E Rank Dungeon Raid (1)

"Welcome! I am the Leader and Tank of this party, a C rank Hunter. Call me Voldor. So you're the new recruit to the team. From your records, I can see you've just finished your initiation. Since we're using you to only fill up the required party member quota, you're on bag duty. You'll be our porter. You'll be focused on mana crystal farming and collecting them. Hold on to the bags, where the mana crystals will be kept. Do you have any questions?" A short muscular and stocky dwarf spoke, looking up at Arthur with disdain. 

A group of 30 Hunters had gathered in front of a small Blue Portal, all wearing their Hunter Gear. Even Arthur had brought basic gear using the small earning he had earned over the past few missions.

"Sure sir, I have no issues with that." It took all of Arthur's might to not sigh in front of the man. Instead he breathed in and exhaled deeply, calming down. 

When Arthur had signed up, he didn't expect to become a porter. His records showed he had killed an <Uncommon > tier beast and tens of <common > tier beasts by himself, in summary his record was impressive for a new F Rank Hunter. He expected at least to be a support for the main lines.

'If anything goes wrong, I'll retreat. These lot can die for all I care.' Arthur scanned the group of hunters all clustered around the portal, that would be entering the E Rank Dungeon to farm and clear the beasts on the first instance. Dungeons had several stages known as instances, each instance had several waves of beasts that had to be cleared. The final instance was known as the Boss Room, clearing this would result in clearing the dungeon. 

This party of 10 led by a C rank Hunter was assigned the task of clearing the first instance of the E Rank Dungeon. 

"Okay men! We'll now be entering the dungeon. Stay close and carry out the roles I gave you and we should be fine." Voldor ordered, before stepping into the portal, as the leading figure. 

"Hey. What's your name?" A blonde-haired girl tapped Arthur's shoulder, she turned to Arthur with a bright smile, her blue eyes sparkling with curiosity. Arthur glanced towards the girl, breaking out of his intense focus.

"Oh, hi there," he said, adjusting the katana by his hip. "I'm Arthur. What's yours?"

"I'm Ellie, the healer of this group. I'll be at the back, with you. So I'll be counting on you for protection. I'll be in your care." She smiled. Arthur gave her a brief nod before walking onwards. Ellie walked close skipping along till they both entered the portal together. 

"Alright. The first wave is upon us. We're starting off with chimera beasts. Keep your guards up. They're coming for us! Archers and mages at the ready. Ellie cast some buffs and be ready to heal if necessary." Voldor ordered efficiently, activating a skill that attracted aggro towards himself.

The dungeon air had hit Arthur like a heatwave, as the sounds of battle cries and roars of the chimera beasts resounded across the large tunnel-like area. He immediately, hovered his hand over the hilt of his katana ready to slice down any attackers from unexpected angles.

The chimera beasts charged forth with a primal fury, their monstrous forms a grotesque fusion of various creatures. Each one was a twisted fusion of lion, goat, and serpent, with leathery wings unfurled from their backs, beating the air with a thunderous roar as they closed in on the party of hunters.

As the Hunters at the front split into groups of five, they each handled a chimera beast. These beasts were <Uncommon > Tier and the occassional <Common > Tier beast also attacked from the sides trying to ambush the party. However, the mages had the damage dealer's backs, throwing a variety of spells. 

"Watch out." Arthur said, pulling Ellie behind him, as a stray chimera beast managed to attack from the rear. Before he could unsheathe his sword, the beast's head exploded.

"Good reaction Porter boy." A feminine voice could be heard from beside him. Arthur turned towards the mature looking woman, she winked at him before moving forward again, charging up another flame ball. 

"Thank you for that Arthur." Ellie blushed, "But you can let go now."

Arthur realised that he still had his arm around her, he let go of her ignoring her. He stepped forward in a battle ready stance. He would pounce anytime a beast got too close to the supporting mages and rear. 

"Why does this thing not go down?! I've been hacking at it for ages already. This slippery crap!" A hunter yelled, swinging his mighty battle axe but missing his nimble target. 

One of the mages cast a magic spell, causing chains made of light to pop up from the ground. The chains made of light mana only managed to hold the beast down for a few seconds as a red aura overcame the chimera beast's body, causing it to roar in rage. This caused a shiver to go down all of the Hunters present as they knew what this meant. 

"That beast is going berserk. Focus your attacks on that beast." Voldor roared, casting another aggro skill to cause the enraged beast to rush towards him. 

The number of chimera beasts had now dwindled, leaving a mere 10 to remain from a pack of 30 or more. As the mighty Berserked beast attacked, it caused Voldor's body to be sent tumbling backwards; several hunters were killed with a swing of the beast's claws. Few of the mages frantically aimed at the beast but it nimbly dodged the spells, lunging in to injure more of the frontal attackers. A beast going berserk was a special ability that <Rare > rank beasts and above could use, it boosted their strength and speed allowing for the current scenario.

'Should I step in? No. Not yet. It needs to be weakened further. I'll only die if I step in carelessly.' Arthur pondered if this was the right time. If he activated his bookmark, it would boost his stats all the way up to a low C rank, allowing him to go toe to toe with the beast. 

"Ellie, cast a buff on my body." Arthur looked back at the girl, who was sweating profusely from casting continuous heal spells. 

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking at him weirdly. She didn't get a response from the boy.

Arthur felt a wave of energy wash through his body, boosting his stats by 50%. 

['Physique' and 'Strength' stat have been boosted by 50% for 10 minutes]

[Bookmark Activate: 'Rise of the Nobody Soldier']

"Men charge at it together! The rest of you hurry up and clear these annoying scum. We need to kill this thing!" Voldor's face was now bloody, his body battered from the impacts of the beast's attacks. 

"Someone Help me!" A hunter cried, as the beast swiped the man's body in two. 

The beast went on a rampage, brushing the bodies of the D and E rank Hunters like they were toys, when suddenly one of its wings had been sliced off cleanly. 

Click!