Silver looks at Armando, confused. Join his Exploration Team ? But-
"Aren't they like, dead ?" he asks, a bit hesitant.
"I get where the confusion comes from." Armando lightly shakes his head. "Me and Ron were loaned to another Team because they were incomplete, but since we were part of the same Guild it was ok."
"Oh, okay, yeah, that makes sense. And since Ron isn't here anymore, you have an open spot. But isn't it real soon for you to propose that ? I haven't even met the rest of your Team—what if they don't accept me ?"
"I know it may seem heartless, but as of right now we can't allow our Team to be lacking or we'll be absorbed individually into other Teams. You also have great potential, and we have good chemistry, or so I think. And it would also spare you the work of searching for a Team."
Armando's argument makes a lot of sense: there are no holes. But still, the reaction of the rest of the Team weighs on Silver's mind.
After a few seconds of thinking, he finally answers. "You know what ? Let's not put pen to paper yet; we don't know how the rest of your guys could react to everything. How about I meet them in a few days ? Then we can see if all's well and potentially join you."
"Deal !"
They share a firm handshake, then Armando takes out his phone.
"I'll contact my Team and call you when I think they're ready. Give me your number."
The pair exchange contact information before going their separate ways.
***
An hour later, Silver arrives at his apartment. Well, "apartment" is an exaggeration. His abode consists of a single 15 m² room with a bed, a coffee table with a laptop on it, a small fridge on which a microwave is sitting, and a small cupboard—as barebones as you can get.
Silver drops on his bed, the event of the day replaying in his mind, the reality finally dawning on him: this morning he was a simple Mercenary, mere cannon fodder for Dungeon exploration, and now he is an Awakened with exceptional potential that two of the most important people of the island have an eye on.
He rolls over, staring at the roof for a moment before sitting back up; he should probably go take a shower. As he starts to strip, he finally realizes that he is still wearing Jack's jacket.
Stealing a dead man's clothes wasn't beneath him, but still, he should probably give it back to the family.
Even if his apartment is the shittiest on God's green earth, it still had a huge positive: a bathroom and toilet IN the apartment, which is not a given. He discards his clothes but puts the jacket on the table before finally hitting the shower.
As the hot water runs on his toned body, Silver starts questioning his future: he is now an officially recognized Dungeonaut, right ? Meaning that he will join an Exploration Team, go on missions, explore the Dungeon, and maybe even be a part of a Descent Expedition whose goal is to explore and conquer an unexplored floor.
What type of adventure will he face ? Treasures will he find ? Trials will he face ? Enemies will he vanquish ? People will he meet ?
Then his mind drifts to his past: how he had always admired Dungeonauts since he was a child and how his family hated that. How he left after just turning 18, leaving behind an assured future and his relationship with his family for what was essentially a gamble.
But instead of feeling sad thinking about what he had lost, he smiled—he had gained so much more now. He had always felt it: the Dungeon was calling him. In his mind, he was always certain that he was one of the chosen few, one of those who could become Dungeonauts.
His smile transformed into a soft laugh. He was finally vindicated; he was right ! And always were ! He was a chosen one; he simply didn't know how to finally go to the other side.
His laugh became louder and louder, almost maniacal.
"I FUCKING KNEW IT ! I WAS RIGHT, YOU FUCKERS !" he shouted while lightly punching the wall.
He then loudly, powerfully, screamed. He screamed with everything he had, letting go of his doubts, of his anguish, of his pain, of his fears, of his past that was weighing him down every day.
Then he started to dance, the droplets of water hitting his face like a warm, inviting rain. He was feeling lighter and more free than ever.
But his moment of bliss was cut short as he slipped and fell on his ass. He could only laugh at what just happened.
"Am I going insane ?" he asked out loud before getting up and drying himself.
As he steps back in the main room, he stops by the cupboard, grabbing a sewing kit he brought impulsively some months ago. Sitting on his bed, he grabs the jacket, opens the kit, and starts fixing it, or at least tries to.
***
The following days were blurs to Silver, spent between sleeping way more than normal, fixing the jacket, and training his Mana Manipulation.
This part was what was taking most of the days as Silver worked on fine tuning his output and trying to upgrade the quality of his released Mana, wanting to attain a similar result as the first time while consuming way less energy.
During this time he was only going out to get something to eat; otherwise, he stayed holed up, slowly but surely deepening his understanding of Mana.
Almost a week later, Armando finally got in touch with him. They set up a meeting point: a trendy cafe on Chandelle Street, the bougie part of town.
On the day, Silver entered the cafe, feeling out of place; it was his first time in this type of establishment. He is wearing a plain black shirt, black pants , white sneakers, a white leather jacket, and a small black backpack. His long hairs are tied up in a small bun, and he's shaven clean; first impressions are extremely important.
He looks around before seeing Armanado. Breathing a sigh of relief., he approaches him. His fellow survivor was wearing almost the same thing as when they first met, probably trying not to change his design to much.
"Yo Silver, you're here." he said, smiling.
He was surrounded by three other people who stopped chatting to look at him. On his right were a man and a woman, while on his left was another, smaller woman.
"Ok, let's sit and start talking."
Armando guided the group toward a round table. Now seated, the get-together could start. But before Armando could start to talk.
"Before I forget," says Silver as he opens his backpack and gets out its contents. "Here, Jack's jacket. It's not much, but maybe the family would want it."
Armando takes the jacket, almost teary eyed.
"I'm sure they'll appreciate the gesture. But let's get to the topic: Silver's possible integration into the Team. So first I'm gonna explain our philosophy: we're a Team focused on helping others. The missions that we accept are primarily rescue or delivery ones, sometimes extermination ones. We are also pretty open when it comes to cooperation, so you can work with another Team when time is slow, but you have to prioritise us. Finally, we are all around D rank and strive to go higher than that."
"As you've said, we're all D rank," interjects the man from the Team. "But what about him ? Didn't you say that he just Awakened ? And that he doesn't have a color ? I know you must be tight after what happened to you both, but-"
"Don't worry about that; I'm also D rank."
Silver's intervention was kinda rude, cutting the man in his sentence, but he wanted to make his rank clear immediately, as it may be a point of contention in the discussion, and he was right.
"Wow, D rank as your initial rank ? Impressive." remarked the woman sitting next to Armando.
The smaller woman was simply staring at Silver, not with malice or anything, just staring at him.
"Now that's been cleared up, I propose that we do a tour and each introduce ourselves. I'm Armando, a D rank and currently the leader of this Team. I specialize in speed."
So Armando is the leader. It kinda surprised Silver, as he didn't really seem the type to order other people, much more the type that executes the action without questioning the one giving them.
"Now, everyone, it's your turn." continued Armando with a big smile.