'Slash!'
The hunter's blade withdrew from the entity's heart, watching as it laid lifeless on the ground. The surrounding entities had been wiped out by other hunters, and moved forward to the next floor.
Another agile entity slithered its way to the hunter, only to be met by their blade, sliced in half. Its head moved on its own, lunging at the hunter. The other half aimed for their feet, which then was surrounded with emerald-like aura.
Before it could even react, an unpleasant 'pop!' was heard followed by blood gushing on the floor.
The hunter patted his own shoulder, using his mana to blow up any entity nearby.
⌜Entity kill count: 4,762.⌟
He stole a glance from the system, unfazed, as he continued his path in the dungeon.
'Buzz'
"Another notification?" He shook his right wrist, the window appearing before him, showing his profile from the smartwatch.
⌜Name: Claude Meril
> Local Rank: #2
> International Rank: #5⌟
[Notification from: International Headquarters.]
What was it now?
'Tap.'
[Decagons. Your attention is required this afternoon at 3 o'clock, followed by our newest member.]
Claude snapped his fingers, listening to the agonizing screams of the entities, writhing in his mana.
Interesting.
[Link: xxx]
He was about to close his window when a notification popped up from the group chat.
⌜Decagons [Elite] - (1) notification.⌟
'Tap'
⁜— fishyy (#4): @emmettomelette dude r u serious abt purchasing that gamepass?
⁜— emmettomelette (#5): what gamepass
⁜— fishyy (#4): bruh u literally js sent a message 10 mins ago saying ur getting this gamepass from Z-Hunters that costs like 100$
Claude lifted a brow, before rolling his eyes in realization, grumbling as he typed his response.
⁜— emmettomelette (#5): ..that's not me. i'm in the dungeon rn
⁜— fishyy (#4): THEN WHO WAS THAT?!!?
He had an idea exactly who it was.
⌜Entity kill count: 5,002.⌟
Claude ignored the extra window.
⁜— emmettomelette (#5): take a guess. who else can message here thru my acc???
⁜— pandaredd (#7): guys my notifs r blowing up js private message bruh
⁜— Winter (#2): Besides, this group was meant for business purposes.
⁜— fishyy (#4): u csn mute ur notifcs then
⁜— Winter (#2): Please refrain from slang. There's no notification option here.
⁜— emmettomelette (#5): whatevs guys!! im fighting S+ monsters here so adios
⁜— pandaredd (#7): bro is not spanish
***
'Ding!'
⌜Decagons [Elite] - (20+) notifications.⌟
"Seriously, so many notifications.."
Juno gave up and checked her inbox, her attention focusing on a specific member.
Winter. International Headquarter's former 1st ranker and current 2nd ranker. Of course, Juno wasn't intimidated by his.. use of formal language. However, she was curious how things were before she became the 1st ranker.
Juno then had an idea.
'Ding!'
⁜— Star (#1): e
It surely was the best way for Juno to introduce herself anonymously.
⁜— pandaredd (#7): WHAT OMG HI
⁜— Crowned Thorn (#8): heyy welcome to the decagons!!
⁜— plaeyr (#6): cmon ive been trying to tag this person
They surely responded fast. Juno let out a slight giggle, then paused. She was enjoying this quite a bit. Maybe being a ranker wouldn't be so bad after all.
⁜— Black Rose (#9): What's with the hype? They've only typed one letter.
Juno had to keep her guard up.
I haven't met them in real life.
⁜— Star (#1): [sent an emoji]
⁜— pandaredd (#7): whoever u r im gonna find u
The girl's eye twitched at their response.
⁜— pandaredd (#7): then we'll hunt S-class entities together [smiley]
⁜— Black Rose (#9): You've scared them off, my dear.
⁜— plaeyr (#6): don't act like her mom, yurie.
⁜— Black Rose (#9): She's 16, is she not by far the youngest?
⁜— pandaredd (#7): aaa @Star are u still there???
'Pow!'
Juno's indigo strands were tied back into a ponytail, throwing a particularly high kick towards the equipment.
⌜Channel closed.⌟
Martial arts was one of Juno's key interests other than videogames.
"Hooo.. What time is it?"
- 3:01PM
"What?!"
Juno hurried off and changed her clothes, settling down on the sofa as she clumsily navigated through the hologram.
[Meeting joined.]
- Decagons. We have not enough time to discuss this further, Zeldina is in danger. An accumulated number of asteroids have hatched in their area, becoming a danger zone for the citizens.
Juno's camera was off, yet she silently listened through the device.
- A major incident happened yesterday morning in Zeldina. The sky had made an opening, and an unruly being passed through. The system had warned us of this, did it not?
- Yes, we were warned, president.
It was 'Black Rose', the same one Juno had seen through the channels.
She was a particularly well-known individual for her skill and elegance. Juno had seen her numerous times on the headlines.
- Keep watch of this otherworldly being. We do not know what's ahead of us. Report any unusual sightings to the headquarters, especially to our esteemed member today, Star.
... Did you really have to mention me right now?
- Welcome, star!
The other member smiled towards the camera, clasping their hands together. [Crowned Thorn]
Some were welcoming of my presence,
[Winter] remained silent and seemed to have been preoccupied with.. paperworks.
And some were not.
- Here's the live footage.
All of a sudden, Juno could no longer see the president nor the other members, as if the meeting was switched off.
Before Juno could react, another window popped up, with a video of the sky.
'Zap!'
The atmosphere was sliced open, akin to a paper cut, with nothing but a dark void within. Juno felt goosebumps with the familiar noise.
Don't tell me..
Juno wasn't sure. All that she knew the noise that it made was the same one Juno heard the day before.
'Whooooooooooooosh!'
A mysterious figure, unidentified whether it was human or not, jumped in before the sky magically stitched itself back together.
Juno saw nothing but an obsidian robe. Surely, it wasn't that big of a deal.
- That's our footage. Zeldina's local rankers are investigating this unknown being, but as of now, stay vigilant.
- No. 6, if you are willing to head to the dungeons of Adelcross-
- Already there, president. [emmettomelette]
So that's the person from Adelcross besides Juno.
- No. 1.
Juno felt shivers down her spine by the mention of her ranking.
- Please head to the Adelcross borders with Local Ranker no. 3.
Instead of unmuting her microphone, Juno simply typed on the screen.
{..Why?}
She could see another member cover their mouth, holding their laughter as they muted their microphone.
What's wrong? I genuinely needed to ask.
The president sighed, rubbing her temples as she spoke.
- If you consent, we will send you on a mission with a companion.
{Why??}
Another member turned their camera off.
- Adelcross rankers are in the dungeon. It's their gathering today to ascend the towers. You are required. Details will be given in the border.
[Meeting was ended by host.]
Huh? That was it?
Juno wanted to decline.
However, she had no particular reason not to go, other than concerns of her safety. Her father was at work, and she had just cooled down from training.
"Wait. How will I even get there?!"
'Whiirrr'
A portal appeared from below.
Well, there's my answer, Juno thought. She opened her wardrobe, changing into her hoodie.
Not a very good disguise, but it'll do for now.
Juno jumped straight into the portal.