'The exoskeleton looks pretty tough...can my dagger even damage it?'
Quite obviously, a dagger would have a lesser effect on such a carapace than a longsword, which Hal used before.
So, if he wanted to cause a deep wound, he needed to strengthen his attack.
With that thought, he returned the dual-blade Mystic to his inventory and summoned the daggers he got from his fight against the boss monster of the rank D dungeon.
Hal calmly summoned the 'Steel Talons of Kaisan Lycan.'
Swish!
It appeared in his hands like it had always been there.
"Steel." That was what Hal chose to call the dagger.
The reason why he chose to use this dagger was because it was of a higher class than Mystic, hence; it was more durable.
Hal took deep breaths as he ran towards the monster.
"Fuu-Woo!"
This was the first time he would be facing off against a rank C dungeon boss all alone.
He could remember the battle against the rank D dungeon boss, that was issued by the system, even that was a little bit tough and took a lot of his energy before he could take it down.
Now imagine facing a boss monster stronger than that, and not just any monster, a fire elemental monster.
Hal held the dagger in the reverse grip. He figured that it'd be easier to hurt the monster by holding the blade in that fashion.
"Kereuk."
Finally, the Pyrex stood before Hal. Then, it raised its two front legs and bent them at an angle
"What is it trying to do?"
His curiosity lasted only for a brief moment — Hal's eyes opened wide in an instant.
SLAM!
If he hadn't instinctively tilted his body out of the way, the Pyrex legs would have penetrated his chest just now. Hal rolled to the side as the pyrex immediately followed up its attack by swinging its tail, which had a sting at the end, at him.
"Hmm, if I had gotten hit by that, I would have ended up with a hole in my chest."
"Better get serious."
Hal's glare sharpened even more.
'Here it comes.'
Swish!
The pyrex continuously swung its sting at Hal and didn't let up on its attack.
The attacks were like bullets continually firing down at him.
But Hal remained calm and pushed his perception to the limit.
Left
He ducked his head lower to evade the Pyrex's right front leg.
Right
He tilted his body back and let the Pyrex leg brush past him before taking a step forward.
Hal evaded the pyrex attacks one by one and got closer and closer to the monster.
Meanwhile, Jack and the rest of the Hunters stood in front of a cave and couldn't quite believe their eyes.
They could see a lone figure fighting against a monster, and a lot of other dead monsters lay scattered everywhere.
Earlier in the cave
"Ok guys, I have a plan," Jack said as he stood up and walked towards his team; he folded his arms, with a complicated look on his face as he stopped in front of them.
"Ok, sir, what is it?"
"Well as much as I don't like this plan myself, it's the only choice we have."
"We're going to attack them from all sides. North, east, west, and south."
"And how are we going to do that?"
"We pick ourselves in groups of twos and sneak attack them from all sides, gradually reducing their numbers and close in on them."
"But..."
"But what sir?" The rest of the Hunters asked, with a look of worry.
"But, the real objective can only be achieved, if all four groups make it."
"If anything goes wrong, with any group, anything even as much as the loss of one person. Then the whole plan falls to ruin."
"So, you all have to promise me, that you'll give this your best shot."
"Ok?"
Jack waited for their reply, but no one answered. They all could still remember the way the Pyrex had killed their mates. The sheer number of the monsters alone was enough to deter anyone from attacking, not to talk of just 6 of them.
But Jack wasn't going to have any of that.
"What, seriously? You all won't answer?"
"What? What do you think your jobs are?"
"Is it not to hunt? To kill those damn monsters, is that not why we are hunters?"
"Look, we don't just do this for the money and fame, we do these to protect the citizens of our great country, we do this to protect our loved ones, and anyone putting on this suit and signifies as a Hunter and isn't ready to do his or her job as a Hunter, and isn't ready to protect the citizens isn't worthy of being called one!"
The rest of the Hunters all shifted on their spot, bearing looks of discomfort and worry.
Of course, they knew what they signed up for, but that didn't mean they should purposefully lose their lives in the process.
"Look, guys," Jack continued when he still didn't get any reply from them.
"It's either us or the citizens."
"If we don't clear this dungeon, the gate is going to open and let loose this very creature you all are running away from to the outside world, and when that happens, innocent civilians will get hurt."
"And that's why we have to do it, to protect those we love."
"I have a little girl at home, which you all know about, so don't think I have nothing to lose. I hope to get back to her as soon as possible, but that won't happen if we don't clear this gate."
"So come on guys."
Jack finished his speech with a pleading look, and gradually the Hunters stood up.
"I can't promise that it would be easy, but we've got to do it," Jack said, giving them the last push of hope they needed.
The Hunters stood with a look of determination on their faces as they got ready to fight.
"I hope we all still remember the battle formation?." Jack asked
"Umm, I would need a little more briefing on it, sir." A young Hunter said.
"Ok, then," Jack replied and they went through the plan again.
"Ok guys, it's now or never. The longer we stay in here, the more time passes leading to the opening of the gate to the outside world, which we can't afford."
Jack took one more look at the team and, in one swift motion, turned around and started walking toward the mouth of the cave.
"Gear up!" He shouted behind them, putting on the helmet of his war suit.
And so they set out, to a battle that will determine their futures.