The wind cut across Johnquis's face as he vaulted over a broken rooftop. He fired his hook, metal catching on a rusty beam. His cape snapped open like bat wings, letting him glide before landing in a roll. He hit the ground running.
He moved fast through the ruins. Vaulting walls, grabbing ledges, firing again to swing across gaps. His cape helped steady his flight, catching just enough air to keep his landings clean. Every movement was sharp, practiced, precise. The red mark on his map blinked closer.
He stopped at the edge of the mission range. The target was in sight. He looked up. A ruined skyscraper.
A system ping echoed in his ear.
[TIER-E NEST IDENTIFIED]
Location Type: Rooftop Hatchling Den
Eater Activity: Level 1 Confirmed — Level 2 possible.
Queen Type: Hatchling Queen (LVL 1)
Swarm Status: Minor
Recommended Team Size: 2–4
Status: Squad of 4
Proceed with caution.
He shouted,
"Wait—what?! A squad of four?! This is a Tier E quest? But it was on the F-rank board! Did they mess up? Oh no… this is my first time teaming up on a quest. Do I look okay? Do I smell bad?"
He sniffed himself and winced.
"Ugh, I stink. Must be from that Eater I wrestled earlier… What are they gonna think of me?"
A voice called from nearby.
"Hey! Get over here! We're starting the quest in a minute!"
Startled, Johnquis shouted back,
"A-alright! On my way!!"
He wiped his hands on his pants, smearing grime and dried blood. His heart beating fast, not from fear of the Eaters, but from sudden nerves. A Squad. Real people. Real teammates. He hadn't spoken to anyone in a month.
He jogged toward the source of the voice. A few turns later, he found them.
Three of them were already there, waiting by a wrecked food truck. They used its roof to study a glowing map. Two men and a girl, all wearing the same black high-tech suits as Johnquis. Each had a glowing stone embedded on the back of their right hand.
Johnquis eyed the stones.
"That guy's stone is grey, must be steel rank, probably the Captain. That girl's stone is reddish-brown, and that man's stone is the same. Both bronze rank. Wait… does that mean?"
The tall man in his mid-thirties looked at him first. He asked,
"You the last-minute pick?"
Johnquis replied,
"Y-yeah. Just accepted the mission a few minutes ago—"
The man's eyes widened at Johnquis's black stone. Then, he jumped off the roof.
"Oh, fuck! Why'd we get an unranked on our team? I told you over and over we need someone who's useful. I don't have time to babysit! What the hell!"
The girl slid down the roof after him, touching his rocky arm as she spoke,
"Apologize, my love. I forgot to set the rank requirement on the listing. I panicked! If we didn't get one more member, the system would've kicked us, and others would've snatched the quest. We just needed one more body after Rex ditched us last minute."
The man suddenly calmed down and spoke to the girl beside him.,
"It's alright, love. We all make mistakes."
Helock his eyes with Johnquis.
"Get over here and sync your stone!"
Johnquis asked,
"Oh, why?"
"What do you mean, why? Don't tell me this is your first time in a Squad!"
"Uh... yeah. I thought you had to apply first on the Squad finder to join one. This just popped up, kind of a surprise—"
"Yes, a surprise! A real damn surprise on my end. For your information, unranked, every quest starting from E-rank requires a Squad. If you don't have one, the system just throws you in as a fill-in."
The man quickly grabbed Johnquis' hand and pressed their stones together. A faint pulse of light flickered between them. Then, he tapped his Eater Stone. A screen flickered to life over his eyes.
"Let's see what we're working with…"
Johnquis profile appeared on his view.
Name: [Johnquis]
Rank: [Unranked]
Feed Count: [9,900 / 20,000]
StarRate: [★☆☆☆☆]
Role: [Supporter - Control]
Status: [In Squad]
"Okay, name… Johnquis. Unranked. Feed count… barely anything, and what the hell?! One star?! What have you been doing on your quests, boy?"
The girl turned to Johnquis.
"One star? Wait... did you say Johnquis? No way. You're that Johnquis?"
She grabbed Johnquis's hand and tapped her eater stone. Another faint pulse. Her eyes flicked, catching the data feed.
The other man followed, jumped down onto the roof of the food truck. He reached out and smacked his eater stone against Johnquis'.
"Don't tell me... he's the one I think he is…"
Both of them went quiet for a split second as Johnquis' profile popped up in their view.
The girl jaw dropped.
"You've gotta be kidding me… Like, no way, bro!"
The other boy read aloud,
"Johnquis… One-star rating… Role: Supporter, Control subclass. I swear I've heard that profile before."
"Randy, that's our batch mate, the one with the chain! We call it The Leash, right? You're the guy who fights up close, hugging every Eater to death? Oh man, hahaha!"
"Oh hey! Right, Johnquis! The leash boy! Still dragging that thing around? How's life treating you, buddy?"
Johnquis's voice wavered slightly.
"Hey. Uh, yeah, hello. Good to see you two again. I didn't recognize you... congrats on reaching bronze—"
Randy cut in.
"Of course you didn't recognize us. You only ever had eyes for your little sister. The sister who ended up way stronger than her big bro. The one who was supposed to protect her."
The girl laughed.
"Man, we have to drop him. He's dead weight. The weakest Eater Blade ever. Like why is he even here? Look at him, it's been three months since we graduated, and he's still unranked. He hasn't even unlocked his first skill. What the hell?"
"Totally agree, he's useless! Just gonna slow the whole squad down. I'm not carrying him like his little sister used to. And where is she now, huh? The same girl who never let go of him? She's ranked up, way ahead. Left him behind cause he couldn't keep up."
"Leash boy got ditched by his baby sister. Maybe you should've put the leash on her then she wouldn't have left you behind."
Lex and Randy burst into laughter.
Mars stepped forward.
"That's enough."
He looked at Johnquis, eyes cold.
"Listen up, unranked. I don't care if this is your first E-rank quest with a squad. You're here now. I can't drop you even if I want to, system's already locked us in. So don't screw this up."
He turned to the others.
"Target nest is ahead, rooftop level. Queen confirmed. Other Eaters likely out hunting to feed her. We hit the roamers first, then the nest. Keep sharp, stay tight, and don't speak unless spoken to."
He pointed at Johnquis.
"You stick behind Lex. She says move, you move. She says shut up, you shut up."
Johnquis replied calmly,
"Understood."
A chime echoed in his ears. He checked his Eater Stone and tapped it.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
You are now part of: [Active Squad]
Status: Mission Initializing
Time Limit: 6h00m
Objective: Eliminate all Eaters in identified nest. Confirm Hatchling Queen kill.
Another screen blinked:
[SYNCED Squad MEMBERS]
Name: [Mars]
Rank: [Steel]
Feed Count: [85,000/130,000]
Star Rate: [★★★☆☆]
Role: [Breaker]
Status: [In Squad]
Name: [Lex]
Rank: [Bronze]
Feed Count: [25,000/70,000]
Star Rate: [★★☆☆☆]
Role: [Ranger]
Status: [In Squad]
Name: [Randy]
Rank: [Bronze]
Feed Count: [27,200/70,000]
Star Rate: [★★☆☆☆]
Role: [Attacker]
Status: [In Squad]
Johnquis stood there, still as stone, the laughter still echoing in his ears. His eyes flicked from one name to the next on the squad list; Mars, Lex, Randy. Each of them stronger. Then he saw his own name. That lonely one-star rating. A gut punch he could never get used to.
"The leash boy with just one star. Always that one damn star. Doesn't matter how many I've faced or what I've survived. The system won't budge. They see only what they want: weak, supporter, leash boy. Everyone remembers me by that damn chain... But you're not here to impress anyone, Johnquis. You're here to avenge them all and find your sister again."