“Let me go first.” suggested the woman next to Armando. She’s wearing a white dress shirt, a high waisted pair of jeans, and black boots. She has about shoulder length blonde hair and green eyes.

“I’m Sarah, a D+ rank. I mainly specialize in support, using buffs and heals. Nice to meet you.”

Silver nods. She is D+ ? He was expecting Armando to be the highest ranked Dungeonaut here, given his position.

“I’m going next.” says the man as he crosses his arms. He is wearing a brown bomber, black cargo pants, and black sneakers. His skin is slightly tanned, between Silver’s and Armando's. He has short black hair, a short beard collar, and almost black slanted eyes.

“Lin, D-. I’m the frontline, dealing the most damages.”

Short but to the point. SIlver could feel that this Lin did not like him one bit, probably annoyed that a new member could be added without his consent.

“Then I’ll end this round.” says the short woman, who had not stopped staring at Silver for a second since they sat. Wait, did she even blink at any point ? She’s wearing a long black overcoat, black pants and black elevated shoes. Her hair are jet black, cut in a short bob, and her big eyes are yellow—almost gold.

"My name is Venus, but everyone calls me V, so call me that.For now I’m D rank, but that should change soon. I’m mostly tanking so everyone can concentrate on hitting.”

Venus: a unique name for a rather unique girl. And the shortest is the one tanking ? Maybe she is exceptionally sturdy ?

With that, the presentation are finished, or it would seem so.

“I still haven’t had my turn, and it would not be fair for you all to go but not me when I’m the new guy.” starts Silver. “I’m Silver, D rank at the moment. As Armando has said, I don’t have a Color and I don’t know a lot—scratch that—I know next to nothing about Dungeonaut things. If you’ll have me in this Team then I hope you can teach me and, at the same time, that we can all improve and go higher.”

“And what would be your specialty ?” asks Sarah.

“I'm…not really sure. I’m pretty good at martial arts, so a frontliner probably, but I’ll take the post that would most help everyone.”

V nods strongly in approval; Silver seems to have already won a support.

“Now then, it’s time for the big decision.” announces Armando. “What do you think ? Do we want Silver in the Team ?”

“I’m all for it.” says Sarah with a big smile. “ If you’ve brought him here, it must mean that you expect great things from him, right leader ?” she adds, looking at Armando.

“I’m also favorable.” continues V. “And he has a great aura.”

Aura ? What's that ? Something new that he wasn’t told about ?

“I think that it’s too soon to add a new member.” says Lin with a tinge of disdain in his voice.

“I understand your stance, Lin; I truly do.” asserts Armando. “But sadly, we cannot be dilly dallying; right now our Guild is looking to downsize, and we will either be cut or each dispatched in other Teams, and I don’t want that.”

Lin groans, seemingly reluctantly accepting the reality of the situation.

“Well, if nobody has anything against it, I guess you’re part of the Team now, Silver.”

***

As the day advances, the group chats about their lives and their future plans. At one point, Armando leaves the table, seemingly having to take a phone call. He is followed a minute later by Lin.

Outside of the café, Armando looks at his phone, waiting. When Lin comes out, he sighs in relief.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I thought you would never come.”

Lin stands in front of Armando, his arms still crossed. After a few moments of silence, he finally speaks.

“Why ? Why him ? Why him when we have so many options of actually experienced Dungeonauts ?”

“Because I believe in him—well, in his potential at least. And hey, everybody has to start somewhere.” responds Armando with a jovial attitude.

“That’s the point: he hasn’t even started yet. How do you know that he’s gonna be reliable ? That he won’t run away at the first hurdle ?”

“He’s been a Mercenary for 7 years. 7. Do you understand that ? In a line of work where people last less than 2, he lasted 7. How’s that for reliable ? And I’ve seen him fight; he’s not the type to run away.”

“Listen, I know you two are pretty tight after what happened, but—”

“But what ?”

This time Armando’s question was much more serious and dry.

“Remember when we started, the both of us ? Who brought Sarah into the group when she was scouted left and right, who discovered V, and who took Ron out of his slump to make him someone worthy of being called a Dungeonaut ? My eyes and instincts do not deceive me—it’s thanks to them that we could become a renowned Team in our Guild. So believe me when I say to you that I see in this man something grand, something that even V can see.”

At this point Lin is looking at the ground. He knows that Armanado is right but can’t help himself but be worried.

“I’m sorry, Lin. I was quite harsh in what I’ve just said. Its just…I have the responsibility to keep this Team running and safe. It does not excuse my words, but I hope you can understand.”

“I do; that’s why I’m afraid you’re making a rushed decision because of all the stress you’re feeling right now. But you’re right: I’ve followed you for what ? Three years now ? And look where I am, where we all are—all thanks to you. I’m still unsure about your choice, but I’ll believe in you.”

As he says that they hug, Armando feels a weight lifting from his shoulders.

“Thanks man.”

***

During this time, in the café.

“So, V, you’ve talked about “aura”, right ? what’s that all about ?” asks Silver, curious.

“Aura is aura; I don’t know what to tell you.” answers simply V, leaving Silver even more confused.

“V is a bit special.” adds Sarah. “When she Awakened her vision changed, allowing her to see the aura of people. It doesn't really make sense to anyone but her, but see it as a mixture of a person’s feelings, potential, and what’s at the depths of their hearts.”

“And yours is particularly grand. I remember seeing it once before from a Mercenary, it was probably you.”

“Most likely, yeah.” adds Silver.

Well, at least it wasn’t another subtlety of Mana Manipulation that he didn’t know about. But Awakening could lead to other changes in the body than what he already knew ? He took a mental note of that.

“I’m curious about something, Silver. now that you’re a Dungeonaut, what are you most excited to do ?” asks Sarah.

What is he most excited to do ? Good question; he is pretty excited about everything right now.

“For me, it was killing monsters with my bare hands.” said V with a serious look on her face.

“As for me it was being able to explore uncharted territories.” added Sarah.

“Well, for right now, I guess I’m more excited about discovering and mastering my new powers more; it feels so weird to have something completely new to discover about your body, and I want to know everything about it.” finally answers Silver while looking at his hands, letting out a small stream of Mana.

“Yes, I must say that mastering Mana is an extremely arduous task, but it’s extremely rewarding—both the best and worst thing about being a Dungeonaut.” says Sarah while laughing softly.

Finally, Armando and Lin get back inside the café.

“Since we still have some time, how about we go to the Bureau see if there are some some missions ?” suggests Armando.

The group collectively agrees and, after paying, sets out to the Burea. The walk wasn’t that long—about 15 minutes. During the whole walk, Silver could feel Lin’s frustration; he most definitely wasn’t pleased that he was here.

They finally enter the Bureau and immediately chatter starts. Most of the people seemed to be chatting about Silver; apparently him being personally looked after by KNYght and being tested by the Head herself had made rounds.

Silver could only smile politely, a little embarrassed. He could feel Lin getting more and more annoyed at him.

As they approach a screen, Armando takes out his ID and places it on a small receptacle. After a Ding, the screen begins to display diverse information, notably the different requests available at this time.

As the group takes a look at them, they get a bit disappointed: nothing corresponds to what their Team’s about. Well, better luck next time.

As they start to turn around, ready to leave, a man barges in the Bureau, his face covered in blood, screaming.

"Please save my team !”