It took a while for Randy's world to stop spinning. As an archer, it had been a long time since he had experienced mana deprivation to this extreme a degree, and he was using every ounce of strength he had left to keep himself upright. Even now, his vision was blurred, and the edges darkened. Such a state would be suitable for a patient in a Hunter specialized hospital, yet he lay on an active battlefield with a floor boss.

  "Are you alright, Randy?" Valoria asked as her staff went whizzing over his head and obliterated a Clay Goblin that had likely been about to bite his head off. While the reanimated Clay Goblins could be slain in one hit, unlike Vesper and Valoria, who had melee weapons, Randy was stuck with an arrowless bow and no mana left to craft spiritual arrows.

  "No," he answered flatly—just speaking made his head spin again.

  "Here, take this," Valoria crouched down and pulled a metal hip flask out of her bra.

  Randy struggled to stare at the offered hip flask in disbelief as his head threatened to roll off his shoulders. "Valoria... you never managed to get over your drinking problem?" He sighed, letting his head fall forward. "Do you think a drink is what I need right now?"

  "You're so annoying sometimes," Valoria grumbled. Unscrewing the lid, she waved it under his nose, instantly making him perk up. It wasn't the dreaded fumes of alcohol like he expected that would bring back memories of too many regretful university nights—no, it was the burning mint-like taste of condensed mana.

  "You were hiding a mana potion all this time?"

  Valoria nodded and held it up to his lips. "Just take a sip to get your head straight. I'm saving it mostly for myself, I hope you understand."

  Randy managed to grab the hip flask from Valoria's hands and, as requested, he only took a swig, but his body desperately craved the rest. Yet he took the bare minimum and was amazed at how the pounding headache and lightheadedness faded.

  "Thanks, you're a lifesaver," he said genuinely, passing it back to Valoria.

  "No," she said, hiding the flask away and glancing into the distance, "the true lifesaver is that monster."

  Randy nodded in agreement as he followed her gaze. Their hero in shiny armor was going to war along the coastline. One Clay Orc and a dozen Clay Goblins had already been slain, and Gerald wasn't slowing down.

  "Just what is he?" Randy muttered, unable to stop his analytical brain from spinning a web of theories. Gerald appeared human and even had a registered Spellblade class with the system—yet he was unleashing skills from many different classes. It was this variety that was baffling. Humans were welcomed into the system with the gift of a class and five innate skills, with few opportunities to acquire more. The main way a human could get stronger was by leveling up.

  Randy knew monsters had access to evolutions, but even they were recorded to have limited skill sets—perhaps even more so than humans, as one Clay Goblin should have the exact blueprint as another.

  So how could Gerald defy all these known rules? What made him such a special entity? Randy wanted to know, but also respected Gerald enough not to pry any more than necessary.

  I just wish there was a way I could stay close to him after this. Maybe he would be open to adventuring with us more? Well, assuming we survive this ordeal in the first place. Randy held that thought and looked at Vesper and Valoria, who were resting on the rock next to him, and then back at himself. The three of them were stripped down to their underwear, having lost most of their gear to the lake. Covered in cuts and bruises, and driven to utter exhaustion, they weren't the most dependable-looking trio. Meanwhile, Gerald was single-handedly fending off an army of Goblins and Orcs.

  Randy winced. It was embarrassing how hard they were struggling, considering they heavily out-leveled these foes. Even slaughtering those Orcs wouldn't be too hard under usual circumstances. Yet here they were, broken and bruised, relying on a monster to live. Why would Gerald want to team up with them after this? They were nothing but a burden.

  "We should try and help him—" Randy began but paused as he felt a firm hand on his shoulder, pushing him back down.

  "Gerald told us to rest, so that's exactly what we will do," Vesper said, staring down at him with exhausted eyes. "Randy, you're smart. Surely you know that in our current state, there's nothing we can do besides protect ourselves from the constantly reanimating Clay Goblins." His eyes flickered to the ceiling. "And if help arrives, we will need the strength to escape from here."

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  Randy realized he had been so focused on Gerald that he had forgotten all about the call for rescue he had sent out. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that, as he doubted the three of them had enough money to pool together to pay for the rescue without dipping into a deep debt. If he were a full-time analyst working with the Guild Association, his insurance would cover it. But in their current situation? He would effectively have to pay whatever fee their Savior demanded, as they were not to be messed with. If you asked anyone, they would agree that Saviors were even more fearsome and insane than Bounty Hunters.

  After all, just what kind of lunatic were egotistical enough to willingly throw themselves into danger and believe they had the strength to overcome that situation and save other Hunters? Very few, hence they could demand a high price.

  Randy slowly nodded in agreement and settled down. If a rope dropped from that hole in the ceiling, he would need the strength to haul himself out of here. If he inconvenienced the Savior by making them drop down into a lake guarded by a floor boss, the price of the rescue would increase tenfold.

  Vesper is right, I need to conserve my strength. Randy thought. Maybe I can get a level up somehow? That would be very helpful right now. Ha, what am I even thinking? I can't summon more than a few arrows before collapsing.

  Leaning against the rough stone that pierced into his bare back, he felt the ground tremble as Gerald continued to battle in the distance. A while passed as Randy felt like fading in and out of consciousness.

  "What is going on?" Valoria's surprised words drew his drifting attention.

  Gerald had come to a pause with his sword lowered, staring down the Orcs and Goblins. Despite being alone against many, the monsters didn't dare face him.

  "Having managed to catch that previous Clay Orc by surprise, the others are being more cautious," Vesper said as he drove a dagger into an almost reformed Clay Goblin. His strike was clumsy, showing his exhaustion.

  "That makes sense," Randy said, surprised at how his voice croaked. "Ahem. The Clay variety of Goblins and Orcs is better known for their traps and strategic prowess rather than the brute strength or savagery of other variants. They see Gerald as a threat and must be hesitant to approach."

  "Or it's on the orders of the floor boss," Vesper suggested.

  "That's possible," Randy agreed. "Either way, it's good for us. Gerald's only goal here should be to buy time..."

  A clank resounded through the cavern as Gerald dropped his sword to the ground.

  Huh? Randy thought, not believing what he was seeing.

  Gerald stood there for a moment, his hand dancing before him as if he were shifting through his status screen. He then also discarded his gauntlets and dropped into the posture of a sprint.

  "Gerald?!" Valoria called out. "What are you doing?"

  "Hold out for an hour, humans," Gerald shouted in response. Without another word, he ran up a nearby rocky slope and jumped over the horde of Orcs and Goblins. While in the air, there was a whistle as many arrows shot by a triggered trap flew and impaled him.

  "Is he suicidal?!" Vesper shouted from Randy's side, his eyes wide in bafflement.

  Just what is Gerald doing? It doesn't make any sense! Randy shouted in his mind as he tired and failed to think about what Gerald could possibly be doing.

  Gerald spiraled in the air from the force of the arrows and crashed hard into the waiting horde. There was a moment of silence as the Orcs empowered their fists with earthen mana and raised them to strike down.

  Randy quickly clasped his hands before him and began begging with his eyes screwed shut. "Please, please, please—"

  The cavern trembled, making him open his eyes only to see the Orcs reeling back in pain. A second pulse of what appeared to be necrotic mana washed through the horde. The Orcs and Goblins scrambled to get away, but there seemed to be a slow debuff applied to them from whatever skill Gerald had used.

  As the horde parted, Randy got a brief look at Gerald. He was slowly standing, steam billowing from his wounds as the arrows were pushed out of his body. Raising his arm, he cried out, "Clay Smash!" Earth mana was pulled in from the surroundings and gathered in his fist.

  Randy was in disbelief. That steam matched the regeneration skill of the Clay Orcs, as now he was using a Clay Smash skill? Remembering that Gerald had taken his time to feast on the Clay Orc's corpse and hadn't seemed to possess those skills before, it all made sense now.

  Gerald was a Devourer. A type of monster that grew stronger by eating others. Incredibly rare, and equally dangerous. Especially an intelligent one like Gerald that could imitate humans.

  Bringing down his fist, it was clear Gerald wasn't aiming for any monster. Instead, his target was the rocky coastline. The ground trembled violently, causing massive fissures to spread throughout the coast and many Clay Goblins and a single Clay Orc to fall into the lake with a splash. However, much like his other attacks, a second one echoed a moment later, causing the entire section of coastline to crumble and slide into the lake.

  The Underworld Orc let out a roar as he watched his minions tumble into the lake alongside Gerald. The cavern became filled with a dense cloud of steam, and Randy braced as he saw a tidal wave crashing toward him.

  Once it passed and he barely managed to avoid being dragged into the lake with a few cuts and bruises, he quickly tried assessing the situation. The lake, which served as a significant hurdle for the Clay variants, now stood uncontested between them and the floor boss as the coastline was gone. The cloud of steam also helped conceal them from the Underworld Orc that was no doubt enraged.

  "Did he do all this to buy us an hour?" Vesper said, a look of realization on his face.

  "Perhaps," Randy ran a hand through his soaked hair and frowned. "But what could he need an hour for, and more importantly, where is he?"

  to read ahead!