3 Rattling Antlers

"Alright, this is how we are doing it huh.....If I didn't need you guys for money I would have simply made all of you into fire-crackers ! Schools need to teach students how to defeat the most common monsters encountered in dungeons. Orcs are quite common so students learn about them. How do you want to explain where to strike on a creature's body ? You use it's corpse to actually explain with your own hands so that the students would get a mental image. That's the base...I swear if I wasn't there when the team was made I would believe you are all dumb as hell !" Thus was the response given by the arrogant fire mage who glared daggers at his teammates, especially the tank.

"You know damn well why we have....." Before he could finish his sentence, the tank looked at Sen and lowered his voice even though the porter was a few meters and had very little chances of being able to hear them. The hulking mass of muscles with his messy black hair then continued.

"Limited information on such topics."

The fiery mage sighed deeply as though he regretted all of the decisions that had taken him to this very moment, and in a very annoyed voice, he whispered.

"Yes, though I do regret it, I indeed know. You can't sacrifice everything for the sake of efficiency, but I guess you are all too moronic to get that. Anyway, let's get back to business. Since I proposed the idea of selling the corpse to a school, I have another proposition, twenty percent of the shares goes to you guys and the rest is mine. " The mage said as he pointed to himself with both of his hands. His innocent smile might have been able to fool those who didn't know him, but his teammates were very much used to his antics. They knew he was serious.

"You....WHAT ?!" The leader suddenly yelled, his grip on his long grey iron staff tightening.

"Oh ? What is that ? You suddenly seem very invested when money is brought up, huh ?" The mage said, mocking all of his teammates as his pointed finger went from left to right.

"Hojosa, this is a bit too unfair. Eighty percent just for you is understandable since you did most of the damage and proposed the idea. However, we are a team." The shy healer girl who had previously been too embarassed to interrupt, suddenly appeared in the conversation.

As they continued to bicker between themselves, Sen finally got over his terrible feeling and found out he could walk somewhat normally again.

'What in god's name was that ? My throat burning up, my legs and arms just not willing to work....Are those unregistered effects of high mana exposition ? Surely it can't be just that. But I don't see anything in this room that could have an effect on me.'

Since he couldn't understand what was happening to him, Sen decided to get back to the team just in case.

"Oh, our dear porter didn't die in the end ! Good, with vipers as my teammates I was certain I would be the one to take responsibility if you passed away. " The fiery mage said as he moved towards Seneos while being very expressive with his body language, almost like he was dancing. It appeared to be one of his usual antics, to utilize his body as another way to express himself, so no one except Sen paid any attention to it.

"I am feeling better. I really don't know what happened. I was feeling horrible and I knew why a few minutes ago, I am certain I did. Now I can't remember for some reason. " Sen said.

"Uhh...Okay, let's just ignore that and go back home. My little sister has a fight tonight and I am not missing it." The tank said as he crouched and grabbed the orc like a sack of potatoes. He laid the corpse on his left shoulder and kept it in place with one hand while the other fished out his phone.

As he began to play on it, the shadow mage adopted a weird expression.

"What do you mean by that, Mr. Porter ? You knew why you felt like that and then randomly forgot the second after ? "

"Yes the reason was clear to me, I know that. I am certain of it. I can remember being scared for some reason while my throat started to feel like someone had poured boiling oil inside of....Inside of...." Sen trailed off, his mouth opening and closing like a gaping fish as he stared at something. Whatever it was, it made Sen look over the shadow mage.

This had all the members of the team wonder what had their porter looking at something so high on the walls and they all followed his line of sight.

One by one, they all got the same expression.

A rictus of horror etched on every one of their faces as they stared at it. It moved after sensing that it had been detected.

It's every step shook the ground they were standing on, and rubbles fell off of it as it approached them. It's body was so tall it was actually destroying the ceiling, it's antlers running against the hard stones.

Amidst the falling rocks, they could somewhat make out it's humanoid face though what struck them instantly were the two burning suns that served as it's eyes.

The collapsing ceiling made it hard to take a good look at it's monstrous features but those eyes, and that expression of pure boredom as though the hunters it was currently observing were nothing more than ants.

Be it the healers, the tank, or Sen himself, almost everyone was frozen as though time had stopped completely. There was one however who seemed a little too comfortable in comparison to everyone else in the room.

The fiery mage stepped out of the group and approached the gigantic creature that slightly crouched to take a good look at him.

It cracked it's neck, it's antlers making small noises due to the various golden bells attached to them. Those noises could have been perceived as cute in another situation, but they spelled nothing other than doom at that exact moment.

"Alright you fucker, let's see what you've got. "

The mage and the monster got closer to each other once more, the monster putting down a knee to meet it's human adversary. It's impossibly lithe body and long neck gave it the look of a serpent as it got down.

It was almost completely laying down on the ground to look at the hunter, eye to eye, and they simply stared at each other. In that instant, the shadow mage recovered her voice in time to warn him.

"H-Hojosa...."

The fiery hunter didn't even register who had called out to him, he simply stretched his right arm, a small flame appearing in the palm of his hand.

The small flame suddenly became a raging fire that seemingly devoured his hand, and he just smiled.

"I am going to need your assistance in this fight guys, that much is true. I ain't no fool, but for a few minutes...For three minutes let me go all out on this thing." Hojosa said as his hand reappeared through the fire with three of his burning fingers.

Hojosa walked the last few meters he needed to actually be right in front of the beast, and he chuckled. He could feel every fiber of it's being through the way it breathed, through the way it's eyes moved to glare at him like two flaring stars looking to outburn him.

He didn't attack though, he made a wide gesture with his two arms and suddenly....grabbed the face of the creature.

Not only did he grab it, but he also started to feel it. As though he was examining a piece of meat. His chuckled returned, but a little louder this time.

"Hahahaha...Yes. Perfect. This...This will burn nicely !"