First Day As A Porter

*Beep,Beep,Bee-*

Cyrus struggled to get out of bed, painfully aware that another day had dawned. As he stood by the bathroom window, he gazed at his tired and stoic reflection. He knew he was unprepared for the day, but he pushed himself to get ready to leave his home. Five long years had passed since the dreadful incident, and Cyrus had no one to look out for him. Thankfully, his parents had saved up some money for him to attend school, which he ended up using for rent and other expenses instead of school fees. However, due to his appalling appearance, he was unable to find a job, and people shunned him. He secluded himself from society, living only with the bare minimum to save as much money as possible. But this lifestyle came to an end, and he had to find work. With no other choice, he decided to work as an independent "Porter."

Porters were individuals who ventured inside gates with a team of hunters. Their main task was to retrieve any valuable miscellaneous items they could find during their run, as well as dissecting the corpses of the monsters that the hunters had killed.

Cyrus dressed entirely in black, donning a pair of black joggers and a black hoodie that concealed his long, dark hair. His hoodie was zipped up to the top, and he tucked his hair inside to further obscure his face. To hide his features even more, he wore a blue medical mask over his mouth and nose and a pair of sunglasses to cover his eyes. Black leather gloves covered his hands, hiding the deep scars caused by the burns.

"Another day to dread," he muttered, his voice muffled by the mask.

***

Two hours after leaving his home, Cyrus finally arrived at the designated location for his first porter's assignment. As he approached the gate, he couldn't help but feel a sense of nervousness wash over him. Gates were divided by ranks, ranging from the easiest 'F' to the most difficult 'SSS'. He took a deep breath and tried to compose himself as he saw a group of four people standing around and looking at him.

"Excuse me, are you Mister Cyrus?" asked the young man who appeared to be the leader of the team.

Cyrus nodded silently.

"Great, you made it just in time. My name is Clout and these are my team members - Rebeca, Claire, and Brutus."

The others greeted him somewhat aloof, but Cyrus remained silent.

Clout cleared his throat and continued, "Alright, let's get started then."

Cyrus simply nodded once again.

Clout appeared to be a youthful man in his early twenties, emanating a childlike optimism whenever he spoke. However, his square jawline, luscious blond hair, and crooked smile exuded a certain charm that could win over many hearts instantly. His tall stature added to his charismatic appearance.

Rebeca was an attention-grabbing woman, easily catching the gaze of most men who looked her way. She utilized her seductive appearance to her advantage, with her long red hair and pale complexion. Her tight-fitting dress highlighted her erotic figure, leaving little to the imagination.

Clair, on the other hand, looked small and fragile, resembling a little sister among the group. She had a short, mushroom-like haircut and wore baggy clothes. Anyone who laid eyes on her would be tempted to pick her up and toss her into the air like a child.

Brutus was the complete opposite of Clout in terms of appearance. He had a brutish appearance with enormous muscles covering his entire body, easily twice the size of his leader. Surprisingly, his orange mohawk suited him quite nicely.

"From my understanding this is supposed to be your first assignment as a porter. Please rest assured that no harm will come to you as long as were present."

"..."

"Before we enter, let me give you a quick rundown of our roles. Brutus is our vanguard and he's got an incredible ability that lets him boost his physical defense and offense. He'll be leading the way and acting as our tank, using his [Steel Stance] skill to protect us. Rebecca is our rearguard and packs a powerful punch with her [Fire balls]. She'll be dealing damage from a distance. Clair will be supporting us by slowing down our enemies with her [Sticky Glue] skill. As for me, I'll be fighting in the front with Brutus, using my [Blade Dancer] Sword skill to deal some serious damage. We're all F-rank and only have one active skill each, but we hope to grow stronger as a team and climb the ranks together."

All hunters begin their journey with one active skill, but as they progress and venture into the gates, they have the opportunity to find treasures, including skill books, which are rare drops from monsters or treasures. Unlike video games, skills do not have a set ranking system, and having the right combination of "Active" and "Passive" skills can turn a seemingly useless skill into a powerful one.

There is a well-known story about a hunter who possessed the seemingly useless [Stone Throw] skill. However, he managed to acquire other useful skills that complemented his Awakening ability. Through his training, he was able to evolve his feeble stone pebble into a powerful meteor-like attack that dealt massive Area of Effect (AoE) damage. This story illustrates that no hunter should underestimate or look down upon another hunter for having an Awakened ability that may seem weak, as that "useless" skill could one day surpass their own.

You're quite the quiet one, aren't you?" the hunter said, breaking the silence. "Not that I dislike it. Oh, one more thing, I'm sure you already know what kind of gate this is, but in case you don't, the gate we're about to enter is called the "Ant's Nest". Monsters residing inside are ants the size of a dog. They don't have any special features and are quite easy to deal with. The only thing to watch out for is not to taunt too many of them, as they get stronger the larger their numbers get. Do you have any questions?"

As the hunter finished speaking, he looked at the quiet individual with a friendly smile, trying to ease the tension.

"..."

"O-Okay! Let's get moving then!"

Cyrus followed behind them as they headed inside the F-ranked Gate, not knowing the event that would soon transpire.