The Broken Barrel tavern buzzed with the usual sounds of clanking mugs, low conversations, and the occasional bellowing laugh from a table of warriors or craftsmen boasting about their latest exploits.

In the far corner, three members of Team Hazard—Ben, Jake, and Ash—were engaged in their usual evening ritual of discussing how they were to become legends, despite an overwhelming lack of evidence to support that fact.

One could even argue there was too much evidence of the opposite

That was until Dan burst through the door, nearly taking it off its hinges.

Dan was very tall with an extremely athletic build that still carried traces of his past as a professional athlete. Dan radiated leadership, even when he wasn’t trying to. His brown hair was neatly kept, though a little dishevelled from his rush over, and his sharp blue eyes gleamed with determination. There was something about him that made people want to root for him—the sheer belief he carried in every word he said, coupled with a sunny disposition.

“We got it!” he shouted, his voice cutting through the tavern like a blade.

Jake, mid-drink, choked on his ale, coughing violently as the colossal hand of Ben pounded on his back with enough force to knock the drink and soul out of him. The impact sent the much smaller man crashing face-first into the wooden table.

“Oh. Uh. Whoops! Sorry about that, buddy,” Ben muttered, his deep, gravelly voice full of genuine but deeply misplaced concern.

It was hard to blame Jake for his misfortune. Ben was a giant—easily the tallest man in the settlement, with an enormous, broad-shouldered frame that made him look less like a person and more like a truck someone forgot to move. His sleeve tattoos, inked across thick, corded muscle, were a testament to battles fought—and many completely unnecessary ones, as he was something of a magnet for hotheads.

Unfortunately, the only thing more brutal than his strength was his face. Ben wasn’t just ugly—he was the kind of ugly that made babies and their adults cry. The kind of ugly that made people feel angry for having the gift of sight. Even when he smiled, trying to appear warm, he somehow looked even more threatening.

Meanwhile, Ash barely reacted, reclining against the wall with his long legs propped up on the table, exuding the effortless confidence of a man who had never taken anything seriously in his life.

Near Dan’s height but far slimmer and more graceful, Ash was annoyingly good-looking, the type that could smirk his way into or out of anything. His right arm bore an intricate tattoo, a carefully curated collection of symbols, runes, and phrases from languages he didn’t understand but pretended to. He ran a hand through his brown, wavy hair, deliberately tousled to look stylishly unkempt—though it was obvious he'd spent more time styling it than preparing for any mission.

“If this is another ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ that turns out to be collecting chicken eggs again,” Ash drawled, voice smooth with amusement, “I swear I’ll wash my hands with—”

Dan slammed a mission parchment onto the table, silencing them. The words gleamed in official ink.

“Hunt the Nature Elemental—valuable core, potential high-tier loot and rank advancement.”

A pause. Then, Jake let out a victorious laugh. “The heavens have smiled upon us! This is it! Our ticket to legend status!”

Jake wasn’t as tall as the others, but he stood above average height. That wasn’t enough to stop him from being labelled as the midget of the group. He carried an average yet well-balanced frame that suggested he was still capable, even if his behaviour said otherwise. His light brown hair always looked slightly messy, like he’d just woken up from a nap—which, to be fair, he usually had. His face, while fairly handsome, often gave away his childlike excitement, making him appear more like an overgrown boy playing hero than an actual warrior.

Ben grinned, his enormous hands crumpling the parchment as he pulled it closer.

“I dunno what an elemental core is worth,” he admitted, his brow furrowed in deep concentration, “but this paper says valuable, and valuable means money.”

Dan clapped his hands together, grinning with fiery conviction. “Exactly! But it’s so much more than that, Benjamin! We clear out local hazards—that’s surely why they named us Team Hazard! The higher-ups saw something in us, and now, we must repay that faith!

Ash raised a brow. “Pretty sure we got that name as a joke.”

“Impossible,” Dan pushed on, undeterred. “They definitely believe in us!”

Jake gasped. “Wait, do they? Because I’ve met them, and I’m not sure.”

Across the room, a nearby group of adventurers exchanged knowing looks, snickering behind their mugs. One of them muttered something, and while it was too low to hear, the sarcasm in their tone was unmistakable.

Dan straightened but let it slide. Tonight wasn’t about them. Tonight was about Team Hazard stepping up for the residents of Dawnmere.

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Jake punched the air, already caught in his fantasy of heroic combat. “A Nature Elemental! Ha! Its legend ends here! Assuming it’s not too big. Or on fire. Or flying. That would be inconvenient.”

Ben nodded sagely, rubbing his chin like a philosopher deep in thought. “Yeah, and I’ll punch it around a bit too.”

Ash, however, remained unmoved, swirling his drink, his sharp gaze already wandering toward a far more interesting conquest at the bar.

“Why do we have to save the world, for God’s sake?” he sighed dramatically. “Look around. There’s plenty of beauties. Let the rougher folk sacrifice themselves for glory.”

Dan grabbed Ash’s shoulder, shaking him. “The core is valuable. That means money. Money and glory bring… desirable attention. Keep up.”

Ash smirked, slipping out of Dan’s grasp with practiced ease. “Fine, fine. I’ll come. But if things go south, I’ll be leading the retreat... heroically, of course.

Dan ignored him, already turning back to the group as he thought about their next steps. He wanted to learn more—what other adventurers knew about this creature, what tactics worked best.

Before he could take a step, however, Ash was already slipping away toward the bar, eyeing a woman seated by herself.

“Oh, great, he is as focused as ever,” Dan muttered.

“Let him go,” Jake said, throwing an arm around Dan’s shoulder. “He will step up when it counts! Tomorrow we will write ourselves into Dawnmere folklore!”

Ben nodded along, clearly preparing an astonishing display of sagacity “Hopefully no one dies. Or if they do, it’s not me. Or if it is me, it’s quick. Or if it’s not quick, I at least don’t notice.”

Dan hesitated as those words caused him physical pain to process. Either way, he was the leader. The one who had to make sure this went right. But… Jake’s excitement was infectious. Even Ben, for all his simplicity, carried an unshakable optimism, even if he had the eloquence of a drunk donkey.

And he believed it too. The fire of their spirits would be more than enough to carry them through any tribulation.

So instead of gathering information like he planned, he found himself caught up in the excitement. Drinks were ordered. Toasts were made. And before long, Team Hazard was deep into their own celebration, their future legendary victory already guaranteed in their minds.

The tavern grew louder, filled with the sounds of boasts, laughter, and increasingly exaggerated plans.

Dan grinned as he raised his mug. “Tomorrow, gentlemen, we change everything. No more being overlooked. No more being laughed at. We will prove we can keep everyone safe and bring back what is needed.”

“To Team Hazard!” Jake bellowed, slamming his drink against Ben’s so hard that foam spilled over the table.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ash called from his definitely-not-a-mission-related conversation at the bar. “To the idiots I’ll be burying when this all goes sideways!”

Dan laughed confidently and shook his head. Tonight, nothing could shake his confidence.

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As the celebration wound down, reality began creeping in for Dan.

They weren’t the best team. They weren’t the strongest. But for the first time, Dan felt like they had something. Something real. He had seen that spark before—in the eyes of a team before a big game, when doubt clashed with determination. And just like then, it was his job to make sure that fire didn’t die out.

Leadership wasn’t just about tactics; it was about belief. And Dan believed in them.

He leaned back, staring at the rough wooden beams of the tavern ceiling, lost in thought and partially inebriated.

Once, his world had been roaring crowds and perfect plays. English football, the real kind—not the one where grown men carried a hand egg like barbarians. He’d been their leader. Their captain. And then his back gave out, and just like that, the world moved on without him. Years of injuries, the slow, grinding wear of the sport, had finally broken him. His purpose vanished entirely.

He had spent the years after adrift, watching from the side-lines as the game moved on without him. It had been a slow death, losing the only identity he had ever known.

But then, the system changed everything.

One moment, he was a former athlete on the wrong side of his prime. The next? He was whole again. His body, once a catalogue of injuries and regrets, felt reborn. The aches, the stiffness, the limitations? Gone.

He wasn’t just healed. He was restored.

And for the first time in years, he had purpose again. Not just as a survivor, but as a leader. Team Hazard was his new team, and even if they weren’t champions yet, he’d get them there. He had spent a lifetime making ordinary players extraordinary—why should this be any different?

But was belief enough?

He glanced at Jake, still talking big about their future glory, his voice full of youthful certainty. Ben, cracking his knuckles, unshaken by the reality of the task ahead. Ash, likely regretting his life choices already, slumped against the bar but still here.

Dan’s grip tightened around his drink. He would not let them down.

He had been given a second chance.

And he wasn’t going to waste it.

Tomorrow, they would set out—not just to complete a mission, but to prove they belonged.

Team Hazard was more than just a name.

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The next morning, the squad stood at the outskirts of the settlement, geared up and ready.

Dan adjusted his pack, trying not to let his slight headache from last night’s celebration show.

Jake stood dramatically at the front. “We embark on a quest of destiny, my brothers!”

Ben stretched. “I really hope this thing isn’t a bird. I hate punching birds.”

Ash yawned, rubbing his eyes. “The missive said Nature Elemental, numbskull. It’s probably an Ent or something.”

Dan took a deep breath. This was it.

Don’t screw this up.

"Let’s move out, boys!" His voice boomed with enough force to set the grass on fire.

The others cheered.

And with that, Team Hazard set off—completely unaware that they were marching straight toward disaster.