Rampaging Mutant

Every Exclusive Skill had four stages, with the last stage being called Ultimate. The conditions to level up a skill were different depending on the skill, but most of the time, it all came down to using the skill as often as possible. The majority of Challengers were stuck at Stage 2, whereas Conquerors reached Stage 3—with a few exceptions even reaching Ultimate.

"We've gotten pretty deep, huh?" Jay commented after exhaling heavily.

"No wonder. It's been two hours since we entered the forest." Erik responded, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

It was already dark when the two managed to reach the depths of the forest, killing one monster after another.

"Shall we head back?" Erik suggested, sounding slightly disappointed.

Even though they were that deep, their efforts were in vain. Although fighting the monsters in that area was a good exercise, their stats did not rise, nor did it help with their search for their original target. However, proceeding with their search would be too dangerous since it was too dark, and monsters far more dangerous were lurking ahead from that point onward.

"Good call." Jay agreed, directing his flashlight in the other direction. "Will we continue to explore the Western Woods tomorrow? Or should we take a look at the Eastern Sea?"

Behind the East Gate awaited the Eastern Sea—a coastal area where Challengers could rent boats to embark on the vast sea and battle the water monsters that were as dangerous as the monsters from the Western Woods.

"I would say that we continue our search in the Western Woods." Erik answered as he took out his phone. "Hm?"

Jay peeked over Erik's shoulder, wondering what caused Erik's bewildered reaction.

"My broker tried to contact me?" Erik murmured. There were multiple missed calls and messages, but Erik had no idea because he had been busy fighting and exploring the area.

"Did he already find our target?" Jay asked, sounding delighted.

Erik did not respond for a moment. He watched the videos and pictures his broker had sent him. It was footage of a raven-black creature rampaging in the city, destroying buildings and attacking people. The police were trying to evacuate the people, but there was barely anyone who could keep the monster in check.

"Jay..." Erik spoke, his voice slightly cracking. "We have to run."

However, since the footage was sent an hour ago, the scene looked completely different now. The city of the Tutorial Section, which should have been a safe space from monsters and dangers, was overtaken by terror. A beast that had never been seen before caused havoc as it pleased, spreading fear among the people.

Still, there was a person who stood up to it—Scarlet Kilgen.

"Make sure to evacuate everyone! I will keep it at bay in the meantime!" she commanded firmly as she unsheathed her sword. Scarlet glanced at the debris that was scattered across the crater-filled streets. She sensed the heat coming from the burning cars, and her eyes sharpened at the sight of blood that flooded down from the dead bodies.

The monster—a mutant possessing features from all kinds of monsters of the Tutorial Section—let out a roar, causing the ground to shake, before it bared its teeth at Scarlet. Pushing itself from the ground, it leaped toward the calm Scarlet with its human arm retracted.

It launched a heavy punch, but Scarlet blocked it with her sword. Nonetheless, although she managed to block it, she was slowly being pushed back. The monster then swung its other arm at her, forcing her to jump back.

"Tch!" she clicked her tongue in frustration as she could not evade its attack completely, having been grazed by its bear-like claws. Scarlet quickly regained her composure as she charged at the monster.

However, its long tail was coming in her direction like a whip. It was an attack she did not see coming, as it came from her blind spot. If she were to get hit by it, it would have dealt massive damage to her—but it did not.

The mutant roared in agony after its tail was cruelly deformed. Rather than hitting Scarlet, the tail got wrung like a wet towel. The monster tried to return it to its original state, but it failed. The tail got twisted more and more, with blood starting to leak out from the torn areas.

"In the end, you're still just a monster. A being with no brain." Scarlet mocked it with a smug grin. Although she had been unaware of the attack, she was not surprised.

[Exclusive Skill: Counter (Stage 2)
If the user did not anticipate the opponent's attack, the attack will be automatically countered.]

"Even if I show you my skill and explain it, you wouldn't understand it, right?" Scarlet added, chuckling mischievously.

But her smile quickly faded away when the creature roared once more. Its black fur was standing up, and even though it appeared unusually calm, Scarlet sensed that it was more dangerous than before. Scarlet took up a defensive stance, gauging the monster's behavior and intentions.

"What the—"

The moment she blinked, the monster was right in front of her and landed a heavy strike. It punched her from the side and flung her into the next building.

It spread its wings and took off.

"This bastard...!" Scarlet growled furiously as she emerged from the dusty smoke caused by her crash. She was staggering while she held onto her side. Despite having anticipated its attack, she reacted too slowly.

"C-Captain! Are you alright?!" one of her subordinates worried after arriving at the scene in a car.

"Perfect timing." Scarlet huffed as she entered the car. "We're chasing that thing."

Scarlet navigated her subordinate as her eyes followed the monster that was barely visible in the night sky.

"The dorms?" she muttered, noticing that the monster landed on a building. "This is bad... Those newbies won't be able to handle it!"

The Rookie Dorms served as a temporary stay for people who had just entered the tower. People could live there until they grew accustomed to the ways of the tower and found a new place to stay.

After urging her subordinate to go full throttle, they finally arrived at their destination. The panic that was coming from the fleeing residents drowned the monster's roar from the rooftop.

"Send reinforcements and help the people here." Scarlet ordered sternly as she was about to head inside.

"Sorry, but that won't do."

Scarlet, who thought that her subordinate dared to talk back to her, furiously turned her head, but it was not her subordinate who spoke out of line. Her nervous subordinate was looking at the two men who were covered in sweat, dirt, and monster blood—Erik and Jay.

"It's our quest to defeat that monster, so can you please let us handle it?"

The two managed to arrive just in time after sprinting the whole time. They were already exhausted, but they could not allow their target to be defeated by someone other than them.

"You two again." Scarlet remarked, sharpening her gaze. She was already on edge due to the monster, but meeting those two again after just one day gave her mixed feelings. In her eyes, they were two dangerous and mysterious individuals who had connections to people like Elsa.

Since she knew what it had been like as a Challenger, she understood the importance of clearing a quest and the unwritten rule of never taking another Challenger's quest away from them. However, she was now a police officer. Ensuring peace and safety was her priority.

"You couldn't defeat it, right? So just leave it to us!" Jay said, flashing her a confident smile.

But that smile had the opposite effect.

"Huh? To make things clear, I can deal with that thing on my own. It escaped to this place because it was scared of me, okay?" Scarlet retorted, annoyed.

"As much as I want to let you two talk, I don't think this is the right time for it." Erik interrupted with a wry smile. "The two of us will head inside now. Can we entrust the safety of the people here to you?"

"Who said that I will let you—"

"We will take responsibility if the monster escapes from us." Erik added sternly. "You can do whatever you want with us."

Scarlet clenched her teeth and averted her gaze.

"Then go already before I change my mind." she grumbled with her arms crossed.

Erik and Jay nodded and rushed inside the building.

"Was this really the right decision, Captain?" Scarlet's subordinate wondered anxiously.

"Just ignore them. If they fail, I will just lock them up." Scarlet huffed with a malicious grin.

Meanwhile, Erik and Jay had to take the stairs of the dorms, which had multiple stories. At first, they intended to take the elevator, but it was packed and surrounded by residents who were trying to flee.

"First, we had to run from the Western Woods all the way to the city, and now we have to take the damn stairs of a building with 17 stories—want to take shifts while fighting the monster?" Jay suggested, as he noticed the exhaustion in his legs.

"Just bear with it. If we take it on together, we will be done faster. After that, you can rest as much as you want." Erik sighed. "Look. Our destination is already in sight."

Jay dropped his shoulders, knowing that another exhausting event was waiting for him. However, what he did not know was the lightning-engulfed spear that was thrown at him.

Reacting just in time, Jay jumped away. With a frown, he stared at the spear that was stuck in the wall.

"What—No, who was that?!"

He quickly turned his gaze in the direction the spear came from, only to see a person he was familiar with. It was a person he had just met yesterday—someone whom he wanted to meet again under better circumstances.

"Her again? Didn't think we would run into her that soon again." Erik commented, surprised.

"Luna..." Jay murmured, feeling both happy and guilty.

Luna Park—a resident of the Rookie Dorms—was standing on the other side of the rectangular staircase, glaring at Jay fiercely. And just like last night, the air around her was filled with tension and wrath. But on top of that, sparks of lightning crackled around her.

"Did she learn magic...?" Erik wondered aloud.

However, the monster's roar made them remember that there was something more urgent they had to take care of. Still, at the same time, Luna did not look like she wanted to postpone the encounter with them.

Thus, Erik came up with a plan.

"Jay!" he shouted with a stern yet uncertain expression. "You wanted to take shifts fighting that monster, right? Then let's do that!"

Erik glanced at Luna, who was fixated on Jay.

"I will take it on first, so go ahead and take care of her!"