Greem walked out of the obsidian chamber with his head high, the heavy weight of Kael Ironguard's cold gaze still lingering on him like a shadow. Behind him, his team trailed in silence. Even Lira, the usual chatterbox, was quiet, her fingers lightly tracing the edges of her quiver as though she was deep in thought.
"We got what we came for," Greem said, his voice cutting through the silence. "A real mission."
"Real mission? From Kael?" Lira muttered, casting a glance at him. "He doesn't give out real missions for free. What's the catch? I know you trained a bit under Rodrigue, but the man only suggested it. It was Kael who approved and assigned us to the mission"
Greem's jaw tightened, but he didn't break stride. "It's a C-rank gate, an expedition. That's more than we've had in months."
Vessa, always the cautious one, looked up from her sharpening stone, her voice low but edged with concern. "You think Kael just handed that to us because he felt generous?"
Greem didn't answer immediately. He wasn't sure, either. Kael had offered them the mission so quickly, with little of the usual bureaucracy or politicking. It seemed almost too easy. But the fact was, they needed this. The team was capable of more than simple D-rank jobs, and Kael knew it.
Truth to be told, in the [Fiends], they were being used like all the others. They were pawns in his chess game of gaining influence on Nayr Island. As they grew, they became more powerful. The fact that he was Kael's son changed little to that. They were being used like all the others.
"I'll handle the details," Greem said, breaking the tension. "Viktor's on the top floor. We're meeting him there"
Vessa shot him a curious look, but the others dismissed it as Greem's secretive nature.
Inwardly, Greem knew his worth. It had only been a year since he had started hunting. Granted, he had been given D-rank equipment from the start, received training from the best, but he had already reached D-rank.
Others could only clear dungeons to grow stronger, without a clear, quantitative way to measure their progress. Machines could tell how much you improved, but they did not know people's specific threshold in skills, attributes as they varied based on perks, genetics and character. In other words, people could not see how far they were from a breakthrough, or their progress in general.
Greem could with his system. It was not very useful besides this, but occasionally, he would receive quests. Although training and elixirs could increase his stats, it could not compare to quests. Often tedious like clearing 8 lurker dens, they did provide weeks' worth of progress as rewards. That was his secret. His edge. The reason why Greem rose so fast, how he earned the respect of his companions.
The elevator hummed quietly as it rose. Greem stood at the front, hands clasped behind his back. His team flanked him, as always, each of them embodying a mix of loyalty and unease. They had been with him for a year now, long enough to understand what it meant to follow Greem into danger. And yet, they still weren't used to the unspoken pressure that came with it.
Lira, walking slightly ahead, glanced back at him, her lips curling into a half-smile. "You're the one with the connections. What's Viktor's deal? And why'd Kael send you to talk to him?"
Greem's face remained unreadable, though the hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Because I'm his son. And you're right to ask—Viktor's always got something up his sleeve. But a C-rank gate expedition? It's too big to turn down."
Borin, with his broad shoulders and quiet demeanor, shifted his weight impatiently. "Don't get too cocky, kid. The higher they send you, the harder they'll knock you down. That's how it works in this world."
Greem didn't respond, though his grip tightened slightly on the strap of his pack. Borin's words had weight. His team had joined him for the potential, for the promise of moving up in the world. At first, it was about the access that came with being Kael's son—the resources, the prestige, the chance to prove they were more than just pawns.
But over time, they had stayed because of Greem's unrelenting drive. His talent was undeniable, and his ability to pull the best out of his team was even more so, despite his unyielding standards and brutal training methods. He was fully aware that he was a piece of work. His work ethic, the no-rest policy and high expectations were too much for most. But this was the [Fiends] guild.
The elevator doors slid open, and they stepped into a sleek, high-tech office. Viktor sat behind a black marble desk, his fingers idly flicking across a holographic map of the island. The rough scars on his face stood in stark contrast to the pristine technology around him. When he looked up, there was a sharp, calculating gleam in his eyes.
Viktor might not look like it, but he was actually a peak C-rank mage. Mages grew slower than warrior classes, as they needed comprehension of magic to break through. However, a C-rank mage could have as much contribution as a B-rank warrior in expeditions thanks to their large area of effect spells. This was why Viktor was treated as a higher-up, even though he was not a B-rank hunter yet.
"Greem", Viktor greeted, his voice as gravelly as ever, "I just received word from Rodrigue."
Greem nodded slightly, moving forward without hesitation. His team filed in behind him, as accustomed to the dynamics of these meetings as they were to the constant tension in their lives.
"We're here about the C-rank gate," Greem said bluntly, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. "Kael said you needed teams. We're your best option."
Viktor studied him for a moment before speaking, his lips curling into a wry grin. "You're ambitious, I'll give you that. And you're right about one thing—Kael's resources are getting thin. But it's not just about the gate. It's about what might be inside. That's why I'm picking the best teams."
Lira leaned in, crossing her arms. "And what is inside this gate? You're being awfully vague, Viktor."
Viktor's grin faded slightly, his gaze turning more serious. "We've been monitoring the gate for a while. The monsters are unpredictable—more than we expected. And there are anomalies in the mana readings. I suspect there's something else inside that could be... valuable. But we don't know for sure. There is more at stake than just the expedition, that being said"
Greem nodded slowly, already weighing the risks and rewards. A C-rank gate was no small matter, and if there were anomalies involved, they could be facing something far beyond what they were prepared for. But the possibility of something valuable—whether it was an artifact, a skill book, or even a rare monster—could turn everything around.
From C-rank onwards, dungeons became exponentially bigger. D-rank dungeons could be cleared in a day, even hours with a strong set-up like Greem's team. C-rank dungeons, however, could take a week. That's why they called it "expeditions".
"We'll take the mission," Greem said after a pause. "But you're telling us there's more at stake than just monsters. What's the real reason you're sending us?"
Viktor didn't respond immediately. Instead, he flicked a few controls on his desk, pulling up a holographic map of the island, pinpointing the gate's location. "You see those fluctuations? Very low, right? Usually, C-rank gates and above are monopolised by the light guilds. However, they failed to detect this one. This means uncharted territory, money beyond imagination"
On Nayr Island, the most dangerous gate that appeared was a B-rank gate. And it took the collaboration of the three major guilds to take it down. And it had been very much worth it, allowing Kael Ironguard to break through.
The second best rewarding ressource was C-rank gates. And one that was undiscovered, untouched? That was very rare, by all means.
Greem's team exchanged looks, the weight of Viktor's words sinking in. This wasn't just a routine mission. This was something bigger.
Viktor continued: "Don't worry. We have been preparing for this expedition for quite some time now. Besides you, there are 4 other D-rank teams. I will be leading the expedition, which should be more than enough to take care of any C-rank boss we might encounter. Helena Yale and your sister Alicia will oversee the expedition and make sure nothing unusual happens too"
Greem sighed in relief. Helena Yale was a rising star, a C-rank rogue-class hunter. With her supporting the expedition from the shadow, their set up was more than enough to take care of a C-rank expedition. As for his sister? She was a solid C-rank warrior too. Only 3 C-rank hunters for a C-rank gate might seem a bit low, but the others belonged to the main attack squad and were working on other expeditions or recovering from injuries.
Numbers mattered.
Dangers from C-rank gates came from lack of sleep, hunger, and constant fighting. That's why expeditions needed many hunters. They could take guards, support each other, set up a camp in case of injuries as well as bring in many supplies.
Compared to the "Dark Era", where hunters cleared gates with minimal data and little preparation, there was little room for error with Kael's policies and processes set in place. Each expedition would be supported by a machinal rationale minimising risks and bringing the best out of hunters.
'This is one of the reasons why the [Fiends] have become so strong in a single decade...', Greem realised his father's genius as he grew the echelons
"We leave in a week. Take the time to rest and make preparations. You have grown just fine, Greem", Viktor said in approval.