1 | Prologue (Revised)
It was an average summer day, the sun was out and the sounds of cars, people, and planes could be heard all around.
Admit these things was a house not so far off from the loud noises of cars honking and beeping at one another.
The house itself was small in size, but the overall quality of the home from the inside was nothing short of average.
Up in the master bedroom, however, lay a young man sleeping in his bed. Drool could be visible on his pillow as it seeped from his slightly opened mouth, cascading a very lazy atmosphere around the bedroom.
Books could be seen scattered about on the ground below his bed, his laptop and his desktop opened for what seemed like hours, open browsers about job offers and parties needing an extra member to perform Raids.
"…Mmm.."
The young man turned over to his right, continuing to laze away in his sleep. Unfortunately though, as his body seemed to relax after turning, the sun would beam slightly into his room through his window.
The light itself would beam into his closed eyelids, and slowly wake him up.
"…ugh…."
Tossing ice onto his left side, the young man found himself facing the backside of his bedroom wall. He slowly began to open and close his eyes, doing it repeatedly until he finally found the energy to sit up on his bed.
"..Yaawn.."
As he yawned, he began to stretch his arms and legs onto his bed. Slightly shaking a bit just from how good the stretch was, slowly he swung his legs out of bed and slowly stood up.
"…Alright, time to start the day…"
The young man walked over to his bedroom's bathroom, grabbed his toothbrush and some toothpaste, and began to brush his teeth. After a bit of flossing, he looked at himself in the mirror, taking a gander at himself.
His hair was a dark brown, as well as his eyes resembling the same shade and color as his hair. His face though average, had this bright cute charm to it. His body wasn't that much different from any average guy, but he was less on the skinny side of things.
If he had anything going for him, it would be his height, he stood at 180cm. But despite being tall, this never landed him a girlfriend. (Trust me he tried)
....
Moments go by as he gets dressed, sporting a white T-shirt, some black pants, and some white and black shoes. He made his way downstairs, still a bit sleepy, but more or less awake.
Woof!
"..Hm?"
Turning his head, the young man looked over to his right to see a grey-colored pit bull with one dark blue eye and one brown eye. The dog's tail would be wagging furiously, as it rushed over to greet the young man.
"Pff, Morning to you too spike"
The young man spoke with a smile, patting Spike on the head.
Woof!
Woof!
Spike exclaimed happily, his tail wagging even more. The young man began to laugh at his dog's behavior.
Bzzz!
Bzzz!
The young man paused for a moment, feeling his phone buzzing in his pocket he'd reach into his pocket to pull it out and look at the notification he got.
"..Oh, it's from the Guild Board"
The Guild Board is a site specifically made for Mages who are looking for some jobs or work. These jobs are known as Qeusts, each quest is different from the last.
Some Quests include requirements to participate and or be able to even do said quest. For example; a quest that needs a tank to help manage the frontier of the fighting in Parties, a spearman that deals in both long and close-range fighting, or perhaps even someone knowledgeable about the Rifts and ar Beale to navigate through the dangers that lurk within them.
Luckily enough, the Quest the young man ended up being notified about is nothing more than a Porter. For someone who merely has to hold the items, equipment, and materials in the Rifts, it's a fairly easy job.
"..Let's see, the reward for helping….10,000$?!"
The young man's eyes widened, he'd never seen such easy money before. To others, this may seem like chump change, but to the young man, this was nothing short of a miracle from god.
The young man felt slightly emotional, but he quickly wasted no time. After going over the details of the Quest contract he submitted a letter of participation from the poster of the Quest.
No more than 10 minutes passed, and the young man sat in silence. Eating his breakfast he made, but not after serving Spike his breakfast too.
Bzzz!
Bzzz!
The young man saw his phone buzz, and he quickly grabbed it to see the notification. He was both happy and nervous to see that he was accepted as the porter of the Party known as 'Dwellers'.
"Sigh…thank god o was accepted. I didn't wanna have to resort to job hunting again, that would've been a pain in the ass…"
The young man spoke with a tired yet happy tone. He raised his phone to get a good look at the acceptance email.
[Dear, Xavier Mercer.]
[On behalf of the fellow members of my party members the Dwelers we formerly invite you as our porter for our upcoming raid. We assure you that you'll be paid for your help in this huge endeavor.
We hope to see you very soon at 1:30 pm in Town Square. Please don't be late, and if possible bring any kind of equipment that you may have. If not then do not worry we'll have any tool you might need when entering the rift. We can't wait to meet you, thank you again for submitting your request!
- From Luke Evans]
"..Luke Evans? Where have I heard that name before?…"
Xavier pondered, rubbing his head. He opened up the search tab of the Guild Board to find out more.
Woof!
Woof!
"…huh? Oh, spike did you finish up your food already?"
Woof!
Spike barked as if to answer Xavier's question. He smiled and nodded, but Spike didn't stop barking.
Woof!
Woof!
"..Huh?"
Xavier followed spikes gaze over to his full plate of food. It only then dawned on him that his dog was trying to tell him to eat before his food got cold.
"Oh, right my food. Sorry spike, I got sidetracked.."
Woof!
Spike exclaimed happily now that his friend started to eat again. Despite Spike's seemingly noticeable intelligence, Xavier didn't seem to mind it.
He finds it quite fun and more or less helpful, knowing his dog could somewhat communicate with him through his actions, and his attempt at trying to speak.
Woof!
"Yeah yeah, I'm eating..see?"
Xavier spoke with a full mouth of pancakes. Spike merely barked with excitement and walked over to Xavier's side as if to make sure he ate every last bite.
"…What are you, my mother?"
Woof!
Spike barked a tad bit angrily as if to tell him to keep eating. Xavier rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless, continuing to eat his pancakes.
…..
Moments after Xavier finished eating his breakfast, he looked down at his phone to check the time.
"Hm, 12:30 pm. I should get going, don't wanna be late on my first raid in 3 months now do I?"
Xavier washed his plate in the sink, happily humming to himself. Afterward, he grabbed a small bottle of water, and a red jacket with white intricate lines on it.
He made his way over to his front door, but not without grabbing his house keys.
"That should be everything. Spike, hold down the fort for me buddy"
Woof
Woof!
Spike barked as if to say he'd do his best. Xavier smiled, before leaving he waved his hand to Spike and then closed the front door behind him.
As he stood outside, he looked up at the sun-filled sky. He took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Alright, let's get this done. Money, here I come!"