Another one?

‘Another one?’ Dave groaned.

‘This is not just another one. This is it. These guys are who you want,’ even in a call, Luca’s devious excitement resounded.

‘You say that every time. Every time.’

‘Miira and Deilo.’

‘They already have a static.’

‘Nope. Not since last week.’

‘They’re probably just a bunch of elitists.’

‘They are try-hards. Besides, beats playing with randoms,’ Luca continued.

‘You could play with me.’

‘You know I can’t, I already…’

‘… have a static. I know.’

‘But listen, I could come on my tank this time.’

‘You suck on the tank. It’s not even your main.’

‘Of course. Otherwise, I would steal your spotlight. Let me message them; I will arrange a run in no time.’

Luca dropped the call without further ado. Dave sighed as his gaze focused on the dark clouds above and three five-story apartment buildings in front of his own, their windows creating an unfinished mosaic of lights.

A familiar dull sound came from his right. He slid his headphones off as he noticed Kyu with the leash in his mouth, wagging his tail as it hit the floor. Kyu's long cream fur fell over his excited yet adorable eyes, tugging at Dave's heartstrings.

‘Right now?’ Dave cocked his head, furrowing his eyebrows.

Pup’s reply was the sweetest wince and a swift nod of the muzzle, futile to resist.

Outside, he couldn't help but feel like he was the one being taken out for a walk, as Kyu dragged him all around the block. Luca's proposition swirled in his mind. He knew about Miira and Deilo. Everyone in the game had. The top two players, towering over the leaderboards.

‘Of course you would be a couple of over the top elitists. I would be a mere toy in your eyes.’

Suddenly, Kyu dropped to the ground and started rolling on the grass. His upside-down face jeered. Looking at him reminded Dave of the times with his old static - the halcyon of his gaming days. When they spent the nights away wiping the floor during new updates, teased each other about their bad luck, improved their scores as they came up with new tactics. All of that until ‘she’ showed up in his life. Then, all of it started breaking apart, until there was nothing left of the original group. One day, not even ‘she’ was there, which left him stranded, running with strangers. Never belonging, getting nowhere in the game. His rank dropping.

The phone vibrated frantically in the back pocket. It was a wall of messages from Luca.

‘We’re full! Join now, they are thinking of replacing you already,’ the last message wrote.

Then a few raindrops landed on his screen, giving him the real incentive to get back home.

They ran for a good five minutes through the pouring rain before finally making it inside. As soon as they stepped through the front door, Kyu couldn't resist giving himself a vigorous shake, showering Dave in his unique wet dog scent.

But Luca’s incoming barrage of messages gave no time to delay. With pursed lips, Dave stared at his phone. Then, with a defeated sigh, his hair dripping, hoodie soggy and smelly, he trudged to his room and PC.

‘Launch, log in, /join MarmeladeJam.’

***

Miira: Alright! We’re up for Draken Sanguinary. It would be good if all of you joined our voice chat.

Ah, there we go — the bossy tone, channeling the inner kindergarten teacher.

Seiyun: Pass.
Miira: And why?
Seiyun: This dungeon is easy. What do you need VC for?
Miira: Because it’s not all about you? It’s for everyone, to communicate better?
Seiyun: Hard pass.
Miira: Seriously?

Privately, Luca messaged:

MarmeladeJam: wth? Dude, you wanna get in with them or not?
Seiyun: You know I don’t like to VC with randos.
MarmeladeJam: … They are Miira and Deilo. You won’t get another chance.
Seiyun: They want a DPS, right? So my damage will have to do.

Perched atop a snowy peak, the entrance to the dungeon overlooked the entire region. It was a dark blue and black swirling mass. Once passed, you were transported into endlessly stretching open ruins above the mountains. Only a mere wisp of a once grand city remained — collapsing bridges linking massive crumbling walls, pillars that once upheld grand ceilings. It all told a story of destruction as edifice debris floated in the air, frozen in time.

After traversing the remaining bridges, you encountered a sharp descent into a vast arena enclosed with the last intact ceiling in the ruins. A slow mellow harp and haunting aria filled the air. In the center of the arena, between the rubble, rested an enormous scaly golden egg.

Of course, this didn’t elicit awe from Dave. He'd seen this place countless times. Contemplating what lay ahead bored him.

Beside him stood his temporary comrades.

MarmeladeJam, a small furry hamster-like creature, proudly puffing his chest forward, carrying a grand lance and a shield on his back.

Miira, a tiny elf with long blue hair, puffy white dress, cat ears, whiskers and a wand in her hand.

Deilo, a teenage-looking girl with blonde hair in pigtails, wearing a school uniform and glasses, equipped with two long swords at her hips.

Badrng, a brawny tan individual with a somewhat gangster-like air, brandishing an oversized cleaver. Dave didn’t recognize this name, which prompted him to inspect the guy. Half done gear, terrible stats, rookie in all the hard content. He was trying, but…

‘Amateur…’

And, of course, Seiyun, a tall tan dark-haired beauty in a swimsuit and a body-sized gun slung over her back.

They leapt down. The egg stirred and cracked. A luminous radiance escaped, and suddenly, a crimson dragon emerged, wings tattered, soaring with a piercing screech. The music transitioned into a fast-paced, epic orchestral melody. The age-old ceiling crumbled, giving entrance to two more gargantuan jet-black dragons, their bodies shackled with red runes swirling around. They landed at the rear of the arena, beside the hatchling, which now took an intimidating stance in the center.

It all seemed like a typical start. The tank drew the aggro from the crimson dragon, while the healer put the other two to sleep and buffed the team, allowing the DPS to unleash their power. However, MarmeladeJam was on the floor within seconds.

‘Seriously? Couldn’t you come on your sorcerer?’

The healer swiftly jumped ahead and started the resurrection.

‘Big mistake, now you’re out of dodges and will die too. Not used to a tank dying? Of course you aren’t.’

A purple mark glowed under Miira, indicating an incoming attack. She halted the resurrection and shifted to the left, allowing one of the dragon's blows to miss. Then a quick sidestep to the right, avoiding another blow. And back again to resurrecting the tank.

‘Did you expect it will trigger an attack? Prepare to just walk out of the barrage? A fluke perhaps.’

To Dave’s surprise, it happened a multitude of times, yet not without consequence. His gaze traced along the screen to find Miira’s grayed-out name, her lifeless form under the boss’ feet. As he rummaged through his inventory for a resurrection scroll, a scaly dragon’s tail lunged his way. In a surge of panic, he dodged, tried to get away, completely mistiming every maneuver. Now he was sprawled on the floor himself.

Completely unfazed by the mayhem, Deilo remained on the field, dodging every incoming attack as if it was a joke to him. Meanwhile, Badrng took residency upon the floor for most of the run.

Dave’s eyes widened and the air in his lungs halted when he saw Miira get up at the perfect moment, deftly dodging behind the boss. As a butterfly covered in snow white innocence, she fluttered through the fire to his corpse. Her petite hands clasped in prayer over him, rousing him from slumber. He’d been resurrected countless of times by numerous healers, yet none moved with Miira's grace — a slow-motion ballet. But her performance wasn't over. A flourish of her wand enveloped Dave in vitality and strength. He smiled as feverish excitement played in his eyes.

He double downed as his fingers frisked about his keyboard in a satisfying symphony of clickety clack. As Dave, Miira and Deilo burnt the boss down in under five minutes, he couldn’t help but feel a certain sense of solidarity. And… fun. But all things have an end, and with the fallen dragon and outdated loot on the ground, the party scattered, leaving only Dave amidst the forgotten ruins.

He stared at his flashing keyboard, teeth gnawing at his thumb's nail, a quiver in his chest. Not a blink.

‘Surely they felt it, too. Surely they’d want me.’

After all, his DPS rivaled Deilo's, and the trio had carried the entire run. Grinning, he typed a private message to Miira.

Seiyun: Thanks for the run! Want to run again sometime?

An hour passed, however, there was no word from their end.