The team meeting was at 10 AM sharp, open time for members to finish their breakfast and digest before going in.
The D-rank gate they were about to raid was standing near the small shopping center.
The higher the level, the gate will spawn at higher density areas, which also make them more lucrative since the establishments wanted them gone as soon as possible.
"Hello, my name is Amy. Cordelia talked a lot of good things about you." A girl with short black hair smiled as she shook his hand with happiness. "I’m a water mage, and here is Sarah, Derek, and Matthew, our party leader."
"Hi..." Sarah averted her gaze due to shyness, as she remembered who he was.
"Sup." Derek is a big black guy wielding a sword and shield, he also shook his hand.
They are the same party he met once in front of the D-class or higher only hunter shop.
And the one that mocked him as trash is none other than Matthew. He is using dual swords and won’t even greet him. What he has is just disdain in his eyes, like looking at some wet trash on the ground.
"Typical nepo baby, what did you do so our leader gave you the spot? You’re only E-rank." He looked very upset due to Cordelia being replaced by him.
"I did a good job, that’s all your concern," Rowan kept his cool and kept his distance from Matthew, but the others seemed nice. Sadly, they got stuck in this party with him due to how the guild structure works.
Guilds are where hunters who work professionally need to join. They provide not only a high rank gate but also a healthcare and a paycheck.
Not only that, but they also look after your equipment and provide a quality party.
While Matthew’s personality is none too desirable, to say the least, his skill as a C-rank hunter is not to be taken lightly and has proven effective on many occasions.
So, they just tolerated it.
"Let’s just get this over with," Matthew said, then led first into the dungeon as the others followed behind.
This dungeon is a strange and dangerous place. Its floor is ashen dirt as the sky lit with red and dark clouds. The air is hot, every breath felt like fire burning in their lungs, and nearby are rivers of lava flowing slowly.
’D-rank dungeon....’ Rowan tightened his grip on the Mountain Eagle.
The difference between D and E rank dungeons is not just about the monsters inside, but also the terrain. While in E-rank the terrain would look like something that could exist on earth, any rank above is vastly different.
D can be extreme terrain with elemental hazards.
C could be structures and ruins.
B and higher is a mix between them. The strangest one he ever found himself in was an abyss dungeon where he needed to swim out the way he came in, because by the time it was cleared the entire thing had already submerged.
"They’re coming!" Derek shouted as enemies came fast after they stepped inside.
A flaming hound.
It looked like a wolf but instead of fur it was clad in black stone with lava glowing underneath. Its fangs were molten red, and every step left a scorching sear on the black dirt beneath it.
BANG!
Before the first hit could occur, Rowan had already shot through one of the hounds with precision.
His level 8 stats put him on par with Matthew, and while his class boost was lower, his Tier 2 status and the Mountain Eagle’s destructive power was enough to break through the scales.
But that was not the end of it. This was a D-rank dungeon after all.
The one he shot had its head scales cracked and shattered but was still charging in at half speed while its packmates continued forward and leaped at the front line.
"Come at me!" Derek’s aura expanded outward in a red wave. Every flaming hound in range had its eyes snap immediately toward him.
’A taunt skill!’ Rowan was pleased. It was a signature skill for anyone wanting to fill the tank role in higher rank gates.
Unlike E-rank where the tank was simply whoever stood at the front, a true tank needed a skill to actively pull enemy aggro toward them.
It worked like charm magic, but instead of submission it invoked a desire to kill, which was easily triggered.
Five hounds leaped at Derek at once, but Sarah was already moving. Her hands wove water out from her backpack and flung it across Derek’s shield and Matthew’s dual swords, giving them both water properties.
’An enchanter too.’ Not only had she avoided wasting precious water in the dry terrain, she had used it to boost only the most crucial parts of the raid.
"Sorry, I can’t enchant your gun. I only work with handheld equipment." Sarah laughed.
People assumed water had a natural advantage over fire. It was neutral in truth, but ninety percent of elemental advantage was decided first by the surrounding terrain.
That was why high rank mages were among the most feared classes. They could literally create a domain where their element held the ideal advantage.
And lastly, Matthew dashed toward the taunted hounds and sliced through the cracked stone with precision, dropping them all in a single clean slash. Whatever came out of his mouth, his stats were very real.
That and his dual swords were not ordinary weapons. Rowan could tell from a glance that the materials they were forged from had no business being in a D-rank gate.
They belonged in the hands of someone at least at B-rank.
’This guy is just wasting them down here.’ It was like handing a machine gun to someone killing chickens. Completely overkill.
After the first wave of flaming hounds fell, Amy checked on Derek as their healer. Finding no wounds, she did not waste a drop of mana.
"At least harvest the cores while you are here," Matthew said with contempt, then turned to the rest of the party. "Leave this guy, let’s clear this fast. I have a date tonight."
"Hey!" Sarah shouted but Rowan stopped her with a hand and pulled out his knife. With a few swift cuts he had located and extracted every mana core from the flaming hounds in the blink of an eye.
The others stared in open shock at how fast he moved.
"What is the matter? You said you were in a rush, did you not?" Rowan pushed the mana cores into Matthew’s hands.
"Better hurry then."