A whistle blew in Royal Woods High gymnasium, catching everyone's attention. In front of the group of students stood a portly man of medium height and brown hair wearing a red track suit along with a black hat as he grinned.
"Alright kids, let's huddle up!" The man said, as the students began to line up in front of him. "Today for gym class, we will be doing something fun today. Today we'll be having a co-ed basketball game!"
As if on cue, half the group cheered while the other half groaned. The teacher frowned at the latter half.
"Stop complaining! I know that some of you prefer to just sit and talk during Gym class, but you're not doing that this time! You're going to earn that grade today!" The coach sternly crossed his arms. "With that being said, I don't want to see any rough play today. If I do, you're out of the game and it's an automatic F for today. Understood?"
"Yes, Coach Mccarthy!"
"Good, now split up into two teams. Each team on the floor will have three boys and two girls, and we'll rotate members."
Slowly, the students began to divide into two separate groups with some minor arguments amongst them. Within a few minutes, they were equally divided and stood next to each other.
Lincoln sighed, placing a hand to the back of his head as he noticed who was in each group. 'Figures all the popular kids and basketball team players would group up together. What better way to show off your dominance than to try and humiliate everyone else?"
He turned around to look at the team he was on, which consisted mainly of his friends and other 'non-popular' classmates. 'Well we have a few athletic people here. So maybe it won't be too bad, not to mention I've been playing basketball with Lynn a bit lately. Just have to use what she taught me.'
"Linky!"
The sound of his embarrassing nickname caught his attention as he turned to see Leni running up to him with a large smile on her face. She stopped in front of him, her hands clenched and shaking in excitement.
"Can you believe we're on the same team? This is totally amazing!"
Lincoln chuckled, smiling at her excitement. "Yeah it is. I'm a little surprised you didn't join the other team with some of your friends though."
"Why would I?" Leni questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I mean I don't know too much about soccer, but I wanted to play with my big brother!"
"We're playing basketball, Leni."
"Oh we are? So is that the sport where we run onto one side of the field and score a hole in one?"
Lincoln sighed tiredly. "No Leni, it's the sport where you dribble a ball and throw it into a hoop for points."
"Ohh, I think I get it now." Leni clapped her hands. "I totes saw you playing that with Lynn the other day. I think we got this!"
"Sure you nerds do!"
Lincoln's ears twitched at the sound of a familiar annoying voice as he and Leni turned to see Chandler approaching them with his ever present lackeys flanking him. The redhead grinned smugly with a cross of his arms.
"If you guys try hard enough, you might actually score a few points. At least that way it won't be a complete slaughter." Chandler sneered. "Wouldn't want to make it too easy, it'd be nice to have a little more fun outside of the usual with this.
"Cool Chandler, I hope we can make things fun for you. Honest." Lincoln deadpanned, rolling his eyes. The redhead had seemed to be trying to get under his skin more often lately, and he wasn't even sure why considering he never really interacted with him much since elementary. He always considered him annoying, which is why he tried to keep their interactions brief.
Chandler frowned. "Just get ready for a beatdown Loud. I'm going to enjoy this either way."
"Sounds good, see you on the court, McCann."
Chandler growled, storming off to join his team as his friends followed him. Lincoln sighed in response before turning back to his sister and the rest of his team.
'Well… let's get this started.'
Coach McCarthy whistle echoed throughout the gymnasium as he tossed the ball to Clyde who passed it to Lincoln. He would have had a normal tip off, but had instead settled it in a coin toss to be more fair.
Lincoln dribbled the ball down the court as one boy stood in front of him in a defensive position. Looking around, he saw Clyde, Leni, Rusty, and Ronnie Anne trying to get themselves open.
"Go Chandler!"
His ears twitched as he took a side eye glance to his left to see several girls from the cheerleading team cheer on the orange haired boy, who grinned and waved at them.
'Well, he's enjoying this…"
"Lame-O!"
Lincoln snapped back to attention to see Ronnie Anne break free from her guard and get open. Acting quickly, he passed the ball to her as she caught it.
The latina quickly made a motion to shoot only to notice someone else already moving on her. Clicking her teeth, she passed the ball towards Clyde who was now open. Setting his feet, the boy quickly made a shot only for it to hit the rim and bounce off.
"Can't shoot for nothing, huh McBride?!" One of the other team's opposing players, George, jested as he prepared to use his large frame to rebound the ball. However, as he prepared to jump, a shadow appeared over him causing his eyes to widen in disbelief. The figure then caught the ball and laid it up back into the basket through the hoop before landing back on the ground.
"Two points for Lincoln's team! Nice layup Lincoln…"
The coach was having obvious trouble containing his surprise along with everyone else Lincoln began to jog back to the other side. They all stood or sat there in shock at the show of athleticism for a moment before returning to their senses.
Chandler inbounded the ball as he began to jog down the court to be face to face with Lincoln. A small smirk formed on his face. 'Let's see how smug you are when I drop you to the floor Larry."
He made several moves with the ball in his hands, trying to get Lincoln to trip up. However, Lincoln kept up with all of them, not losing his balance in the least bit and only serving to frustrate the redhead.
'You're good Chandler, but not as good as Lynn nor as quick as the monsters in the Item World.' The boy thought with a smirk as he saw Chandler frustratingly grit his teeth. Quickly noticing an opening, he struck his hand out and smacked the ball down the court. Not wasting a second, he took off at a speed much faster than anyone thought he was. Scooping up the ball, he stopped at the three point line before setting his feet and taking a shot.
Swoosh!
"Three points for Lincoln's team! Score right now is zero to five, better get a move on kids!"
Chandler gritted his teeth in frustration, watching as Ronnie Anne wrapped her arm around Lincoln's neck as she and the rest of the other team cheered. 'What the hell?! Larry was never this damn good at basketball, what the hell happened?!'
"So much for being the rising star of the basketball team huh?"
Chandler's eyes widened as he saw several girls who were sitting to the side, gossiping to themselves. They took a glance at him before going back to each other.
"I thought he said this was going to be a slaughter…"
"It's not the first time he's hyped himself up so much and failed to live up to expectations. I heard he only got that starting position on the basketball team because his dad paid off the school."
"But Lincoln though, when did he get so athletic? I thought he was just some nerd."
"I don't know, but I do know I like what I see so far~.
Chandler shook his head before walking over and getting the inbound pass. He started to jog down to the other side of the court, his eyes glaring at Lincoln who glared back.
'Damn it, you're ruining everything Larry! I'm gonna-!'
A loud noise caught his attention as he quickly turned to the side to see Ronnie Anne smacking the ball out of his hands whilst he wasn't paying attention. Loudly cursing to himself, he quickly dashed in front of the girl who smirked as she passed the ball backwards to Lincoln.
"Not this time Larry!" Chandler shouted, taking a defensive position in front of white haired teen, who approached the three point line.
Lincoln remained silent however, instead doing several streetball trick maneuvers in quick succession. Chandler did his best to try and keep up, swaying as tried to follow...
"Crap!"
Only to lose his balance and fall on his rear as he slipped from trying to keep up. Slightly smirking to himself, Lincoln simply shot the ball into the hoop.
"Another three points for Lincoln's team!"
However the couch's announcement was drowned out from the loud jeers and calls of the rest of the students when they saw Chandler hit the floor. Laughter echoed throughout the gym as the boy gritted his teeth with an embarrassed blush appearing on his face.
Lincoln smiled to himself, jogging back to his team's side of the court. 'This is going a lot better than I expected. Is it because of my build in the system?"
"Didn't expect you to be this good Linc." The white haired teenager turned to see Ronnie Anne jogging up to him with a smile. "Don't remember you being this good at all actually. You've been practicing or something lately?"
"Outside of playing a few games with Lynn, nah. Guess I'm just at the top of my game today heh." The boy smiled sheepishly, placing a hand to the back of his neck. 'That and it looks like I'm basically superhuman now.'
Ronnie Anne grinned widely, elbowing Lincoln. "Well if that's the case, how about some one on one games whenever we get the chance later?"
"Sounds good to me, it's a date Ms. Santiago." Lincoln said, smirking as he saw Ronnie Anne's face light up with a blush. 'Not sure where that last part came from, but seeing her embarrassed for once is nice.'
You have now unlocked the Ronnie Anne route!
'...Shit.'
The game continued on for a while longer, but Lincoln had clearly taken control of it as no one on either team was able to physically keep up with him. He managed to involve himself in nearly every play, and even being double teamed did little to slow him down.
The sole Loud son was enjoying himself completely. Whilst he wasn't completely unathletic before he unlocked his Natural Ability, he never really enjoyed gym class due to having to try hard to keep up. Now not having to put a lot of effort into it, he was able to focus on having fun for once. It also helped that he was able to get his friends and sister involved into the game as well.
On the other team, however, Chandler was internally fuming. This was supposed to be a joke of a game, an absolute slaughter. He and his team were supposed to completely dominate the nerds and show off whilst doing so. However they had only managed to score several points whilst the other team had been scoring at will.
Frustration bubbled inside the redhead as he caught the inbound pass, dribbling down the court. He gritted his teeth as he saw Lincoln once again preparing to guard him.
'This is all your damn fault Larry! How the hell did you get so good all of a sudden?!' The boy began to dribble, trying to get around Lincoln and ignoring his teammates calls for a pass. 'You're ruining everything damn it!'
Getting desperate, he jumped up to take a shot and let the ball go.
"Hah!"
Only for Lincoln to jump even higher and reject it with a strong swat.
"I got it!" Ronnie Anne yelled, dashing down the court to scoop up the loose ball as Chandler and Lincoln followed close behind her with the rest of their teams. Scooping the ball up, she jumped up towards the hoop for a lay up only for something to crash into her side, slamming her harshly down to the floor.
"Ronnie Anne!"
A whistle blew as everyone stopped except for Lincoln who started to tend to his fallen teammate. Coach McCarthy glared at the perpetrator, a stern frown on his lips.
"I thought I said no rough play, McCann! What the heck was that?!"
Chandler shrugged, a fake apologetic expression coming to his face. "Sorry coach, I didn't mean to bump into her that hard."
'Bullshit.' Lincoln thought, glaring at the redhead. He turned back to Ronnie Anne who was picking herself up from the ground before she winced as she fell back down.
"You alright there Santiago?" Coach McCarthy asked as he saw the girl grab her ankle.
Ronnie Anne simply shook her head. "Don't think so, coach. I think I might have tweaked my ankle."
Lincoln's frown deepened before he picked Ronnie Anne up, bridal style much to her surprise and started to carry her over to the bleachers.
"H-Hey! Put me down Lincoln!" The girl yelped, red quickly growing on her cheeks as she saw their classmates staring at them.
"Be quiet for once…" Lincoln muttered, just loud enough for her to hear as he sat her down on the bottom bleacher, ignoring the looks he was getting from several classmates. "I'll take you to the nurse's office after we're done with this. Just hold on till then."
"O-Okay…" Ronnie Anne whispered in an unrealistic meek voice. She slapped her cheeks, trying to get rid of the red on her face.
You've earned points in the Ronnie Anne route!
Lincoln ignored the screen, instead opting to glare at Chandler who gave him a smug expression in return.
"It was just an accident Larry, I'm sorry!" The boy laughed along with a few of his friends.
Lincoln remained silent, glaring at the boy.
"Alright since Santiago is done… McBride! You take her free throws!"
"Yes Coach!" Clyde said, running to the end of the free throw lane as everyone else lined up.
Coach McCarthy dribbled the ball before tossing it to Clyde. "Two free throws, kid. Make them count."
Clyde nodded, dribbling the ball as he took a deep breath before shooting.
Swish!
"First one counts! Keep it going McBride!"
Clyde grinned as he caught the ball, glancing towards Lincoln only to frown as he noticed his friend still glaring at Chandler who was standing next to him.
'This is not going to end well…' Clyde dribbled the ball once again, taking another breath as everyone else got ready. He let the ball go…
Swish!
Bam!
"Ow!"
Two things happened at that very moment.
The first was Clyde's last free throw going in.
The second being Lincoln's elbow hitting the side of Chandler's head, laying the boy out onto the floor.
"What the hell Loud?! I said no more rough play!" Coach McCarthy roared, glaring at the white haired teen as Chandler laid on the floor, hands wrapped around his head in pain.
Lincoln looked apologetic, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry coach. I was trying to get the rebound if the shot missed."
Coach McCarthy sighed. "These kids… just take Santiago to the Nurse's office already. Game's over since you all don't know how to keep your hands to yourself."
"Will do."
Without another word, Lincoln walked over to a stunned Ronnie Anne, picking her up and walking towards the nurse's office. From the ground, Chandler glared at his back before wincing as he agitated the bruise that was forming on his face.
"It looks like you just have a minor ankle sprain. Be sure to ice it at night and I'll make sure your mother knows about it. I'll give you an ankle brace as well."
Ronnie Anne nodded from the bed she was sitting on. "Got ya, thanks Nurse Tanaka."
"It's no problem, Ronnie Anne." A young Asian woman smiled as she stepped away to her desk. "Simply doing my job is all."
From the side, Lincoln smiled as he approached the bed. "Well, at least we know it isn't anything too bad."
"I guess…" Ronnie Anne muttered, placing the ankle brace around her injured joint with slight discomfort. "Stupid Chandler, getting mad because he can't take an L."
Lincoln frowned at that. "Don't worry about him right now, he isn't worth the thought."
"Heh." Ronnie Anne snorted, looking towards her friend with a smile. "You never seemed to treat him with any."
"Because he isn't worth it. He's just some spoiled rich kid with more money than brains, so why bother treating him anything more than what he is?"
Ronnie Anne laughed at that statement. "Didn't stop you from elbowing him in the face which was pretty funny I might add."
"Did that because he hurt you because his pride was shot. Wasn't going to let him get away with that." Lincoln explained with a shrug of his shoulders.
You have earned points in the Ronnie Anne route. You two have become "More Than Friends."
'What…?' Lincoln took his eyes from the screen to see Ronnie Anne staring at him with wide eyes and a blush on her face. '...Oh.'
"Y-You mean that…?" Ronnie Anne asked with an uncharacteristic stutter, leaning towards him.
Lincoln looked away with a small blush of his own. "Y-yeah, obviously. You think I'd do that for anyone?"
"I see…" Ronnie Anne trailed off before smiling. "Thanks Lincoln."
"Don't worry about it."
"That's not what I meant." Lincoln raised an eyebrow as Ronnie Anne continued. "You always seem to have my back when I need it. Sure I have the others like Sid, Stella, and Renee; but you always seem to be there when I really need someone in my corner."
Lincoln scratched the back of his head, an embarrassed look on his face as his own cheeks. "I'm just doing what any good friend would do Ronnie…"
"Is a good friend all you see me as?"
"Huh?" The boy noticed that Ronnie Anne had suddenly closed the distance between them somewhat and was staring directly at him, her face red and her expression nothing short of determined.
Ronnie Anne stared at him for a few moments longer before giggling as she pulled back and flicked his forehead. "Just teasing you Lame-O. You don't have to be so stiff."
"Really? That's a shame. I was thinking about how cute you looked just now."
You have earned points in the Ronnie Anne route.
Lincoln smirked as Ronnie Anne's face turned red to the point he swore he could see steam coming from her head. The two then heard giggling from the side and turned to see Nurse Tanaka staring right at them with a smile.
"It's always nice to see young love blossoming, so cute and innocent." The nurse teased as the two teenagers grew red in the face, Ronnie Anne much more so.
"W-We're not a couple!" The young Latina denied, obviously flustered.
"Yet." the nurse responded with a small grin. "I've been in this world longer than you Ms. Santiago. I know a thing or two about romance."
Lincoln could only sigh as Ronnie Anne continued to openly deny the accusations and fuel the teasing nurse.
The rest of the school day had passed as normal, or as normal as can be for Lincoln considering what had transpired earlier.
Word had gotten out around the school not only about the altercation between him and Chandler, but how he had dominated in the basketball game. Wherever he had gone to in the school, he felt eyes on him causing him to feel quite uncomfortable due to not being used to the attention.
He had also noticed several girls starting to eye him up. He wasn't sure if that was because of the Harem Aura skill or the basketball game, but he wasn't sure how to react to his newfound popularity. Being the second oldest of ten children usually meant he had to deal with attention being split amongst others, so being the center of it always felt weird to him.
'Now I'm noticeable… great.' The white haired Gamer sighed in annoyance as he walked down the halls. The final bell of the school day had just rang and he was on his way to the Student Council office. Renee was supposed to come get him, but he had sent her a text saying he'd come to the office to make things easier for her since they were in different classes for the final period.
'Still wonder what this whole dungeon thing is about. Is it like the Item World?' Lincoln thought, starting to approach the office. 'Also wonder what they fully mean about a backup role. I need to do some fighting myself or I won't get any stronger.'
Putting those thoughts away with a sigh, he knocked on the office door several times and waited.
"Be there in a second!"
'At least it doesn't sound like pure chaos in there this time…' He mused with a small whimsical smile. Not long, the door opened as Renee poked her head through to look right at him.
"Oh Linc! You're just in time, we're finishing up our preparations to head to the dungeon."
"Great, I'm done making my own preparations." Lincoln said, walking inside the room as Renee let him in. He noticed that the room was significantly tidier than it was yesterday. He looked at the table to see the rest of the guild sitting there with Yuna and Hazel typing away at computers while Karin seemed to be meditating in her chair.
The dark haired girl seemed to notice his presence however as one of her red eyes opened as him and Renee approached the table. A smile formed on her face as she stood up from her chair. "Lincoln! Nice of you to join us!"
"Nice to be here, Karin. Thanks for having me." He turned towards Yuna and Hazel who were still absorbed into their own activities. He also noticed there being a large spherical object laying next to Yuna's chair as well.
Karin nodded, sitting down with Lincoln and Renee. "So are you ready for the dungeon?"
"Ready as I'll ever be, did a bunch of preparation last night." Lincoln answered before turning towards Yuna and Hazel. "You guys never really did explain to me what exactly I'll be doing as support though…"
"Basically carrying the supplies and watching the rear." Hazel didn't even look away from her laptop as she answered, her tone flat. "You'll also be responsible for holding on to any materials we discover while there so we can sell them for profit later. Don't worry, we'll make sure to give you a cut of it."
"I see…" Lincoln couldn't help but be slightly disappointed at the details of his role. Having fought in the Item World had made him actually grow a small lust for battle. 'And here I was hoping to get some action while we were there.'
Renee seemed to notice his expression and spoke up. "It's not like we expect you just to hang back the entire time, you'll probably get the chance to fight sooner than later. We just have a set standard of how we do things here because being in the dungeons is dangerous. It'll throw us all off if we tried to shoe you in out of nowhere with no practice whatsoever."
"No, it's fine Renee. I understand so I hope I didn't come off as unappreciative or anything."
"It's of no trouble, it's partially our fault for not explaining to you fully what we would be doing." Hazel said, closing the laptop as she stood up. "On that note, I'm done with our preparations. We can leave now if everyone is ready."
"Roger that!" Renee and Karin both shouted before looking at each other in surprise and laughing.
"I'm ready to start whenever you guys are." Lincoln said, standing up as a small glint of excitement seemed to form in his eyes. 'Finally… time to see how strong I've truly gotten.'
Hazel nodded before turning towards Yuna who had been silent for the whole meeting. "Yuna, would you like to do the honors?"
Yuna sighed, causing Lincoln to raise an eyebrow, as she stood up. "Yeah, I'll open up the portal."
The girl made a few dials on her phone before holding it towards an empty space in the clubroom. Not long afterwards, a large blue portal opened up in front of everyone.
Dungeon Opened
Recommended Level: 28
'So the system recognizes and gauges dungeons as well. That's useful.' Lincoln thought, watching everyone seem to prepare for their adventure. He saw Renee grab a pair of cards, Karin place her sword at her waist, Hazel grab a book, and Yuna do something that caught him off guard once again.
The brunette did a few more taps of her phone and the small spherical object that had been next to her came to life, now floating in the air. The girl smiled as she petted the automation.
"Here you are, Lincoln."
The boy turned to see Hazel handing him a brown backpack. As he took it, she began to explain. "Since you'll be on backup duties, we'll be relying on you to store any materials we collect so we can profit from them later. Do not worry, the bag has a magical subspace in it that allows it to store an infinite amount of items without it becoming any heavier."
"Sounds pretty useful, I won't let you guys down."
Hazel nodded with a small smile. "Well, let us be off then. Yuna?"
"Right, let's be careful everyone!" Yuna exclaimed as she walked through the portal with everyone else following after her.
Lincoln was the last one, stopping just at the portal and taking a deep breath. With a determined look on his face, he walked through as it closed behind him and left the room completely empty.
Ring!
The sound of her cell phone ringing in her shared bedroom with Leni caused Lori Loud to stop painting her toes as she picked the object off of her nightstand next to her bed to read the caller ID.
"Ronnie Anne Santiago"
Her eyebrow raised along with a small smirk appearing on her face as she hit the accept button and brought the phone next to her ear.
"So Ronnie Anne…" The eldest sister started as she went back to painting her toenails. "How did it go today in gym class?"
"...You heard, didn't you?"
"That Lincoln carried you like a princess to the nurse's office after elbowing Chandler in the head for pushing you? Pretty sure the whole school knows about it, though Leni wouldn't be quiet about it after school let out."
She could hear Ronnie Anne grumble on the other side of the phone call. "Should've known, so I guess you were expecting me to call you."
"Considering how much you've been asking me about Lincoln lately, it's only a given." The blonde stopped to admire her handiwork on her toes, already planning to take a picture and show it off to her friends and on social media later. "Still, for Lincoln to do something like that? Haven't seen him get violent since this past summer with Leni and that jerk. He must really care about you"
"Y-You think he cares about me like that?"
Lori's smile grew. "Of course I do and I'm pretty sure you know he does too. Why else would you be calling me right now?"
"I guess you have a point, just didn't expect him to go that far. Sid and the rest of the girls kept teasing me about it throughout the day once they heard about it." Lori could hear the embarrassment from the Latina's voice causing her to giggle. "He seems to have changed lately, though I'm pretty sure you've noticed being his sister. He's more athletic and cooler, and I've noticed the other girls in the school starting to look at him. Do you know what's been going on with him?"
"Oh? Getting a little jealous there, Ronnie Anne?" Lori asked mischievously, hearing the girl stammer from the other side of the phone.
"O-Of course not! I just want to know that's all!"
Lori's smile faded as she placed a hand to her chin. "To be honest with you, I don't even know. Lincoln's been acting pretty weird lately and he refuses to tell me what he's doing. I've been asking Leni about it since they share some classes together, but she hasn't been able to figure anything out. Of course, it's Leni after all."
"That's weird… well I'm sure it's nothing. Linc's not the type of guy to get in trouble like that."
"I wonder about that…'' Lori mused before smiling. "So, you want advice on how to win over Lincoln?"
"I-I didn't say that!" Ronnie Anne exclaimed. "...but yes."
Lori grinned widely, crossing her legs as she leaned over. "Well, I don't think I really need to tell you much since Lincoln likes you for you. But let me give you a little advice…"
"Tuna, attack!"
Several lasers were shot out of a small circular robot as they collided with several snake-like monsters, killing them instantly as they cried out in pain. Several of its allies looked towards in surprise before one was bisected horizontally.
"Flash!"
Karin placed her katana back into it's scabbard before dashing towards another monster. Quickly drawing her blade again, she sliced faster than the eye can see, cutting it in half diagonally.
"Hiss!" Several snake creatures snarled at her before spitting an yellow acid towards the dark haired girl, who remained calm at the approaching fluid. It was then, two large cards appeared before her blocking the attack. The monsters looked on surprise before suddenly screeching as they were set aflame by fire magic and consumed by the flames.
Hazel watched her handiwork before closing her book once she noticed no more monsters around them. "Area is clear, shall we move on to the next one?"
"Sounds good to me, I still have energy to spare." Karin said, holding up a fist to show her point.
Renee nodded as well. "I do too, the monsters here aren't too strong."
"I see, how about you Yuna? Lincoln?"
"I'm fine and Tuna has enough energy to last until the end of the dungeon." Yuna answered, checking her automation as it floated near her.
Lincoln grunted as he slammed a pickaxe at a mountain of rocks before they broke apart and blue gems came out in return. Picking one up, he silently used his Observe skill as a screen of info appeared before him.
Crafting Item Acquired!
Sapphire x1
"Lincoln?"
The boy looked up behind him to see the girls staring at him. Renee raised an eyebrow with a cross of her arms. "We asked if you're good to keep going since we cleared this area."
"Oh, yeah I am!" Lincoln quickly placed the materials in the bag before zipping it up. "Sorry, I just got a bit distracted."
"I see, how's the collection coming along then?" Hazel questioned as the boy approached them.
Lincoln smirked as he opened the backpack to reveal a large quantity of gems and other materials much to the four girls' surprise. "It's coming along pretty well I think. Been making sure to gather as much as I can."
The girls looked at each other before smiling. Renee had opened her mouth to say something-
Grumble~!
Before a loud grumble caught everyone off guard as they turned to the source. Yuna blushed embarrassingly, placing a hand over her stomach.
"S-Sorry, I forgot my lunch at home today and missed lunch period because I was too busy working on my machines."
Hazel sighed tiredly. "I wish you would take better care of yourself Yuna. You're supposed to be our leader after all."
"Geez sorry mom…" Yuna grumbled under her breath, causing Hazel to grow even more annoyed as Karin and Renee chuckled sheepishly at their teammates' antics.
"If you're hungry, I can help with that." Lincoln stated as the four girls turned back to him. Placing the bag down, he opened his inventory before quickly making a selection and putting his hands through the screen which was invisible to the girls. As he pulled back, a small portable fridge came out much to their surprise. The boy grinned as he opened it. "Had some leftovers from last night when helping my dad cook. Guess it's as good a time to share as any."
"...Okay, but where did you get the fridge?" Karin questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Lincoln shrugged. "My inventory, it's part of my ability.
With that said, he pulled out a small container containing several mac and cheese bites. Closing his eyes and applying minimal fire magic to his hands, warming the items up before holding them out to the girls. "Feel free."
The girls glanced at each other before Yuna grabbed one and took a bite. Almost instantly, her eyes lit up as she quickly scarfed the rest of the snack down. Licking her fingers, she noticed everyone staring at her causing her face to turn red as she looked away much to their amusement.
"Glad you like it." Lincoln chuckled as the rest of the girls grabbed the rest and learned that their leader's reaction was well warranted. "My dad actually approved of this batch for once and my sisters enjoyed them, so I had high hopes for it."
"Y-Yeah, they were good!" Yuna smiled, relishing in the aftertaste. "I don't do a lot of cooking myself, since my caretaker usually does it. This is actually my first time having them."
Lincoln smiled. "Well they're not too hard to make once you know what you're doing, and pretty quick too."
"...I see." Yuna muttered, taking a thoughtful expression which Lincoln noticed.
"You know if you want, I can show you how to make them." Lincoln smiled at Yuna's surprised expression. "I have a friend who's part of the cooking club and this way I can pay you guys back for helping me out."
"...That sounds good, thank you Lincoln."
"Don't sweat it, just happy to help out." Lincoln said with a smile.
Yuna Woo now has an interest in you.
'Hmm?' Lincoln turned away from the screen and towards the girl to notice a small pink tint on her face. '...Here we go again.'
"Yuna! Lincoln!" The two turned to see Renee waving them down. "We're moving out, let's go!"
"Coming Renee!" Lincoln shouted back, turning back to Yuna who shared a nod with him as they moved to catch up to the rest of the team. However, as they did Lincoln noticed a small look of discontent on Renee's face. Before he could ask her about it though, she quickly turned around and began walking forward. The boy raised an eyebrow before shrugging and following everyone else.
The area was quiet… far too quiet for Lincoln's taste he noted as the group entered a large open area surrounded by darkness.
'Large dark open area, no monsters or enemies in plain sight, and not a sound being made? Yeah, this area screams boss room.' The boy began to tense as he looked around him. 'But where is the boss though…?'
"Stay alert everyone, it seems the enemy here is using stealth." Hazel said as everyone else began to tense as they kept their wits about them.
Karin nodded going back to back with Renee, her hand resting on the hilt of her katana. "Is there any way to find it? I can't see anything really."
"I got it. Tuna, run a scan." Yuna commanded, pressing a few commands with her phone as the small robot began to beep as it shined a light, moving in a circular motion.
Lincoln's eyes narrowed before closing his eyes and whispering. "Activate Night Vision." Opening them back up, his eyes were now a glowing green as he began to scan the area around him.
'Doesn't seem to be anything around us that can cause imminent danger, but that doesn't shake this feeling of dread I have.' He turned back towards the rest of the group who were during their own searching as best as they could in the conditions.
Killing Intent Detected
'What?' The boy looked confused at his screen before he noticed a pair of red eyes appear behind Yuna. 'Shit!'
"Look out!"
The girls jumped at Lincoln's scream before a loud hissing noise caught them off guard as they turned behind them to see a glaring pair of red eyes. The creature took advantage of their surprise and lunged at high speed with one of it's large claws aimed towards Yuna.
'Can't get away in time!' The girl closed her eyes and held up her arms in an effort to defend herself before feeling something wrap around her along with a large clang. Opening them back up, she saw a long golden spear defending against the attack aimed at her.
"You alright Yuna?" The girl turned towards her right to see Lincoln glaring at the monster as he had his left arm wrapped around her and was putting himself between her and the monster.
"Y-Yeah!" Yuna squeaked, her face turning red at the close proximity the two were.
Lincoln, however, didn't pay it much mind as he nodded and gathering his strength into his arm that was holding the spear, he pushed back the creature with a shout. Taking a step forward, his spear glowed gold before stabbing it into where he saw it's chest was sending it flying back.
Fatal Thrust Skill Activated
Lincoln sighed letting go of Yuna who regained her bearings. Checking her state once again, he took another look back at the monster with his night vision activated.
Dungeon Boss
Level 29 Black Slaad
'No wonder it was able to hide in the shadows so well, I better keep on the offensive so I don't lose track of it again!' Lincoln thought, gathering flames in one hand before throwing them at the monster. "Fire!"
The creature was barely able to get up before feeling scalding flames across its body causing it to hiss loudly in pain. Lincoln continued his assault as he dashed towards the monster, making multiple thrusts across its body with his spear. The creature jumped back, letting darkness swirl around its body.
"I'm not letting you get away!" Lincoln shouted, quickly closing the distance and attacking with another Fatal Thrust, nailing the monster in its abdomen. Letting ice magic form in his non-weapon hand, he attacked again. "Blizzard!"
Icicles protruded from the ground as they stabbed into the slaad, causing it to roar in pain. Lincoln grinned before running forward and continuing his offense.
Yuna and her guild stood in shock as they watched Lincoln fight the monster that had been hiding in the dark; Hazel having started a fire so they could better see. The boy was moving quickly, not letting the creature take any form of offense as he attacked with a mixture of spear arts and magic.
"So Renee…" Hazel started as the girls turned to look at her. "Did you know Lincoln could do all of this?"
"...No, not in the least bit." Renee answered, turning back to the fight, but holding her cards at the ready if she needed to jump in. "He didn't really tell me too much about his ability when he approached me except that it turned his life into a video game basically."
"A video game huh… did he say how long he's had his ability?"
"A couple of weeks is what he told me." Renee answered, watching as Lincoln dodged another swipe before blasting the Slaad with a wave of fire magic. "I didn't expect him to be this strong though…"
"To get this strong in a couple of weeks is just amazing though…" Karin muttered, eyes glued on the fight.
Yuna, however, remained silent as she observed the fight before her. She hadn't really known where to gauge Lincoln after meeting him yesterday but now seeing him in action, it was clear he was at her and everyone else's level if not even higher than that. He also didn't freeze in combat like she had earlier, showing that he had been doing this for quite some time.
"You alright Yuna?"
The bespectacled Asian girl's face turned red as she started slapping her cheeks to try to stem the blood rush somehow when the moment from earlier came back to her. Her experience with the opposite sex was small due to her upbringing especially with those around her age.
But the way Lincoln held her as he stopped the monster's attack…
Like a knight in shining armor…
You have unlocked the Yuna Woo Route! Congratulations!
Lincoln raised an eyebrow at the screen before quickly focusing back on the fight. The slaad was injured and exhausted, barely able to stand. Holding a hand up, his hand charged with electricity as he aimed.
"Die, Thunder."
Lightning screeched out of his hand as it enveloped the monster, killing it with one last roar. It fell down to the floor dead, before dispersing in a black ooze.
Dungeon Cleared!
Boss Fight Finished!
You Have Leveled Up!
You Have Leveled Up!
Open Menu to check for Dungeon Clear Rewards!
Lincoln sighed before smiling. 'And with that, I'm at level thirty. These dungeons are a pretty good way of getting stronger, glad I asked Renee after all.'
He turned on his heel, noticing the darkness in the area begin to disperse as he rejoined the rest of the group. "You guys alright?"
"We're all fine, thanks for asking Lincoln." Yuna stated as the others nodded at her words. Her face then became bashful as she looked away, playing with her hair. "And um… thanks for saving me back there."
"It's no problem, I'm just glad you're okay. So I guess we head back now then huh?" Lincoln said with a smile, causing Yuna's cheeks to burn a bit brighter. An action that did not go unnoticed by Renee who began to pout.
"Correct, we can sort through our spoils when we get back to the club room." Hazel said as a portal appeared. "Just in time, I'll also show you how to access the internet marketplace for the Abyss."
"There's a marketplace for the Abyss?" Lincoln questioned.
Hazel smirked, her brown eyes shining mischievously through her glasses. "You have much to learn, Lincoln."
With that she walked through the portal, followed shortly by Karin and Renee.
Lincoln moved to follow them only to be stopped by a small tug on his shirt. Turning back, he saw Yuna looking away from him, her face still a bit red.
"Hey um… I just wanted to say thanks again." The girl spoke, her gaze still turned away from Lincoln.
Lincoln blinked, before smiling again. "It's fine Yuna, you don't have to keep thanking me. Once again, I'm just glad you're okay."
Yuna smiled, still blushing as she nodded. "So… what do you plan to do after this? Are you interested in joining a guild or group? Because I can talk it over with everyone else to let you join us, not that I think they'll need much convincing after today."
"Hmm… I think I want to just go solo for a while. It's not that I didn't like partying with you guys, but I want to push myself and see how far I can go on my own."
"I see…" Yuna said, a bit of disappointment in her voice. She had been hoping to get a new member for their group
Lincoln seemed to notice and chuckled. "That being said, if you guys need my help for any reason let me know. You guys did me a solid today and Renee is a good friend of mine."
"Just Renee?"
"Huh?" Lincoln blurted, noticing a pout on Yuna's face. He chuckled nervously. "I guess we're good friends too, Yuna."
You have earned points in the Yuna route!
"Good!" Yuna said smiling as she began walking forward towards the portal with an apparent pep in her step as Tuna followed her. "Don't keep us waiting too long! We still need to show you the marketplace!"
Lincoln rubbed the back of his head as he watched her leave. "What is going on…?"
Shrugging to himself, he walked through the portal as it closed behind him.
However, shortly after he left, a lone figure walked into the room, looking at the spot the portal was at with a neutral expression. They suddenly smirked before opening a portal of their own and walking through it.
"Things are finally getting interesting…"
Finally got this done, sorry but ya boy got hooked on some good games i.e SMT V, Tales of Arise, and Scarlet Nexus. Also work has been pretty hellish as of late, so that's a pain.
With that, I hope you all enjoy what you read. Wanted to make this a lengthy chapter so hopefully I didn't disappoint. Please review and you all have a good one.
-Jacula