Wooosh~~

A gust of wind greeted them as they entered the cave. The gentle rustling of the leaves tickled their ears. The scenery inside the cave felt like they entered another world. A huge dense forest was in front of them with huge trees towering close to the ceiling.

Their surroundings were dark like it was in the middle of the night. The countless luminous gemstones that dotted the ceiling imitated the stars found in the sky on a clear night. For a moment they forgot that they were inside the lowest floor of the mountain.

"How come a forest of this size exists inside a mountain? That huge tree right there looks like its bigger than the mountain itself."

Rey asked the group while pointing at a massive tree in the distance that looked like it was carrying the heavens itself due to its sheer size.

"We've been here multiple times, and you still manage to ask the same question every time."

Than spoke while looking at Rey with a dumbfounded expression. Zen spoke to answer his question.

"I've read somewhere that the mountain itself is a magical wonder that naturally formed during the Cataclysm. The space inside it is distorted and due to the presence of dense magical energy it became a spawning ground for beasts."

"Compared to Beithir's Necropolis the energy here is minuscule, they say the magical energy there is so thick that you can literally swim in it."

Than added after Zen finished explaining. The interest in Rey's eyes seemed to have been satisfied. Maki then asked a question.

"Which floor is the Acid hound located in?"

"The 47th floor."

Rey answered. The look on Maki's face turned serious as he heard the floor number. They were currently on the lowest floor which was the 50th. The highest they've gone to is the 48th floor where the difficulty can't be compared to the two floors below it. The 47th floor was unexplored territory for them, even though they had a map of the 47th floor found in their bracelets, looking at a map and exploring the floor are two completely different things.

"There's four of us, I think we'll be relatively safe-ish?"

Zen said with uncertainty trying to reassure Maki. The group knew that as you rise through the floors, the difficulty increases exponentially after each one.

"Lets go then, you guys scared?"

Than said jokingly to lighten the mood around them. The other three flinched from his words and a stream of verbal abuse echoed throughout the floor.

Rey activated a bracelet on each arm and they crumbled. They traveled to his hands and reformed into a weapon. The weapons glinted a steel blue color, it had a curved edge and its reach was small, green lines ran across the blade's surface. It looked like the fangs of a cobra with the green lines pulsing making it look like it was alive.

Maki and Than also activated their bracelets. A shield covered in leather and a simple short sword appeared in each hand. Both of them equipped the same type of gear and Maki got confused because of this.

"You're not equipping your firearm?"

Maki asked. A smug look on Than's face appeared and he spoke while clearly showing the bracelets he owned.

"I've gotta use the other bracelets I have, no?"

Zen looked at the two of them and laughed. Instead of equipping his weapon, he just coated his fist with magical energy. Than and Maki noticed this and a frown appeared on their faces.

"Now that's just straight out boasting."

Said both of them simultaneously. Zen laughed once more and assured them that they could do it too with a bit of practice.

"External Energy Manipulation, every hunter uses this to power their bracelets. Just think of activating your bracelet while letting the energy flow to your hands."

The explanation of Zen went in one ear and out the other. Than and Maki already knew the basics of it but its easier to say than doing it. Rey gestured everyone to start moving.

The party moved through the dense forest with ease, with some occasional encounters. The beasts they encountered were mostly some type of mutated rat ranging from 1-2 feet long. After a few minutes of walking heavy footsteps were heard.

tap.

Tap.

TAp.

TAP.

TAP.

Suddenly a beast charged at them from the side. Maki was the first one to react to the sound of the beast's charge. He raised his shield towards where the sound was coming from and a tremendous force pushed him a step back. The others readied their weapons and took on a defensive stance.

THUD!

The beast collided with Maki's shield. A small groan escaped his mouth. The beast fell on its back after colliding with the shield it shook its head seemingly dazed from the impact, it got up quickly and distanced itself from the group.

The beast contained the features of a rat albeit in a mutated way. It's size was similar to a coffee table when its on all fours. It had a muscular body and a hunched back, sharp claws present on its arm and feet sharp enough to tear through flesh and bone. The beast had a horrifying maw with its teeth as large as a human's index finger. It was heavily drooling while staring at Maki with crazed eyes.

(https://imgur.com/a/v2JbPDZ)

"Thank our lucky stars, an Alpha class variant of a Giant Mutated Rat."

Maki said sarcastically. The other three seemed to have failed to notice it was sarcasm and they were looking at the rat with anticipation. Alpha class beasts are a rare variant, smarter and stronger than their normal counterparts by a wide margin. They possess the capability to lead the same species, luckily this one seemed to be alone.

"Bracelet! Bracelet! Bracelet!"

Zen chanted with excitement as he went on a fighting stance. A bracelet from each of his arm started to crumble and started gathering around his hands. The pieces formed a glove in each hand. The gloves look like they were made from high quality leather with the knuckles reinforced by some unknown metal. The gloves gave off a faint aura around it hinting its contained power.

"Stay alert, remember even if this is the lowest floor people can still lose their lives here."

Maki warned them. The three nodded their heads in agreement, they started to move to their positions with Maki being the forefront and Zen slightly behind him to support him if things go south.

Than's short sword and shield began to crumble and reformed back as a bracelet, another bracelet from his right hand crumbled and formed a firearm. He moved to the back of group pointing his gun at the beast. Rey stood beside Than to protect their backs due to ambushes being a common threat.

A dangerous light glinted in the party's eyes. Rey scanned the rat in front of the party as it was slowly approaching them. He activated one of his bracelets, instead of crumbling it let out a faint light and disappeared.

'Strength Appraisal'

His eyes gave out a faint glow as he mumbled a chant under his breath. The numerical equivalent of its strength appeared in his mind, he compared it to the Party's firepower and a smirk appeared in his face.

The rat sprung forward. It pushed off on its hind legs, and it extended its front legs. It was more than a jump. It basically shot towards Maki, and he could see the terrifyingly sharp teeth within its open jaws.

Maki planted his feet firmly on the ground and bashed his shield down the rat's head.

THUD!

KYIIIIIIIIIII!

The rat screeched in pain as it collided once more with the cold ground. Maki went in to stab the rat which was prone on the ground. The rat rolled to the side and stood up, instantly jumping towards Maki whose sword stabbed the empty air.

THUMP!

The rat was sent flying sideways. Zen's fist crashed down the side of the beast. Maki quickly thanked him and approached the beast. The rat flew around a meter in the air before rolling on the ground.

BANG! Hssss.....

A sphere of energy shot towards the rat at a terrifying speed. The energy carved a hole through the rat's ear and hit a nearby tree behind it before dissipating into the air.

"Tch."

Than clicked his tongue, he was disappointed that the shot missed. He readied another shot and aimed at the rat. The rat noticed the amount of power in that shot as blood streamed down the side of its face. It looked at the human holding the firearm and started charging towards him.

Maki and Zen intercepted the beasts' rush towards Than, but the beast quickly outmaneuvered both of them as it used its tail to throw dirt at their faces, temporarily blinding them. It ran past them and headed towards Than.

Than couldn't get a clear shot as it was running at him in a random pattern.

BANG! BANG!

He missed his shot twice and the rat lunged at him as it closed the distance. It stretched out its claws and swung at the air as it quickly sailed approaching Than's head. The rat which was mid air suddenly came to a stop.

ShiiiiiiKKK

A sharp blade impaled it from below and a second blade embedded itself to its side. The rat fell abruptly, it was bleeding profusely. It tried to stand up but its body wont cooperate, a shadow loomed over its head. The last scene it saw was a handsome man smiling while pointing his gun at it, a bright light emanated from the barrel of the firearm, and darkness soon followed.

"Phew...That was close."

Than let out a sigh of relief, if the rat had managed to grab a hold of his head his throat would have been ripped out.

All of them gathered around the corpse and Zen asked a question which everyone was silently thinking about.

"Do we sell the corpse or absorb it for strength?"