Ren stood by the entrance of the makeshift fortress, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the horizon.
The vast expanse of the wastelands stretched out before him, the harsh landscape lit by the faint light of the moon.
In the distance, a small dot began to grow larger, drawing Ren’s attention. He watched it carefully, recognizing the sleek body frame of an approaching aircraft. A soft beep in his earpiece followed, indicating an incoming transmission.
“Ren, this is the pick-up team. We’re en route to your location. Estimated arrival in five minutes,” a calm, female voice spoke through the earpiece.
Ren nodded to himself, his eyes never leaving the approaching aircraft.
“Copy that,” he replied. “We’ll be ready for you.”
He turned back towards the inside of the fortress, where the rest of his team was beginning to settle in for the night.
“Heads up, everyone,” Ren called out, his tone serious but not harsh. “The pick-up team is on their way. Just keep an eye out while I and the captain talk.”
Hiroshi looked up from his spot against the wall, his eyes half-open with exhaustion.
“Already? They must be eager to get their hands on the loot.”
Razogrin grunted as he agreed, shifting slightly to get more comfortable.
“Not surprised.” He glanced over at Alister, noticing he was still sleeping. “Tsk… The kid is a deep sleeper.”
“You can’t blame him, though. I’m sure controlling a mythical drake to hunt monsters down would be exhausting for anyone,” Hiroshi said as he slowly stood up.
Ren then walked away.
As the aircraft flew closer, its full frame became clearer a sleek, black ship designed for speed and efficiency, with the White Comet’s emblem on its side.
The craft slowed as it approached the fortress, its landing gear deploying slowly. The ground shook slightly as it touched down, dust kicking up in a small cloud around it.
The hatch on the side of the aircraft hissed open, and a ramp extended to the ground. The first to step out was a woman with striking blue hair that flowed like water down her back, matching her piercing blue eyes.
She wore a white and black tech suit designed for mobility and protection, though not as advanced as the ones Ren and the others had on. She had a confident and composed air as she approached Ren.
She was Seraphine, leader of the harvesting team, a simple woman who’d rather be back at the guild playing games than out in the wastelands cutting monster guts open, but her B-rank talent, Appraiser, made her perfect for this role. Only a fool would turn down an offer from a top guild when there was practically no risk involved.
“Ren,” she greeted with a nod.
“Seraphine,” Ren acknowledged her with a nod of his own. “Good to see you.”
Seraphine’s eyes swept over the fortress and the team inside, assessing their condition.
“Brought you some food supplies, as well as some stamina potions. I’m sure you guys are already out,” she said, pointing towards the aircraft, where a few crates were being unloaded by her team. “Figured you’d need it after a day like this.”
Ren let out a sigh, glancing back at his tired comrades. “You’re not wrong. We could use the energy.”
“I was actually busy with a lot of other things yesterday, so I didn’t remember to get us any.” “Wait, really? You of all people forgot something?” Seraphine asked with a look on her face as she folded both arms.
“You make it sound like an impossibility. I am human too, you know,” Ren said as he adjusted his glasses, making them glow as he looked away in slight shame.
“Seems something important must have come up to make even you miss something.” She let out a sigh. “Oh well, must be the stress of the wastelands getting to you.” She then paused, placing her hand thoughtfully under her jaw as she said, “Speaking of wastelands, how far do you think you and your team can push tomorrow morning? The more kills you rack up, the better our chances of staying ahead in the points.”
Ren considered her question, his mind was already mapping out the potential routes and targets for the next day.
“We can push pretty far. Alister has proven to be powerful enough to handle sectors on his own, so I’m sure we can rely on him a bit more. The team’s exhausted, but we’ll manage. As long as we play it smart.”
Seraphine nodded. “Good. Just keep in mind that the other guilds, especially the Reapers, aren’t even sleeping.”
Ren’s eyes widened slightly. “What? They’re still out there?”
Seraphine gave him a pointed look. “Yeah, they are going totally bananas out there. You can check for yourself. Your suit’s live stream function should give you a pretty good view of what everyone else is up to.”
With a quick click of his mod, Ren activated the live stream on his suit, projecting a series of feeds onto a holographic display. His eyes scanned through the streams, showing scenes of combat. The Blue Seals, Berserkers, and Red Phoenix were also still in the field, pushing their limits as they tore through the wasteland’s hordes.
Ren let out a low sigh. “They’re really not holding back…”
Seraphine crossed her arms. “And it’s only going to get tougher. Word is the guild masters haven’t even joined the raid yet. They’re still back in the city, locked in some kind of meeting with the Union President. Once they arrive, things are going to kick into high gear.”
Ren’s jaw tightened as he processed her words. “So we’ve only seen the beginning.”
“Exactly.”
“Make sure your team’s ready for it.”
As she spoke, two more figures emerged from the aircraft-the explosive duo, none other
than Axel and Blitz.
Axel, walking out, immediately noticed the countless corpses laying around, he let out a low
whistle.
“Looks like you guys really did a number on the monsters today.”
Blitz, not one to be left out, spoke up with a grin. “Yeah, where’s that spot Alister raided by himself? Bro took down a whole horde!”