Kaelen "Ghostwire" Venn was exhausted. Despite being a respected Savior, his nonexistent combat capabilities limited him to jobs on the first few floors, resulting in the double whammy of lower pay and fewer opportunities. After all, it wasn't often a group of Hunters found themselves in perilous straits against goblins or slimes.

  So he had taken up the only other job that benefited from his unique skill set—that of a dungeon courier.

  While there were teleport hubs that led to the surface scattered on every fifth floor, they were heavily monetized by whichever guild found them first. This approach resulted in guilds having effective monopolies on specific hunting grounds, as the ability to move freely between a floor and the surface would eat into any potential profits.

  However, this power play was also why he had a job. Some guilds had very few teleport hubs under their control, and some Hunters weren't members of any guilds, meaning they had to pay a high fee to use any teleport hubs. While many of these groups would pay the high cost to return to the surface at the end of their expedition, they wouldn't want to pay it just to restock on supplies. It was also a massive pain to lug around backpacks while trying to fight monsters. This created a conundrum, one that Kaelen solved.

  Whatever you needed, whether it was food, potions, a new sword, or even an artifact, he could source it and bring it right to you in the depths of the dungeon—for a fee, of course.

  Having just completed a lengthy multi-day excursion to a tunnel on the 4th floor that bordered Russia under the sea for the Ether Technocrats, all he wanted to do was head home and enjoy a shower, especially after crossing through the third floor's horrific heat for the last few hours. The only reason he decided to cover most of the trip's distance on the third floor was that the sand on the second floor was annoying to run across, and he enjoyed looting the goblin settlements along the way in case there was anything interesting.

  What he hadn't been expecting as he neared the staircase to the second floor, which led to the area of the World Dungeon under Tokyo, was to receive an urgent distress signal. Coming to a sudden stop, the level 46 Phantom Scout paused among a few trees in the sweltering heat and stared at his phone.

  [Nearby Savior Request]

  Tapping it, information appeared: their exact coordinates, the expected party size, their names, ages, the guilds they were associated with, and the estimated danger level. This information was crucial because there were many cases of Saviors being lured to obscure locations by Reapers and murdered. Nobody would question a missing Savior, as they were high-risk takers and often died on the job.

  "Three kids—well, university students, but they might as well be kids," he clicked his tongue. Dealing with kids was always a pain. Since they weren't associated with any guilds, they would have to cover his fee, unless they miraculously had insurance, but he wasn't betting on it. Another thing caught his eye: their reported levels. All three of them were too high-level to find themselves struggling on the third floor.

  "A lure, perhaps," Kaelen mused as he flipped through more information. The only one who interested him was a boy called Randy—the one who had made the request. "He has a job lined up at the Guild Association as an analyst? They do quite thorough background checks, so he shouldn't be colluding with anyone dangerous. But still, this feels off."

  Kaelen stood there for a while, internally debating what to do. Rescuing three people meant the payout wouldn't be too bad, assuming he could wrestle some money out of some broke university kids in the first place.

  "Ah, what a pain in the ass," Kaelen grumbled and hauled his exhausted body toward the coordinates. In the end, his good nature, which had led him to become a Savior in the first place, won out.

  "Windveil Agility," he said, and a gust of wind enveloped him, significantly increasing his movement speed over the swamp-like terrain. After a few minutes, he arrived at the coordinates and was confused. There was no massive goblin settlement or signs of battle like he had been expecting—just a hole in the ground. Crouching before it, he frowned. "Surely they didn't chase a goblin into their nest," he said, but then sighed. "That's totally what they did, isn't it? Ugh, why are kids always so stupid?"

  Shaking his head, he followed their foolish ways and delved into the depths. Concern began to brew that this might not be as simple a rescue mission as he had hoped, as he passed by destroyed traps and holes in the wall. Then he found the corpses. Pausing for a moment, he inspected one and confirmed his fear.

  "A Clay Goblin." His eyes darted around the scene, and he counted at least fifty other corpses, and even a Clay Orc. "This is bad," he said, and continued to follow the trail of destruction down a tunnel. The distant sound of fighting and pained roars from an Orc of some kind grew louder until he came across a massive hole. Peering over the edge, he saw a dark body of water far below.

  "They must be down there," Kaelen frowned, double-checking the coordinates. The body of water was going to greatly complicate things. Slinging off his backpack, he dug out a long rope and a nail. Hammering the nail into the stone, he looped the rope around it, tugged a few times for good measure, and then tied it around his waist. While he didn't need the rope's help, the stranded Hunters down there, who may or may not still be alive by the sounds of battle, undoubtedly would.

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  After all, not everyone could walk on walls like him.

  "Threadwalk," he said, feeling a sudden tingle as mana was drawn toward his feet. While the skill was active, he could walk on any surface as long as he maintained momentum. It also allowed him to walk over traps without triggering them. Simply stepping forward, he had to strain his body as he crested the edge and continued sideways down the hole. Making it to the bottom, he felt the blood rush to his head as he proceeded to walk along the ceiling of a massive cavern. It was rather dark, and it took his eyes a moment to adjust, but once they did, he immediately spotted three Hunters taking refuge on a thin bit of shoreline.

  Shaking, covered in blood, and trying to wear damp clothes, they all seemed rather miserable. None of them had noticed him yet, which was ideal.

  "At least they are still alive. That's a relief," he muttered honestly. Besides the higher pay, it was far easier to ferry out Hunters who weren't grieving their fallen friends. Also, far less paperwork. Nobody liked paperwork. "However, if all three of them are still alive, then who is that?" His eyes darted to the battle in the distance. A lot of dust and debris were hindering his already strained sight due to the darkness of the cavern, but there was no mistaking it. A battle between two high-level beings was occurring and threatening to bring down the entire cavern onto their heads.

  "Another party member, perhaps? But they weren't listed as having entered the dungeon with Randy and the other two," Kaelen pondered. This situation was strange, and as a Savior who cherished his own safety, he was trying to determine if it was a trap before making a move. Eventually, he made his decision. The three Hunters didn't seem in a state to fight him, and the other anomaly was locked in an intense fight. No other monsters seemed to be around, giving him a possible window of opportunity that he would do best to take.

  "Windveil Agility," he said, and kicked off the ceiling while disabling Threadwalk. Wind rushed around him, slowing his descent and helping him maneuver somewhat in the air. It wasn't an official use of the skill, but one he had developed from a lot of training. Landing softly, considering his speed, the three didn't even notice his arrival until he called out to them.

  "Yo, did someone call for a Savior?!"

  As expected, all three practically jumped out of their own skin at his words. Not that he could blame them, but there wasn't exactly another way to go about it.

  "Sorry to scare you," he said, studying their faces to make sure they matched the ones in the information. "The name is Ghostwire. I happened to be passing nearby when I received Randy's distress beacon and rushed over here. Is everyone alright? I always carry a few potions around with me for situations like these, if one of you needs it."

  "N-No," Randy choked out, finally regaining his senses. "We are all fine, thank you."

  "Great!" Kaelen said in an upbeat mood despite his own exhaustion. "Let's get you three home then as soon as possible. Do you have everything you need?" He said while untying the rope from around his waist. "Let's start with the one in the worst condition—I've already cleared out the tunnel above to ensure there are none of those crafty Clay Goblins lurking for a free lunch..." he trailed off, noticing all three of them seemed off. Almost like they weren't exactly thrilled at getting saved. "Is there a problem?"

  Randy met his gaze and awkwardly coughed into his hand. "Um, Ghostwire, right? We don't exactly need saving anymore, and none of us has money or insurance to pay you. S-Sorry."

  His eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? Even if you deny my service, you still have to pay for it. Surely you know that as a future analyst? Section 22, Article Three of the Hunters' Accord. Once a distress beacon is used, the Hunter who called it is obligated to financially compensate the first Savior who arrives within twelve hours of the request. This was written into law to stop the misuse of distress beacons and endangering the lives of Saviors."

  Randy gulped. "I know all that..."

  "Then what will it be?" Kaelen said, a hint of anger seeping into his tone. This was why he hated dealing with entitled university kids who still thought the world was all sunshine and rainbows, without experiencing the true brutality of the World Dungeon.

  Randy looked at the floor, as if trying to come up with a solution.

  "Forgive Randy, he didn't want to be the one to break it to you," a boy he believed was Vesper, lying on the ground with a fucked-up leg, said, "but a Savior arrived before you. So section 22 doesn't apply here, and your services are no longer required."

  Kaelen raised a brow. He had come straight away and had luckily been only an hour from the coordinates. He even used his movement skill to get here faster. How could another Savior have possibly arrived before him?

  "That person over there, I assume?" Kaelen asked, gesturing to the battle occurring on the shore across the lake.

  Randy was the one to nod. "Yeah, he arrived a bit ago."

  "What is he fighting?"

  The three Hunters exchanged a look as if debating whether they should share such information with him.

  "It's a... uh... floor boss," Randy said, scratching the back of his neck. "An Underworld Orc, level forty-one."

  Kaelen furrowed his brows. "What is such a powerful floor boss doing on the third floor? Level forty-one? That's ridiculous... wait, are they fighting it alone?"

  "Yeah, he is," Valoria said, almost proudly.

  "Did this Savior give their name?" Kaelen pressed. He needed to know who had shown him up like this.

  "Ger—" Valoria began, but Randy cut her off.

  "He said he would prefer to remain anonymous," Randy insisted, creating a tense silence between them.

  "Does he now?" Kaelen was getting more annoyed. He had been on his way home and had only embarked on saving these brats because of the possible paycheck. Yet, not only was he denied compensation, but he was also looked down on by some kids.

  Kaelen glanced at the distant fight. A level forty-one floor boss was beneath his level, and the fight seemed to be quite intense and going on for a long time. Was this Savior perhaps a random low-level Hunter in over their head and wanting to play hero? If so, he could save them too and then get paid four times.

  "Perhaps he could use my assistance," Kaelen said, stepping forward, only to be surprised when a hand grabbed his shoulder. He looked over and frowned. "What's the big idea, kid?"

  "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Randy said, his tone deathly serious. "He likes to work alone."

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