Chương 29: Rockmaw

Ch 29 - Rockmaw Reid's brows lifted faintly as the man dropped from the rooftop and landed in front of him. The S-rank Awakener flashed him a bright, toothy grin and said, "Here I was hurrying back so I wouldn't be late. To think I'd run into you on my way here. Ah, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. The name's Chen Junhao, Vice Guild Master of Skybreak Guild." Reid smiled and accepted the offered hand.

During the brief exchange, he quietly sent a minuscule thread of Sacred Light through the contact but found no immediately detectable trace of demonic energy.

"Just call me Junhao! I don't like formalities, and I already know who you are," Junhao said.

"The famous A-rank Healer, right?"

"I'm just a newly awakened Healer, that's all," Reid replied.

"Though I do wonder why someone of your status would be looking for me. As far as I know, the team I'll be joining is only going out for monster culling."

"I'm quite curious about you," Junhao said, resting his hands behind his head.

"It's not every day you hear about a government employee charging headfirst into an irregular Rift and awakening as an A-rank Healer. How rare is that? Besides, I had some free time and happened to be in the area, so I figured, what's the harm?" He then slung an arm over Reid's shoulders and began leading him toward the Skybreak Guild complex.

"The ones attending this mission are mostly greenhorns, so I'm a bit worried about them!"

"You seem to care a lot about your guild members," Reid said, making no move to shrug Junhao's arm off.

"Of course! That's what a leader's supposed to do, right? Here at Skybreak Guild, we look after one another," Junhao said. Was this an attempt to convince him to join the guild? He had already received countless messages from smaller guilds and organizations trying to recruit him, but it felt strange for the same approach to come from the Skybreak Guild, one of Nova Terra's major guilds. Healers were certainly rare, but the guild already had several among its ranks.

Was it really necessary for the Vice Guild Master himself to personally reach out to him? When they arrived at the Skybreak Guild compound, Reid looked up at the thirty-story steel-and-glass headquarters with the guild's emblem mounted near the top, a circular symbol of a winged sword before a glowing star. Smaller buildings surrounded it, connected by paved roads and walkways where guild members and supply trucks moved about. To his left, the steady clang of weapons rang out from the training grounds.

"Looks nice, doesn't it?" Junhao said.

"Come on, let's go meet the team!" Following Junhao, Reid entered the main building. Guild members greeted Junhao with bright smiles, then turned curious glances toward Reid as they passed. No one stopped them, and they soon reached a briefing room. Inside, four people were already waiting: an older woman and three younger Awakeners, two women and one man. They looked up in surprise as Junhao and Reid entered, their attention shifting between the two.

"Morning!" Junhao greeted them with a wave.

"Good morning, Vice Guild Master!" the older woman said, rising quickly from her seat. She looked to be in her late thirties, with long blonde hair tied into a braid and blue eyes, dressed in a combat jacket, tactical pants, and combat boots.

"Hey, didn't I tell you not to call me that, Alina?" Junhao said.

"Besides, you're older than me."

"Yes, sir. But you're the Vice Guild Master, sir," Alina replied. Junhao shot Reid a wry look, as if to say, See what I have to deal with?

"Alright, alright, I get it. I'm not here to throw my weight around, so relax, will you?" Junhao said, turning to the three younger Awakeners, who were already sitting stiffly in their chairs. His words only seemed to make them even more tense. Junhao shook his head.

"So Reid here is the last member of your team, right? How about we start by introducing ourselves to each other?"

"Yes, sir," Alina said.

"My name is Alina Shevchenko. I'm an A-rank Awakener and the head of this team. These are the younger members of Skybreak Guild."

"Karl Seidel, B-rank," said a young man with dark blonde hair and purple eyes.

"Isabel Fuentes. Feel free to call me Isabel. I'm B-rank," said a brown-haired, curly-haired young woman, sending an intense look toward Junhao and Reid.

"Aino Korhonen… umm, I'm C-rank," said a short, dark red-haired girl, her eyes fixed on the table in front of her.

"It's nice to meet you all. My name is Reid Whitfield, A-rank," Reid said, offering them a polite smile.

"And you have me, though I'm technically not a member of this team," Junhao said, pointing his thumb at himself.

"Is there an issue with the mission, sir, for you to be here?" Alina asked.

"Nope. I just have some free time and a lot of boredom, so I figured I'd tag along with you guys. No need to pay attention to me, just consider me as air!" Junhao said. The expressions of the four Skybreak Awakeners strongly disagreed. Reid didn't say a word, considering that he was just a temporary member for this mission. As long as things wrapped up well, he wouldn't have any complaints.

"Go ahead, Alina. You can start the briefing!" Junhao said as he took a seat in an empty spot and gestured for Reid to sit beside him. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Yes, sir," Alina said, standing and activating the large screen mounted on the wall. A map of Floor 61 appeared, followed by images of insect-like monsters.

"As outlined in the mission details, our primary objective is to deal with an unexpected surge in the Rockmaw population. The new generation shouldn't have hatched for another month or so, but we suspect a mutated Rockmaw is accelerating the breeding cycle and increasing their aggression. We need to eliminate the mutant along with its new brood before they disrupt the transport route leading to a nearby mine.

"Additionally, we will use this opportunity to test the newly promoted members of the team, so I will not be actively participating unless necessary." She turned to Reid.

"As for you, Mr. Whitfield, you'll serve as primary support. We may call on you for healing if needed." Reid nodded, though he wondered if he would even have a role, considering that Junhao would be tagging along. They discussed their plan a bit more, and half an hour later the team finally set off toward Floor 61. After leaving the Skybreak Guild compound, they headed to another Transfer Hall in the city, where the teleportation circle would take them down to the outpost. Floor 61 was nothing like Floor 60.

Instead of a sprawling city filled with luxury and intricate architecture, the outpost resembled a military base, with utilitarian buildings and tall, imposing walls on all sides. The Skybreak Guild emblem was displayed across multiple structures, marking the entire floor as guild territory. Since the Rockmaw nest was too far away to reach on foot, they were issued a guild transport vehicle, an oversized armored SUV built to withstand monster attacks and heavy impacts.

"I'll drive!" Junhao said brightly, already taking the keys from Alina's hand, ignoring her pinched expression. Reid tilted his head when he noticed the apprehension on Karl, Isabel, and Aino's faces.

"I would strongly suggest you wear your seatbelt and hold on tight," Alina said gravely. It couldn't be that bad, could it? Reid thought. It could. Junhao treated the accelerator like a personal challenge. The armored SUV raced down the open road while everyone else silently questioned his life choices. Meanwhile, the architect of their suffering was laughing wildly in the driver's seat. When they arrived at their destination, Karl and Aino dropped to their knees, retching, while Isabel and Alina stood pale-faced.

Unexpectedly, Reid had to use his healing ability before the mission had even begun. He channeled his Sacred Light into the visibly nauseous youngsters.

"Thank you," Karl said. Aino nodded weakly. A loud, carefree laugh came from the side. Reid glanced over to find Junhao wearing an innocent grin, as though he had no idea who was responsible for their current state.

"Oh, you guys need stronger stomachs!" The four Skybreak members' expressions twitched as if they wanted to protest but swallowed the words instead. Sighing, Reid said, "I'll be driving when we return." Junhao pouted.

"What, you don't like my driving?"

"…Do you even have a driving license?"

"Nope, but I've got tons of experience!"

"Then I'll drive." With that, the team passed through their first obstacle somewhat successfully.

The Rockmaw nest was located deep within rocky mountainous terrain, where a massive colony stretched for kilometers underground. Their team entered through a known opening on the surface and switched on the shoulder-mounted lights attached to their gear as they stepped into the darkened tunnels. The team was led not by Alina, who remained at the rear, but by the C-rank Awakener Aino, with Karl and Isabel close behind. It was an unusual formation, but Reid had little reason to worry.

With an S-rank, an A-rank, and himself in the party, their safety was hardly in question. As they moved deeper, they soon came across several Rockmaw corpses scattered along the tunnel. Some had their limbs torn off, while others bore piercing wounds across their bodies and heads. The three Awakeners ahead crouched down to examine one of the more mangled bodies.

"I think we're heading the right way," Isabel said.

"The infighting has already begun, it seems," Karl muttered.

"Do you think it is possible that we might stumble into a war between the queen and the mutant?" Aino asked with a frown. Isabel shook her head.

"No, they are usually more active at night. Since it is daytime, there might only be smaller skirmishes."

"We can handle them," Karl nodded. They ventured deeper into the twisting network of Rockmaw tunnels. With every step, more corpses came into view, and the air grew heavier. The damp scent of wet stone and soil gradually gave way to the sharp metallic smell of monster blood.

"Oh yikes, this mutant is quite fierce," Isabel said as they entered a chamber where Rockmaw bodies were piled high across the ground, crushed mandibles and rock-like exoskeletons scattered across the floor in broken layers. Aino leaned closer, inspecting the pile.

"Based on the coloration of the carcasses, these seem to be mostly queen-aligned soldiers rather than mutant followers."

"The blood here is still fresh," Karl added.

"I think the mutant is expanding its territory. We should stay on guard. We might encounter live Rockmaws soon." Hearing their discussion, Alina nodded in approval.

"Heh, looking at them really reminds me of my youth," Junhao said.

"You are not that much older than them," Reid pointed out. Karl, Isabel, and Aino were all in their early twenties, while Junhao was twenty-eight.

"I know. But after everything I have been through, the past feels much further away," Junhao said. Reid glanced around the tunnel for a moment before speaking again.

"Still, it is impressive. Not many guilds reach this level in such a short time."

"Yeah. There were a lot of sleepless nights back then," Junhao said, stretching his arms.

"Sometimes I think my body is still protesting from all that abuse. Now I struggle to even get out of bed early in the morning." Their conversation was cut short by the rapid clicking of mandibles echoing through the tunnel ahead. A living Rockmaw finally emerged from the darkness. Its jagged, rock-like exoskeleton resembled layers of cracked stone fused over insect chitin. Its heavy mandibles snapped together as it tested the air, and a moment later its tiny, bead-like eyes locked onto the three Awakeners.

It let out a harsh series of clicks before lunging, its massive mandibles snapping open as they shot toward Aino's neck. Aino planted her feet and thrust both hands forward. A shimmering barrier rose before the group, and the Rockmaw slammed into it, stunned by the unexpected obstacle.

"Karl!" Aino called.

"On it!" Karl's purple eyes glowed brightly as he stepped forward.

"Submit." The Rockmaw suddenly froze, its eyes locked onto Karl's. For a brief moment, nothing happened. Then its body relaxed, the aggression draining from its posture. Karl nodded. Aino lowered her barrier, and the Rockmaw, now under Karl's control, no longer showed any hostility.

"Lead us to your leader," Karl ordered. The Rockmaw clicked its mandibles several times before turning around and leading the group deeper into the nest.