[Soarsie]

The chained women, Emira (a human commoner) and Arienne (a half-elf) cried out for help when they saw us. They both suffered from exhaustion and shared the same story as Martus.

The Matron also told us that the sinister ritual was supposed to "welcome them to the sisterhood," as the dark stalkers were in the process of turning the two chained women into dark stalkers.

"We should free them," said Lilian, eyes turning into pentagrams again.

I wonder what skill she was using. She seemed to know the information of NPCs and items just from those. I wanted to have one as well. It would definitely make everything easier.

"If they die, then that's the end of the quest," Lilian continued, "We can break the chains holding them even without the key with an STR +100.

"Let's get this done and over with, then." Edgar licked his lips and conjured his weapon, a bow. I almost wanted to laugh if not that the situation was tense at the moment.

In front of him was Maverick, the Tank, with his metal shield and hammer. Edgar was so smug but I bet he would just stay at the back while Maverick took on all the damage for him.

"You noobs, go and unchain those captives!" Rodrick ordered and [Blink] between the dark stalker matron and the women, so the Matron opted to attack him instead of killing the women.

This made the dark stalker matron reluctant to use her [Wall of Fire] since that would kill the women without completing the ritual.

Edgar and Maverick took on the two dark stalkers while Rodrick and Lilian were against the Matron herself. Lancelot was working on releasing the captives, and Mikaela only watched from the side with her staff in hand.

I, on the other hand, hid from my shadows and crept to where the captives were while keeping another eye on the battle that was happening on the other sire.

Rodrick did a good job of luring the Matron away from the chained women. He was actually a good fighter if only his personality wasn't so rotten.

'Kill him . . . now's your chance . . . while he is busy . . .'

Shut up. You'll get me in trouble.

'He will . . . surely kill you . . . all of you . . .'

Vexana was getting in my head. I forced myself to focus on the women chained on the wall. Rodrick and his group could wait.

The two Dark Stalkers emerged from the shadows and lunged at Edgar and Maverick. Edgar quickly drew his bow and fired arrows, but the agile Dark Stalker dodged them with ease.

The other Dark Stalker, on the other hand, charged at Maverick with her claws, but the Tank was ready for her and blocked her attack with his shield.

As the fight continued, the two Dark Stalkers worked together, using their speed and agility to confuse and outmaneuver their opponents. Edgar tried to keep them at bay with his bow, but the Dark Stalkers were too fast for him to hit.

Meanwhile, Maverick used his strength to try and take down the Dark Stalker, but they were slippery and hard to catch.

These Dark Stalkers weren't the regular once that they had encountered before. These were like generals.

As the others were busy fighting, I slipped into the chained women and helped Lancelot free them. The man was shocked when I suddenly appeared right beside him. His expression told me that he didn't expect that I would help him.

What? I could be useful if I wanted to.

Besides, this was the final room. The boss room. The soonest this was over, the soonest I would have that badge.

Lancelot didn't say anything and we freed the two women without trouble and brought them away from the fighting.

Emira was too exhausted to even speak while Arienne recounted how she was sent by a faction to investigate the cause behind a camp of goblins becoming corrupted. She was caught in the attempt and delivered to the dark stalkers.

I wasn't interested in their talk, so I flicked my attention to the fight.

Rodrick and Lilian were still dealing with the Matron, the leader of the Dark Stalkers. She was a formidable opponent, casting powerful spells and wielding a deadly staff. Rodrick engaged her in a swordfight, his blade clashing against her staff, while Lilian used her magic to try and weaken her.

As the battle raged on, it became clear that the Dark Stalkers were a tough foe to defeat.

The two Dark Stalkers continued to dodge and weave around Edgar and Maverick, striking at them whenever they saw an opening.

The Matron, meanwhile, was proving to be a challenge for Rodrick and Lilian, her magical attacks pushing them back and keeping them on the defensive.

Despite this, Rodrick and his group continued to fight, determined to take down the Dark Stalkers and their leader. The clash of weapons and spells echoed through the air as the two sides battled for supremacy.

It was only a fifteen minutes fight, and in the end, the hunters emerged victorious, having defeated the Dark Stalkers and their Matron.

"Pieces of shits," Edgar spat and kicked the Dark Stalker's corpse.

"I didn't know that they would be this hard," Maverick laughed and swiped his bushy beard.

Lilian flipped her hair. "This is a Rank-A quest, after all."

The others laughed, but Rodrick wasn't laughing. In fact, this was the first time that I hadn't seen that signature arrogant smirk on his face.

"Something's not right," I heard him say.

"What is?" Edgar picked his nose, unbothered.

"This was supposed to be a Rank-A, but the boss fight is less than a Rank-B," Rodrick explained, his frown getting deeper by the second.

Lilian thought, eyes over the ceiling. "Come to think of it . . . our fight with that Minotaur a Rank-B quest was harder than this."

"Who cares?" Edgar bristled. "The important thing is we killed them and we take the loots!"

As he finished those words, a low growl enveloped the place. All eyes went to the desecrated body of the Dark Stalker Matron when its dead body rose from the floor.

----

A/N

Sorry for the erratic update. I'm suffering from insomia and trying to correct my sleeping time. It affected my migraine and i cant concentrate like before. ???? I'm always tired but i cant sleep. ??

Anyway my new schedule for this novel is:

1 chapter, Monday to Friday while I take a rest during weekends. ??

By the way, My entry for WSA 2023 is up, its called [REBIRTH in other Dimensions]

It's main theme is apocalypses, game elements, other dimensions, and multiple POV

Give it a read and leave comments, reviews and PS ??

CHEERS!