It was easier than he had expected.
Ray had braced himself for awkward silences, for the heavy weight of not knowing what to say—but none of that ever came. Somehow, being with this group, the words just flowed naturally. He wasn't second-guessing every sentence or hesitating before he spoke. It felt… surprisingly effortless.
And maybe it shouldn't have surprised him at all.
Back in middle school, he had been talkative. He'd had friends, laughed out loud, shared stories without fear of judgment. Maybe that part of him hadn't disappeared entirely—just gone quiet for a while, like a flickering light waiting to be reignited. Maybe it was finally starting to come back to life, like a part of his brain switching back on after years of silence.
"I thought I'd be the first one here," Roomba said, leaning his massive greatsword against the side of the table with a heavy thunk.
Ray's eyes instinctively followed the weapon. The blade was nearly as tall as Roomba himself, its surface worn but clearly well cared for—solid steel with a faint shimmer from repeated sharpening and use.
Guess his 84 STR isn't a joke, Ray thought, a bit awed. Just carrying a sword like that would be a challenge for most people. Wielding it like it weighed nothing? That took serious strength.
"So… both of you are?" Roomba asked, glancing between Elisa and the younger girl sitting beside her.
"I'm Elisa," she said calmly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "You might know me as Rexin."
The girl next to her straightened up, flashing a confident grin. "And I'm NPC. But you can call me Ashley. I only started last month."
So she really is the one with all 4s...
Ray hadn't expected someone like her—bubbly, expressive, and full of energy. Somehow, that made her even more of an enigma.
"So you're the NPC1500! I heard from Rexin your growth stats are for real!" Roomba exclaimed, eyes wide with genuine excitement.
"Yep! You're right!" Ashley replied proudly, puffing out her chest a little—only to deflate moments later with a heavy sigh. "But thanks to that, I got shadow banned."
"Wait, seriously?"
"Yeah…" Ashley crossed her arms on the table and rested her chin on them, sounding casual but a little frustrated. "They told me to stop falsifying my status. Even though I told them it was real, they just wouldn't believe me. Since my level is still low, they flagged my account and banned me from applying to parties unless I get invited directly."
She gave a small, resigned shrug. "It's annoying, but not the end of the world."
Ray couldn't fully blame the moderators. If someone was falsifying their status, it wasn't just a risk to themselves—it could endanger the whole party. Their caution made sense.
Even Ray himself found it hard to fully believe. Her growth stats were abnormal to a degree he'd never heard before. It was the kind of luck that felt almost unreal.
"The only thing you need to do is raise your level!" Roomba said, grinning broadly and giving her a big thumbs-up. "Show everyone you're the real deal—even without a skill!"
"That's what I'm trying to do," Ashley replied confidently, her eyes gleaming with determination.
"It's all thanks to Liz that I was able to reach level five," she added, casting a grateful glance toward Elisa. "And I can feel the difference already. I don't get tired as easily anymore, and I can actually lift heavy stuff now without struggling."
She flexed one arm slightly, clearly proud of the progress, even if it wasn't much by others' standards.
Elisa simply listened in silence, her expression unreadable. She didn't say anything, but her gaze lingered on Ashley a little longer than usual.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's head to the dungeon," Ray said, a flicker of motivation rising in his voice. "We might stumble upon a skill book if we're lucky."
"We're gonna be rich if we find one!" Roomba laughed loudly, practically bouncing in his seat with excitement.
Skill books were among the rarest items anyone could find in a dungeon. It's an item that can grant a single new skill to anyone who opened it. Officially, only five had ever been discovered—at least, as far as the public knew. There was no reliable way to track who had one, and if someone used it immediately after finding it.
At auction, a single skill book could fetch tens of millions of dollars. It was the kind of treasure that could change someone's life overnight—turning an unknown into a legend, or a struggling explorer into a walking fortune.
"Selling it? Isn't that a waste? Why don't we just use it ourselves?"
Leon's voice cut through the excitement, his tone casual but firm. He clearly had a different opinion when it came to skill books.
Roomba gave him a look. "Don't be stupid. It's a one-time use item. There are five of us."
"Then just find five," Leon said with a shrug, as if it were that simple.
Roomba let out a short laugh, not out of amusement, but disbelief. "If it were that easy, everyone would be walking around with a dozen skills by now."
He was trying to talk some sense into Leon, but Leon wasn't done yet.
"Then use it on one of us," Leon said, eyes narrowing slightly. "And whoever uses it stays in the party—no bailing—until we find the other four. Fair trade, right?"
There was a brief silence as the group weighed his words. It was a bold idea… maybe even reckless. But it wasn't entirely wrong either.
"Why don't we argue about it after we actually find one?" Ray said, trying to steer the conversation back on track.
His voice was calm, but there was a clear edge of finality to it. No point in fighting over treasure they didn't even have yet.
"You guys are so childish," said the youngest member of the party crossing her arms with an exaggerated huff.
"Here's one chocolate sundae and two strawberry sundaes," the waitress said with a pleasant smile as she set the desserts down.
She placed the chocolate sundae in front of Ashley, then slid the strawberry sundaes over to Ray and Elisa.
"Yay!"
Ashley lit up instantly, her eyes sparkling as she dug into the sundae without hesitation—like a kid who'd just been handed a present.
Ray nodded politely to the waitress. "Thanks," he said, his voice soft but sincere.
Elisa, as usual, said nothing. But she gave a small nod before picking up her spoon.
Roomba let out a defeated sigh as he watched Ashley happily devour her sundae.
"Man... you're impossible," he muttered under his breath, though there was a hint of a smile on his face.
Then he turned to Leon.
"Wanna order something before we hit the dungeon?"
Leon leaned back in his chair and nodded. "Yeah. Let's do that. Might as well fuel up while we can."
***
As they walked toward the entrance of the Quadform Dungeon, Ray glanced over at the tall, armor-clad figure beside him.
"So, Roomba," he began, curious. "Is that your real name, or just a nickname?"
Roomba chuckled. "Oh, nah. My real name's Brian."
He adjusted the greatsword strapped to his back as he continued, "Back in the day, my friends used to call me Broken Roomba—'cause I loved cleaning, but apparently, I was terrible at it. Missed spots, knocked stuff over... the works."
Ray raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"
"Yep," Roomba grinned. "Eventually, they dropped the 'Broken' part. Too long. So now I'm just Roomba."
Ray nodded, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. It somehow suited him.
"Didn't know you had the whole lore behind your nickname," Leon said, smirking at Roomba.
Roomba shrugged. "Every name's got a story, man."
Ray hesitated, then looked at Leon. "…What about you?"
Leon tilted his head. "Me?"
Ray nodded, a bit unsure. "Yeah. I mean… your nickname? There's no way that's random."
Leon didn't even flinch. In fact, he looked proud.
"I'm glad you asked," he paused for a while.
"Because I need a goth momma," he said seriously, placing a hand on his chest like he was confessing something sacred. "Not want. Need."
Ashley choked on her laughter. "Wait—you're serious?"
"As death itself," Leon replied, unfazed. "Tall, black eyeliner, fishnets, emotional damage—the whole aesthetic. That's the dream. And the '7' is there because apparently six other people already had the same vision.
"You mean seven?" Elisa said, trying to correct Leon. But she got ignored.
Roomba blinked. "...That's the most specific craving I've ever heard."
"And I stand by it," Leon said with zero shame. "I've had this username since middle school, and I've carried it through every account I own. I even considered making it my legal name once."
"You're insane," Ashley said, still laughing.
"And yet, here I am," Leon replied, crossing his arms smugly. "One day, she'll come. A six-foot-tall shadow queen in combat boots, and when she does, she'll see the username and know."
"Remember, you still have the other seven rivals—or more…" Ray said dryly, a hint of a smirk on his face.
Leon grinned, then threw his arms wide with an overly dramatic expression, as if he were standing on stage.
"No problemo. I'll show them that I am the one and only—NeedGOTHMomma!"
Ashley, who was eating another chocolate sundae on their way, laughed so hard she nearly dropped her spoon.
"You're totally unhinged."
A few nearby people turned to look in their direction, drawn by the sudden outburst. Those who clearly heard what Leon said gave him looks that were… difficult to describe. Somewhere between amused, confused, and mildly concerned.
Roomba shook his head, chuckling. "Man, I thought I was weird for going by Roomba, but you're on another level."
Elisa, still quiet, gave the faintest amused exhale—just enough to count as a laugh if you were paying attention.
It was kind of rare to meet someone like Leon.
Despite the bizarre username and his unapologetic obsession with goth moms. He was… oddly charismatic. If he spoke normally—even just for a moment—he came off as genuinely charming. His voice had an easy confidence to it, and when he wasn't talking or goofing around, he had this effortless cool about him. The kind of person who could pass as a model in a streetwear ad—sharp features, calm expression, the right amount of messy hair.
"By the way, Ray," Leon said, looking directly at him.
"Despite still being level 6 with average stats, you managed to defeat a boar with red crystal."
"Yeah, I did," Ray replied, feeling a little nervous under Leon's gaze.
"To tell the truth, I was actually still level 5 when I defeated it," Ray added quickly, laughing nervously. "They're not that hard to beat."
Leon's expression turned serious. "I actually fought one before. And I ended up badly injured."
"What?" Ray couldn't believe what he'd just heard.
Leon had high VIT stats—ten times higher than Ray's. If the red crystal horn boar from the first dungeon could leave Leon badly injured, that meant the monster was seriously powerful.
"What level were you when you fought it?" Ray asked, hoping Leon had been lower level back then.
"Level 13," Leon confirmed.
"Thankfully, Roomba happened to pass by and helped me escape," he added, nodding gratefully.
Ray frowned in confusion. "Aren't they just becomes a lot stronger than the normal one?"
Roomba chimed in. "For most monsters, yeah."
"But the boar's an exception," Roomba explained. "When its crystal changes to red, it's said to be 10 times stronger."
"Seriously?" Ray's disbelief was clear.
Did I got some kind of plot armor when I fought it?
"Seriously, do you only wear those clothes in the dungeon?" Ashley suddenly cut into the conversation, her eyes scanning his outfit with a teasing smirk.
"I already told you guys," Ray replied calmly. "I don't think protective gear is necessary if I'm only exploring the first floor. I mean, as long as you don't get hit, what's the point of wearing armor?"
Roomba groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. "That's exactly what someone says right before they do get hit."
Leon leaned over and stage-whispered to Ashley, "We gotta get this guy a helmet before he gets himself killed by his stupidity."
"Forget a helmet, just wrap him in bubble wrap."
Elisa, arms still folded, sighed. "You know, it's great that you trust your reflexes. But reflexes won't stop an arrow you didn't see coming."
After discovering that Ray doesn't have any protective gear, everyone quickly agreed to stick to exploring only the first floor today. Roomba, Leon, and Elisa all warned him that the second floor was much more dangerous than the first.
"After we are done hunting some boar, we're going to buy you some proper gear," Elisa said firmly, folding her arms.
Ray let out a deep sigh, feeling the weight of their concern settle on him. And finally, they reached the dungeon entrance.