05 | That Guy

Ah fuck… this Tower was a drag. I couldn't remember the last time I ate something. I couldn't even tell how much time had passed. Two days? Three days? A week? I was hungry, tired, and bored.

Not a single group has been able to beat the Boss of this floor and so, we were all still drifting around the first floor. Argh… so annoying. What was even more annoying were my useless group members. They never planned or plotted strategies. They saw a monster, they attacked, got hurt, wasted their resources, somehow managed to get rid of the monster, and then they moved on.

Group 12 had run out of their food rations, magic power, stamina, and every other important thing a Hunter needed in a Tower. I couldn't be more disappointed in them. And I also couldn't blame them because I was sure none of them had ever been in a Tower guessing from the way they were behaving.

They could've partaken in low-grade Dungeon raids before this, but Towers were vastly different from Dungeons. They took a longer time to clear and contained all sorts of unexpected variants. Some Towers could be easily cleared within a day or two with a small group of knowledgeable Hunters.

Others could take months. And batches of backup Hunters would even be needed. The structural systems in Towers were immensely random. But luckily for us, there were only two floors in this Tower. I wondered how Gomas Academy was able to find Towers with two floors.

Well, it wasn't so much of a Tower as much as it was a grand two-floored Dungeon. For regular Hunters, a Tower with less than five floors wasn't worth anything. But for student Hunters, it was ideal. The structure of this specific Tower went perfectly well for a test of potential.

But unfortunately for this group of first years, this floor of the Tower was one of those in which everything looked the same and you could be moving around a circle for days without knowing.

Exactly like what was happening with my group. I hadn't alerted the rest of Group 12 yet but I've noticed that we've walked past the same boulder about three times now. I was waiting for which one of the lumpheads was going to notice and do something about it.

There could be three reasons behind this situation. First, we could be facing a high-grade monster who had us walking around a circle so that we couldn't get to them. Second, it was probably the floor's Boss who was using a Special Skill of his on us. If that was the case, then Group 12 was as good as fucked.

I doubt they could even take on low-grade monsters at this point. They were all so lethargic after wasting their energy taking on small fries to gain penny points.

The third reason could be that we were simply lost. I hoped that this one was the real reason. If that was the case, we would just have to wait for another group to come and help us. But I didn't fancy the idea of getting affiliated with another group of wannabes.

"Guys, it's been a while since we've seen any monster."

Finally, someone noticed something. The members of Group 12 stopped walking to look at Amita.

"Yeah… now that you mention it," Buddy scratched his chin.

Argh, these fools. Should I just tell them?

"We've been walking in a circle for a while now," I decided to speak up. I couldn't be unhelpful to them forever. All while they had been battling monsters and depleting their energy foolishly, I hadn't intervened and aided them a single time.

It wouldn't hurt to give them a piece of advice this time, would it?

"What?"

"Are you serious?"

"It all makes sense now!"

I made a dry expression before I continued speaking. "The three of you have no sense of direction at all, or even any sense of anything. You are all exhausted when you haven't even scored enough points to help increase your final rankings."

Their faces turned sour after my words. Should I keep on advising them or just leave them to meet their doom in this Tower? My conscience as an Inquisitor began having a fight with my subconscious self who was aloof about human lives.

Just this one time, I told myself. I'd help them just this one time.

"There's nothing else we can do now but wait for another group to get here and offer resources. Then after, we stick to them and strategize a plan on clearing this floor. Also, never go battling any monster you see with all your strength, it's plain stupid.

"Devise a plan that would help conserve both stamina and magic power. This is a Tower. You don't go all out till the Final Boss. Learn to think before acting out. If you make a mistake and die here, there's no restart button. This isn't VR. And you aren't kids.

"It's a real Tower and you're Hunters. Act like it." After saying those words, I distanced myself from them to allow my words to sink into their heads. I found a medium sized boulder, then sat on the ground and leaned my back against it.

I dug my sword into the ground in the space next to me and held my gun in my right hand. Even though I was planning to relax, I wasn't going to let my guard down.

My group members were still silent. It took them a while before they unanimously agreed that I was right, then went to rest up themselves. Good.

I wondered how long it would take for another group to come here. It could take days. And I was so hungry. That was my only problem at the moment. But it wasn't like if I even found food I would eat it. I couldn't accept anything from anyone for fear that it could be poisonous or corrupted.

And I couldn't even hunt monsters and cook their meat. I had too much pride for that. The only option for me was to keep on drawing Purification Power from my Inquisitor Gun to sustain myself. It wasn't food but I got refreshed each time it seeped into my system.

Purification Power was one of the purest forms of magic power. It was even in the name. It was so precious to Inquisitors. It felt like Guiding. That feeling of every muscle and organ in your body being replenished. Every single pore opened up and one felt so weightless. It was addictive.

Some people even used Purification Power to get high. I could relate. It was a really nice feeling which numbed a lot of irritating things. After I drew Purification Power from my Inquisitor Gun, I felt incredibly relaxed and refreshed.

Now all I had to do was wait for a couple of useful student Hunters to come around.

* * *

Lumina and the rest of Group 4 had managed to attain a total of 500 group points when all of their individual points were combined. They didn't get that high number of points from getting rid of monsters alone. Elsa got the rest of the group to attack any corrupted entity they were unfortunate to come across.

It was a cheap cheat code and it made Lumina feel guilty. They were supposed to hunt monsters, not corrupted entities. If they were found out… he wondered what would happen to them. They weren't authorized to do such a thing even in a Tower.

But Elsa kept convincing them that it didn't matter. Monsters, corrupted entities, they were all one in the same way that they were dangerous and non-human. Hunters had a very particular human mindset.

Any being that wasn't domesticated or human was dangerous and to be killed.

"There are people up ahead," someone said.

Group 4 stopped walking and turned to face Kim Dooshik after hearing those words. Even though the rest of the group couldn't see the people Kim Dooshik was talking about, they believed his words without a doubt. As a sharpshooter, he had extremely good eyes, and they could rely on him for things like this.

"Students? Are they corrupted?" Elsa was quick to inquire.

Kim Dooshik shook his head. "I don't think they're corrupted…"

He trailed off and Lumina's brows furrowed. "Why did you say it like that?"

"There's an Inquisitor among them."

At the word 'Inquisitor', Lumina stiffened. Being around Inquisitors always unsettled him. Not all Inquisitors though, just the high-ranking ones who could detect corrupted entities with just a glance. Lumina started to feel sick as Group 4 began questioning Kim Dooshik for more information.

"Don't tell me it's that guy." Elsa said.

"It might not be him. I heard there are about five Inquisitors among first years this year." Dexter reasoned.

Kim Dooshik tsked. "It is that guy."

A person could liken the expression on Elsa's face to a fierce eruption of a volcano.

"Let's turn around," she suggested through gritted teeth while squeezing her fists.

"No way, we can't go back just because of you don't want to see Au—"

"Don't you dare utter that name in front of me." Elsa glared at Dexter, cutting his sentence off. He swallowed the rest of his words and took a step back from her.

"We're turning back. I bet there isn't anything worthwhile up ahead." Elsa said as she alone turned around and began walking in the same direction they just came from.

Kim Dooshik wrapped his hand around her wrist and put a halt to her movement. "Are you seriously going to act so childish?" he questioned.

She ripped her arm from his grip and said, "What's childish about what I'm doing? Do you seriously want to go up ahead and get tangled up with that snotty bully?"

Kim Dooshik hesitated a second too long.

"You see! Let's just turn around and—"

"I think we should go ahead. We'll just pass by them, we don't actually need to interact with the group." Lumina finally spoke up.

He could understand why Elsa was particular about avoiding the person up ahead but they couldn't just change their entire plan because of an unexpected variant. Lumina had a feeling that they were very close to clearing this floor. They couldn't go around prolonging their stay in this Tower.

Elsa laughed bitterly. "If you want to go ahead, fine! I'm not following your lead!"

"I don't think he's trying to—"

Elsa shot an icy glare at Dexter before he could complete his statement. It was weird how a B-Rank Hunter like her was able to pull such fear from an A-Rank Hunter. But thanks to the people backing her, a person would think she was a mighty S-Class like Lumina himself and that guy.

"Elsa, don't be like this. We have a mission here. Let's not deviate from our plan." Lumina spoke with a smooth voice, activating his Special Skill, [Mind Easer], which was at level 7.

Elsa made a face before she puffed out a deep sigh and said, "Whatever."

Lumina smiled outwardly, but on the inside, he felt his organs squeezing and his heart beating really fast. He shouldn't have used that skill but he couldn't reverse his actions. The skill lasted for twenty minutes, so he decided to make use of it within that time.

"All right, what about you guys?" Lumina asked Dexter and Kim Dooshik about their opinions. He didn't want to act like last time when he made a decision for the group without their take.

Dexter scratched the back of his neck while nodding his head, gesturing that he was fine with what Lumina said. Kim Dooshik had an indescribable expression on his face as he spoke.

"Let's just get this over with."

Kim Dooshik had an unspoken grudge against that guy. His family's Guild which he was set to run after he graduated Gomas Academy, Starry Night, had offered a proposal to that guy a year ago to join as an exclusive member. That guy was given a tour around the Guild Headquarters and he ended up killing three A-Rank Hunters because he 'suspected' they were corrupted.

He also went ahead to reject the proposal and made a statement about the Guild being run by incompetent Hunters. Then, he bad-mouthed the Guild in a press conference, further stomping on Kim Dooshik's and his family's pride. That guy had such a horrible personality.

That guy had done worse things to other people, and so, he wasn't well liked around the society but he never appeared bothered by that fact. He lived without a care. Lumina had no lost love for that guy. He just kept hoping that a situation which would cause them to be in each other's company would never arise.

And so, Group 4 continued to trek ahead in the direction of that guy and his group members. If only they had done as Elsa had suggested and turned around, they would have avoided the future they were about to meet.