"What the hell do you mean he's not here yet?"
The E-rank Berserker's voice was loud enough to turn heads. He was tall and roguishly handsome, with his face partially hidden behind a mop of tousled brown hair. He was clad in scratched but sturdy low-tier armor, and a heavy battle axe rested on his back as he jabbed a thick finger at the bored-looking Rift gate official, who barely flinched.
"We're already ten minutes behind schedule! That damn Necromancer was assigned to this slot, wasn't he?"
"Yeah, he signed up to participate in this raid. He said he was on his way, so please be patient." The official sighed, rolling his eyes as he flipped through his clipboard without looking up as he replied.
Gabe, the Berserker, scoffed loudly at the official's dull response before turning to face his team. Regardless of how furious he was, he couldn't afford to offend the official. Otherwise, he would have to deal with the ire of the Hunter Association, and his career as a Hunter would be over before it even began.
"Why the hell do they keep letting that deadweight into rifts?" Vale, a Guardian Knight leaning lazily against the metal railing beside him, asked irritably. The man was of average looks, and his large shield clanked loudly against his back as he shifted his weight.
"That's because no one wants Hunters with the Necromancer class on their team in rifts anymore. The Hunter Association has no choice in this matter as well. It's either they let them raid rifts or they watch them rot in the registry queue." A pretty woman gave a small chuckle and brushed a strand of dark auburn hair behind her ear. She was an E-rank Archer, and her gear—a dark green cloak, a sleek, reinforced bow, and a quiver of arrows—was notably better than the rest of her colleagues.
"Hell, they should just rot." A Hunter near the back of the group muttered irritably with his arms crossed.
"If only it were that easy. Still, we can't raid this rift without him. We need his presence to complete the head count after all. Besides, I don't think that he'll be much of a deadweight. He's a licensed Hunter, whether we like it or not." Katherine, the female Archer replied helplessly.
"You think so? Wait until you see this one," a short-haired woman added mockingly, her voice laced with dry amusement. She had a slim frame, and was dressed in the basic armor of a Swordsman, with the iron sword she wielded looking like it had seen better days.
"He's even worse. I heard that he's barely survived the previous rifts he entered. Every Hunter who's raided rifts with him labelled him a deadweight." Lara, the short-haired female swordsman muttered dryly.
"Really? His records are that bad?" Katherine asked, her brows lifting slightly in genuine curiosity.
"Yeah. I checked his records myself. I heard he's been signing up for every low-tier rift he came across these past two months. Every. Single. One." Lara nodded.
There was a moment of silence after she spoke, and the eight Hunters all sported looks of disbelief following her words.
"What for? Is he insane?!"
"Doesn't he know how dangerous rifts are? Granted they are low-tier rifts, but he's a Necromancer!"
"Is he suicidal?"
"That's what I thought as well. I'm just a few raids away from being promoted to E-rank, and even I wouldn't dare raid F-rank rifts like that. I don't know what he's trying to prove, but somehow, he's still breathing." Lara said as she let out a wry smile at their surprised reactions.
"Either he's got a death wish, or he's just a stubborn fool." Another Hunter chimed in, his face partially hidden under a hood. His armor was light, and he had a pair of daggers strapped across his thighs.
Before they could continue their conversation, the sounds of hurried footsteps echoed through the corridors. Naturally, the sounds did not escape the sharp senses of the eight Hunters, and they turned to the cause of the sudden noise.
A lanky young man limped into view, clutching a battered duffel bag to his side. His black tracksuit clung to his frame, faded and torn in places, and several bandages peeked out from beneath his collar. One was wrapped loosely around his temple, soaked slightly with sweat that matted his messy black hair to his forehead.
However, there was a subtle sharpness to his features, and if not for the exhaustion on his face, and the clear signs of poverty clinging to every inch of him, he would have passed for a handsome celebrity.
The boy skidded to a stop before them, panting as he struggled to catch his breath.
"S-Sorry… I'm really sorry I'm late. I had to take the train and—"
"What the hell is this?!" Gabe exploded, throwing his large hands into the air as he approached Noel menacingly.
"You show up ten minutes late looking like a damn mess, and you want us to believe you're ready for this raid?" Gabe snarled, his burly frame towering over Noel and making him cower in fear.
"I really didn't mean to hold you all up. I was just—" Noel winced at the veteran Hunter's imposing aura, and he found it difficult to even look him in the eye.
"You were just wasting our time, that's what!" Gabe barked, cutting Noel off angrily, not giving him the time to respond. "We've been standing here waiting for you while you were out playing corpse! What, did you crawl out of a grave on your way here?"
"I'm sorry…" Noel muttered in a small voice as he lowered his head.
"You're sorry?" Gabe sneered. "You look like a liability already, and now we're supposed to risk our necks alongside you? Do you even have proper gear, or did you dig that tracksuit out of a donation bin?"
As Gabe went off on Noel, none of the party members made a move to defend him. Vale glanced away with a faint sneer, the hooded assassin shook his head subtly, muttering something under his breath, and Lara crossed her arms, looking Noel up and down like she was unsure whether to pity him or be annoyed. It was clear that they subtly agreed with Gabe's actions.
Gabe was about to continue his verbal assault on Noel when Katherine finally stepped forward.
"That's enough, Gabe," she said firmly.
"Leader? Don't tell me you're seriously defending him." Gabe protested, narrowing his brows at Katherine's intervention.
"I'm telling you to let it go. We need him to meet the headcount, and we're already late. Since he's finally here, there's no need for us to waste any more of our time." Katherine stated resolutely, her tone left no room for argument.
Gabe let out a frustrated breath and finally backed off, though the scowl on his face didn't budge.
Noel let out a sigh of relief at Katherine's intervention and bowed quickly.
"Thank you. I won't slow you down, I swear—"
Katherine didn't respond, barely sparing him a second glance. She merely turned around and walked toward the Rift gate.
However, although Katherine had stepped in to defend Noel, it wasn't out of sympathy. She already had a contract lined up with Forge Cloud, a mid-tier second-rate Guild, and this rift was the last one she needed to fulfill her promotion criteria to D-rank. Once she was promoted, she could easily join the Guild, and she wouldn't have to bother with F-rank raids, registry queues, or deadweight Hunters like Noel ever again.
She and her party were already halfway out the door of these struggles, and this raid was nothing but a formality.
"Now that everyone is present, let's get ready for the raid." Katherine announced in a decisive tone, her words eliciting a flurry of actions from the rest of her party members.
The team took the next few minutes to double-check their weapons and equipment, and when they were finally done, the Rift gate official, who had been silent until now, stepped forward.
"Your team has been registered and cleared, and all nine participants confirmed," he said, glancing at his clipboard.
"This rift is rated F-rank, but one can never be too careful. Remember to keep your formation tight and your exit plan even tighter." The Rift official warned in a serious tone as they prepared to enter the rift.
Meanwhile, Noel stood at the back of the group, adjusting the strap of his duffel bag awkwardly.
As the team completed their final check-up, Katherine turned slightly to address him.
"Just so we're clear, you're only here to make up the numbers. Don't try anything fancy. Stay out of our way and do what you're told. Otherwise, don't expect anyone to save you if things go south." She said without looking at him directly,
"Understood." Noel nodded quietly as he tightened his grip on his duffel bag.
The Rift began to shimmer, the gate humming softly as the portal flared open. One by one, the Hunters stepped through the crackling veil of energy, disappearing from sight. Noel followed after them, stepping into the F-rank Rift. As the energy veil swallowed him, only one thought was on his mind.
Survive.