"Focus on the situation ahead of us, not the masks!" Seok’s voice reached everyone’s ears and instantly shattered the awkward silence that had settled over the group.

He didn’t look back at us as he spoke, but his shoulders were still visibly tense. "We still have a Gate to clear. Let’s move."

With that, he turned around and continued leading the way deeper into the mist.

The rest of the Hunters hesitated for a moment before slowly following after him. Nobody wanted to be left behind in a place like this, especially not after seeing what was lurking beneath the surface.

Even though the first ones that came at us were dealt with, that didn’t mean we didn’t get any injuries. Some of the Hunters clearly had visible wounds and cuts, but they weren’t very deep.

As we walked, the dark green water continued to rise. What had been waist-deep before was now creeping up toward our chests and making every single step we took very difficult.

The leafless trees around us also grew denser and taller. But despite the visible danger of the environment, the main topic of conversation hadn’t changed at all.

Since Vera and I were walking at the very back of the line, it was incredibly easy to hear everything the others were saying, since they weren’t even trying to hide their whispers anymore.

"Did you see her hands? They seemed so weak and slender..." A Hunter in light armor muttered to the man walking next to him while his voice was shaking slightly. "She didn’t even use a weapon or a skill. Yet she literally just reached out and crushed it. A C-Rank monster’s scales are supposed to be half as hard as iron!"

"I know," the other one whispered back as he glanced nervously over his shoulder before quickly looking away when he saw us. "But honestly... the guy is the one who scares me more."

"The guy? Why? He didn’t even do anything."

"Exactly! He didn’t do anything! One of the monsters jumped right at his face, and he didn’t even flinch. He just stood there like he knew exactly what was going to happen. You don’t get that calm unless you are used to seeing things die like that every day. He is definitely the leader."

Hearing them, I almost snickered underneath my mask.

’If only you knew,’

I thought to myself, highly amused by how their minds were filling in the blanks. They thought I was some kind of terrifying and mysterious mastermind who possessed hidden powers, when in reality, I was just a weak guy who happened to have a very powerful, very protective companion walking right next to me.

The only ones who weren’t actively gossiping about us were the archer, Seok, and the couple.

The archer was keeping his mouth tightly shut, while Seok was entirely focused on scouting ahead with his floating spear.

The couple stayed close to each other. Meanwhile, their eyes scanned the water ahead.

Directly ahead of us, a young female Hunter was navigating the rising water. She seemed to be a mage, judging by the small magic pouch hanging from her belt.

Every few steps, she would turn her head to steal a glance at us. First at me and then at Vera. She did it once, twice, three times, indicating that she was clearly dying of curiosity.

Eventually, when she turned for the fourth time, she realized that Vera’s head was tilted directly toward her.

Even though her eyes were covered and couldn’t be seen even through the holes, the movement of Vera’s head made it obvious she was staring right back.

The girl froze for a second, thinking that she had been caught red-handed. Slightly, her face flushed, and in an attempt to break the awkward tension, she lifted her hand and gave a small and hesitant wave.

"..."

Vera didn’t wave back, nor did she offer any sort of acknowledgment. An awkward smile formed on the girl’s face. She slowly lowered her hand, then after giving a fake cough, she immediately turned her head back around to face forward.

As we continued deeper into the swamp, the faint light began to fade. The gray sky overhead was completely blocked out by the thick layer of fog.

It became so dense that I could barely see Seok’s blue spear glowing with mana at the front of the line.

"Stop," Seok’s voice spoke up from the front. It was sharp and sudden.

Hearing him, everyone came to a halt. The water had reached our upper chests now, which was making it incredibly difficult to maintain solid footing in the swamp.

"What is it?" the archer asked, and his tone was surprisingly much more respectful than before.

"The water," Seok began as his voice dropped to a low tone. "The mana density in the water just spiked."

He was right. I could feel a heavy, suffocating pressure in the air. It felt like the entire swamp was holding still and waiting for something.

Splash!

A low sound echoed from somewhere in the fog ahead. It didn’t sound like a regular splash. It sounded like something heavy turning around.

"Get ready," Seok shouted. "This feels different from the ones before. Something big is coming."

Suddenly, the water around us began to churn. Massive bubbles broke the surface, releasing a foul, sulfurous odor that made a few Hunters cough.

"Brian," Vera’s voice lost all of its calm tone in an instant and became focused again. "It is very large."

Before I could even process her warning, the ground that our feet were barely touching shook violently.

ROAR!!!

A loud shriek tore through the swamp. It was powerful enough to send visible ripples across the surface of the water.

The fog was blown away as a massive creature rose from the depths and towered over the entire group.

It was a combination of a leech and a snake. Its body was easily fifteen feet long and covered in slimy, dark green skin that glistened under the dim light.

Where its head should have been, there was only a massive, circular maw lined with hundreds of sharp teeth.

The moment the creature emerged, Seok’s face lost all color.

"Impossible..."

Then for the first time since entering the Gate, genuine fear appeared in his eyes.

"Swamp Behemoth."