The [Hunter] named Min was a woman, probably in her late twenties. Her hair was cut short, forming a ringlet around her neck. By her left breast was a bandage, probably ripped from a curtain, and tied tightly around her. She snored softly, and her hand was deathly pale. Suna felt for her pulse, and there was a beat, but it was very weak–concerningly so.

  Suna shrugged off the Cleric's Cloak, and with Slea and the rugby player's help, they helped her wear it. The rugby player poured the health potion down her throat, with Slea tipped her head up.

  “Is she drinking it right? Slower, Noa!” she said, scowling.

  “This is already slow,” Noa grumbled. The rugby player wasn’t wearing his armor; he just had a shirt on. Not only he, but Slea too. Her mage cloak hung carelessly on the bedpost.

  Maybe it was because Suna had been in constant fear–after all, he was alone, but this just did not seem very wise.

  “Aren’t there any Drow patrolling around this street?” Suna asked. He lifted the curtain a bit, just enough to take a peek.

  “Hmm?” Slea muttered, still balancing the [Hunter] head while opening another vial. “They patrol the intersection three times each day on the same timing. Middle of the night, when the sun is at its highest and evening. They never cross the street.”

  Truly an NPC behavior.

  Slea laid down Min’s head and checked her pulse for an entire minute. “I think—I think she's gotten stronger”

  “Yeah! She was breathing more easily, too,” Noa said. “Seriously, you’re a savior. Whoever you are.”

  “It's Suna,” he said. “Well? What have you guys been doing? Any lead on the undead?”

  “Nothing pretty much. All we know is that it might have something to do with the graveyard,” Noa said. He lounged by the bedpost with one leg up.

  “Graveyard? It's not a garden?”

  “No,” Slea answered. “Min, here tried to scout. According to her, there’s a way down underground. But it was heavily guarded by a dozen Drow Rangers and another dozen Drow Warriors.”

  “Two dozen of them…” Suna muttered that that was certainly a staggering number. But a way down, huh. That was interesting, maybe he could…

  [Hunter. Lvl 7]

  He was at a higher level than she. But her class was [Hunter]. So it was probably a given that she got a skill that made hunting easy–like sneaking around. Suna’s class leaned more toward taking down his opponent. At least as far as he knows it.

  But, without a [Scout], their best chance to know whatever is down there was only him.

  “We were planning to scout out the tallest tower, the surrounding plaza… Well, Min did, since one of her skills allowed her to camouflage. Until that idiot went ahead and ruined everything!” Slea stomped her foot down like a child.

  “He just went ahead and did that? Drawing enemies?”

  “Yes!”

  Suna looked at the rugby player, who widened his eyes when he realized he wanted to hear from him, too.

  Slea was so angry, that Suna doubted her information wasn’t biased by pure hatred.

  “Well, Reki was so convinced we should fight the two dozen Drow to level up. He said he could draw them in a smaller group. Which he actually did…” Noa said, his voice got quieter by the end.

  Slea stared at him, and he shuddered.

  Seriously?

  “Look,” Suna cut him off. “I don’t care about your problem with each other, I just want to know everything unfiltered.”

  Slea chewed her cheek, and her body quivered. “Okay, his plan did work! But we were caught unaware. He just suddenly had five of them chasing him and screamed at us–like a chicken!”

  Noa continued the explanation. “Slea, was worried more would follow behind the Drow. Min agreed with her. So Min tried to go behind them with her skill, while the three of us held the Drows. Then she began firing from behind, and we went on the attack. Everything was fine until one of the Drow Rangers covered with that black freckled skin. It's then spun around and shot at Min.”

  “We managed to catch them from behind because both of them focused on her. By the time I reach Min, however, suddenly the Drow beneath Reki's foot lurched up and shot at her again–in her heart. She shielded me in the last moment,” Slea said, her tone somber.

  “And then, both of you got into a fight,” Suna added.

  “No, that after we fed our potion to Min and laid her on this bed,” Noa corrected.

  Suna tapped his chin. Overall, it was actually not a bad result. Sure, it would have been better had they not fought. But, even being low-level, they were able to take care of two Drow Rangers and three Drow Warriors? A result he hadn’t expected.

  If he had to guess, the [Paladin] and [Warrior]. Both Suna and Reki did most of the job because of their equipment. He still remembered that scaly shoulder guard and plated armor of Noa. Also, the chained armor even stretched into a hood of the [Paladin].

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  Maybe Reki's plan had actually been feasible; heck, the man had even figured out how to draw off some of their number successfully.

  When the [Hunter] woke up, they could try again. This time, with Suna's help, they could find out what was below the graveyard. Surely it was linked to the Necromancer. And most of all… They still had four other humans who might come and help.

  He smiled, relief marring his lips.

  He thought this would be impossible when he heard they were fighting. But it is actually the reverse; now they knew what to expect, and Suna did not have to worry about them freezing mid-combat.

  This office worker also sounded quite capable; he really should speak with him.

  “Suna was it? So, what happened to the Cleric?” Slea asked, her eyes desperate, and they searched him with a hint of suspicion.

  “Cleric?” the rugby player tilted his head.

  “Your turn to explain,” Slea said.

  So Suna did; he did not hold back on anything. He told them about the Tiefling that had saved him from death. The Feat he earned, his abilities. And how he ambushed two groups of Drows. Then he continued to his Duel with the Drow Ranger, how it almost killed him, and it was the superior archer, how he took it down with its same black dotted skin like they had faced.

  Suna slowed down. The more he told his story, the more unbelievable it sounded.

  “Holy shit, dude…” Noa chuckled. “That…”

  “Shut up, Noa.” Slea held up a hand, crossed her arms, and examined Suna closely, like he was an endangered animal. “He’s not done.”

  “This part might sound more ridiculous,” Suna warned.

  He gulped and started.

  He told them about the Cleric, how Drow is a virus. How he turned into a half-drow and the torture object he found, Suna did not hold anything back. He went on about the Matriarch, how she tried to seduce him, and how he killed her. Then, finally, the Dream of Drow. The futuristic battle where he dreamed of a smoke-choked air and the mechanized bow. He finished with the battleship that had killed him–and then he found his way here.

  “Are you serious? What was that? The past? Present?” Noa asked, his brow raised. It is painfully obvious that the rugby player doubted him.

  “I told you, I don’t know.”

  “If what you said was all true, then is it even safe to return—”

  “It is true!” Suna glared at Noa.

  “Look, I’m just saying… It was ridiculous.”

  “This,” Suna motioned with his hand, gesturing to around them, not this room but this world they were currently in. “Is ridiculous.”

  The rugby player grunted. “Fair enough.”

  “This is all the more reason to scout out the Plaza! If what your Tiefling said is true, then some of us might be captured.” Slea said.

  If they were captured, then they would already have been turned into one of them. Suna wanted to point out. But regardless, he agreed the Plaza should be checked out before they went to the Graveyard.

  But, again… Leveling up from the Graveyard’s Drow before checking the Plaza is also a viable strategy. He really needed to talk to the office worker.

  “I'm going to the office worker's house…” Suna said, pausing to look at Slea. She probably did not have any good advice, so he turned to Noa. “Rugby player, any advice?”

  “W—What?”

  “You must have talked to him, right? Slea said you guys met each other first. How does—”

  “Don’t call me that!” He snapped, Noa growled, and his eyes might as well have blazed.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “ ‘Rugby Player’? Stop calling me that!” he took a threatening step toward Suna.

  “Whoa, let's calm down.” Slea put herself between them, but Suna instead said.

  “What is the problem here?”

  “It's insulting!” Noa snapped, and Slea had to hold him back with both of her hands.

  “Noa! Stop! You lummox!” She cursed.

  “Insulting?” Suna's lips curved into a smile. He then joked. “What, did you fail to become a pro or something?”

  Noa paused on his step and his eyes… turned glossy.

  Looked like he hit a bullseye.

  “Oh,”

  “Yeah, Oh! Do you understand how disrespectful it is to—”

  “Oh shut up, Noa! You were overreacting!” Slea surprisingly turned to Suna’s defense.

  “Overreacting? Overreacting! How! Do you understand how much I have tried, my entire life to—”

  Perhaps it was the safety of these houses and the knowledge that Drow wouldn’t make it here that allowed this breakdown of emotion. Or maybe it was the inane event that they went through, the sudden sanctuary of this home offered a perfect chance for an emotional outburst, as it offered a safety from immediate death.

  But still, this was ridiculous.

  There’s no time for such an emotional outburst.

  Not the time to fight among themselves like this, especially when two of them were already fighting.

  Annoyance got to Suna, so perhaps he chose his next words wrong.

  “Look, on the bright side, there will be no more rugby.”

  Suna's attempt to calm Noa down met with a surprising… defeat?

  His head hung low. And Suna could swear he heard him whispering along the line ‘No more Rugby…’

  Just how much someone can get obsessed over a sport.

  “You’re right, this world is over… We can't even have rugby.” Noa said, opening his palm dramatically, like he had just given up on life.

  “Hold on, I did not say the world is over.” Suna tried to place an understanding hand on Noa’s shoulder. But he just shook it.

  Slea tried to reach for him by slowly laying her arm on his shoulder. But Noa stepped back and left the room wordless.

  Was this a mental breakdown? Over a sport?

  “Ridiculous,” Suna muttered.

  Beside him, someone rumble–a weak voice let out a small laugh.

  Suna looked at Slea, who looked back at him and shook her hand. They turned to the bed, and the [Hunter] was awake, her jade eyes staring directly at them. Then her lips went thin. “I heard all of that. Oh, we’re so dead.”

  “Min!” Slea's body moved; she went down and hugged the [Hunter], who grumbled under her weight.

  “Girl, can you stay here for a bit?”

  “Of course, anything you need…”

  “No, I'm leaving.”

  “You are?”

  “Yeah,” Min groaned, and she rose, heaving roughly. She looked down at her exposed body, tied off with a curtain. “We need proper bandages.”

  “Sorry, that's the best we had.”

  Suna coughed, and the woman just smiled at him.

  “You, let's get along, we have similar classes, right? I have a feeling we will be shooting together a lot.”

  “Sure. To more Drows blood,” Suna rose his bow.

  She chuckled, and her hand moved to her bow that was resting against her bed. She clacked her bow to his and tried to stand. Suna caught her as she was falling straight at him.

  “Now, bring me to Reki.”