"No." Melody said it before he even finished the sentence.
He looked at her.
"B-rank beasts are not the same as what we've been fighting." Her voice was firm. "Everything we've been doing, the flanking, the shielding, letting you close the distance, none of that works against a pack of B-ranks."
"They're faster, they hit harder, and they don't give you the same windows. All it takes is one mistake. One mistake and you're not just injured." She looked at him directly. "You're dead."
"I know the risks—"
"You have D-rank body, Lukas. Your stats are absurd for your rank, but your body hasn't caught up. It doesn't matter how strong you are if one hit caves your ribs in." She shook her head. "B-ranks are manageable for me. For you right now, they're a different story."
"Then we fail the quest," he said. "Because our current pace isn't enough."
Silence filled the air.
