A/N: Hey guys, hope you enjoyed that last chapter. To be honest, If it wasn't for that scale Ben found, he would have died, but against all odds he defeated the ninth head. The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi like before will not be a sword, Ben uses all the time, no that'll make everything boring if he can just slice through them with it. Anaklusmos will be his primary weapon while Kuzuryū's Dagger will be his subweapon. Oh love interests all of you have been asking if this is a harem, and tbh I can't even tell you. So I'll list some names from the Ben 10 universe and maybe some from Solo Leveling which isn't much and you guys vote in the comment section.
1. Kai Green
2. Julie Yamamoto
3: Hope aka Charmcaster
4: Eunice
5. Jennifer Nocturne
6: Elena
7. Helen Wheels
8. Looma
9. Attea
10. Esther
11. Cha Hae In
For me I'd cross 1 and 2 off the list, but just that's me lemme hear your opinion's in the comments. Me, personally, I'm leaning more into Hope and Eunice. But I still wanna hear your opinions. And one more thing, I'm like really hyped about its gonna be Chapter 7. You'll understand when we get there.
Chapter 3: The Scorpion's Lair
One Week Later
It had been one week since Ben had defeated Orochi's ninth head and currently he's still in the hospital. When he snuck back in a passing nurse found him and almost passed out when she saw his shredded clothes filled with blood. So he was forced to spend another week in the hospital.
Ben was currently doing his daily quest, "95...96...97...98...99...100." He hopped to his feet as he wiped the excess sweat from his body. When a knock was heard from his door, "Come in." He replied before stretching his muscles a bit.
A nurse with short black hair entered, "Mr. Tennyson-" She began as she then watched him turn around. She noticed he had gotten two to three feet taller before noticing his muscles had developed alot more before he was admitted here. Her face flushed red when she saw his shirtless body, "I'm so-sorry." She shuttered as Ben shrugged it off.
"No worries, I was just about done anyway. Did you need something?" Ben walked over to his bed to grab his shirt when she nodded.
"Ye-yeah, you're grandfather is here to see you." She stuttered once again as Max moved from behind her, waving at the boy who smiled.
"I've got it from here." He smiled at the nurse and nodded before she glanced at Ben who was putting his shirt back on. She blushed and smiled before leaving, "Seems you've flustered the nurse? What did she see?"
Ben chuckled lightly, "She saw me working out."
Max laughed, "Glad you're not as dense as you were when you were younger. You look like you've gotten taller?"
"Do I?" Ben soon got off his bed shocking Max who looked at the boy who'd grown more over the last two weeks compared to the last three years.
"What's your secret?" Max grinned as Ben shrugged.
"Trade secret." Ben winked as Max laughed, "So what's up, grandpa?"
"I wanted to give you some advice when you're released from the hospital." Max grabbed a seat and sat down as Ben nodded and sat back down on his bed.
"What kind of advice?"
"Ben, I want to warn you about lizards."
Ben raised an eyebrow, "Lizards?"
"Lizards are Hunters who abuse there powers inside dungeons. Since there's no cameras inside dungeons anything goes. There'll be a few who will attempt to take your life. Ben, I want you to listen to me. If you ever come across 'Lizards' and feel like your life is being threatened, you will kill if necessary."
"Grandpa-"
"Ben, I'm not joking here. If you feel like your life is being threatened you will kill if necessary, understand." Max stated firmly.
Ben knew there was no chance he was gonna change his grandpa's mind, "Alright, grandpa. I will, I'll protect myself if the need arises."
"Good. You never know a real person's personality until it's all over." Max stated firmly.
"I understand, grandpa, but I promise it won't come to that." He smiled softly as Max nodded.
"Good, so when are you being released?"
"Hmm, tomorrow, I hope."
"I'll let your parents know and we'll be here to discharge you." Max smiled as Ben nodded.
"Alright, thanks grandpa for the advice." Ben stood up as did Max, the duo shared a brief hug, "It means a lot."
"Don't mention it, Ben. I just want to make sure you have everything you need to become a full fledged Hunter. I'll see you tomorrow, alright? Try not to be too injured again." Max smiled as Ben laughed.
"No promises." He smirked as Max in turn laughed at him.
"Alright, take care." Max walked over to the door and opened it.
"You too, grandpa." Ben watched his grandfather leave the room before gazing down at his daily quest.
[Sit Ups - 100 times (Complete) 100/100]
[Push Ups - 100 times (Complete) 100/100]
[Squats - 100 times (Complete) 100/100]
[Running - 10km (Incomplete) 0/10km]
Ben gazed out his window, 'Tomorrow. After tomorrow, I can start dungeon raiding.' He smirked as he grabbed his discarded towel before walking out of his room.
Ben had finally gotten done with his daily quest, he sat down on a bench to gaze up at his daily reward.
[Sit Ups - 100 times (Complete) 100/100]
[Push Ups - 100 times (Complete) 100/100]
[Squats - 100 times (Complete) 100/100]
[Running - 10km (Complete) 10/10km]
[You've completed 'Daily Quest' Preparations to Become Stronger]
[Completion rewards have arrived]
[Would you like to confirm?] (Y/N)
'Yes.'
[The following rewards are available]
[Reward 1: Full Status Recovery]
[Reward 2: Three Additional Stat Points]
[Reward 3: One Random Box]
[Would you like to accept them all?]
'Yes.'
Ben felt relief pass through his body as the full status recovery passed through his body. He smirked, 'Status Open.'
Name: Benjamin Tennyson
Level: 28
Class: None
Title: Minotaur Slayer, Blazing Hound Killer
Hp: 2050
Mp: 1700
Fatigue: 0
[STATS]
Strength: 47
Agility: 47
Stamina: 46
Intelligence: 46
Perception: 46
[Available Stat Points to distribute: 3]
[Skills]
Passive Skills
-(Unknown) Lv. Max
-(Tenacity) Lv. 3
Active Skill
-(Dash) Lv. 2
"Hm, my level hasn't really improved since I entered that dungeon beneath Mr. Smoothies. I gotta find a way to level up." He sighed, "Oh well, let's get these stat points invested."
[STATS]
Strength: 47
Agility: 47
Stamina: 47
Intelligence: 47
Perception: 47
[Available Stat Points to distribute: 0]
"Well balanced. I'm really close to 50. I wonder how strong I am compared to a week ago." He struggled before he got to his feet, "We'll see the progress sometime soon." With that being said, Ben hopped to his feet and walked back to the hospital.
The Next Day
Ben grabbed his bag before he left his hospital room and made his way to the counter to sign himself out. The nurse at the counter, blushed before deciding to speak up, "Wo-would it b-be a problem i-if I as-asked for your nu-number?"
Ben tilted his head at her curiously before shrugging his shoulders, "Okay." He took her phone and quickly typed his number in, "There you go." He smiled, making the nurse blush more as she took her phone back.
When she looked at his number, she looked back up, "I'll call yo-" She begun to find out, he had vanished.
Ben slung his bag over his shoulder and placed his hand into his pocket as he made for the exit of the hospital to find the Rust Bucket parked outfront. He smiled as his grandpa, his older cousin Ken, and his own parents were standing infront of it.
"BEN!" His mom, Sandra, screamed as she engulfed her son into a hug.
"Mom." Ben replied with a small smile before hugging her back.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't be around more." She cried into his shirt as he shook his head.
"No worries, mom, I don't blame you."
"But, me and your father are gonna do better. We're sorry."
"She's right, Ben, we're sorry." Carl, his father, replied as he also joined in on the group hug.
"It's okay, guys, I don't blame you." Ben said once again as they let go of him.
"Did you get taller, sport?" Carl asked as he noticed the boys growth spurt.
"Kinda." He laughed as Max and Ken walked over to him.
"I'm sure, we need no introduction." Max smiled as Ben smiled widely.
"Ken!" He hugged the red haired man as Ken laughed at his younger cousin.
"It's great to see you too, Ben, and I'm sorry I couldn't come visit you in the hospital." Ken hugged the boy back.
"It's okay. I don't think I could ever be mad at you." He answered softly. Ken smiled before the two let go.
Ben had always been seen as the black sheep of the family, but one person saw him for who he was. And that was his older cousin, Gwen's brother: Kenneth Tennyson. Whenever he had trouble or wasn't confident in himself, Ken was there to lift him to his feet. If Ben was being honest with himself, the one person he could never hate would be the man standing infront of him.
He had been an inspiration to him, telling him he didn't need to be Gwen. He needed to be himself. The reason Ben isn't more hateful towards his family will always be because of Ken and his positive outlook on life. If it weren't for Ken taking him under his wing then Ben would probably end up like one of his evil counterparts from the Multiverse. If something were to ever happen to him, Ben would go on a blind rampage.
"Thanks, little cousin. So, I hear you wanna be a hunter? Got your rank and everything?" Ken smiled as Ben nodded.
"Yeah, I'm a D-Rank." He answered before picking up his backpack.
"Really? You don't have the physique of a D-Rank hunter." Ken laughed as Ben just smiled.
"It's just some light exercise."
Ken smirked slyly, "Uh huh, keep telling yourself that."
Max, Carl, and Sandra laughed at his joke as Ben playfully rolled his eyes, "I will." Causing Ken to laugh harder.
"Alright, you two we can talk on the way home. Let's go." Max started walking towards the RV, as did Ben's parents, Ken, and the teenager in question.
Once the RV, was driving away from the hospital, Ben looked to his older cousin, "So what is it that you do, Ken. Grandpa Max never mentioned you."
Ken sighed, "Sheesh old man, you can mention Gwen, but not me?"
"Sorry, Kenny." Max chuckled.
"I'm one of Gwen's Vice Guild Leaders." Ken answered.
"You're a hunter? And apart of Gwen's guild? Wait, one of her Vice Guild leaders, I thought Gwen didn't have a Guild?" Ben fired off question after question.
"Slow it down, Ben, I'll answer since the old man didn't really clue you in on some of the stuff that happened." Ken replied, "Gwen created her guild I think almost a year ago, but it's mainly associated with the Plumber HQ so a few Plumber kids joined with some fairly skilled Hunters who've debuted. I'm a hunter too, an E-Rank, but my job is mainly paper work, that Gwen doesn't wanna do."
"So you're basically a secretary?"
Ken thought about it, "Eh, I maintain the budget of the Guild, it's increasing members, and anything else Gwen doesn't have time for. I said I'm one of her Vice guild leaders. That means she has three." He held up three fingers, "Kevin Levin is obviously one of them, apart from them being together, he's in charge of organizing battle strategy. And the final leader is Rook Blonko, Gwen's partner. He's responsible for equipment for the guild."
"Why didn't I guess those two." Ben rolled his eyes.
"Ben, originally Gwen wanted you to be there instead of Rook." Ken replied, he and Max were the only ones who knew how Ben truly felt towards his cousin.
"Of course, she did. I wouldn't be no desk jockey for her while she gallivances the universe. No offense." Ben held up his hands as Ken laughed.
"No that's basically my entire job." He waved his hand dismissively, "Now that you're out of the hospital, what are your plans?"
Ben clasped his hands together, "I want to start clearing dungeons."
Ken nodded, "Do you have a goal in mind?"
"I want to become stronger." He smiled, "Stronger than Gwen. So, when she comes back she has no choice, but to acknowledge my greatness. I want to be better than her. It's the only thing that drives me these days. Just knowing I have a way to surpass her, is too great to resist."
Ken did nothing, but smile, "You'll always have my support, Ben. Ever need any advice, come to me. My door will always be open to you."
"Mine too, Ben." Max added with a smile.
"Ours are always open for you." Sandra smiled as she pointed to herself and Carl.
"Thanks you guys." Ben smiled softly.
Max stopped infront of his sons house as Carl, Sandra, and Ben climbed out. Ken and Max followed them out, "Ever need anything, Ben, call me. My number should still be the same." Ken smiled hugging his little cousin once again.
"I appreciate it, Ken, thanks." Ben hugged his cousin tightly. The two pulled away before Max walked over to him.
"Ever need anything from me, I'll be there to help you, Ben. Got your hunters licence?" Max raised an eyebrow as Ben nodded.
"Yeah, I got it. I'll be fine, grandpa. I promise." Ben replied before hugging the older man tightly.
"Alright, me and Ken should be going, he's gotta get back to work." Max clapped the boy on the shoulder, "Alright, Kenny, let's go." Max climbed back onto the Rust Bucket as Ken looked back and waved.
"I look forward to hear about your exploits." Ken smirked.
"Don't worry. You will." He nodded before watching as the door to the RV slam shut and soon enough drive away.
Carl and Sandra watched Ben stand there till the RV was out of sight. He picked up his bag before making his way inside with his parents behind him, "You hungry, Ben?"
"Uh, yeah. I'll be in my room. Call me when lunch is ready." He smiled before climbing the stairs to his room.
Sandra was a bit worried for him when Carl wrapped an arm around her, "Give him time, honey, he'll be okay. I know it."
"Alright." She smiled sadly.
Ben opened his room door and noticed it was actually clean compared to almost two years ago where it was dirty. He dropped his bag on his bed before collapsing on it, "See if anyone has a party for me to join." He jumped from his feet and walked over to his desk.
He sat down at his computer chair and quickly started browsing the web in search of any nearby dungeon parties that needed an extra member. After searching for the next twenty minutes he finally found one. It was for a C-Rank dungeon and it was about half an hour from his place.
He quickly grabbed his phone and dialed the party leader's number who was named Jordan Jones, he was a C-Rank, and it seemed he had his own team consisting of five other C-Rank's. Grandpa Max taught him about dungeons for various reasons aside from the obvious fact that Ben had been in a coma.
Ben had hit call and spoke with the man after talking for almost fifteen minutes, he gave him an address for when there meeting up, telling him, he had also gotten another person to fill in for there head count. Ben soon hung up before sitting on his bed, he opened his inventory as he stretched his arm inside and grabbed Anaklusmos and Kuzuryū's Dagger.
"This is my first dungeon exploration. Remain calm. Nothing can go wrong... I hope." He replied before leaping to his feet and placing his dagger into his inventory and Anaklusmos into his pocket. He grabbed his phone and car keys before racing down the stairs.
When he came down, his dad was sitting at the table eating a sandwich. His mom looked up, "Hope your hungry? I made tuna."
"Yeah, I am, but mind if I take it to go? I found a nearby dungeon and I have to go meet the party." Ben walked over to his mother taking the tuna sandwich.
"You be careful, Ben. You don't know how shifty people are inside dungeons." Carl replied concerned.
"I will dad, I promise. I'll be back later." He waved as he walked out the door. He quickly rushed to the garage where he found his car parked and grinned before climbing inside. He quickly started it up and backing out the driveway and taking off down the street.
It took Ben about thirty minutes before he reached what appeared to be an empty construction sight. He climbed out of his car and quickly made his way over to see a group of people waiting. He scanned the group rapidly before approaching them.
A tall black man smiled as he saw the teenager approaching, he walked over to him, stopping infront of him, "You must be, Benjamin, correct?"
"Ben, are you Jordan?"
"Yes, I am." He smiled, Ben looked him up and down, "I'll be this raid's leader and tank." He was tall and muscular if his muscles or handshake said nothing. He wore chest armor with shoulder pads, with knee guards, he wore a shield on his back followed by a mace, "So, Ben, what weapon do you use?"
"Oh, a sword." Ben replied sheepishly.
"Did you forget it or something?" He looked around the boy before he shook his head.
"No, I have it, but it's just hard to explain." He answered.
"Ah, okay. Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone else." He offered as Ben nodded, when he wasn't paying attention, Ben pulled out Anaklusmos and pushed the cap as it transformed into a 10 inch long sword. He strapped it to the back of waist, like it'd been there the whole time, "Everyone, this is Ben, he'll be filling in for our headcount."
Ben gazed over the men standing before him. He gazed each of them up and down as Jordan introduced them, "This is Charlie, our mage." The blonde haired waved at him, "This is Phillip and Lee." He pointed to the black haired man with the sword and the brunette standing beside him, "Alex and Daniel, our Archer." A bald man with daggers strapped to his waist nodded his head in acknowledgement as the black haired man with a bow and arrows strapped to his back waved, "And this is Zak, he's also here to fill in our headcount." Now Ben looked at the last member and immediately raised an eyebrow, he had long black hair and a tuffet of white hair upfront. His skin was a tinge between white and black with green eyes. He wore orange and black armor with a yellow 'S' in the middle.
'He looks so familiar.' Ben thought as he quickly shook away his thoughts when Jordan started speaking.
"Thank you two for coming, so I'll paraphrase everything so we can get on with it. This dungeon opened a week ago and it's put a hold on this construction sights work. Our mission is to find the boss and kill them, but due to our team only having six members, we had to get two members, that'll be you two. So with intros out the way, you guys know your positions." He gestured to his team before turning to Ben and Zak, "You two are gonna be watching our backs, are you okay with that?"
"Yeah." Zak replied as Ben nodded.
"Good. Alright everyone, let's get ready to enter the dungeon." Jordan instructed.
Ben withdrew Riptide from his waist, and looked around as he saw everyone gearing up, he reached inside his inventory and grabbed Kuzuryū's Dagger and nodded. His ears pricked up as he heard someone approaching. He looked up to see Zak, smiling.
"Hey, I'm Zak Saturday. It's nice to meet you." He held out his hand as Ben placed Riptide back into his belt as he shook his hand.
"Ben Tennyson. Likewise."
"Seems we're the odd ones out." Zak replied as Ben urged him to go on, "Oh my apologies, I meant cuz they hardly know us and only need us to fill in there head count."
"Ah, I don't really care about that. This is my first time in a dungeon." Ben replied as he twirled his dagger and placed it onto his belt, he had bought on the way here.
"Seriously? Me too. I've never been in a dungeon before." Zak answered with a small smile.
"You seem awfully familiar, have I seen you before or something?"
Zak laughed lightly, "I worked with your sister, Gwen Tennyson?"
Ben scowled, "She's not my sister. She's my cousin."
Zak immediately sensing the hostility stopped laughing, "Oh, my bad, but yeah I worked with her. Me and my family."
"No it's fine. And I wondered why you seemed so familiar and at the same time you aren't. But my cousin did mention meeting a family called the Saturdays, that's you guys?"
"Yeah. Me and my family are explorers and now we're becoming hunters." He smirked as he talked about his family.
"Alright, everyone that's enough chitchat. It's time to get this raid started." Jordan interrupted as everyone started walking towards the large blue portal.
"Well since this our first dungeon, you watch my back, I'll watch yours, deal?" Zak raised his fist as Ben returned it.
"Deal."
Once everyone passed through the gate, they came out the other side in another world. This one being a vast desert. Nothing, but sand for miles. Behind them the gate was still open and ready to be used if they needed to retreat.
Ben hung towards the back of the team as he quickly reached in and grabbed the Kusanagi-no-Tsrugui and strapped it behind his waist where his other two main weapons were, 'You never know what could happen. Remember it's only used as a last resort.' Riptide was strapped to his right side, the Kuzuryū Dagger directly on his waist, and Kusanagi-no-Tsrugui strapped to the left.
"The reports from the association said, the Boss's lair was located East of here about a four to five mile hike. Come on, everyone, let's hurry up and get moving." Jordan replied as they headed East.
Ben was kinda glad he didn't bring his jacket, or else he'd be sweating up a storm. He glanced over to Zak, who seemed just fine, "Dude, aren't you hot in that?"
"Nah, when I was a kid, my parents took me to all sorts of exotic places. So I learned to build up my heat tolerance from them." He explained with a smile, "And it has a built in air conditioner."
Ben face vaulted when he said that, mumbling under his breath, "Spoiled rich boy. Built in AC suit." Zak laughed at his mumblings, but the two had a growing friendship going on which didn't bother either one.
As Ben and Zak got to know each other, Ben found it sorta odd, there weren't any monsters. Using his enhanced features, he scanned, sniffed, and heard nothing. All he got was the scent of dead corpses, which more often then not played with his senses.
Zak noticed Ben's face contort into disgust before asking, "Ben, you okay? You're not gonna be sick, are you?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. It's just it's been over an hour and we haven't ran into any monsters. My sense of smell only picked up corpses of dead bodies." Ben explained shocking Zak abit, but he did have to agree, there weren't any monsters around.
"Well as strange as it is, don't let your guard down." Zak advised which made Ben chuckle.
"Funny, was about to say the same thing to you." Ben remarked, but all jokes aside this was putting him on edge, and it seemed the group was already aware of the information, but just kept silent. Making Ben tense abit.
As they got closer, the scent of death was getting stronger. Ben cursed himself for getting his perception up so high to the point he could smell this stuff from a mile away. But as they drew closer, Ben heard a flapping noise, 'Something's coming.' On instinct, he started reaching for Riptide.
Zak noticed Ben, inching towards his sword that was strapped behind his waist, meaning something was coming. Jordan soon heard something and immediately stopped the group by raising his arm up, "Seems we have a monster that's still alive." Jordan reached for his mace and shield as everyone else drew there weapons.
The flapping noise was much louder and closer meaning it was gonna come from the sky. A large silhouette descended from the sky. It had the head of a woman, the body of lion, and the wings of an eagle.
"A Sphinx." Ben remarked.
"And a big one at that." Zak stated with a casual smirk.
"EVERYONE INTO POSITION!" Jordan screamed.
Jordan took the main position as Phillip and Lee stood behind him. Then Daniel with his bow raised, Alex beside him with his daggers raised and Charlie with his rod at the ready. Ben decided not to fight, by the looks of this group they already had it covered. Zak noticed Ben not pull his sword out.
"Are you not gonna fight?"
"No point, they have it covered." He crossed his arms over his chest.
Jordan soon used his skill taunting which immediately drew the monsters aggro to him. The Sphinx raised it's large Talon claws and immediately swiped at him only for the party leader to block it, "Phil, Lee! I've got the monsters attention. Take it apart! Charlie, Danny, probably us with some cover!"
Daniel immediately started launching a volley of arrows into the Sphinx's body. Phillip and Lee immediately launched forward and began attacking the monster from both sides. Charlie, who was a wind mage was slashing the boss from afar.
Ben and Zak watched as the party took down the Sphinx in less than ten minutes due to how effective there methods are, 'So this is how a party operates? Not bad.'
After decapitating the Sphinx, Jordan looked around at everyone, "Alright, we'll reconvene in ten minutes. Take a short break and we'll head to the bosses dungeon." The party nodded firmly before eating lunch quickly and taking a short water break.
"Huh, looks like you were right." Zak remarked as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Eh, it was obvious." He replied with a casual shrug.
"Can I ask you something?" Zak gazed over towards the teenager.
"Depends." He replied with a smirk.
"What rank are you?"
"D."
"Really? Cuz your weapons say otherwise." Zak gazed down at the trio of weapons strapped to his waist.
Ben shrugged, "I got lucky."
Zak eyed Ben for a moment before shrugging, "Are you sure it's luck and not skill?" He remarked with a laugh.
"You can say skill, but everything always comes down to luck." Ben reminded which did make a good point.
"I like you, Ben. You're not like your cousin described you."
Ben tensed for a moment, "She mentioned me?"
"Yeah, she said you were a jerk which I don't really buy. You're a nice guy, mysterious, but a nice guy."
Ben said nothing as he let the words sink in, he took a deep breath before gazing over to Zak, "This may be our first encounter, but I do hope we can be friends." He offered him a handshake.
"Of course, maybe we could even go clear some dungeons together once this one is over." Zak smiled as he shook his hand firmly.
"I think that can be arranged."
After there break ended, the party was on the move once again. This time they came upon a large pyramid, "Alright everyone, the boss was stated to be in the highest room within the pyramid. Let's me carefully and cautiously."
After he said that, Ben felt a sudden chill crawl up his spine. Causing him to tense a bit, 'What's this uneasy feeling?' He looked around nervously as they soon entered the pyramid.
Ben could confidently say, he hated mazes, but thanks to his enhanced smell he could tell which room the boss was in. It took alittle over an hour before they reached a large set of double doors. Jordan pushed open the doors to find tons and tons and tons of bluish crystals. A giant four armed clawed, two tailed scorpion laid sleep in the back.
"We hit the jackpot, boys!" Alex stated in glee as they looked at all the precious crystals.
Ben looked over to Zak, "What's up with them?"
"These crystals are worth a lot of money. Maybe going for half a million easy." Zak answered as Ben nodded along.
"Seems all those corpses we passed must have been this big guy. Safe to assume, he overate and passed out." Charlie replied as they gazed at the Scorpion who was sleeping off the monsters, it was feeding on.
'There's always a bigger fish.' Ben thought before Zak edged his elbow, "Hm?"
"Lemme see your contract." Zak asked as Ben nodded and pulled out a piece of paper he had folded up in his pocket. Zak quickly looked at his contract then at Ben's seeing the two were vastly different, "What the fuck?"
"There a problem?" Ben asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Yeah, on yours it says you get the smallest amount and it doesn't even mention mana crystals we find, but mine does. Hold on, I'll get this sorted out." Zak walked over to the group as they started dividing there cuts, "Uh, Jordan?"
Jordan turned around and grinned, "Hey Zak, something up?"
"Yeah, I was looking over me and Ben's contracts and his share is smaller than everyone elses and it doesn't even mention and mana crystals. We should be dividing it eight ways not seven."
Jordan raised an eyebrow, "Lemme see both of them." Zak nodded before handing him, his and Ben's contracts. Jordan gazed at both pieces of information, "Ben here is a, D-Rank hunter, everyone here is above C like yourself. Meaning higher ranks get the bigger share."
"But Ben is an equal part in this party, if you won't divide the number to eight then I'll share my profits with him. It's seems only fair." Zak replied with a slight glare as Jordan sighed.
"Fine, do what you want. We gotta get our excavation equipment to mine all these crystals."
"Okay, where are they?" Zak asked curiously.
"Outside the pyramid, you two wait here and we'll be back in fifteen minutes." Jordan stated firmly.
Ben's eyes narrowed, that dark chill is creeping up on him again. He had been standing beside Zak, the whole time, he didn't really care about his share of the profits he just wanted to explore the dungeons and fight monsters.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? What if the boss wakes up?"
"We've been talking at full volume this whole time. The boss is out cold. Nothing bad is gonna happen. We'll grab our equipment, mine the crystals, and we'll kill the boss together, alright?" Jordan instructed as Zak nodded hesitantly, but Ben could tell what was about to happen.
Ben watched as the party members soon left the bosses room with vicious smiles on there faces. As soon as they stood on the other side of the door, Ben's enhanced hearing picked up Jordan's last words, "Charlie, blow up the entrance."
"With pleasure!" Immediately he heard him chant before seeing the boss room entrance blasted to pieces. Ben and Zak gazed at the entrance as the mixed boy rushed to it trying to move the rubble.
"Lizards." Ben sighed, as he ran his hand through his hair in annoyance.
"NO! Dammit!" Zak shouted angrily.
'Bastards, planned this from the start.' Ben thought in annoyance.
"NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" Zak yelled as he tried pushing more rubble out the way.
Ben raced over to Zak, "Hey, calm down! We'll deal with them later. Right now, we've got bigger things to worry about."
Zak's eyes widened as he and Ben's gaze shifted over to the large Scorpion that had woken up due to the blast, shaking the room. The Scorpion roared loudly as Zak faltered abit, "How are we supposed to beat it?"
"With maximum effort." Ben grinned, as his hands found themselves on Anaklusmos and Kuzuryū's dagger.
"Are you sure about this?" Zak asked as Ben shrugged.
"Stand back, I've got this one."
"I can help you."
"Nah, bud, I need you for the moment uninjured then we'll talk, but for now. Stand back." He said swiftly as he held Anaklusmos and his Orochi fang dagger before rushing off to meet the boss.
The Scorpion launched one of it's tails at him as, Ben quickly spun out the way, before seeing the next tail launched at him. Ben slid onto his knees as he bent his back backwards as the tail sailed above his head. Ben grinned before he launched back onto his feet as the Scorpion launched its large claw hand at him. The brunette swung Anaklusmos upwards to reflect the clawed hand before ducking underneath his other large clawed hand. Using his enhanced hearing, Ben leaped over one of the smaller hands as he heard the snaps of its claws.
Ben spun around as he attempted to slash it in the back, but watched as his sword and dagger bounced off the armor plating. Ben sucked his teeth before dodging one of the tails launched at him. He leaped off the back before seeing it launched projectile stingers at him. Ben raised Riptide high, before effortlessly deflecting them. Using his momentum to keep the stingers from touching him, he launched into a series of flips, to dodge what he couldn't deflect.
Once the projectiles stopped, Ben rushed in again, 'Dash.' Ben went racing straight at the Scorpion who could do nothing as he approached at sonic speeds.
[Dash will consume 1 mp per second upon activation]
Ben bounced off the walls of the Scorpion's crystal walls at blinding speeds. Doing everything he can to slash at the Scorpion, but it didn't have any effect. Zak watched in awe at the way, Ben was moving. He watched as the Scorpion attempted to claw at his body, 'No D-Rank can move like that? Is he a false ranker?'
Ben gritted his teeth as he landed on the ground, 'None of my attacks are landing.' He gazed over his fatigue bar.
Fatigue: 47
Ben gritted his teeth as he deactivated Dash.
Mp: 1400
He had no way to penetrate it's armor. Well he did, but he didn't wanna draw it. The Scorpion launched more projectiles at him, Ben launched out of the way, he had to think of something quick. He didn't want to draw the Kusanagi-no-Tsrugui, but the way things were looking Anaklusmos and Kuzuryū's dagger don't have a way to penetrate the armor.
He looked the Scorpion closely it's armor was extremely tough on his back and arms, a little light on the tail's, and left bare on the legs. He grinned, 'I've got my opening.' He rushed forward, flipping and spinning through the launched projectiles as the clawed hands rushed to meet the teenager half way. Ben spun narrowly dodging one claw, he flipped over another, he bent his back all the way back again as another sailed over his head. The Scorpion seeing it's opening launched its tail straight at him as he came back up sending him flying into the wall.
Hp: 1620
Ben coughed up blood as he collided on the ground, he saw the Scorpion raising its tail to launch more projectiles at him, when all he saw was orange. Zak had created a shield of to stop the stingers from hitting him, "Ben, are you okay?!"
Ben looked at his fatigue bar.
Fatigue: 78
He was getting exhausted and he was slowing down, "Dammit. Zak, I'm gonna need you to get out of the way alright." He groaned as his ribs objected to his plea to get back up.
"You can still fight? We can't beat something like this alone!"
"Don't worry, I have a trump card." Ben gritted his teeth as he sheathed Kuzuryū's dagger, 'Alright, let's try you out, Kusanagi-no-Tsrugui.' He stood up slowly before grabbing hold of the burgundy hilt, "On my signal, drop the shield."
Zak was a bit hesitant, but saw him grip the third hidden weapon. He didn't want Ben to die, but he had to trust him, "Alright, Ben, I trust you. And pray you know what you're doing."
'I do too.' Ben thought as he nodded, "On my signal." Zak nodded, "3.."
"2..."
"...1..." Zak dropped the shield as Ben raced forward deflecting the remaining stingers as he withdrew Kusanagi-no-Tsrugui from its sheathe. He dropped his right arm as he brought up the legendary blade and slashed straight through a stinger. Ben didn't have time to relax as he raced forward with his left arm raised high as he deflected the approaching stingers.
The Scorpion launched its tail at him, but Ben glared straight at him as he dodged the appendage, but he slashed straight through the armor and the tail watching as the Scorpion howled in pain. The tail flew across the ground, but Ben wasn't letting up, "Dash!"
[Dash will consume 1 mp per second upon activation]
Once again he was launching off the cavern walls, but this time, once he slashed the Scorpion, the Kusanagi-no-Tsrugui, slashed straight through the armor. Hearing the Scorpion roar in pain. He spun through the air as he slashed through one of its large arms. The discarded limb landed on the ground, but Ben wasn't done. He was gonna tear this thing to pieces.
He zipped over and slashed the other tail off, he rushed all over the scorpion, disemboding the scorpion. He soon cut the legs off, then the smaller left arm, the smaller right arm, and lastly the larger right arm. After all its body parts were servered, Ben landed infront of the monster, "It's time to die." Ben rushed forward as he stabbed the monster straight through the head and quickly ran his blade all the way to the end of his back, slashing it in half.
Ben dropped to his knees, in exhaustion when the system window popped up.
[You have defeated the dungeon Boss!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[Dungeon will close in one hour.]
Ben feeling his fatigue wash away as he attempted to stand up. When Zak helped him up, "Whoa man, how'd you do that?!"
"Trade secret." He smirked as he gazed at the blade in his hand. It seemed to shimmer at him, like it was smiling at him, 'Good to know, I can count on you Kusanagi.' He spun the sword around before he placed it back in its sheathe.
"How are we gonna get outta here?" Zak asked when Ben picked up footsteps coming from outside the bosses room.
"You think the Scorpion ate there bodies?"
"Probably, it's been twenty minutes already, meaning the Scorpion ate and went back to sleep. We have plenty of time to mine the crystals."
"Sounds like a plan, boss."
"Charlie, remove the rubble."
"On it."
"Ben, is something wrong?" Zak asked when Ben gripped Riptide tightly.
"We're not alone anymore." Is all Zak got before the exit which was covered in rubble, blasted outwards revealing Jordan and his gang of C-Rankers.
The group of traitors walked in and noticed the two hunters still alive, when they saw the Scorpion butchered to pieces. The Scorpion lair was completely silent, when Jordan started laughing.
"Awesome, awesome, awesome. I seemed to have underestimated you, Zak Saturday, son of Solomon 'Doc' Saturday and Drew Saturday. Two leading scientists in Cryptozoology." Jordan laughed which made Ben and Zak share a look, "I know this D-Rank wasn't any help to you. Well I'll offer an apology and a chance to join us. If you kill Mr. Ben Tennyson here, the black sheep of the Tennyson family. I doubt anyone would miss a screw up like him."
Ben's anger was skyrocketing, but he tried to keep his usual poker face. Zak on the other hand was speechless, "Ben is my friend and I'd rather trust my life to him than a bunch of backstabbing pussies like you!"
Jordan sighed, "Then you can die with him. Charlie, light him up."
"With pleasure, boss!" Charlie's hand was soon engulfed in a cloud of wind as he blasted Ben straight off his feet. Zak watched with wide eyes as Ben went sailing across the bosses room.
"BEN!"
"What a weakling? Only took one blast and he was out like a light." Jordan soon paused to laugh as did his associates, "I wonder if his cousin Gwendolyn is stronger than this." He grinned maliciously.
Ben layed in the caved in hole, as blood trailed down his face, 'Why is this happening? What have I done to deserve this fate? Why can't I escape the echoes of weakness from my past? Why am I always compared to her? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? WHY? WHY?"
Hp: 1970
Ben's eyes dilated, as a blue screen popped up infront of his face.
[Emergency Quest: Extermination!]
[There are Players who have killing intent towards you in a close proximity. Slay them and ensure your safety.]
[If this quest isn't completed, your heart will stop!]
[Number of players to kill: 6]
[Number of players killed: 0]
'Yes, the system. I help it, it helps me. In order to grow stronger, I must do what I have to do.'
'Ben, If you feel like your life is being threatened you will kill if necessary.' He heard his grandpa's voice echo out.
"I will, grandpa." Ben stated firmly before crawling out the hole, garnering everyone's attention. Ben reached into his pocket as everyone got a glimpse of a pen, he had stashed there.
Everyone, but Zak started laughing at him, "Look he brought out a pen!"
"Ohh, I'm so scared!" They laughed even harder as he approached.
"Charlie, why'd you hold back. I told you to kill him." Jordan laughed before reprimanding him.
"I guess I held back a bit." He chuckled, 'I put everything I had into that attack.'
Alex walked over with a grin on his face as he threw an arm over his shoulder, "Benny, ole boy, I'm sure you don't understand the situation you're in. I'm gonna let you know that-" He didn't get a chance to finish when a long sword was stabbed straight through his throat. Ben slashed through as his head when collided with the ground, "Huh?" Was the last thing Alex, asked as he noticed everything was upside down. Blood erupted like a volcano from his decapitation.
[Number of Players Killed: 1]
[Number of Players to Kill: 5]
Zak, Jordan, and his group watch with horror in there eyes as Ben's head finally lifted. His eyes caused everyone within the room to step back. His once emerald eyes, was a dull shade of green, losing its lack of life. When he opened his voice it sent chills down everyone's back, "That's 1."
'What just happened?' Jordan thought, 'One second he was holding a pen the next a sword. He didn't draw the dagger from his waist or the burgundy one either. So where did that sword come from? And how did he kill Alex, he was a low C-Rank thief, no one should be able to sneak an attack on him.'
"Charlie, don't hold back this time! INCINERATE HIM!" Jordan ordered as Charlie lifted up his hand when Ben was infront of him in the blink of an eye.
"Your an eyesore." Ben muttered into the blonde's ear as he slashed him in a matter of seconds and soon appeared behind him. Everyone watched as Charlie exploded into chunks of flesh and blood.
[Number of Players Killed: 2]
[Number of Players to Kill: 4]
Daniel drew his bow and arrows and started shooting at him. Ben slashed through the airs like paper before vanishing through the air. Daniel looked everywhere for him until he bumped into someone, he turned his head slightly only for a sword to be plunged into his chest. He gasped, but that gasp was shortlived when said sword was moved upwards as he was split in two.
[Number of Players Killed: 3]
[Number of Players to Kill: 3]
"YOU BASTARD!" Phillip screamed as he and Lee rushed the teenager who rocked on the balls of his feet.
Lee attempted to slash him, when Ben weaved out the way, slicing his arm off in the process. Lee dropped to the floor in anguish at losing his good hand. Ben plunged his sword into Lee's throat before slashing through his neck as he decapitated him. Phillip rushed him again slashing the air, but Ben was faster as he dodged and weaved his attacks, "Is this the best you can do?"
Phillip gritted his teeth as he attempted to slice him to ribbons. Ben sighed as he ducked and spun around rapidly slicing through Phillip who gasped in shock. He gazed down to see Ben had slashed him in half. His body collided with the ground entrails spilling out from both ends of him, he screamed in pain as Ben walked over and plunged his sword into his head, ending his life.
[Number of Players Killed: 5]
[Number of Players to Kill: 1]
Jordan watched as Ben had completely slaughtered his team, 'He was able to takedown everyone. So was he the one who defeated the Scorpion?' He watched as Ben soon turned his gaze over to him, 'He may be strong, but he's not stronger than me!' He grinned as he pulled his mace and shield out.
Jordan soon blinked when he noticed Ben was gone, making his eyes widen as he reappeared beside him, grabbing him by his face and slamming him straight through the floor, 'What just happened?' Jordan thought in shock.
Ben stood over Jordan, looking at him with disgust, "You're wondering what happened aren't you?" Jordan's eyes once again widened as Ben grinned slightly, "You and your backstabbing teams just got owned by a D-Rank. You know what that means?"
Jordan didn't say anything as Ben continued, "It means you're weak. You asked if my cousin was stronger than this, but I'll give you an answer. You won't be finding out."
Jordan's eyes widened in fear as Ben smiled, "Do-Don't thin-think you're go-gonna get aw-away with th-this. Do you know who my younger brother is?!"
"No, because if he comes here. I'll kill him too. He'll be joining you in the hottest pits of Hell. Besides, we're in a dungeon, no one will ever know what goes on in here." Jordan was left speechless when Ben raised his sword up, "Any last words?"
"Ple-please, don't ki-kill me. The cry-crystals, take th-them there yours. Please, have mer-mercy." Jordan begged as Ben glared at him.
"Save your pathetic pleas, and die with the last shred of dignity you still have." Ben snarled as he slashed his throat, Jordan roared in pain as blood immediately started pouring out of his throat.
He quickly saw his life flashing before his eyes as his final breath drew closer, "Joshua." Ben watched as Jordan went limp as his eyes met the Emergency quest.
[Number of Players Killed: 6]
[Number of Players to Kill: 0]
[Congratulations on completing the Emergency Quest: Extermination!]
[You have leveled up!]
Ben sighed, his eyes returning to normal. He looked around at the massacre that occurred, 'I did it, grandpa, I may not enjoy it, but it's done.' He looked over to Zak who was still watching, "Sorry." Zak quickly shook himself of his stupor, "I'll grab the Bosses core, grab as many crystals as you can carry." He instructed as Zak nodded and immediately got to work grabbing a few crystals from the wall.
After ten minutes, the duo was racing out the dungeon. Ben grabbed a hold of Zak's collar and immediately sped off using dash. The duo went speeding down the dunes of the sand heading to the exit which was five miles away. He could feel the ground rumbling below as he knew the gate was closing. He gritted his teeth and tried pushing himself further to get to the gate. The ground below started breaking up as Ben with Zak started leaping through the caved in grounds as the portal came within range. Ben raced across the dunes as Zak did his best to hold onto the crystals they managed to obtain. Ben could see a large hole above the portal and clicked his teeth.
"Hold on to the crystals!" He shouted as Zak managed a weak.
"WHAT?"
Ben gripped Zak tightly as he placed everything into this approaching leap. The duo soared towards the portal, Ben wanting his friend to survive tossed him in first.
Zak appeared on the other side with the crystals when he noticed Ben soar from the portal as the bluish portal closed behind them, "You okay." Zak asked as Ben nodded.
"Zak, promise me, you won't mention what happened in there."
"Ben, they attacked us first-"
"Just promise me, okay? Let's keep it between us." Ben stood up with a small smile, "I'll buy you a meal." He waved him goodbye.
In the early morning, of New York City, a highrise studio apartment, a large muscular black man rose from his bed as tears started streaming down his face. He gazed over to his large window into the vast city which never slept, "Why am I crying?" He mumbled to himself as he gazed into the never ending city.
To Be Continued...
A/N: Hope u guys enjoyed tht. Now like Ben said, the reason he's not more hateful is because of Ken. Ken will be like the older brother, Ben wishes he has. If it weren't for Ken, Ben would be in a far worse state than what we've witnessed. I also introduced Zak Saturday, he won't be as insufferable as Jinho was. Next chapter, I'll try to explain the universe more try to clear a few things up so we're not all confused.