Monthly mission

Alden placed his father's cloak around his shoulders and walked toward the location of the portal. It was located on a large field, which was situated on the side of a highway. There weren't too many people trying to catch a glimpse of the gate as would usually happen if the gate was in a town or city. Besides a few motorists, there was barely anyone present there.

Alden walked towards the portal which was visible in the distance, it was similar to the one Alden had seen when he went on his secret dungeon mission.

There was safety tape around the portal, preventing anyone besides Rangers from getting near the portal. A few association officials and police officers were busy trying to keep the few people present away from the portal.

Alden walked towards the safety tape and when he approached, an officer stopped him.

"I am a Ranger, I'm here for my monthly mission," Alden said to the official.

"Name?" The official enquired, a tablet in his hand.

"Alden Phiri," Alden answered, waiting patiently to be allowed to pass through.

The official scrolled through the tablet before finally looking up, he gave Alden a strange look before speaking, "You can pass. Next time, come through the registration table. Just head there to register."

"Thank you," Alden said politely before passing and walking over to the location where the official directed him. He realized that he was supposed to have entered through the registration office so he could show his temporary Rangers license and finish all the registration required before entering the gate. After finishing all of that, Alden headed towards the gate where the other Rangers were.

"Hey! You're here. You were nearly late. Arrive earlier next time!" A muscular man who wore heavy armor barked at Alden before instructing Alden to stand one side, next to some other Rangers who also seemed to be completing their monthly missions.

"Hey! You're that new F-ranked trainee?" Alden heard someone ask him. He turned to see a boy with a messy mop of curly hair and gold-colored skin.

Alden didn't reply, he simply nodded.

"Hey, Lyle! Don't bother the guy," Another guy said walking up to them, he seemed to have a similar appearance to the first boy, only he was taller and he had some hair on his chin.

"Ah, Sorry, did Lyle bother you?" A female arrived now, she had the same gold-colored skin as the other two but her hair was not just curly, but it was long and reached below her shoulders. She had braided her hair and in terms of appearance, she was very much attractive.

Alden felt the pressure build inside of him as he saw so many people surrounding him, he was growing nervous and he did not see the humans around him as party members, no, he saw them as snakes. Snakes because they were all just unfaithfully putting up a friendly mask but their intentions were sinister. He'd had many bad experiences with people, thus he was not willing to trust anyone again. He would build his empire from the bottom up, and he would do it alone.

So he simply shook his head and turned away, ensuring there was no other chance of conversation. Good people were a lie, there was no good without evil. Beautiful intentions were merely a mask for the ugly and Alden was wary of the evil that hid behind every righteous deed.

Alden discovered that the people who are the closest to you tended to have the most jealousy when seeing you succeed. And because of how dangerously close they are to you, it is too easy to make you fail.

Alden was broken out of the cage of his thoughts by the sound of shouts from the spectators. He turned his head to see that on the side of the road, stepping out of a very expensive vehicle was a man with green hair. As soon as he got out, all attention was turned to him. A few bodyguards accompanied him to the registration office where he got occupied with signing and registering.

"Light McKing," Alden heard someone say. He turned his head to see "Lyle" from before standing next to him. Lyle continued, not noticing Alden's annoyed glare, "He comes from a very prestigious background. The McKing family produces Rangers who are born with insurmountable power. Their power appears at a very young age and they tend to have a great amount of strength, speed, and reflexes. They are also able to control a strange green energy mass."

Even though Alden didn't want to make any conversations, he was quite interested in Light McKing so he forced himself to ask, "Why is he here, Isn't this a trial mission for Ranger trainees?"

"He is also a trainee, he only recently was permitted to enter dungeons so that is why he is here," Lyle replied.

Alden just quietly observed Light McKing. McKing seemed both arrogant and confident and by his demeanor alone, he seemed like he was sure he could overturn a whole continent. Alden watched him, Light McKing finished his resignation before finally coming towards Alden and his group.

"Finally, you're here McKing! You must have rushed to come here!" The burly man who reprimanded Alden said to Light. He now had a bright smile on his face as he welcomed Light.

"Cut the bull, Let's just get this E-grade dungeon over with." The boy said dismissively waving his arm at the man who should have been the leader.

"Yes! No problems," The man said before roaring at the other trainees to come close. As soon as they all came together, they followed their leader into the dungeon, ready to face some sort of adventure.

Little did they know that the adversity they were about to face was beyond their expectations.