Level Up The Colony
Chapter 57: Flying solo?

Chapter 57: Flying solo?

Miriam could only stare blankly at Timothy for a moment as he munched on his sandwich, before silently looking away.

Whatever was going through her mind, Timothy couldn’t guess and frankly, he didn’t see any fault in what he’d said.

So he let the silence linger.

Time passed, and she eventually joined him in the kitchen, making a sandwich for herself.

"What’s with this excessive amount of bread?" Miriam asked, raising a brow.

"Why don’t you ever cook properly?"

"First, I love bread. It’s a universal food portable, multipurpose, and fits the diet of both the rich and the poor," Timothy replied, deliberately highlighting the class difference, with himself clearly leaning toward the latter.

"Second, I do cook," he continued.

"But not when I’m raiding. It’s unpredictable. So I keep things clean and minimal around the house, just in case I don’t make it back when I expect to."

He silently recalled the time distortion from the goblin dungeon, how a moment turned into a full month.

Leaving a pot of soup simmering,, under those circumstances would’ve meant returning to rot and ruin.

After eating, Timothy left her to finish up while he stepped outside to complete his daily quest.

It was broad daylight, and although the neighbors had gotten used to his strange habits, they never missed the chance to gossip about them.

He returned, sweating and breathing evenly, and summoned his system.

[Daily Quest Completed]

[You have received 4 free stat points]

[Do you wish to claim your rewards? Y/N]

He selected "Yes."

[Choose a Reward]

1. Full Recovery

2. +3 Stat Points

3. Random Box

...

After a moment of thought, he chose the +3 stat points.

Random boxes were useful but inconsistent.

Right now, he needed control and precision.

[Status]

Name: Timothy Walter

Title: Goblin Slayer, Mount.

Trait: Hybrid <Unstable>

Level: 27

HP: 9,300

MP: 200

Fatigue: 20

Strength: 60

Stamina: 50

Agility: 60

Intelligence: 100

Perception: 60

Free Stat Points: 23

[Inventory]

Blessed Thermoflask

T’Challa’s Tooth

Nebulux Orb (2)

Veleno Orb (3)

...

The Veleno Orb, his last random box reward was particularly handy.

The system notification said It emitted a poisonous gas, which paired well with his partial immunity thanks to his hybrid trait with Gray.

It was a strategic addition to his arsenal.

After relaxing for a while and making sure everything was ready, he checked the time: just a few minutes past eight.

"Don’t you have any equipment for the raid?" Timothy asked, looking over at Miriam.

"No. My gear became practically useless after the reawakening. I’m a healer through and through. And don’t look down on me, I have basic combat training," she replied with mild indignation.

"Then we should get moving," Timothy said as he stood.

"We don’t know how long this one drag on."

They wrapped up quickly.

Timothy strapped Gray onto his back using his signature scarf, and Miriam followed close behind.

Their clothes were casual, far from what one would expect from hunters heading into a raid.

As expected, a vehicle was already waiting outside.

Timothy approached the driver and asked if Miriam could ride with him since they were both part of the raid.

After a brief back-and-forth and a confirmation call to the association, the driver agreed.

They notified the other assigned vehicle to cancel Miriam’s pickup.

They entered the vehicle without a word.

The journey was quite eerily so.

Neither spoke for the entire two hours.

Maybe it was tension.

Maybe it was just the mutual unease that came with anything tied to the government.

For Timothy, that discomfort ran deep.

Eventually, they reached Emohua, a quiet, semi-rural area not far from Etche, where Timothy’s uncle lived.

Thankfully, the distance gave him some peace of mind; whatever chaos this raid stirred up, his uncle’s home wouldn’t be affected.

Another thirty minutes passed as they drove through poorly maintained roads and narrow paths under construction.

By the time they arrived at the raid zone, it was well past 10 a.m. fashionably late as usual.

That had become Timothy’s signature.

As they stepped out, calm and composed, a few gazes turned their way, hunters sizing them up.

Their casual attire drew murmurs, especially with Timothy carrying what looked like a makeshift backpack and walking beside a woman.

They reached the security line, flashing their ID cards as proof of identity.

Timothy immediately noticed it, every single hunter present was B-rank, each emanating distinct auras of varying intensity.

It wasn’t a casual gathering.

This was serious.

Miriam kept her composure, but he could tell she was forcing it.

He remembered how she behaved in the double dungeon, quiet and reserved, until everything hit the fan.

Then, she’d given everything to heal the injured.

Knowing what he now knew, that every act of healing came at a personal cost he understood why she now valued her own life more carefully.

As they joined the gathered team, someone scoffed nearby.

"Do they think this is a picnic? Dressing like that?"

Timothy didn’t flinch.

If he had the choice, he’d buy functional, lightweight gear.

But for now, the system had him covered.

Besides, the people who underestimated him always ended up the same way dead or humbled.

Timothy stood amidst the gathering of hunters, arms folded and his senses subtly extended.

He couldn’t help but feel a flicker of amusement at how naturally his Armament skill functioned as both offense and defense, a rare versatility he had come to appreciate.

Then, his eyes landed on a familiar face in the crowd.

"Vanessa," he muttered under his breath.

She turned toward him almost instantly, her gaze brushing against his for a brief moment before she looked away as if she hadn’t seen him at all.

"You know her?" Miriam asked beside him.

"I never told you how I got my new rank, did I?" Timothy replied with a sheepish smile.

"Did she have anything to do with it?" Miriam asked, her eyes narrowing curiously.

"Coincidentally... she had everything to do with it," Timothy said, still watching Vanessa with focused interest.

On his back, Gray wiggled restlessly inside the scarf wrap.

Taking the hint, Timothy loosened the scarf just enough for the termite’s crooked antennae to poke out.

Gray’s full body didn’t need to be exposed, just his antennae, the most delicate and vital of his sensory tools.

They twitched subtly, reading the air around them.

A few nearby hunters took notice of the strange movement but said nothing.

In this line of work, unexplained abilities were too common to bother questioning.

A crisp clap suddenly echoed through the area, drawing every hunter’s attention.

Vanessa now stood at the front, flanked by two attendants.

Her tone was direct and professional.

"Good day. I’ll keep this brief. There are a hundred of you. You’ll be assigned into teams of ten and enter the gate in waves. If you’re part of a guild, stick with them. Otherwise, you’ll need to form your teams now."

She glanced down at her ever-present tablet before continuing.

"Treat this like an expedition, not a war. If you feel overwhelmed, return. Every observation and bit of data matters. Each team will include a camera operator. Prioritize them alongside your healers. Lastly, this is a confidential raid. You all know the laws, the hunters’ code, and the consequences. You have ten minutes to form your teams."

With that, she promptly stopped addressing the group and returned her full attention to her tablet, ignoring the quiet buzz of conversations that followed.

Timothy turned toward Miriam to ask for her input, only to find her deep in thought, staring off into space.

She hadn’t even noticed him watching her.

To mock her concentration, Timothy mirrored her pose and stared at her in return.

"Huh? Why are you looking at me like that?" she said, blinking out of her thoughts.

"You looked so focused. I thought maybe I could read your mind," he teased.

"You can read minds?" she asked, half-joking, half-concerned.

"Hell no. If someone had a skill like that, I’d quit raiding on the spot," he said, smirking.

She scoffed but didn’t argue.

"There’s always someone out there with a terrifying ability, it’s just never the one we expect."

Before Timothy could respond, a group of eight middle-aged men approached them.

They all looked like seasoned fighters varying in build, age, and presence.

One stepped forward.

Tall, dark-skinned, calm demeanor, with an arm-mounted shield and a neatly trimmed goatee.

"Is she a healer?" he asked, nodding to Miriam.

"Uh..." Miriam began, but Timothy cut her off quickly.

"No. She’s a mage," he said without missing a beat, lying smoothly.

The man raised a brow, clearly disappointed but polite.

"Apologies for bothering you, then. We’ve filled all roles except a healer," the man said respectfully.

Timothy found himself drawn to the man’s quiet composure.

"You’ve been looking for one this whole time? Chances are, you won’t find any. The big guilds already secured theirs, and everyone came here in prepared teams. You’re not the only group flying solo."