“Ca-captain?”

  The voice was tentative.

  Shane turned, his boot sinking slightly into the soft earth. Henry Stone was standing a few feet away, his tuxedo shoes and the front of his suit jacket ruined by the mud.

  Shane’s eyes narrowed in irritation.

  This wasn’t part of the plan.

  Why was this guy so ridiculously dedicated to his job that he’d dive into a dissolving rift? Henry had been standing too far away to get pulled in by accident.

  Well, if he saw me, he saw me. Nothing to be done about it now.

  Henry opened his mouth to ask another question, but he snapped it shut when he saw Shane calmly reach into empty air and pull a can from his inventory.

  A rattle-can of neon yellow spray paint.

  It was specially made from a squid-type monster. He’d asked his broker, Nora, to craft it for him after learning she used to be a crafter. The ink would stay on any surface and fade about an hour later, automatically.

  Been a while, Shane thought, giving the can a vigorous shake.

  The metal ball bearing rattled loudly in the silence of the swamp. He hoped he could pull this off, since it’d been a while since he tried to clear a labyrinth dungeon without fighting any mobs.

  [Bad Navigator (EX)]

  Direct navigation to your intended destination will be blocked. This quirk is always activated unless you are accompanied by another person or have the route fully memorized.

  Well, Shane knew how to begin the run perfectly. And even if muscle memory didn’t count as “fully memorized”, having these two around would help him from running in circles.

  A smirk spread across his face.

  He had a feeling he was going to remember the way as he went through the stages.

  Raising the soles of his boots, he liberally sprayed the neon yellow over it. Hopefully, his body remembered the dungeon’s puzzles better than his head.

  “I really need to cut back on the drinking…”

  Dr. Spencer was still on his knees in the swamp, blinking at the gloomy swampland that stretched out into the mist.

  “Sir, with all due respect, I don’t think this has anything to do with drinking,” Henry said, his voice dropping to a serious rumble. “I think we’ve fallen into a dungeon.”

  Shane calmly waited for Dr. Spencer’s denial phase to run its course. After a few curses, Dr. Spencer turned to him.

  “…What are our chances of getting out of here?” the doctor whispered, his face draining of color. He must’ve seen the rank of this dungeon and turned to the only “A-rank hunter” here.

  But even if he was an A-rank hunter, without knowing the way, fighting all the B-rank mobs would not have been ideal, especially with a civilian he had to protect.

  But Dr. Spencer could get a grip, he was an E-rank Awakened.

  His stats were, in theory, 100 times better than an average human, which would help his survival rate with Shane’s guidance.

  Henry looked toward Shane, curious of their chances of clearing the dungeon, too.

  [A-rank Dungeon: Shriekswamp]

  The sunken city of Ophenia was swallowed by a flood, but the ruins tell a different story. The skeletons found in the mud are clutching their throats, as if they tore out their own vocal cords. Whatever sleeps beneath the swamp loves a captive audience and hates interruptions.

  Shane wanted to get on Dr. Spencer’s good side, and usually, that meant offering reassurance. But with his [Behavior Lock] being so restrictive, words were a waste of breath.

  He tossed the spray can away and just started walking.

  The goal was to get to the other side of the dungeon. It was an A-rank dungeon, but as a labyrinth type, as long as you didn’t step on any traps, you could theoretically clear it without fighting a single monster.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  He leaped lightly across from a mossy tree root to a patch of semi-solid earth, leaving glowing yellow footprints in his wake.

  “Ca-captain, where are you going?”

  “Hey, what—wait!” Dr. Spencer scrambled to his feet.

  Their hesitation lasted exactly three seconds.

  With a loud splash, the black water behind them exploded.

  A swarm of Crocodile Monitors—B-rank monsters with scales that won’t be penetrated by skills sub-par to C-rank and jaws that could snap even some B-rankers in half—surged onto the muddy bank. Their eyes glowed green, locking onto the fresh meat.

  “Damn it!”

  “Just in case, I’ll only step on the Captain’s footprints!” Henry yelled, heaving the doctor over his shoulder and deploying a golden cube around them as they ran.

  “For God’s sake, what happens if you step somewhere else?” shouted Dr. Spencer.

  Oh, they’re faster than I thought, pondered Shane.

  His original plan had been to give his wristwatch to the doc so he would get the B-rank speed stat. Shane would then spray paint his shoes and [Blink] to the spots the doctor had to step on.

  [Blinking] with two people drained way more mana so that was his original plan.

  This was better. Henry wouldn’t let the doctor get hurt, and this way, Shane could save his mana.

  Without looking back, Shane kept his rhythm, hopping from a submerged stone to a log, marking each safe zone with a neon stamp.

  Left. Right. Jump. Skip the moss.

  Even with his speed fixed to a B-rank, behind him, the sounds of splashing water, snapping jaws, and Dr. Spencer’s high-pitched screaming and yelling were getting closer.

  It was a good thing Shane didn’t explain anything.

  Since they didn’t know what was hidden under the mud, they easily followed him without a second thought.

  ***

  “They won’t follow us up the hill, so just keep moving.”

  Shane’s calm voice echoed down from the rocky ridge. He was halfway up a rocky hill, standing on a wet outcrop without a speck of mud on his suit, leaning forward with both his hands in his pants pockets.

  “We have to move faster, Doctor! I’m almost out of time on my [Shield]!”

  “Damn it all!”

  The hillside was a near-vertical mess of slick mud and tangled roots. Henry was practically shoulder-pressing Dr. Spencer up the slope with one hand while keeping his flickering [Shield] active with the other, stopping the pursuing crocodiles from biting off his legs.

  “Shoot, brace yourself, doctor!” shouted Henry.

  “What?”

  Henry decided to let the [Shield] die and threw the doctor to where Shane was.

  Shane’s eyes widened slightly as he watched the doctor scream and fly over to where he was standing, crash landing on the rocky surface.

  Being an E-rank, he was fine, and that was probably why Henry decided to throw him. But, still Shane couldn’t help but feel a little impressed.

  The pup was learning how to be efficient.

  Summoning his warhammer from his inventory, Henry immediately started bashing away the crocodiles.

  The warhammer glowed gold as Henry activated his skill.

  Either because of the ferocity of the attack or because Henry was a potential S-rank, the crocodiles started to slowly back away.

  Shane took his eyes off Henry and checked the doctor again.

  Dr. Spencer was a complete disaster.

  His expensive suit was torn at the knee, his tie was gone, and he was caked in filth. Still, he followed Shane obediently to the top of the hill and sprawled onto the flat, rocky ground at the top.

  Henry hauled himself up right after, his glowing [Shield] finally flickering out the second his boots found solid earth.

  Well, look at that, Shane thought. They actually listen.

  Shane glanced back down the muddy slope. Just as he’d predicted, the crocodiles stopped dead. They hissed in frustration at the base of the hill, then turned and slithered back toward the swamp.

  Dr. Spencer didn’t even try to get up. He lay like a corpse, panting. He shouldn’t be physically taxed, so Shane assumed the mental shock must’ve been too much for him.

  Even if the doctor did venture into dungeons to get samples, he probably only entered low-rank dungeons with guards around him.

  Without wasting a second, Shane reach into his inventory and pulled out a large, curved riot shield—something he’d specifically ordered one through his broker, Nora, so it was made from dungeon loot—and dropped it next to the doctor.

  “Wh-what’s this?” Dr. Spencer wheezed.

  “It’s a shield. Get on.”

  Dr. Spencer blinked, wiping muck from his glasses.

  “Get… get on? You mean, like a sled?” Dr. Spencer chuckled.

  “You catch on quick.”

  The doctor’s smile drooped as he realized Shane was being serious.

  “Oh, dear God. You actually mean it.”

  The moment the immediate danger was gone, the questions were starting again. Shane didn’t want to have to deal with the noise.

  They’re going to have to do as he says so why waste time when danger could creep any second?

  The plan had been for two people, so there was only one shield to go around. Henry was on his own, since his [Shield] seemed to have a cooldown.

  As he tried to get Dr. Spencer situated on it, Henry finally spoke up.

  “Wait, Captain, your arm… is it okay?”

  “What? Is he injured?” Dr. Spencer asked, alarmed.

  Shane just waved a hand dismissively and gestured for Dr. Spencer to sit on the shield.

  “No, he was injured before we came in,” Henry explained quickly. “But he’s an S-rank. You don’t need to worry, it would’ve healed by now. I just wanted to make sure.”

  “S-S-rank?” Dr. Spencer’s eyes bulged. “I thought he was an A-rank. Why would someone like that be working as a security guard?”

  “I don’t really know the details, sir.”

  “...Weren’t you just calling him Captain?”

  Shane suppressed a sigh.

  Too much talking.

  He had better keep pushing them forward so they couldn’t think.

  “We’re moving.”

  “H-hold on a second!” Dr. Spencer planted his feet, using his E-rank stats to resist. “Wait, please j-just explain what we’re about to do before we move again.”

  “I’d like to hear this, too…” Henry added.

  Shane stepped onto the edge of the shield, pinning it in place. Maybe an explanation would lubricate their gears of cooperation and make them move more efficiently.

  “If you’d taken a wrong step back there in the swamp, you would’ve lost a foot. The trap penetrates magical [Shields] so the skill wouldn’t have helped. And since Henry was holding you, doctor, you would’ve face-planted right into the trap. I can warn you about these kinds of dangers ahead of time, if that’s what you want.”

  Truthfully, with Henry’s defense stats, he probably would have just broken an ankle. And that wouldn’t be enough of an injury for him to drop the doctor.

  Shane was just about to tell Dr. Spencer that when the doctor covered his eyes with his hand.

  “Let’s just go…”

  It looked like reality finally sank in. Well, Shane wasn’t going to reject the offer.

  The researcher who regularly explored low-level dungeons himself did have some guts after all.

  Shane stood behind Dr. Spencer, standing tall, missing the sight of the doctor’s face turning pale, and kicked off.