"Idiots." He bellowed out in a deep and husky voice as he shook his head negatively as he read the report in his hands. "You're sure it was them?" Issued as a question, the hard-edged tone to his voice easily gave away he knew the truth.
"A-yep. Group of five walked on in without the Assault Team, figured they could get some extra XP and split whatever the loot earned them." Even though the petite informant in front of him was masked and robed, he could almost feel that grin beneath her clothing beaming right up at him. "I got the map... if you'd, you know. Want to go take a look. Or has the Iron Bear gotten soft these days, hm? I heard about that last group you saved. Almost didn't make it, riiiight?" The high-pitched rise and teasing tones were more than enough to make him stare coldly at the woman, but he forced back the annoyance and simply gave her a flat look. She'd done this plenty of times before. As childish as she might have been, she was good at her job.
"Fine. Name the location and I--"
"Ah-ah-a! So quick to make conclusions, Iron Bear. This time, it's... free of charge." There was a drop in her voice and her eyes went downwards. "A friend of mine. He was in that party. I told him not to take any risks, but... just, don't let it happen again, yeah? You might be an asshole, but you've already put your neck out on the line more than anyone I know. We've lost a fair share of people in the short time we've been here... and it's only going to get worse. So, please. Don't let someone else lose a friend to this boss. I only got their map... nothing else."
He shrugged simply at her change of heart. He could've pegged her for a heartless woman who only cared about profit, but if anything could make people realize that this is all just one screwed up game that only mattered if you made it out alive... death sure could do it. "Alright. Mail it to me, I don't want anyone to stalk me down. I got... some things to take care of, tonight. Don't ask, either." Stern and hard-edged, with no warmth at all as he spoke to her.
She nodded to him simply, and turned on her heels to walk off, much as he did himself. The inn would be the best place to check up on the rumor he heard, about this "rare" spawn that should show up soon. He pegged it down for a PK'er Guild rumor, given that only people with valuable items seemed to have heard of it, and those were few and far between the normal lot. It was habit, at this point. He was solo, but he was almost always wandering outside of the towns. Patrolling the hunting grounds and the dungeons, making sure no one got killed because of a stupid mistake. After enough times, people started to talk about him time to time. He wasn't the best player, sure enough not the most skilled, but he was higher level than quite a few folks given the fact he was rarely in the towns.
In fact, he was starting to think the rumor was made specifically to catch people like him. It was too obvious that it was fake. No info' broker had anything on it... at all. It was more than likely a trap, but one he'd have to walk into. Not to keep whatever kind of reputation he had, or to prove a point to people. To make sure, that as many people got out of there alive. It was his duty as a Marine, to make sure that happened. Out of all the people in this game, he was probably one of the few people who was trained and disciplined to give the ultimate sacrifice if necessary for the sake of others. Fortune have it, that's how he got his rather formidable gear. You save enough people... people end up making sure you stick around long enough to, maybe, just maybe, save them one day. Wasn't as top-class as some of the monster gear, but heavy plate was hard to find. Especially good sets, which he liked to think his was.
Then, he snapped back into it. The inn was just around the corner, and was given away by the noises made by everyone inside of it. He made for the door, and walked on in, observing the people around him. He was tall, taller than quite a lot of people given the fact most of the players were from Japan. Standing six-foot-three, he sort of stood out like a sore thumb. Enough to get through the crowd easily enough, and thankfully no one paid him mind. He wasn't famous, just heard of by enough people that it caught him off guard when they approached him with that stupid nickname.
"Room for one. Six nights." He said as he traded the necessary amount to the clerk. NPC or person, he couldn't really tell by the rather scripted and rehearsed response. With that all done and taken care of... he turned around and about and headed for the table. Regardless of the rumor, he knew there'd be other people in here looking to make a raid party. If his agent had a copy of the map, surely other people would, too. From least lethal sources than an entire party dying for nothing. He would just do as he always did. Look for a group small enough to think they'd have a high profit value without having to deal with the larger Guilds, and yet have enough to take it down. Label down the leader, and then trail them and have his agent trail him, too. He already knew she'd be in here, somewhere. Disguised with everyone else, watching him and those around him. It was an odd partnership they had, but it worked for them both. She got all the maps and details she wanted, as well as names and updated loot drops, and he got the info for dungeons and any missing persons reports. Most of the last... were never solved. A few, however, he did manage to find and rescue. Even if it was only one out of a hundred, it meant any and all effort was worth it, to save a life.
No matter the risks.