Episode 8: Grave Under (11)

Within the crowded streets of Aurelis, a messy-haired man could be seen pushing his way through the crowd as he made his way over towards the barricaded area before him. There, his eyes were greeted by the sight of a red swirling gate in front of a building.

"Dammit!" In the middle of the area, a few hunter associates could be seen panicking. "It's already been a few hours and there's no sign of them coming out! Ahh! What do we do?!"

"The only thing we can do is prepare for the worst," a female hunter associate frowned. "We've already contacted HQ. So... We'll just have to wait for further orders."

"Ugh. The fluctuation of mana is getting stronger and stronger by the minute!" A male hunter associate bit his nails in worry. "Is this what happens when an anomaly occurs?"

"With it being a ghoul-type dungeon... I can only imagine the worst outcomes of the anomaly..." Another hunter associate joined in on the conversation. "Sigh. What rotten luck. Without any info, we can't do anything."

"I can only hope for good news..." The panicky hunter associate uttered.

"Good news? You think a random put-together group of C and B-rank hunters can take down an anomaly with this much mana fluctuation?" A male hunter associate interjected. "That's an insane level of wishful thinking. The anomaly is at least A-rank! We're better off preparing for an overflow."

"Hey, can you not be so negative about this—" Just as the female hunter was about to continue her sentence, she was abruptly interrupted.

"Yes, yes. You guys are better off preparing for an overflow," the messy-haired man frowned, approaching the group of hunter associates. "Then what are the lot of you doing standing around here for??? Are you just going to let these bystanders and reporters stick around and watch your cries and panic?"

"—a-ah...! Officer Hatz?!" At the man's arrival, the female hunter associate was taken aback. "W-What are you doing here?!"

"...why else would I be here for?" he frowned in reply. "To deal with the mess you've made."

"A-Ack. We're sorry...! We'll immediately call for an evacuation of the citizens in the area!" The hunter associates immediately scrambled to their positions.

"Hah. Did it have to take an order for you to do something?" he clicked his tongue, turning his attention to the female hunter before him. "In the first place, why are these buggers even here? Did you guys forget the safety rules?"

"W-Well, it's because the Merchant's Time guild wanted to—"

"I don't care for the reason," he stated. "You should already know what to do when you've found out that there was an anomaly. Speaking of which, give me a report of the situation."

"A-Ahem..." The hunter associate coughed. "W-Well, as you may have already known, an anomaly has appeared. But, since the gate is already red, there's nothing we can do but wait for it to open up again or until the hunters come out themselves..."

"And?" Hatz asked.

"A-After finding out the gravitas of the situation, we immediately contacted HQ for help..."

"..." Without another word from the messy-haired man, he began to glance around the area, glaring at the panicked hunter associates running around like fools. "Ugh. I knew letting those stupid merchants meddle in our affairs was never a good thing. Hey, go gather a party of B-rank or above hunters. We'll prepare to head in as soon as the gate opens."

"U-Um... Might I ask... Are you the only one that was dispatched here?" she blinked.

"No," he responded instantly. "Two more A-rankers are on their way. Now, hurry and gather a squad! Stop fooling around!"

"G-Got it...!" Just as the female hunter associate was about to head out, the red swirling portal suddenly turned blue. "...?!"

At that second, a group of six hunters could be seen exiting out of the gate.

"...ah! The hunters!" A hunter associate cried out. "They made it out of the dungeon alive!"

"O-Oh thank the heavens..." Another hunter associate sighed with relief.

"...hey. What the hell are you all doing just standing around there for?!" Hatz screamed. "Hurry to them and see if they need any medical attention! You, change of orders. Go get info about the anomaly from them. I'll contact HQ."

"..." Wounded and exhausted, the group of hunters dazedly made their way over towards the middle of the barricaded area, completely silent.

"Hah..." Among the six hunters, a blonde-haired man could be seen glancing around the area, frowning. "...ugh. He isn't here. Just where is he?"

"Hey, you! Blondie!" A hunter associate called out to him. "Are you okay? Do you need medical help? Please show me your wounds!"

"Uh... Hey, have you by any chance seen anyone coming out of the gate before us?" Landon, ignoring the associate's question, asked.

After the lich was defeated and Yun was found to be dead, Jace went on ahead of the group, separating from them. Landon had hoped to find him after leaving the dungeon, however, he was nowhere to be found. He was gone.

"Huh?" The hunter associate blinked. "The six of you were the first to come out! Did anyone get left behind? I'll call for a search party—"

"No, all of us are here," Landon answered, dazedly looking out into the distance.

"Everyone's here?" The hunter associate's expression turned grim. "Then that means there are... Ugh. That can be for later. Hey! You still haven't answered my question. Show me your wounds!"

"They are just minor wounds..." he coughed.

"MINOR WOUNDS?!" The hunter associate screamed. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! Come here right now!"

"A-Ack... Hey, hey, hey! It hurts...!" The blonde-haired man cried out.

During the battle against the lich and the zombie horde, Landon had taken a considerable amount of damage. However, he ignored them.

"I am not leaving you unattended!"

...

The gentle evening light shone down onto a young black-haired man as he could be seen silently walking through the quiet streets of Aurelis with a solemn expression on his face.

"Phew... I managed to get out of there in time," he muttered to himself, his head hidden beneath his hoodie. "Glad the crowd was still there."

Contrary to what Landon had thought prior, Jace was instead one of the last few hunters to leave the dungeon. With the chaos from the hunter associates and the crowd, he had managed to slip out of the area without much issue.

"Otherwise... I might've been in big trouble," he frowned.

If Jace had left the dungeon with the rest of the party like normal, he would've been immediately caught by the Hunter's Association for impersonation. As such, he had to avoid trouble at all costs.

"..." However, in spite of Jace escaping out of the limelight of trouble, he was unhappy. Upset about the whole fiasco that had transpired in the dungeon. "Sigh. So much for being a Synergist that can heal. What was even the point of trying?"

Despite having a skill that could heal others, it was all futile. No matter how much damage Jace had dealt to his targets, he wasn't able to heal Yun's fatal wound. Instead, all he could do was helplessly watch the end of a hunter's journey.

"...seriously," he frowned. "Was there really nothing I could do?"

Although Jace was nonchalant to most things in life, the topic of death wasn't something that could be taken lightly. This was especially true for Jace.

"...if I was still a Marksman, then... Maybe..." Just as Jace was about to continue his sentence, he bit his lip in regret. "...if I was still a Marksman, then... Yun probably would've had a chance to live. But... At the same time, I wouldn't have been in the dungeon in the first place..."

Even if Jace had remained a Marksman and had the capability of preventing the fatal wound on Yun from ever happening in the first place, he never would've entered the dungeon to begin with.

With the uncertain nightmare that had sent him into a spiral of unease, he took it upon himself to investigate the matter, only to find out that this 'nightmare' was indeed all true. This in turn gave way for Jace to prevent the situation in the dungeon from escalating any further.

If Jace had still remained as a Marksman, not only would there have been more casualties, but it was likely that the party would've been wiped out without his help.

"..." With the thought in his mind, he remained silent. "If instead, this was a mission together with Soren... Then, the casualties wouldn't have been there to begin with."

Back when he was a Marksman, worries of casualties rarely ever crossed his mind. This was especially true when he duos with Soren. Just the mere presence of Daybreaker's leader on the battlefield made Ace's work in handling his enemies much easier.

The same could be said for his former party members who had fought alongside Ace. They were all instrumental in battle, always giving him peace of mind.

Unfortunately, now, Jace was on his own. On his own to tackle the problems by himself as a Synergist.

"..." Jace ruffled the back of his hoodie in frustration, soon opening up his status window. "These soul-related skills that I got... Is there more to it than it meets the eye? They are all ranked S and above, yet... The skill's functionality isn't at that level yet."

Perhaps in the end, it was all due to his own laziness of never having truly explored his capabilities and skillset. Thus, as a consequence, he wasn't prepared to deal with the anomaly situation.

If he had been prepared, maybe then there wouldn't have been any sacrifices made.

"...hah," he shook his head helplessly at the thought. "All of this is just so... Exhausting. Yet... I can't put this off any longer. I need to find out more about my kit."

With a sigh escaping his breath, the young man began walking into the distance, regrets filling the air around him. He was no longer able to take it easy. Not with the harsh truth that he had seen today.