Are they fucking?

Each party member was effective in their own right. In other not to extinguish themselves before the main battle.

They navigated through the terrain.

Avoiding contacts with Nightmares but anything encounter that was inescapable was handled by Captain Jaron and Skarr.

Olsen was in charge with the navigation since he's well educated in geographics.

Penelope and Anjui stayed together. Everyone had their cursed weapons active, Savitar wielded a katana.

Penelope uses a battle axe while Anjui is a spearman.

Skarr possesses a dual tactical knife as his cursed weapon.

Captain Jaron uses a large great sword as his cursed weapon. Olsen on the other hand uses a scythe as his cursed weapon.

And Jisyk uses a large battle hammer as his cursed weapon. Each made use of different weapons that suits them.

But Captain Jaron and Skarr were on the offensive role the entire time.

Jisyk, Penelope and Anjui were on defense.

Olsen is the navigator and Savitar wasn't given a proper role to play. They passed through the mountains.

Walking through the forests. Surviving the desert storms and entering into the roughened mountain grounds.

The steel incline forced them to scramble on all fours, their hands grasping for handholds in the rocky soil.

The trial was treacherous, with loose gravel and jagged rocks threatening to send them tumbling at every step.

While still avoiding any confrontation.

The thin air left them gasping, the only sounds the crunch of gravel beneath their feets. And the rush of wind through the trees.

Olsen halted his movements. Everyone followed, watching below the mountain ground they stood on.

They could see eyeless patrolling borderline into the centered areas of the Southern Province.

"What's going on? I know that eyeless Nightmares move in hordes but markers are territorial "

"They barely group together when commanded by a double marker Nightmare. Why are they working together?"

Anjui curiously asked.

They bent their heads down, avoiding being detected by the patrolling Nightmares.

Screeches filled the air and snarls echoed.

"We're at the right direction, this is the borderline, it's possible it was created by our target and this Nightmares are here on patrolling "

"But for something like this to be happening. It looks like something is happening in there" Olsen explained.

"Something is happening? Could the Hermagodon be injured?" Penelope asked.

"Well that's possible. Even province is occupied by a fourth marker Nightmare, probably the Hermagodon clashed with the ruler of the west"

"But it may be something else" Olsen said.

"Well we can't figure it out if we don't go it right? We have to bypass this security and head towards the direction of our target"

"If she's injured. This may be the perfect time to strike" Captain Jaron spoke out.

"True but it isn't just single markers that are here. There are double markers as well"

"We need someone with stealth skill " Olsen explained.

"Well my skill is stealth class, what do you need me to do?" Skarr questioned.

"Skarr. You're a level 15 player so you're capable of taking down a single marker Nightmare, I need to sneak in there"

"And placed this thing in there" Olsen instructed. He handed a spherical metallic object over to Skarr who received it.

"Hey. What's this?" Skarr questioned.

"That's a grenade, I stole it from the Black Star Platoon base before we left. This will be served as distraction "

"The Nightmares will be drawn to the sudden sound of explosion and we'll sneak in without having to fight"

Olsen illuminated.

"Hmmm, that's a solid plan. A direct confrontation with this mere Nightmares will only inform our target that we're here"

"We don't need to give it enough time to prepare " Captain Jaron stated.

Skarr left afterwards.

Activating his stealth class skill. He bypassed the security of the patrolling Nightmares, he dugged a hole.

With the orb buried into the ground. Skarr clicked the button on the grenade.

He fled the scene and what erupted next was a vast surging explosion.

"They're distracted. Let's go" Olsen instructed.

As predicted. The Nightmares were drawn towards the explosion, they were scattered and distracted.

Giving them the chance to sneak in.

They snucked in. Passing through the Verdant valley, they were mesmerized by the lush and grassy land.

The gentle breeze whooshed passed them.

"Is this really the Eastern Coast? Why is there such a beautiful scenery in this deathly domain?" Penelope questioned.

She couldn't believe her eyes.

"The Eastern Coast wasn't always like this. A half a century ago, this land was the fief owned by a powerful nation in this East"

"I became like this after the Empire created a means to force dungeon breaks to occur in this land"

"Frequent Dungeon breaks occured in the Empire so they had to divert it. Forcing gate breaks to occur in the Eastern Coast"

"After fifty years. This place became a dangerous land to exist it"

"Not only because of the corrupted Starlight Energy oozing through the sky but most of the Nightmares that weren't dealt with inhabited this land"

"The powerful Eastern Nation was plunged into chaos and they were driven into extinction " Olsen explained.

"Hmph, another day to be amazed by the wickedness of the Empire"

"Despite the war crimes committed by the Empire. No State is willing enough to stand against them, not even the federation " Penelope spoke out.

"What do you expect the federation to do? If they had the strength to stand against the Empire. They would have done it already "

"The Empire is unchallenged for a reason. Undefeated in battle, they are infamous for creating technologies and weapons far advanced "

"It's more like they're from the future. The Empire even claimed ownership of the Grey Tower and no one could oppose them" 

Jisyk explained.

Savitar gritted his teeth. He made not a single sound but Captain Jaron noticed his seething rage.

"That's enough talks. We're here for a reason, let's kill that Nightmare and get out of here if we're lucky"

Captain Jaron interrupted their conversation.

And silence reigned.

"We're here" Olsen voiced out. All eyes fell upon him.

They have been walking for more than thirty minutes already, they halted their movements and before them was a vast black hole.

They felt it.

An unearthly presence beneath them. Compared to the eyeless Nightmares, Ragdads and single markers.

This is an abomination.

Their eyes twitched. They all felt it….

<the power of Cognition> gave everyone a single warning.

Run away!

"I don't need to explain what's beneath this black hole right? This is a calamity " Olsen spoke out.

His hands quivered. He could be seen sweating profusely.

Everyone became deathly silent. Not uttering a single word.

Savitar broke the silence. He took a step forward, approaching the entrance of the black hole.

"Hey. What are you doing?" Penelope asked.

Savitar stayed wordless for a few seconds.

The upheaval of tension engulfed the air and Savitar's lips curved up, revealing a grin.

"We can't just stay still right? It's just like Olsen said, a calamity is beneath us and I need to know what it is"

Savitar answered.

He took a step forward, diving into the black hole. Everyone watched in awe.

Skarr chuckled.

"Hmph. Such a brave kid eh? There's no need for us to be overwhelmed with fear if we're gonna die anyways "

"Let's die having fun" Skarr giggled. He licked the edge of his cursed weapon.

He followed, diving into the black hole.

Seeing both Savitar and Skarr entering the black hole, the rest mustered courage and they all entered the black hole.

Savitar was the first to descend into the enormous dingy subterranean. He made his landing on the ground.

Eerie waves erupted sending chills down his spine. Without the gas masks which protected his face.

He would have been inundated by the corrosive corruption emitted within the Starlight Energy discharged into the atmosphere.

The air was thick with dust, and the flickering torches cast eerie shadows on the damp walls.

The passageway was narrow and dimly lit, with rough-hewn stone blocks looming above.

The dingy subterranean tunnels seemed to swallow him while, the darkness and silence oppressive.

And the air in the underground cavern was stale and musty, heavy with the scent of age and decay.

He winced out loud as his bones twisted as a result of his landing impact.

"What the hell?" Savitar exclaimed.

His attention drifted towards the strange movements he felt and the vulgar sounds he heard. His eyes twitched, present before him was a colossal Arachnid.

Ten legged and armored metallic plated back. Engulfed in corrupted Starlight Energy.

What shocked Savitar wasn't the collosal size of the fourth marker Nightmare but the activity that was ongoing.

He listened to the whispers of monstrous moans. His eyes bulged, twitching rapidly, this was a time he wished he was deaf.

Before his eyes. The Hermagodon is seen thrusting into the hole of a monolithic reticulated crimsoned centipede shaped triple marker Nightmare.

"Wait a damn minute. Are this two fucking right now?"