Chapter 17: C-Rank Dungeon Raid

I looked around the baseball field and saw several well-equipped Hunters interacting with one another. Today was my first dungeon raid within an official Gate. I had to travel a little from home to reach Shinozaki Park, which was outside Edogawa City. I sighed and inspected the gathered D and C rank Hunters who stood around the large spinning blue portal. A Gate.

There were several Fighters, Tanks, and Mage-type Hunters. I looked over to a small coffee station and saw three Healers talking with each other.

No Rangers? I walked over and sat on a line bench and waited. I pulled out a picture of Chihaya Mifune. She was an attractive woman with blonde hair and purple eyes. Around the top of her head was a thick black headband. She wore a black suit with a light purple cloak over her shoulders. Her gear was lightweight, befitting a Healer. She's not here yet. I wonder if I can sneak in without her.

"Um, Hikigaya?" A rough but feminine voice called from behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Saki Kawasaki staring at me nervously. She was dressed in light blue and black workout gear. A grey backpack rested on her back, and she had a small dagger in her hand.

"Kawasaki." I said and walked over to her. She was scared and anxious about going into the Gate, which was understandable for a newbie. I'll be sure to keep an eye on her. I'd hate for my upperclassmen to get hurt on her first raid. "You look ready."

"Is that so? Well, good then." Saki said, looking over at the large spinning portal in the center of the field. Her eyes shook slightly. I sighed and looked away from her. Maybe I should comfort her? Then again, I don't know her; I'd probably creep her out.

"Uh, what's the dagger for? I thought you were in the Mage class?" I asked and looked over to her. Best I distract her from the spinning portal of death. Saki blinked and looked down at her cheap blade.

"Oh, I thought it might be useful in case something got too close to me." Saki said as she looked over me. I was dressed in a grey denim jacket over a black hoodie. On my legs were loose black jeans and a pair of midnight sneakers. "Aren't you, well, what class are you in?"

"Ah, I'm in the Fighter class." I said and rubbed the back of my head. I then looked around in search of our chaperone. "Have you seen Ms. Chihaya?"

Saki helped me look for Mifune around the field. As we walked around, we saw a small mining team preparing their gear and tools and a collecting team setting up their bags and carts. Saki grabbed my jacket to grab my attention.

"Hikigaya, over there." Saki said and pointed at a frantic-looking Chihaya as she looked around the field in a panic. That's whose in charge of us? Saki and I looked at one another and sighed. We made our way over to Chihaya.

The B-Ranked Healer finally noticed us and ran over to us. "I'm sorry I'm late! Please, please don't tell Ms. Hirastuka! It's nice to meet you! I'm Mifune Chihaya."

"Saki Kawasaki."

"Hachiman Hikigaya."

"It's nice to meet you two! Okay, let's go over how this is going to work! Since this is your first raid as trail hunters, you'll simply stick to me and watch how the experienced hunters operate. By no means are you to attack any monsters or leave my side. Is that clear?" Chihaya said with a surprisingly severe tone. Saki and I nodded, causing Mifune to smile happily. We waited another ten minutes for the raid to begin.

"Alright, everyone! Gather around!" A man dressed in green military-like clothes with black armor on his shoulders and limbs. "My name is Itami Yoji, a B-Rank Fighter Hunter. I will be leading this dungeon raid today. As you all know, it's designated as a C-Rank Gate. So, as long as we follow our usual attack protocol, we should all clear this dungeon without a single casualty. Today, we have two trail hunters joining our raid. So please be mindful of them, and let's show them what being a hunter is all about!"

All the gathered hunters began to whoop and clap at Itami's short speech. The closest hunters gave us words of encouragement, which Saki and I thanked them for.

"All right! Let's all head inside!" Itami yelled and entered the Gate. All twenty-five hunters began to march after him, slowly disappearing into the Gate one by one. The mining and collection team waved at the hunters as they entered the portal. Since we were at the back of the gathered hunters. Mifune, Saki, and I were the last to enter.

"Let's do our best, okay?" Mifune said with a smile and stepped inside. As I was about to follow after her, I noticed Saki standing frozen behind me. I turned to her questioningly.

"Kawasaki?" I said and watched the dagger in her hand tremble slightly. She was scared. While I'm not sure why she decided to pursue becoming a hunter, it seemed that her desire wasn't strong enough to make her forget her fear. I walked over to her and blocked the Gate from her sight.

"Why do you want to be a hunter, Kawasaki?" I asked and watched as she looked up at me with eyes. Saki grimaced and looked away from me.

"W-what's it to you? My reasons are my own." Saki said in what she thought was a tough tone, but it only sounded unsure.

"Are they important enough to die over?" I said bluntly. She jerked back and looked at me in surprise. Her mouth opened and closed. My question had thrown her for a loop. "We've both watched the introductory video by the association chairmen. We know the life of a hunter is a dangerous one. There's never a guarantee that we'll always return from a raid. But we know that going into this profession."

My words had their intended effect. Saki looked ready to call it quits and head home; her eyes shifted from the portal to the field's exit. But before she could leave, I spoke.

"But before you decide on anything, you should give it a shot. If, after today, you decide to quit, then no one can blame you. Just because you're an A-ranked awakened human doesn't mean you can't be scared." I lifted a hand and held it out for her. "Besides, Ms. Chihaya and I will be with you throughout it all. You can turn to us if it becomes too much for you. What do you say?"

Saki looked down at my hand and then at my face. Her face began to blush, and she nodded. As she was about to grab my hand, Mifune popped her head out of the Gate, Surprising Saki.

"Are you two ready?" Mifune said in concern. We both nodded and walked towards her. As we stepped through the portal, I missed Saki's slightly blushing face as she eyed my back.

Once on the other side of the Gate, I looked around at my surroundings. The raid team and I stood in a highly misty forest. It became impossible to see out further than twenty yards. Instead of luscious green trees, the forest was composed of dark and twisted trees you'd find in those American Tim Burton movies. The dirt beneath was pale, almost white. It reminded me of chalk as it cracked slightly under my body's weight.

The raid team looked around at our surroundings slowly and cautiously. Due to the mist, it would be challenging to keep up with each other if we ventured too far from one another. At the sound of flapping wings, I looked up at a grotesque-looking raven with glowing red eyes. It stood just outside the mist and looked hungrily over us all. When its eyes met mine, it squeaked in surprise and fear. It quickly took off deeper into the forest.

"Alright, everyone. Listen up." Itami called out, and we all gathered close. From the corner of my eye, I saw Saki looking around nervously as she shuffled closer to Mifune and me. "Considering the state of the dungeon and the visibility, We're going to break off into teams of four. That way, we'll be able to fight unhindered and not worry about possibly attacking each other by mistake. Since we have four Healers, we'll form a balanced team around them."

I nodded in approval at Itami's plan. It was well thought out and efficient. All the hunters broke off from one another and formed their small little units. I noticed several hunters looked over at Saki and me in dismissal. I didn't blame them; whoever teams up with us would practically be on babysitting duty. However, having Mifune with us made it very appealing to join our team, which is why four hunters walked over to us with excited grins.

"Hello! It's nice to meet you three. My name is Kaneko Jurou, a C-Rank Tanker!" Kaneko said as he waved at us. He was a relatively tall man with well-built muscles under sporadic pieces of bronze armor. His short and spiky hair was unruly, and his blue eyes twinkled with eagerness. In his hands were a large hammer and shield.

"I'm Suto Shoji, a D-Rank Fighter. It's nice to make your acquaintance." Suto said with a slight bow. He had long orange hair tied into a ponytail and green eyes. Suto was dressed in a brown form-fitting combat suit, and twin silver gauntlets sat tightly around his hands and fists.

"Ah, well I'm Kamiya Naoko. A C-Rank Mage. Let's work together, okay?" Kamiya said lazily as she nodded at Mifune and then to Saki and I. Kamiya had short black hair with long twin strands hanging beside her face while her long bangs covered a large part of her eyes. Beneath her bangs were red eyes that blinked tiredly. She was dressed in a ripped pink hoodie that exposed her strong stomach. Along her legs and feet were black tights that blended with her socks. Over her feet were a pair of white and pink Nike shoes.

"Mita Rika. C-Rank Fighter." Mita said plainly and nodded to us. Mita had straight blonde hair that reached her shoulders and purple eyes. She wore a short white cloak over her shoulders and a tight black body suit with combat boots. Around her waist were a pair of impressive daggers and a small pouch strapped to her back.

Saki and I introduced ourselves, and then they began strategizing on how we would proceed. Kaneko suggested he take point while both Mita and Suto followed his rear. Kamiya would stay in the center while Mifune followed closely. Saki and I would take the rear since that would be the safest position for us, considering we were just observing today. Everyone agreed on the formation, and we turned back to Itami.

"Everyone have their teams?" Itami asked and received several confirmations. "Good! Let's close this Gate!"

We began walking deeper into the woods in a line, each team following the next. My team had been the very last one, so we'd be the ones to watch the rear. It didn't make much sense to me to have the two newbies exposed in the back, but I suppose everyone is trying to look out for themselves. I can't blame them. I would, too, if I were in their situation.

"Kawasaki, was it?" Kamiya asked as she looked back at my blue-haired schoolmate with a lazy grin.

"Ah, yes." Saki replied as we marched onward. I could see the beginnings of a large mountainside with a large cave opening further down.

"Mifune here is telling me you're also in the Mage class. Be sure to pay attention to how I perform today. It'll be a great learning experience when it's your turn to fight." Kamiya said and held a peace sign. Mifune nodded and looked back towards us as well.

"Naoko's right! Be sure you take mental notes!" Mifune said cheerfully and played around with the deck of cards in her hands. I looked at them in confusion but dismissed it. It must be to help her relax or something. "You too, Hikigaya! Be sure to watch Shoji and Rika!"

"Got it. I am but humble clay." I said, causing Kamiya to chuckle.

We had finally reached the inside of the large cave opening and saw all the teams waiting for us. Itami nodded as he noticed us. "Good, now that we're all in the dungeon proper. We'll begin to see a lot of monsters start appearing. Be ready for that."

Walking deeper into the dungeon, we noticed large glowing stones in the walls. They acted as our light source, illuminating the cave as we traveled deeper. It wasn't long before the dungeon's monsters began to appear from the cave's many tunnels.

"RAAH!" Several goblins began to attack everyone with clubs, swords, and daggers. I watched as the raid team worked with one another to take out the goblins.

"Take this!" Kaneko yelled as he bashed a goblin into the side of the cave wall; before it could stand back up, he slammed his hammer into the goblin's skull. Killing it.

"You have already lost once we've met!" Suto said and attacked two goblins with fast punches. With a spinning backkick, Suto snapped one of the goblins' necks. The remaining goblin roared and slashed his small rusty dagger, but Suto quickly dodged. He then jabbed the goblin's neck, destroying its esophagus.

"Tch! I hate goblins!" Mita said as she slashed goblin after goblin with her blades. A goblin rushed out from the shadows and made to slam his club into Mita's knee, but she quickly spun over it. While in mid-air, Mita grabbed the goblin's head with her feet and pulled it into the air. She then threw one of her daggers into the goblin's exposed back, directly where the heart was.

"Begone, you wretched creatures!" Kamiya yelled and sent a blast of fire into three goblins, causing them to cry in agony as they burned. She smirked and then sent a thin blast of light magic into the goblin who was about to stab Suto's back, saving him. Suto looked back and nodded to her in appreciation.

"What do you two think? Pretty impressive, isn't it?" Mifune asked us as she spun a card around her fingers. I nodded slowly and continued watching my team fight. They worked well with one another; there were times when Suto and Mita would get in each other's way, but they quickly recovered. I wasn't overly impressed, but that fell more in line due to everything I'd seen and fought.

"Yeah." Saki said in awe as she watched everyone work. Her hands were no longer shaking, and a new look of confidence grew on her face. "I kinda feel bad that we're not helping."

"It's okay. You'll be allowed to join the fight on your next raid," Mifune said happily and returned to the now-finished battle.

I noticed that Suto had a long cut on his stomach. Blood flowed freely as he winced in pain. Mifune walked over to him and held one of her cards in front of her. Suddenly, the card began to glow green. With a toss, the card flew at Suto and sunk into his body. His body was enveloped in a green aura, and his cut quickly healed. Wow! That's a cool way to heal people!

"Thank you, Ms. Chihaya." Suto said gratefully. Mifune waved him off, saying it was her job to gel her party.

From that point on, the raid team continued fighting more monsters as we grew nearer to the boss. I even saw how they extracted essence stones from the monster's dead bodies. At some point, even giant spiders the size of dogs began attacking. At the sight of them, Saki had squeaked and hid behind my back. It seems she wasn't very good with spiders. Once the spiders were taken out, she had the decency to look ashamed.

"It's fine." I said as we walked deeper into the dungeon. The boss is getting close. "Don't worry about it."

"Are you sure?" Saki asked, slightly bowing her head. I nodded at her and turned to look forward.

The raid team had come to a stop in front of a large, flat clearing. The clearing was a large, hallowed-out cave that was rough and jagged. The ceiling above us was made up of sharp stalagmites and jutting boulders. Standing in the center was a giant scorpion with six claws. Instead of one tail, this monster sported two. They released a steady stream of acid that melted the ground upon contact. It looked over at us and roared a high-pitched screech. I looked over above its head and saw a silver title.

[ ACID BLOOD SCORPION ]

"The boss is in front of us!" Itami yelled and pointed his sword at the boss. "Everyone, charge!"

To call the battle hectic was an understatement. All four carefully planned teams broke apart and began attacking the Scorpion in a disjointed fashion. All the fighter-class hunters slashed away at the boss's ten legs. However, their swords could only chip away at its armor a little at a time. The Tanks protected the Mages as they rained magical attacks over the Scorpion's body in powerful explosions.

Saki and I watched from the safety of the entrance as the fight raged on. I noticed she was growing nervous and anxious as several hunters began to be hurt by the boss's several claws or tails. If it weren't for our Healers, I'm certain that at least four hunters would have died already. Mifune had us stay where we were while she supported the front lines.

"Hikigaya." Saki whispered. I looked over at her concerned face with my sharp eyes. "Should we help? I mean… I am an A-Rank, right? The highest-ranked person here. So, shouldn't I be helping?"

I hummed and looked back at the fight. While it was true that they were slowly working away at the Scorpion's health. The method they were using could have been more efficient. The majority of the hunters here were D and C rank. The strongest hunters the raid team had were Itami and Mifune. That meant Itami carried many of the hunters around him with his strength, speed, and skill. If I had to guess, the boss had to be within a low to mid B-Rank despite the dungeon being classified as a C.

"You heard, Ms. Chihaya. We're just supposed to observe today." I said lamely. "We're too inexperienced to be of any help. We'll probably get in their way if we rush in." That was a lie. I'd defeat the boss in no time flat if I wanted. But Kawasaki doesn't need to know that.

"I-I know that, but… I feel useless just watching." Saki said. A loud yell echoed in the clearing, and a flying body crashed into the wall to our right. The man slowly tried to stand up but winced in agony. He was bleeding profusely from his thigh.

"Hold on!" Saki yelled and ran over to the man. I followed behind her, and we slid next to the wounded hunter.

He was a middle-aged man with short brown hair and black eyes. He was equipped with a loose red martial arts gi and black armored gloves. I looked over to his thigh and saw it was barely hanging on due to his vastus lateralis muscle. His femur was snapped in half, and pieces of bone sunk deeply into the surrounding muscle.

"Ah, god!" The man cried in pain as he held his mangled leg. Blood from his artery vein was gushing everywhere. I quickly took off my belt and wrapped it tightly around his upper thigh. After tightening the belt, I looked over at the attacking hunters.

"HEALER! I NEED A HEALER!" I yelled and watched Mifune look over to me with wide eyes. She then broke off from the hunters she was supporting and ran in our direction. I looked at Saki and watched as she hyper-focused on the man's injury. "Kawasaki? Kawasaki! SAKI!"

"W-what?" Saki looked up at me in a daze; tears were in the corner of her eyes. I frowned and looked back down at the dying hunter.

"I need you to hold his head. He's going into shock!" I said and held his injured leg to stop him from thrashing around and making it worse. Saki mindlessly followed my orders and held the man's head.

"What are you two doing here? I told you to stay behind the entrance!" Mifune scolded us and began healing the man. Her hands hovered over his injury.

"Sorry, we acted without thinking." I said and watched as his thigh began to heal slowly. As it healed, Mifune instructed me to slowly move the bone into its position so it would set properly.

"HEY! Get out of the way!" We looked over and saw the Scorpion marching towards us; its sharp claws were repeatedly snapping as its hungry eyes were laser-focused on the man's bleeding leg. The hunter who had yelled at us was none other than Kamiya as she tried to pelt the Scorpion's tough armor with a volley of light and fire magic.

I narrowed my eyes and discreetly summoned my Black Knife dagger behind my back. While I didn't want to alert everyone, I was stronger than my rank indicated, and for the possibility that I could be labeled one of those reawakened individuals. I wasn't going to stand by and let anyone be killed if I could help it. As I was about to dash at the boss, Saki stood in front of us with her hands raised.

"I've had enough of just standing around and doing nothing! I can fight, too! I'm going to become a hunter!" Saki yelled, and a large pink flower of magic energy shimmered to life. In the next second, that same flower shot out from in front of Saki and tore a large hole in the side of the Scorpion. Holy shit! I watched in amazement as the entire right side of the Scorpion was missing.

As Saki was about to collapse, I dismissed my knife and caught her. I looked over as the Scorpion fell to the ground. Dead. I turned to look at Saki and saw her breathing heavily with a satisfied grin. She must've used all her mana in that attack. If I didn't believe she was an A-ranked hunter before, I know it now. At the same time, the image of that large magical flower reminded me of when someone else used a similar magic spell as a barrier. Was that Kawasaki as well?

Everyone in the clearing remained in stunned silence, but it suddenly filled with excited and happy cheers. The entire raid party ran up to Saki and congratulated her for finishing the boss. I helped her stand back on her feet and backed off. Saki looked around and thanked them for their kind words with an awkward smile.

"She's really strong." Mifune said from beside me. I looked back at the injured hunter and saw he had been appropriately healed, but he would have to go to the hospital to address the outer layer of flesh. Mifune had wrapped his thigh in bandages for the meanwhile. "Kawasaki must be within the high-end level of A-Ranks. I can't imagine how powerful she'll get once she trains her skills and abilities to their potential."

"Yeah. She's something else." I agreed and watched as one of the Tank hunters brought a large essence stone over to Saki. She looked surprised and tried to return it, but everyone insisted she take it. That thing must cost at least a few million yen. Gah! I'm not jealous!

With the boss defeated, we all began to exit the dungeon. The raid team had done their job, so it was time for the miners and collection team to strip the dungeon of its resources. As I walked with Saki, who was looking down at the essence stone with trembling eyes while murmuring something about money, I vanished into thin air using my camouflage skill. In her money-rambling trance, Saki didn't even notice me leave.

"Now then." I said as I stood alone in the clearing with the body of the dead Scorpion. "Arise."

[ Shadow Extraction is successful. ]

[ Shadow Scorpion Lv.1 ]

I watched a giant shadow scorpion covered in thick black armor rise from its corpse. Its large, glowing blue eyes looked down at me, and its upper body moved to bow before me. I smirked and nodded at my newest shadow soldier.

"Sasori." I said as I named my servant. Sasori bowed even lower. I then dismissed him and watched as he sunk into my shadow. "I would have preferred to have defeated you myself and leveled up some more, but things weren't optimal. I really hope this isn't the case for future official raids."

With my new shadow acquired, I made my way back to Saki and the rest.