The blonde-haired Player, still visibly shaken, slumped inside one of the Red Sovereign tents, gulping down a lukewarm Red Bull. Jordan sat opposite him on an overturned crate, his dual sabers sheathed but his posture alert. Ben stood, arms loosely crossed, listening, his expression as unreadable as ever. The air in the tent was stale, smelling faintly of sweat and cheap energy drinks.
"So, this is what happened," the man began, his voice still a little shaky, his eyes darting nervously. "We're from the 69th Sovereign Division, 3rd Company. Our usual gig is just farming this E-rank gate. All of us D-ranks, with a few smuggled C-rank squads to keep order and, you know, in case something went sideways." He took another long swig of Red Bull.
"Then, about a week ago, most of our C-rank players were suddenly reassigned to another dungeon gate," he continued, gesturing vaguely. "And a good chunk of our D-rank players got replaced by F-ranks. The remaining D-ranks, including me, became squad leaders. I just assumed our guild was trying to expand our members, maybe push into some C-rank dungeons. So, our captain assigned most of us to clear the surrounding forests near the citadel for our incoming monthly citadel raid."
He paused, a shiver running through him. "We did it, though. It was a struggle at first, trying to organize the newbies and low-ranks, a real pain in the ass, but it was manageable for me. For five days, we kept levelling them, smooth sailing, you know? Just grinding."
"Until today," he whispered, his eyes wide. "This morning, squads from other zones started screaming chaos over the radio. We responded, my squad and I, but we didn't expect… this." His voice dropped to a terrified whisper. "An Orc. A usual Level 13 to 19, became a fucking Level 41 Mutated Orc."
Jordan's eyes widened, genuine shock on his face. He pushed off the crate, standing upright. "Forty-one?! No fucking way! Isn't that already nearly C-rank?! How the hell is something like that in an E-rank dungeon?!"
The blonde Player nodded frantically. "Yeah, that's what I'd like to ask too, man! It just… appeared. Like a goddamn nightmare."
Ben, who had been listening silently, his gaze distant, spoke. His voice was calm, analytical, cutting through the panic. "On the way here, the PBA agent's gate meter still read 4,000. So it's still E-rank. How come it didn't detect that C-rank monster?"
The blonde Player shrugged helplessly. "Most gates have a certain threshold. If only one C-rank monster is present, it wouldn't make a difference on the meter. It doesn't detect the strongest ranked monster inside, rather the accumulation of danger. Like, a hundred Level 10 goblins would push the meter more than one Level 41 orc, if that makes sense." He ran a hand through his hair, agitated. "Anyway, other squads and mine were wiped out by the raging mutated orc. I don't know why that happened, why it mutated, but if this information doesn't reach outside, our guild would be facing serious consequences. Most of our members will be laid off, and this whole operation will be shut down. So, if you please, I'd like to inform the guild as soon as possible."
Jordan, seeing the man's genuine distress, nodded. "Yeah, sure, dude. Go ahead. Get the hell out of here."
The blonde Player practically scrambled out of the tent, rushing towards the plains where Ben and Jordan had come from, a desperate figure fleeing a silent, unseen threat.
Ben and Jordan looked at each other. The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the distant sounds of the forest.
"So," Ben said, his voice quiet, "where's the citadel?"
Jordan pointed towards a jagged valley between two distant, mist-shrouded mountains. "That way. It's a good few miles in."
"Ahh… okay," Ben murmured, a flicker of something almost predatory in his eyes. He turned and started walking, not towards the exit, but deeper into the forest, towards the mountains.
Jordan, utterly confused, nearly yelled. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where the fuck are you going, dude?!"
Ben didn't look back, his steps unhesitating. "Taxing our criminal."
Jordan stared, his mouth agape. "Are you fucking insane, dude?! That's a Level 41 orc! It wiped out a whole company of D-ranks! You're Level 7!"
Ben's voice drifted back, calm and unwavering. "Maybe I am. Like every IRS officer, where the large money goes, we go."
Jordan sighed, a long, frustrated exhalation. He ran a hand over his face. "This fucking guy…" He muttered under his breath, but a reluctant grin tugged at his lips. He surrendered to the inevitable. "Wait for me, you crazy bastard!" He started jogging, then sprinting, to catch up with Ben, who was already disappearing into the deepening shadows of the forest.
Ben glanced over his shoulder at Jordan, a faint, almost imperceptible smirk playing on his lips. "I thought for one second you were gonna back out."
Jordan caught up, huffing, and clapped Ben on the shoulder. "Nah, man, if I did, I'd be missing the craziest shit you're about to pull. Besides," he sighed, a more serious note entering his voice, "I need that level up. Gotta reach Level 20 fast and complete my second class quest."
Ben raised an eyebrow. "There's a class quest?" He genuinely hadn't encountered anything like that in his System interface.
"Yeah, dude, if you must know," Jordan explained, adjusting his grip on his sabers, "but in order to advance your class, you'll need to complete four class quests. They appear after you reach every ten levels, and completing them usually gives you a new skill. Hopefully, my second class quest is easy this time. My first one was a bitch."
He paused, looking Ben over. "Anyway, what rank is your class, since you're so OP and shit. Mine's Epic."
Ben hesitated. His class, Tax Collector was also 'Unranked.' He didn't want to raise any suspicions about a class being unranked, especially since he didn't know much about why it was unranked himself. It felt… unique, yes, but also like a potential System anomaly. He decided on a strategic half-truth. "Mine's Unique."
Jordan nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Yeah, makes sense. You're definitely not like any other Player I've seen." He fell into step beside Ben, the forest closing in around them, the distant mountains looming ahead.