Chapter 22 - The Irregular Gate

  "Well, well, well. Look who it is," Evon Mudd said with the most smug look on his face immediately after stepping out of the car. "The rank one embarrassment of Trinity Academy."

  "Don't say that," Horast replied with venom in his tone, walking up to Evon. He pointed towards the portal. "Beyond that gate right there, we're all working together to stay alive. There is no room for doubting your own teammates on the other side."

  "This is just an intermediate dungeon, isn't it," Evon said casually, feigning a yawn. "What's the big deal anyway? Anyone rank three or higher should be perfectly fine for something like this. It's people like him that turn out to be liabilities."

  Horast looked like he was about to say something, but Evon Mudd's family bodyguards were still standing by near the black car that he arrived in. He shook his head in disapproval and walked away, muttering under his breath. "The arrogance of these rich kids," he muttered.

  "Alright, listen up," Horast said loudly, walking back to the front of the gate. "We've all arrived now, so we'll be making our way into the dungeon. The scanner reports show that this is an Intermediate dungeon, so we should be adequately prepared with our large roster of ranks three through five, but remember, anything can happen on the other side. Always be vigilant, and always be aware of your surroundings."

  "For those of you who have not worked with us before, remember that safety always comes first. Never jeopardize the safety of your teammates for a selfish reason."

  The people listened on, but William caught a few of the members looking at him with disdain. Even as a porter, a level 1 was pretty much a liability in an intermediate dungeon.

  "Sasha and I are armed with rifles as well," Horast said. "In case of an emergency. I prefer not to use them, since ammunition is being rationed at the moment and every bullet counts."

  William honestly wished that more raid parties used conventional firearms. Guns and other armaments were in a strange situation at the moment. The more powerful raid parties fielded by guilds with ranks five and above usually did not use them out of arrogance and disdain for them, with due reason because their own powers were quite sufficient.

  Top tier guild raid parties with the most powerful rankers in the country such as Cassius Brightsteel never used conventional weapons in dungeon raids. It was seen as an embarrassment to bring an RPG or a tank into a dungeon, but William strongly disagreed with this. Many top ranked guild members lost their lives because of that arrogance, and there was quite a lot of hubris at the top.

  And on the other hand, the people who could benefit the absolute most from even light firearms like rifles and such going into beginner or elementary dungeons were unable to do so because military materiel was prohibitively expensive and also controlled by the government.

  Therefore the only people who really used military applications in dungeons were the military themselves and some odds and ends that could be acquired by middle of the pack raid parties like this one. Such as the old bolt action rifles that Horast and what William presumed to be his wife Sasha had hoisted on their backs.

  "We use the standard spearhead attack formation, with tanks and other front liners forming a spearhead that protects our more vulnerable members in the middle and the back. Does anyone have any questions?"

  "No sir," the warrior woman from earlier said. "It's like the kid said, this is just a lower intermediate dungeon. Let's get to it and get home sooner."

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  "Alright then," Horast replied, taking another swig of beer before tossing the can to the side. "Let's get this party rolling."

  Raising his sword and shield, he waved over the members of the dungeon raid team. "Our raid begins now! Let's go!"

  The party followed Horast's lead in through the gate and into the dungeon beyond it.

  William found himself walking side by side with the other porter, the chubby rank two student in uniform, and to his annoyance Evon Mudd as well.

  "Ever been through a gate, rank one?" Evon Mudd taunted.

  William didn't reply, which seemed to only encourage Evon on.

  "Of course you wouldn't have, coming from a no-name family like yours," he replied. "I have already been through many of these gates for family business." He casually stepped up to the white rectangular gate and waved in a formal but condescending way. "See you on the other side, rookie."

  "You really like to talk, don't you," William muttered as Evon walked through the rectangular white portal, disappearing through to the other side.

  "He does not know grace," the large and plump rank two porter said. He had a cheerful smile and a frying pan on his back, which appeared to be his weapon. "I am Mantou Da," he said, reaching out for a handshake.

  "William Blackwood," William replied cordially, returning his handshake.

  Mantou's face appeared impressed when shaking William's hand. "You also work in a restaurant, do you not?" he asked.

  "I do," William replied. He felt the smoothed over callouses on Mantou's hands as well, the mark of a dish scrubber. William had similar ones on his hands. "I like you. Let's stick together in this dungeon, alright," he suddenly said. From the bottom of his heart and as a fellow restaurant grunt worker, his gut sensation told him that he could trust this plump young man in front of him. He was a simple person, but not in a bad sense. William could already sense that he had a strong sense of grounded morality just from their brief interaction. Sometimes, he just knew.

  "Of course, William, my new friend," Mantou replied with a bit of an accent like the kind from the cold northeastern countries beyond the Hallei Mountains.

  It was nice to find someone whose personality was reliable like Mantou's, William thought. Something already far too rare in this world. "Let's catch up with the rest of them," he said, noticing that most of the raid party members had already gone on ahead. Behind him, Evon Mudd's bodyguards and escort were leaving as well.

  "That's right, best not to be late," Mantou replied.

  Mantou went through the gate first, disappearing after taking two steps through. Then it was William's turn. He always wondered what it would be like to go through a portal like this. I guess I'll find out now, he thought.

  Stepping through the white portal, he felt as if he had simply walked through a doorway of air that separated the night air that he left behind from the human world with the cold, damp air of the dungeon.

  The moment that William's body completely made its way through and his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he realized that something was wrong.

  All of the raid party members were clustered behind Horast, who held up an electric powered lantern. Several other people lit their own lanterns as well.

  "Where is this?" the annoying woman from earlier said.

  Horast raised his hand as if to ask them all to stop. "I don't know, but this isn't an intermediate dungeon," he said quietly. "I've never seen something like this before."