The sun had reached its highest point in the sky as noon approached. A small village stood quietly on a desolate plain in the inner rim. Lounging near the entrance to a mine shaft embedded in the side of a cliff were six rangers. Though they all wore relatively different attire, the one thing they had in common was their bison insignia, which were either stitched into the fabric of their clothing or branded onto their armor.

A few rangers took the high ground, absorbing the view of the vast horizon before it was obscured by mountains. The others sat across from one another at a slab of rock playing cards.

"So who are these rangers we're teaming with again?" A man with slick back blonde hair asked his two other comrades.

"I've only met one of them," a heavyweight man replied as he set down a card from his hand onto a piece of fabric so as to not ruin their elegant design. "Kenji, I believe his name was? He said he'd be here with two others in a bit."

"Didn't think we'd ever be hangin' out with small fry." The blonde chuckled, placing a card on top of his.

"Give them a chance. You might actually like them." The heavy-set man teased.

"I don't think he likes giving people chances. At least when it comes to girls." A rather thin and timid teenager weaseled his way into the conversation as he placed down two of the same colored cards of his own.

"Correction, I don't catch feelings for girls. They're fun for one night but after that"—the blonde jutted his thumb out behind him—"I'm outta there."

"What about the last girl you were with? The one you met in the fashion district: Jaz. She seemed nice but you brushed her off the next day." The timid kid wanted to prove a point.

"Cuz she woulda been just as clingy as the others. Trust me bud, you'll understand women when you're older." He placed a hand on his shoulder like a mentor would which only seemed to trigger a disgusted look from the boy.

Just then, a few young women trickled out of a nearby building carrying what appeared to be wet clothes. The blonde couldn't help but notice the women hanging up their clothes on a line stretching from one pole to another. As they were, they glanced over to the rangers and spotted him looking their way. Taking this golden opportunity, he showed off his straight pearly white teeth with a smile and threw in a wink for good measure. This seemed to do the trick because they erupted into a fit of giggles before returning his gesture with flirtatious waves.

"I'll never understand you youngsters nowadays. Why not settle down with someone you truly care for?" The heavy-set man shook his head in disapproval as he set down a card of the same number as the previous one.

"Why settle for one flavor when there's a whole variety of them to try?" The blonde countered, exuding with overconfidence.

The men, and teenager, set down a few more cards before the cocky ranger smirked as he drew a card.

"Looks like it's my lucky day," he said, a smug expression plastered on his handsome face as he revealed his hand on the flat boulder.

The old man drew a card as well and nonchalantly placed his hand down. His opponents studied the cards wide-eyed before sighing in resignation.

"Again?" The kid slumped in defeat.

"Remind me to never play against you again, old man." The blonde said, pushing silver and gold coins to the victor's side.

"Gotta humble you somehow, Bo." The heavy man smirked, accepting his money and pulling it into the accumulating pile of coins.

"By taking all my money? You're lucky I have enough to spare." He retorted.

Funnily enough, he challenged the big guy again which he happily accepted. The boy joined in as well, regardless if he was short on funds, though the two didn't mind. He was still learning the ins and outs of this card game.

The satisfying sound of the heavy man effortlessly bridging the deck of cards filled their ears. He shuffled them a few more times before dealing five cards each to his younger opponents.

The blonde placed a bet for more money this time around. Either he'd formulated a new strategy to counter the old man and claim his earnings or he hadn't yet learned his lesson.

After a few minutes of playing, their companions began murmuring to one another.

"Hey, you think that's them?" One of them squinted their eyes at three approaching figures.

"Could be."

"No one should be coming here. That has to be them."

The figures closed in on them, eventually grabbing the timid teen's attention as he was the one initially facing them. Glancing up, his eyes went wide as the center figure put him in a trance.

"Woah...check 𝘩𝘦𝘳 out...!"

The mere mention of a girl was enough to snatch the blonde's attention away from the card game. He followed the boy's gaze and spotted the figure himself, his eyes immediately gleaming with infatuation. From the way she swayed her hips to the way her long, silky smooth hair flowed gracefully in the afternoon breeze...

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'I didn't think such a person could even exist...she's almost as gorgeous as I am.'

He turned to his younger colleague. He was the one who spotted her. In his mind, it was only right to allow him to have first dibs.

"Well? Go talk to her."

The kid violently recoiled with a baffled expression as if the blonde had said something utterly ridiculous.

"A-Are you insane?! N-No way!"

The more the boy thought about it, the more flustered he became. He tilted his head down, averting his gaze at the pile of cards they'd discarded earlier to hide his reddened face.

"S-She's totally out of my league. You talk to her."

The blonde merely shrugged and grinned as the opportunity presented itself.

This was his chance.

"Well, if you say so. If you're not gonna jump on this opportunity, I will," he placed his hand face down and stood up from his makeshift stone seat. "Excuse me, gentlemen."

He confidently strode over to the silver-haired beauty earning him a sigh of disapproval from the old man. The tall stud made his approach, making sure to puff out his chest and sway his broad shoulders for extra flare. He grew more besotted with every step. The way the sunlight graced her face made her more radiant the closer he got.

He stopped a few feet away from her, tilting his head while running his fingers through his slick hair and softening his gaze.

"Hey there. Forgive me, but I couldn't help but notice how enchanting you are. I'm Bo. Might I ask your name, beautiful?" He spoke softly, his teeth glistening as he flashed a smile.

He grinned inwardly, knowing full well she wouldn't be able to resist his advancement. He'd approached countless women in his time and refined his art. Those who were caught in his sights were almost instantly pulled in by the deadly combination of his magnetic charm and his devilish good looks.

She approached him.

'That's right. I just scored bi-!'

Before he could finish that thought, she'd walked right past him as if he were a ghost. The pleasant fragrance of vanilla lingered in the air before disappearing as she continued towards the mine, not sparing him a single glance.

'...she ignored me?!' He stood like a statue, stunned by the audacity of that young woman.

Before long, her two companions reached him and gave him apologetic smiles before they too walked past him. After a few moments, he finally regained just enough composure to turn his head back. His timid friend wore a look of shock at the unprecedented turn of events. The heavy-set man, on the other hand, threw salt in the wound, snickering after his cocky friend suffered a massive blow to his ego.

'Oh shut up, you old geezer!'

The heavy old man packed up his deck of cards as he recognized the young conjurer in the group and stood to his feet to greet them.

"It's good to see you again, Kenji."

"Likewise, sir."

"I'm sure you're familiar with everyone here, except Bo."

The blonde perked up, still processing what had just occurred, at the mention of his name as he approached.

"You would've met him back at the guild, though he was too...preoccupied to introduce himself." He glared at the blonde as he said this.

Judging from his small interaction, or lack thereof, with Fuyumi, he imagined he was referring to Bo hitting on other women. The old man, wearing a metallic shield on his back, looked over at Kenji's two other teammates.

"We're the Bison Clan. We mostly do missions that either don't entail combat or very little of it," he briefly explained. "I'm Hiroto, the leader of this clan and an A-rank tank. I'll be protecting us from loose debris. It's a pleasure to meet you!" He exclaimed wearing a welcoming smile.

The stud made his way over and outstretched his hand to Kenji.

"Sorry we didn't meet earlier today. I'm Bo, a B-rank. I specialize in swordsmanship and will be protecting our conjurers." He gave an apologetic smile.

At least he had the decency to introduce himself now without the old man telling him to. Kenji shook his hand.

"I'm Kenji, an E-rank. I'm a conjurer and specialize in debuffing."

The other rangers dropped down from their vantage point in preparation for their introductions. The timid lad stood to his feet and approached Yakeru and Fuyumi.

"My name's Touma. I-I'm a D-rank conjurer and a scout." He fumbled as he was in the presence of an attractive young woman.

A lean man, a little on the shorter side, stepped up. He carried a wand on his hip and wore a brown cloak that stopped short above his hip. A leather strap wrapped diagonally across his chest.

"I'm Riku. A C-rank conjurer. I'll be drilling." He briefly stated.

Yakeru glanced over to Fuyumi who relaxed her weight slightly on one leg, crossing her arms with a blank expression. He couldn't help but draw parallels between her and this Riku guy.

Another ranger, tall and lanky, wearing a brown robe, stood before them.

"I'm Haruto. A C-rank conjurer and field researcher. I'll be the one monitoring the seismic activity and air quality. It's very nice to meet you." his square glasses caught the sun's glare when he pushed them up with his index and middle fingers.

So far, it seemed like this team consisted of rangers who specialized in utility and support. It made sense since this was merely an investigation mission. One more ranger stepped forward between Riku and Haruto.

"My name's Alek. I'm a B-rank conjurer and I specialize in radiance transfer. We don't know how long we'll be down there for so I'll be replenishing your radiance if necessary." He puffed out his chest, his confidence seemingly stemming from the fact that he was the 'battery' of the group, so to speak.

Without him, they wouldn't accomplish much.

Their party consisted of one tank, three melee fighters, and five conjurers. If this was a mission where monsters would be plentiful, they'd be in trouble as this team wasn't very balanced. Fortunately, they wouldn't have to worry about combat and even if there were a handful of low-tier monsters, they still had three combatants, two of them being B-rank.

Next up were the newcomers.

"I'm Yakeru," he spoke up. "I'm a C-rank specializing in swordsmanship."

And finally,

"Fuyumi. B-rank. I use daggers." She briefly stated, her arms remaining crossed.

The clan probably expected her to say more because they just stared at her for a moment, the gentle breeze being the only sound to break the silence. Hiroto finally cleared his throat, realizing she was finished with her introduction and began laying out the plan.

Their job was to venture inside and locate the source of the gas and tremors and put a stop to it. Hiroto would be at the center of the formation. This way it'd be easier to protect everyone from falling rubble. To his left and right would be Yakeru and Bo while Fuyumi guarded the front. Yakeru noticed her roll her eyes most likely because she had to stand next to the man she deemed the most irritating of the group. Behind them would be the conjurers in an arc formation. This was how they'd traverse the mine.

𝘙𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦...

The ground beneath them trembled ever so slightly. Though it wasn't strong enough to thrash the rangers around, it was enough to startle them. Touma was frightened the most as the hairs on his forearm stood up. Eventually, the tremor subsided after a few seconds before Hiroto approached Yakeru and his team.

"Here," he reached into his satchel and passed around pendants to Yakeru's group. "Put these on. They were forged from a Fumetsu Dragonyte. They'll protect you from the gas."

The pendant had green symbols carved into the front of its pearly surface. Once they'd put them on, the symbols began to give off a soft green glow. The rest of the clan pulled out their own pendants and did the same.

With that, they were prepared for what was to come.

"Alright, let's go!"