Begin the Assault

"[I don't think it's quite directed at you. He may be directing his hostility at the beastwoman.]" Dags suggested. From what he could tell, the man's eyes were glued to Masterless Sword. Cynthia sighed in relief. She was wondering if she had somehow offended the person before without knowing.

"D-do you know that man over there? He seems to be angry with you over something. He's sending nasty looks our way." Cynthia asked Masterless Sword. The man still had a scowl on his face, but he wasn't staring so hard anymore. Masterless Sword noticed the man Cynthia had pointed out, and she had a frown on her face. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed in annoyance.

"Yeah, unfortunately. His username is TopKami. I joined a temporary group before to raid a dungeon, and he was on the team as well. As we explored through the place, he started trying to touch me and make rude gestures. I told him off and rejected the advances he was making on me, and he blew his top. It got even worse when I managed to get one of the better items from the dungeon that day." Masterless Sword recounted her unpleasant experience with the man.

"[What a pleasant individual…]" Dags had experiences interacting with those kinds of narcissistic lowlifes before. They were typically quite forceful and didn't care if they made someone else uncomfortable. If they didn't get what they wanted, they made a scene and caused trouble. Nothing good would happen when interacting with such people.

"[Be careful of him. I feel like he may attempt to sabotage, or maybe even outright kill you and Masterless Sword.]" Such scenes weren't uncommon in his experience. Their useless grudges could even lead to whole teams being wiped just to get back at their object of hatred.

"Yeah… I'm sorry you went through that. Do you think he's going to mess with us during the mission? Either get in our way or purposefully get us killed?" Cynthia went ahead and asked, just so that the beastwoman would also be on her toes. If her guard was taken out of action, Cynthia would likely soon follow.

"Possibly… I'll keep an eye out for any antics he may pull. Regardless of what happens, I'll make sure you stay safe." After suspiciously eyeing the man across the room for a moment, she smiled and gave a thumbs up with her last comment.

"Thank you. Please take care of me well! I look forward to working with you." Cynthia put her hand out first this time, and Masterless Sword shook her hand.

"Same to you. I'm interested to see how well our little [Marksman] will do." Masterless Sword said with a smile.

"[Seems like you're getting more comfortable with this woman. Good for you.]" He was genuinely happy for her. She was far too shy, and needed to break out of her shell a bit. He hoped that this woman would make a good friend for her.

"Alright everyone, it's time to move out! Grab your things and follow me. We'll be going in the large sewer entrance at the canal to the North. Double check your gear and stay with your groups. I want to see all of you back here when we've taken care of this menace!" Darius shouts echoed through the building suddenly. It seemed like preparations were done.

"We got this boss!"

"Let's do this!"

"Those dumb rats don't know what's coming!"

Similar such energetic phrases were heard everywhere. Darius nodded in satisfaction. With everyone hyped up, he led the way out of the building towards the sewer entrance in the north. Many players and NPCs looked one curiously from the sides as they walked past them.

"What's this about? Some raid team?" A random player asked another.

"I think it's that quest that an NPC is leading. I tried to join but didn't meet the mercenary guild leader's standards." The other player answered, shaking his head. Similar discussions spread through the streets as they marched on, eventually reaching the forums.

[GiantRooster]: "Do you think they'll make it out alive? I bet they're gunna fail hard!"

[SoupGun]: "Have you seen the GM of the mercenary guild? I'm level 17 and I still can't see his level! I say they'll breeze through it."

[FriedMemer]: *Spams frog emotes*

[CuteGoblin]: Huh? Did I just see a level 2 in their group?!

[CougarHunter]: you must be delusional! No way they would bring useless baggage like that!

*Multiple people are typing*

While people were having fun on the forum discussing the group, the group in question finally made it to the entrance of the sewers. Darius went straight in, followed by an organized line. It was a little too narrow right now, but the chamber that the boss was in was much larger.

"[Almost everyone looks to be on high alert. Keep your eyes open and watch for danger. 'Detect Hostility' can stay on permanently to help you now.]" Dags gave a reminder for Cynthia, seeing everyone else around them sweeping open areas they passed by. They were around the middle of the procession. The people in the front and back watched their assigned angles as they walked through the tight corridors.

Cynthia nodded, tightly gripping her pistol. She didn't have her N200 at the ready, as it was too long and cumbersome in a place like this. She would only take it out when it didn't get in the way. As they walked, she felt a couple eyes on her and whispers, but couldn't make out what was said. She felt like they were talking about her since she was the weakest one here. Dags, on the other hand, could hear their harsh words.

"Do we really need to babysit this weak link? She's only level 2 dammit. What use is a person like this here?"

"Apparently the GM invited her. Nothing we can do about it. Just ignore her, if she dies it's not on us."

Dags shook his head. "

Cynthia might seem like a burden now, but watch when she saves your sorry asses from getting overwhelmed later!" He thought. He had taken a liking to the girl, and got a little defensive.

Every now and then, they would stop for a moment as gunfire erupted from up front. The ones in front would deal with any threats they come upon as they advanced, occasionally changing out with others so they wouldn't use up all their ammo. Like this, they proceeded for about 30 minutes.

Once again, they stopped again and a message was passed back through the line.

"We've made it to the larger section of the sewer system. There's a hoard of [Giant Rats] ahead, so we'll all need to get ready when we move in." The man in front of them passed the message, and turned around again. Masterless Sword nodded and kept the message going.

"Looks like we'll finally get some action." Masterless Sword said as she bounced on her toes. She seemed pretty bored up to this point, but got energized once she could fight.

"[It's finally time to prove your skills. Are you nervous?]" Dags asked. Though it would surely be tough on her, he felt like this would help her grow to much higher heights.

"Mn… Y-yeah. I feel so shaky, I'm afraid I'll miss all my shots." She bit her lip as her hands shaked. Her heart was racing now that a big fight was almost upon them.

"[You'll be fine. Just remember what I taught you. You didn't spend all that time practicing for nothing did you? Steady your heart and mind. You'll show everyone how useful a 'Marksman' can be.]" After his encouraging words, Cynthia closed her eyes and took some deep breaths. The shaking of her hands eventually stopped as she composed herself.

"Thank you, Mr. Dags. I won't let your teachings go to waste." She readied herself for the push forward. Once she got in the more open space, she needed to look for a vantage point to take advantage of her range and accuracy. She looked to Masterless Sword who probably had an agility-type build.

"When we get in there, can you help me get up to a high place? I'll need a good spot to actually make use of my sniper. With my low stats, I won't be able to get around quickly." Cynthia quickly explained her plan. She wouldn't be able to make use of her skills without a clear line of sight.

"Sure, no problem! I'll getcha wherever you need to be." She smiled and patted Cynthia's head. Quickly realizing her mistake, she took her hand off and coughed.

"This woman… Well, your cool facade is still intact for now at least." Dags watched on with an amused expression. He wondered if she would crack at some point.

Just then, everyone started surging forwards with gunfire echoing throughout the chamber. It was deafening even through everyone's hearing protection. The battle against the [Giant Rat] hoard had begun.