The air inside the cave was heavy and damp, carrying the stench of earth and blood, there was crystals shining inside the cave.
Urue Everhour moved carefully behind Lionel, every step measured. This was his first in a dungeon this is not a training ground, but a place where a single mistake meant death.
"Stay alert," Lionel said quietly. "This is a B-rank dungeon. Don't underestimate it."
Margaret walked beside Urue Everhour, her staff glowing faintly. "Remember," she said, "a proper raid team has balance. Healer, tracker, spell caster, long-range offense, and short-range offense. We survive because we cover each other's weaknesses."
Elaine was already ahead of the group with bow and a arrow drawn, eyes sharp.
"Three enemies ahead," she whispered.
Cedrick Henry raised his hand, runes forming in the air.
The monsters emerged it was a wolftin. Armored beasts with jagged claws, steel plates fused into their flesh. Their red eyes locked onto the raiders instantly.
..
The wolftins charged at the raiders while breathing heavily.
"Reinhard!" Lionel shouted.
Boom!
Blue flames erupted.
He killed two wolftin with the explosion, the worst path was the wolftin didn't even had the chance to scream.
Its armor blackened, cracked, then collapsed inward as the fire ate through it from the inside.
Urue Everhour didn't hesitate.
He rushed towards the wolftin while activating the rank 2 FS.
Almost There Feral Soul.
Urue speed increases as he caught the wolftin off guard and struck the creature's exposed joint, his blade slipped between armor seams.
Urue Everhour lacked strength, his speed, reflexes, and precise timing made up for it.
The wolftin collapsed.
Five minutes later, the dungeon floor fell silent.
Urue Everhour stood still, breathing steadily with no injuries.
Margaret stared Leywin in a dazed.
"…You don't have spirit core and you haven't start cultivating yet, please be careful we can't afford to lose you after going through the trouble of recuiting a noble."
Urue Everhour smiled faintly.
Lionel laughed. " If heaven and earth does not help you. Then help yourself Leywin is a good example hehe..."
Almost There is a type of Feral Soul that it's aura doesn't leak when activating and after activation. Leywin has an S grade spirit sea. Urue Everhour Spirit sea automatically undergo cultivation by itself like a wild plant with nobody to water or take care of it unlike others who need to go through all hardships in other to cultivate their spirit sea and raise it's level and rank. That's the advantage of having S grade Spirit sea.
...
From the darkness behind the fallen beasts, over a hundred more wolftin surged forward, their footfalls shaking the ground like thunder. Their numbers swallowed the corridor, red eyes burning like embers in the dark wnd behind them something far worse. The Chief wolftins stepped into view.
Two meters tall. A massive frame wrapped in scorched black armor,three heads, each twisted differently one snarling, one silent, one laughing.
All three opened their mouths.
Ash flames sprayed outward, filling the corridor like a burning storm.
"Cedric!" Lionel barked.
Cedric slammed his staff into the ground.
A transparent barrier covered the team.
It was a Mid-tier defensive spell absolute defense without restricting offense. Ash flames slammed into the barrier again and again, rippling across its surface like waves crashing against glass.
Without the captain giving any orders the team already moved.
A wave of absolute cold burst from Elaine and spreading instantly across the dungeon floor. Wolftin were locked in place, ice crawling up their limbs, freezing muscle, armor, they cracked and break.
Cracks spread through the frozen beasts.
Reinhard stepped forward.
A massive amount of flames poured from his hands but instead of exploding outward, they compressed, folding inward until they formed three small blue circles, rotating slowly in front of him.
In an instant, one of the blue flames shot forward at full speed, drilling through a frozen armored wolftin. The impact didn't explode it breaked and erased. Armor, flesh and bone gone. A clean hole straight through its body.
He sent the remaining flames in different directions. One struck the Chief wolftins boss's feet the flame exploded instantly causing the Chief wolftin boss to jump up, the other flame hit its neck spreading across the dungeon boss's entire body before it exploded"
Lionel sprinted toward the remaining wolftins Seeing his actions, Urue Everhour took action both displaying different sword techniques as they slayed the remaining wolftins.
"You fought well for someone without a Spirit core". Lionel complimented urue Everhour.
Urue Everhour laughed "Nah i am just managing to keep up with you."
Lionel replied.
"No kid I'm serious you fought well."
Urue Everhour smiled. "Thanks for your compliment."
Lionel turned to Malcolm he said. " Loot everything of value. The crystals in the ground and wall, the i want the corpse of the Chief wolftins and all the dead wolftins."
Malcolm gathered all the valuable items. The crystals, the wolftin bones and skins he stored them in his Spirit Core.
After clearing the dungeon and collecting all valuable items from the monsters, Cedric create a teleportation circle and they left the cave.
The raid ended successfully.
Covered in dust, sweat, and faint traces of blood, they appeared in Britannia's Raider Guild to claim thier rewards and sell their loot. Despite the exhaustion weighing on our bodies, the atmosphere around the group was light.
Urue Everhour thought. We had survived our first riad together and more importantly, I had proven my worth.
As they entered the Guild Hall, the usual noise greeted them clanking armor, raised voices, and the smell of iron and sweat. Raiders crowded the notice boards some laughing loudly, some drinking, some smoking, some entering the guild hall some leaving the guild hall while others sitting in silence with hollow eyes.
Urue Everhour gaze drifted across the hall… until it came across Edward Smith the boy he fought in before he became a Raider.
Edward Smith sat against the wall, armor shattered, hands trembling. His head hung low, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. His body shook continuously.
Urue Everhour walked towards Edward.
"Edward… what is the problem why are you shaking what happened?"
Edward shift his gaze toward Urue Everhour he slowly, he raised his head he was trembling and shaking his showed an expression of fear.
Suddenly, Edward grabbed Urue Everhour by the collar.
"Did you think an A-rank raid could be compared to a B-rank one ah...ah...?!" he shouted. "My whole team was wiped out! They are all gone i will never talk or drink with them again"
The guild fell silent.
"Damn you all!" Edward voice echoed through the hall. "And now all of you are trying to blame me hun.. hun..!"
Slap.
Lionel slapped Edward's hands away.
"Back off."
Edward stumbled.
"Don't touch him," Lionel said coldly.
"You! Supporting the rich kid over me" Edward screamed.
Lionel smiled.
"You abandoned your teammates to save your own life."
Edward froze.
His knees buckled, and he collapsed onto a nearby bench, burying his face in his hands.
Urue Everhour watched silently and said nothing.
Lionel placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Ignore him, bro."
Urue Everhour nodded.
"…Thanks."
Later that night, after claiming thier rewards, Dragon's Breath gathered outside the guild.
They sat in a circle on the neatly cut grass. The field was quiet and empty, the night air cool and calm.
Moonlight poured gently over the clearing, bright enough to illuminate their surroundings and cast soft shadows across the ground. The silver glow made the grass shimmer faintly, as if the entire place had been washed in pale light.
No one else was around. The guild grounds were unusually silent at this hour.
The only voices breaking the stillness were Lionel and the rest of the Dragon's Breath members as they talked among themselves, their laughter and conversation drifting softly into the night.
Lionel stopped talking and turned toward Leywin.
"Tomorrow, we're raiding an A-rank dungeon."
"If we make it out," Lionel stared at Urue Everhour.
"you'll officially become a member of Dragon's Breath."
The group looked at Urue.
Urue clenched his fist joyed filled all over his face.
"…I will prove my worth and not be a burden to any of you."
Lionel laughed. "That's the spirit".