"Can you two not fight before the dungeon!? And can we start with introductions first before you start trying to kill your own teammates!" The twin tailed blonde shouts.
The guy dematerializes his sword. "Ragnarok," he says.
I pay no mind to him and look at the girl instead. "And your name."
She puffs out her chest, flashing her little fangs. "I am Lady Elanor. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
I get up from the table and kneel down next to her, taking her hand into my palm. Her cheek flashes a slight red and sounds of confusion come out from her. "Eh? What? Why?"
"What are you doing at the table?" the amber-eyed guy shouts.
Suave, I flash a smirk. "Merely greeting a refined lady with honor." I kiss her hand.
Her confusion dies down and a look of disgust full of embarrassment appears as she spits, "A dog with manners, how quaint."
"Hey, I'm only following proper etiquette. Don't blame me, blame fine society," I grin before going back to my seat.
"If you're done being horny, we can continue," Ragnarok says.
Anger billows in me, but I get interrupted before I can speak.
"My name's Rin. I hope we can make it out of this okay and soon. I got family to get back to, after all," the sporty chick says, flashing a bright smile.
The amber-eyed guy says, "My name is Bobbert Raphileus." He gestures to the green-eyed man, "and that's my brother Jimmy Raphileus," who smiles and nods, saying "I'm glad this is a lively bunch it would have been far too depressing otherwise."
The last pink-haired guy says, "My name is Alvis. Good to meet you all."
Ragnarok spits in disgust. "You don't look like you have any spine."
Alvis shrinks in his seat, "I'm sorry."
Ragnarok groans, facepalming, "I'm really gonna die here."
Lady Eleanor says, "Quit crying, I'm sure he's doing his best."
"Thank you, Lady Eleanor," he smiles, nodding.
She retorts, "Our distance in formal training, etiquette, and background does not mean you can be spineless. I expect better behavior in the future however, your thanks is welcomed."
"But the Letcher behavior is fine," Ragnarok says, pointing to me.
I can't really respond he's right.
Lady Eleanor sighs, "I can't help mutts who abuse the code of conduct for their own lecherous desires."
"I'm kind of feeling attacked right now," I say.
"You reap what you sow." Her gaze flickers to the moonlit girl, "Hey, you, silver-haired girl, what's your name? You haven't spoken this whole time at this table."
"I'm Sera Valewood. I just feel a little uncomfortable being here."
I say "I mean, shit, baby, you can sit next to me. I'll make you feel real at home."
Lady Eleanor cringes at me "Please don't go next to the man who needs to be put on a list."
"Lady Eleanor, I'm wounded by your words. How could you be so cutthroat and callous to assume-"
Ragnarök shouts "Weren't you hitting on the other woman at the counter five minutes ago?"
I put my hands up "In my defense, she didn't say yes. She just didn't say no. Besides, you fail 100% of the shots you don't take, so it's simple I just take every shot."
Alvis said, "I wish I had your confidence. Maybe I wouldn't be so nervous and queasy about what's coming next."
"Oh, God, shut the fuck up already your voice is poisoning the atmosphere," Ragnarok spits.
"Chill, rag-man. He didn't say anything wrong only spoke the truth after all my confidence is something to be admired." I say
"You call me that again and we really are fighting." he spits
I ignore him and flash a cocky smile at Alvis the kid reminds me of Aiden a little "Alvis, right? Don't worry about it, dude. I'm here, so that means everyone's getting out of this."
"Here's hoping you can do the impossible, then," Lady Eleanor snorts.
"What do you mean by this? I ask
"Adventuring parties, especially at the start, have about an 80% mortality rate." she says
"You mean like 80% success or..." I say
"You know what I mean. 80% of the parties that go in fail and die. The rest usually lose members all along the way. Normally, this could be circumvented by planning and studying, but most of the royals of the capital withhold the materials for the people. It's done in the name of trade, of course. It doesn't help that Earthlings like you are sprinkled in, which is just like throwing toddlers to wolves," she complains.
I interrupt her tirade, "Well, Lady Eleanor, I don't know what type of Earthlings you've met, but none of them are me."
She perks up, "Oh, and what's so special about you?"
I shoot a smug look at her, "It's simple, I'm the best to ever do it."
She questions, "And what exactly is it?"
I laugh, "IT doesn't matter what IT is, I am the best to ever do IT."
She sighs, "I don't know why I even asked."
The receptionist comes back and says, "You guys can come in now. We'll be sending your party out first."
Standing in the back room, we face a map of the territory.
The receptionist says, "Hello, everyone. My name is Mirarhi, and it's a pleasure to meet you all. I am a member of what you Earthlings would call an elven race. While we may have our cultural differences, I hope we can get along. For those of you who are already familiar with our customs, please be patient while I finish my explanation." Ragnar and Lady Eleanor shift, waiting for her to finish.
"Now," she continues, "for those who wish to avoid participating in this mission, we have only two available slots. Those who win a small fight will be exempt from participation." She eyes me in particular before adding, "And for those who want to avoid all responsibilities, you will be sent into the wilds – without resources, I might add the fact, Few Newcomers survive the wilds, especially at your levels. Let me begin by explaining where you are. You're in the small, sleepy town of Ironlight. This town, along with three other small villages – Hope's Banner, Elderbane, and Hooksreach – are where you newbies are typically summoned."
"I understand some of you had your own respective worlds before arriving here, but I must tell you that those worlds no longer matter. They have been swallowed up and remade within the King's Abyss."
She pulls a separate image from the table, revealing the gate I stood before, the one filled with screams and the sounds of flesh and bone being torn apart without mercy. "We are not far from here, perhaps a day or two's ride. However, we won't simply send you newbies straight into the Abyss. As instructed by the High Council, summoned individuals must repeatedly delve into the Abyss due to population control issues. Gold, gathered from the Abyss, serves as your currency and allows you to take breaks and live a normal life. But don't think it's easy, the death rate is still far too high. Fear, greed, and lust often lead to parties being wiped out."
She rolls up the image and points back to the original map. "Normally, we would send trained individuals into dungeons with you. However, given your numbers and current strength, you should survive as long as you remain calm."
"This will also serve as your trial to enter the Abyss. Of course, there are monsters on the surface world and in the wilds where you can gather gold as well. But as I stated earlier, the mortality rate is high there too. And between you and me, I would rather face the Abyss than the wilds."
Sera raises her hand. "Has anyone seen the end of the abyss?"
The receptionist returns to the table. "No, no one has. Currently, humanity has only made it through about three layers. Our infighting has prevented us from pushing forward to the fourth. Larger teams are needed, but people are fighting over territory and resources. It also doesn't help that the third layer is incredibly difficult, almost post-apocalyptic."
"So how did you guys get through the first two?" I ask.
"And here I thought you weren't capable of serious questions," she retorts. "There are four crystals that stabilize each layer, either buried or present in a particular part of it. Breaking all four summons the final boss of that layer. Normally, that would be the end of it, but the other layers will also send their 'mark' monsters to invade. To make matters worse, monsters still spawn on every layer, meaning humanity has to maintain fortified defenses even when they aren't diving.
she continues without missing beat "Our only real saving grace is that the gates to the next layer only allow monsters through at intervals on specific days and times. This means we don't have to constantly guard them and can spend our time clearing out monsters in the wild, preventing them from overpopulating and creating more dungeons on the surface, which in turn would create more crystals around the area leading to us losing a layer."