Coughing awkwardly to salvage his dented branding after yesterday’s chaotic photo studio disaster, Kaelen stood up and marched the squad over to the reception desk.
By the time they reached the counter, it became glaringly obvious that Flair was actively malfunctioning.
Her forearms were crossed on the polished mahogany surface, and though her eyes were technically open, she was clearly dozing on the desk, lost in a deep state of exhaustion.
“Good morning, Flair,” the gang offered flatly.
Without even raising her head or opening her eyes fully, Flair lazily lifted a single arm, flashing them a slow, limp thumbs-up.
“Morning to you…” she mumbled groggily, her voice trailing off as if she were speaking entirely in her sleep.
Annoyed by the lack of executive momentum, Kaelen stepped forward and slammed both hands flat against the mahogany counter.
The sudden, sharp impact echoed loudly across the immediate lobby floorboards, instantly shattering her daydreaming.
Flair jolted upright, her spine snapping perfectly straight as she forced her professional customer service smile back online.
She immediately let out a massive, unvarnished yawn, blinking away the tears of exhaustion.
Kaelen raised an eyebrow, leaning against the counter with a judging, high-status architectural posture.
“Man, you look so beat up.
Did you spend the entire night grave robbing?”
A collective crack of laughter rippled through the squad behind him just by imagining the mental image.
Flair pouted, rubbing her eyes as she tried to salvage her composure.
“Alright, jokes aside, welcome back squad,” Flair chirped happily, trying to force an energetic tone.
“Chatting aside,” Kaelen interrupted smoothly, crossing his arms and cutting right through the pleasantries.
“Where are our IDs?”
Flair froze, a visible drop of sweat rolling down her temple.
She instantly dropped her chin into her hands, looking up at him with a pair of highly dramatic, performatively tearful eyes.
“Aww, not even a real good morning?
You only came to the point…
how rude of you,” she whimpered, turning her head away as if she were deeply, hurt by his cold tone.
“Cut the crap,” Kaelen cut her off instantly, flashing an annoying, knowing smirk.
“I can see right through your act.
We all know you’re trying to mess with me, drama queen.”
Flair’s fake sadness vanished instantly as she burst into a bright, genuine chuckle, slapping her hand against the counter.
“Ohhh my, guilty as charged!
You’re such a party pooper, Kaelen…
you totally spoiled the fun.”
Standing just half a pace back, Karen’s hands clenched tightly into the fabric of her pants, her wide eyes darting anxiously between the two of them.
She noticed with a sudden spike of internal panic how quickly Flair had grown incredibly fond of Kaelen.
The playful, casual back-and-forth friction between them was exactly what Lisa had warned her about last time.
She really is going to try and snatch him away!
Karen thought, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Desperate to break up the magnetic field growing across the desk, Karen stepped forward, forcing herself into the conversation with a hesitant but hurried smile.
“Well…
I really look forward to seeing how our adventurers’ IDs look!
Are they done?”
“Your official adventurer IDs have been successfully processed through the system!” Flair replied seamlessly, leaning back on her heels.
“Wait right here for me, I’ll go bring them.”
The moment her boots clicked away and she disappeared into the back room, Kaelen and Karen pivoted toward one another, as their faces lit up with shared excitement.
“I bet the cards have a premium, polished obsidian texture,” Kaelen whispered proudly, leveling his shoulders with a high-status architectural posture.
“With custom brass borders and a high-fidelity holographic stamp to signify my architectural status.
I’ll definitely look like a top-tier adventurer on it.”
Internally, however, his baseline parameters were sweating bullets.
He prayed to whatever gods were listening that the high-fidelity camera hadn’t captured the terrified, villainous grin he had flashed under Old Man Helios’s intense pressure—especially since he knew that loudmouth furball Pixel had startled him out of nowhere, not only ruining his calculated pose but adding her own smug face right into the photo frame, screwing the entire composition up.
“Master,” Pixel’s dry, unbothered telepathic broadcast sliced directly into their minds as she shifted her weight on his tactical bag.
“By top-tier, are you talking top-tier scary?
Because judging by your current baseline expression during yesterday’s rendering session, I am entirely certain you will look twice as terrifying.”
Kaelen’s jaw twitched slightly and his fist clenched rigidly by his side.
He knew full well that it was entirely that little furball’s fault his photo was going to look terrifying, given how violently she had startled him right at the critical moment.
But before he could launch a formal administrative counter-strike against his familiar, Karen cut in.
“I…
I hope mine has a soft silver lining,” Karen added happily, her hands clasped tightly together as her eyes turned wide and starry.
“I just hope mine comes out looking okay as well—just as top-tier as yours, Kaelen!”
At the mention of her ID looking “just as top-tier” as his, Kaelen’s face instantly went entirely grey.
The crushing realization of how badly Pixel had compromised the file hit his expressions like a lead weight.
Lisa shifted her weight, leaning her shoulder casually against the mahogany counter as she leveled a flat, deadpan stare at the duo.
“I’m sure all your IDs will come out looking just okay.” She offered a rare, slight shrug to comfort them, adding casually, “You’ll see.
The magic camera never disappoints.”
Lisa’s analytical mind was far more focused on the lingering smell of ozone in the air.
She knew that after Kaelen’s zero-baseline void energy completely vaporized the guild’s primary evaluation terminal yesterday, the entire building’s infrastructure was hanging by a thread.
While they were in the absolute middle of guessing the brilliant aesthetics, the back door clicked open.
Flair marched back out, but she wasn’t holding a sleek box of badges.
Instead, she laid out a large, heavily folded parchment document right onto the counter.
With a crisp snap, she unfolded the parchment, revealing a highly detailed tactical topographical map of the surrounding region.
“Uh…
Flair?” Kaelen’s brow furrowed, his fingers tightening against the strap of his tactical bag as he leaned slightly over the desk.
“Where exactly are our processed IDs?
What is the meaning of this?”
Flair flashed a bright, immensely mischievous grin, locking her eyes straight onto Kaelen with high-status playfulness.
“This, Mr.
Kaelen, is exactly where your squad is heading today!
Your very first formal task as a team.”
“Wait, what?!” Kaelen sputtered, his eyes wide in utter disbelief.
His head snapped back as if he had been physically struck by the announcement, his hands lifting slightly from his sides in sheer, unadulterated shock.
“Where exactly do you think we’re going?!”
Kaelen slammed both hands flat against the mahogany counter, the sudden, sharp impact echoing loudly across the immediate lobby floorboards.
His shoulders squared rigidly, his voice dropping into a cold, deeply irritated register that vibrated with architectural friction.
“Where are the IDs?!
We came here for our legal documentation!
Not for some stupid mission!
This is our day off, alright?”
“Unfortunately,” Flair sighed heavily, her posture dropping into a highly performative, exaggerated slouch as she gestured toward the back room.
“The primary ID printing machine was completely broken this morning.
It’s undergoing standard maintenance and will take another four hours to fully recalibrate.
So, I decided that instead of having you rookies lie around the tavern killing time, why not deploy you on a quick side mission to go flex your bones instead?”
Kaelen and Lisa exchanged a brief, knowing glance.
Broken machine?
It was a blatant corporate cover-up.
Flair was clearly trying to usher this undocumented, terminal-shattering anomaly out of the main lobby before the high-tier regional inspectors noticed the damage from yesterday’s testing meltdown.
A collective murmur of deep disappointment and frustration rippled through Kaelen and Karen.
“Why now…
this is totally unfair…
how does a guild even lose power like this…”
Lisa, however, stepped forward, her sharp eyes scanning the map parameters with cool, calculating focus.
“A special mission, eh?
Alrighty, then.
We will officially accept it.”
“Come on, Lisa!” Kaelen whined, his shoulders slumping heavily as he gestured wildly with his hands in protest.
“Our deployment metrics are completely compromised!
It’s a Sunday, Lisa.
S-U-N-D-A-Y!
We need to catch a break!”
“Look at it from a strategic standpoint, Kae,” Lisa countered smoothly, turning her head to level an authoritative gaze at him.
“Consider this as high-value practical training.
Gaining live, firsthand experience in the field before our main ranking is logged is an excellent asset.
And besides…
this specific assignment carries a guaranteed payout of one gold coin.”
The moment the word money hit Kaelen’s auditory grid, his entire tone instantaneously shifted.
His posture straightened, his eyes sharpened into laser-focused intensity, and a confident, corporate smirk broke across his face.
Behind his sharp gaze, his mind immediately went into overdrive, calculating the exact division metrics.
One gold coin translated to one hundred silver coins.
Split across the squad, that was a massive windfall for someone whose personal treasury was currently sitting at an absolute zero baseline.
Sensing a flawless opportunity to patch his broke financial standing, his entire directive did a total 180-degree turn.
“One gold coin?” Kaelen cleared his throat, adjusting his cloak with supreme executive status as he leveled his shoulders.
“Well…
fine.
Let’s execute the mission.
Not that I actually had anything better to do with my high-tier schedule anyway.” He tossed his head back slightly, crossing his arms as he added with an annoying, patronizing smile, “But I’m only doing it because you asked so nicely.”
Karen leaned in slightly, her voice dropping to a hesitant whisper as she looked between Kaelen and the desk.
“But…
going on missions requires registered adventurers, and we aren’t legally processed yet.
How can we take up any guild missions?”
Flair didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she laced her fingers together, resting her hands on the counter as she leaned forward on her elbows.
A deeply mischievous smirk spread across her face—one thick with unreadable suspense and silent calculations, as if she were structurally preparing to drop an incredibly exciting fact that would completely upend their parameters.
Kaelen froze for a microsecond before nodding his head in firm, authoritative agreement, locking his sharp gaze back onto Flair to demand a bureaucratic explanation.
Before Flair could answer, a crisp, sharp cough cut through the friction.
Lisa shifted her stance, drawing their attention as she rested one hand casually on the pommel of her blade.
Have you both forgotten that I am a fully registered adventurer?
You can legally deploy under my active license.”
She paused, a subtle shift in her posture hinting at a deeper calculation, but before she could elaborate, Flair’s grin widened to an almost malicious degree.
“And not to mention,” Flair chimed in, leaning forward on her elbows, “she is an exceptionally high-ranked adventurer.”
Both Kaelen and Karen froze, their expressions completely dropping into absolute amazement.
“What?!” Kaelen demanded, his calculated composure slipping.
“Yes,” Flair chuckled, enjoying the absolute shock radiating from the rookies.
“She isn’t just some ordinary low-tier operative.
She is a certified Class B adventurer.”
A heavy, stunned silence slammed into the room.
Kaelen, Karen, and even Pixel’s jaws practically dropped in unison.
“What?!” Kaelen and Karen blurted out together.
“You’re a Class B adventurer?!”
“I…
I thought you were a Class D adventurer!” Karen stammered, her eyes wide as she took a small step back.
Kaelen’s brow furrowed aggressively, his posture tensing as he leveled an accusing finger.
“Why didn’t you tell us?!”
Visibly flustered, Lisa raised both hands in front of her face in a defensive guard, a visible drop of sweat forming near her temple as her cold, stoic facade temporarily cracked.
“Well…
I never explicitly stated I was a D-rank adventurer.
And besides, you two never actually asked me before.”
“But the terminal readings!” Kaelen countered, his administrative mind trying to process the data error.
“Your public metric clearly displayed you as a D-class!”
“Well, that’s because my customized armor naturally masks my true rank,” Lisa explained, her posture relaxing back into its usual high-status rigidity as she adjusted her chest plate.
“It forces an enemy to look lowly of me and miscalculate my capabilities.
It really comes in handy most of the time.”
Kaelen’s expression shifted from sheer disbelief to a sharp, triumphant smirk.
He adjusted his tactical bag with renewed corporate confidence.
“Wow.
A Rank B.
You must be exceptionally strong.
Having someone of your caliber structurally aligned on our side means victory is completely guaranteed, no doubt.”
Karen nodded frantically in agreement, her initial anxiety instantly melting away.
On Kaelen’s shoulder, Pixel narrowed her eyes, letting out a low, vibrating hum.
“No wonder.
I always noted an unusual, deeply suppressed density in her mana readings whenever I ran a passive scan.
That explains the everything.”
“Now that that little secret is off the table,” Flair interrupted, clapping her hands together with an authoritative snap, ” Now let’s run you through the mission briefing.”
She pulled the map closer, tapping a marked cavern system with her fingernail.
“It’s a rescue mission.
A team of miners—six in total—stumbled directly into a hidden dungeon entrance, completely mistaking it for a standard mining cave.
They are currently trapped inside.
Reports from the field indicate that local monsters have already captured four of them.
Two managed to break away and flee, but unfortunately, one was confirmed killed during the retreat.”
Flair’s expression grew serious for a rare moment, her eyes locking onto Kaelen’s squad.
“Your explicit mission is to infiltrate and rescue the surviving captives.
This was an urgent, special deployment that I intentionally saved for you guys.
It will serve as the perfect baseline to audit how well you actually function with each other as a unified team.”
Karen’s fingers gripped the hem of her cloak again, her micro-expressions signaling a return of her panic.
“Isn’t…
isn’t a dungeon deployment incredibly dangerous for our very first mission?”
Flair chuckled softly, waving her hand through the air with complete, high-status dismissiveness.
“No, not at all.
It is, in fact, a simple Level D quest.
The monsters inside are so incredibly weak that even a blind monkey could successfully take them out.
So, you will be perfectly fine, Class E-minus.
To make it even easier for you, the hostiles are restricted entirely to the final level of the structure.
The dungeon only has three levels in total, so it’s a straight, predictable run.”
Hearing the phrase Class E-minus, Kaelen’s jaw clenched tightly, his architectural authority taking a direct emotional hit.
He crossed his arms rigidly over his chest, his eyes narrowing into a cold, simmering glare that signaled he was thoroughly insulted by the receptionist’s casual roast.
Beside him, Karen let out a small, relieved sigh, her shoulders dropping from her ears, while Lisa remained completely unbothered, her posture straight and her hand resting immovably on her blade as she mentally mapped out the three-level layout.
Flair leaned half her body over the counter, her eyes narrowing into a stern, highly pointed stare as she locked her gaze directly onto him.
“You better not mess up this trial mission, okay?
I am highly tracking your performance, Mr.
E-Minus.”