The Porter is Secretly an SS-Level Hunter

Neban was getting ready to say something when his phone started to ring. Due to the noise being close, Theo started to move around, showing signs that he was beginning to wake up. 

Standing up while keeping a hold of Theo with one hand, Neban pulled out his phone from his pocket with his other. He saw that Xan was calling him and answered. 

As he pushed the talk button, Theo opened his eyes while rubbing them. Neban could see that they were still red and puffy from crying nonstop yesterday. His son could not fully open them. 

"Papa?" 

"Neban." 

Theo and Xan simultaneously called him. 

"Hold on for a second, Theo." He told his son. He wanted to quickly hear what Xan had to say to him and end the call. 

Theo bit his lip, but instead of saying anything, he listened to Neban and rested his head on his chest while closing his eyes. 

It was silent on the other end like Xan was waiting for Neban to finish with his son before speaking. After the silence dragged on for a second, Xan finally spoke once again. 

"I know this is something you do not want to hear, but the government is calling for all the porters and hunters here to go to the remaining dungeon. And they are not taking no for an answer; the government threatened to exploit anyone's weakness if they do not appear." 

After hearing that, Neban could not help but look at Theo because his son was his weakness (his parents were too, but his son was his number one weakness). "Are they even allowed to do that?" 

Xan sighed, sounding like he has been working with no breaks, "At this point, they do not care. The dungeon is causing citizens to become coma patients, and they fear that something terrible will happen if the hunters and porters do not come out and take care of it. 

"The government fears that what happened twelves years ago when the dungeons first came is happening again." 

Neban looked at Theo as he did not want to leave again because the way his son broke down last night was a lot for him. He knew if he did not go, the government would try to use his son against him. And even though Neban could fight them and defend his son, they would only go to his parents, and Neban cannot be at two places at once. 

He can copy his body, but it is only a dead copy that cannot move. And due to him not being a Summoner, the things he could summon cannot go far. 

Neban moved his gaze towards Siren, who was walking back from the kitchen with more food in their hands. Feeling his stare, Siren gave him a 'what' look. 

Xan was quiet, not pushing for Neban's response as he was giving him time to think. Neban closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before telling himself this will be the last time. After doing this, and hoping that they can stop a disaster, like Mother, from coming, Neban is retiring from everything. 

He will become a stay-at-home dad and raise his son until Theo is old enough to go out independently. 

"Okay. I will be there." 

Xan did not give a reaction and said, "The dungeon is on Ashland Avenue, and they want everyone to meet at nightfall." Then the man hung up. 

When the line ended, Neban set his phone on the table in the middle of the living area, then sat back down on the couch. He pulled Theo back, so he could look at his son face to face. 

Theo opened his eyes, looking like he was going to cry again. Neban felt his heartbreaking a little at his son's puffy, red eyes. He leaned forward, kissing Theo's right eye before saying, "I am sorry. Not enough apologies will ever make what I did right." 

Neban moved back as Theo moved closer, resting his head on his chest before grabbing his hand and wrapping his small ones in his dad's. 

"I was scared that something would happen to you. I do not want to lose you, papa. I do not want you to work anymore." Theo softly spoke. 

Neban ran his free hand through his son's hair, "I understand, but I want to protect you because I do not want to lose you either. But, I still made the wrong choice because you should always be my first choice. 

"That is why it pains me to say that I am leaving again. But I swear, Theo, this is the last time. I am going to make it the last time." 

Theo fully put his face on his chest as Neban could feel the boy's tears. His son was not saying anything, but he did not need to because Neban can feel how tight Theo was trying to hold his hand. 

Neban let him cry as he stood up again, taking his son with him. He walked into the bedroom, not once glancing at Siren, who was still in the living area. 

Once he entered, he set Theo on the bed, not caring that his clothes were still dirty anymore. His son held his hand as Neban kissed his cheek before straightening his body. He squeezed his hand before getting Theo to let go. 

Theo turned his body, grabbing a pillow as he wrapped his body around it, taking in Neban's scent. Neban watched him, biting his lip as he did not want to leave. But after a minute, he forced himself to move and walked into the closet to change his clothes (he did not care to take a shower). 

Once he finished, he was getting ready to walk out when the soft sound of Theo's voice entered the room, "I love you, papa." 

Neban stopped, looking at his son with a complicated expression before saying the words that he rarely spoke to anyone, "I love you too. I promise I will return." 

When he entered the living area, Neban called his parents to watch Theo because he had to take care of the remaining dungeons with others. 

His mother would rather him stay home, but when he told them why he couldn't, she ranted for a bit before agreeing to come. 

Once he hung up, Neban turned towards Siren, clearing out his refrigerator while chilling on the couch. He wondered how he was going to get them into the dungeon. 

"I know you said to give you time, but it would be best if you could turn back into a weapon," Neban told them. 

Siren turned towards Neban with cheese hanging half-way out their mouth, "I do not want to, not now. But, after all this food I am consuming, I can make my body pocket-size." 

Neban raised his eyebrow at that. He wanted to complain about them eating all his food, but he was interested in seeing a pocket-size Siren.

"Okay. When my parents come, I need you to turn pocket-size." 

****

Evening came when Neban was making his way to Ashland Avenue with Siren in his pockets. Before he left home, he had a long talk with his parents and then explained that Theo did not feel like speaking with anyone. 

Neban thought back to leaving without going back into his room to tell Theo bye again. He thought it was for the best because it would only make it harder to leave if he did. 

'All of you are so emotional.' Siren spoke in his head. Neban could feel Siren playing with his fingers that were stuffed in his hoodie's pocket. 

'Do not act like you are not.' Neban answered, rolling his eyes. 

Neban can hear Siren huffing in his mind as they stay silent, not having anything to say back. 

It was quiet once Neban made it to the dungeon. There were a lot of people there. The government was keeping citizens back while many news people were there. Hunters and porters were crowding the entrance, not going in as they were either waiting for more people to come or the government telling them that they can enter. 

Neban walked closer to the dungeon, only for a guard to stop him. They were guarding others against getting closer to the dungeon. 

"Hunter, porter, or citizen?" 

Neban thought about saying hunter but instead said, "Porter." 

The guard moved out of the way, letting Neban through which he was surprised that the man did not check. But, if Neban does not end up passing out, it would prove he had abilities. 

Once he entered, he walked closer to the entrance, looking around at the porters and hunters until he saw Wey, Isona, and Owain. 

He walked over to the group. They turned towards him when they noticed him coming over. Owain greeted him while Wey and Isona did not say anything because there was still some underlay of tension between them. 

Neban greeted back, trying to act like the tension was not there because he did not know how to fix it. Isona said they did not want to break up with him, but it feels that way. 

Owain did not mention the tension as he spoke, "It has been a while since I have been in a dungeon. And this one became an unknown, weird one, that I cannot help but feel anxious." 

Isona agreed while Wey maintained his calm face with his eye twitching giving him away, and Neban gave a verbal response, "Do not worry. I will make sure nothing happens to you three." 

Before anyone could speak, a sound went off, causing everyone to turn towards it. 

A few feet away, standing near the guards, was a man in a dark suit, holding his phone up before bringing it down. His face was nothing to talk about, but he gave off a man in power aura. 

"Now that everyone has gathered, it is time to enter the dungeon. Please proceed and make sure to kill whatever resides in there." The man spoke, not giving any big speech, before walking away. 

The hunters and porters turned back around as they started walking into the dungeon. Neban, Isona, Wey, and Owain stayed together as they entered. 

Neban could hear Siren saying that they wanted to see the inside of the dungeon, but he ignored them. 

As they entered, darkness engulfed them until they heard the entrance closing in on itself once everyone was inside. 

They were getting ready to turn around to look at the closed entrance when it became bright all around them, causing them to take in the inside of the dungeon's appearance.