I hear the confident voice of a woman fill my ears as Leo disappears through the front entrance of the wooden cabin.

My other teammates are a few steps ahead of me, so they enter and I follow soon after.

Taking one last look over my shoulder, making a mental note of the open desert and lonely deserted town, I walk through the tavern's front door.

A bit of dust has kicked up from the 5 of us walking through, but it settles as I shut the heavy wooden frame behind me.

The sight inside is about what I expected.

Theres a few rectangular tables that line the walls and a long wooden bar at the back of the room. Stone walls and visible support beams jut out, making the room feel much cozier and well-built than it seemed from the outside.

To my right, about 5 meters away, there's another smaller bar, but with no drinks or food. Mana crystals and potions line the shelves like a mini-mart and an old man sits behind it with a kind smile.

It seems a bit out of place at first, but still not too surprising. Hunters come through every town, it'd be a waste not to serve our needs.

The sight that catches my eye next is the woman named Charlotte. This is the person that greeted the silver-haired artificer as he walked through the door.

She's.... also... almost exactly what I expected after hearing her voice.

A slightly heavy-set, red-haired woman greets us with a wide white smile. Her voice is much deeper than Maria's or Abby's but still has a unique feminine charm to it. Her laugh rings out through the room, making this woman the center of attention.

"Welcome, welcome! You're the new hunters they were telling me about aren't ya! Come on, take a seat!"

Still analyzing the scene, I walk forward. The 5 of us pass a few lone old men sitting at various tables with drinks and empty plates. If I had to guess, they've been here all night...

Some stare, others keep their heads down, but none say a word as we make out way over to the smiling woman with rosy red cheeks.

She turns around and starts gripping wooden mugs, filling them up with a golden brown liquid from a barrel behind the counter.

"Welcome to The Wall, or as the association calls it The Gate. We're one of the only ways into Section 4."

The genuine smile across Leo's face grows as he watches the woman work. Eventually, he motions for us to sit down at one of the nearby tables up close to the bar area.

As soon as we sit down, Charlotte comes walking over with handfuls of drinks. Every time she gets near all my worries seem to fade away, all I want to do is smile back.

I hear Arie make a comment from my left side.

"Now this is how ya treat guests! Draft beers with the rising sun, we should start all our mission like this."

The loose braided hair of our redheaded waitress bobs behind her as she sets our drinks down on the table. Leo speaks up the moment she does.

"The usual, a plate for all 5 of us. These 4 have a mission on the other side of the wall today. They need to be ready."

She smirks, pushing a drink to each of us and letting her gaze wander up and down until her green eyes meet mine.

"You, you're the one Brutus told me to keep an eye on. No trouble until you leave, got it?"

Leo shrugs while Maria and Abby giggle.

I throw my hands in the air but graciously take the drink she pushes towards me while rolling my eye and responding.

"Great to meet you too, I'm Jay."

She gives me a firm nod, matching my smile, then begins to turn around.

"I read up on each of you before you arrived, so save the intros. I know you better than you know yourselves."

Leo smirks and whispers to us in a hinged tone.

"She's probably right. Charlotte is... very perceptive."

I squint, activating my Inspect and Appraisal skills as she walks behind the cluttered bar, yelling something through a door to what seems to be a small backroom kitchen.

———————————————

[Lv. 243]

Active Items:

[Enchanted Earrings] +55% Mental Strength

Active Skills:

Inspect [Special Grade]

Charm [Special Grade]

_________________________

I let out a light sign under my breath, relieved that she doesn't have any perception skills that are able to pick out any details I'm not looking to share.

This is the second person I've met with a special grade inspect skill, unfortunately, the first gave his up to me in the heat of battle back in my hometown.

I know how it works because I have it. She can see all of our levels, that's about it... Charm on the other hand, I've never heard of a skill like this.

I can only imagine what It does.

I deactivate my skills but continue to hold my tight gaze. Abby interrupts my concentration posing a question to Leo.

"So, now that we've been blindly dragged halfway across the country, could you explain a bit about our mission? Gates? Sections? Why these dungeons are all breaking? I need some answers here."

Arie tips the back of his mug to the ceiling as he finishes his drink in a single gulp. The archer places the mug back on the table firmly, grinning, and crossing his arms without saying a word.

Maria turns to the silver-haired man wide-eyed, ready to hear what he has to say. I do the same, but still, keep an eye on the redhead leaning up against the door of the backroom.

Leo nods and replies.

"Understandable. I think we can get into the details now."

He leans forward, placing both hands on the wooden table with a light thud. Our drinks slosh and the room goes silent.

"The wall outside stretches across the entire dark continent. It was built after the Great War just 50 years ago. The Association refers to the land inside this first wall as Gate 1."

I bring my mug of cool liquid to my lips, chugging some, but immediately feel my passive poison resistance skill activate nullifying its effects.

Leo goes on.

"As you've probably inferred, the fact that the gate is labeled with a number means there are more inner gates. Our mission today has nothing to do with them. To make it easier on all of you, let's say the dark continent is a perfect circle. Clearly, it's not. It's more of a jagged sideways egg shape, but a circle will be good for a visual."

My mind begins to wonder, piecing together all the information that's been given so far as the silver-haired artificer goes on.

"So.... A Circle. With the inner walls of Gate 2 cutting out the center, we're left with a doughnut-shaped landmass. It's cut into 4 sections pretty evenly, leaving us with 4 curved sections. We're on the lower east side of the continent. Section 4."

The 4 of us at the table nod, thinking to ourselves as this all becomes a bit more clear.

Then, Arie speaks up.

"What about the towns inside? I know the Association doesn't care one bit to supply them with resources to survive, but I clearly remember back in our meeting we were told to protect them at all costs. You have anything to say about that?"

Leo tightens his lips and nods.

"They're human beings. Of course, we'll protect them. The government's allocation of resources is not my field of expertise, I just work here... I'm not exactly sure what you want me to say about this. A lot of the Dark Continent towns and cities were founded by rogues and runways after the war. Even though the new generations may be innocent people, they still don't have a right to citizenship in our nation. They'd have to go through immigration just like any foreigner would."

Arie lets out a light scoff, rolling his eyes, then shrugging it off. He raises his mug and makes eye contact with Charlotte in the back of the room. She shouts back.

"Another round coming up, your meals are almost ready too."

Arie turns back to Leo.

"I was just curious on your position, no hard feelings."

Leo nods.

"None taken."

He looks over to Abby.

"I believe you have the map that shows the rough positioning of each break. Also, you all know how to clear a dungeon right...? I assume you've done it before if you've gotten this far."

Abby replies.

"Yeah, all we have to do is take out the mutant boss and the dungeon will collapse. Even the monsters that escaped from the break will disappear from the surrounding area."

Leo nods.

"Perfect, after we eat and get your housing situated. I'll let Charlotte lead you to the gate so you can begin your mission."

I grin excitedly. It's been ages since I got to witness a break firsthand. There's always much better loot from mutant drops, and even unique skills sometimes.

This is going to be a fun mission.

I hear the redheaded bartender come skipping over with two massive circular trays of steaming hot breakfast foods along with juices and water.

"Dig in, you all have a long day ahead of you!"