CHAPTER 422: SECRET PLANS

The raids were confirmed the very next day. Because of course they were - Lane had been neglecting his role as ’the Boss’ and procrastinating from reading his e-mails for a while now, after all, and that affected even his personal projects. Without his instructions, the Guilds under his control didn’t know whether they should raid the dungeons or not, leading to the monster population increasing... And since Lane hadn’t bothered to do any emergency damage control even after noticing the issue, the rights to the Gates were naturally seized by the Association.

But it was perfectly fine. All of the Gates were going to be raided by the A-rank team, which Lane was a part of!

Or at least all the high-ranking Gates were. Lane still didn’t know what would happen to the C-rank Gates, which he had purchased...

It was alright, though. Back when he had first devised the plan, he had still been ’Xavier’, a B-rank Esper. He hadn’t expected that by the time he would finally get to go on those raids, he would be in his real body. As ’Xavier’, with his Toxic Ooze and B-ranker’s physique, fighting C-rank monsters would still be enjoyable, but now... Even if Lane was restricted to his registered ’A-rank’ ability, he was still an SS-ranker, so those monsters would be all too easy. Still more fun than inspections, but overall, not that big of a loss.

Either way, only three days later, the whole A-rank team gathered in front of Gate A29-5, ready to start the raid. Even if the rest of the team members didn’t necessarily share Lane’s excitement...

"We’re about to head into the dungeon. Our main targets for the raid are the monsters resembling lizards, the main predators of the dungeon. They produce a toxic, corrosive substance that is highly harmful to humans. However, their main weapons are their sharp teeth, claws, and the spike on their tails, as well as their super speed. They are also good at camouflage, due to their scales resembling the rocks in their color and texture, so make sure to watch out for that," Damien reminded everyone. He had already given them the briefing at the meeting the day before, but being the person that he was, Damien couldn’t help but say it again, just in case, even at the risk of annoying his subordinates, most of whom were far more experienced than he was.

At the end of the day, he was still their Team Leader, and there was no such thing as too much caution!

"We are going to clear four of their nests in order to reduce their population, before withdrawing," he finished the briefing (or re-briefing perhaps would be a better term?). "Everyone, please stay safe."

Having said that, he swept his eyes through the group to confirm that everyone was ready, pausing for a moment on Lane, who was in the least danger of all of them, and yet whom Damien was the most worried for. Possibly even more than for Clara, who, although far weaker than Lane, was at least far more sensible, and wouldn’t charge ahead without any concerns about her own safety!

Lane only smiled at him though, clearly bursting with excitement for the ’fun’ that was waiting for them on the other side. It didn’t do much to lessen Damien’s worries, but... It’s not like Damien could do much about it. All he could do was sigh, and trust that his boyfriend wouldn’t do anything crazy...

The trust that was very much displaced. Because, aside from having fun hunting monsters, Lane had also other plans for the dungeon... Plans that were far more nefarious.

It just so happened that the information that the Association had about the dungeon was incorrect. Or rather, incomplete. It came primarily from the dungeon assessment made by their scouts before the Gate had been put on auction - the Guilds wanted to know what they were buying, thus, while an in-depth analysis wasn’t possible, the Association always gathered some basic information about the dungeon ahead of time - as well as the information provided by the Guild that had previously owned the Gate. After all, while they hadn’t been ’able’ to clear the dungeon, they had attempted raiding it, and thus had additional knowledge that the scouts had been unable to gather. And they were legally obliged to pass it on to the Association together with the Gate rights...

And so they had. The locations of the four monster nests were provided by the Guild. It was accurate and all, but...

The Guild was under Lane control. He might have initially purchased the Gate rights through them just to have some fun while working as the Association’s Field Agents, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t use it any other way, right?

Especially when there was a little pest in his team that should be eliminated.

Causing an accident was a risky idea, since it could make him look suspicious, but after going through all of the information about the dungeon gathered by the Guild, Lane simply couldn’t let such an opportunity pass! Damien would be angry if he knew, but...

Lane’s eyes locked on the pesky Guide, who was sticking in the middle of the group, sticking out like a sore thumb. Unlike everyone else around him, he wasn’t wearing the Association’s uniform, even though he technically should. Instead, he was dressed head to toe in the high-grade tactical attire, made to withstand the bites and various substances even of A-rank monsters, at least to a certain degree. It was far more durable attire than anything the rest of the team members wore... And it was complemented by the Mana shield device on his arm, and a Mana spear. All high-quality equipment, naturally.

That didn’t earn Ethan any warm looks from his teammates. Quite the opposite - it only accentuated the divide between the regular Association members and him, who worked for the top Guild, and was at the Association only temporarily. It was quite a stupid move, as from now on, it would be much more difficult for Ethan to form closer bonds with them, and get people on his side. Especially against Lane, who fit in well with the rest of the crowd, dressed in the standard uniform and not showing off his superior equipment so much...

Ethan must have been scared, it seemed. And, well, he had a valid reason - although he wasn’t new to raiding high-ranking dungeons, the teams that he had usually been a part of had all been much stronger, well-equipped, and well-balanced... The last two of which the Association’s A-rank team was certainly not. On top of that, the dungeon they were in was still unexplored, with a lot of data unknown...

And no equipment, no matter how good it was, wasn’t indestructible...