Luke got into the museum through a broken part while the four hunters set up their gear. They were facing the other way, so they couldn’t see him sneak behind them.

"See? We made it. They have no idea we’re even here."

Luke patted his jacket pocket.

The creature inside spoke back.

"I still think this is a bad idea. I’m sure your principal would love to see you sleeping safely in your bed."

Luke ignored Amigo as he walked through the creepy lobby of the old museum. There was nothing to see but broken art and sculptures, but in the center, there was the portal he had come for.

Luke summoned his armor pieces instantly and jumped in. This was a Beta-grade dungeon. When he was little, his father told him stories about how he cleared Beta-grades for sport. So, Luke didn’t see why he should be afraid.

〖Warning: You are entering a Beta-Rank Dungeon!〗

〖Objective: Defeat the Boss!〗

What kind of dungeon is this?

Luke expected a muddy cave or a swamp, but the dungeon was the cleanest he had ever seen. The floor was tiled, and the walls were paneled, looking like a cross-dimensional hotel.

Just seconds after his arrival, a group of monsters came running down the hallway. Crystal Sentries.

"Master, look out!" Amigo warned. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Luke knew exactly what to do. The sentries were about ten, tall, skinny monsters made of green glass. Just by launching at them, Luke got the upper hand as he thrust his arm, punching through one of them.

CRACK!

Within a minute, all ten were reduced to red dust, and Luke absorbed them as Flame.

"That was too easy, master," Amigo commended. "You have given me confidence. Now, I think you might actually be able to clear this whole place before the party even steps inside!"

Meanwhile, back at the entrance of the museum, the four professional hunters were having a great time setting up their perimeter. A special device that looked like a tent pole was deployed. By sticking it into the dirt, they activated a grid that sealed off the area, ensuring nothing could slip past the zone.

"Alright, that’s the barrier device in place," the leader said as he tapped a tablet on his wrist to finish the registration. "Confederacy office, this is Team Blue Crow. We have arrived at the Skelton Town Beta-grade gate. Registering our legal blockade now."

A robotic voice spoke back from the tablet.

>>>"Registration confirmed. Portal is now legally locked to Team Blue Crow. You have four hours of clearance."

"Perfect," the leader said, looking at his team. "Let’s summon our beasts so we can do this the right way."

The other three hunters nodded, and soon, four beast outlines appeared around them.

The leader summoned a Flame-Wing Hawk. The first girl brought a Shadow Panther to life, and the remaining two were paired with Iron-Armored Boars. None of these beasts were anywhere near Lesser-grade, making them standard for a Bronze party like this one.

Team Blue Crow wandered confidently to the portal with their summons following closely.

Huh?

The other members stopped walking when they noticed their leader had stopped a couple of steps ago. The leader looked like he was sniffing danger. Also, the Flame-Wing Hawk on his shoulder preened his hair as if communicating.

"What’s wrong?" one member asked.

"Stop talking for a second," the leader said as he walked closer to the portal. Once he was close enough, he reached out and felt the air around it. Usually, a fresh portal feels cold and stable, but this one was vibrating slightly, and the atmosphere around it felt warmer, like it had been used recently.

"The portal has been triggered," the leader said. "Someone has already entered."

The first woman thought he was joking, so she laughed. "How could someone get here before us? I don’t recall seeing a roadrunner when we drove for miles."

"Bitch, the energy is gone," the leader replied. "Someone stole our dungeon. If you were half as powerful as I am, you would sense it."

The rest of the party exchanged looks of confusion and frustration. Whoever infiltrated their dungeon didn’t know how difficult it was to acquire it. Now, all their efforts were in vain.

"You told us you were checking the track and monitoring the route!"

"I was! But the network was lagging! I told you the signal was bad, but you said to just keep driving!"

They started blaming themselves.

"Well, maybe if you didn’t stop for those snacks at the gas station, we would have beaten them!"

"Shut up, all of you!" the leader growled angrily. "The loot is worth ten thousand! Whoever that’s in there, they just took our paycheck!"

"Then let’s go get it back!" the one named Billy yelled, grabbing his sword.

"Yes!" the others encouraged. "If someone is in there, they aren’t going to get away with it. We’ll go in, we’ll find them, and we’ll show them what happens when you steal from Team Blue Crow!"