Anna Torren, My Grade Leader

Edward left soon after he introduced me to the party leader of the Falcon Plains Dungeon Quest.

Anna Torren. 26 years old, C-grade Player and the Grade Leader for all the D-grade Players in Hero's Stand. Grade Leaders were usually other Players whose job when they weren't Dungeon Clearing were to look after the Players that were under their care. Sort of like Year Level teachers in high school, or even someone like a resident advisor or resident assistant for those living in dorms and other student housing.

Grade Leaders get their own cubicles in the office levels of the guild building and they are usually the ones that designate Dungeon Clearing Quests for the Players under their care as well as address the Players' other needs.

I felt awkward as I followed Anna back to her cubicle as she excitedly explained her role in the guild as well as what I should be expecting from my first raid.

"The beauty of the Falcon Plains Dungeon is that it's one of the smallest Dungeons around, and is quite simple to work through!" Anna explained, "Most D-tier Dungeons are smaller in size, but Falcon Plains is the smallest as far as I know, especially in Australia."

I nodded when she turned to check if I was keeping up with her pace, as well as the information she gave.

"The reason why the Falcon Plains Dungeon still takes about three days to clear is that it's the most grindy out of all the Dungeons we have access to. If we didn't have to make sure we got rid of ALL the creatures in the Dungeon, then the clear time would easily be halved."

We reached her cubicle then. It really reminded me of a teacher's staff room at school when I grew up. The space was quite small and cramped, but it had enough room to allow each Grade Leader to put their own mark to individualise the space. Anna had a couple of small motivational posters above her computer screen, and to the right, there was a small framed picture of her with her family.

When I quickly glanced at the picture, I noticed that it seemed like Anna came from a big family.

"Okay, let's take a look at the notes the guild has on the Raid…" Anna said as she started typing on her computer.

"Since it's your first Raid, the higher-ups have graciously allowed you to be the Mule, which isn't the most exciting of positions, but it's easy grunt work."

"I'm guessing I'm carrying a bunch of stuff?" I asked defeatedly.

Anna patted my shoulder, "Don't worry about it. Everyone's first couple of Dungeon Clears is the Mule. It's like a Tutorial level of a game. You get used to what's expected of you, and what to keep track of while in a Dungeon, and then when you've passed your assessment, you get to try out other roles!" Anna assured me, "Once you get to a specialisation, that's when you basically fulfil one role every time, so don't sweat it during the beginning! Enjoy the freedom you get!"

***

Anna explained that the party, comprised of her and I from the Melbourne branch of Hero's Stand and three others from the Adelaide branch were scheduled for our first team meeting by the entrance of the Falcon Plains Dungeon in four days.

Since it was an internal guild Dungeon Clearing Quest, the guild had prepared flights for Anna and me to Adelaide and back after the Dungeon was cleared, so since we weren't needed for a few days, I decided to slowly make sure I got everything packed and ready for my trip.

***

When Mum found out that I had to go to Adelaide for the guild, she wasn't too happy with the news.

Yes, I was an adult in my thirties. Yes, I had been living independently in my own apartment (with financial aid from my mother and Alan). But it was the first time her son was going to be so far away from her, and Mum was anxious.

When Penny found out that I had to go to Adelaide for the guild, surprisingly, she also wasn't too happy with the news.

She planned to harass the other board members to give me more time to get stronger before going on my first Dungeon Clearing Quest, but after a particularly tense argument with her father, Penny changed her mind.

How did I feel about it all? To be honest, I was a little bit excited.

Sure, the memories of my previous Dungeon Clear were awful — I had been abandoned by the party that I had entered the Dungeon in with, and was chased down by a Parasite Hunter — but I was feeling good from the weight I had lost, and the training I had undergone meant that I wasn't totally useless and powerless if any problems came up during the upcoming raid.

All because I had my unique Prestige ability.

[To Prestige, the Player must:

1 – Fully improve all Attributes to the Player's innate limitations.

2 – Be at death's door.]

After all the work that I've done, I was pretty confident that I was close to maxing out my Fortitude Attribute, which was the last Attribute left to maximise as a prerequisite to activating my Prestige ability again.

After that was done, all I had to do was let the System work out whether I was in enough danger that I would die and the ability would be unlocked. Once the first prerequisite was done, that second one would look a lot less scary to fulfil. I just hope the first one was completed before I found myself in any particular danger.

***

The flight went smoothly, which helped with my anxiety. By the time I had made it through Customs and stepped out of the exit of the Airport, Anna was waiting for me. She had caught an earlier plane to start preparations for the Quest early, and I would say that it was nice to see a somewhat familiar face meet me in an unfamiliar city. If it wasn't for the fact that Penny insisted on coming to Adelaide with me.

Surprised, but still vibrant as ever, Anna greeted Penny and offered her a ride. Penny accepted the kind gesture.

Penny gave Anna the address to the small Bed and Breakfast near the conservation park and we were quickly on our way.

The drive was awkward for me. Not only because I was in Adelaide, and my anxiety was acting up on me, but Anna was really pretty, and being so close to someone as pretty as her was very nerve-wracking.

"So," Anna suddenly said, "I didn't realise you knew the newbie Penny, how'd you meet him?"

Penny, who was in the passenger seat while I sat in the back chuckled lightly, "Eric and I were best friends growing up."

"Oh yeah!" Anna exclaimed, "I forgot newbie was one of the co-founders' children! Isn't that right, newbie?"

I saw her bright, energised eyes staring at me through the rear-view mirror with an inquisitive look.

"Yeah, I am," I said quietly.

"So, why are you here Penny?" Anna suddenly turned her attention to her passenger, "As far as I know, you didn't have any business in Adelaide."

"No particular reason, really, I had just collected a few days off and decided to go here," Penny answered in as casual a tone as she could muster.

"Right," Anna nodded, "And it's got nothing to do with newbie being here on his first Dungeon Clearing Quest at all?"

"N-no! It was just a coincidence, is all!" Penny stuttered.

"Right, right," Anna droned, unconvinced by Penny's denial, "I'm sure you're just worried about your old friend that you used to have a crush on."

My face quickly grew hot and my eyes bulged. I was sitting behind Anna and when Penny twisted around to glare at Anna, her eyes flicked to mine for a split-second and I could see that her face was a little bit flushed. She quickly turned back around to face forward as Anna started to snicker.

I couldn't see what happened because the movement was so fast, but I heard a loud slapping sound and Anna cried out in pain, yet still snickering at the same time.

"Ow! Okay! Okay! I'm only joking!" Anna apologised.

It took a long time for my face to go back to its normal colour and we spent most of the drive staying silent after that.