trouble - evnne

7

As predicted, the hunters were tasked with mapping out the dungeon. The news was given through another telepath, Cha Woongki, who was temporarily replacing Seowon, as they were gathered outside the dungeon once more, this time joined by T-guild. "What happened to him?" Yunseo asked, out of pure curiosity. Woongki's lips turned down, "He passed out. From exhaustion, I believe. But it isn't your fault, if that's what you're wondering."

It was decided that the three guilds would split up among themselves to form temporary groups. "A mixture of your skills is deemed the safest," Woongki explained, "Because let's be real. We can't afford to lose any more hunters."

Everyone shared a grim look as Woongki carried on, "Also, we won't send everyone in, that'll be crazy. For the first raid attempt, we're thinking of having four from Evnne, three from Onepact and two from T-guild. How's that?"

"Sure, what about Zihao and Tianyue?"

"Who now?"

"They're foreign hunters, but they're strong," Jongwoo promised. Woongki pursed his lips, contemplating, then said, "Ah, they're adults, aren't they? They can decide for themselves."

"Hanbin and I will go, for sure," Keita said to Evnne, "Any volunteers?" Jihoo's hand shot into the air, and Jeonghyeon added, "My last raid was disappointing so I want to do better."

"Wow, how honourable of you-"

"You disrespectful little shit, I saved your ass last time-"

"Solid picks," Woongki cut the bickering off, obviously just trying to get his job done, "Please enter the dungeon as soon as possible."

"Alright!" Hanbin wriggled like an over-excited puppy, fingers trembling from the anticipation. "Take it easy okay?" Yunseo reminded, "This isn't a full on raid, we're just trying to map it out."

"How level-headed of you," Hanbin cooed, but promised to stay safe. As they approached the entrance of the dungeon, Junhyun suddenly asked, "Do we have a plan? Like, are we going to stick together or should we split up?"

After a moment of thought, Jongwoo said, "Maybe we should decide once you guys have a look at the dungeon. Because I assure you, it's nothing like we're used to."

Onepact's statements had not been an exaggeration. The second they stepped through the dungeon gates, it was as though they had been teleported elsewhere. The interior of the dungeon wasn't a constricted cave like the SS-class dungeon, nor was it a massive cavern like the ice dungeon. This supposedly A-class dungeon had an interior identical to the normal world, with a clear blue sky and a forestry surroundings. The only indicator that it was a dungeon was the swirling entrance behind them.

"This is crazy," Jihoo breathed, "It's just like our world."

"But more humid," Haruto complained, "Like a rainforest."

Onepact took the lead, having been in here once already. "The variety of beasts here is insane too," Jay informed, "There are flying ones and the boring land ones too but they're all equally annoying."

"One saving grace is that they're pretty dumb," Yedam shrugged easily as they trekked through the dungeon, of uneven, mossy ground and a serene, idyllic atmosphere. "Feels like a nature reserve," Keita cheekily noted.

Jay sighed, "It gets worse." And just as he said that, an ugly screech resonated above them and they looked up in time to see-

"Huh, looks like Pterodactyls," Junhyun remarked, "But they have...feathers?"

Keita flicked his hand and with a couple of nicely-aimed lightning strikes, shot the flying creatures from the air. "No more Pterodactyls," Junhyun said mournfully, earning a soft chuckle from Haruto as they moved on.