Teaming Up?

Luke was standing at a bus stop.

'Final stop... The Abyssal Dungeon...' He could read on a sign.

Luke turned his gaze towards the seat.

Dozens of people were waiting for the same bus.

Most were very muscular and fit.

A small percentage were skinny or fat, but even the fat ones looked sturdy.

They were all wearing comfortable clothes as their armors were inside their Inventory.

'We're all going there, huh?'

Luke suddenly felt out of place.

The men and women alike were at least 20 years old.

What did a sixteen-year-old come to do in one of the most famous Dungeons?

He asked himself that question.

'Maybe... I'm not ready for this...'

Luke walked away while looking at the ground. He felt ashamed.

After taking about twenty steps, his shoulder collided with something that made him step back.

As Luke raised his gaze, he found a teenager that looked to be his age.

He too, stepped back once he hit Luke's shoulder.

The teenager stared at him for a bit.

"You're pretty strong. Are you 16?"

"Yes...?" Luke answered cautiously.

"Really? I'm so glad! Every person my age is so weak!"

"Is that so?" Luke said as he started walking away.

The teenager looked at the bus station before looking at Luke and following him.

The two walked side by side.

"How come you're so strong?"

"I train, I guess." Luke really wanted the boy to go away.

"I do too! Anyways, too bad the bus stop is full of people, huh? I would've liked to check out that Dungeon..."

Luke stopped walking.

"Me too... I was going there."

Luke took a good look at the teenager.

He was about ten centimeters taller than him. His hair was pretty long and blonde.

His body was defined and he was more muscular than Luke who looked skinnier.

"So you're a Hunter too? It was obvious by how strong you are! Tell me your name, after that we can do a little test! I'm Mike!" Mike said enthusiastically.

"I'm Luke...". To him, a test of strength sounded terrible.

While he was stronger than he used to be, a lot stronger really, it still felt like those bullied could easily beat him up.

"Alright, Luke!" Mike extended his closed fist towards Luke.

Luke looked confused for a bit.

After a handful of seconds, he did the same.

Their fists touched.

'What is this?' Luke asked himself. An instant later, felt his fist being pushed.

Without meaning to, he pushed back.

Seconds later, both Luke was pushing his fist with all his strength.

A smile was on both of their faces.

'This guy...' Mike thought.

He pushed Luke's fist with all his strength.

Luke ended up being pushed back.

He raised his hand and looked at it in disbelief.

"I... lost..." Luke whispered to himself.

"HAHAHA, of course you did!" Mike shouted.

An annoyed expression appeared on Luke's face.

"Ok." Luke answered coldly as he started walking away.

Mike walked by his side.

"Show me my Titles. Show Luke this one." Mike said before pressing on the digital screen in front of him.

Luke could only see blurred words on the screen. He could not read a thing.

"Look at my Title, of course you lost!" Mike added.

Some words were not blurry anymore and Luke could read them.

"Elite Newbie..." Luke whispered.

"Yep! I'm the elite here, top of the top!"

Luke's right eyebrow was raised unconsciously.

'Which one should I show? Dragon Slayer might be too big a flex... Oh, now that I think about it, I never checked what that Title did.'

He did the same, showing Mike one of his Titles.

A surprised expression was followed by a loud laugh.

"Overachieving Newbie? Sounds cool! So I guess you get some Unused Stat Points after every level, huh? What level are you anyway?" Mike had shiny eyes.

"Couldn't we compare Stats instead of that so-called test of strength?" Luke answered.

"Don't be such a party pooper. Come!"

The two entered a cafe.

It was 6:45 am.

'What is this guy? This is weird... to say the least.' Luke thought.

He sat down and ordered a cup of black coffee, while Mike ordered three different breakfast options and two extra plates of pancakes.

Once the orders arrived, Luke finally talked.

"So what is it you want?"

Mike stopped eating and looked at Luke with his blue eyes as if the answer to that question was as clear as water.

"Well, you're a new Hunter, I'm a new Hunter. You're pretty strong, I'm pretty strong, although stronger. I thought we could make a team or something."

"You're Strength Stat is higher, that's all." Luke proclaimed.

Mike chuckled.

"Yep. I'm stronger, that's what I said."

Their gazes met.

A second later,

"Show this guy my Stats." The two said at once.

In front of Mike appeared a digital screen showing Luke's Stats.

[ Stats: Vigor: 48

Endurance: 30

Strength: 27

Agility: 39

Mana: 8

Unused Stat Points: 0.

]

In front of Luke, appeared Mike's Stats.

[ Stats: Vigor: 25

Endurance: 21

Strength: 32

Agility: 29

Mana: 31

Unused Stat Points: 3.

]

The two asked each other a question at the same time.

"How do you have such a high Mana Stat?" Luke asked.

"How do you have such a high Vigor Stat?" Mike asked.

Mike laughed out loud while Luke took a sip of his coffee.

"My average is 28, yours is 30..." Mike said.

"Yeah. I'm stronger." Luke added.

"No... I'm obviously stronger. You're... faster and I guess you can get hit more." Mike was still looking at Luke's Stats with great interest.

Only twenty seconds later did he continue eating.

After he finished all his food, Mike spoke up.

"We should clear a Dungeon together. Let's team up!"