…
"Am I the only one that has a bad feeling about this?"
Zeke said as he watched the trio and Yeon gearing up, the metallic clinks of armor and weapons echoing through the prep chamber.
"Although it was mentioned to be a competition, it's a collaboration between the two guilds, so Avalon definitely wouldn't stab us in the back," Yeon replied to Zeke as she walked to the front of the portal that led to the dungeon. The swirling vortex of energy cast flickering shadows across her determined face.
"It's not about them stabbing us in the back, I'll tank it." Zeke smiled as he made a joke he found funny, though that did not seem the case for the rest of his friends. An uncomfortable silence settled over the group.
"Ahem, what I feel would happen is a case of cliche from too much anime—the main character's first dungeon raid always goes haywire." His voice carried a forced lightness that didn't quite mask his underlying concern.
As he finished speaking, Yeon shot him a disdainful look, her eyes sharp as daggers.
"Do you think of yourself as the main character?"
"Well, I am handsome." The words came out with practiced confidence.
"You wish. If anything, the main character would be me." She crossed her arms, a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth.
"Is this really your first dungeon raid?" Aaron asked, skepticism evident in his raised eyebrow.
"Of course, why would I lie about that?" Zeke answered with a bright smile.
"Lazy bastard," Yeon snorted. As she turned away, the portal's ethereal light illuminating her profile, she said half-serious, half-teasing, "Worry not, side character. If the sky falls, I'll be there to hold it."
"Hmmph, courting death," Zeke snorted, his breath visible in the cool air emanating from the dungeon portal.
"She has eyes but fails to see Mount Tai," Aaron said as he joined in on the Chinese trope banter, a grin spreading across his face.
"You people lack the attitude of dungeon raiders—you're too casual." Zeldris' voice boomed across the chamber, alerting them to his presence. He arrived with two persons tailing behind him: a young man with a stern expression and a young beautiful lady whose presence seemed to command attention effortlessly.
"First off, it's hunter, not dungeon raiders. Secondly—" Zeke turned to the lady following Zeldris, his posture shifting to something more confident, and continued speaking, "You are a beautiful lady. Would you like to go on a date with me?" He flashed a smile at her, one he'd clearly practiced in front of mirrors.
"Why would she go on a date with the enemy?" Zeldris asked, his face flushing red with irritation, very much pissed.
"Stfu, cockblocker." The words came out quick and sharp.
"My name's Zeke. Could you do me the honor of knowing your name?" Still smiling, Zeke talked to her, his voice taking on a softer, more genuine tone.
Bam!
"Ouch!" The impact reverberated through his skull.
"Let's enter the dungeon." Yeon smacked Zeke upside the head and dragged him into the dungeon by his collar, his feet stumbling to keep pace. As she entered the dungeon, the trio entered with her, as well as Zeldris and his assistants. The portal's energy washed over them like a cold wave, and the world shifted.
---
In the dungeon, the air was thick with moisture and the smell of damp stone. Zeke was sulking, his shoulders hunched after being interrupted by Yeon.
"Why'd you have to do that?" Zeke asked, rubbing the back of his head where a dull ache throbbed.
"You were clearly embarrassing yourself as well as me and the boys, and again, why would you even ask our competition on a date?" Yeon rolled her eyes as she explained, her footsteps echoing on the rough stone floor.
"But you said we were collaborators... You know what? Never mind. I'll never find love again." Zeke bent forward, still sulking, his hands on his knees in exaggerated despair. Upon sensing the mana fluctuations from the dungeon entrance—a prickling sensation across his skin like static electricity—he changed his posture into one of nonchalance, straightening up as if nothing had bothered him at all.
As Zeldris' group entered the dungeon, their footsteps creating a different rhythm against the stone, Zeke looked towards the lady and smiled at her whilst giving her a wave before going back to his pose of nonchalance, hands casually tucked into his pockets.
"Whatever drops from monsters each of us kill will be allocated to the group the person represents—that is the essence of the collaboration slash competition. May the best team win." Yeon announced as both groups got ready, weapons drawn and glinting in the dungeon's eerie bioluminescent glow.
After her announcement, both groups ran towards each of the sections in the dungeon, their movements creating a cacophony of clattering equipment and hurried breaths. The dungeon had two sections, which would lead to the dungeon's boss room, so they hoped to be the one whose section had the most resources and monsters before meeting up at the boss room. And if any one defeated the boss before the other reached the boss room—lucky them—they got to keep the drops from killing the boss. And if they both worked together to kill the boss, they would share the spoils according to the contribution made in the battle against the boss.
"Hey, Zeldris, take care of Makima!" Zeke shouted as he ran towards his section, his voice bouncing off the cavern walls, leaving both teams bewildered.
Both for different reasons: Zeldris' team wondering how he—Zeke—knew her name, their expressions a mixture of surprise and suspicion, and Yeon and the boys now understanding exactly why Zeke would go out of his way to talk to her, exchanging knowing glances and suppressed grins as they disappeared into the darkness of their chosen path