Selection

The Crystal Core emitted a projection light, which showed a group of humans hunting for monsters in the thick of the pine trees. They killed anything they came across without hesitation, even if the monsters weren't life-threatening.

It had been three days since the Clearance operation had been carried out in his Dungeon. During that time, Isaac only observed the movements of the intruders who entered his territory, on the 1st Floor.

From his observations, the way the Nine Sky Guild and the Siberian Knights swept the Dungeon had a similar pattern. They moved in small groups and kept the distance between the groups less than 100 meters. So if one group was attacked by a stronger enemy, they could quickly get help from another group.

"It's as if they are dispersed, even though it's only expanding their reach. Clever strategy."

Isaac smiled.

<Information>

[Name : Kang Suh]

[Race : Human]

[Type : N/A]

[Class : D]

[Level : 17]

…

<Information>

[Name : Ling Wu]

[Race : Human]

[Type : N /A]

[Class : F]

[Level : 17]

…

<Information>

[Name : Fei Li]

[Race : Human]

[Type : N/A]

[Class : B]

[Level : 19]

…

[... ]

His eyes were focused on the data that contained rows of letters and numbers. What he checked was the status information belonging to the Nine Sky guild members. The reason he checked on their status information was to sort them out; which human he should keep alive and which one he should get rid of. In other words, Isaac was selecting the guild members.

Even though Nine Sky was currently a threat to his Dungeon, the guild was still part of his pawn. He wouldn't kill all the guild members, only those with a Class below C. If all of them were killed, it would naturally raise suspicions. If the other two guilds that entered this Dungeon were wiped out, and only the Nine Sky guild was left. 

After a long time of checking the status information of all of them, Isaac finally finished. He clicked his tongue when he counted all of them.

"Out of the 1000 members, 800 have a class below C."

This result made Isaac feel a little disappointed. Then, a voice entered his head.

"Lord! Pippi come to deliver a report! 3000 identified humans approached the blacksmith's forge. Report completed."

Isaac smiled. "Good."

He then opened his smartphone and sent a message. 

"Okay, Pippi. You go to Floor 1 and take 500 D class monsters with you to the southern region. Send 100 monsters to guard the teleportation gate connecting the 1st and 2nd Floors. It's time for our operation."

"Roger, Lord!"

Isaac licked his lower lip as if he was about to enjoy a delicious meal.

.

.

.

[Grassland, Floor 1, Isaac's Dungeon]

"It's over there! The monsters!"

A man with a horizontal wound on his face exclaimed. He dashed through the thriving fern grass, along with nine of his men, attacking a pack of hunting direwolves.

"Awwoooo!"

The wolf monsters didn't want to lose either. They howled, then charged towards the attacking humans.

"Hey!"

Slash! Slash! Slash!

"Kainggh!"

Splat! Splat! Splat—!

Within seconds, the pack of direwolf fell lifeless on the ground. Their red blood stained the armour worn by the Hunters.

"Fuck! Why do we have to hunt those damn weak monsters?"

One of their members seemed to be complaining while kicking the corpses of the wolf monsters. Then, the man with the horizontal wound on his nose smacked the man's head.

"Ow! Damn—" He was about to curse at the person who smacked him on the head, but after finding out who it was, he quickly grimaced. "Hehe, sorry Captain Chen Wei."

Captain Chen Wei snorted. "Stop complaining, Xue Yang. If the Leader ever heard your words, she would definitely kick you out of the guild."

"Sorry, Captain. Please don't tell the Leader." Xue Yang stroked the back of his head.

"Tell what?"

A woman with nine of her men came closer. Xue Yang, who recognized the figure, spontaneously swallowed hard.

"Eh—Leader! It is nothing. Ano… that—"

"All units are fine. The hunt is proceeding normally."

Captain Chen Wei quickly cut in before one of his men got into trouble. He then faced the Guild Master, Wang Mei.

"I see…" Wang Mei's words sounded less enthusiastic. "How many monsters did your squad kill today, Chen Wei?"

"20 monsters. Including these direwolves."

Wang Mei stroked her chin. Her gaze fell on the carcass of the wolves lying around her. Captain Chen Wei realized that the woman had something on her mind.

"Is something bothering you, Leader?"

"Yes. Don't you realize there's something strange about the monsters here?"

Captain Chen Wei frowned. He didn't seem to understand Wang Mei's words. "What kind of strange thing is that?"

"During the 6 hours I walked through the forest, my squad only killed 30 monsters. In other Dungeons we can kill 60-80 of them."

"You mean, there are very few monsters hanging around?"

"Right. But what surprised me more, they were stronger than usual."

Hearing Wang Mei's words made Captain Chen Wei frown. During the past three days of hunting monsters, he had not experienced any significant problems. All finished quickly.

"I think they're normal, Leader."

Wang Mei shook her head. "Look."

She showed one of her blades. Then, Captain Chen Wei observed it. There were many scratches on the body of the sword, especially on the blade. Some parts looked jagged, as if they had been used to hit a hard object. At that moment, he realized what Wang Mei meant.

"The monsters in this Dungeon are stronger than usual. Within three days, my weapon was nearly dull."

Captain Chen Wei then quickly checked the armour protecting his body. There were some scratches on the chest protector. Although it did not penetrate, the marks left were quite deep. The scratches were the claw marks of the direwolf he just fought earlier.

"Right! There was something strange about this Dungeon. Looks like we should stick together, Leader."

The other members who overheard their conversation became uneasy.

Wang Mei nodded. "That's why I'm here. Call the other teams to gather at this point."

"Roger, Leader."

Captain Chen Wei quickly raised his arm. On his wrist was a device resembling a smartwatch. This item was used to communicate within the Dungeon.

When the communication line was connected, suddenly a loud scream broke the silence of the forest.

KUAAAAAAAAA!

Instantly, everyone was shocked. Wang Mei was no exception. They all looked up at the sky.

"Dammit… we're late," Wang Mei muttered.

"Leader, should we check it out?" Captain Chen Wei quickly asked with concern. 

All the members were ready to attack. Just one word from Wang Mei, and they would rush off to the source of the voice.

However, the situation said otherwise.

Wang Mei had no time to approve it. Suddenly, another scream boomed in the sky.

KUAAAGH! KYAAAA! KAAAAGH!

There was not only one scream, but many screams reverberated in that place. They followed one by one. Making everyone in the place flabbergasted. 

"What happened?" 

Xue Yang, who had been silent all this time, spontaneously asked with a panicked face. The the other members also showed the same expression. While Wang Mei looked frustrated. She was still trying to grasp the current situation.

KYAAAAAA!

Among the dozens of screams that echoed in the forest, a loud voice of a girl that sounded familiar could be heard. A very familiar voice in Wang Mei's ears, as if she had heard it for decades.

"Wang Yi…"

Without thinking, Wang Mei quickly dashed into the forest, even though her subordinates who were left behind shouted her name.