First mission

Internal meeting of the high ranked mutants inside the dungeon. A circular table could be seen and around them, chairs were arranged in order.

There were nine seats around the table. Five of them were occupied by A ranked mutants while the remaining were given to the representatives of shareholders. One of the A-ranked mutants was Mr Smith from the Vulcan.

But then came a problem, there were representatives of the Merchant Alliance and Military present inside the dungeon. And it was improper if they were not included in the meeting. So, the seats were increased to eleven to accommodate them.

The A ranked mutants who were exploring received news just after the explosion. So, they hurried to the base as fast as they could. So, Most of them were still in dirty, blood-stained clothes and this was making them uncomfortable.

After all the crap they had to go through. Now they have to wait here to get an explanation. And why isn't anyone talking?

"What happened was unfortunate. Someone made a deliberate attempt to destroy the portal and trap us here. This is a declaration of war against the LIfe Corps and all its people. We should find a way to leave here and explain the details to the headquarters and take appropriate action." Said Mr Smith from the Vulcan family.

"Huh!"Scoffed Charles Bonwell in response.

"Mr Smith, Don't misdirect our attention. Before that, you and your family should give an explanation. Is it really a coincidence that the moment Vulcan's develop spatial tech. The same tech was used to destroy a dungeon gate." The words uttered by Charles aroused a response from the crowd. They were all looking towards Mr Smith.

Mr Smith smiled confidently in response to the question. He slowly caressed his white beard and scrutinised Charles and his action. It was simple for him to guess Charles motive.

There was no real evidence proving that the tech developed by Vulcan's were used in destroying the gate. And he knew that Charles doesn't have to prove anything. He was just making the water murky by throwing doubt on Vulcan's and their motives.

And his words did create the desired outcome. Emma Norton soon came in with her own question too. But it didn't matter as long as Isabella was here.

"Don't forget the dead body near the dungeon entrance. He just appeared through the gate after the explosion. How can you explain that? Isabella and senior Smith were both present there. So, do you have an opinion about that?" The pointy question from Emma included the variable that Vulcan's glossed over.

"Ha, Emma and Charles both are correct. So, we should investigate further before reaching a conclusion. Can the Vulcan's explain more about what happened?" The representative of the merchant alliance voiced his opinion.

Till now, All the A-ranked mutants were waiting patiently. But realising that the conversation was going nowhere while shareholders threw dirt on each other. Two of them walked out without any hesitation.

This plunged the table into silence. The people who walked out was unrelated to any family. So, they couldn't stop them from leaving. And their no-fucks-given attitude pissed off everyone inside alike. But they didn't show their annoyance in their face at all.

It was Isabella Vulcan who broke the silence. She proposed a new plan, something that everyone needed alike. A solution to their problems.

Although many wanted to question her. They were clear about how smart she is and went along with her plan for now. Maybe their plans would change in the future.

Isabella's plan was simple.

Collect as many mana cores as they can and she would build a dungeon gate stabilizer. This would solve everything and Isabella was at the centre of it all. It was obvious why Mr Smith was so confident.

—------------------

Alan's POV

It has been four days since I entered the dungeon. Every day felt like a test.

After the dungeon gate exploded, for three days straight. I was running around doing everything requested of me. I almost thought that being a mutant was a promotion. But I am still an odd-job worker.

"Sigh!"

But finally, the day came. I now had more than 100 points for all attributes and could be called D ranked mutant proudly. This was a big boost for me.

For example. In past, I could only carry 100kg of weight. But now I can carry 200kg easily and run around without feeling tired for a long time. And increasing the mind attribute also allowed my senses to be sharper and the radius in which I can use energy increased from ten meters to twenty. The dexterity allowed my control of strength and energy to be increased enormously.

Although I feel like attribute improvement didn't directly correlate with stats shown in the system. It was ok for now. The system did warm me that it would take time for the body to be fully acclimatized with the increase in attributes.

Now, it was time for my first mission outside the giant wall built around the base.

In most games that I played. RPG adventure in a dungeon starts with killing low-level monsters like goblins and slime to level up and become stronger. Until you become strong enough to kill high-level monsters like orcs and ogres.

This was a set in stone method.

But the reality was completely different.

No one really cared about hunting low-level D rank monsters like goblins and slimes. The mission I got was a mapping and exploration type mission.

I had to explore and map areas near the base and denote resources available. Although it was given as a team mission, my group mates split up and went their way. Leaving me alone in a forest.

Did I have a bad personality?

Was I not approachable?

I don't think so.

So why was I always alone. Why were these people avoiding me like plague?

Even if I asked these questions aloud. There was no one near me to answer them.

I was on a hundred-foot tall tree looking at the large lake below me. In my hand, I had a binocular and behind me was a backpack tightly secured to my body.

I was just one kilometre away from the base, but the surroundings were completely different. A herd of cows were drinking water from the lake while I sat high above them, observing every one of their action.

This was not a beast they had in the digital encyclopedia and this was exactly one of the biggest challenges faced when exploring a dungeon. Although most of the plant animals were recorded in a digital encyclopedia that I have. Each had variations that were unknown to mankind.

And my job as part of the exploration team was to observe these unknown beasts and find information about them.

For instance, the herd of black cows below were extremely sensitive towards the smell. The moment the wind changed, they took a whiff and rammed towards a certain part of the forest.

In my vision, there was nothing there. But just as the cows reached there, I could see a camouflaged python running for its life into the forest. Behind it was cows and oxen with their sharp horn trying to puncture it.

I could barely imagine a python shaped pin cushion.

And here comes my importance.

Me, Collecting information about such dangerous animals will increase the survivability of everyone inside the dungeon.

So, I took a camera and photographed it before adding it to a temporary page in the encyclopedia. This was giving me serious Pok-mon vibes. But I continued my work as usual.

I jumped from tree to tree collecting information about animals. Maybe I would find a mana-metal ore or some divine fruit that can change a dog into a man.

After all, this was an S ranked dungeon right?