Training room 5, the place that had been assigned to Team 0 for as long as they remained in the Awakeners Association’s employ, was provided with state of the art air conditioning and filtrating systems.

That made it so that whenever the blast doors closed, whatever kind of weather was outside became a distant memory.

Considering that it was raining cats and dogs, James felt this was one of the room's best features. He leaned back in his chair, enjoying his hot chocolate and sighing in satisfaction.

He was waiting for the others to be done with their showers after the pretty intense training session Miss Walker had put them through because they needed to finish the debrief they had begun earlier.

It almost seemed like she was working through something. At times, she forgot to pull her punches as much as usual and really gave it to us. Still, it’s good to have a reminder, once in a while, of how much stronger Awakeners can get. Winning against monsters all the time makes it seem like we are invincible, but we are very much not.

Finally, Lauren, Maria and Ezekiel came out, as always the last, and took their places, smiling gratefully to James and Daniel for having already prepared hot chocolates for them, too.

“You’d think this would also trigger you as much as a pumpkin spice latte does.” Lauren snarked, remembering the long discussions about the merits of drinking one’s calories.

James huffed, in too good of a mood to bother arguing “It’s not the same thing and you know it.”

“Alright kids, enough.” Their teacher interrupted before they could really get going, knowing that if she didn’t put a stop to it immediately, they would continue happily for hours.

“You already told me all about the mission, but we still have to check your Status progress. So, Ezekiel, start us off, won’t you?”

“I got to level fifty-seven.” He began. “It’s a bit more than what I expected, but I got a real workout having to support and debuff so many targets at the same time. I can’t say I’m enjoying the potion aftereffects, but we should have some time before the next dungeon run, right?”

Miss Walker nodded, gesturing for him to proceed.

“My skills are getting there. Blessing of the Steadfast has reached level eight, and the others are at seven, so I’m on track for level ten well before I get to the threshold.” Ezekiel concluded, sounding pretty proud of himself.

And he’s right to be. Support classes usually don’t get to participate in so many raids, considering their usefulness depends entirely on them not being murked immediately. That he has been able to keep up with us while being the youngest is a testament to his determination.

“That sounds good, but make sure to keep up your training with your remaining skills. I know many up-and-coming Awakeners who thought they would naturally get them all to level ten before the rank-up and found out the hard way that it only becomes more difficult to gather EXP.” Miss Walker replied before turning to Daniel.

“My level is now fifty-eight.” He said, unbidden. “My skills are coming along decently. Bulwark is at nine already, Redirection is at seven, and Bash is at six. I already decided to be more involved in the offense for the next few raids to try and get them all to where they should be.”

“Your Talent makes it easier to develop defensive skills.” Miss Walker replied. “But you have to keep pushing yourself to also level the others. Things will be different once you get to E-rank, but you’ll regret not having brought Bash to ten if you don’t push yourself now.”

Again, the masked woman turned to face Maria, prompting her to start talking. “I’m fifty-eight too. I got three whole levels thanks to the final fight, with how many monsters died to my fires.” She said proudly.

The redhead had been instrumental, as her magic allowed a wedge to be driven between the Boss and its minions, thus cutting off one of the monsters' most significant advantages.

“Pyrokinetic Generation is at level nine, while my other skills are both at six. I just haven’t found a good moment to use Control and Overdrive, considering how much attention the things I was doing required.”

It seems to me that she used a lot of control, especially when manipulating the walls of flames… Well, she probably could do that already, which means she didn’t push herself enough.

Their teacher hummed “I have some experience with your problem. It’s true that taking the time to create more complex constructs in the middle of a fight seems counterproductive, especially when simpler things do the job just as well, but it will pay dividends if you manage to do it. Especially for a pure magical Talent, you need to ensure you get your skills to level ten. You won’t have the benefits others have of earning an entirely new branch of your powers.”

Unsurprisingly, Miss Walker was much more detailed when it came to the advice she could give Maria. James had initially been a bit jealous of this, but he had come to realize that just because the redhead had more specific pointers, it didn’t make what their teacher told them less valuable.

“Lauren, what about you?”

“Fifty-nine.” She said smugly, enjoying being the highest leveled one. Lauren had started her path as an Awakener a couple of months before any of them did, which gave her a little head start. Not as much as could be expected, considering she had spent those two months - according to her - hiding from the Guilds and trying to find out if she really wanted to go through with the commitment to the AA, but it was still enough to put her slightly above the rest.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Rogue Steps are level nine, and it feels like it should get to ten soon enough. Dagger Arts are at six, because I still haven’t found a way of using them outside the normal stabbing from the shadows I do, and Sneak Attack is at eight.”

“It sounds like you already know what the problem is, but you said the same thing last time. You have no trouble pushing Rogue Steps, but Dagger Arts has been at six since I helped you with the training regimen. I understand it doesn’t come as naturally to you, but you need to push yourself more.” Miss Walker replied, earning a defeated sigh of assent from the brunette.

Finally, she turned to face James, who had been quietly enjoying his hot chocolate. “What about you?”

James silently brought up his Status, looking over the changes he had experienced thanks to the wolf dungeon.

STATUS

WINDOW

NAME

James Summers

AGE

19

AWAKENING

1st

TALENT

Thakinesis

TITLE

LEVEL

58

MP

263/290

STR

36

VIT

23

AGI

21

SENSE

36

MIND

21

STAT POINTS

0

SKILLS

LEVEL

DESCRIPTION

Thakinetic Empowerment

10

(Active): Utilize your Willpower to temporarily raise STR - VIT - AGI.

Thakinetic Awareness

8

(Active/Passive): Expand your SENSE to feel other’s wills.

Thakinetic Resistance

9

(Active/Passive): Empower your MIND to defend yourself against foreign influences.

“Level is fifty-eight.” He said, and Lauren pumped her fist in victory, not bothering to be subtle, earning an eye-roll.

“I had to put two free points in VIT, mostly because I was afraid my arm would not recover even with Ez helping.” James confessed, causing said healer to snort in contempt at the lack of faith in his skills. “Hey, I already apologized. But if you felt the way I was feeling back there… Well, it was not pleasant.”

Seeing that his teacher didn’t seem particularly interested, he continued. “Awareness got to eight, while Resistance is still at nine, but the big change is Empowerment getting to level ten.”

The revelation caused a cheer to go up, his teammates proud of him for finally reaching the yearned milestone.

When they finally calmed down, after having slapped James on the shoulders and back a few times - with a bit too much strength, for some - Miss Walker finally commented “Congratulations, James. You got your first skill to level ten faster than the vast majority of people. Usually, it’s normal to get there in the eighties or seventies if particularly determined - for those who manage to get there at all, of course - but it’s important not to lose sight of the goal. Get all your skills to level ten, and don’t neglect Empowerment just because it’s already there. The more you push yourself now, the better the reward will be.”

James nodded, showing that he understood. He hadn’t pushed himself so much only to give up now, but it was still good to have a reminder.

I can’t wait to see what the Skill selection will be like.

Miss Walker shifted her focus to the group. "This mission was a success because every one of you pulled your weight. Even in a situation where your allies didn’t do as much as they should have - recklessness and misplaced pride are always something to be wary of, especially in a dungeon - you managed to do your duty efficiently. But remember, the world is unpredictable and dangerous. The enemies you face - monstrous and not - will only get stronger and the challenges more perilous.”

She paused, her gaze sweeping over each of them. "You've shown that you can handle the dangers that have come your way so far. But don't get complacent. There are always greater threats lurking on the horizon, and some are closer than you expect. Always be prepared, always be vigilant.”

Her words carried a weight that settled over the room. The team exchanged glances, each feeling the gravity of her statement. Miss Walker seemed to be grappling with something the whole day, and now her words raised only more questions.

Before anyone could ask what that was about, an alarm suddenly blared through the room, startling everyone. A red light flashed, bathing the room in an urgent glow.

Miss Walker immediately stood up and grabbed her tablet. “That's an alert for a G-rank dungeon emergence. It's in Brooklyn.”

Team 0 was instantly alert, their previous exhaustion and languor forgotten. A G-rank dungeon in Brooklyn was a rare occurrence, especially one not noticed by all the patrols combing through the borough.

Well, they were mostly looking for signs of unrest or of the Guilds trying something. I doubt anyone expected another dungeon to pop up so soon, but that’s exactly what we are here for.

“You’ll need to verify on your own that it’s truly G-rank, but if it is, this is yours. Since we took control of Brooklyn, we haven’t managed to score PR points, so this is the perfect occasion. Remember to be careful, as even if it’s newborn, it’s still dangerous.” Miss Walker warned before shooing them to the changing rooms. “ Get geared up and head down to the parking lot. You're leaving in ten minutes."

Everyone scrambled up, jumping to attention and moving with purpose, their training kicking in and settling the nerves James had started feeling.

Considering how their past experiences with dungeons in the city had gone, he felt he was justified in fearing this to be another Guild’s attempt at taking them out of the picture, especially considering that no one had noticed an entire dungeon growing inside Brooklyn.

But not everything is a conspiracy. Sometimes, things actually happen this way. I should reserve judgment until I get there and can see for myself.

While they were changing, Miss Walker’s voice echoed through the rooms. “Apparently, this dungeon is supposed to be in the middle of Prospect Park, which you all know well. A fog has settled over the place, and a family was attacked by barely visible enemies, managing to escape with their lives through sheer luck of an AA team being close by and scaring off whatever creature it was with a few showy attacks.”

James felt a smile grow on his lips. He had just the thing for invisible monsters.