False gate IV

"What do you want," Alden asked, eying the 3 of the boys surrounding him. "Whoa, come on, let's not just dive into everything. Let us begin with the introductions. Lyle Park, nice to meet you," Lyle said, he had quite a positive air to him and Alden had already noticed that he was the loudest and the friendliest of the brothers. Alden stared at his hands for a few seconds. Memories from the past flooded his mind and he was reminded, and he was reminded of the evil that existed behind the smiles of people. He was cautious, suspicious of Lyle. He was not sure whether he should trust the guy or ignore him. Alden just shook his hand in the end. "Alden." Lyle smiled after Alden shook his hand and when he retracted his hand, he shot a glance at his brothers. "Justin Park," Justin, the tall brother said. He was also pretty nice but he was not as annoyingly bright as Lyle. Alden shook his hand too. The final brother was sitting with his hands folded, but after both Lyle and Justin gave him a look, he too stretched out his hand. "Arnu Park," He said with a tired sigh. He was the complete opposite of Lyle. While Lyle was all happy and bright like the day, Arnu, was cold and dark, like the night. Justin was inbetween. It was just the perfect balance of personalities. "You seem to have been through a lot, hey?" Lyle said. He was sounding a bit more serious. "You seem to have been having a rough life even before you became F-rank. You seem like a good guy, I don't know what you've been going through but me and my brothers are always here to help. After we leave here, you can contact us at any time, we're ready to help." Alden stayed silent at Lyle's words. Were those words out of kindness? No, they were not. Kindness. It was a farce. A farce hiding the true intentions of people. People were only ever kind for their benefit. Whether it be feeling good about their worthless selves, or to satisfy the feeling of guilt or pity deep in their hearts. It could even be for more obvious reasons, like how a politician would be kind so people with vote him into power or how a waiter would be kind just to get a tip or a good review. However, all these people, whether considered good or bad by society, had one thing in common, they all did kind acts for selfish reasons. They acted because they would benefit in some way but if there was no way of them benefiting, they would not think twice about being kind. Alden understood one thing, he could not be fooled by the kindness he saw. He did not have eyes that could see intent but what he understood was that behind that kind, virtuous and selfless act was a selfish intention. The true intention was always selfish. Alden had been hurt too many times by those disguised smiles, and he was not willing to get hurt again. Alden had a goal, a goal of acquiring ultimate strength, and he did not want to be distracted in any way. Not by fake friends or fake lovers. No. He was prowling in the foothills of power, and he would not retract his gaze from the peak, no way he would. He knew weakness, it was a small, suffocating cage and he would do everything in his ability to free himself from that cage and become powerful enough that no chains would be strong enough to hold him down. Alden opened his mouth to reply, but before he did, he heard their scout screaming. Their scout was a boy with dreads, he was an assassin-type ranger and he was sent ahead to scout for danger. "Bull orcs! General-level bull orcs!" He announced as he ran towards the group, he stepped within the group, panting as he stood there. "General-level bull orcs?" The party members asked, terror evident in their expressions and their voice. "About 2 or 3," The scout replied, he was breathing a little better but he still seemed panicked. "Manageable," The leader said, raising his shield and getting the group into formation. Very soon a bull orc which seemed a few heads taller than its subordinates appeared. Although it had the same grey skin and there was not much difference in its appearance when compared to common bull orcs, one detail was noticeable. The bull orc had longer horns. The 2 strikers immediately began to launch attacks, most of them aimed at the legs of the bull orcs as the bull orcs were only smart enough to deflect attacks going near their chest. Other than that they ignored the attacks. They were confident in their defense but Alden's group focused on attacking the same place until the orcs fell. It had been Alden's idea since he had noticed the behavior of the orcs. The group had a formation where while the striker stayed behind the tanker, using his defense to launch attacks, the wielders (those who used weapons), would stay to the sides to help dispatch the orcs that got close. The healer stayed at the center with the puppeteer and the melee combatant, the assassin and the puppet would stay at the rear to defend against the orcs that got behind the group. The plan worked to some extent, the common orcs were immobilized quickly but very soon the other 2 general orcs appeared and the general orcs had gotten close. The leader was having a hard time holding off the general-level orcs who were all at a B grade. It seemed very likely they would have to give in soon. Alden could not assist the leader as he could not reveal his power and if he removed his puppet from the rear, the common orcs would penetrate the formation. He was getting worried when he saw the general-level orcs push back the leader with their attacks. "Lily! We need you to let him out!" Arnu shouted to his sister. Alden noticed that Lily needed her brother to instruct her before she acted. He guessed she was not that skilled at making her own decisions. "O-okay!" Lily shouted back, evidently quite panicked. She calmed herself down and closed her eyes before holding out her hand. The ring that sat on her finger glowed and from it, a light shone. Suddenly something appeared out of nowhere. ROAAAAR A loud, deep animalistic roar reverberated throughout the cavernous dungeon. An elegant beast that had a muscular body with strong forelimbs, a large head, and a tail that was about half the length of its body stood in front of the tanker. The animal had a powerful presence, and it appeared to be powerful, strong, deadly, large, and majestic. Its black fur coat reflected the light of the fire lanterns and its sharp teeth seemed to be impatiently waiting to sink its teeth into flesh. As Alden observed the tiger that had appeared from thin air, he realized something. He had forgotten to breathe.