Raymond led Nico towards the lounge with a soft expression, his gaze gentle and his hold on Nico strong but not suffocating.
Nico squinted his eyes suspiciously as he walked with him, wondering if such a strong yet somewhat inviting person truly existed in New Olympus.
"Yo, this is our newest temp," Raymond announced to the group as they turned their heads in unison. "Go ahead and introduce yourself."
Nico cleared his throat and chuckled. "My name is Nico. I'd like to think I'm relatively good with the sword. Nice to meet you all."
An olive-skinned woman was the first to run towards Nico, forcing her way towards him by stomping or kicking away the feet that blocked her path.
Her brown eyes widened the closer she approached him, her hands rising towards Nico's hair.
"He's kinda hot..." she said as she tried touching his silver hair, only for Nico to gently hold her hands and release them before she could.
She smiled seductively. "The name's Vanessa." She fixed her black corset and stood beside Nico, staring into his red eyes like a curious cat.
Her hair was black and short, while her corset was accompanied by a short skirt of the same colour with long black boots.
"He's not hot if you think about the fact that we're all hot," Gary said matter-of-factly as he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
His hair was as gold as the sun, and his eyes were greener than freshly watered grass. His arms were covered in silver armour plates, and his blue shirt had a massive cross on it.
"I've never seen a player with silver hair before, Gary. That alone makes him hot... I'm Alice, by the way," she said almost dismissively.
Alice had long black hair braided into a ponytail that reached her backside, while her eyes were a deep purple hue.
She wore a medium-length purple coat with black leggings and ankle boots while she carried a staff with a blue gem in her hands.
"Hello, I'm Herald," he bowed gently and smiled warmly at Nico. "You and I are both new. Let's get along."
Herald had brown undercut hair and oddly black eyes that turned green in the right light. He wore simple casual clothes with a grey coat that reached his pelvic region.
"I'm Oscar, slightly new since I've only been here for a day," Oscar shook Nico's arm and smiled with his teeth.
Oscar had medium-length hair and grey eyes, along with a short beard and an all-black outfit that looked relatively similar to Nico's, except without the missing gloves.
"I'm Jasper," the dark-skinned woman introduced herself with disinterest and a thick English accent before looking away.
Her hair was wavy and huge, while her red leather jacket held onto her like a glove. She was slightly taller than all of them, Raymond being the only exception.
"Alright, since we're all acquainted, let's get down to business, shall we?" Raymond pulled out a chip and tossed it onto the glass coffee table.
A holographic screen appeared and showed images of a massive cave with glowing crystals stuck to the wall and ceiling, alongside various monsters of different varieties.
But the monsters that popped up the most were massive salamanders with thick scales and sharp rocks protruding from their backs.
"Stalagmite Salamanders..." Nico mumbled softly.
"Wow, you recognise them?" Vanessa noticed.
"Uh, yeah. They're low-level monsters that only appear at the beginning of the game, but they're extremely formidable and only hunt in groups, making them dangerous.
"Not a lot of people remember them since they barely cover the first arc of the game."
"It's good that you know that, Nico," Raymond added. "Our task is to hunt down and kill each congress of these monsters. In total, there are 3 congresses, and each one can have 15 salamanders roughly.
"This would normally be a level 6 job, but it's so high because of the congress numbers and the potential of a boss spawn. Hence why we needed the extra hands."
"While we're on the topic, shouldn't we talk about everyone's skillset before the raid?" Gary suggested as he smiled slyly, glancing at Nico as he did.
"That's a great idea," Nico smirked. "Why don't you break the ice for us, Gary?"
Gary stood up and cracked his neck. "Gladly."
He pulled out a sword from thin air, and ice-cold wind began blowing around him. "I can conjure up ice, and I'm amazing with the sword."
Nico nodded. 'That sword is glowing awfully bright... I wonder if his ice powers come from that...'
"Between you and me, he thinks no one in the group knows that his sword is what gives him his powers," Vanessa whispered in Nico's ear.
His eyes widened, and she simply chuckled softly, placing her index finger over her lips and winking at him.
"I can read surroundings and sense energies via vibrations. So even if our enemies can cloak their mana, they can't cloak their heartbeats," she claimed, making Nico realise that she wasn't completely honest with her group either.
"I'm an elemental mage, and I also specialise in defence magic," Alice said as she conjured up a gentle flame.
"Basic blades can't cut my skin, making me a tank," Roman flexed his muscles and smiled widely as he did.
"So, what can you do, Nico?" Gary smirked.
"Well, I'm pretty agile, and I'm a professional boxer."
Gary immediately burst into laughter. "What, are you gonna box the monsters with your bare hands? You know the strongest punch you can land without a weapon or spell is only worth like 3 to 5 HP, right?"
Nico smiled softly, remembering how he attempted to complete an entire side mission with his bare hands and succeeded. He got a cool trophy and was mentioned by the devs.
The price was only 3 days of his life that he would never get back. Even with that revelation, he knew it wouldn't change whatever Gary's attitude was towards him.
So, he only shrugged. "I'm also great at the game."
"Ray, you might've brought us a liability," Gary commented as he returned the sword into his inventory.
"You don't get to decide that. Nico will prove himself in the dungeon, right?"
Nico nodded. "Naturally."
"Alright. So, I got brass knuckles as a gift, and it's convenient because I'm also a boxer," Oscar smiled softly.
"At least Oscar here has a weapon that'll compliment his skill."
"Gary," Raymond sighed.
"Fine, I'll shut up," Gary rolled his eyes and lifted his arms as he returned to the couch.
"I can cast fire and water spells," Harold raised his hand.
"My body can resist almost any form of physical attacks and basic blades," Jasper added.
"Looks like we've got a good lineup. So, Jasper will rock the front with me as an additional tank. Harold will hang with Alice in the middle and act as our rangers.
"Nico, Gary, Oscar and Vanessa will hold the fort and cover our flanks. Sound good?" Raymond suggested.
The group nodded in unison. Without wasting any more time, the party left the Guild Centre and began walking towards the location of the dungeon.
The rain blared violently as it touched Nico once again, quickly reminding him of his earlier kill and how he had entered the wild once more.
Vanessa clung to him and smiled softly as she looked at him mischievously. "You're not like these other new players. You've tasted blood before."
Nico grunted and gently removed his arm from Vanessa's hold while she walked beside him.
"I've been trying to forget."
"I still remember my first kill. It wasn't an easy one either. At least you were just defending yourself."
Nico squinted his eyes. "I'm starting to think that your powers go far beyond sensing vibrations. You watched it all happen, didn't you?" he whispered.
Vanessa smiled. "You really are smart. I shouldn't have doubted you.
"Yes, while Ray and I were headed towards the Guild Centre, I saw you stab that homeless man in self-defence.
"He was trying to kill you, and yet you have sympathy for him. Why?"
"Because he was a living being."
Vanessa stopped smiling and crossed her arms. "That sense of righteousness you've got brewing around you will cause you massive problems in the future.
"But ignoring that, this shouldn't be a thing..." she mused as she reached out to touch Nico's hair, only for Nico to duck and laugh awkwardly.
"Please... Please don't touch my hair."
Vanessa shrugged. "Just saying it's odd. There's an omen that lurks around players who stand out. Because of your hair, you certainly stand out."
Nico felt his heartbeat increase. "What do you mean by that...?"
"The game's code is fucked up. Main characters are the only ones that should be unique. If the world senses that you're unnatural, it'll do its best to rewrite its code.
"If it can't do that, it rewrites you," Vanessa chuckled as she poked Nico so hard he could feel his skin bruising beneath his clothes.
[-2 HP]
[HP: 103 / 105]
Nico winced softly and looked at Vanessa with caution. She rested her head on his shoulder and interlocked her fingers with his.
"I already like you, Nico. Try not to stand out too much, or else the world will erase you..."
Nico furrowed his brows and glanced ahead of him, where he noticed that Gary was looking at him... weirdly...
They continued looking at each other, Nico's discomfort becoming more apparent the longer he looked into Gary's eyes.
Then Gary naturally looked ahead of him once again, leaving Nico to stare alone.
That subtle gesture quickly reminded him of something...
'I am alone...'