"Well, this sucks. Stupid guard can't do us a single favor..."
"I told you Evan screwed us. I said small guilds can't get sick but do you listen? No..."
"He isn't the only sick person you hypocrite!"
'These guys are completely dysfunctional.' Nick averted his attention from the potential team to look for literally any other. Any team of Babes hanging around?
"And you! Put some clothes on dammit!"
Nick noticed the third member after that comment–a small woman with blue hair, jade skin, and a gamer's idea of armor. That is to say, enough to cover the tips of her mountains.
Her teammate's comment caused her to blush and in a fluster exclaim, "I knowww! Sorry! I- I don't know why my clothes keep doing thisss! Just– just wait!"
A flash of light covered her body, and then, in the next instant, she was covered in the exact opposite of her previous armor–a heavy-clad clunk of impenetrable metal.
Nick blinked, unbelieving of what he just saw. This woman could go from nude to fully clothed in an instant?!
Finally, some motivation to join this team-
"Hey, her ability could be powerful. Maybe we should join their squad and bind her as your second Valkyrie."
Nick turned in surprise to see her inches away from his face leaning directly into his ear. She blushed a little when they made eye contact, but otherwise, her face was completely serious.
Turning back to the new girl, he saw some merit in the idea. First of all, they did need a team, and this one was like a gift from the heavens–weak enough to want to challenge low-tier dungeons and in need of exactly 2 more partners. Also, she was hot.
But a Valkyrie? Hmm. Well, why not?
Juliana rolled her eyes as she tapped Nick's shoulder. Then her slender fingers fell back to her curves and she walked over to the group of 3.
"Hey! Uh... me and my... partner were just rolling in town and wanted to raid a dungeon. Heh–uh, this is the embarrassing part. So, you see–"
"We're in!" The leader jumped with glee the second a hot goddess began speaking to him, but the more and more she talked he couldn't hold in his excitement.
If Juliana talked to him that nicely, Nick would've been just as excited.
Oh well, at least she got them an easy team. Nick walked forward to introduce himself.
Raising his hand tentatively, he said, "Hey, uh, I'm Nick-"
"Ok. Enough instructions." The leader said as he raised his hand, effectively shutting Nick up. Then he turned and winked at Juliana, saying, "We have a dungeon to conquer."
Juliana gave him a wide smile that reached to her ears and beyond. "Yes, we do!"
Then she turned to Nick and winked seconds before a few dark clouds passed overhead them. A single lightning bolt zipped from the sky and scorched the leader, causing him to shriek.
[5 damage dealt to Yck]
'Yck?'
It took everything in his power not to laugh out loud at his system's notification. He didn't want 2 potential allies to think that he was weird, and he especially didn't want the idiot to think that Nick was schizo.
Still, even though he was pretty sure he hid his reaction well, the girl looked right where the system notification had shown up. Looking at Juliana, he tried to remember if he had seen that girl anywhere in Aether Babes.
He was pretty sure he hadn't.
'Well, I doubt she bites anyway.'
Not knowing how to say hi or hello like a normal person, Nick raised his hand awkwardly and flashed a smile. She instantly turned away, puffing her cheeks to hide an internal squeal.
Nick's face dropped. 'Am I really that hideous? Even after my makeover?' Looking at Juliana again, he wondered if she only tolerated him because of the whole Valkyrie thing.
She was pretty bichy before it.
"Heh. Don't mind Amelia, she's shy. And Yck, well, he's kinda a butt sometimes but eh. He's kind too. The guild would've fallen apart without him." The 3rd man's voice spoke through Nick's doubts, almost alleviating them a little.
Amelia puffed her cheeks even harder, turning them a vibrant red that would rival Juliana's hair as her stifled squeal intensified. Yck shook the ground as he struggled against his paralysis, clearly trying to clear his name.
'Not only is this team weak, but it's pretty weird too.' Nick thought as he turned to the 3rd member.
He didn't wear much in armor–just a thick padding around his chest and some light padding on his legs, layered with rough leather. A large bow was strung on his back, telling Nick that Mr. Archer was an archer.
Nick took another quick glance at the other 2 (aaahhh stop looking at meeee!!!) (When I can move again I'm gonna kick your a$$!!!) before walking over to Archer.
He sat down next to him as he asked, "So, what's your name?"
Archer shrugged and said, "Ah. I'm just Fynn. Fyn for short."
'Isn't that the same name?' Nick thought, completely oblivious to the joke.
Fynn took a look at Nick, eyeing his more or less lack of armor. He didn't even have a chestplate, and at the moment his [Fang of Finality] was unequipped. To him, Nick probably looked like some complete noob.
"So, what's your overpowered ability?"
Huh.
Nick looked surprised at Fynn, who had bit on some kind of stick in the short time Nick's attention was distracted. 'Quick hands...'
"What do you mean?"
Fynn pinched the end of the stick as he grinned and shook his head. "Yeah, you would say that. Strong people know to hide their strength after all."
Hm?
"Well, maybe I'm wrong. I mean, you don't have the best gear. Heh, an understatement. If I went into a dungeon looking like that... pshh. I'd make old Terra cry."
His eyes looked off into the distance as he finished that sentence. Nick wondered who Terra was–wife, daughter, mother?
"But I think I'm right. You're too socially awkward to have so much combat confidence."
"What do you mean?" 'You haven't even seen me fight!'
He shrugged again before moving from his spot, crawling to Amelia. Nick wanted to ask him what he meant again, but he was already confused enough.
They got what they wanted–a team. He was going to grind a bunch of dungeons, obtain powerful gear, and level up. If Fynn was a weirdo... well, hopefully he was a friendly one.
Nick's fang was fairly final.