They had defeated the dungeon boss.
"Victory tastes sweet, boys!" Gervais declared, slapping his toned chest with a prideful grin. His short-cropped hair was damp with sweat, his alpha-male aura practically creating wind pressure. "That overgrown lizard didn't stand a chance. Good job, everyone!"
Behind him, the party trickled out one by one.
First came Baldric the swordsman, still high from the adrenaline rush, twirling his blade like he was auditioning for a traveling circus.
Then came Ella, the team's D-rank healer. Her steps were slow, her expression exhausted, her staff acting more as a walking stick than a weapon of divine restoration.
"I swear... if I had to heal Devin one more time, I was going to throw him into the boss's mouth myself," she muttered under her breath, glaring back as if trying to manifest him into flames.
And finally, emerging from the portal like the afterthought of an afterthought... was Devin.
The E-rank hunter.
