The hunter was inside the dungeon with the corpse at his side. He checked his mana; he had enough to use his lightning attack again, but he couldn't store any more. 'I have to increase the mana in my body.'
He approached the exit to go to the surface at once.
Upon crossing a threshold, the system spoke to him.
[Congratulations on clearing a dungeon, phase: initial. Category: A. You have received 130 coins for the death of monsters. You have received 40 coins for clearing the dungeon. You have received 20 coins for being the first to clear a dungeon. You have received 30 coins for being the first to clear a category A dungeon]
'210 coins, it was really worth coming here, even though it was an accident in the first place,' he thought. He was about to walk again, but another notification arrived.
[Congratulations, you have received an object [Rabbit Mask] Phase: Initial. Category: S. Description: A mask shaped like a rabbit, with ears, nose, mouth, and eyes. When the user has it on, their voice is different from the original and they gain agility, speed, and jump height.]
Instead of a ball, the mask appeared directly in the hunter's inventory. He quickly summoned it into his right hand and inspected it. 'It looks normal, but it's too sturdy, it's almost like a metal helmet. This is a category S object... How good will the Unique category be?'
He put on the mask and immediately afterward felt light; then he continued and walked toward the exit, a narrow passage upward like a human-sized anthill hole.
He got out without many complications; only his white shirt got covered in dirt. He sighed and looked around. Soon he detected the moons hanging in the sky; there were many more than before.
He didn't pay much attention to it and kept scanning his surroundings; a few seconds later, he noticed an impressive amount of smoke coming from the south.
'That place... Isn't that where the camp is?' Suddenly he felt a pang in his heart.
He quickly summoned the [Panther of the Flat Valley]. 'Given its race and dimensions, it should be much faster.'
The companion appeared amid blue lights; its body formed little by little until it was a complete living being. It was clearly muscular and much larger than Adriel; its purple eyes looked at him with something similar to superiority.
'You... Are you my master?' An unknown voice tinkled in Adriel's head, though he understood who it was.
"Yes. Help me, we have to get over there quickly." The hunter pointed at the smoke while looking the creature in the eyes.
'... Hey, first give me a name!'
The tone of that voice changed radically to a more playful and relaxed one.
"We can think about that on the trip."
The panther nodded, became smaller, and Adriel climbed onto it, then it increased its size again and began to run toward the camp.
"What's your gender?"
'I'm a big, very fertile male.'
"What a strange way to present your gender… Well, how about Sergio?"
'Nah, that's a very basic name.'
'Be grateful that I'm at least making the effort to give you a name,' Adriel thought, frustrated upon hearing his companion's tone.
'Bahahahaha, you thought I can't read your thoughts, Adriel? We're connected; all my thoughts are heard by you and all your thoughts are heard by me.'
Adriel stopped paying attention to the panther and focused on the path. Soon they were in front of the fire; the camp was in flames.
'I'm going to dismiss you and then I'll summon you inside.'
The panther nodded and became illusory threads again.
The fire was very high and covering everything, almost like a wall.
Adriel stretched a little, touched his mask, and jumped. With this he didn't get over the wall, but then he used dash to go upward diagonally and passed without problems.
Inside, people were screaming and crying.
He summoned the panther and then his scythe. 'I have some acquaintances; look for Azucena first; she's an older woman with green eyes, brown hair, white skin, and curls that reach her waist; I'll look for the others.'
'Okay.'
He ran; his speed was inhuman and far superior to what he had ever imagined. Soon he saw something: a man had a black-haired, black-eyed girl grabbed by the neck, Selene.
In front of the man was a tall, slender woman with a perfect figure, Elena, who had Amara and Sahima behind her.
He walked slowly until he was near both sides. "Hey." He called out; his voice was different from what the others knew.
The women tensed upon seeing him, while the man only frowned.
"What are you doing? And what's your name?" Adriel asked, looking at the man.
"I want to know the same thing. I'm Zemol and, well, I think this explains itself well enough."
"It doesn't." Adriel cut Zemol off with those words, increasing the tension between the two.
Zemol soon tensed too when he felt the hunter's killing intent; the red eyes of the rabbit mask seemed to pierce the darkest part of his soul.
The flames around them remained alive, dancing to the rhythm of the air that gives them life.
A Mameluke sword appeared in Zemol's right hand, while on the other side the hunter had his scythe.
"Let the girl go." He ordered the man severely.
"If I let her go, you'll kill me; if I don't let her go, you'll do it anyway. Why would I let her go?"
The man raised his Mameluke and pointed it at the girl's collarbone. Meanwhile, Adriel reacted, trying to reach his weapon to stop him, but Zemol ran the girl through. She screamed loudly from the pain.
Amara screamed upon seeing this, but she couldn't do anything.
Adriel channeled mana into his fingers and fired at the man's head, but he dodged with ease. "Quite predictable."
He tried to attack Zemol with his scythe, but he released Selene and defended himself with mastery, protecting his body with the Mameluke.
The blades screeched on contact, but the scythe's defense was nonexistent. Zemol easily let his weapon go forward, almost stabbing Adriel, but he moved aside and hit him in the face. Then he jumped back and used his dash to get away.
One of the man's hands touched his face. "You gave a good hit; it's a pity your weapon is so bad."
"Shut up and fight already." Adriel said, frustrated by the man's playful tone.
'How do I kill him? I can't reach him with a scythe.'
'Are you having problems? I can come if you want.'
'Keep looking for Azucena.'
'I already have her; I'm just making sure she isn't harmed.'
Adriel's heart vibrated upon hearing this; seeing her again was something that excited him in a special way.
'Come with me and leave Azucena next to the other three women you'll see.'
'Yes.'
'Now I have to buy time.'
He saw the man in front of him, then thought for a few seconds and spoke. "I'm a hunter; I came to kill a new prey."
Zemol smiled upon hearing this. "I'm a hero; I came to help the camp progress, but I see there was a madman here, so I tried to get as many benefits as possible, but these four tried to stop me."
"I have the [Hero Candidate] class with 75% resonance. The most impressive part? The stats I'll have will all be superhuman."
"Nobody asked you."
He laughed a little at Adriel's response, but kept smiling. "Even so, it interests you, doesn't it? Even so, there are more surprising people than me, for example, Adriel. You also got the notification, so I understand; it seems it was global; now everyone knows him by name."
Adriel smiled under the mask and grabbed it with his right hand, pulling it a little away from his face. "What would you do if you happened to run into him?"
"I'd run; he probably has 100% resonance and some impressive reward from the {Unique}."
Surprise filled the women behind Adriel; they had already recognized that voice.
Suddenly a giant panther arrived and settled behind the hunter, who removed his mask completely. "You're right about one thing: I received a veeery impressive reward."
The man's smile tensed and filled with nerves upon seeing the hunter watching him with his pair of yellow eyes, besides feeling exposed and vulnerable before the [Panther of the Flat Valley].
"This is perfect... According to the acting method, I must be a hero, but what hero doesn't have a villain? Adriel, see you."
"I'm going to hunt you."
Zemol's body became wrapped in a strange, colorless essence, then he began to run toward the opposite side from where Adriel was.
'Do I follow him?'
'No, we first have to get everyone out of this place.'
Adriel turned to look at the panther, but stopped at who was on top of it. Azucena, with her curly brown hair waving and her precious emerald eyes, was on top of the companion.
'Only two are missing... Liora and Kael.'