My Scumbag System Chapter 485: Standard Operating Procedure for Two Prodigies

We navigated through the warehouse district, my gaze actively searching for the distinct Gate markers. The early morning sun stretched long shadows between the structures, creating an eerie, deserted atmosphere despite our central city location.

"So," Isabelle began, her voice casual as she walked ahead, "five women."

My stride faltered, nearly causing me to stumble. "What are you talking about?"

"Don’t play coy, Nakano. It’s not your style." She cast a glance over her shoulder, her wine-red eyes twinkling with amusement. "Natalia, the healer with the blue hair, the illusionist, the President’s sister, and that boisterous blonde who’s always adjusting her top when you’re around."

"Have you been observing me that intently?"

"My observation extends to everything." A graceful shoulder moved in a shrug. "It’s become a habit."

"They’re just friends."

"And I’m just a simple village girl." A soft snort escaped her. "Come now. The air temperature plummets by twenty degrees whenever Natalia notices another woman interacting with you."

I had no counterargument for that. Natalia’s jealousy possessed a power that could potentially solve global warming if only it could be properly harnessed.

"What’s your motive for bringing this up?" I inquired, shifting the weight of my bat onto my shoulder.

"No specific motive. Purely curiosity." She halted at a street corner, consulting the directions on her tracker device. "We turn left here. And please, do try to keep pace."

We proceeded down an alleyway, flanked by dilapidated cargo containers. The air was a blend of saltwater and aged metal.

"Does it trouble you?" The question escaped me before I could stop it.

"Your… entourage? Why should it?"

"It’s not an—" I cut myself off. "Never mind."

Isabelle emitted a laugh, a sound so rare and melodious that it drew my attention. She rarely laughed. "For someone seemingly involved with five different women, you’re quite reserved about acknowledging it."

"I’m not reserved. It’s complicated."

"Life invariably presents complexities, Nakano. The distinction lies in how we navigate them." She stopped abruptly, raising a hand. "We’re nearing our destination."

The atmosphere had subtly shifted—a palpable thickness had developed, accompanied by a faint electrical charge that caused the hairs on my arms to prickle. This was reality sickness, the initial indicator of a Gate’s proximity.

We rounded the corner into an open lot situated between two warehouses. And there it was—a dazzling, vertical rift in reality, approximately fifteen feet in height, its surface undulating like disturbed water. The Gate’s characteristic blue hue confirmed its standard classification.

Two VHC guards stood watch near the perimeter, their demeanor seemingly indifferent. One’s gaze lifted as we approached.

"Identification and clearance," the guard commanded.

We presented our temporary authorization bands. The guard consulted his tablet to verify them.

"Standard C-Rank Blue. Predominantly brute-type spawns with moderate carapace durability. A singular humanoid Boss-class entity resides at the core." The information spilled out of him as if he were reading a shopping list. "Your team designation?"

"Just the two of us," Isabelle responded.

The guard’s brow furrowed. "The minimum team size for a C-Rank is four."

"Exception protocol seven-three," Isabelle stated smoothly. "Kindly verify your database."

The guard tapped on his tablet, his frown deepening before he exhaled. "Understood. The Abdicated Queen. Your exception is officially noted." He gestured with his thumb towards the Gate. "You have seven hours before internal pressure reaches critical levels. Good luck with your hunt."

As we moved towards the Gate, I turned to Isabelle. "Exception protocol?"

"I managed solo operations for two years prior to my Academy enrollment." She adjusted her gauntlets. "My past performance is well-documented."

"And that’s why they refer to you as the Abdicated Queen?"

A fleeting expression crossed her face. "It’s merely a moniker. Are you prepared?"

I tightened my grip on my bat. Determination hardening my expression. "Ready."

Entering a Gate always induces disorientation—akin to plunging into frigid water while simultaneously being spun rapidly. For a fleeting moment, reality wavers, senses become jumbled, and then, we emerge on the other side.

The interior of the Gate materialized around us—an immense cavern system, its walls emitting a soft, pulsing blue luminescence. The air was heavy with humidity and carried the scent of damp stone and a faint rotten odor.

"Charming, isn’t it," Isabelle commented softly, removing her spear from her back. With a swift movement of her wrist, the weapon extended to its full length, a gleaming six-foot length of lethal metal tipped with a razor-sharp point that glinted under the ethereal blue light.

We advanced with caution, the silence broken only by our footsteps and the sporadic patter of water droplets from the cavern ceiling.

"Allow me to take the lead," I offered. "My regeneration capabilities are superior to yours."

Isabelle’s eyebrow arched slightly. "Are they? I don’t recall enhanced regeneration being listed among your officially registered abilities."

Damn. She had caught me in a misstep.

"Just a figure of speech," I quickly retracted. "What I meant is I’m more resilient to taking damage."

"Hmm." That single sound conveyed a significant measure of doubt, yet she permitted me to proceed ahead without further objection.

We ventured deeper, the passage expanding into a spacious chamber that branched into numerous paths, a typical setup for a Gate, designed to confuse and divide intruders.

"Left or right?" I inquired.

Isabelle briefly closed her eyes, her head tilted as if perceiving sounds beyond my hearing. "Left. The airflow is more pronounced from that direction, indicating a larger area ahead."

I acknowledged her assessment with a nod, genuinely impressed. It wasn't an Aspect-based perception; her senses were simply that finely honed.

After proceeding about fifty yards down the left tunnel, I felt it—that familiar prickling sensation at the nape of my neck, signaling imminent danger. I halted, signaling her with an outstretched hand.

Isabelle froze instantly behind me, her posture becoming taut, like a spring wound to its limit.

"How many?" she whispered.

"Uncertain," I replied, my voice a low murmur. "But they are close. Judging by the sound, there are multiple threats."

As if on cue, a cacophony of skittering sounds echoed from the darkness ahead—the sharp, distinct clatter of numerous hard, chitinous legs striking the stone floor in an unusual rhythm. The tunnel’s acoustics amplified the noise, making precise counting impossible.

"Stand clear," Isabelle stated calmly, advancing with an unhurried elegance, as if entering a ballroom rather than a potential battlefield. A subtle distortion began to emanate from her, a faint shimmering like heatwaves over asphalt on a summer day. Then, the wind responded, coalescing into threads of visible, emerald-green energy that swirled around her form like living silk. Her Aspect, Fujin, was awakening.

The first creature emerged from the gloom, and I instantly grasped why these dungeons held such a high fatality rate for unprepared individuals.

It was a beetle, though describing it as such felt woefully inadequate. This creature rivaled a fully grown mastiff in size, its segmented exoskeleton glistening with an oily sheen under the dim light cast by our equipment. Six jagged legs, each as thick as my forearm, supported a bulbous, armored body that appeared capable of withstanding direct small-arms fire. At its front, a pair of massive pincers snapped open and shut with an audible *clack*, their serrated inner edges glinting like organic saws.

And then, it was not alone.

Five more of these horrifying entities scuttled from the shadows behind their apparent leader. Their movements were unnervingly synchronized as they spread out, forming a semi-circle that completely sealed the tunnel’s width. Their multifaceted eyes reflected our lights like countless tiny, malevolent mirrors.

"Gate-Beetles," Isabelle identified, her voice as steady as if she were merely observing the weather. The wind swirling around her intensified, accompanied by a low hum that filled the air. "Individually, they are D-Rank. Lacking complex intelligence, but their coordinated pack behavior and those formidable pincers make them significantly more dangerous in groups. I've witnessed them bisect fully grown men."

"Wonderful," I muttered, adjusting my grip on the baseball bat. Its familiar weight provided a sense of reassurance.

"A standard flanking maneuver would be ideal." The green aura surrounding Isabelle flared brighter, her wine-red hair lifting as if suspended in water, defying gravity. She resembled an ancient war goddess poised to descend upon the battlefield. "I will engage the three on the right flank. You will handle the left. We will converge in the center once our respective sides are cleared."

She paused, her crimson eyes briefly meeting mine with what seemed like genuine concern. "And Satori? Endeavor, with all your might, to avoid being bisected. Their mandibles generate approximately twelve thousand newtons of force per square centimeter. They can sever standard Hunter armor as if it were mere tissue."

A short, dry laugh escaped me despite the grave situation. "Yes, I shall certainly strive to avoid that particular fate. Noted and filed under 'undesirable occurrences for today'."

The beetles charged simultaneously, their legs a blur against the stone floor. I silently activated Kinetic Absorption, preparing to absorb the initial impact to fuel my abilities.

The lead beetle lunged at me, pincers extended. I sidestepped its attack, allowing it to pass before swinging my bat down with full force onto its carapace. The shell cracked with a gratifying crunch, but the creature only staggered, not falling.

They were more resilient than they appeared.

The second beetle managed to clip my side, its mandibles scraping against my armor but failing to penetrate fully. The Kinetic Absorption engaged, converting fifteen percent of the impact’s force into temporary strength.

A familiar surge of power coursed through me, akin to a potent jolt of caffeine hitting my very bloodstream. My subsequent strike was markedly quicker and more forceful, striking the wounded beetle directly between its antennae. This time, its exoskeleton fractured completely, with dark ichor painting the air from the injury.

One down.

Out of the corner of my vision, Isabelle was a whirlwind against her adversaries, her spear a swift blur as she thrust and parried with extraordinary deftness. The verdant wind enveloping her deflected the beetles’ assaults, thwarting their mandibles at the crucial final moment.

My remaining two beetles circled me with caution, evidently having learned from their fallen companion's demise. They were strategizing, aiming to outmaneuver me from opposing flanks.

I smirked. Splendid.

I allowed one to charge directly at me while the other maneuvered to attack from behind. At the last possible instant, I invoked the Shade Cloak, momentarily vanishing into the darkness. The beetles collided with each other in a disturbing, sharp crack.

As I reappeared, I brought my bat down upon both of them in a singular, formidable sweep that shattered their conjoined carapaces. More ichor splattered across the stone flooring, emitting a faint hiss upon impact.

I turned to offer assistance to Isabelle, only to discover her standing serenely amidst three deceased beetles, not a single hair out of its place. Her spear was adorned with the same dark effluence that coated my bat.

"Competently handled," she remarked, her tone conveying a hint of commendation.

"High praise, considering its source."

She offered a subtle smile. "I reserve my most significant accolades for performances that are truly outstanding."

"I shall endeavor to exert greater effort on the next occasion."

"See that you do." She twirled her spear, sending droplets of ichor scattering against the wall. "Shall we proceed?"