Chapter 5

It was time for the boys to put their practice to the test. To avoid any injuries, it's best to send these boys back as quickly as possible.

We stood in front of the Poffice Guild Building, ready for whatever the future held. I turned to face the boys before we entered, offering them one more reminder.

"Before we go in, we'll be completing missions in two teams, mine and Heric's," I explained.

"How are you going to split us?" Milton inquired.

"Let's simply go with the oldest and youngest teams," Heric proposed.

"The younger members will remain with Heric, while the older members will remain with me," I explained. "Jiho to Yuto for the young team, and the rest is in his capable hands."

I pointed at Heric, and they all nodded. The boys went to their designated teams, and when everyone was ready, we went inside the Poffice to complete a mission.

However, when going on a mission, you must have something extremely vital with you: a travelers' card.

A travelers' card serves as your hunting identification. It is the earthly equivalent of a business card. It shows not just a brief biography but also information on the holder's mission, powers, and success rate, and it may also be used as a credit card.

Heric and I proceed to the counter, where the employees will provide us with some documents to sign for the boys. It is not free, but it is also not costly. A silver coin would suffice. This is done so that everyone may pursue their hunter dreams in the community and help with the missions assigned to hunters while still paying taxes.

When everything was paid and ready, I gave each of the boys a form to sign. They accepted the paper and stared at me, perplexed.

"What is this?" Sujin inquired.

"This is for your Travelers Card, which you will need to complete your mission in peace," I said.

"At times, the mission may be located in other villages or kingdoms; you must pay to enter, but if you have your traveler's card, you may enter simply without paying," Heric continued.

"Plus, we could run into other hunters; it's better to show them we're travelers so they don't hurt us," I emphasized again.

Listening to our explanation piqued their interest even more. They can't believe it's all occurring right in front of their eyes. It seemed like a dream, but it wasn't. It is their reality that is taking place in their conscious state.

The guys nodded, realizing the significance of the paper, and immediately signed it.

After signing, they waited for the staff workers to create their card. While waiting, both teams began to choose their missions.

This section appeared to be simple at first, but it grew more challenging when the Arkane Boys joined us. They are all still at Level 1. Fighting with your powers will be difficult at first, and that is what concerns me.

There are monsters on every level in this world, and coming face-to-face with one isn't like coming face-to-face with a cartoon villain. Its looks are nasty and terrible, and it will traumatize you.

It's akin to the Earth's historical era, when the world was teeming with dinosaurs, giant insects, aliens, and even monsters that are either extinct or yet to be found.

After extensive discussion and dithering about which mission to choose, both teams have made their decision.

My team and I chose an easier task in order to return home as quickly as possible, as did Herics' team. We went immediately to Angela once the boys received their travel cards to inform her about the missions we intended to conduct so she could keep track of them.

We only need to finish the mission, return, and be paid. As simple as that may seem, the real struggle comes once we get to the designated location.

"I presume you'll be doing this in groups?" Angela inquired.

"My squad has eight members, whereas Heric's team has seven," I said.

"Good luck with your missions, Yumi and gentlemen!" she said, smiling as she put the mission details into our phones.

"Thank you, Angela!" Heric said with a smile, and she bowed as we left the Poffice to begin our mission.

***

We all halted as we passed the village gate and seized this opportunity to wish each other well. starting with Seongho, who was concerned about being separated from the youngest members.

"You guys pay attention to Heric, okay?" he said.

"And take care!" Jaeseong said, waving.

"You guys too, Hyung!" Seungjae said, waving back.

Everyone was concerned, which is natural. It's frightening to be apart from your loved ones in a foreign environment, but this is the best option for these boys in order to complete their mission and return them to their rightful place, safe and sound.

Because our missions were in separate villages, we had to split up. But I'm confident that everything will be OK. They'll be OK as long as they apply their abilities and stay out of trouble!

—Team 1—

[Author’s P.O.V]

Heric's crew were traveling on Sujin and Seungjae’s vehicles. The yin and yang vehicle.

Their objective was at Girrel Village, a town outside of Houndlet. During the journey, the boys attempted to strike up a conversation with Heric, who was distracted by the view.

They were able to communicate owing to the game's enchantment. They can all speak, understand, and write the language of the world to which they have been teleported.

"So, Heric, was it? Are you a victim like us?" Milton inquired.

"Yes, I was afraid at first, but now... I'm addicted to coming here; it's like a place for me to rest and let go of my stress."

"Where do you live?"

"I live in England. You?"

"We live in Seoul, South Korea."

"Oh right, I forgot you guys were K-pop idols."

"How did you and Yumi meet?" Seungjae continued questioning.

"We met by chance at the Poffice. She was seeking someone to pair up with, and I thought it would be a good idea to team up with someone on my first day so I wouldn't get confused or die." He said.

"How many times have you visited here?" Yuto inquired.

"About seven times now."

The boys were perplexed when they discovered how many times Heric had visited the game before they arrived. They had no idea this game was enjoyable or addictive because it was their first time playing it. Until now, all they could think about was finding a way to return to their world.

"In the actual world, you don't get to ride this, nor do you have superpowers to battle monsters. You can make quick money here, which is difficult to achieve in the real world."

Heric was correct. Having superpowers isn't so horrible, and being whisked into a world where magic exists is thrilling!

Their trip continued, and they arrived in Girrel Village a few minutes later.

This village was similar to Houndlet. The streets and ambiance were identical to visiting the Philippines and Thailand; the only difference was the food and the royal family watching over the citizens.

When they arrived on the ground, the boys hopped out of the vehicle and began searching for the residence mentioned in their mission.

Heric, as the group's leader, took out his phone and read aloud the mission details from it.

"We're on the hunt for Sir Kernels Farm."

"This village is huge; it'll take a long time to find his house," Jiho sighed.

"Isn't that what Milton is for?" Sujin said.

Milton looked at the youngster, perplexed, as he heard his name mentioned. "What?"

"Oh, yes! You have compass power!" Seungjae exclaimed in realization.

Milton felt pressured as heads turned and he became the center of attention. The weight of duty dragged him down as his anxiety increased.

Everyone was waiting for his response, and he knew he couldn't turn it down. He had to follow and help if he wanted to go home, no matter how terrified he was about taking the lead.

"All right, give me a minute to prepare the map."

Milton's groupmates nodded as he tried to recall how he uses his compass power. He whispers the spell, and a map of the settlement emerges before him, visible only to him.

It astonished him at first, but as he continued to stare and examine the map in front of him, he became more intrigued.

"All right, follow me!" he said, taking the lead.

The boys couldn't help themselves when they saw how confident Milton seemed and began to playfully tease him.

Milton anticipated that his friends would do something like this since he knew them. So he ignored them and left them be while concentrating on directing them in the right direction.

When they had finally arrived at Sir Kernels' property, they were tasked with finding his sheep and returning them to his barn.

They had been looking for nearly 30 minutes now. Their task went quickly because of Milton's abilities, and they just needed to bring back one more sheep for their goal to be completed.

Sir Kernel had lost five sheep and needed their assistance in locating them because his bothersome kid's neighbor had reportedly sneakily opened the gate without his knowledge.

Milton led the way to the last sheep they needed for the day, aided by his map. His power is quite useful. It is capable of detecting the presence of humans and animals, but not of monsters, unfortunately.

This stinks because they now have to be considerably more aware of their surroundings in case a monster comes up behind them.

"Here," Milton said as he directed them to the center of the forest.

The members glanced around but noticed only two children playing and no sheep. This puzzled them.

"Did you follow the kids on your map instead of the sheep?" Sujin asked Milton.

"I'm positive! I just followed the map... to our left."

A harsh growl of an animal could be heard when he turned to his left, where the sheep was shown on his map.

Everyone froze when they heard the dreadful sound. They were afraid because they knew there was a monster lurking.

"W-what was that?" Seungjae exclaimed, his voice wavering.

"Look up at the tree!" screamed Yuto, pointing skyward. They came to the final sheep, dead on a tree branch, with those large, wide eyes glistening behind it.

"Oh sh—," muttered Heric as the monster leaped down and growled angrily at them.

They swiftly avoided its body smash before it could squash them. A massive Tigder confidently presented itself in front of them.

The sight of the eight-legged monster with a tiger's head and a spider's body terrified everyone. It was the first time they had ever met a monster in person.

"A tiger...spider?" Jiho said in disbelief.

They knew the monsters here were dangerous, so they readied themselves in case they ever encountered one. But when they were confronted with one, they discovered they were still not prepared as their bodies trembled in horror.

"Milton, the kids!" exclaimed Minjoon.

Milton turned behind him and saw the scared children huddled together. The Tigder, like the boys, turned its attention to the children and pounced on them.

When Milton saw the monster charging at the civilians, he shot it with an arrow. Because it was hurt, it kneeled in pain, preventing it from continuing.

Before the monster could recover, Milton ran to the children and shielded them with his arrow, which he aimed at the monster.

Two pairs of additional eyes blazing from the trees could be seen once the creature got back up. They arrived in twos, smashing their bodies on the ground and making a frightening entrance.

Realizing these beasts wouldn't show compassion, the youngsters prepared their weapons.

"Get the kids back to safety, Seungjae Hyung, Sujin Hyung! We'll deal with these monsters," Jiho stated.

They both promptly complied, raced to the youngsters, and led them out of the forest as the others blocked their path, preventing the Tigders from reaching them.

"Are you all ready?" Heric inquired. "Remember, don't aim for their hearts; that's our prize with these monsters, therefore we'll sacrifice their skin."

"Roger that!" said Minjoon. He then utilized his Vision power to view the monster's stomach x-ray visions, allowing him to avoid the heart.

He went towards the Tigders on the left and slipped down below the stomach as he used his knife to slice their belly apart once he remembered where every single gut was located.

When the first Tigder fell, Jiho took advantage of the opportunity and sprinted towards it, but this time he leapt over as he painted his Circle-Cross sign on top and yelled, "TRAP!"

When he landed, the earth beneath the monster disappeared, leaving a hole beneath it that caused it to fall to his death. After defeating one of them, Jiho and Minjoon high-fived for their excellent collaboration.

Heric dashed towards the next Tigder in the center, his katana in hand. Seeing his foe approaching, the Tigder elevated one of its feet to tread on Heric. But before the monster could do so, Heric utilized his "Time" power to slow the passage of time, thereby slowing the monster's movements.

During this, he chopped up all eight of its legs in less than a second. But, shockingly, that did not end its life.

So Milton used his four magic-filled arrows to shoot them at its head, defeating the second monster.

Heric huffed as he remembered there was still one more monster to face. He turned around to find it approaching Yuto, who was alone.

"Yuto!" screamed Heric, terrified. Yuto demonstrated his strength by defeating the final monster with three slices at an abnormally fast pace, just as Heric was about to run towards him for assistance.

Yuto noticed Heric looking at him with horror in his eyes when he finished. He moved his gaze to the monster he had killed and observed its lifeless body before returning his gaze to his companion.

"Did I slice the heart?" he wondered, worryingly.

"No, you didn't," Heric said, sighing with relief. Despite being assaulted by three massive Tigders, one of the fiercest monsters in this dimension, he was relieved to find everyone safe and unharmed.

"So, what's the deal with these monsters' hearts?" Minjoon said as Heric began dismantling these deceased animals, arranging their flesh, fur, and gemstones.

Jiho was stunned as he watched Heric extract the gems from the monster's body.

"They had jewels within them?"

"These are their hearts," Heric continued, "and when monsters die in this dimension, their hearts change into diamonds. Tigders diamonds are rather large, so we'll be well compensated!"

Sujin and Seungjae returned seconds later, while the lads were cleaning up, with their musical note swords up in the air, charging as they roared.

Hearing their shouts drew the boys' attention, and they were astonished to see their comrades dismantling the Tigders' lifeless corpses.

"Is it over?" Sujin remarked, wheezing.

"Yes, it's over." Milton nodded.

"Oh my God, my heart," murmured Seungjae as his hand was placed on his chest.

"But thanks for coming back, Hyung!" Jiho said, smiling. They both smiled back as they assisted Heric in dismembering the monsters.