We’d been sitting here for about half an hour now. Not exactly an eternity, but long enough to remind me how painfully awkward it was to be stuck in a room with complete strangers.
The dynamic was clear. The silver-haired guy was out cold, slouched in his chair. The black-and-red-haired girl—Renna, I assumed—sat stiff with her arms crossed, radiating pure, unfiltered annoyance. And the blonde one? She just smiled blankly, fiddling with the pile of accessories on her wrist.
And yeah. That was thirty minutes of pure silence.
Kai, being Kai, had tried to make conversation—bless his optimistic little heart. Didn’t work. Any attempt was met with short, clipped responses, like they couldn’t be bothered. The only one who seemed even remotely interested in social interaction was the blonde girl sitting next to Renna.
At least no one was openly hostile. That was… something.
I exhaled, shifting slightly in my chair. Not tense, not uncomfortable, but definitely not “at home” either.
Then—tap tap.
Kai nudged my arm, his voice low. “Sorry about the wait… but the Manager’s on her way.”
I turned my head slightly, then let my gaze drift to an empty spot on the table. “I’m fine.”
Lie.
This wasn’t fine. This was weird as hell.
But at least the lack of conversation meant I didn’t have to force myself to act normal.
The door creaked open after what felt like a lifetime of waiting. Two people stepped in. One I recognized—Raine, her blue hair as messy as ever. The other? Never seen him before. Tall. Sharp blue eyes. Hair dark blonde, cropped short and neat. He wore a high-collared, militaristic coat, and in one hand, he carried a small notebook. In the other? A balloon.
What the hell? A balloon?
Great. Either this guy was some kind of lunatic or I’d just met Pennywise’s long-lost cousin.
Raine practically exploded the second she spotted me. "You're here! You're actually here!" She pointed, her shout jarring the guy beside Renna awake.
Renna, the brash one, didn't bother standing. Unlike the girl next to her, who—seriously?—actually bowed. Renna just leaned back, arms no longer crossed, watching like she was already bored. Meanwhile, Kai gave Raine an awkward wave, because of course he did.
"Yeah, I made it," I said, my voice dry. I jerked a thumb toward Kai. "Thanks to this guy."
She grinned, then turned to the others. "Alright, guys! Time for introductions."
Introductions?
Before I could roll my eyes, a guy with silver hair stood up. His posture was stiff, almost military-like.
"I'm Niko. Call me Ghost— it was wayyy better," he said, throwing up a quick two-finger salute. "Hunter class."
The girl beside Renna spoke next. Softer voice, but steady. "Sienna. Offensive mage."
Mage, hmm? That made two in this group. Kai, the support mage, and this girl—definitely more the burn-things-to-the-ground type.
Raine nudged Kai, who looked at me like really? before sighing. "He already knows me, so... pass."
"Come on," Raine groaned.
"Alright, alright. I'm Kai. Group's healer."
Then came the guy with the damn balloon. He finally spoke, voice low, steady. "Jace. Or Jax. Call me whichever." He held out the balloon. "Here. This is yours."
I blinked. Stared at the balloon. Then back at him. "Mine?"
"Yeah," Raine chimed in, like this was totally normal. "Every new recruit gets a balloon."
...Right. Because that made sense.
I took it anyway. What else was I supposed to do? Tell Pennywise 2.0 to shove it?
What the hell was I supposed to do with this balloon? Just stand here, making sure it didn’t float away? Great. Real important job. If I was alone, I’d toss it in a heartbeat.
"Thanks," I muttered.
I’d expected—something else. Cold shoulders, maybe. Suspicion. Instead, I felt... welcomed. More than I thought I would. But did they know yet? That I was a summoner? Had Raine told them, or was that bomb still waiting to drop?
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I got lost in it for a second—ran circles in my own head—until I noticed the pattern. One by one, they introduced themselves, passing the torch, and now... all eyes were on me.
My turn.
I pushed myself up, shoved my left hand into my hoodie pocket. It wasn’t tight, loose enough to warm me up, but right now, warmth wasn’t the issue. The weight of their stares was. The way the air felt thinner the longer I waited.
"I'm Ethan. From Clinton Bay." A pause. The words dried up before they could go anywhere. "Nice to meet you all."
No—wait. Do I tell them that I'm a summoner? Do I throw it out there? Would it change anything? Would their faces shift the second I said it?
I’d told myself I didn’t care. That it didn’t matter if they hated me or not. But standing here, feeling the silence wrap around me, I had to admit—it was a hell of a lot easier to say that than to mean it.
"I'm a sum—"
Cut off.
"You already know he's a summoner, right? Let's just move on to contracts," Raine said.
Whoa. So they already knew. She must’ve told them in the five minutes I wasn’t paying attention. And their reaction? Not anger. Not some hatred. Just... indifference. A few looked disinterested, but none of them seemed like they gave a damn either way.
"That's what I'm talking about, boss. Bring it on," Renna said, cracking the first real smile I'd seen from her.
And—wait. Contract? What the hell was that about? We needed a contract to start or something? Since when?
Kai tapped my arm. "Hey… you familiar with contracts?"
"Contracts?" I kept my voice low, barely above a whisper. No way in hell I was about to admit ignorance in front of the whole group. "Uh, sort of. I have a vague idea."
"Yeah, you need to open your screen," he said, nodding toward Raine. She was already interacting with one—some kind of floating interface, her fingers moving like she was scrolling through options. "You do know how to open yours, right?"
My brain lagged for a second. Seeing someone else with a system screen was weirdly surreal. It really was like a game.
"Right?"
"Oh, sorry—I zoned out. What was that again?"
Kai raised an eyebrow. "You do know how to open your own screen, right?"
I nodded, but before I could process anything else, the sharp chime of notifications echoed through the room.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
One by one, screens materialized in front of each person here. A familiar sight, but still enough to catch me off guard.
Opening a system interface wasn’t rocket science—if you were an Awakener.
For normal people? Forget it.
To open it, all you had to do was think the command.
“Open system.”
“Screen, appear.”
“Show me my stats so I can be horrifically disappointed.”
Any phrase worked as long as your brain gave the green light.
Ding.
My own screen popped up in front of me. Kai glanced over, nodding slightly. Not like he could see my stats, though.
The interface had three main menus:
Profile: The usual rundown—stats, attributes, Awakener ranking. Naturally, I got curious and checked mine. Still bad.
Inventory: A digital storage space for loot.
Contract Menu: Now this was the messed-up part. This feature made contracts between Awakeners and employers legally binding. If you broke a contract? You didn’t just lose a paycheck—you got physically punished. Stat reductions, attribute damage… basically, this thing would screw you over.
"Who in the alien hell even invented this?" Niko muttered, still half-asleep.
"Prolly your mama." Renna shot back without hesitation.
Damn. Did she just said "Your mama"?
If someone hit me with that, I’d probably have to throw hands. Or, more realistically, sulk in silence.
"I wasn't even talking to you," Niko grumbled.
Raine sighed, already exasperated. "Guys, can we not?"
"We’re not fighting." Renna shrugged.
"She started it," Niko argued, scanning the room like he was searching for backup. "You all heard it."
I, meanwhile, was too smart for this bullshit.
Instead of getting involved, I pretended to be deeply invested in my system screen.
Because survival rule number one: Never, ever get in the middle of someone else's stupid argument. Especially if you just met.
"So, where exactly are we raiding?"
The guy with dark-blonde hair—wait, what was his name again? Jack? Juice? No, definitely not Juice. Jace. That was it.
"There's an F-rank dungeon inside a train station," Raine said.
Niko, half-awake but still listening, arched a brow. "Inside a train station? That's a first."
Sienna nodded. "Actually, my sister raided one inside a train station before."
I sat back, quiet. Not like I had much to add.
They all had this easy familiarity, this energy that came from being used to each other. I was the outsider. And honestly? Not the first time. The feeling sat heavy, but I’d survived worse.
Raine turned to Sienna. "And? What did she say about it?"
"She said it was an easy clear. Looted the place without much trouble."
Jace leaned forward, rubbing his chin. "It was F-rank, right?"
Sienna nodded. "Yeah. Standard low-tier dungeon."
"So, another boring raid?" Niko sighed, dropping his hand onto the table like the sheer weight of existence was too much to bear.
Across from him, Kai sat quiet—a rare blessing in this group. At least someone else knew how to shut up and listen.
"I doubt it'll be boring." Sienna leaned back, eyeing me. "We've got a new member. Might actually be interesting for once."
Whoa. These guys are F-rankers? The way they talk, you’d think they were speedrunning dungeons for fun. Confidence is one thing, but this? This is straight-up boredom.
Then again, Kai did mention there’s an E-ranker in the group. Renna? Jace? Should I ask? Hell no. Maybe later.
"Ethan, stand still for a sec." Raine’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. "I need you to stay put."
"Why?"
"Just registering you to the contract." She was already flipping through her interface screen, Kai peeking over to help.
"Let’s hurry this up." Niko muttered, slouching deeper into his chair.
Ding!
> [A guild is trying to form a contract with you.]
[Accept? [✓] [×] ]
I tapped Accept.
Ding!
"See the contract?" Raine asked.
Kai leaned in. "Go to the Contract menu."
I scrolled through, and—damn.
----------------------------------------
MIDNIGHT SONS RAID CONTRACT
Contract ID: MS-005
Employer: Raine
Employees: Renna, Kai, Sienna, Jace, Niko, Ethan
Objective: Clear the designated dungeon and retrieve all loot.
I. TERMS OF AGREEMENT
1. Compensation: Each employee receives 10 gold upon successful completion. If the mission difficulty escalates, additional pay may be negotiated.
2. Loot Distribution: Items are assigned based on Merit Score Calculation (Combat, Support, Risk, Team Performance). Unauthorized looting is prohibited.
3. Conduct & Obligations: Employees must fulfill their roles. Desertion, sabotage, or failure to comply will result in penalties.
II. BREACH & PENALTIES
Employer Breach: Failure to pay results in System Lock (48 hours) and asset seizure equal to the owed amount.
Employee Breach:
Desertion: -20% stat debuff (72 hours).
Sabotage: -30% stat debuff (72 hours), temporary contract ban.
Loot Theft/Betrayal: Marked as "Contract Fugitive" (lawful bounty issuance).
III. SPECIAL CLAUSES
Dungeon Rank Escalation: If the dungeon rank increases, terms are re-evaluated in real-time. A majority vote (4/6) decides whether to continue or terminate.
Death Clause: If an employee dies, 20% of the employer’s assets transfer to their registered beneficiary.
Contract Termination: Requires a unanimous decision before completion.
IV. SIGNATURES
☑ Raine (Employer)
☑ Renna
☑ Kai
☑ Sienna
☑ Jace
☑ Niko
☑ Ethan (Pending...)
> [NOTICE: Violation of contract terms will trigger automatic enforcement measures.]
----------------------------------------
Damn. So this is what a contract looks like. No wonder Niko looks half-dead—bet he doesn’t read half this crap before signing.
First off—10 gold? That’s $5,000 when converted, depending on the exchange rate. A month’s salary for one raid? Hell, I’d take that.
But the loot? That’s a whole different system. Apparently, it's distributed based on participation. Which means—
Each and every one of us actually have to put in effort.
Shit. The consequences in this contract weren’t just for show. -30% stat debuff for sabotage? System lock for unpaid wages? Yeah, this wasn’t something you broke without serious fallout.
At least I didn’t have to worry about backstabbing. Not unless someone here was unhinged enough to tank their own stats for the thrill of screwing me over. Which, looking at this group, seemed... unlikely.
Probably.
"This contract looks fine." Jace closed his screen like he’d done this a hundred times before.
Renna leaned back, arms crossed. "Alright, cool. So when’s the raid?"
Raine glanced at the group, then at me. "Tomorrow."
She paused. "Morning."