Impulse Damian

Athan stood in a crowd of loud buzzing people. There were more contestants for this challenge than he thought there would be. No reason to get worried though. Even if he did lose there was bound to be a great amount of priceless loot inside the dungeon. 

The challenge venue was a bright open space in a grassy field. The dungeon was most likely right under their feet. The angels would probably pull some dirty trick and make the ground disappear right below them. Athan had to stay alert whenever that happened. Breaking his bones right at the start of the competition would not be good. 

Surrounding the enclosure were small glass globes glowing a pinkish-orange color. They were being broadcast to the viewers in heaven.

Athan probably didn't have any fans. In the past anytime he saw one of those cameras they were off. He really couldn't care less though. He wasn't trying to get famous nor was he trying to pander to viewers for points. It was much easier to just forge his own path.

A bright light suddenly filled the field and when it died down three angels floated slightly above them. 

"Attention contestants!" One angel said.

"We will begin the challenge shortly." The other said.

"Listen carefully for the rules and instructions." The last one said.

[2polygot: OMG it's finally starting!]

[starborn: I've been sitting here all day it's about time!]

[hushpuppy: Who do you guys think will win? There are a lot of contestants]

[Impulse#1: Impulse Damian will get first place obviously!]

"Welcome to the Dungeon Master Challenge!"

"You all have been gathered here because you have displayed excellent achievements in dungeons!"

"For this challenge, you will have to group up in teams of five and fight your way through the dungeon."

Teams? The angel Athan talked to conveniently left this part out of the challenge invitation. Working with other people was a major bother. All they did was get in his way and annoy him.

He had tried working with a party to raid a dungeon before and it ended badly. The party fought over who would get what treasure and all turned on each other. Athan got nothing out of that expedition except a sore neck and a hatred for the color yellow.

"The team that defeats the dungeon boss is the winner of this challenge and will receive 100,000 points along with the dungeon chest."

"Form into teams of five and name your team before we begin."

People started moving instantly. Joining up with their friends and making alliances quickly. Athan looked around silently. Maybe he could slink away and bail. Worst case scenario he got jumbled in with a random team and he went solo on the inside.

"ATHAN!" A loud annoying voice yelled.

Athan closed his eyes and sighed. No. This was the worst-case scenario.

"Athan! Athan! Athan! We need a fifth for our team come join us!"

The person yelling at him put his hand on Athan's shoulder making his eye twitch a little bit.

Athan couldn't believe he didn't see this coming. Damian always managed to pop back into his life when he least expected it. He had managed to avoid Damian for four months now, but all good things must come to an end.

[Impulse#1: Who is that person Impulse is talking to?]

[Impulse#2: His profile says his name is Frost but he doesn't seem good...]

[Damian's wife (real1): Damian it's probably best to find someone who isn't a loser]

[Impulse#13: It seems like Damian knows him?]

[EbonthornVictory: I saw Impulse talking to him at the end of the last term]

[vixy: oh his rank is so... Damian move on... he's not that great]

[Lucian_is_real: I've never seen this guy before... hmmm]

[wewerealive: looks like all this guy does is raid low-level dungeons]

Athan brushed Damian's hand off his shoulder and turned to look at him. As usual, he looked stupid, but it didn't have anything to do with his fashion style but rather the dumb grin that was always on his face. His hair was longer than the last time Athan saw him making him look a bit unkempt.

"Long time no see Athan!" He said enthusiastically. 

Athan looked him up and down. It was a long time for a reason. Damian wasn't a bad person at all, but he was way too energetic and loud for Athan. He got drained just standing next to him for too long.

He was also quite oblivious. He didn't seem to notice that Athan actively tried to avoid him.

"Athan join our group! My guild only sent the four of us so we need one more person. I saw you standing over here by yourself. You don't have a team do you?"

Damian's lavender-colored eyes looked at him with expectation and hope.

Athan didn't get why Damian wanted to hang around him all the time. He tried time and time again to get him to leave him alone but whenever he pulled that stupid face he was pulling now it was hard to refuse him.

"I don't have a team..." Athan muttered.

"Great! Let's go group up with the others!"

Damian pushed Athan past other groups of people until they reached their destination. Three people waited for them talking quietly amongst themselves.

"Guys! I found someone to join us!" Damian said.

"You didn't just grab some random guy did you?" A tall man asked.

He had a buzzcut and cold green eyes. His face was shrouded in doubt and his hand was resting on the hilt of his sword that hung off his waist.

"Of course I didn't!" Damian protested. "This guy is very trustworthy!"

"Trustworthy isn't the issue. If he tried to betray us then it'd be four versus one. he wouldn't stand a chance."

The girl who spoke was very young. She had dark skin and her brown eyes looked at Athan full of disapproval through traingle-shaped glasses.

"What's your rank?" She asked snappily.

"376," Athan replied plainly.

"Oh..." The third person said with a strained smile.

[vixy: what did I say? his rank is terrible]

[juliasmiles: It's not that bad... at least he's not in the thousands...]

[Impulse#2: Anything below 1000 is reserved for people with negative points]

[Impulse#5: His rank isn't good enough to be with the guild]

[Damian's wife (real): Damian ditch him and find someone else!]

"Oh come on! Rank isn't everything." Damian said. "And besides isn't it better to have someone I know versus a stranger?"

"That's true!' The third person said. "And it's not like we have a lot of time to find another person..."

[Lucian_is_real: Lucielle is correct. Looks like other teams are forming]

[Impulse#10: He's already in the team let's just move on...]

[Damian's wife (real): How does Damian know him?]

[Impulse#1: This guy is gonna hold back the team just watch]

Buzzcut glared at Damian. "This is what I get for listening to you. We'll keep him in the team. We don't have much of a choice."

"Great!" Damian said somehow becoming brighter. "Alright everyone, this is my good friend Athan."

Damian pointed at Buzzcut. "That's Ghost. He's the team leader. You better just listen to what he says or else he'll get upset."

He pointed to the young girl next. "That's Dahlia, but just call her Hybrid."

"You didn't have to introduce me as Dahlia." She snapped.

Damian moved along ignoring her. "And this is Lucille," he said gesturing to the last person.

"Hello." She said politely.

Lucille had long brown hair and brown eyes. Out of everyone, she looked the most sensible.

"Why does your friend look so weird?" Hybrid asked. "Did he take some magic to look like that?"

"Huh?" Damian said craning his neck to look at Athan's face. "Eh? You mean his eyes? As far as I know, he's always looked like that. You didn't do any weird magic to get those eyes right?"

"No."

"How can you be of service in this dungeon? What's your power?" Ghost asked him.

"I can teleport short distances."

"Really?" Damian said. "That's so cool!"

"You guys are good friends and you don't know his power?" Hybrid scoffed.

"We're not that good of friends..."

"Don't say that!" Damian said slinking his arm over Athan's shoulders. "We're really good friends. It's just been a long while! And it's not like it's easy to communicate during the apocalypse."

Athan had never been good friends with Damian! He was just too imposing.

"A teleport power could be very useful," Lucille said bringing the conversation back on track.

[vixy: it's only short distances though. how helpful could it be?]

[hushpuppy: I bet it's super useful in fights]

[greengarden: Teleporting behind enemies to get an upper hand is amazing.]

[Impulse#1: Then why does this guy only fight in low-level dungeons?]

"What about weapons or magic items? You don't look like you have any." Ghost continued.

Athan's outfit was a lot more simple than Damian's team. He simply wore a hoodie and some shorts. With his infinite hoodie pocket, he didn't need to carry around gear like the others. Damian wore an axe on his back and Lucille carried a bow in her hand. Their outfits were all color-coordinated and put together like a real team.

How corny.

"They're all in here." He said pointing to his pocket. "And I don't remember what most of them are so don't ask."

[hushpuppy: Interesting...]

[Damian's wife (real): Is there anything even in there?]

"Attention contestants." An angel said.

"Your time to find a team is up."

"If you do not have a team, you will be forcibly put in one."

"Gather close with your team."

"It is now time to enter the dungeon."

The ground started shaking below them. Contestants yelped in surprise and grabbed ahold of their companions to keep balance. These dirty angels seemed quite passive, but they sure did love their dirty tricks. Knocking everyone out of balance to rip them of their bearings. And just like Athan had predicted earlier, the ground fell out from under them and they fell inside of the dungeon.