“Stay holed up?” Suna had to repeat what Min had said. “While we fight, trying to find a way to the gateway?” He finished and scowled at the rugby player.

  He understood fear–of course, he did. He was skewered through with a sword from day one. But, expecting them to fight while he holed up in safety was a bit too much. So annoyance tingled under his skin, why now, when the path forward is clear?

  Still… What else are you supposed to say to someone who didn’t want to fight? Force them? Noa was a warrior. A role that obviously meant to take on the opponent head-on, and having an unstable one could be more dangerous than the monster itself.

  So Suna tried to find a way. “Well…” He started, trying to find the right word. “We don’t need to rush. We can start by hunting Drows,” Suna pointed out.

  Noa flinched, and he let out a small shuddering sigh.

  Slea was beside him, laying a hand on his shoulder. “We should have left him. If he did not want to fight, he shouldn’t have to,” Slea said.

  “I agree.” Min said as she leaned against the bed frame. “But, I’m not sure about just going back for him once we find the gate.”

  “Min!” Slea guffawed.

  Noa raised his head with a gaping mouth, staring at the woman.

  And Suna did too. That sounded like something cruel, but when he thought about it…

  “This gate is in the underworld that Pito spoke about, right? Which means we have to fight our way there, with Noa here… Doing what? Do you expect to come with us, and for us to protect you on the backline?”

  “I can carry your items!” Noa offered. “Potion, anything…”

  Suna pitied the rugby player; he really did. But his mind agreed with Min and Reki.

  “No!” Reki snapped. “Do I have to remind everyone here that you’re the one who pulled a heist in front of everyone and destroyed 8 runes? At least Eyeba—Suna here is willing to keep going and even become the highest level! And now you expect us to just, what? Carry you like a burden? Like an oversized courier lamb?”

  Slea growled at that. “And aren’t you the one who stole a class first?”

  “Inconsequential, I planned to keep going, unlike this coward here.”

  Slea stood glaring at Reki, her staff clenched tightly.

  The tension was about to explode, and Suna made a blue trail of what must be mana, entered the staff’s trunk.

  Before he knew it, he stepped in, with Pito noticing as well, put his body between Reki and Slea. The [Monk] held back Reki, who was squaring up against her.

  “TV show! TV show, remember!” Slea snapped. Min held the young woman back, with both arms hugging her tightly to her chest. But the [Mage] gave Min a harsh glare, one that was filled with disappointment, and a flicker of tears ran down her face.

  “See what's happening now?” Reki growled, trying to advance, but Pito was the higher level of the two and managed to pin the office worker to the wall. “You're repeating a point that doesn’t matter! Do you understand what this means? Deep down, you agree with me!” he shouted, pointing a finger at her.

  Slea's anger might as well have exploded like a sudden inferno, and the bluish light started to shimmer. Suna moved before the worst could happen; he snatched the staff from Slea's hand.

  The girl looked at him and at her staff. Realization dawned on her face.

  “I’m not going to blast him with a Mana Blast!” She said, naming what must be her skill name.

  “Anyway, I will be holding this,” Suna said, holding back a deep sigh that was threatening to come out.

  Slea's lips drew thin, and she just twisted her face, hiding her expression with her blond hair over her cheeks.

  “Just calm down. All right?” Min whispered. But Suna was able to notice the flicker of anger in Slea's body through her twitches.

  “So… Is this normal for you guys?” Pito asked as the silence held for more than three seconds.

  But no one said anything. Heck, what was Suna supposed to say?

  “Noa? You really going to just stay here?” Suna asked, and he did not hide his annoyance mixing in his tone.

  Slea offered a glare at him, but honestly, he didn’t care.

  Min caught his eye, and she mouthed to him the same word she just said to Slea. ‘Calm down’

  He took her advice; having another shouting match won’t resolve anything. So Suna let a deep sigh out, and Noa flinched from that. He must’ve thought that was from anger, which, part of it, was.

  “Well?”

  “Yes!” The [Warrior] stood. He opened his arm wide. “This is crazy!”

  This reminded him of the first time when he confronted the rugby player about picking a class earlier. He had defended himself like this as well.

  “We just saw two… no three of us turned into one of these Drow, an undead… no, we don’t even know if they’re undead.” He chuckled. “Because there’s literal undead! Down below! Tell me, why the hell would I keep fighting these… these things? This is a job for the military!”

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  “There’s no military!” Suna snapped. Did he hit his head along the way? Well, he was surrounded by piranha-bird, so he can accept an irrationality or two, maybe.

  “You don’t know that!”

  Okay, that's the second irrationality.

  Suna bit his lip, but not hard enough to taste blood.

  “Why should we just believe that white creature? There might be a way out… We can try to avoid a fight and go out of the city.”

  “Maybe because what he said was along the lines of what’s currently happening? The Runes, levels, monsters, and necromancer?” Suna pointed out. “And make your way out… to what end?”

  “To find others.”

  “There are no others, you stupid child!” Reki shouted.

  “Suna, I want to release this guy because I’m getting annoyed at that rugby guy, too,” Pito said.

  “Don’t!” Suna pointed at the bald [Monk]. “Please don’t,” he said softly, the second part.

  Pito clicked his tongue and grumbled, “Fine.“

  Before Suna could say anything more, however, the door burst open. One of the two Tieflings from earlier entered, this time, they were much more confident. He looked at Pito and Suna, then stuck his head out of the door. “Humans come now!”

  “I guess we will continue later,” Pito said, releasing Reki.

  “Reki, come with us,” Suna said. It was much better than having them fight each other here. Maybe after they cool down, they could work out something.

  The office worker gave Noa one last glare before shrugging off Pito and making an exit.

  Pito followed behind, glaring at Reki’s back.

  Suna sure hopes these two wouldn't fight, also.

  “We will figure it out,” Min said, smiling weakly. Suna nodded at her; he didn’t think they would. Slea and Noa didn’t seem to want to talk. Both of them had their heads down.

  “Okay,” Suna said. “I will be back.”

  He left the room to find about five Tieflings there, and three of them were injured. Blood marred their already red skin, and one of them was missing an eye. Their horns were cracked apart. Suna thought that if he touched it, then it would crumble.

  “Faster, human!” one of them snapped.

  He went downstairs and entered the dining room to find a dozen of them, almost everyone injured, from light to grievous. They still had their weapon, marred with blood and black spots.

  Reki and Pito sat… not next to each other. They left the middle empty, and Suna took the seat.

  He was about to lay his bow across the table before a whisper stopped him.

  “Keep your bow in hand.”

  It was Pito, the [Monk], who somehow held a jovial expression as he said it. Reki, on the other hand, was tense, with a shield resting by his chair and a mace he hid under the table.

  Suna eyed the Tieflings; they were breathing heavily with obvious exertion.

  “How’s the hunt?” Pito asked. “Was it successful, Thief Master?”

  The Tiefling in front of him growled. “You do not need to concern yourself with that human! We’re here to talk about that [Beastmaster] Drow–How you will now charge into the fray and help us, as agreed.”

  “As agreed? I was part of the Third. Not the Fifth and Fourth. And the Third plan was to let me level up, as approved by the council, before I would be sent to face the [Beastmaster].”

  “Emergency! This is an emergency. What happens on the battlefield will take precedence over the Council’s decision! Now go back there, and save our brethren who are still fighting, or elset…” Eight Tieflings stood suddenly before them, and Suna caught the glint of crossbows in the streaming moonlight through the wide window, catching the weapon's polished steel.

  Pito moved first. He kicked upward, snapping the table into the air. It flipped onto the Tieflings, their crossbow fired uselessly into the wood.

  Suna sprang from his chair, eyes snapped to his right and left. Reki raised his shield up to his left, and Pito charged with his chair on tow to the right–each facing two crossbows.

  He held up his bow. The table crashed in a heap of flesh and wood. The Tiefling groaned as they sprawled over, with some of them still stuck under the table.

  Now that their crossbow were unloaded, he needed to make his shot count.

  Suna loosed three arrows back to back–each one striking a Tiefling in their head. Their body snapped back, and one was even pinned to the wooden cupboard like some deer-head decoration.

  [You have Slain. Tiefling Lvl 3]

  [You have Slain. Tiefling Lvl 3]

  [You have Slain. Tiefling Lvl 3]

  He wouldn’t be able to release another, however. One of them lunged at him, throwing itself straight from its crumpled position, and hefting its great sword at Suna’s head.

  The attack was sloppy, but Suna still bounced back. The Greatsword crashed to the floor, sending a cloud of dust up as it stuck deep into the wood.

  Suna whirled his bow, the obsidian limb bludgeoning the Tiefling’s face, and blood spattered upward. The creature went down, its cheek now bleeding with a purplish wound. He heard a snap of bone as the creature collapsed.

  [You have Slain. Tiefling Lvl 3]

  Suna drew his bow to be greeted by four charging Tieflings–two with glaives and another two wielding great swords.

  He released an arrow into one’s neck, killing it in an instant.

  Dropping his bow, he drew his sword. And anxiety crept in; this will be one against three, and he had only had a melee weapon. Suna focused, and the first attack came. He stepped back, letting it fall short. One of the Tieflings slipped in the pool of blood and crashed to the ground.

  That left two for a couple of seconds. Suna dove in, meeting a greatsword that swung at him in a brutal arc. He angled his sword sideways with both hands. The moment the blades met, the great sword was blown back. Suna's eyes widened, but he reminded himself that his strength was far superior to the Tiefling's–maybe tenfold, assuming they hadn’t consumed runes.

  Could they even injure him?

  Suna plunged his sword deep into the Tiefling's chest. It gasped. He shoved the demon away and whirled around to face a glaive-wielder who swung very sluggisly. He cleaved through the glaive handle, slicing off the Tiefling's hand. Blood spurted as Suna finished the creature with a pommel strike to its head, cracking its nose and snapping its head back from the mere force alone.

  [You have Slain. Tiefling Lvl 3]

  [You have Slain. Tiefling Lvl 3]

  He turned around and was ready to deal with the last two, but none came. Instead, Reki and Pito were there, standing over their dead demon.

  “Not even a level up,” Reki complained, his mace covered with slick red blood. “Well, the runes will make up for it.”

  “This will be a pain to explain to my Thiefmaster,” the [Monk] sighed, shaking his head at the dead bodies.

  Suna looked over the massacre–how they positioned. How come none were standing behind them? Maybe they were just tired from fighting the [Beastmaster] or had another objective or something.

  “Upstairs!” Suna shouted.

  Realization dawned on Reki and Pito, and all three of them started to run. The second-floor hallway was filled with dead Tieflings, arrows jutting from their chests and necks. Min was there, just finishing the last Tiefling with a slash of her dagger.

  “Min!” Suna called.

  “I’m fine,” Min said. “But inside…”

  Suna pressed his lip thin and opened the door. His arm grew weak, and he almost slumped down. Noa had a deadly gash across his throat, and Slea tried to force him to drink potions, but the man kept gurgling, and his body would not take it.