"I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’s best we stick together. We still don’t know where the boss is," Abel hesitated. He was confident that he was capable of taking on a monster by himself. But his few dungeon runs as a Final Boss had made him deeply cautious of Final Bosses themselves.

"I agree with TYRANT. We shouldn’t get that arrogant just because we’ve defeated a monster. It was simply a tutorial monster," Executioner Five replied.

He had luckily escaped being seriously injured because Abel had been swift in his attack. Having to face one of those Giant-Feet Rabbits alone meant that his chances of being seriously injured were significantly higher, which also meant that he would have dropped out of the battle early, letting others take the glory of conquering the dungeon.

"Doing that would be reckless," Hunter Poison Rose said.

Firestar furrowed her brows slightly at the opposition.

"How about this? We divide ourselves into pairs. We obviously can’t face those monsters together without getting preoccupied with one of them. Poison Rose and I will take one group, while TYRANT and Executioner Five take another," Firestar said, proving another suggestion.

"This way, we can dispatch them quickly and still look out for each other’s backs. It will also give us the opportunity to showcase our abilities to the fullest." She wasn’t willing to give up, so she quickly came up with another plan.

The others saw the logic in her proposal. They also wanted to show off their abilities while still having the protection of a teammate.

"I see no problems with this plan," Poison Rose said.

Executioner Five sighed in defeat. "Fine. If you guys get your asses handed to you, don’t come begging. Just admit defeat and head over to Hunter Bear Bard. Because we’ll be the ones to conquer the dungeon."

Firestar smirked. She turned her attention toward Abel.

The others did the same, awaiting his decision.

"Don’t be scared, TYRANT. We’ll still be looking after each other’s backs, but we’ll be taking on our own opponents. Think of it as a tag-team battle," Firestar said.

"Besides, don’t you have some faith in your skills as well?" She glanced at his chained battle axe and shield. "You handled that monster pretty well, after all."

’It seemed that they had already made up their minds,’ Abel thought.

Looking at their gazes, he understood that nothing he said at this moment was going to change their decision. They were each focused on using this trial as a springboard to grow their streams and make themselves known in the Hunter world right from the start.

"Fine. Let’s do it," Abel said.

"That’s the spirit," Firestar said, her smile widening.

At the back of the group...

Hunter Bear Bard shook his head, his expression shifting to a mix of disapproval and disappointment.

"Amateurs."

After observing their battle, it was obvious that they had each received guidance in utilising their abilities and conquering dungeons. Yet they still dared to act so amateurishly and throw caution to the wind for the sake of a few coins.

Despite that, one thing he had to admit was that their teamwork was nearly flawless.

Still, he prepared himself to act in case any of them got seriously injured.

At the same time, he narrowed his gaze at the donor who had sent the party three coins.

"I didn’t think he would be watching. Did someone here capture his interest?" he muttered.

He grinned as though he had discovered something fascinating.

Meanwhile, in the distance,

A dozen Giant-Feet Rabbits soon spotted Abel and the others.

Their ruby-red eyes narrowed.

They lowered their bodies.

BOOMM!! BOOMM!!

A cacophony of explosions resonated through the air.

The hill they stood on was previously shattered, collapsing into fragments of rock.

The giant rabbits shot forward in streaks of white blur.

Their movements were so quick that Abel and the others were unable to track them until they crossed over several meters.

Abel held up his shield in front of him.

Executioner Five drew his second sword and jumped behind Abel. Poison Rose stood behind Firestar on his left.

They all stayed close to each other, but with enough space between them so as not to hinder one another’s abilities.

"I’ll slow them down," Firestar smiled.

She wasn’t planning on playing defensively like Abel and Executioner Five.

[Sizzle & Burn]

Crackling orange flames gathered at the tip of her staff.

"Not yet," she stretched out her staff. The crackling orange flames continued to gather until they formed a fireball that writhed like a lightning ball.

"Everyone, cover your noses," Poison Rose spoke loudly to her teammates. She didn’t plan on staying idle. She decided to reveal one of her abilities.

She drew two arrows and lined them on her bow.

Abel and the others swiftly did as she said, covering their noses with their elbows. Although they didn’t know why, having witnessed the poisonous effect her arrows had inflicted on the rabbit earlier, they had an inkling of what was about to happen.

[Garden of Poison Roses]

From beside Poison Rose’s feet, a red rose sprouted from the soil. It slowly spread, covering about five meters in radius in front of them. At the centre of each crimson blossom was a liquid dripping down onto the grass and causing it to shrivel up and turn grey.

Even her arrows became covered in red and green petals from head to tail. However, unlike the roses below, the crowns of the flowers on her arrows remained closed, as though they had yet to bloom.

Poisonous! This was the only thing that Abel could think of when he saw the small garden of red roses sprout from the ground before them.

"So terrifying," Executioner Five said from behind him.

Abel’s sharp ears caught his deep intake of breath upon witnessing the scene unfolding before them.

"If you have any unique skill you’re hiding, now’s the time to show it," Executioner Five inched closer to Abel and said.