Abel lost his composure but quickly recovered. He raised his shield, braced his body, and swung his battle axe as he fell.

BAMM!!

[Ironhide Defence]

Abel’s skill passively activated as his shield and body slammed into the giant rabbit’s jaws.

"Arghh!!" Abel grunted at the sudden impact.

SLAASSH!!

The blades sliced open its eyes.

"SSKREEE!!"

The monster released an ear-splitting shriek. It thrashed its body around, tossing Abel aside.

Abel held onto his shield as he hit the earth.

He staggered to his feet and quickly widened the distance between himself and the hole.

The giant rabbit burrowed back into the earth. Then it leapt out, landing outside the hole. Its left eye bled as it stared at him in rage.

This was the first time he had been successfully hit by a monster, and the feeling made him feel a little disoriented. His heartbeat raced as he clenched his battle axe and held his shield out in front of him. He looked around and saw that he was separated from the others.

Executioner Five and Poison Rose were still relatively close by, facing three Giant-Feet rabbits. Firestar was also separated from the group, besieged by two Giant-Feet Rabbits.

Abel had counted a dozen rabbits. Three had died. Five was facing his teammates. One was in front of him. Where was the last one?

Abel froze.

He felt a shadow loom over his head. He looked up, and a foul breath brushed against his face.

A raging giant rabbit was staring down at him.

BANG!

The monster slammed Abel aside with its paws.

Abel collided and tumbled against the earth for several meters before coming to a stop.

"Argghh!!" Abel’s ribs trembled with pain as he slowly got up on his knees.

Abel quickly dove to the side as the monster suddenly charged at him once more. He was unable to react as swiftly the second time when the monster launched another attack.

Abel quickly raised his shield.

BAM!!

Abel’s arms grew numb. He was launched several meters back, but he successfully blocked the attack. Gathering his strength, Abel pushed himself up.

He saw that he was now the farthest from the group. Left with no other option, he raced toward Firestar, who was the closest to his position.

The giant rabbits chased Abel from behind.

Realising that he couldn’t outrun the monsters and make it to the others on time, Abel steeled his heart and swiftly made a resolution. He turned to face the beasts and circulated his mana.

[Bloody Howl]

A deafening, spine-chilling roar tore from Abel’s lips, stunning the giant rabbits, forcing them to come to a sudden stop.

A curtain of dust clouds formed between them.

"I’m going to get serious as well," Abel gripped his chains as his battle axe spun into a blur.

He was going to face them head-on.

***

Within a vast hall, a holographic screen the size of a television lit up, displaying Abel and his team as they entered the Giant-Feet Burrow, a Level One D-ranked Dungeon. Surrounding the screen were several other holographic viewing panels, stacked against one another, seemingly occupying the same space.

Some showed several new faces, some surprised, others as steady and firm as Abel and his party, and many displaying varying degrees of terror. Several people were fighting for their lives, while others screamed, ran away, and hit the screen as though trying to break through it. Some were curled up in a corner, trembling as a terrifying beast passed by their hiding spot.

It was clear to anyone watching that they were all within dungeons, each possessing varying levels of experience.

A group of Hunters looked up at the viewing channel as Abel and his team faced the Giant-Feet rabbits. The name of the dungeon, party and the Hunters were written below the right side of the screen.

"Another newbie party just launched their first livestream. Tskk!! Tskk!! Their first dungeon is the Giant-Feet Burrow. Look at their confidence! They’ve no idea what they’re getting themselves into."

"Haah! I remember when I first challenged this dungeon as a newbie and thought it would be easier to handle some rabbits. How wrong I was!!"

"Hold up!" Suddenly, one of the Hunters exclaimed as though discovering something incredible. He pushed through the crowd until his face almost touched the screen. "Hey guys, isn’t that Hunter Bear Bard, the one leading the group?!"

"What did you say?"

"Hey, stop pushing! I want to see too!!"

"You’re right! This means that they are from our city! But why would the Hunter Association assign Bear Bard to handle a party of newbies?! Are they now collecting bribes?"

"Shhh!! Even if they’re collecting bribes, you don’t need to say it out loud, or else you might have your license revoked!!"

"But this is unfair. I remember my time as a newbie. We faced the Giant-Feet Burrow with nothing but a kitchen knife and the will to continue living. Newbies get fully armed gear for free, easy access to the Multiversal Streaming Platform, and they’re still bribing people to have a promising Hunter like Bear Bard watch over their trial!!"

"There’s nothing unfair about this. Times and seasons have changed. If your generation suffered, does that mean the next generation has to suffer as well? Things should always be improving! It would be bad for us as well if it doesn’t. Besides, if Hunter Bear Bard is the one overseeing the newbie trial, then it means they are probably not ordinary Hunters, and the Hunter Association wants nothing bad to happen to them."

"Stop yapping! The battle is about to start!" one of the Hunters said after noticing that Abel and the others had completed discussing their battle tactics.

The audience fell silent and watched the livestream.

Several passing Hunters who had heard the discussion also gathered around to watch.

[Thirty people are watching [Newbie Dungeon Raiders #523212243125] Livestream. No one has liked it yet. Keep working hard!]

The camera focused on the entire group like a 4K HD television broadcast before shifting to whoever was actively participating against a monster, then zooming out once more whenever they regrouped.