This Is Not the Life That I Imagined

Before the simulation started, Zak turned his body and addressed the group, "Give me a brief about yourself, your ability, and your past experience." He knocked his staff on the ground before continuing, "II will start. I am Zak Cote. I can manipulate the earth and create shields, spears, spikes, traps, and all sorts of stuff. I cleared more than 10 normal dungeons solo. I also cleared many uncommon grades with a team and one elite."

Joe crossed his arms as he spoke, "Nice. I am Joe Bowers. My talent is transforming into different kinds of animals. I can only transform into a lion, eagle, and rhino. I cleared 5 normal dungeons solo and many uncommon with a team. No elites yet, though."

 "Toby Lyons. I can control fire and create fireballs, fire bombs, and spread high-temperature flames around." Toby scratched his head in embarrassing. "I only cleared one normal dungeon with a team."

Zak and Joe frowned as soon as they heard that. Maxwell introduced himself as if he didn't feel their change. "Maxwell Ballard. Hardening. Cleared only one normal dungeon."

Joe narrowed his eyes, sizing the two novices up and down before exchanging glances with Zak. Who stared at them for a whole 15 seconds before mumbling, "Now I know why Henry is here."

Toby stood awkwardly under their gazes, while Maxwell's calm demeanor remained unshaken.

"So, you fought and know the basics." Zak said as he shook his head. "We will see how this goes. Start the simulation."

The white room faded, and it was replaced with a desert with monsters roaming from afar. Zak hit the ground with his staff, then the land around them solidified. He hit it again and made a weird gesture with his other hands, then in a blink, pieces of earth floated around the group before shifting and sticking to everyone, making a stone defense around their body without hindering their movements or the use of their ability.

Before Zak gave a commend, Joe transformed into an eagle and soared high as he observed the monster movements and the terrain. Maxwell activated his hardening and looked at the surroundings. Toby ignited his hand while checking the earth armor around him with curiosity. 

 Henry clicked on the panel outside, observing them. 'I hope it work. Waiting for another day won't guarantee more people would be free.' 

….

An hour ended quickly as the team got out. Henry had a half-smile that quickly faded. "Not bad. It is not the strongest team out there, but you should be able to handle the mission as long as you are careful. Do you accept the mission?"

Before anyone answered, Zak met Henry's eyes as he responded, "I can see that the newbies are not weak, but this is an elite dungeon, Henry."

"You don't want to go?" Henry stared at him, questioning.

"No, this is not what I meant," Zak shook his head and continued." If it's an uncommon dungeon, we can breeze through it with our current team. But I don't have enough experience clearing Elite Dungeon. The last time I was in a team of six, but it was still a struggle. You should know that."

The others exchanged uneasy glances as they listened attentively to the conversation. "Your last mission is different from the current mission. The last mission, the elite dungeon, was at the upper limit of level 1 dungeon. According to the data, this one is a step up from uncommon. It should be far from the limit. Your team before was all experienced members, and some of them were on the verge of advancing to the foundation realm."

Henry's expression softened. "I understand your concern. You can definitely clear the dungeon with your current team, but it would be tough. If you want to wait, I will see if I can add another member tomorrow."

Joe interrupted the conversation, "Tell us the status of the dungeon first. Is it stable? And Can you guarantee a new member tomorrow? "

"From the data, the dungeon had been around for at least a month now. And no, I can't guarantee anything." Henry answered patiently "Maybe there would be—maybe you would need to wait for more time, between two to four days. John is dealing with the mutant animals around the dungeon now. After finishing, he needs sufficient rest before fighting again. You could wait for him."

"John's already on a mission!" Toby exclaimed. The others glanced at him, and he awkwardly gestured for them to continue.

Zak asked, "Every day with the dungeon unattended, it would spawn more monsters. If it reached two months, it would breakout as it is level one dungeon. As this concerns all of our lives. I will leave it to voting. I say waiting for John... who is he, by the way?"

"John's from the same batch as Toby and Maxwell," Henry explained. "He can change his body's attributes and has a sensory ability."

Joe shook his head. "I would say let's go now. Every hour we wait, more monsters will be born. In a day or two, it won't matter if we have four or five members."

Toby clenched his fists. "I say we should go. We have an overwhelming offense and a pretty solid defense. As Joe said, with more monsters spawning, waiting will just make things harder."

Henry turned to Maxwell. "What do you think?"

 "Mhmm. If we want to be on the safe side, waiting would be better. But if another dungeon got discovered or an unexpected situation happened, we wouldn't have any new members, and the dungeon would be harder by that time." After pausing for a moment, Maxwell voiced his opinion, "I say we go."

Henry turned back to Zak. "They are all willing to go. I don't want to pressure you, but you're the leader for this mission. If you don't want to go, we'll postpone the mission."

Zak messaged his temples for a while before letting out a sigh. "Let's get ready. Your concerns are valid. 10 minutes and we will move."