As Iris and the man locked eyes, the tension in the room escalated, and Ivan couldn't help but feel the palpable hostility directed towards Iris.
He suspected these individuals were members of the Paragon guild, the same guild Iris had once accused him of belonging to. Although Ivan didn't know the reason for their animosity, it was clear that Iris was outnumbered, and engaging them in a confrontation would be unwise.
"Calm down, Iris. This isn't why we came," Ivan interjected, attempting to deescalate the situation.
Taking a deep breath, Iris tried to control her emotions, understanding that a fight would only complicate matters further.
"You're right. Let's go," Iris said, taking Ivan's advice, and they both walked past the man.
"Oh, this new one seems quite scared. Where's Greyson? He was always ready to get beat up by us," the man taunted, trying to provoke a reaction from Iris.
Iris chose to ignore his words, her resolve firm as she walked over to the other side of the floor, heading towards a desk. While her emotions were still simmering beneath the surface, she didn't want to give them the satisfaction of a reaction.
The woman behind the desk, named Sona, was deeply engrossed in the sea of paperwork scattered across her desk. The overwhelming workload had kept her so absorbed that she hadn't noticed Ivan and Iris standing before her.
"Sona, I see you're as busy as always," Iris remarked, catching the woman's attention. Sona looked up, and her face immediately brightened as her gaze met Iris'.
"Iris! I've been waiting to see you," Sona exclaimed, joyfully getting up to embrace her friend.
"Come on, sit," Sona said, gesturing towards the chairs in front of her desk after their warm hug.
"You came here for the dungeon permit, right?" Sona inquired, her fingers already typing away on the keyboard.
"Yeah," Iris replied simply.
"You're always here only for official stuff. I told you to come visit me sometimes," Sona playfully scolded Iris, momentarily shifting her focus from the screen to her friend.
"Well, if I did that, we'd be here talking all day, and you wouldn't get any work done, then you'd get fired," Iris teased.
"Good, I hate this job," Sona responded with a half-serious grin before extending her hand.
"Your Awakened ID," Sona requested, referring to Iris' identification card.
"Here," Iris said, handing it over to Sona.
Sona took the ID and scanned it with a device on her desk before returning it to Iris.
"Yeah, you're all good. The permit is cleared," Sona confirmed, having completed the necessary processing.
"Thanks, Sona. You're always so helpful," Iris expressed her gratitude.
"Yeah, yeah, but did you guys hear what's happening in New Oasis?" Sona asked, her tone now lowering to a more serious level.
"No, what happened?" Iris leaned in, as if about to hear a secret.
"Awakened who had just left the game recently all reported the same thing. They all received a notification a couple of days ago, and what it said had everyone in shock," Sona explained.
"Huh, what did it say?" Iris inquired, fully invested in the conversation. Ivan, sitting beside her, also listened intently, his curiosity piqued.
"The 100th floor was challenged," Sona revealed.
"Eh, what are you talking about? That's impossible. Last time I heard, the highest cleared floor in the game was the 30th floor," Iris said, leaning back in her chair.
"Yes, and it still is. In fact, they never received any notification indicating any floor beyond the 30th was cleared or challenged, only the 100th," Sona clarified.
"Well, it must be some bug then," Iris speculated.
"New Oasis never has bugs, especially after it went rogue. However, it has been ruled as such since that's the most likely possibility," Sona explained.
Unbeknownst to the others, Ivan knew exactly why the notification had appeared. He was the one who unintentionally challenged the hundredth floor when he was randomly sent there upon entering the game.
"Another reason we think it's a bug is because something weird is happening with the tutorial as well," Sona explained.
"What's that?" Iris inquired.
"The last batch to enter the game are still yet to leave the tutorial. No tutorial has ever taken this long," Sona clarified.
"What if they all, you know...failed the tutorial?" Iris suggested.
"You mean if they all died? Well, that's basically impossible. The tutorial is quite easy, especially with large numbers. Casualties always average around ten. But even if that were the case, the tutorial would have ended, and new players would be able to enter the game," Sona elaborated.
"So you're saying no new players can enter the game?" Iris questioned.
"Yes, it says 'tutorial in progress'," Sona responded.
"We have come to the conclusion that the current tutorial players might be trapped due to some bug," Sona added.
"That's all so weird. The game never had issues before," Iris remarked, perplexed by the sudden complications.
"Well, it just keeps getting weirder. Anyways, forget that. Who is this handsome gentleman you brought along?" Sona shifted her attention to Ivan, playfully teasing.
"Don't even start. Come on, Ivan, let's go," Iris said, standing up from her seat, and Ivan followed suit.
"You really are no fun," Sona sighed good-naturedly.
As they walked, Ivan noticed the entrance to the elevator was crowded with the people he had assumed were from the Paragon guild. It was evident they were looking for trouble.
They all averaged around level thirty, and while hoping Iris would be able to hold her own in a confrontation, Ivan was determined to slip away if an altercation did start. The last thing he needed was someone in the building knowing he was an Awakened.
"Get out of my face, Mark," Iris said, addressing the man who had exchanged words with her earlier and was now blocking the elevator's entrance. Mark appeared to be the strongest among the group with a level fifty-one.
"And if I don't?" Mark challenged, refusing to budge.
"Do you really want to do this here?" Iris asked, trying to contain her temper.
Ivan, wanting to avoid any potential violence that will attract attention to them, quickly chimed in to defuse the situation. However, his attempt to mediate was met with hostility from another member of the Paragon guild.
"What the hell, who said you can speak?" the member retorted aggressively.
"Huh?" Ivan turned to him, taken aback by the sudden hostility.
"You heard me! They were talking to the white-haired bitch, not you, so shut the hell up before you get your ass beaten as well," the man threatened, disrespecting Ivan.
Shocked at the man's words, Ivan turned to Iris, questioning, "Are you sure they are a guild? They seem more like gang members."
"Eh? Who are you talking about? Seems I'll have to beat some respect into you," the man responded, stepping towards Ivan aggressively. However, his advance was halted abruptly as a small iron rod whizzed past his head, piercing the wall behind him.
[Skill: Iron Rain is Active ]
"Don't you think you're talking a bit too much for a level 20, Jacob?" Ivan retorted, his annoyance evident in his voice.