Rangers Endgame

"Bloodhounds?" Yakeru questioned with a tilted head.

He was familiar with various kinds of monsters thanks to Akari, but this was the first he had heard about this type of creature.

"Yes. They're A-tier animal-type monsters with the ability to manipulate their blood to form constructs like weapons and armor."

Yakeru glanced back at the few shriveled-up corpses the bloodhounds left behind. Memories of his first dungeon experience flashed through his head. Vamp-crawlers would also leave shriveled bodies in their wake.

"Blood is the only thing they need for sustenance," she continued. "Depending on the type of blood, it can even make them stronger."

"But why go to the inner rim just to attack kobolds?"

Fuyumi stood silent for a moment, studying the gash in the tree before responding.

"Because they prefer to prey on the weak."

Vamp-crawlers had a similar need for blood. Consuming it gave them more physical strength. However, according to Fuyumi, bloodhounds took this to a whole new level. Not only did they need blood for sustenance, they could use that same blood to create powerful weaponry to slaughter their enemies. Yakeru could quickly see why these things were A-tier. But something was still a miss. He and Kenji had been running missions with Fuyumi for a while now, but her interactions with other monsters implied she wasn't too familiar with them compared to how knowledgeable she was about bloodhounds.

"How do you know so much about these things?" Yakeru inquired.

He could tell she was going to say something but, for some reason, stopped herself, distant chirping filling the silence.

"Let's just go..." She dodged the question as she continued onwards, leaving everyone confused.

If bloodhounds attacked these kobolds, chances are they ventured inside the dungeon to wipe them out. However, these were A-tier monsters. Although their team had two high-rankers, surely she wouldn't endanger the lives of her other party members by rushing into a possibly bloodhound-infested dungeon, right?

"Uhm, well," Kenji hesitated, thinking of a way to reason with her. "There's a chance there'll still be inside. Maybe we should let this go and report back to the guild."

She stopped and glared back at the group with cold eyes.

"If you want to leave, then leave. I'll kill these things myself if I have to."

With that, she resumed her march. They couldn't help but feel something was off. Yakeru and Kenji got this feeling especially. She knew she had to take on missions while in a group and respected that...until now. Yakeru reluctantly began to walk forward.

"Come on," he urged. "If there are bloodhounds in there, we'll have an A and B-rank going with us. If things go wrong we also have a healer and health elixirs."

Kenji thought long and hard before nodding. At first, one would think Yakeru would be dragging Kateshi along too but this wasn't the case. The brute's passion for fighting was simply too strong as he too followed behind them.

"This dungeon raid might prove to be more interesting than I anticipated!"

Seeing the giant trudge forward gave a confidence boost to both Kazeki and Aoi.

After pushing through the thick jungle, the team came across something strange. A tree root sprouted up high and curved down into the ground again, taking the shape of a doorframe. The ground attached to the top drooped down on the opposite side, creating a hole in the earth that looked like an entrance to an underground domain.

"This is it," Fuyumi said, peering into the darkness.

Memories of their first dungeon raid flooded Yakeru's mind. Their first dungeon experience took place in a dungeon located within a mountain. For the most part, they were traveling on a leveled plain. But it appeared as if this dungeon wouldn't give them that luxury.

"Well, I guess we should get moving," Yakeru said.

Fuyumi entered first followed by Yakeru and the others. Dry leaves crunched and twigs snapped as they ventured inside. As expected they were traveling down a gradual slope. Particles danced in the sun's rays struggling to peer through the small cracks in the dungeon's ceiling. Chills ran down their spines as the light revealed another kobold corpse. Like its fallen comrades outside, it appeared like this one had met a gruesome death as well. It was shriveled like the others and missing its legs.

"How horrible..." Aoi muttered with a sympathetic expression.

"There's no need to feel bad for them," Fuyumi said coldly with a hollow look in her eye. "Monsters deserve no mercy."

More deceased kobolds came into view and the cracks in the ceiling became less abundant the further they went.

"The fact that they're not giving off an odor means they must've died recently." Kenji deduced.

Fortunately, they weren't completely consumed by darkness. The cavern gradually became illuminated by a gentle blue glow as glitter bulb flowers slowly came into view. The soft hues that touched the lifeless bodies cast eerie shadows along the walls. Cautious, Yakeru strained his eyes trying to see further ahead.

"It's strange how we aren't seeing any bloodhounds yet."

"If they killed everything here they would've already vacated." Fuyumi explained.

They maneuvered around some roots that managed to burrow through the dungeon's interior, creating a web of twisted wooden tendrils. A faint orange glow came into view. They hadn't seen any torches on their way in or around the dungeon's entrance. The only source of light they had before that point was from the sun and glitter bulbs sprouting from the floors and walls. Curious, the group continued forward as the orange speck before them divided into several more identical lights the closer they got.

Fuyumi, who had been leading them, halted, causing the others to do the same.

"Woah..." Yakeru exhaled.

Before them was a gaping pit of nothingness. Beyond that pit were what looked like orange boils latched onto the floor, walls, and ceiling. The sacks were barely see-through with an unknown liquid slowly swirling around inside.

"What are those things?" Yakeru questioned before glancing back at Kazeki to see his face growing pale.

Although they had zero clue what these were, based on his ghostly complexion, he assumed these sacks weren't anything good.

"Remember what we said about glitter bulbs earlier?" Kazeki gulped.

Their eyes shot open in realization before they slowly returned their attention back to the orange orbs.

'So 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 are philorium sacks.'

If these things were outside it wouldn't have been as bad but they were in an enclosed space. If just one of them were to detonate, it'd be enough to set off a chain reaction.

"Well...at least we know a little more about kobolds," Kenji said with a lowered voice to not disturb the bombs, worried that speaking too loudly would cause the sacks on the walls and ceiling to dislodge. "They're clever for using their environment to their advantage. Then again, they aren't the brightest for endangering themselves like this."

"I guess you're right," Yakeru agreed. "And if they use these to ward off intruders, it's safe to say that the bloodhounds turned back after coming this far."

Fuyumi kneeled down on the edge of the pit to inspect the scorch marks around it, telling her a few philorium sacks had already been tripped. There weren't any remains nearby meaning the bloodhound that set them off had either survived and retreated or it got trapped in the pit.

"Such a shame. I was looking forward to a strong foe." Kateshi lowered his voice as even he knew better not to risk disturbing the orange boils.

Kazeki rolled his eyes in response to Kateshi's remark. Of course, he'd want nothing more than a good fight. This revelation was a huge letdown for him, maybe even more so for Fuyumi. Yakeru was the only one who noticed her expression change from anger to disappointment.

"You okay, Fuyumi?" He asked, concerned.

"It's nothing," she sighed before standing to her feet and turning to Kazeki. "You seem to know more about philorium sacks than we do. Can we bypass them?"

"Yeah, but we'll have to take our time. These things are sensitive and they don't look too secure."

"Then let's go." Fuyumi turned back to face the minefield.

*****

Atop Scar Peak, the four rangers sporting flashy armor had departed from Yama village, proceeding down a path that wrapped around the mountain. Below them was a thick patch of greenery that stretched for miles as flocks of birds were gliding across it.

"How much further?"

"We should be closing in on it now."

As they continued, the terrain gradually changed. Stone spikes, varying from different sizes, jutted out from the rocky floor and walls. Orange veins strangled the spike formations, pulsating every few seconds.

"Careful. They use these veins as an alarm system. Don't touch them." The leader warned his team as they nodded.

Carefully weaving through the spikes, they came across a crater, the spikes protruding away from its center. The rangers approached the crater and peered into it, their lips curling into satisfied smiles.

"There they are."

Inside were several human-sized eggs, a blanket of slimy substance covering them. Four creatures stood hunched over the eggs, their bodies sickly thin. The creatures shifted their gazes to the rangers, their arms half-buried in the ground. Their faces had no discernible features other than the two glowing orange slits they assumed were their eyes.

𝘙𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦...

One by one, they began to slowly pull their arms out from the mountain, the veins caressing the eggs slithering back into the ground and reappearing as a part of the monsters' arms. The threads whipped chaotically before reassembling themselves to form limbs.

Their backs tore open and thin orange tendrils emerged, slithering into the air. This was most likely done as a means to intimidate the rangers however they didn't budge. Instead, they looked over at their leader expectedly.

"You got it, right?"

"Of course. Just stand back and leave this to me."

His teammates obediently took a few steps back as the monsters decided to trudge forward after realizing their fear tactic had failed. Their arms dragged along on the ground as they were too long for their bodies. The ranger leader reached into his satchel and pulled out an elixir vial with a red substance inside.

'Let's see if this stuff really is as good as it's advertised.'

Popping open the lid, he downed the red liquid, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. He dropped the vial on the ground to his side and seconds later...

"Tch!"

He groaned in pain, collapsing onto his hands and knees with a thud. His veins began to bulge in his chest and spread up into his neck until they reached his forehead. At this point, the monsters were getting closer.

"Are you okay?!" one of his teammates shouted in concern.

His teammates began to rush over when they saw him coughing up blood but stopped after he shot out his palm to them.

"I'm fine! I just...wasn't expecting this!"

His body felt like it would explode at any second and his legs didn't respond to his commands. But as he lifted his head, his widened eyes spotted the creatures slowly closing the distance.

He'd been gifted with this elixir by a stranger who promised him immense power, far beyond that of ordinary elixirs. This was his chance to experiment. If these monsters came too close, his party members would have no choice but to eradicate them. He couldn't allow that.

With this in mind, he dragged one foot under him and willed himself to stand.

His party now had worried expressions as their leader wobbled to his feet and with a shaky hand, unsheathed his sword. One of the monsters closed in on them rather quickly. Now that it was in range, it shot its tendrils at the man's chest as he infused his weapon. Before they could impale him, he winded up his sword and slashed at the air.

𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘔!

A massive wave of radiance smashed into the crater, eviscerating the nest. The violent shockwave flung the rangers back several feet, debris firing in every direction. Fissures sliced through the mountain as boulders dislodged from the stone walls and came barreling down on them.

"Holy-!" a ranger spat out as he hurriedly conjured a dome to protect his party.

𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩!

Boulders crashed down on top of them and tumbled off the side of the mountain into the jungle below. When the dust cleared, the conjurer released the shield and the party rushed to the leader's side. His breathing was erratic and his eyes were now bloodshot.

"I knew that elixir was bad news!"

"How are we gonna explain this to the clan leader?!"

One of them reached into their satchel and pulled a health elixir before carefully pouring the green substance into his mouth. Moments went by but his condition only seemed to worsen, as if the health elixir had zero effect. The group was left with no other option.

"Hang in there man! We'll get you help!"

He groaned as two men lifted him off the ground, his muscle spasms making it difficult to swing his arms over their shoulders. As soon as they did this, however, blood gushed from his mouth like a waterfall. They carried him carefully down the path away from the destruction he'd left behind.

*****

Yakeru and the others carefully navigated through the minefield that nature itself had created. Their hearts raced as the bombs overhead threatened to drop on them. They ducked under tree roots and stepped over the explosives when suddenly...

𝘙𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦...

Everyone froze in place. Yakeru's heart was already beating fast but the faint rumble around them made it race even faster. Kazeki forced his head to glance back in Kateshi's direction who paused midway ducking under a tree root.

"P-please tell me that was your stomach...?" He joked, desperate to calm his raging nerves. However, it amounted to nothing when the giant shook his head.

𝘙𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦!

'We need to get out of here!'

As if everyone read Kazeki's mind, they quickened their pace. Kenji was the first to reach the end of the death trap followed by Kateshi. The others were nearly at the end of the minefield when Yakeru's worst fear manifested before his eyes.

𝘙𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦!!

His eyes trembled and his heart leaped in his throat. The world slowed nearly to a halt as his surroundings blurred.

A philorium sack had dislodged from the ceiling, dropping right in front of him.