The Mustang's engine growled as I weaved through traffic on the interstate. Miguel gripped the door handle, his knuckles white.
"You know there are speed limits for a reason, right?" he said through clenched teeth as I slipped between two transport trucks.
"We're fine," I replied, eyes locked on the road. "Besides, I'm definitely going the speed limit."
Miguel glanced at the speedometer and snorted. "Yeah, if we were in Germany."
The GPS indicated our exit was coming up in a quarter mile. I eased off the accelerator. Another benefit of enhanced reflexes—driving felt more intuitive now, as if the vehicle was an extension of my body.
We pulled into the designated meeting point at exactly 1:50 PM—a warehouse parking lot in an industrial zone that had seen better days. Faded loading docks lined the concrete structure, and chain-link fence topped with barbed wire surrounded the property. The gate itself pulsed faintly at the far end of the lot, a yellowish tear in reality about eight feet tall.
A group of hunters milled around several parked vehicles. I spotted Tenten immediately, her distinctive double-bun hairstyle making her stand out among the others. She wore practical combat attire—white high-collared blouse with maroon trim and those hakama-style pants I'd noticed at her shop yesterday. Various weapons bulged subtly beneath her clothing, invisible to the casual observer but obvious to my enhanced vision.
As we approached, her eyes flickered to me, then widened slightly. She recovered quickly, schooling her expression back to professional neutrality.
"Xavier Valentine," she said, nodding. "You made it. Cutting it close."
"Traffic," I offered by way of explanation.
Her gaze shifted to Miguel, one eyebrow raising in silent question.
"This is Miguel Gonzalez," I said. "My associate. We're splitting the contract."
Miguel extended his hand. "Pleasure to meet you. Xavier's told me about your shop."
Tenten shook his hand firmly. "I don't recall hiring two porters."
"The fee remains the same," I said. "Fifteen hundred split between us. No additional cost to you."
She considered this for a moment, steel-gray eyes calculating. "As long as that understanding remains clear throughout the operation, I have no objection." Her tone suggested that renegotiation would not be welcome.
"Crystal clear," Miguel assured her.
Tenten nodded once, then gestured to the assembled hunters. "Let me introduce the team. Most are freelancers I've worked with before."
She pointed toward two heavily armored individuals—a broad-shouldered man with a thick beard and a woman with close-cropped hair and tribal tattoos visible above her collar.
"Javier and Kendra, our tanks."
The man raised a gauntleted hand in greeting. The woman merely nodded.
"Lee and Sasha, healers."
A slender Asian man about our age with wire-rimmed glasses and a woman with black hair nodded in sync, their matching white-and-blue robes marking them as being a pair.
"Marcus and Diana, attack specialists."
The man was tall and lean with a compound bow strapped to his back. The woman had an athletic build and carried what looked like modified combat knives.
Diana's eyes lingered on me. "You're a porter? Really?"
"That's what my badge says," I replied, tapping the temporary credential at my belt.
She exchanged a look with Sasha, the healer. Both women smiled.
"And this," Tenten continued, gesturing to a man reclining against a stack of crates, "is Shikamaru. Tactical specialist."
Shikamaru didn't bother standing. His half-lidded eyes assessed us with disinterest, though I sensed a sharper intelligence behind that lazy facade. His black hair was pulled into a spiky ponytail, and he wore a mesh armor shirt over a gray hooded jacket.
"How troublesome," he muttered. "More people to keep track of."
"Porters only," Tenten clarified. "They'll stay back during combat."
Shikamaru made a noncommittal sound and closed his eyes again.
"Is he asleep?" Miguel whispered.
"Thinking," Tenten replied. "He does that."
I studied the gate while the introductions continued. I could see yellow energy pulsing around its edges, occasionally emitting small sparks that dissipated in the air. C-rank for sure—medium energy output, stable perimeter. Should be straightforward, assuming the team knew what they were doing.
"Here." Tenten handed us each a backpack and what looked like reinforced wrist guards. "Standard porter equipment. The packs have compartmentalized sections for different grades of essence stones. The wrist guards contain basic mining tools. Just press here—" she demonstrated on her own wrist "—and they'll extend."
A small blade and pick slid out from her guard, then retracted smoothly.
"Only use these on harvesting duty. If monsters approach, fall back immediately. Clear?"
"Crystal," Miguel said.
"One last thing." She produced two tablets. "Waivers. Standard Association forms. Says you understand the risks, won't sue if you die horribly, all that."
I signed without reading. Miguel hesitated, skimming the document before adding his signature.
"Alright." Tenten checked her watch. "It's 2:05. Gate's been stable for sixteen hours. Let's move out."
The team formed up in standard formation—tanks in front, attackers flanking, healers and specialist in the middle, porters in the rear. We approached the gate, its energy crackling more intensely as we drew near.
"First time through a gate?" Diana asked, falling back to walk beside me.
"Not my first," I replied truthfully.
"Thought so. You don't have that wide-eyed look most newbies get." She smiled. "Stick close to me if things get hairy in there."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Javier, the tank, reached the gate first. He drew a deep breath, adjusted his shield, and stepped through. When my turn came, I stepped forward without hesitation, feeling the familiar disorienting pull as reality shifted around me.
The transition lasted only a second. Then I was standing in a dim cavern, the air thick with the smell of damp earth and something less pleasant—a musky, animal odor I recognized immediately. Goblin.
The cavern stretched about fifty feet in each direction, with rough-hewn tunnels branching off at irregular intervals. Bioluminescent fungi provided faint blue-green illumination.
"Basic goblin nest," Tenten announced, confirming my assessment. "C-rank. Possible carrion crawlers in the deeper sections. Primary objective is clearing the nest and collecting high-quality mana crystals."
"Formation B," Shikamaru said without opening his eyes. "Two-by-two clearance pattern, porter detail on the third wave."
The team moved with reasonable coordination, though I noticed small inefficiencies in their positioning. Freelancers tended to develop personal styles that didn't always mesh perfectly with others. Still, they were competent enough for a D-rank operation.
The first goblins appeared ten minutes in—three small scouts that charged from a side tunnel. Javier and Kendra intercepted them efficiently, their shields creating a wall while Marcus fired arrows over their shoulders. The creatures died quickly, barely putting up a fight.
"Porters," Tenten called, gesturing us forward.
Miguel and I approached the fallen goblins. I activated my wrist guard, extending the small tools, and demonstrated the proper extraction technique for Miguel's benefit.
"See this glow in the chest cavity? That's the essence stone. You want to cut around it carefully, then extract the whole thing intact."
I worked quickly, removing a small crystal. It pulsed with sickly yellow energy—low grade, but still valuable.
"Got it," Miguel said, successfully extracting his own crystal.
We continued deeper into the nest, the pattern repeating. The hunters would clear a section, then we'd move in to harvest crystals and any other valuable materials. It was methodical, predictable work—exactly what you'd expect from a C-rank gate.
And so fucking boring.
This was kindergarten stuff compared to what I knew I was capable of now. Even Miguel handled the basic extraction techniques with increasing confidence.
Two hours in, we'd collected about thirty low-grade essence stones and cleared roughly half the nest. The team had settled into a rhythm, though I noticed Tenten and Shikamaru were carrying more than their share of the workload.
The others were... adequate. Not terrible, but not exceptional either. Typical mid-tier freelancers.
We reached a larger chamber with several tunnel offshoots. Shikamaru held up a hand, halting the group.
"Something's off," he muttered.
Tenten nodded. "Too few goblins for a nest this size."
"Ambush probability: high," Shikamaru concluded, forming a hand sign that caused his shadow to stretch and probe the darkness.
I sensed it before I saw it—movement behind us, a shift in the air currents that didn't match our group's breathing patterns. My enhanced senses picked up the subtle scrape of clawed feet on stone.
A goblin lunged from a crevice in the wall directly toward Miguel's exposed back. The others hadn't noticed yet, their attention focused on Shikamaru's forward assessment.
One moment I was standing beside Miguel; the next, my fist connected with the goblin's face. The creature's skull caved inward from the impact, its body flying backward into the wall with a wet thud.
The entire sequence took less than three seconds. I was back in position before anyone turned around.
Diana blinked. "What was that noise?"
"Just a rock falling," I said casually, nudging Miguel who stood frozen in shock.
"Y-yeah," he stammered, eyes wide as he stared at me. "Just a rock."
I gave him a warning look. Keep quiet.
He swallowed hard and nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Let's keep moving," Tenten ordered, though her eyes lingered suspiciously on the splatter of goblin blood now decorating the wall.
As we progressed, I considered my options. This gate provided the perfect opportunity to test my new capabilities in a relatively controlled environment. The question was how to do so without drawing undue attention.
'Arcan, is there anything I could be practicing while we're in here?' I asked silently. 'This porter work isn't exactly challenging.'
『Given your current attributes, basic mana manipulation would be an efficient training method,』 Arcan replied. 『Most hunters require years to develop proper control, but your Six Eyes provide unique advantages in visualization and precision.』
'What exactly would that entail?'
『Attempt to circulate mana through your body's pathways. Begin with a simple reinforcement of your skin—essentially creating a thin protective layer. With your six eyes, you should be able to see the mana flow and adjust accordingly.』
'Won't that be noticeable to others?'
『Not if maintained at low intensity. It would appear no different than the natural mana aura all living beings possess.』
I focused inward, visualizing my mana as Arcan suggested. Through my Six Eyes, I could see the energy flowing through my body—currents of blue-white light following distinct pathways. I concentrated on directing a small stream toward my left arm, watching as it responded to my will.
The sensation was strange but not unpleasant—a warmth that spread beneath my skin, reinforcing muscle and bone. I extended the flow to my hand, watching the energy wrap around my fingers like a second skin.
『Excellent control for a first attempt,』 Arcan commented. 『Most beginners struggle with even basic circulation.』
'How much stronger does this make me?'
『At your current proficiency, perhaps a 5% increase in physical durability. The efficiency improves with practice.』
Not much, but it was a start. I continued the exercise as we moved deeper into the nest, gradually extending the reinforcement to other parts of my body.
And progress, however small, was better than standing still.