Joining a Party

After leaving the park together, Sorin brought Aslan to a nearby teashop. 

"Have whatever you want. It'll be my treat," said Sorin.

Aslan stared silently at the menu in his hands. The names of the teas sounded overly fancy—practically a foreign language to someone like him, who had never even drunk tea before, let alone stepped foot in a teashop.

"I'll have the chamomile tea," Sorin said to the server when she arrived at their table.

"Um… I'll have the same."

"Chamomile tea for both, correct? I'll be back soon."

A few minutes later, the server returned with a teapot and two cups.

Sorin could tell that Aslan wasn't familiar with the process, so she poured the tea for him once it was ready.

"Here you go. It's a little bit hot, so be careful."

"Thank you."

Aslan blew on the surface of the tea to cool it down slightly before taking small sips. Meanwhile, Sorin retrieved a straw and used it to drink the tea through the small gap in her helmet.

"..."

Noticing Aslan's stare, Sorin spoke, "I'm sorry. It's too weird, right?"

"Is it weird? I don't know," Aslan responded in a genuine voice. "This is my first time drinking tea with someone, so I don't know what's normal and what isn't."

Sorin placed a hand on her helmet and spoke in a low voice, "Unless I'm alone in my room, I keep this helmet on at all times, since I won't be able to talk to people without it."

"It's fine, you don't need to explain it to me."

"Thank you…"

Some time later, once they finished the tea, Sorin started the conversation again, "I'll get straight to the point. I am currently in the process of creating a party so that I can start challenging dungeons. If you're looking for a party, why don't you join mine?"

Aslan's eyes widened with surprise, and he wasn't sure how to respond since he never expected to be recruited.

Sorin mistook his silence for hesitation and quickly added, "Although I am still a newbie and don't have any experience in dungeons, I swear I'll do my best not to be a burden!"

Aslan snapped out of his daze and asked, "Why me?"

"Well… for one, I don't have any trouble talking to you. And, well, we've technically already fought together. However, most importantly, you rushed in to help me without a second thought during the invasion. If you can do something like that for a stranger, I have no doubt you'll be able to do the same for a teammate."

"I see…" 

A warm smile tugged at Aslan's lips.

"If you don't mind having me, I'll be more than happy to join your party."

"G-Great!" Sorin nearly slammed the table in excitement. "Then let's head to the Awakeners' Association and get you registered in my party!"

After paying the bill, Sorin and Aslan traveled to the Awakeners' Association.

'I didn't think I would return here so quickly…' Aslan thought to himself as he entered the building with Sorin.

Once inside, he followed Sorin through the building until they arrived at a long reception hall lined with several booths, resembling the setup of a bank.

"I'd like to register him into my party," Sorin said, placing a metal card on the surface before her. 

The worker accepted the metal card and turned to look at Aslan in silence.

"Umm… you need to give her your Awakener's License," Sorin reminded him.

"Oh, okay."

Aslan reached into his pocket.

He froze for a moment before frantically searching his other pocket.

"Uh… I think I lost it," he said when he found nothing. "I must have dropped it while fighting earlier today."

The worker sighed before retrieving a small device and said, "Place your hand on this and keep it there until I'm done."

A few moments later, the woman said, "Aslan, 16 years old, Warrior. You did your Class Awakening yesterday, right?"

"Yes, that's right," he confirmed.

"Huh?" Sorin let out a surprised sound. "You awakened your Class just yesterday?"

Behind her helmet, she stared at him wide-eyed, clearly shocked.

"Yes. Would that be a problem?"

"N-No… I am just a little surprised since you fought so well today…"

Based on his performance during the sudden invasion, Sorin had assumed Aslan had several years of experience as an Awakener. The thought that he had only awakened yesterday was something she never would have imagined.

"By the way, what level are you right now?" Sorin asked.

"I'm level 8," he revealed without hesitation.

'He's only level 8?!' she cried inwardly. 'But he defeated so many monsters today! All with a single strike, too!' 

"Hey, I don't have all day. Are you going to register him into your party or not?" The worker suddenly said.

"Y-Yes, I am!"

Although Sorin felt a flicker of concern upon learning that Aslan had awakened only yesterday, she still decided to trust in her own judgement and Aslan's talents.

"Done. You're both now in a party," said the worker before looking at Aslan and continuing, "If you want to replace your lost license, it'll cost you a thousand dollars. Do you want to pay for it now?"

"A thousand dollars?!" Aslan cried out loud. He couldn't fathom how something like that could be so expensive.

"I don't have that much money…" he sighed.

"Then—"

"I'll pay for it," Sorin suddenly said.

"Here you go."

Without hesitation, Sorin placed exactly 1,000 dollars on the table.

The worker accepted the money and left to retrieve Aslan's new license.

"Thank you. I'll pay you back later," said Aslan.

"Don't worry about it. It's only a thousand. As the party leader, it's my responsibility to take care of everyone in the party. Also, we won't be able to enter dungeons if you don't have your license."

"I didn't know it was that important. I'll make sure not to lose it again."

"You should toss things you cannot afford to lose inside your private inventory. You know you can put anything nonorganic in there, right?"

"Now I do," he said, learning something new.

"Honestly, there's a lot I don't know."

"It's okay. As the party leader and your senior, I'll teach you everything you need to know starting now!" Sorin said as she patted her chest.

Aslan nodded.

The worker returned a minute later with Aslan's new license and said, "Do you need anything else?"

"No, this will be all," said Sorin before leaving the Awakener's Association with Aslan.

"When do you think we'll be able to enter a dungeon?" Aslan asked once they were outside.

"Since I have a private dungeon, we can enter it anytime. However, it might be dangerous with just the two of us, especially without someone to aggro the monsters."

"Aggro?" Aslan raised his eyebrows in a questioning manner.

"Aggro—short for aggravate—refers to a monster's attention or aggression," Sorin explained. "To aggro a monster means to draw its focus onto yourself."

She held up a finger and continued, "Classes are generally divided into four roles. First is the tank. They stand at the front and take aggro so the second role, a damage dealer, can damage the monster as much and as quickly as possible. Though Warriors could end up as either tank or damage dealer after their Class Advancement, I think you're the latter, just judging from your performance today. The third role belongs to me, the healer, and it is my responsibility to keep everyone in peak condition during and after fights. And finally, support. They are someone who helps the party with buffs or weakens enemies with debuffs."

"These are just general guidelines, not strict rules," she added. "So damage dealers can also perform the role of a tank if needed and vice-versa."

"I see…" Aslan mumbled as he digested the information.

"Do you think we can try it with just the two of us first? If it's not doable, we can wait until we find a tank."

"Are you in a hurry to level up?" she asked.

"Not really… I think."

Sorin fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

Then she said, "Since the dungeon I own is only F-Rank, we should be fine even without a tank. Besides, I'm not sure how long it would take to find one we can actually trust. I don't want to accept just anyone, either."

She glanced at Aslan and continued, "The monsters you defeated during today's invasion are also F-Rank monsters, so there should be no problem if we enter with just the two of us. We can run away if anything goes wrong."

"Then let's enter the dungeon now!" 

Sorin raised her hand and said, "I'm sorry, but I will need some time to prepare myself mentally…"

"Oh, okay."

"Three—two days. Let's meet here in two days, okay? Same time as now."

"Let's." Aslan nodded.

"Can I have your phone number just in case something comes up?" she suddenly asked.

"I don't have a phone."

"What about your address?"

"I don't have that either."

"Then where do you live?"

"I slept at the park last night."

"You're homeless…?" Sorin muttered in disbelief.

He nodded and explained his situation to her.

"…"

Sorin was left speechless after hearing Aslan's story. She never would have imagined he had such a background because of his composed demeanor this entire time.

Normally, one would find such a story dubious or outright unbelievable, but Sorin didn't doubt Aslan for a moment.

"I…I…I don't even know what to say…" she eventually said.

"You don't need to say anything. I will be fine—"

"No!" She suddenly interrupted. "I cannot sit still and do nothing knowing my first party member is in such a dire situation! Fortunately, I can solve your homelessness. Follow me."

"You really don't have to."

Aslan was worried that he might involve her in another sudden invasion.

"Please let me help you! As a healer, it's in my nature to help those in need! Also, this is hardly any trouble for me."

"Since you insist." Aslan nodded and followed Sorin.

Some time later, they stood before a tall building with over 50 floors, the name 'Hopeful Hotel' proudly engraved at its entrance.

"Uh… you're not telling me this is the place, right?" He looked at her and asked.

"Do you not like it?"

"It seems expensive."

"It is, but I won't have to pay a dollar since my family owns this place," she revealed.

"…"

Aslan had figured she was from a rich background since she owned a private dungeon, so he wasn't too surprised about this.

"Let's go in," said Sorin as she took the lead with Aslan following behind.