I need access to the Level Sixty Hidden Dungeon...
The Level Sixty Hidden Dungeon was the highest-level dungeon in the academy, reserved only for players who had made it onto the rankings. In Cassandra’s guild, only a few mbers had access to it, which explained why barely ten percent had been explored. To clear the remaining ninety percent and complete the quest, she needed more guild mbers inside as soon as possible.
Martin had connected the Level One Hidden Dungeon, but he had never expected to do it himself. Luck alone had carried him through that discovery. The only clue we have is that we might need to defeat the main bosses to unlock guild access.
Opening the guild tab, Cassandra scrolled through the mber list and saw Martin online.
It was early in the morning, 8:00 a.m., the perfect hour for quiet, relaxed gaming. The most hardcore players had already gone to bed, while everyone else either had responsibilities or preferred to wake up a little later.
But Martin should have been at work.
How was he online?
...did sothing happen at his workplace?
Just then, Cassandra received a private ssage from one of her guild mbers, soone she knew very well by now.
[NukEncore: Elder Sister! Could you invite Flash Fang to the guild? It’s my best friend! Thanks!]
She’ll want to play with her best friend in the party. It’s highly unlikely that friend is a man.
Cassandra sent the invitation to Flash Fang, who imdiately joined the guild.
[NukEncore: Mhm! Do you want to hang out with us? We’ll play together with Martin for a while!]
[Cassandra Selfmore: Invite . On this character.]
[NukEncore: Soldier Martin incoming! Haha!]
By so strange twist of fate, Martin was now in a party with NukEncore, her best friend, and Cassandra Selfmore herself. Once all of them gathered, every piece of advice his boss had given him vanished from his head.
Without thinking, he saluted.
"Hello, boss!"
NukEncore laughed aloud. "Haha!"
—
Martin returned ho early because of a power outage at work. Sudden road repairs had started outside, and the entire street suffered because of it. At first, everyone tried to pretend the situation would be fixed in a few minutes, but once the lights flickered twice and the office computers shut down again, even the managers stopped acting optimistic.
Martin’s boss made the quick decision to call it a day and sent everyone ho. A wave of relieved employees flooded out of the office, already dreaming of their beds, their couches, or whatever guilty pleasure adulthood usually denied them.
Martin walked with them for a while, but unlike most of his coworkers, he did not feel the urge to crawl under a blanket.
That surprised him a little, because not too long ago, an unexpected day off would have ant sleeping until noon, waking up groggy, eating sothing lazy, and wasting the rest of the day before sohow feeling tired again in the evening.
Lately, though, his schedule had beco strangely proper. He woke up earlier, slept better, and even his body seed to understand that mornings had a purpose now. That purpose was Harem Online, of course, though the people inside it might have had sothing to do with it too.
I’m not sleepy at all. Guess I really fixed my life a little, huh?
His lips curved before he could stop them. He wanted to play the ga, so he did.
Surprisingly, NukEncore logged in a few minutes after him. With raw excitent in her voice, she told him that her best friend had logged in too and wanted to play with her. She invited Martin to join them, and how could he refuse when she sounded so excited? He was also curious about the person who had earned that much affection from her.
NukEncore was energetic with everyone, but there was a different kind of warmth in her voice this ti. Whoever this friend was, she clearly mattered. She had probably known NukEncore long before guilds, quests, hidden dungeons, and all the chaos that had recently swallowed Martin’s gaming life.
Her best friend, huh? I wonder what kind of person can keep up with Encore.
He expected soone loud, maybe another cheerful girl or even soone more chaotic than NukEncore, if that was possible.
Then Cassandra Selfmore appeared on the scene too.
"HELLO, BOSS!"
She was dressed in her famous white suit, with a neckline so distracting that Martin stole one quick peek before snapping into full soldier mode. His back straightened, his chin lifted, and his hand practically moved on its own.
Is she here to congratulate us in person?
Cassandra stared at him with the calm expression of a woman who had expected sothing like this and was still faintly disappointed to see it happen.
"Haha! Martin! Don’t be so stressed and official! This is a casual eting!" NukEncore said, already laughing before she finished the sentence. Then she wrapped her arm around the person beside her and proudly drew Martin’s attention over. "Here’s my best friend! Flash Fang!"
When Martin turned toward Flash Fang, his smile almost slipped.
Flash Fang had a sharp, stylish avatar with an easy posture and a confident presence. The na sounded cool too, like sothing a fast lee fighter would choose. Fang stood close to NukEncore, calm and relaxed, as if belonging at her side was the most natural thing in the world.
Martin’s brain gathered the information it wanted, ignored everything inconvenient, and delivered one simple conclusion: Flash Fang was a guy.
A second later, Martin forced his smile back into place.
"Nice to et you, bro. Everyone calls Martin, so the sa goes for Encore’s best friend."
NukEncore and Cassandra both blinked.
Flash Fang paused too, but only for half a second. In that tiny slice of silence, NukEncore watched her best friend understand exactly what had happened. The realization landed, and the chance to correct Martin appeared, bright and obvious.
Then Flash Fang’s mouth curved, and NukEncore felt her soul leave her body.
Rias, please don’t.
Flash Fang bowed low with theatrical politeness. "Likewise. Call Fang, if you may."
Rias, why are you like this?
"Yeah, of course. I used to be the only man in the party, so I’m happy to finally have a fellow bro!" Martin chuckled.
A small, ugly feeling stirred in him before he could stop it.
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