"Seriously? You could've at least chosen a D-Rank Dungeon," Damon muttered as he stepped out of the warden's car. A large circular magic portal pulsed before him, its brown aura swirling. "F-Ranks aren't any fun."
"Walk."
Warden Morgan pushed him forward.
A team stood a few meters from the portal. They were armored, armed, and radiating the usual menace of Dungeon Hunters.
"We got your message," one of them said, eyes flicking over Damon with disdain. "With all due respect, Morgan, my team doesn't need a plus-one. Especially not human trash."
"You've got ears the size of palm leaves," Damon shot back, folding his arms. "If anyone's trash, it's you, goofy."
"How dare-"
The young rushed at Damon but Morgan brought his hand in front of Damon.
"Jake, you'll have enough time to put this maggot in his place when you're inside," Morgan said, making Jake calm down. "Do you have a porter?"
"We don't need one. We pull our own weight in F-Rank Dungeons."
"Well, now you have one." Morgan shoved Damon forward. "Damon here seems to think humans are equal to other races. Re-educate him."
Jake's lips curled into a smile. "With pleasure, but should I be worried about the agency?"
"Leave that to me."
Jake understood perfectly. This wasn't the first time Morgan had delivered a 'problem' slave to be corrected. He had a spotless record of breaking spirits.
Damon studied Jake with an uncaring look. He had long white ears, soft fur, a stubby tail. Aside from that, he looked almost human. Bunnykin sat near the bottom of the racial hierarchy, but even they were worth more than humans.
Beside the physical differences distinguishing one race from another, there were magical differences. Humans had zero-affinity to magic.
"Call me when you're done," Morgan said, turning away.
"Elle didn't deserve to die," Damon called after him. "She was just a kid. You could've let her off with a warning for fuck's sake."
Morgan paused, then smiled coldly. "I could've. But it feels good ridding the world of unevolved scum like you."
He got Into his car and drove off.
"Let's go maggot. We aint got all day."
Jake led Damon to meet the team. There were five in total. A male Elf, a male Wolfkin, a female Bunnykin, a Hellion male then Jake, a Bunnykin. Damon assumed Jake their leader and the strongest ranked among the group.
One way or another they all caught Damon's attention but he was more interested in the female Bunny. Her curves were made to be stared and salivated at. Damon felt blood rush into his dick at the sight of her.
I could tell you more but she won't survive the next chapter so there's no point. Now where was I? Oh yeah…
As the acting porter, there wasn't much load for Damon to carry. After all it was a F-Rank Dungeon. The monsters there were too weak for standard weapons.
"Don't I get a weapon?" Damon asked as they prepared to go in.
There was silence for a few seconds.
"I could rip off your arm and let you use that as a sword," the Hellion said lazily.
"No thanks," Damon retreated.
Truly no one gave a damn if he survived.
"Alright. We're moving in."
The dungeon was a winding cavern system carved from dark stone. The air reeked of damp rot. Bioluminescent moss clung to the walls, casting blue light over jagged stalactites and uneven ground. Shallow pools of acidic slime dotted the floor.
Damon didn't seem fazed by the dungeon. He had mined in hundreds of places like this. It didn't take long for the first monster to appear.
A bat the size of a boot burst from the shadows, wings stretching nearly half a meter wide. Damon didn't have the inspect skill so he couldn't get more info about the creature.
Screechhh!
The moment it noticed them, it went into a frenzy of attacks. A stream of greenish goo came out of its mouth, targeting Jake. Jake dodged it with ease. He brought out his sword and slashed the bat midair.
-12
A red alert appeared above the bat as Jake's sword split it in two. Its body twisted as it fell, acid drooling from its torn mouth and splattering across the stone floor behind Damon.
The rock hissed.
A pit began to form where the slime touched.
"Damn bats."
Damon looked at the ground where the goo had landed to see a small crater had formed. The goo had an acidic effect. The Healer most likely won't attend to him so Damon was cautious not to get seriously wounded.
"Anyone else hear that?"
Screeeechhh!
Screeechhhh!!
Bat noises echoed in the distance.
"That's a lot of bats," one of the elves commented, pulling an arrow on the string of his bow.
"It just had to be bats," Damon cursed with a sigh.
The shadows shifted and stalactites seemed to move. Then the entire ceiling came apart.
Bats dropped in clusters, wings tangling as they fought for space in the air, bodies crashing into each other as they dove toward the group.
"Shields forward!" one of the elves snapped.
The Hellion moved first, boots grinding into the stone as he planted himself at the front with his large iron shield.
The Wolfkin didn't wait for orders. Daggers out, he leapt into the swarm slicing anything with wings.
-7
-8
-10
The bats attacked by vomiting acid. Green streaks cut through the cavern like thrown knives.
One splashed across the Hellion's shoulder.
-9
Steam rose from his skin.
He didn't flinch.
The elf drew and released arrows in smooth, practiced motion. Arrows punched through the bats' fragile bodies, pinning shrieking shapes to the walls where they continued to twitch before death.
-10
-9
-11
Damon tried to stay out of the battle but the bats were too much for that to work. They attacked anything with a pulse.
A bat slipped past the frontline, wings beating erratically as it zeroed in on the slowest target in the room.
Him.
Damon ducked.
The bat skimmed over his head, claws raking the air where his face had been.
Another slammed into his side but died from impact.
-5
Pain bit deep as acid splashed across his ribs. His clothes smoked as the skin beneath burned. He staggered back, his foot slipping on wet stone.
A third bat hit him square in the chest. Its weight drove the air out of his lungs.
He fell backward, the creature shrieking inches from his face, saliva dripping onto his cheek. The stench of rotten meat was unbearable.
Damon grabbed it by the neck and snapped it's thin bones under his grip. The bat convulsed once, then went limp. Acid leaked from its mouth and burned into his palm.
-11
"Fuck!" Damon flung the corpse away.
The swarm thickened. The sound of flapping wings and screeches became overwhelming. Acid hissing against stone. The wet thump of bodies hitting the ground.
The Hellion roared as three bats latched onto his arms at once, biting down.
-12
-8
-11
He grabbed one by the wing and smashed it into another mid-air. He cut the other two down with the sharp edge of his shield.
The Bunnykin healer screamed and raised both hands, green light spilling out to close sizzling wounds.
Damon moved again. He didn't stop moving.
Left.
Right.
Back.
Every pause made him a target. The burns stacked. The pain turned into a constant, grinding throb.
"Fall back!" the Hellion Tank roared.