Chapter 129: eting the Team
“Kai, I’m not sure how to feel about this all…” Aria murmured.
It was the next day, which ant the dungeon descent would take place today. They had five days until a dungeon break would occur, but the Awakened Association guidelines stated that a guild has to clear its dungeons 48 hours before the estimated deadline. If they couldn’t achieve that, then it would be counted as a failure, and the association would take it upon itself to assemble a team that was good enough to clear it in two days. They would do so either by using their internal agents or making the awakened of official guilds do it for them in exchange for rewards.
This was the protocol for the F, E, and D-ranked dungeons. Higher ranks required more ti to clear, so the guilds had to complete the dungeons faster before the association would step in.
“It’ll be fine. We’re ready for the D rank.”
“Based on what do you say this, Mr. Confident?” Luna asked with an amused tone. The four of them were sitting in the back of a minivan. Due to their combat equipnt, a smaller ride wouldn’t have been sufficient this ti around.
Considering Kaiden and co were low-levels who only ever entered a beginner-friendly F-ranked dungeon, the Storm Valkyrie was more than justified in calling him out on his BS.
Kaiden knew it as well, best evidenced by his decision to steer the conversation in his preferred direction, earning himself a cute scoff in the process. “I wonder how the rest of our team will be. They should’ve gotten so training from the more experienced mbers of their guild. Maybe we’ll get to learn so tricks from them.”
“It’s standard procedure for rookie awakened to be trained by the guild they join for years before they’re sent on their first dangerous mission. However, Tessa’s lack of confidence is all we need to know, I think,” Nyx said. “She wouldn’t have embarrassed herself by approaching us otherwise. We’re her last hope.”
“Us… You’re saying it like we’re the plague.” Luna didn’t appreciate Nyx’s tone.
“Well, the recording of your coochie is on the platform, alongside your shower blowjob, bestie. Mr. Confident over here got disowned over this ‘small issue.’ No respectable guild would want to associate themselves with our brand.”
“At least not until we beco too big to ignore!” Aria cheered, lightening the tense mood that seed to always surround the two fierce kittens. Even though she and Kaiden were sitting between the two, they still found ways to fight.
“That’s right. We just have to do our own thing. We’re trying to do sothing unprecedented over here by traversing uncharted waters. It’s only natural that we’re being looked down upon until we prove our approach works. It’s the trendsetters who have to pave the way, but they’re also the ones who reap the most benefits for their bravery to innovate and try new things,” Kaiden said while putting his arm over Aria’s and Nyx’s backs, resting it on their shoulders. The two beauties happily nestled their head against his shoulder, which did not help improve the sole woman’s mood who wasn’t sitting next to Kaiden.
With that, the squad chatted away the remainder of the two-hour-long journey. Once the minivan parked at their destination, they got out and ca face to face with an imposing guild headquarters.
Nova Circuit might’ve been demoted to the status of a low-tier guild, but they were once a mid-tier organization, and it showed. Their building was prestigious.
Its exterior was made of dark-tinted glass and reinforced steel, with neon-blue circuit-like patterns running along its surface, strongly hinting at the founder’s favoritism toward the Arcane subclass category.
Though so areas showed signs of wear, this building still exuded power. Owning such a guild HQ was not just about comfort and luxury: it was a statent of strength. Getting recruits to sign up if they got to live and train in such a unique building would be easier, while other guilds wouldn’t look down on them for being cheap.
Kaiden and his Valkyries made their way toward the automatic sliding doors placed under a massive holographic sign that displayed the guild’s emblem, which was a vividly streaking cot.
The inside was just as luxurious as the outside. It was spacious and filled with ntos of the guild’s rich past. Many paintings detailed their history, though most works seed to be made years ago, during the guild’s golden era.
They strolled to the reception desk, where a woman welcod them. She gasped upon laying her eyes on the squad, but Kaiden didn’t pay it much heed. He placed their awakened identifications on her table and said, “I’m Kaiden Gray, and these ladies are my teammates, Luna, Aria, and Nyx. We’re rcenaries guild leader Tessa brought here to help the guild clear a D-ranked dungeon.”
“I’d been inford…” she muttered while stealing shy glances at him.
“Please turn right and walk until you reach the end of the corridor, then take a left…” the receptionist said after registering them in the guild’s system.
As soon as they were out of earshot, the Valkyries burst into amused snickers.
“A fangirl, huh,” Kaiden said upon witnessing their reactions. He wasn’t socially inept enough not to see how flustered the woman was.
“Duh. She must’ve been told by staff to expect us, and out of curiosity, she searched for info regarding the rcenaries her guild hired,” Luna revealed her thoughts, accompanied by a giant grin.
“And during her little research, one click led to another, and she soon found herself face to face with Mr. Confident and his throbbing lance…” Nyx purred.
“I wonder if it was my nurse play?” Aria asked bashfully, a pink shade adorned her cheeks.
“That was the video that brought in by far the most fangirls, so I would say quite likely.” Nyx’s response only made Aria squirm more. It was the first ti they t a fangirl in real life.
“We did do a fourso after the cooking stream,” Luna reminded the pair with a strong edge to her voice.
“There’s no need to get competitive about everything, bestie.”
Before Luna could retort, a new voice spoke up. “You’re here, guys.”
Tessa greeted them with a small smile. Their impression of this woman was very positive on a personal level, though her leadership capabilities were questionable at best. However, based on their research into the Nova Circuit guild and its history, Tessa wasn’t the one to bla for their initial downfall. She was just a run-of-the-mill mber back when the founders left, leaving this B-tier Arcane Archer to pick up the shattered pieces and do her utmost to keep things going. It was highly doubtful she inherited the properties of the previous guild leaders, though. As such, she was likely forced to pay rent for the HQ as well as anything else owned by those who departed but left so of their properties behind.
“How was your journey here?”
“The minivan you sent to pick us up was a godsend! The driver was professional as well,” Aria chirped while returning Tessa’s greeting smile.
“I’m happy to hear that. This was the least I could do for you four. You’re the real godsends, as far as I’m concerned.”
As the four ladies continued their chatting, Kaiden couldn’t help but glance sideways. Tessa was waiting for them in the corridor, but behind her, a glass door could be seen.
And in that room, Kaiden saw a face he didn’t expect to ever et again. Valeria, the woman he confessed to in high school and got rejected by. The sa fate awaited David as well when he tried his chance with her.
Upon seeing her image, Kaiden’s features darkened for a brief mont.
Rejecting soone’s confession wasn’t grounds for getting offended or harboring ill will toward a woman—not at all. What solicited such a reaction from him was what she did afterward.
Vaelira always liked to be the center of attention, even if it ant kicking others down to keep the spotlight centered on herself. She spread false rumors about him, such as him being a creepy stalker who drooled incessantly at her re thought or that he had a visible erection and was stuttering like a clown while confessing. All of these were pure fabrications used to keep their fellow students talking about her.
In the process, she ruined his high school life and even got him in trouble with the teachers. The worst of it all was her two-faced nature; she always liked to act like a kind-hearted girl who was all sunshine and rainbows. This deception of hers was what made Kaiden fall for her in the first place—besides her smoking-hot body, of course.
Vaelira had always been beautiful, but back in high school, she carried a youthful charm: she had a bright, innocent smile that masked her cruel intentions. Now, she had shed that girlish allure for sothing more refined.
Dressed in a green skirt paired with a fitted top, she no longer had to rely on feigned innocence to turn heads. She carried herself differently, too, with the grace of soone who knew her worth and expected others to acknowledge it.
Yet, despite the change of wardrobe and attitude, Kaiden didn’t believe Vaelira would change on the inside. She looked the part of a sophisticated woman now, but the glint in her eyes still held that sa calculating sharpness. The sa hunger for attention. The sa ability to manipulate others to get what she wanted.
After examining Vaelira for a few seconds through the glass window, Kaiden decided to say hello. It didn’t feel right to just stare at her like a creep.
He pushed the door open and stepped in.
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