Hard Mode Awakening Challenge

"Today was absolutely crazy," Ian said, handing Claire a cup of tea.

"Thank you," she responded, placing the steaming cup on the side table next to his sofa. "I was a little worried at first, but after talking with them all day, I think they are going to be an amazing addition. Everyone's personality just seemed to mesh so well."

Ian smirked as he took his seat on the other end of the sofa.

The meeting with Tram and Lana had given him a lot of hope for the future. They were surprisingly well-rounded individuals, and their hatred for Peerless might even surpass his own. He winced as he recalled what they had said about their run-in with Avra when they went to collect their things.

"I still can't believe that Avra thought they were actually going to continue working under her in Peerless," Ian commented as Claire switched his screen on and searched for Restless Hand's stream.

"No kidding," she responded, shaking her head in exasperation. "I still don't understand the mental gymnastics she used to convince herself that she could continuously make someone's life miserable, and they would purposefully wish to continue being around her."

"Right?" Ian said, shaking his head. "Add in the fact that she told Lana and Tram they wouldn't be anything without her before telling them how they were just pawns that I was using to get even with her…I'm starting to really think she is unhinged."

"Oh, look. I found them!" Claire said as the display suddenly came alive with pictures of a cavern filled with giant mushrooms. "I'm really excited that they got that sponsorship. Their training streams are going to become a staple for many of our introduction courses.

"Anyways," she said, jumping back on subject, "I think she is just blind to the results of her own actions. Either she is just crazy, or she is a child. Either way, she's not our problem."

Claire paused for a moment before a smile came to her face.

"I wish you could have been there when Lana and I went through her skill choices together. She was so excited to have someone actually ask her what she wanted that it was hard to get anything out of her for nearly five minutes. Tram had to step in and calm her down before we could continue.

"We ended up laying out five different potential plans based on how her inherent skill manifests itself at level 100. Normally, it doesn't change much, but after such a traumatic experience, we wanted to make sure she had plans in place in the off chance she needed to adjust her role."

"Yeah, and Tram is pretty excited about the possibilities of his as well," Ian added. "I'm not sure his skill is going to change much. I think he's always wanted to protect the people around him. It seems to be a very integral part of who he is."

Claire nodded at Ian's words before a stray thought made her giggle. "Remember the look on your sister's face when she showed up at dinner and they were there? I thought she was going to explode."

Ian snorted before he started laughing.

"I think she would have started screaming at them right in the cafeteria if you hadn't stepped in right away," Claire stated as Ian continued to chuckle.

"Yeah, and the look on Lana's face when Tram called Ash a 'spunky little firecracker' was priceless!" Ian said, chuckling again. "I thought they both were going thrash him there for a second.

"It was also kind of interesting how Ash seemed so skeptical when we explained they were going to our new teammates, only to then get angrier about their need to prestige than they were."

"I think she and Lana may be besties now," Claire said, giving Ian a smirk. "It also helps that they all agreed to wait an extra week to go in. I've set them up with daily team training with some good instructors. Your sister has never fought with a bow in a party before, and the other two need to learn their new roles. Especially since I have a feeling that your skills are going to boost them into the higher levels faster than their muscle memory can keep up."

Ian had to agree with her there. He had spent years in college training and had the addition of almost two years of actual experience using his spear to help him learn how to hit moving targets. It was probably the only thing the slimes were good for, if he had to be honest. However, he didn't have a firm grasp on party dynamics. It was something he would need to remedy in the future.

"I think Jen is showcasing my point right now," Claire said, pointing at the screen.

Ian watched as Jen vaulted herself up onto a mushroom that would provide her with an overview of the battle. James was holding the aggression of nearly a dozen orange and gray mushroom-like humanoids called sporelings. They were too close for their mage to attack, and Nexa was having problems getting close enough to engage without getting hit by their spore clouds.

Notching an arrow, Jen quickly drew and loosed, before rapidly performing the sequence half a dozen times over the course of just as many seconds. The arrows blew straight through the sporelings, each arrow leaving gaping wounds through multiple monsters.

"Her inherent allows her to do stuff like that safely," Ian said, noting that James hadn't been touched by any of the arrows. "It really is a great skill for an archer. If Ashlyn gets anything similar, she will be devastating in some dungeons."

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"I don't think it will be a bow-related skill," Claire said, giving him a knowing smile.

"Oh? Did your mom say something?" he asked.

"Nothing like that," Claire said with a giggle. "She did her magic testing today, and she has both nature and summoning affinities. Something that isn't always mutually exclusive, if you are catching my drift.

"Huh," Ian said, thinking that over as he took another drink of his tea. He put it back down before saying, "Lots of interesting possibilities there, though she is already a monster with the bow, so just agility and strength will be enough to hold her over for quite a while as she figures everything out."

"They are definitely going to get spoiled by your party buffs. Which reminds me, did you ever purchase the final upgrade while you were out today?"

"I completely forgot while I was playing whack-a-mole with the horkers as they swarmed the doors," Ian said, bringing up his stats and purchasing the final level of Status Synchronization.

Statistical Synchronization 3/3 (Inherent). Allows the user to boost dedicated party members' statistics by 45% of the user's statistics. Statistics remain on skill targets indefinitely until the user cancels the effect or the target loses their status as a dedicated party member. User may select 6 targets at current skill level.

"Damn!" Ian said with a whistle. "It is now at 45% and six different party members."

"That's the entire party," Claire exclaimed before stopping. "Actually, it is one extra since you don't need it. Which would allow you to let Jen keep her buffs without affecting the party.

"Though I think she might be angry at you the next time you see her," Claire said, pointing at the screen.

Looking back up, Ian had to grimace. Jen was swearing under her breath as she restrung her bow. Up in the corner, it showed a replay of her going to fire and pulling back too far. Her eyes had gotten wide as the string cut across her cheek when it snapped.

"Luckily, the fight was nearly over," Ian said. "I'll have to apologize to her later. This is probably something I should keep in mind when our party is in the dungeon later.

"Speaking of the party, I spoke to Mavis today," Ian said, getting an interested glance from Claire. "She happened to mention that you're planning on diving again when the party catches up to you."

Claire took a drink of her tea, trying to buy time. Ian chuckled, causing her cheeks to turn a very light shade of pink.

"I won't complain if you decide to join," Ian said, hoping to reduce her embarrassment. "I think running the dungeon with friends is probably the best way to go about creating a long-term party. Which leaves me a little worried about the final member. Mavis mentioned I didn't need to look for one because they would come to me."

"Damn it, mom," Claire said before sighing and rubbing her temples. "I hate it when she does stuff like this. She knows the answer but won't tell us because it 'might change the future' or some stupid crap like that."

"What if she's right?" Ian said, instantly regretting it.

"Doesn't matter!" snapped Claire. "Just because she's right doesn't mean it isn't downright insufferable. Who wants to listen to someone talk in vague descriptions and metaphors all the time? Not me, that's for damn sure.

"Besides, I can never tell if she is doing it to save people time, or if she says things to make sure they are doing what she wants. I think it's the reason that I ended up with my father's inherent skill instead of my mom's. He can literally see truth, and I wish I had that ability when dealing with my mother."

Ian held up his hands in a placating gesture when she looked back at him. She sighed and dropped her head.

"Sorry, Ian. I didn't mean to snap like that. I know that her skills are amazing and that she has done a lot to help you out recently. But I still worry that she doesn't trust me to live my own life."

Ian just nodded before changing the subject, "What's the latest on Peerless?"

Claire smiled at him in a way that showed that she knew exactly what he was doing. She just shrugged after a moment, letting him get away with it.

"Peerless is bleeding members left and right. They had almost twenty parties running dungeons for them at the beginning of the week, now they only have nine remaining. Without Peerless being able to uphold their contracts, quite a few teams took the opportunity to jump ship. With the exodus of sponsors and investors, Peter didn't even bother trying to retain any of them.

"Now he's busy coming up with ideas on how to twist the entire situation into a positive light for Peerless. He's already been calling this part of the 'forging' process for building the truly dedicated teams that will rise to the pinnacle. He's even put four new members onto The Conquerors as of this afternoon. They are actually a little lower level than Avra, but they will all be around level 500 by the time the tournament rolls around."

Ian grunted. "Please tell me that they are at least still being punished by the media."

"And then some," she replied with a snicker. "Avra is still being pulled through the mud, but most of her remaining fans are just creepy men like the ones who originally attacked you way back when. Anyone who wasn't a fanatic jumped ship and isn't bothering to look back.

"Peter, on the other hand, has already come out and stated they will show everyone that they are still the top clan for up-and-coming adventurers. He's also been quoted saying that they will easily beat any of the so called 'competition' that thinks they can go toe-to-toe with them." Claire stopped talking and looked over at him before giving him a smirk.

"He's also inferred that you wouldn't be able to even come close to the 'real' adventurers his clan is developing, and that you can only succeed by stealing away talent he had already poured countless resources into. He's stated that it wouldn't help you beat them, so you might as well not even try."

"What a strange little man," Ian replied, chuckling again. "I must live rent-free in his head at all times."

"He's obviously got a very serious crush on you," Claire retorted before giggling.

"So, the real reason he implemented a scheme to make me single finally comes out!"

They both laughed for a bit before settling down to watch some more of the stream. After about half an hour, Ian turned to Claire.

"It's crazy how much can change in just a couple of weeks. Instead of working in a fast-food restaurant, I'm now a famous adventurer, slowly rising through the rankings."

"Pfft, I can't believe you can say that you are 'slowly rising' through the list with a straight face," Claire said, giggling. "We both know that this is only the beginning. You may have started down the path of reclaiming your life, but the changes aren't even close to being finished. I bet things only get more exciting from here."

"As long as things don't get too crazy, I'll be happy," he said with a smile. "We'll need to sit down tomorrow morning and figure out what dungeon I want to start hitting. I'm getting worn out on the Horker Village, and I don't think anyone can pay me enough to go into the underground cave that makes up the third floor."

"There are so many options, but no need to worry about it now," Claire said, giving him a small smile. "Just relax, Ian. Take the peace and quiet when you can get it. You never know what might be just around the bend."