Standing in front of the World Association Headquarters in Halcyon, they beheld a massive building that seemed to touch the sky.
Within that skyscraper resided everything from powerful hunters to the latest, most advanced technology. The vaults of the World Association contained the accumulated loot and monster materials collected by hunters from across Halcyon.
"Dispatch the next team, and there is a report about a new dungeon near City..."
On the 12th floor, numerous hunters, clad in their gear, focused on a large screen displaying several missions and quests.
Each monitor detailed specific missions along with the required team ranking, as assessed by the analysts of the World Association.
"Sigh, another dungeon. Why are so many dungeons suddenly appearing?" a hunter muttered in frustration.
Other hunters also appeared weary, constantly being summoned to explore new dungeons and compile reports on them.
New dungeons, always considered the most perilous, were prioritized over existing dungeons of the same rank.
"Excuse me, our team needs a scout," a middle-aged hunter informed the receptionist, who was assembling teams.
"What happened to your assigned scout?" the woman inquired.
"He was injured in the last dungeon, so he's unable to participate for now," the man explained.
Injuries were commonplace in dungeons, and most hunters felt relieved when such incidents didn't result in fatalities.
"Please provide your team leader's name and your team's rankings here," the woman requested, handing over a tablet to the man.
As he reached for the tablet, the elevator behind the woman opened, revealing a man in a long black coat who appeared to be in his forties.
"Sir Adam," the woman greeted him promptly, capturing the attention of every hunter on the floor.
"Is that Sir Adam?"
"He seems stronger!"
"So it was true he reached SS- Rank,"
"Will the power dynamic change between the executives then?"
Whispers filled the room at the sight of this man, but they soon subsided.
"At ease, I am not here to disrupt your work. Continue with your duties," Adam instructed, surveying the room.
"Is the report on the 15 new dungeons ready?" Adam inquired of the woman.
"We have identified the monsters in them, and 12 of them have been cleared fully," The woman replied.
"And what about the resources?" Adam asked.
He was one of the Executives of the World Association and one of the SS Rank Hunters who worked in Halcyon under the World Association.
lightsvl m Although he had recently become an SS- Rank Hunter, he still managed to get into the position of an executive due to his years of work and connections in the World Association.
"Hmmm?" Adam squinted his eyes as he looked at the Lift that was going up from the 12th Floor.
But looking closely at that Lift, the only people present there were the party that went up to get the supplies necessary for their mission.
Soon enough, Adam's attention drifted back to the report that the woman handed over to him.
"I want all the data of these new dungeons and secure as many dungeons as possible," Adam as said as he turned around to leave.
In the Lift that went up from the 12th Floor,
"Even someone like Sir Adam is busy," The man sighed as he leaned over the staff in his hand.
"Don't get lazy; we have a dungeon to clear," The woman in front said, looking back.
"I want to rest; seriously, think about it; we just cleared a Dungeon 5 Days ago," The man complained.
"No excuses now; we can take two weeks off after this mission; we need one more Dungeon to raise our Team Rating," The woman said as she looked back at her Team.
The lift stopped on the 25th floor, where the Weapon Storage and Supply Store were located.
"Come on, let's get everything we need," The woman said as her Team left the Lift.
The man lazily followed her as he looked back, and the Lift was going up.
'Weird, did someone call it up?' The man thought in his head.
When he was inside the Lift, he remembered that the buttons on the higher Floor were not lit.
"Sigh, I really need some rest," The man muttered as he simply thought he didn't remember it correctly.
Inside the Lift,
"Pheww," Dane spoke as he looked as he looked at the button.
"We got lucky that there were other people in the lift; I didn't imagine an SS Rank Hunter would come to the lower floors," Kai spoke as he looked at Dane.
<Don't forget, you still have to reach the 78th Floor and enter the VIP only Area>
"Don't worry, apart from SS Rank Hunters, nobody can spot us for the next 4 minutes," Kai replied as his face looked pale.
He was giving his all to suppress the presence and mana of all three of them.
"But Boss, are you sure you can use that spell?" Dane asked.
"If we try, maybe we can use that necklace to enter that place," Dane said.
"No, the moment we use an SS Rank artifact in that area, the runes there will activate," Asher replied.
'But-' Dane didn't speak, but both he and Kai were worried about it.
It was because they didn't think that using spatial magic was good for Asher. Both of them knew how dangerous and self-
harming using Space Element was, but knowing that Asher was going to use it, they didn't know whether it was a good idea or not.
But due to the agreement they made with Asher, all they could do was follow his orders.
"I will take over the security system for 10 seconds; make sure you exit this lift at that time," Tom said through the communication device as Dane and Kai got ready.
<Access Permission: Floor 78>
<Executive Level Access Needed>
<Security Breach Date->
<Executive Level Access Granted>
<Floor 78 is the Destination>
The Lift started going up and didn't stop on the 50th Floor that Kai had pressed, which was the highest Floor they could access as normal Hunters.
All floors above that required Access Cards, and floors above 75 required executive-level access.
The Lift was going up as Kai, Dane, and Asher got ready to step out of it.
They had only half a second to step out to make sure that Tom could return the Lift back to the lower floors on time.
The speed of the Lift increased going past the mana detectors that were switched off temporarily.
Ding!bender
The Lift opened, and Kai and Dane, with Asher in front of them, sprinted out as they followed a specific path.
Asher's eyes became focused as he started chanting a spell, making his mana rise.
Asher frowned as he felt the burden of using this spell that he recently learned on his mind.
But it didn't stop him from chanting the spell.
This floor was for VIP members and executives, so the three of them didn't have enough time before someone who was SS Rank could sense their presence.
Most of the pressure was on Kai, whose face was getting paler, and he was feeling dizzy because he was using all his strength to hide them.
Right now, if they were caught, the chances were high. The one who would come after them would be an SS Rank Hunter, and in the worst case, they would need to instantly use the Necklace to teleport out of the World Association Headquarters.
"Boss, you need to face the first door around the next corner; that's the direction," Tom said.
As Asher closed his eyes, he could feel the space around him.
He was still running and was about to turn, but he could feel the space around him.
But instead of it, Asher looked past it, somewhere around half a kilometer away from his spot, in a certain direction.
Asher stopped as he touched the shoulders of Kai and Dane, as he muttered.
"...Leap,"
At that moment, another lift on the floor opened its doors, and Adam stepped out of it.
The lift that Asher used was already on its way toward the lower floors, so Adam didn't find it suspicious until he sensed a disturbance in the mana in this room.
"Did someone use a spell here?" Adam spoke.
He could feel a slight disturbance in the mana around the floor, but it was extremely small, making Adam think it was the aftermath of one of the people on this floor using one of their spells.
"These old bastards can't stay still for a moment," Adam muttered in frustration, going towards the middle section where his office was present.
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