"Wait, are you Ghostwire?" The heavily armored middle-aged man from the Stormbringers guild asked, sounding almost disappointed. "I feel like I recognize that mask of yours, though it was never quite so, um, bloodstained in the photos online."

  "Yes, I'm Ghostwire. Do you need something from me?" Xen smoothly replied. His response seemed to further disappoint the man. He exchanged a glance with his partner, a tanned-skinned woman with mean eyes who wore a priestly getup.

  Xen eyed the priest warily behind his mask, his finger twitching ever so slightly. His entire body was tense and ready to strike at the slightest indication that his identity as a monster was discovered.

  "Ah, really? That's too bad," the man chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "I had hoped you were a fighter type, and your friends here seem too injured to help."

  "With what?" Randy asked curiously.

  The man hesitated, as if he wasn't supposed to share. "To be honest with you, I got orders to check on an area north of here. Apparently, the Guild Association thinks a boss might have spawned, and they want me to scout the area out. Though it's in a secluded area off the beaten path, so I'd rather not go just the two of us," his attention shifted back to Xen. "I know you have high mobility, Ghostwire. But the place is infested with monsters, and there are too many of us for you to shepherd by yourself if something went wrong."

  That might have been true if he were speaking to the real Ghostwire and not a monster wearing the dead man's skin. While the warrior seemed at a loss for what to do, Xen saw an opportunity.

  "You could give me the coordinates of this boss, and I could check on it myself for you," Xen offered.

  The warrior contemplated the offer for a moment. "That... seems possible?" He checked with his partner, who slowly nodded. "Would you really be alright doing that for me, Ghostwire? I mean, this is official business, so it falls under my responsibilities as a member of the Stormbringer guild, and I won't receive any kind of reward or payment I can share with you."

  Xen was about to tell the man that no payment was fine—after all, he was carrying a small chest worth of credits around in his stomach. However, Xen had learned that Hunters were inherently selfish and placed great value on credits.

  A job with no pay? To any ordinary Hunter, that would be a bad deal.

  He clenched his jaw and crossed his arms. "There's no payment? Hmm," he pretended to be deep in thought. That's when he caught the pained expressions of his human party members out of the corner of his eye and had an idea. "Priest," he said to the woman, making her give him a side-eye. "Would you be able to heal my party members as payment?"

  "Three people?" She skimmed over them and seemed hesitant. "They all seem quite worse for wear—that's going to cost me a lot of mana."

  Bullshit. Xen knew for a fact she was playing the same game he was. However, by the look on the warrior's face, he guessed that he had the upper hand here. It was either a little mana or having to trek as a pair into monster-infested lands.

  "Ah, my deepest apologies," Xen said, sighing dramatically. "I had hoped such a task would be simple for a priest of the Stormbringers guild, but perhaps I was asking for too much. A payment of credits out of your own pockets would suffice, or perhaps—"

  "I'll do it," the priest snapped, cutting him off. She was scowling at both him and the warrior. Her partner just gave her a thankful look in response.

  Xen smiled behind his mask. "Then we have a deal. Warrior, where is the boss spawn location?"

  "Here," the man said as he handed over one of those phone things Randy had been talking about earlier. It was heavier than he had expected, and when he touched it, things moved on its surface.

  "Just follow the map, and once you get there, take a video of the area," he said, as if that were a simple task.

  "Right..."

  "One moment, I need to speak with my party leader before he goes," Randy said, and dragged Xen a few steps away. With their backs to the rest, Randy turned and smiled at him.

  "You handled that well. I'm proud of you," Randy whispered as quietly as possible, and then began pointing at the phone. "Let me show you how to use this thing. This is the map, that blinking red dot is you, and that pin icon is the boss spawn location. To take a video, just press this button on the side. It will bring up the camera app, and if you press the button again, it will start recording." He turned the phone over. "Make sure to point this camera in the direction you want to record."

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "Okay," Xen said slowly, feeling a little overwhelmed. Perhaps sensing his distress, Randy patted him on the back.

  "Don't worry, it's pretty intuitive once you get the hang of it. Oh, and thanks for asking the priest to heal us. They are always so stingy with their mana and are reluctant to heal as it takes away business from the overpriced Hunter hospitals," Randy chuckled. "Even if I know you just saw this as an opportunity to get rid of us slowpokes and go solo hunting."

  "Was it that obvious?"

  Randy snorted. "I think I know you well enough at this point, Gerald. Just stay safe out there, okay? We will be waiting here."

  Xen wasn't sure why, but he felt a warm feeling in his chest from Randy's words. They separated, and Randy hobbled back to the group. The priest, still scowling, had already begun treatment on Valoria first. Her hair was stained with blood from a head wound inflicted by the Executioner's brutal slap earlier.

  "It shouldn't take you more than an hour or two," the warrior called out. "Just head in that direction," he said, pointing vaguely northeast.

  Xen nodded and activated Windveil Agility to wrap himself in wind. Breaking out into a sprint, he rocketed through the Crimson Fang Encampment and out into a rocky area with streams of magma lazily flowing by. The turrets followed him as he left but thankfully didn't incinerate him.

  "Stay safe, huh," Xen muttered, repeating Randy's words. It was confusing that a weakling like Randy would be concerned for him, but at the same time, he couldn't blame him. The Executioner had almost killed him in one shot from beyond his perception range. If he wanted to survive, he had to remain cautious.

  You never know when a rare variant will cause trouble—myself being a prime example of that.

  ***

  It hadn't even been half an hour, and Xen already wanted to turn back.

  When the warrior had said this area was infested with monsters, he hadn't been lying; there were possibly hundreds here, but he never cared to mention the type of monsters.

  [Emberling Swarmer (Level 9)]

  Xen held the tiny, spider-like fire elemental with a rocky exoskeleton firmly between his fingers. He wanted to eat it so badly, but whenever he tried, it burst into flames that singed his slimy tendrils and left him nothing to devour. Never before had he seen a monster so keen to return to the great dungeon as mana.

  Due to their low level, he didn't seem to gain any experience, no matter how many he killed. Facing them was frankly torturous. A random phrase rose up from the memory soup and seemed a perfect fit for this situation.

  I'm a sailor dying of thirst surrounded by the ocean.

  Xen was hungry, yet everything he tried to eat burst into flames before he could get a bite. It was infuriating. Here he was, finally alone and able to go all out, only for the dungeon to send a swarm of self-destructive, inedible, and weak monsters to harass him. The worst part was that he had to take them somewhat seriously, as his trousers already had singed holes from where an Emberling Swarmer had jumped out of a crack in the ground and exploded itself on contact.

  He had learned his lesson and deployed a mixture of Geomantic Perception to keep him aware of his surroundings, especially anything lurking in the cracks, and Windveil Agility to act as a barrier just in case.

  Xen decided he would give it one last go. He brought the captured Emberling Swarmer to his mouth and hesitated. He knew only pain awaited him, but still, he chomped down with the faint hope of acquiring a new form or skill...

  "Ah!" He yelped as fire erupted out of his mouth like a dragon's breath.

  The darn thing had self-destructed. Again.

  "I give up," Xen said, throwing his hands into the air in frustration. It's not like learning the skill to self-destruct in flames was worth the pain. He changed his course back toward the pin on the phone, only to spot a large shadow in the distance. Initially mistaking it for a rocky outcrop, it moved.

  "What's that?" He stalked a little closer, and when it swiveled its head toward his direction, he dove down and hid behind an outcrop. Despite the distance, the monster was massive. Is that the floor boss? Peeping over the outcrop, he cast Appraisal.

  [Charstone Basilisk (Level 32)]

  "Lower level than the Executioner that took me out, so it likely isn't the floor boss."

  The massive creature moved with the grace of a statue as it curiously scanned the horizon with a gaze that made him hold his breath. It was around three times his height and many times his length, with six colossal limbs and a jaw that looked like it could swallow him whole. It seemed reptilian in nature, with obsidian armor plating and magma leaking from its fangs.

  "Hey Randy, what's a Charstone Basilisk?" Xen turned to his side, only to find nobody there. "Oh..." he muttered and felt stupid. Had he really become that reliant on Randy for information to forget he had left him behind? Well, this isn't ideal, Xen thought, and turned his focus back to the monster. While I outlevel that monster, its capabilities are unknown to me.

  Xen stood up with a sigh and withdrew his mithril short sword from his suit's inner pocket. He met the Charstone Basilisk's gaze and regretted it instantly.

  [The Charstone Basilisk has hit you with Molten Gaze]

  [You are paralyzed]

  The great beast then began to lumber forward, molten fire gathering in its mouth and spilling out like drool.

  Not good, Xen thought. He tried to move, but his muscles felt like stone. No matter how much he strained, the body he inhabited refused to move.

  [You are paralyzed]

  [You are paralyzed]

  [You are paralyzed]

  Every time he tried to move anything, the system kept taunting him with the same message. It was in this moment that Xen realized that, despite the vast number of skills he possessed, alongside the ability to heal others, resistance to debuffs was something he was sorely lacking.

  The Charstone Basilisk continued to leisurely approach, seemingly assured of its victim's inability to run. Once it got in range for whatever attack it was charging, it paused and opened its smoldering maw. Then, like an erupting volcano, a glob of glowing hot magma sailed through the air right toward him.

  to read ahead!