A fairly black-skinned boy who appeared to be in his teens was running for his life. His face hardened in despair as his heart beat faster than a big drum.

"UGH! DAMMIT!" He cursed, dodging poison attacks from every direction; those unfamiliar movements made him fall hard on the rough ground. Yet he stood up again.

"Fuh. Uh-uh-uh!" He gasped as both his lungs expanded and contracted to the limit. This boy was out of breath from this wild, incessant pain. But he had to run as fast as he could through the dungeon.

Cave Town, Melanie

A town was created hundreds of years ago by building homes within mountains. An intriguing site that possesses all the accommodation necessities one could imagine. But currently, it's home to the creepiest monsters. 

As he ran, a strong, sharp stench irritated all his receptors terribly. The once-marvelous interiors were entwined with rough gray stones of unknown pallid substances.

Regardless of its mutilated scent, he sprinted through. His body felt so heavy as every step echoed in his muscles like an electric shock. Yet he stubbornly continued to run. He couldn't stop, even if his muscles burst.

"KIEEKKK!!!"

Concurrently, the loud, eerie sound bombarded his ears intently as only one thought raced through his head. ‘If I stop just for a second, then death is inevitable.’

Inescapable death followed his heels, which made him run even faster. He knew perfectly well that the reaper of death was pursuing him.

A boss monster. No, black-armored spider. Given its hideous appearance, its height exceeded two meters, and its exoskeleton was larger than an automobile and thicker than a log.

A sturdy pair of eight limbs ran faster than a deer due to its hefty size. But how could this boy still run faster than the spider? It was the intuitive agility of a boy who was well aware of the impending danger.

This violent pursuer lived up to its name, having a heap of membranes covered by strong scales, harder than brass. Having a black hue, it had both high offensive stats of [50] and higher defensive stats of [85]. In other words, the rate at which they're able to grow their numbers is astronomical. So this makes a nest of black-armored spiders more difficult to deal with than an orc or goblin. However, having slayed its minions and spiderlings, this large insect is currently chasing after Huey, causing debris and a heavy rumble everywhere. The monster doesn't seem to get tired of chasing him with its eight legs.

As the boy started to choke on his impaired breath and the sensation on his legs started to fade, soon he would find it unable to run.

‘Little more—just a little more.’ He pleased his whole body, as the point he needed to get to was within his line of sight.

However, as nothing goes as planned, suddenly his leg gets stuck on a rough patch. At that moment, he felt his heart stop for an instant.

His golden eyes widened in shock as the many thoughts flooded into his head. He realized that if he fell here, it was all over. 

His ears, which were sensitive right now, could sense the monster's poison, and his forelimbs were close to the strands of his hair. 

He decided to throw his whole body with the last strength he could muster—one meter. Just as he predicted, the cruel poison attack melted the initial point the boy stumbled as the sharp daggered limb struck the ground intensively enough to destroy the rocky ground to smithereens.

However, he had no time to dwell on his luck as the boy fell and rolled on the ground like a log. The ubiquitous pain penetrates every nook and cranny of his body. Though he was bleeding, he couldn't sense it as he quickly turned his head.

All he saw was the spider racing faster in his direction, spitting acid that could melt everything in an instant.

His face hardened in terror and fear. 'Is this going to be my end?' He sadly thought, his eyes closed tight in more extreme fright than ever. His body trembled as cold sweat soaked his attire. He waited for his death.

POOUM!

The two muzzle-like maw of the armored spider turned sideways, and its body abruptly changed its trajectory. An attack from an unknown direction flew toward the monster as it was sent past him and crashed into a rocky wall nearby.

THUMP! 

The gray wall cracked and shattered into debris with such a huge impact that its residue fell to the ground with a smash.

Fortunately, such a wreck occurred opposite him. Yet this doesn't save his exhausted body from sharp fragments. The pain was intense. He didn't give in to it, and he struggled and stood up.

Such an impact would be ineffective to end such a monster's life; otherwise, it wouldn't be called an armored spider. Therefore, it would be unwise to delay. And so Huey ran again.

Behind him, the spider became more terrifying than ever; it began to project acid poison more accurately as if it were done playing with its food.

SWOOSH! 

SPLASH!

Momentarily, as the boy evaded the green poison about to inflict harm on him, a loud bang enough to disturb the atmosphere was heard from one of the crevices.

"Be careful! It's going toward this direction"

"I know. Take this sucker." 

Multiple magic shooters screamed as their hands never left the triggers of their rifles, bombarding magic bullets on the spider.

"Fucking shit!" He cursed as he saw the ineffectiveness of the bullets from the magic rifles on the monster. He ran without looking back.

However, that's not all. 

"Stop! Stop firing!" Their eyes widened in astonishment, as one of them spoke. "This… What the hell is this spider again!" 

"Hell if I know? This black armored spider is more shielded than armored." The other clicked his tongue as his eyes showed pity for the boy the monster was chasing after. "At least we lessened its movement."

Catching a glimpse of their conversation, Huey thought, 'Lessened my ass!. This spider is chasing even faster.' But he couldn't say that out loud, he could only gnash his teeth as he ran faster.

After the vest-dressed magic shooters appeared from a particular crevice, more adventurers began to appear from the shadow of their cleft.

BACH!

Only then could the boy breathe calmly and stop his feet. One of them is a slender black-haired man of a rather heavy build with gray eyes. He was wielding a thick shield, which seemed to be a tanker. This man shook his head and spoke to the boy. "Thank you for the work. We'll take it from here."

Another young man with a similar physique, also holding a steel shield in his head, also a tanker clicked his tongue. "Hmph, What luck that decoy still has."

Both were rectangular, hefty shields with a rather heavy object of two meters long and five centimeters thick.

While these tankers were besieging the black armored spider, resisting its movement. Huey saw five large spheres of flame with long tails soaring through the air. One of the magicians let out casually, "Right. This teen's luck sure had a lot of lucky charm."

They hit the exoskeleton of the black spider, which remained in place. The tankers leaped back just in time for what came next.

BOOM!

It felt like a mana grenade had exploded. The outburst was so loud that shrapnel scattered about. Shortly after the balls of flames struck, the skeletal armor spread out as green blood gushed from within.

"VAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? IT'S DIFFICULT TO FIND DECOY SUCH AS HIM THESE DAYS. SO JUST STOP CHATTING AND ATTACK FASTER!"  The leader of the adventurers scolded loudly.

Hearing that shout, more adventurers wielding spears and swords appeared from nearby crevices. 

"He was just joking, boss. Don't take it to heart. Hehe."

"It seems the boss is always teased these days. Haha"

To those teasing words, the leader's face hardened in embarrassment and a little flustered, he yelled, "JUST ATTACK!" 

"Yes sir!!!" To their leader's order, they all stood their ground with determination.

Their weapons, honestly, were innovative improvements compared to many years ago with sharp cold steel for better damage and better hilt for handling. 

Those sword-wielders were garbed in blue, expensive cloaks with hoods. The spear-wielders clothed themselves in overall light armor compared to the tankers, which are heavier.

"KIKEEEKK!!!"

The black-armored spider shrieked in unruly pain. Lowering his limbs and spraying out poison attacks vigorously, Huey quickly ran away from its attack range as his senses cut into it. Instantly, the adventurers inflicting damage on the spider quickly stepped aside as if all of them were in sync.

It was then that a hefty man, seeming like a small giant, stretched out his hefty shield, into which a huge holographic shield projected itself.

SPLASH!

This man's projected shield gleamed green as it collided with the poisonous acid. There was a characteristic sound. 

"KUEEK!" The hefty man groaning at the difference in weight was no joke. Just how could such liquid weigh so much over 2,000kg? This man wondered as the force threw him five steps back. However, he was firm on his feet as faint mana imbued his calves, and he tanked the impact with full force.

Soon after, the hefty man gestured with a roar. "Aah!! Ready to attack, the two-second delay had begun."

The time that they all knew the spider would take a few seconds to renew the poison in its glands. 

"Let's go. It's our turn to turn the table!"

"Die. You aggro. Take my ultimate attack!"

"This is my mana sword technique I created just for you. You little spider!"

Every adventurer leaped onto it with full force, shouting with vigor. Their weapons gleam with their ultimate techniques, pouncing on every section of the spider's body simultaneously.

Huey, who gnashed his teeth at the agony that had now befallen him, mused, watching the scene. Even if the outer exoskeleton is like armor, the interior body is as soft as foam. One of his eyes was closed by the stinging of blood oozing from his head. Any monster whose flesh was cut deeply simultaneously would die eventually.

Attacked with more flame balls, the black spider screamed fiercely and struggled to squeeze out any fight with its remaining five limbs. But it was too late. Its armored skin melted like a hot liquid. Then, multiple weapons struck its fovea and abdomen in sequence. A steam of hot blood splattered from the huge laceration.

"KIKEEKKK!!!"

More agonizing cries filled the air as the monster fought for its life. Pain and fear clouded its pebbled mind. It wanted to live so badly. Just a predator a minute ago, but now a prey being hunted down by humans it once ended their lives.

An eerie, sickening smell of its blood lingered in the air. It decides to die rather than survive like a prey. It let go of its regret and misfortune, staggered, and shrieked ever so faintly. It then collapsed to the ground with a huge thud. Lifeless. Its once predatory life needed just like prey.

'Fuh…' The brown-skinned boy exhaled relievedly and plopped down on the ground. His whole body throbbed unbearably. Even without taking off his long black sleeves, he was sure that he was shrouded in bruises and wounds.

– Good job, guys! Nice attacks

– We did it; the hideous spider is dead! Those Dealers were dope.

– Wow! What a nice catch today!

"…" 

Huey, who glanced into the distance, saw those adventurers congratulating each other on the victory. 'Why are they rejoicing when they only inflicted damage on it?' He inwardly clicked his tongue. They never ran like he did. He irritatedly admitted that their happiness never applied to him. Moreover, they could manipulate and conjure mana, while he was just an ordinary, unremarkable, and irrelevant young man. Nothing more or less.

"Hey brat, why are you falling apart as if you did something great? Did you want us to lower your daily pay?" Approaching Huey, one man shouted sharply. He had brown hair and fairly dark eyes with a dubious smile that annoyed the boy so badly that he felt like beating him black and blue.

However, he does not dare react to such cold words, even though he is a lot younger than him, about twenty years old. All because he was an adventurer.

"Hey, Dave! Give him a break, would ya? He had been running around today." A certain voice spoke out, seeming to help Huey out.

"Why though?" This brown-haired man grunted arrogantly, "It's not that difficult to be used as a decoy. He needs to do his job properly."

At his pompous words, this certain slender man opened his mouth again, gesturing with his hand for him to leave. "Leave him alone. He is not your plaything. Go play with someone else."

Scowlfully, the brown-haired man groaned unsatisfyingly. "Yes, yes. But he should still be doing the work he has been paid for?! Right?"

It seems the hefty tanker with a giant build from earlier, who blocked the spider's poison, stood up for Huey. Of course, the boy doesn't need it; after all, he has gotten used to this way of life. The man also told him to rest since he was a decoy, which would require a lot of strength. And the older, white-haired spear-wielder also consented to it.

The bodies of the spiders were scattered all over the cave, with green blood everywhere.

'So persistent.' Inwardly, gritting his teeth at the bad manners of the brown-haired adventurer. Huey, who listened to their motivational speech, closed his eyes and smiled reverently.

"Consider yourself lucky today. If not for the other adventurers, I would have fired you right now. Ugh!" The brown-haired man disgustfully spat out and headed towards the lifeless, black-armored spiders.

Staring at his back, Huey opened his eyes after wiping the blood off and sighed deeply. 'Making gold coins isn’t easy these days.' To think he would have to keep working with a fool like that burdened his heart greatly. He simply had no choice. Groaning, Huey limped up from the ground. All the injuries he had accumulated throbbed his body all at once. If he happened to sustain any heavy injuries, he would have to stay…

Unable to finish his thought, his attention drifted to the porters, who were dismantling and binding the carcasses of the spiders lying about and loading them onto a large cart. Other adventurers didn't bother with them since it was their job. They just chuckled and chatted among themselves. Though exhausted, Huey thought he could get extra pay if he helped them. He trudged past the wielders and helped the porters load the carcass.

"Huey, it's been hard for you. Take a rest." One of them insisted, misunderstanding the boy's intention.

"True. Just look at your exhausted movements. Just take a break; we can do it ourselves." One of the six porters around his age yet again refused his help and told him to reconsider his request and take a break.

Being a porter might look easy; however, it has its fair share of struggles. More so, it was low pay, which is insufficient for someone like Huey, who smiled casually and spoke politely. "I wish I could. Let's do it together; I love to help."

Since the decoy insisted, they had no choice but to accept his help, so all the porters nodded.

Although his body hurt like crazy, he gritted his teeth just to gain a little more gold coins and began to lift the heavy corpses onto the cart. After a while of precise arrangement, the carcass was immersed in the cart and tightly bound. Without delay, they set off through the cave town's first entrance. 

TMP! TMP! 

The adventurers were occupied, having conversations with their fellow teammates as they began to separate as they got out of the cave town.

Bleakly, Huey breathed deeply as his mind wandered in deep thought. 'Should I still keep doing this difficult job just for money?' Obsessive introspection filled his mind as he waited for his paycheck. Although he still needs to live somehow, one way or another, he must continue to live. He hopefully concluded.

"Here. Your paycheck for today." The leader of the team, a man in his early thirties with unkempt black hair in a hooded robe, handed a pouch to him.

Huey collected it and counted the coins. The pouch contained fifty gold coins, more than his normal paycheck of thirty gold coins. 

‘So helping the porter was worthwhile.’ He mused. Not a small amount, but not much either by today's standards. 50 gold coins are worth 10 bills, and 10 bills are 1 imperial bill after all. Although there was a pretty good opportunity to work like this every day, it was just difficult to find a place where one could earn as many coins as this. Never mind, getting 'bills' or 'imperial bills' paid as a Decoy. 

"Huey, you did well today. I heard what happened after the raid. Never mind Dave; he's just an arrogant adventurer." The team leader encouraged the boy with a sincere smile.

"It's no problem at all. It's alright. Don't worry about it." Huey smiled reverently, tucking the pouch into his pocket. He knew what kind of man this leader of theirs was. A business strategist who makes appropriate use of a tool praises it to feel warmth, so it would then return the next day for more hard-core utilization. In short, that is how his team from the bottom rises to the top fifty in hunting team rank in Lancaster continent.

"If so," the leader nodded. "It worries me that Dave allows himself to speak in that tone, so I will warn him not to do that again."

"Like I said, everything is fine. So I’ll go then?"

"Come on. I'll see you in a week. And watch your health! … Go to the Team quarters to give your report before departing…" The leader waved his hand and walked away.

"Okay, I will. bye." He responded. After all, even if he wasn't told, he would have done it anyway. It was like a normal route. Huey separated from them and went through the long, dense forest to the team quarters.