Trainee Manager (2)

"This isn't how I envisioned my first day to start like."

As I said that, I made sure to not spill the drinks in my hands. There were quite a few, and it wasn't an easy task climbing up the stairs while trying to keep everything balanced.

Thinking back at how none of the members even bothered to greet me and ordered me to do their chores, I felt a little annoyed, but I suppressed that annoyance.

I didn't like getting pushed around. In fact, I hated it. I didn't sign up as a manager to be their servant, but considering it was my first day on the job, I decided to curb my annoyance.

'No, now that I think about it, most managers are basically servants.' 

This was basically common knowledge in whatever industry one was in.

Rather than me disliking being a servant, it was more like I disliked being disrespected. There was a limit to how much I could take, and just the little scene from before was enough for me to question whether this was the right job for me. 

"Haa..." 

I sighed.

...But the prospect of having to inform the care mother that I had decided to quit after one day seemed rather daunting.

"Let's endure it for now. Maybe they're just testing me."

Didn't seem like it, but I could only silently tell myself this. 

Uh?

Just as I had taken another step, the world around me started to move in slow motion and the scenery in front of me changed.

"...That... that... that, I'm truly thankful..."

A familiar environment, and a familiar feeling. The moment I came to, I realized that I was back in the strange scene during my first hallucination.

'What in the world...?'

My mind numbed for a second as I tried to process what was happening. 

'Why am I here again?'

I was back in the auditorium from my first vision before I knew it. It happened right as I was carrying my drinks, and If before I thought things were eerie, now I was certain they were.

This was not normal.

Facing the unfamiliar audience, my mouth parted and words smoothly flowed out from it. 

"...and for that, I'm truly thankful." 

"It's good that things worked out for you Guild Master. I'm sure the group you were first assigned to in Knight's Crest must be pulling their hair out, right?"

"I wonder about that."

An enigmatic smile tugged at the corner of my lips all of a sudden.

"While I certainly would've felt better if that was the case, their luck wasn't very good. I heard that not long after I left, the group disbanded."

Huh?

Disbanded. Them?

One wouldn't think that wasn't possible from the way they were behaving. 

"Apparently, right after I left, one of the dungeons that they spent a lot of money on ended up producing a Green Ranked Boss. As you can imagine, no one was particularly interested in their raid and their ratings naturally dropped. Not only that but one of the dungeons that they could've chosen ended up being a massive hit."

Green Ranked Boss? Rating Drop?

'If this is true, no wonder they failed...'

It all clicked at that moment. 

A lot of money was required to book a dungeon, and in order for one to clear it, they were required to beat the Boss monster. They had different hazard levels ranging from; Green, Blue, Orange, Red, and Black; with Green being the lowest. 

In terms of entertainment value, Green was not something that people cared about. The number of viewers it would attract was almost negligible. 

"As you know, this industry leans more in the entertainment aspect."

Indeed.

With Dungeon Diving no longer being a matter of survival, it was now almost fully integrated into the entertainment industry. One might even argue that they held even more importance and fame than typical celebrities. 

"All the higher-ups care about is how many viewers each group can garner, and if the dungeon you end up choosing turns out to counter what you're good at, then it's inevitable that you won't be able to put on a good performance. Once that 'invincible' image of yours shatters, it's basically over for you." 

'Okay, things are starting to make more sense now.'

The most precious thing for a group in this industry was keeping their image. The less they lost, the more attention they would garner. At the same time, they also had to keep pumping content in order for themselves to remain relevant. 

Humans were forgetful creatures. It could take little to no time for them to forget about a team if they didn't do anything worth keeping their interests. This was more relevant for lower-ranked teams. 

For higher-ranked teams, losses were more important. 

Sometimes, a single loss could spell the end of their career. No matter how pretty or good-looking they were, failure was not accepted in this highly competitive industry.

It was just like in the movie industry. The consequences of a major flop in one of their films could be devastating for an actor's image. 

"You can say this is karma, right Guild Master?"

"Hahaha, maybe so. Maybe so. Still, it was a bit of a pity."

"Oh? You liked the group you were assigned to?"

"Them? No, no way."

"Then why do you feel pity?"

"Well, like I said. One of the dungeons ended up being a treasure trove. Not only were the spoils excellent, but the performance of the group that would eventually enter it attracted the attention of Director Lawrence."

Who? 

This was a name I was rather unaware of. My attention was instantly drawn toward the reporter as I paid close attention to her lips, hoping to get a better understanding of what they were talking about 

"My god, him? The Director of Dungeon Seekers?! We're talking about the same guy right?" 

"Yeah, him. Back when I met him, Dungeon Seekers were just about to grow popular. The real boom came after they signed an exclusive deal with 5 Star - Frost Glaze. From that point, the platform really blew up."

"Did that happen during the same time of the dungeon you were speaking of?" 

"The dungeon was a bit early, but if I had gotten to that dungeon first, I'm sure my life would've flowed a lot more smoothly. It's a pity that I can't change the past."

"I'm sure it won't matter considering what you've already managed to accomplish."

"I guess you're right. I still feel that it's a pity thou―"

"Uawh!"

Crash―!

"Ugh." 

The lower half of my body was hit by an inexplicable pain as I audibly groaned. By the time I processed my surroundings, I realized that I was  sprawled across the floor, drenched in a cascade of spilled drinks.

"...Well, fuck."

I leaned my head against the back of the stairs. 

And here I thought the first day was going to start well. Things couldn't have started in a worse manner. 

Still... I was now more certain of it than before. The visions I was experiencing were far from bouts of tiredness. Though I was uncertain about their precise nature, I was certain that they were not mere coincidences.

All the details felt eerily familiar with what I was experiencing, and for some strange reason, I felt a certain connection with the man referred to as 'Guild Master.'

While I still wasn't entirely sure, I had a nagging feeling that it was me. A future version of myself.

If so...

"Am I seeing the future?"

***

"Scott, Derrick, pay attention. This is important."

Micheal gathered the attention of all group members as he retrieved his tablet. Pressing onto the screen, five different files appeared before everyone.

"This month has been very competitive. Out of all the One-star dungeons near us, there are only five available for booking today. They are in; Mirage Park, Candice Street, Black Throve Plaza, Mincity Street, and Clandice Plaza."

'This is less than usual.'

Micheal sighed to himself while reading the location of each dungeon. While it was indeed true that the competition was high, it wasn't impossible for a guild of Knight's Crest caliber to secure more dungeons.

The fact that they only had five to choose from signified that the Guild was losing trust in their group.

Their recent performances were the main reason for it. They may have not failed, but their viewerships have started seeing a steady decline over the past few months.

Most of it had to do with the lack of cooperation among each member. 

Simply put, all members had too much ego. They thought themselves better than the others. He had tried many times to make things work, hence his dark circles, but it was simply impossible.

"Let's go with Black Throve Plaza. It's got the lowest Random Spawn rate. That's the safest choice."

Overhearing Derrick's voice, Micheal raised his head. He had made the decision without even consulting him. His manager.

"Derrick, aren't you being a bit too hasty? W―"

"Let's just go with his decision. It has the lowest probability of going random. It's the safe choice so we might as well go for that one."

"Yeah, let's not complicate shit."

"That's not..."

Micheal was left speechless when he saw everyone agree with each other.

Within the dungeons, there existed discernible patterns and mechanisms that aided in predicting the types of monsters that would emerge and the specific environments that would manifest.

Choosing the wrong dungeon could prove catastrophic for the team. There was a reason why all the highest-ranking teams would spend days of research before choosing a dungeon. 

Out of the five possible dungeons, Black Throve Plaza was the safest bet as it had the lowest probability of spawning as a random environment and providing a low-ranked Boss. 

It sounded good and all, but when taking into account that the two probable biodomes were Frost/Tundra and Forest, Micheal couldn't help but be hesitant.

Those two environments were the environments that proved to be the most troublesome for the team based on past experiences. The fact that the team didn't seem to be aware of this proved that they didn't have their mind in the right place.

"I..."

Micheal was about to say all of this to the team, but upon seeing that they were all no longer paying any attention to him, and all had their eyes on their phones, he could only close his mouth and sigh.

'Yeah, there's nothing wrong with choosing the safest choice.'

Clank―!

Right then, the door opened and a haggard figure walked in. Compared to before, his suit was drenched, and so was his shirt, revealing the outline of his body.

It was clear from the get-go that he had encountered an accident on his way here.

'Oh? He's rather fit.'

Micheal hadn't noticed it before because his suit was a little large and loosely fitted his body, but now that he had taken a closer look at the new trainee, he realized that his body was even better than most of the members of the group. Clearly, he trained a lot.

'His looks... aren't bad either.'

Even though his black hair drenched over his face, covering his brown eyes, Micheal could see that he was quite good-looking. He hadn't noticed it before as his hair was a mess before, but with some touches, he definitely had the potential to have looked on par with the members here.

But of course, these were merely passing thoughts on his end. If one wasn't talented, they'd have no chance of becoming a Star Chaser. 

"Uh? You're finally here?"

"Took you long enough."

Immediately, the members rose from their seats and took their drinks. They didn't seem to be bothered by his current state and seemed more concerned about what was on their phone feed. 

Their behavior wasn't something Micheal was unaccustomed to, but seeing the stiff smile on the new recruit's face, Micheal had no choice but to beckon him to himself before handing him his tablet. 

"Liam, here's a list of dungeons that we're about to select. What do you suggest?"