In less than twenty-four hours, police cars and yellow lines bordered the rift scene on the streets of SoHo. Police officers guarded the perimeter, and hundreds of awakeners gathered under the night sky.
Blending in with the hundreds of other awakeners, Klaus and his guild members prepared to enter the dungeon after resting for 12 hours. They needed to wait for the police to evacuate the civilians living in the surrounding area.
While the other members were busy making preparations, Klaus, dressed in a black coat, was seen talking to his younger sister. Joanna, in a gray cloak and light armor wrapped around her torso, looked more ready than during the dungeon break in Chinatown.
"Are you sure you want to come?" asked Klaus.
"Yes, I'm sure."
This time, the dungeon break attracted the attention of many awakeners. The blue color that lit up the rift showed how dangerous the dungeon was. The rules said that at least one party should consist of 50 F-Class awakeners or bring some awakeners with higher class.
Therefore, Klaus brought the entire guild on this raid: 15 F-Class, 1 D-Class, 2 B-Class, and 4 A-Class. One of the A-Class was Joanna.
She insisted on joining the raid. Of course, Klaus refused her request, but in the end he allowed her after he saw the seriousness in her eyes. She had undergone special training during her absence. Besides, Klaus needed a healer because his party lacked support.
"Alright, you can come. But I need you to promise me something. You must obey everything I say while in the dungeon, you feel me?"
Joanna nodded vigorously.
Justin approached Klaus. The man looked different from usual, wearing all black and a blood-red cape. "Klaus, everything is ready. Are we going straight into the dungeon?"
Klaus shook his head. "Nope. Gather them."
Before leaving, he wanted to brief the guild members. They gathered before Klaus and Justin
"I want you to hear our strategy from Klaus. Please listen carefully," Justin said to the guild members.
Klaus observed them before he spoke his mind. "This is your first raid. You've been practicing, and now is the perfect time to show what you've got."
Since the guild was founded, its members had never conducted a raid, even though Klaus had exclusive rights. Some of them were seasoned professionals, while others were just starting out. Klaus needed to build chemistry between them first.
After all, the awakeners didn't get insurance. They would leave nothing but name and a bad reputation if they died in the dungeon.
"Since we'll only be moving in small numbers, we split the party into two groups."
The first group consisted of fighters and tankers in the vanguard. They were led by Justin. And Klaus would lead the second group in the back row, consisting of casters and supports.
"Any questions?" asked Klaus.
A woman wearing a white shirt top and black pants and leather boots raised her hand. "Why did you put all the high-class awakeners in the front row? You should have put some strong ones in the back row in case the monsters attack from behind."
Olivia criticized his decision, and Klaus simply replied, "Because I'm the strongest."
Naturally, his answer irritated Olvia, including the guild members.
"I can't tell if he's confident or arrogant," Akio whispered, slightly annoyed.
"Think positive; maybe he's an S-Class," Michael replied in a low tone.
Olivia huffed. "Yeah, I know you beat me. But at least tell us what class you are."
The guild members frowned, waiting for an answer. They also wondered what class he had.
"I'm F-Class," Klaus answered.
"Heeh!"
Naturally, Olivia didn't buy it. Some of the guild members thought Klaus was making a joke. Meanwhile, the one who knew the truth, Justin, just looked away.
"Hey, come on, answer seriously!" Olivia asked in an annoyed tone.
"I'm legally an F-Class. But I'm actually very powerful. That's all that I can say."
Even if Klaus answered honestly, she didn't believe him. In the end, he could only sigh.
In the middle of their conversation, a group of awakeners clad in chrome armor approached Klaus and his entourage. Blue accessories such as cloaks or coats adorned them. A man in the front row called out to Klaus as their eyes met.
"Look who it is! My cousins also want to join the dungeon raid. I'm glad to see you guys here."
It was Noah. And the Sons of Thor members could be seen following behind him. Seeing the presence of the annoying person, Klaus smiled broadly as if he were waiting for him to come.
"Noah! You came on this raid. I thought you would only hunt the purple and indigo dungeons after you got the exclusive rights." The words that came out of Klaus' mouth sounded bitter, though his lips curled up.
"Haha! Did you hear the news?" Noah waved his hand. "The media likes to exaggerate anything. I did sign the agreement, but they're still reviewing it before giving the green light. You know, bureaucracy is troublesome."
Noah sounded smug, and Klaus just smiled, though his hand itched to punch his cousin in the face. The man turned his attention to the Rays of Hope entourage. His brow furrowed for a moment before a small laugh escaped his mouth.
"Those are your men?" asked Noah.
"Yes, I brought them all. All of my guild members are F-Class, I also brought a loaned awakener. I need a lot of people to ensure the success of this raid."
"Pfft." His cousin stifled a laugh. "They're almost all F-Class? That's okay. I only brought a few awakeners, while Schneider and the others are storming the dungeon in Harlem." Noah looked back, showing Klaus his 20 B-Class awakeners.
"That's all right, Klaus. I'm afraid to disturb your preparations. My men and I are leaving first." Noah patted Klaus.
After the cousin and his entourage left, Joanna was the first to vent her emotions. "How can someone like that be our cousin, Klaus?! I want to gag him!" She clenched her fists in the air.
The guild members were the same. They twisted their faces in exasperation. Some were sneering, and some were spitting. But they could do nothing but grit their teeth or clench their fists. The Sons of Thor intimidated them.
Akio was glued to Klaus. "I heard from Benjamin that they are still in the same family. Why is the relationship between our strategist and his cousin not good?"
"It seems like they are competing," Michael said. "What do you think, Olivia?"
The exotic-skinned woman crossed her arms. The look on her face said she didn't care. "That's their business. We're not going to linger in this guild anyway."
Seeing that his men's concentration was distracted, Klaus clapped his hands to get their attention.
"I want you to focus on the raid. Ignore them." Klaus gave them a serious look.
Thus, his words ended their briefing. Klaus and the rest of his guild immediately joined the other awakeners.
Since the rift was in the sky, they needed to fly in order to enter the dungeon. Back then, they used a military helicopter to transport the awakeners, but now, they needed the help of a caster with the talent [Levitation] or [Gravity control].
The awakeners lined up in several batches to gather at one spot. Eight casters surrounded them, then they flew the awakeners up the rift.
After the last batch departed, there were no more awakeners in the rift scene apart from the police and the journalists.
When a photographer was busy taking pictures, she suddenly stopped clicking and dropped her jaw. The photographer called out to the nearest police as she pointed to the sky, and then a police officer with a sour look drew close to her.
"What's wrong? Don't you get tired of taking pictures of that damn rift?" sneered the policeman.
"No! Look at that! The color of the dungeon is changing."
Naturally, the police officer looked up. His eyes opened wide as he saw that the blue rift had turned yellow. The policeman quickly picked up the walkie-talkie.
"REQUESTING BACK UP! DUNGEON ANOMALY OCCURRED! IT'S YELLOW DUNGEON! CALL THE ARMY IMMEDIATELY! NOW!"