Yawn. I woke up in a white room—the sheets, the bed, the curtains, everything was white. I got out of bed, still tired from the day before.
"I hate waking up early," I sighed to myself.
I shuffled to the bathroom, still half-asleep, and splashed water on my face, letting my eyes adjust to the morning sunlight. My hair, a contrast of black at the roots and fading to a stark white at the tips, tumbled over my shoulders in disarray. My red eyes appeared to glow when I looked in the mirror. I gathered my hair into a knot, securing it with ease, when a sharp knock on my door broke the silence.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I opened the door to find a man with short, messy blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing iron armor without a helmet, emblazoned with a lion emblem. He greeted me with a warm smile and a strong presence.
Leo, a long time friend of mine who now went by Lionheart.
"Ready for our run?" he asked, smiling
"Whatever," I replied monotonously, still not used to getting up at this hour.
Every morning for as long as I could remember, even on Earth, Leo would run a mile at dawn. I, not being as fast as him, had a hard time keeping up. We ran throughout the quadrant, the city seemingly desolate in the early morning light. I struggled to match his pace, my legs burning with the effort.
Leo had gone ahead of me around a corner, so I paused to catch my breath.
The surrounding quadrant was bathed in white; everything was either white or silver or some variation of those colors. I wasn't alone, though. Next to me was a building with a sign that read "Teleporter Off Duty." The door was slightly ajar, and someone had just teleported away—I didn't get a good look. Outside stood a girl with long black hair and dark tan skin.
She glanced at me and smiled as she left.
With my hands on my knees, I got a second wind and began to run once more.
Leo must have noticed I was lagging behind because he eventually circled back for me. Together, we ran back to our inn and had something to eat. We ate in silence, neither of us breaking it until Leo spoke up.
"Once the guild opens, we can check up on our flyers."
The day before, we had placed flyers all around the center of the capital, asking for members to join our party.
I wondered aloud, my voice devoid of emotion, "What happens if we don't get any replies?"
"Worst case, we'll get it ourselves," he replied happily.
After finishing our breakfast, we headed straight to the guild. Leo seemed eager to meet new people and hopefully recruit new party members. We entered the guild of the white quadrant, a towering white building that seemed to be the centerpiece of this area. The exterior was a blend of white and silver, while the interior was composed of marble and brown woods, giving it a rustic tone. At the center stood a circular table made of white crystal.
People were talking in booths and planning their next adventures. The guild was buzzing with chatter.
On our flyers, we indicated to meet us at one of the booths during the guild's active hours. We waited, and waited, and waited—it felt like an eternity, but was more likely about a few hours.
Eventually, two women approached our booth, holding our flier. They looked like they could have been side characters in an anime or manga.
One of them slammed the flier on the desk and asked, "Is this for a party request looking for a healer and tank?"
"Yes, why don't you sit down?" Leo smiled.
They both sat down, and I got a better look at their names—one was Lia, and the other was Mia. It was quiet for a while before Leo spoke up. "I'm sure you can see our names, but I'll introduce us regardless." He continued, "I'm Lionheart, and this is my girlfriend, Wakaba." He pointed to me, and I waved at them.
"We need two members for our party so we can be the first to reach the fourth floor," Leo explained.
"Why do you need to be the first?" Lia interjected.
Leo's face lit up. "Do you know what relics are?" he asked, smiling.
Lia and Mia both nodded.
Lia spoke up, "Relics are the items that give you a reward when a boss is defeated, right?"
"Yes," Leo replied. "A lot of people think that relics are random, but they aren't—or at least in this game mode, they aren't."
"Game mode?" they said in unison.
"In the game, there were three game modes you could play: Easy, Hard, and Impossible. Easy would have random relics and respawn. Hard would have random relics and no respawn. And Impossible would have set relics and no respawn."
Lia interjected once more, "So we're in Impossible," she sighed.
"Correct," I replied.
Mia and Lia looked uneasy, as if they had just seen a ghost.
One positive aspect of this mode is that there is a way to respawn upon death—these items are known as the 10 Rings, each appearing on every fourth floor. They were rumored to belong to the Ten Suns, but I didn't trust Mia and Lia enough to share this information.
"Leo…" I said, still tired.
"Now that you know what we need, can you show us your id?" Leo asked happily. "I'll show mine first; that way, it's more fair."
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Adventurer: Lionheart
Class: Knight
Title: Energetic Knight
Guild Name: Guildless
Mana level: Bronze
Rank: Undetermined
R1
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"Wow, how did you get in such good shape, Leo?" Lia asked, clearly impressed.
He smirked and replied, "Running every day. That's the secret. But only Wakaba gets to call me Leo."
Lia quickly apologized, a faint embarrassment coloring their tone. Their interest shifted to me as I shared my own progress, but the reaction wasn't as enthusiastic. They seemed far more impressed by Leo's achievements.
They handed me their IDs, and Leo and I exchanged a glance. Mia's class was "Vanguard," though I wasn't entirely sure what that meant. Leo explained it was essentially a tank, someone meant to take hits and protect others. Lia's class simply said "Mage," with no extra label. Neither of them had any special titles, just their roles.
I looked at my own ID, wondering why I didn't have a title either. It made me curious about how Leo had earned his, but before I could dwell on it any longer, he cut through my thoughts.
"Now that that's done, why don't you order some food while we wait?" Leo said, stretching out a bit.
"I'll register the party with the Guild." He said getting up.