⚠️ ENTERING DANGER ZONE

Name: ???

Grade: D-Rank, Terror Level

Recommended Team Level: 61–100

Player Limit: 10

⚠️ You cannot enter!

⚠️ You cannot enter!

"T-Terror level!"

Logan and Ashton barked simultaneously the moment these warning notifications appeared in front of them.

Now they understood why the portal reaction was so intense.

They turned to Marlon, who had also gotten the same notification, but unlike them, he was completely unbothered.

Swiping the notification away, he turned to look at the two of them, the breeze blowing aggressively against his face, causing his black hair to flutter.

"It seems we can't enter," he muttered in a gentle tone.

"Then we just have to wait for the break to occur," he concluded, a grin widening on his face.

"Marlon… we understand you're strong, but this is a D-rank threat. The average monster within these kinds of danger zones would be difficult even for you to defeat," Ashton tried reasoning with him, praying it would work now that he had seen the true rating of the portal.

"Who decided that?"

A simple response.

Ashton's countenance fell once again.

How would he be able to make him see how dangerous the situation was?

"If you guys want to continue being my teammates, then you have to be bold in situations like these. I don't need people who cower at the sight of danger," Marlon stated.

The two of them fell silent immediately.

Though it was much more evident on Ashton's face.

The feeling he had at the restaurant last night resurfaced once again — depression and the feeling of being useless washed over him.

In the past, he was confident because his best friend also possessed a low-rank talent like him. But now Logan was different — with a high-rank talent that would send his level rocketing, he would soon become a reliable hunter on his own while he would be left behind.

Marlon observed his face and knew just what he was thinking.

Nonetheless, before he could try to form his words of encouragement, the energy from the portal surged.

The gust of wind grew so fierce that the poles which had been dangling earlier were finally uprooted and sent flying like ragdolls. Nearby cars were pushed backward with force, their collisions echoing through the streets.

The three of them immediately moved faraway as soon as they could to avoid getting tossed by the new reaction.

Standing near a tall building, they observed the blue portal, which gradually turned red.

Red was one of the signs that a portal was about to break.

Marlon turned to his teammates and gave them the signal to get ready.

Ashton nodded, muttering his skill into activation as flames wrapped around his fists like blazing gloves.

Logan activated his new skills.

A gentle breeze blew from the side of the three as a cloud of white mist appeared, followed by the appearance of a beast.

Standing over eight feet tall on four powerful legs was a gigantic horned wolf, its grey fur shimmering under the soft morning light. True to its name, a long, sharp horn jutted from the top of its head, further enhancing its dangerous presence.

The horned wolf was one of the well-known evolve-able aether beasts, famed for how difficult it was to tame and how exceptional it was in combat.

Judging by its current size, it should be around D or C-rank.

Marlon and Ashton were both amazed by its appearance. They found it almost unbelievable that he had managed to tame such an impressive beast in less than three days since his reawakening.

They didn't have enough time to ask about the story behind it as the portal surged further and turned blood-red.

The energy radiating from it grew even more violent.

At that moment, every object, including cars within a twenty-meter radius, was wiped away, creating a landing space for the monsters about to appear.

With a final surge, the torso of the first wave of monsters poured out of the portal.

Sharp roars and groans thundered across the area as the monsters made their appearance.

A group of around a dozen monsters of the same race and size emerged.

The monsters had humanoid appearances with towering heights that made them taller than nearby buildings, even taller than Logan's tamed beast.

They had dark-green pigmented scales that looked almost metallic as they reflected the rays of the morning sun.

Their heads consisted of a single large eye and a massive mouth with rows of sharp teeth and tongues that twisted out venomously like serpents.

The noise in the streets vanished at their appearance.

As they were still scanning the area for prey, Marlon quickly used [Inspect] to see their names and power levels, as he had never seen monsters like them in the many books about danger-zone exploration that he had read.

Serpigon

Threat Level: D

Health: 100%

The name echoed in his mind. Something about it felt familiar, but he just couldn't figure out where he had heard it before.

Thankfully, he had two nerds beside him.

Ashton froze. He had read about this particular monster in a book back at the hospital. there was even an image that looked exactly like the monsters standing in front of him.

"Dude… we have to run," he stuttered.

"The Serpigon might not be as strong as the Ice Dragon you defeated, but they're far more dangerous…" he added.

But it was already too late.

The Serpigons had already started stomping toward their direction after spotting them. They smashed cars in their path as their steps thundered across the area, shaking the underground basements where many people were hiding. Fear surged.

"Blitz… attack!"

Logan stretched out his hand at once and ordered his tamed beast to attack.

Blitz let out a low growl of obedience as it leapt forward, crossing a few meters in one powerful bound as it closed in on the approaching wave.

Marlon sprinted right after it, making use of his massive build to sneak in on the Serpigons.

Ashton stayed behind, scared out of his mind, as only he knew how terrifying the Serpigons were. Even C-rank hunters prayed fervently never to face them, and yet his teammates, who weren't even E-rank, were going after them.

At that moment, he couldn't tell if they were bold or simply suicidal.

===

Nonetheless at the same time.

The hunter association finally received the information about the break, resulting in panic.

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