Teruki quickly left my room to change, and I did the same, equipping my warm armor. The armor is made of leather and wolf fur, dyed yellow. I feel slightly guilty wearing it, but it's the best option for the cold ahead. I decide to leave my pistols behind, bringing a small engraved sword and a normal one instead. If things go south, I'll just summon Grim.
I glance around my room, still disheveled. A small paper peeks out from beneath a pile of clothes. The engraving of the Crusaders' Guild is slightly cracked, but I decide to ignore it for now.
I take the badge and the paper with me as I leave my room. The cake on my desk still shines brightly. Not wanting it to go to waste, I head to the kitchen. Surprisingly modern for a game set in a medieval world, and place the cake in the fridge.
I'm the last one to arrive at Reyna's office. The tone is somber, and everyone's armor is dyed in their respective colors, similar to mine.
Reyna notices the small piece of paper in my hand, and I hand it to her. She reads it intently, and the room falls silent. A silent Viri breaks with her sharp voice. Her green hair contrasts starkly with the dull surroundings.
"I haven't been to this floor before," Teruki says, folding her arms.
"I have," Rei offers. "It's cold. Icy. We spawn on a teleport rune in the middle of a frozen clearing."
"That doesn't help," Teruki mutters. "The devs were so lazy with this one. It could be any number of places. I'll know more once I see it."
Rei nods. "Yeah, I get it. I'll probably recognize it when we land."
"Did Sera find the flame amulet?" Viri asks.
Rei shakes her head. "No. It was taken."
Rei glances down at the letter again, squinting as she mumbles, "Black Cats…"
"What are we even doing on this floor again?" she complains. "I hate the cold."
Reyna looks up from the letter and meets Teruki's eyes. The two share a quick glance, no words needed.
"This floor is different from the game," Teruki says.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"In the game, the ninth floor was another ghost floor, similar to the eighth," Teruki explains.
"But now it's a tundra covered in trees," Viri sighs. "It's all forest."
"That's just the tutorial," Teruki adds. "It's not supposed to be too hard."
"Deserts, lava, volcanoes, and deep-sea floors come after the tutorial," She says.
"Either way, this is just lazy design," Viri mutters.
"Trust me," Teruki says, her silver-blue hair shifting as she shakes her head. "You won't be saying that later."
"Anyway," I cut in, "what's our job?"
Rei places the letter face down on the table. "Our job is to find the boss, figure out its attacks, and once we do that, we can leave."
"That's it?" Sakura mumbles from behind her mask. Her pale green, almost white hair peeks out from beneath it. She rarely speaks, and even I don't know why.
"Yes," Rei answers bluntly. "Then I'll write a report and send it to RG about the floor."
"Aren't we supposed to defeat the boss?" I ask.
"We are," Rei confirms, "but thankfully, Sho bought us some time."
"Once the report's written, we'll meet with the Crusaders at their base and train with them," Teruki adds.
"Why aren't we just training first?" Viri asks.
"This works better for both guilds," Rei explains. "The Crusaders are a busy guild. Adrian's busy. After training, we'll fight the boss and instantly teleport to the Tenth once we beat it to ensure no one can give it a skill."
"Do we even know what the boss is?" I ask nervously.
"Unfortunately, no," Teruki says, her silver-blue hair swaying as she shakes her head again. "In the game, this floor was supposed to have a spectral dragon ... so I really have no idea what it could be without seeing it."
"Is that why...?" I trail off, my thoughts connecting. "Is that why I haven't seen a dragon? I always wondered where the staple fantasy creatures were."
A question lingers in my head.
"Teruki," I ask, turning toward her, "Can you tame a dragon here?"
"In the game," Teruki explains, "you could, but it was very difficult."
She pauses, searching for the name. "I'm not even sure dragon eggs can spawn on the tutorial floors."
"Luckily," Teruki adds, "we don't fight those bosses until about fifty floors from now."
"That's good," Sakura says with a faint laugh. "I can't imagine fighting a dragon."
"I can." Viri grins, clenching her fist. "I'd twist it apart."
As for taming a dragon, it would be difficult to find one or even an egg on the first floors. But if you did, you could theoretically tame it.
The room settles into silence once again.
Reyna smiles faintly as we talk, her red, flame-like hair blending into the warm tones of the room. In the corner, a small piece of paper remains on her desk.
"What's in the letter?" I ask.
"Nothing important," Reyna answers quickly.
"Are you ready?" she asks.
We all nod.
A red rune envelops us, its crimson glow filling the room.
A flash.
Then cold.