'I'll use "man not main" to clear as many small fry as possible, then I'll make it to the boss chamber.'
'I just have to find an explanation for why all these monsters will miraculously drop dead. That's going to be a problem.'
'Most of them probably won't be able to tell what would be going on, except maybe Porter and Michael. Porter because he's seen some pretty sus stuff happen around me recently, and then Michael because he's Michael.' Rean thought.
"Now that's two," Miles said, slashing a goblin.
"These guys are definitely the weakest monsters we've fought," Lin said, slashing her very first kill.
"Yuh, I know, right," Porter said.
Zeta looked at Porter. She wanted to say something, but she remained silent.
"I mean, if Lin can take one, then they must really be weak," Rose added, slashing one's head clean off.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Porter asked.
"Oh, come on, we were all thinking it," Miles added.
While some were arguing about another teammate's capabilities, three stood still. They were all deep in thought.
'I have never seen Michael this fixated on someone. What is it about Rean?' Zeta thought.
'You… what are you doing? What are you thinking, just standing there?' Michael thought, in reference to Rean.
'How do I go about this? This is a first. I don't know what to do about these goblins.' Rean thought.
He snapped out of it.
'Get out of your own head,' He said.
He turned and noticed the group that was bickering, then turned again. He noticed Michael and Zeta looking his way.
'What are they looking at?' Rean thought.
He turned to his side, then looked back. There was nothing there.
'Are they looking at me? No, that's impossible. I mean, why?' Rean thought.
"Hey, Michael," Rean called out.
Michael didn't respond.
Rean waved his hands. Michael didn't blink. Michael was looking in his general direction, but not at him per se.
'Michael's looking here but not at me. He's probably thinking about something. I guess he's just that kind of person. He sees something the others can't. I haven't done anything, but he's thinking I have—or at the very least will.' Rean thought.
'Why hasn't Rean cleared any monsters? He's barely moved. What could he be thinking about?' Michael thought. He moved on.
"Hey, quit the chatter, let's go," Michael said.
'What is your deal?' Michael and Zeta both questioned internally.
Deeper in the dungeon, they were met with more goblins. The goblins were rather organized. They occupied two lanes—some on the left, the other half on the right.
"Earth talent. No. 49, Grand Rumble," Michael chanted as he placed his hand on the ground.
The entire left lane was wiped. The earth crushed in on itself and moved upward, smashing the goblins into the ground. Legs, heads, hands—everywhere. There was no end. Body parts displaced—the sight shocked everyone.
Just before the group could react appropriately, Rean put his hand on the ground.
"Agro Talent. No. 60, No Seen Root," Rean chanted.
As he placed his hand on the ground, he stood there frozen. The others watched. Nothing happened at first—until suddenly one goblin got decapitated, then another. Heads came flying from the front all the way back. Before long, the entire lane was completely wiped out.
'Did Rean just do something on the same scale as Michael?' Porter thought.
"How the—" Michael said. He immediately maintained his composure, not wanting to lose it. He ordered the group to proceed onward.
"Hey," Porter called out to Rean after noticing he wasn't moving.
Rean looked. He pointed his hand at Porter and, without looking at him, said, "More."
They all continued onward. Rean wore a proud smile on his face. No one understood why—not even Michael.
'It worked. No. 60… what is that? Well, pretty much just a Rean original.' Rean thought.
No Seen Root was an on-the-fly technique Rean created to exploit his "man not main" skill. With this, he could lie and pretend that the enemies were killed by invisible plants—a lie only obvious to Rean himself.
There were no invisible plants. It was really just Rean going in and doing all the dirty work. This was definitely a hassle. Rean had to move with tact. He also couldn't risk anyone making contact with his visible body, as it would be intangible at the time.
Rean assessed the risks and deemed them worth it. Before long, he would reap even more fruits from this new playstyle of his.
"No. 60," Rean chanted.
Not long after, another horde got put down. There was no explanation for what was going on.
'What's going on?' Michael was stunned. He didn't understand how this skill just came out of nowhere.
'Nothing makes sense. No system can undergo upgrades or transition within the confines of the gate. If he had this skill, then why didn't he use it earlier?' Michael thought. He was getting agitated.
"Hey, Rean, what the hell? Where's this skill been since… since forever?" Michael shouted as he walked up to Rean.
This was the first time since the team's formation that he had lost his cool. Zeta immediately stopped him before he could reach Rean. She whispered something in his ear, and he calmed down.
He apologized for lashing out—though not to Rean specifically. He addressed the whole team.
Rean looked at Michael. He rejected the apology. He said if that was how Michael was going to react, then he was perfectly fine with it. He liked the less composed Michael.
"I'll play your game if it gets you to lose it," Rean said.
"Now… one more," he added.
"What are you doing?" Porter asked Rean.
"Are you challenging Michael right now? Are you for real?" Porter added.
Everyone looked to Michael. Rean was obviously baiting him.
"Um, Michael—" Miles was about to say something, but he was cut off.
"We will be splitting up. A group will finish the general raid, and another will proceed to claim the dungeon's biggest prize—the boss chamber," Michael said, moving past everything with Rean.