia wore to conceal her identity, he’d made a beeline straight for us.

Basically, he was trying to pick up women. Which is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard! Why would you do that in such a tense moment? It makes absolutely no sense!

Alicia obviously wanted nothing to do with him, but no matter how many times she rebuffed him, he wouldn’t leave. I did find Alicia quite attractive admittedly, but this wasn’t the time for romance. Something this buffoon didn’t understand. Until my fist drove the air out of him.

Which is how we got here. By the way, Alicia was currently holding her head like she had a migraine. You could help me a little!

“Alright, break it up! Anyone who continues to fight will be barred from the operation!”

This came from a somewhat foppish looking man. He looked completely out of place compared to everyone decked out in armor. But since he clearly had command here, I quickly complied. I’m not crazy enough to get thrown out of here. Who knows what rewards await!

I quickly rejoined my companions, only to be met with Alicia’s death glare. Cameron was behind her, holding a sack full of money.

“I can’t believe you did that! What happened to keeping a low profile?”

“Things change. And why are you upset? He was harassing you. Did you think I would just sit by and not help?”

“No, but you didn’t have to escalate it like that! You could’ve just told him to back off.”

“Guys like him never listen. My sister dealt with plenty of his type and it was always me who had to drive them away.” Though that’s because my sister is the world’s timidest person. How she manages to sing on stage is beyond me.

We continued to talk amongst ourselves until the foppish man came back. Since he was in charge, I expected him to clue us into what was going on.

“My name is Kazeth Aleic Forzerenth and I am the Director of the Africa branch of the Allied Committee of International Defense. As such, I have a great deal of sway within the organization and the world at large.”

This was surprising. I’d expected this to be something that Ethiopia was doing on their own, not with assistance from the Committee. This could become a bigger pain in the ass than I thought.

“Now as I’m sure you’ve all gathered, this assignment will be to clear the Dungeon behind us. A Dungeon, I must admit, that our friends at the Ethiopian National Defense Force attempted to clear three times. And you can all see the outcome of those attempts.”

This sent the crowd into a frenzy. That a Dungeon was able to overcome three attempts was a testament to its difficulty. This’ll make some people drop out for sure. But at least that explains why he’s here.

The defensive lines were manned by either the militaries of UN member states, or by soldiers of the Committee. Though sometimes it was both. After Ethiopia failed to conquer the Dungeon, they must’ve reached out to the Committee for aid.

“Now I know this might have scared you, but anyone who is not as confident in their abilities is more than welcome to leave.” He said this with a sneer, deriding any who would actually leave.

“No one? Well alright then! Now a few ground rules. First, there will be no military aid inside the Dungeon. They’ve suffered enough losses, thank you very much. Secondly, anyone who leaves the Dungeon before it’s cleared will forfeit their compensation. There will be no exceptions. Finally-.” He paused here, as if contemplating his words.

“The Ethiopian government and the Committee are not liable in any way for anything that may happen inside the Dungeon. Also, this is a test case. While the Committee does not condone freelance hunting, we do not forbid it. Depending on how this goes…..Well, I’ll leave that up to you. He He he."

With that, he left us to our anxiety and anticipation.

The remaining soldiers soon got everyone who would participate, which was over 95%, in an orderly line. Since there was a time limit on entering the Dungeon, they had to do everything they could to ensure everyone got in. When the captain yelled to start, everyone began to file in. When it was my turn, I stepped through the portal and everything went white.

::Entry to C-Rank Dungeon Confirmed.::