A group was gathering outside the city wall. These people were a new group that was emerging recently. Not many knew of where they came from. The only thing that was common knowledge was that these people were not [Users]. They were ordinary people that had attained enough strength to be able to hunt monsters as a livelihood. They were not very strong but with their combined strength, they are able to easily take care of monsters.
A middle-aged man was leading the group. He was fairly fit for his age with a muscular physique. His skin was tanned from years of working outside.
"Everyone is here?" He asked after a brief role call.
The size of the group was not very large, consisting of less than ten people. This was to maximize efficiency.
After confirmation, they set off towards the dungeon. The relationship the people had with the dungeon was a strange one. While many lives were lost in the dungeon, people did not stop going to the dungeon. The dungeon had become an indispensable part of daily operations. Not only did it provide food, but it was also a resource that could be used to become stronger.
In this new world where there were many unknowns, people did not have a choice but to become stronger. They had to stick together and work as a team.
They seamlessly navigated through the gra.s.sy field. A path had been cleared to make navigating to the dungeon easier. Finally, they arrived at the rocky platform that housed the dungeon.
[Suppression Tomb]
A small blue window reminded everyone of the destination they had arrived in. They were not the only group that had arrived at the dungeon. There were many other groups like them. Some were camping outside, taking a rest. Others were preparing their equipment so they could go in for another run. There were groups that had just exited and were sighing in relief that they were able to keep their life for another day. They all had a couple of things in common. One, they were not [Users]. Two, they operated in small groups. And three, they all worked for one man, Shadow.
The group took a brief pause before entering the portal that did not look so scary anymore. Their sights darkened and they arrived at the cave which housed minotaurs. Blue crystals in the wall was their only source of light.
There was a smell of blood in the air. It was unknown who the blood belonged to. It could be humans. It could be minotaurs. Such a thing did not matter.
A man stepped out from the group and began to lead them to their target. He was the scout of their group with most of his stats invested into [Perception]. The man carefully traced the marks that could be seen on the walls and on the ground to lead them to their target.
Roar!
They spotted a minotaur in the distance and the minotaur spotted them back.
Roar!
It began to madly dash to them like a beast. As soon as the minotaur came running, the group went into formation.
Three men went out to the front holding swords. Three more stayed in the middle to standby, also holding swords. The rest stood in the back holding guns.
Contrary to what one might think, swords are actually more effective in fighting monsters than guns. This is because with a cold weapon, the strength behind it is not fixed while in guns, the damage is fixed.
Without stalling for any more time, the front liners attacked. Swords in hand, their attacks were clumsy and deadly at the same time. The middle-aged party leader stood back and watched them perform. The battle was not very intense. It was very slow-paced.
The men would wait for the minotaur to attack first before doing their turn. It required intense focus for them to be able to dodge every blow thrown at them. After several rounds, they had to step back and the men that were previously in the middle replaced them.
When things looked dangerous, the backline would shoot their rounds to halt the movements of the minotaur.
Bang! Bang!
Clank! Clank!
The minotaur had seemingly limitless stamina. While it was still lively, the second line of men was already tired. The first line of men had to step in again.
"This minotaur is an older one!" They shouted in realization.
Older minotaurs were more experienced and more powerful. There was no easy way to tell how old a minotaur was before fighting it. Younger minotaurs were more common. They were formed when the mana density within the dungeon was at its highest.
Roar!
The minotaur"s eye suddenly lit up a menacing light. The front-liners were tired. They had no time to react.
Boom!
It swung its arm down. At the last moment, the middle-aged group leader stepped in.
[Harmonization]!
A blue aura wrapped around him and he stopped the strike with his body. The function of the second part of the [Great Human Method] was not just increased control of mana. On top of mana control, the user also had the ability to mimic the abilities of [Users]!
Bang!
The minotaur flew back. The middle-aged man had a serious expression on his face. Without missing a beat, he jumped on the fallen minotaur and smashed its head in one blow!
Such a display of strength awed the surrounding party members. Their desire for the second part of the [Great Human Method] grew stronger. With such methods, they did not have to live below [Users] anymore.