The Train to The Dungeon

Chapter 2: Hunter Without Rank

The train stops at the station inside the dungeon. Somehow it could stand a station in a place like this. The station was very small, really just a place to drop the Hunters off. Around the dungeon station was a circular blue line. That's the Safe Area boundary.

If it stepped out of the Safe Area then it would automatically activate the mission inside the dungeon. Normally, we would enter after hearing the cue from the representative of the Hunter Association who had entered the dungeon.

All of the Hunters, including the BotHunter party and I are already preparing at the edge of the Safe Area line. Then a man in a black suit spoke loudly from the station.

“Event this time is Flushy hunting, E-class monsters. Each party had a minimum of 100 Flushy hunts, all materials obtained were party property. We will pay 500 Copper for every 100 Flushy”

Hearing the notice, all the Hunters cheered. The reward is not too big, but considering the mission given is very easy, of course, all excited. Moreover, this monster named Flushy is not a creature that is difficult to kill.

“We kill 200 in order to get more pay!” david's orders to his party members were met with a plea of agreement. For the BotHunter party, the opportunity to attend an event like this will not be wasted.

Bothunter's party consists of Hunter Rank C and D. They usually only entered Tier 1 Dungeons that contained weak monsters and gifts that were too few to split into 10 people. Therefore, the existence of the event can be an event to add rupiah coffers while collecting unique materials that are only available at the event.

I was also tempted to join in collecting materials, but considering the work as Porter had confiscated a lot of my energy, it felt impossible. I guess I'll just pick up the materials from the monsters they beat— like always.

“Happy hunting, Hunter!” The Hunter Association has already allowed us to enter the Safe Area.

The entire Hunter simultaneously passed through the blue line and into the swamp puddle. The swamp had brownish-colored water, partially covered by moss. Many trees stood and were submerged by the water.

The swamp also has varying depths. Some people instantly splashed to half a body when they started exploring the dungeon. The BotHunter party seems to be lucky enough to get a shallow swamp section. The water is only as high as calves.

“I saw it!” Fani exclaimed as she pointed to the group of Flushy who were walking over the swamp.

The creature was shaped like a crab, but its body was soft like a jelly. Both of his eyes were long, had pink claws and six legs that could walk on water.

“Come, assault!” David and the members of BotHunter's party begin hunting down Flushy one by one. The sword slashed the creature's body in two. Flushy died instantly.

Another man from BotHunter smashed his sledgehammer, smashing Flushy's jelly body into tiny fragments.

The coquettish and sexy Fani poses while swinging her spell stick. He was the only Mage in the party. The needles of ice formed and slashed through many Flushy at once.

Seeing those Hunters swinging weapons or using magic really made me envious. We were both Hunters, but I was different from them. The Hunters that ‘asli’ are the ones that experience Rebirth. While I'm not.

When an ordinary human entered the Dungeon for the first time, two things would happen. That person will experience Rebirth or remain an ordinary human being. Rebirth was the condition when humans passing through the portal adapted to the conditions of the dungeon, their bodies undergoing an evolution that increased strength, speed, even regneration faster than ordinary humans. Plus, it gets the ability to control elements.

The humans who experience this rebirth are then referred to as Hunters. The association will then classify the Hunters according to their abilities, ranging from the weakest Rank E—, to the rare and extremely powerful Rank S. This rank is permanent because the abilities of the Hunters cannot be changed.

Unfortunately, I wasn't even ranked to a single one of those rankings. When I graduated high school five years ago, I tried to be a Hunter. Hunter is a profession that is coveted by everyone. Being a Hunter not only makes you look cool and respected, but this job can make a lot of money.

I rode KRL and entered the Tier 1 Dungeon. I didn't fight, just waited in the Safe Area, waiting for my coveted Rebirth moment. Unfortunately, until the dungeon was successfully cleared, I did not experience Rebirth at all.

I returned to the human world with a disappointed face. The Hunter Association party who was currently doing data collection to the Hunter candidates also confirmed that I did not experience Rebirth. I mean, I can't be a Hunter.

I was so depressed that I ignored the university entrance exam. I ended up being unemployed for a year and spent all my time playing online games. In the following year, I tried to get into a private campus in Jakarta and was accepted.

I went home, intending to inform my parents. However, in the cold house there were only two bodies that had floundered on the mattress. They drank the poison together and ended up not being saved. They just left, leaving behind a pile of debts that I could not repay. I don't know what kind of test happened to me at that time. I who have fallen, fall deeper.

My desire to become a Hunter has strengthened after living with Aunt Tara's family. I'm not feeling good to make him have to bear the needs of my life. Moreover, every month there are always people who come to the house to collect my parents' debt. It made me determined to find a job. I left college and decided to work as a Hunter.

The Hunter Association had one vacancy for ordinary humans to join the Hunter profession. However, due to not experiencing Rebirth, these people could not be ranked into any Rank. As such, they were referred to as Rankless Hunters.

Hunter jobs can be very dangerous for ordinary humans. That was why a Rankless Hunter usually only tailed a party and was given a job as a Porter. Porter's job was to carry only other Hunter items or collect material from the corpses of monsters. The innocuous work was directly proportional to the wages earned, which was only 3% of the total Party income.

Beyond the guess of the Hunter Association, it turned out that quite a number of ordinary humans were interested in becoming a Tierless Hunter, including myself. Although the Hunter's treatment is usually not very good for us. Indeed, we look more like lackeys than a true Hunter who fights clearing dungeons.

I came to my senses from daydreaming because someone threw my face with a lump of chewy flesh Flushy.

“Heh, pig, don't be dumb! Quickly grab the material!” Anto, Tanker Party Bothunter yelled at me from a distance.

I hate being called “babi”, but I finally did it too.

My body bent down while picking up the lump of jelly flesh dropped by Flushy, then stuffing it into the brown bag provided by the Hunter Association.

Flushy is a monster that rarely appears in dungeons, but the meat is very tasty, like squid texture but softer with a dominant umami flavor. After this, many restaurants contacted the Hunter Association to buy the meat.

The bag I was carrying quickly filled up. Maybe it was because of the texture of the flesh and this monster had no shell, so the material I carried felt lighter than usual. This event will probably end quickly because there is no challenge other than killing Flushy. I saw that the BotHunter party had also killed close to 300 people.

“Alchenimble!” Fani exclaimed as she raised her magic wand, chanting her flagship spell.

I've seen him use that magic to create circles and call out pointy ice cubes. An attack with an Area of Effect (AoE) model that can kill many enemies at once.

The members of the BotHunter Party applauded after seeing Fani's action. The girl smiled proudly as she waved her red robe. “This is not much,” sahut while putting up a seductive pose—which is replied by a more festive applause.

Fani is so beautiful. Shit, Rozak is so lucky. Again I was envied by these Hunters.

“Babi, done yet?” anto asked while sticking my head. “Do not daydream!”

I rubbed my head, scruffy.

“It's full of pockets,” I said.

“Wah, mantab!” David came while twitching his hands. “We party tonight!”

Fani and Rozak join David and the rest of the BotHunter Party. I glared at the sight of Rozak's arm coiling around Fani's slender waist. Just make envy, can't be bucinnya not in a public place like this?

While waiting for the event to close, they were also cool in talking about plans to the nightclub after returning from the dungeon. I let out a long sigh as I glanced at the three bubbling brown bags, filled with Flushy flesh. It would definitely be troublesome when carrying him on the train.

“David!” Malih's voice diverted the group's discussion. They turned to the source of the voice that was far behind the lush trees.

“Ngapain still in the swamp?” david asked, half screaming. “Our mission is done daritadi!”

“I found something, quickly you guys come here!” Call, excited.

Feeling interested in Malih's findings, we also headed to his place. I was forced to come because Anto was ruling me. Since no one was guarding the luggage, I ended up carrying all the bags and bags containing their materials.

“See, look, I found Sub-Event!” She looks like a child who finds a new toy. His mustachioed face looked radiant.

“You sure?” Rozak seemed to hesitate.

“I've seen a video Hunter who found it, it looks exactly like this,” retorted Malih, fiery. “Ayo, we're in yes.”

“If it contains treasure anyway, who refuses,” David agrees.

“Wait a minute,” Rozak suddenly replied. “Better we check first.”

The man's eyes glanced at me.

“You're in first,” Rozak's orders in a cold voice.

“Hah?” I'm surprised I'm not playing. “Ta-but I keep the goods here.”

“Ahmad alone guard the goods, besides him, all go inside!” Rozak's voice was rising. “Starting from you, pig!”

David and Malih brushed off two sides of the bush that blocked the Sub-Event door. Seen behind the lush foliage are cracks that form a rainbow glowing hole.

“Current in!” Rozak pushed my back. My fat body instantly staggered forward, almost falling down.

“Iya, yes! It's me in!” I crouched down in front of the small hole and crawled inside. Honestly, my heart was pounding with excitement because I was excited to see what it contained.

...***...

I came out on a hollow wall. I slowly stood up and looked around. A cave passage. The lighting was minimal until I had to turn on the flashlight from my phone.

“Hei! Is there something?”

I was surprised. As soon as he turned around there was David's head looking down from inside the hole.

“Aman, so far nothing,” I said while helping the man stand up. Not long behind him caught up with Rozak and the rest of the BotHunter Party.

Anto raised his small shield, the metal-plated object gave off a bright light. It can control the light element. The man took the initiative to lead the party through the dark passageway.

At the end, there is a double door with a curved end. There is a symbol carving of a wide canopied tree with two moons that are sliced on the door leaf. Two blue torches lit up on either side.

“Indeed on youtube there is a door like gini?” ask Anto to Malih.

The man shook his head. “In youtube no sih.”

“Maybe every dungeon is different,” respond Rozak. “Come we check first.”

Rozak and David stepped to the front door and pushed him along. Beyond their expectations, the door was quite light and opened just like that. Golden light radiated from within the space. They went inside and saw a pile of gold-plated luxury items, gemstones, swords, armor and magic staffs that looked expensive and quality.

“Outstanding.”

I'm amazed. My saliva feels like it's dripping looking at that golden luster. Information about the abundant gift was not a lie it turned out. This place is a haven for poor Hunters like me.

“This states? I'm not dreaming, am I?” Fani pinched her own cheek

I who was standing next to him laughed a little at his behavior. “It feels like a lie, but this is the truth,” I said.

Fani responded with a sweet smile. “You're right.” His brown almond eyes looked at me from head to toe. My heart beats for a moment. There had never been a beautiful woman who had noticed me like that before.

“This is a good opportunity for you too, Arka,” he said as he grabbed my hand. “Come, I'll help you find a good piece of armor for you.”

I felt my cheeks warm up. “Ah Yes, yuk.” I clasped his hand and we both walked over to the pile of silver armor in the corner of the room. Thank goodness Rozak didn't see us holding hands. May my hand be cut off until it is broken by the possessive.

While waiting for Fani to look for the armor, I observed the treasure room. The room was about 4000 square meters. The floor is gold plated. The walls of his room had paintings covered by vines. From the entrance to the edge of the room were all filled with piles of luxury items. There were several bags of coins piled up near the angel statues lined up.

I wonder how much money I can get after this. Gold-colored coins that one piece can reach millions of rupiah. I could even retire early as Porter, using all the money I got to open a business. It sounds like a big day's dream, but it's not impossible anymore.

“I found something!”

David's voice echoed in the room. Fani exhaled with a vexed expression, she had just thrust me a few choices of armor at me.

“Let's find the armor again, we go to where David used to be,” invite Fani.

I comply. I put back the armor I tried. Unfortunately the armor did not fit when I was wearing it. Maybe I can just take it home and codify it at the blacksmith shop.

My footsteps followed Fani who was walking in front. We walked through a mountain of gold-plated furniture. The road twists and turns until it finally reaches where David is. The man was standing in the middle of the room, along with the other members of the Bothunter.

A few steps away from them was a throne lined with red carpets. Above it was a statue of a three-meter tall knight woman. The statue is made of white stone, the carvings are very detailed. Her hair was long wavy, there was a rose ornament on her armor. On top of her head was a crown with roses. The statue also carries a large sword held by both hands. His sword head was positioned downwards, sticking to the ground surface.

My attention was on the thing in front of him. There was a vault with a round cover.it was a big red with gold plates lining each side. Diamonds and gems adorn every inch of its surface. It was the most luxurious treasure chest I had seen during the four years of entering the Dungeon.

“Crazy, we don't need to work anymore if we can get that crate!” rozak said, amazed.

“The box alone if sold can make me rich to death,” added Anto.

“Rather than we pick up the one thing that is here, we better immediately bring this crate,” proposed David.

“I agree,” respond Rozak.

“Maybe no problem carrying a few bags of coins, can be embedded in the belt,” Malih added. The curly-haired man had been busy sorting out coin bags. Seemed on his waist hanging fat pockets containing gold coins.

“It could be too,” response David. “But now, we take the crate first.”

He then ordered four new members of BotHunter to try to lift the chest. The four people wearing simple armor rose to the top of the throne. They surrounded the chest and reached out to touch the iron box.

Suddenly the statue of the woman behind the chest moved both of her hands. The great sword that was in the reverse position he lifted up. In an instant, his sharp sword eyes slashed at the members of the Party Bothunter who were near the chest.

Two of the men had their heads cut off and the other two died with their bodies cut in half. Blood poured from the bodies of the four people, making a red puddle on the throne. Some of the liquid seemed to flow down the stairs to the bottom floor.