[Guild Operations Room]
The room was spacious, modern, and filled with blinking lights. Giant screens displayed maps, real-time graphs, and combat records. Computers hummed with constant activity as staff, wearing headsets and matching uniforms, rushed around, updating data and exchanging quick information.
A young assistant hurried through the room, dodging chairs and cables on the floor. He stopped in front of a stern-looking man who was staring at multiple screens simultaneously.
Assistant Chapel (trying to catch his breath):
— Mr. Don?
Don (without taking his eyes off the data):
— Speak.
Assistant (breathing heavily, sweating):
— Sir, we have an orange alert in the Ares region.
Don (still focused on the screens, cold tone):
— Kid, we're in the middle of an expedition in Atreus and trying to prevent a coup in Apex. Two red alerts. Why the hell should I worry about Ares?
Assistant (gulping, anxious):
— The Black Goblin village... the largest settlement east of the Great Mountain... they've... formed an army.
Don (raising an eyebrow, still skeptical):
— Black Goblins? They're low-class creatures, savage, crawling at the mountain's base. No matter their number, they've never affected the guild.
Assistant (a bead of sweat rolling down his temple):
— They... evolved, sir. They're now a superior class. Different villages have united and built a city. Still unstable, primitive... but organized. Intelligent.
Don widened his eyes and slowly turned away from the screens. He stared at the assistant intensely, as if evaluating him.
Don (slowly, disbelieving):
— Evolved...? That's biologically improbable. Some individuals, maybe... but an entire village?
Assistant:
— Our hunters in the region were annihilated. We estimate at least three hundred active members. They're expanding, organized into platoons.
Don (frowning, then sighing):
— Hmph... cancel all missions crossing Ares. We can't divide our focus right now. Keep all attention on Atreus. We'll deal with Ares later.
Assistant (nodding respectfully):
— Yes, sir.
[Four Months Later in Atreus – 40 Days in Apex]
The forest pulsed with life and tension. The vegetation was dense, covered in thick moss, twisted trees, and distant predator sounds. A mud boar—huge, with an uneven hide and wild eyes—charged through the underbrush, fleeing from something unseen.
Figures moved silently between the leaves. Suddenly, a cutting water blast shot from the foliage, violently striking one of the creature's front legs. The boar howled in agony and collapsed, mud splattering around.
Maki, serious, lowered her arm, the steam from the magic still swirling in the air. A second later, Gaeri leapt from a rock, releasing a rain of precise arrows. The boar had no time to get up.
The group emerged from the woods with light steps, alert to any movement.
Melina, holding a glowing communication stone, pressed it to her temple and spoke:
Melina:
— Target eliminated. The southern group was neutralized.
The stone glowed briefly before transmitting the response.
Communicator (metallic voice):
— Understood. New location will be sent shortly.
In another room, the operator turned off the crystal and faced a uniformed superior.
Communicator:
— Sir, the Meli group completed the elimination of the twenty-sixth group of low-level monsters.
Lieutenant (analyzing a status panel):
— Excellent. Their pace is above average. The 12th group's combat level has increased significantly.
[Camp – Atreus Forest]
Melina's group set up a small camp in a protected clearing. Tents rose quickly, and a fire crackled at the center. The mud boar's meat was being prepared over hot stones by Melina, who handled the cuts with precision, while Maki organized the supplies.
Melina's Thoughts:
"Monsters carry a kind of miasma, making their meat unsuitable for regular hunters. Only common-class monsters can be consumed. Fortunately, non-combat professions like miners, engineers, communicators, merchants, and cooks suffer less from the effects.
With my toxin immunity, developed after years of eating monster meat, I ended up unlocking a new ability from the cook class..."
[System]
Wild Head Chef – This ability removes all toxins from a corpse when touched by the user.
Melina (slicing the meat with skill):
— Thanks to this ability, even Atreus's low-tier monsters become regular food. Maki, Gaeri, Saicha, and Motchi can eat without getting sick. Well... as long as Saicha or Maii does the cooking.
Maki (serious, but sincere):
— Thanks, Melina.
Melina (raising her head, surprised):
— Huh? Just like that?
Maki (still busy, not looking up):
— Even as support, you're always on the front line. You make our meals and keep us from running back to town after every fight.
(Melina frowns, touched by the honesty.)
Maki (continuing):
— At first I thought it was gross how you ate raw monster meat...
(Melina is left speechless.)
— ...but you trusted each of us. You're training us. That matters to the 12th group.
Melina's Thoughts:
"I taught them how to cultivate mana.
Maki was promoted to an Advanced class.
Motchi said he wants to be a farmer in Atreus after the expedition.
Gaeri grew attached to Saicha like a younger sister and wants to stay with us afterward."
Maki (shouting):
— Food's ready! Come and eat!
The group gathered around the fire, where the warmth pushed back the forest's biting cold. The stars dotted the sky above, vast and crystalline.
After the meal, Motchi took watch with his spear at his side. Gaeri slept soundly, belly full. Maki read a book by the firelight while Saicha rested her head on Melina's lap.
Saicha (looking up, with a nostalgic smile):
— Remember when we were kids? Imagining what it'd be like to explore these worlds?
Melina (smiling back, tired):
— I thought it'd be more fun... But honestly, these worlds are scary.
Saicha (yawning):
— Yeah... they are... but... with you here... it's not so bad.
She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Melina (gazing at the sky):
— Really... ever since I joined a group, it doesn't seem so bad after all.
Maki (flipping a page, not looking up):
— She's really clingy with you... Boss, is that girl your girlfriend?
Melina (blushing, flustered):
— No way!
In the forest's darkness, trees rustled in silence. Between shadows and creeping mist, an army of creatures moved slowly... approaching the camp.