"AHH!"
"Simon!"
"Esper down! Esper down!"
The person who screamed turned out to be one of the A-rank Espers from Phoenix Flight. He was hit by some of the acidic vomit which melted off his right arm and was encroaching further.
He collapsed, his screams muffled in the sands as his body squirmed like a worm given salt.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team had either rolled away, barely avoiding the acid, or had darted at the A-rank centipedes. Ambrose was obviously part of the first set of people.
'What's the point of joining a raid like this if I'm merely a spectator?' he questioned the system mentally, panting with pure terror on the ground. 'I–I feel so helpless right now.'
As he stared up at the colossal beasts gazing down upon them—his mind flashed to similar scenes. Scenes that made his blood boil with more rage than fear.
First... The moment he was robbed in his past life. The way those masked men surrounded him after telling him to kneel. Then, of course, the second was when he got transmigrated.
Han's scornful look. The mocking jeers of his lackeys as he kicked him.
Over and over again, he kept being tossed around.
And oh, was he sick of it.
"Ambrose!" To his surprise, the voice that barked his name was Devon's. The S rank picked him from behind, forcing him to his feet. "Do you want to get killed? Move, God damnit!"
That jolted Ambrose's mind back to reality. The searing hot, almost suicidal reality in the form of the screeching beasts surrounding them.
His eyes scanned the perimeter.
A healing-type Esper had rushed to that man's aid, her fingers glowing with a yellow light. Veins, arteries, and bone slowly reformed, along with flesh and skin.
Next—the S ranks.
Viktor was flawless as ever, single-handedly taking on one of the beasts. He hopped off its body repeatedly, each time leaving behind thick layers of frost that seeped past its exoskeleton.
A huge, muscular combat-type S rank from Phoenix Flight roared, shooting tens of feet into the air with a single leap. He dug his fingers into the tough exoskeleton of another centipede, scaling higher in seconds—
—Until he got to the head.
One precise punch ripped out an eye, sending black blood spilling down like rain. The beast let out a rattling scream, thrashing around as its jagged feet fell to the ground like giant nails.
Alisha took off her headphones, snapping her neck once. "You all might want to cover your ears for this one!"
Ambrose instinctively did just that, gritting his teeth. Despite that, when she opened her mouth again—even covering his ears felt futile.
A piercing sonic scream escaped her mouth, slamming the remaining three centipedes simultaneously. Their exoskeletons began peeling off. Their numerous legs fell back to the earth. Then they roared in pain, trying and failing to avoid the range of the devastation.
In a matter of thirty seconds, all five of the A-rank centipedes were brought down. None of the A-rank Espers had to intervene at all.
It felt easy. Too easy.
'These S ranks are like gods...' Ambrose's throat tightened.
Forgetting that Devon had been beside him all this time. And not happy about it too.
'I stepped in to protect him.' Devon scolded himself. 'Why? I made it clear that I won't protect him.'
His hand was clamped around Ambrose's elbow. The C rank guide seemed too carried away with observing the others' fight to notice him.
Or was he ignoring him intentionally?
Irritated by the thought, Devon pulled back his hand. "Hopefully I won't need to babysit you moving forward." He scowled, eyeing Ambrose once before pinning his gaze on the S ranks. "We need to reserve our energy. Leave most of the fighting to the A ranks."
In the same heartbeat, the system flashed a notification screen in front of Ambrose's face.
[Attraction Points: 15]
Well, damn.
Just a few seconds around him was enough to get his attraction points from eleven to fifteen. That's an extra four points!
[Don't forget your main reason for being here. You need to find a way to gain Devon's trust and permanently link with him.]
[For now, your passive guiding energy is keeping his mind stable enough—alongside the other Guides.]
The group was surrounded by the carcases of the centipedes. The stench of acid and blood hung heavy in the air.
While they could get to work trying to loot the bodies for aether cores and possibly their skeletons—they didn't have that leisure.
Not in an S rank dungeon.
"What's he useful for?" Han broke the solemn silence beside Devon. All eyes trailed who he was glaring at. Ambrose. "No, seriously. Once we get deeper into this dungeon, we'll all need to fight."
Devon tried holding him back. "Guide Han..."
But he brushed his hand away, head tilting at Ambrose. The latter only stared back with a tightened jaw, pulse already beating in expectation.
"You're dead weight, C rank." Han went on. "Do you think anyone would be able to save you once things get serious? We—"
"Enough."
Everyone turned their head to the person who interrupted.
Viktor.
His arms were folded in front of his chest, expression bored. He didn't look like someone who took down two beasts on his own. "The C rank is still a Guide. Not to mention he hasn't fainted due to the aether energy pressure so that's a plus."
[You're welcome.]
"Right now we should be focused on preparing our minds," Viktor's tone turned grim, eyes sliding to the man who got injured earlier.
His arm was now fully healed, although he still sat on the sand, heaving through his mouth.
Viktor's chin lifted. "What we experienced now was only the tip of the iceberg. Yet someone almost died," he paused for a breath. "I do hope you all kissed your loved ones before coming here. An S rank dungeon isn't just your normal raid..."
He turned away from the group, exchanging a knowing glance with Devon. Because they both knew. Better than anyone else on this mission.
"... Most times it's also a death sentence. It's only a matter of how strong or stubborn you are to resist its guillotine."
As Viktor's warning lingered in the air, Ambrose swallowed.
Dead weight.
Maybe Han was right.
But he hadn't stepped into this dungeon to survive.
He stepped in to rise.
Devon would be the first.
And once he had him—
No one in this cursed Guideverse would ever dare look down on him again.