The world lurched, a sickening spin of swirling colors and disorienting pressure. Blake slammed onto cold stone, his head swimming, his stomach churning. He pushed himself up, blinking, trying to clear the lingering dizziness. The air that greeted them was heavy, ancient, charged with a powerful, ominous aura that seemed to smother the room in its embrace from head to toe. An atmosphere of death and decay circulated through the air, seeping through the pores of the powerless, a chilling presence that raised goosebumps on Blake's skin.
Everyone could feel it, that inexplicable dread, that undeniable certainty that something was terribly wrong about this place. Everything about the room screamed unnatural and dangerous. A cold breeze, like an overstaying ghost, silently whistled through the oppressive silence, a wordless warning to the group to run away. 'This would really fit into Neo-Tokyo Horror Park,' Blake thought, a bizarre, detached observation. 'Could definitely make a good scare room.' Wherever they were, it certainly wasn't normal.
They stood in a dark, damp corridor. The oppressive gloom swallowed the light, making it impossible to gauge the true length of the passage. It looked like it stretched out for miles, yet no one could clearly tell how far it went. Perhaps it would only last a few minutes, or maybe it was endless. The air was heavy, damp, and the only sound was the shallow, terrified breathing of the six individuals huddled together.
"How are we even going to be able to tell what's ahead!" A bald black man, his voice strained with a raw frustration that was clearly reaching its breaking point, shouted at the top of his lungs. He was Gerald, Blake recalled, the quiet one from the car ride. Obviously, this whole ordeal was getting to him, chipping away at his stoicism.
'Calm down, dude. There's nothing we can do about it,' Blake thought, a touch of detached annoyance in his internal monologue. Panic wouldn't help them here.
Soon enough, compelled by an unseen force or simply the desperate need to move, all the powerless took a hesitant step forward. As they did, a low hum filled the air, and then, with a startling suddenness that sent a collective gasp through the group, the corridor sprang to life. Blue light flared, rushing down the walls from an unseen source, illuminating the passage for what seemed like an impossible distance. Several individuals yelped in surprise, startled by the unexpected burst of illumination. In fact, one individual, the 'cousin is a lawyer' man, Kushui, was already on his knees, his hands clasped, whimpering desperately for his mother.
Blake looked at him, a sense of pity battling with a rising tide of disdain. 'No sh*t, Sherlock, she's perfectly fine, isn't she!' he thought in a flash of panic and exasperation. This whole situation was getting to him, as a valley of sweat slowly trickled down his frown-creased forehead. 'Great, your cousin is a goddamn lawyer, and how is this going to help us, huh? I get that we are in a dismal situation and everything, however that is just straight up embarrassing. Man up, dude, how old are you anyway? You look like 27!' For every second that passed, Blake lost more and more respect for the man.
Once all the lights had filled the corridor, stretching far beyond what their eyes could normally perceive in the gloom, the group started to move forward again. Kushui, still whimpering like a lost puppy, followed closely behind, grabbing onto the hand of one of the ladies in the group. She was Reina, the calm one who suggested introductions earlier.
Blake watched Reina, who seemed to have an annoyed expression, though she held it back. Her grip on Kushui's hand remained firm despite her obvious discomfort, and she reined in her feelings of disdain. 'Perhaps they know each other, maybe they are lovers,' thought Blake, a flicker of curiosity. Then he quickly dismissed the idea. 'Who would love a wimp like that? Probably just friends or acquaintances. Well, whatever the case, I feel sorry for that woman. Having to deal with a guy like that.'
As the group made their way along, Blake observed the bright lights that had initially shocked everyone as they took their first steps into the portal. It seemed that they stemmed from numerous wooden torches that filled the wall, arranged in a sort of decorative fashion. They radiated with a blueish hue that illuminated the whole room. The energy exuding from it felt divine yet devilish at the same time, an unsettling contradiction. Every single one of the individuals, even those who couldn't feel mana or magical energy, felt the strange aura coming from the torches, a prickle on their skin.
"I wonder how much this will sell for," a young dark-haired boy inquired, his voice a low, eager whisper as he was about to pluck a torch off the wall. He was Ichigo, Blake recalled, the one who looked barely sixteen but claimed to be twenty one. He was short for his age, about 5'3 in height, with black hair and green eyes that darted around nervously.
"Don't touch that, it's obviously a death flag! Do you want to die?" screeched a chubby brunette who was wearing glasses. This was Yumiko, the 'otaku queen,' the second girl in the group, making up the only two females present. She adjusted her glasses, pushing them higher on her nose. "Don't you know you never, ever, take anything from big, scary dungeons such as this unless you want to die? Do you have a death sentence or something? Furthermore, even if you were able to grab one and survive, who do you think is waiting for us outside? That group of ugly goblins will take anything that you find!" Her voice, though sharp, carried a frantic underlying tone.
"Alright, alright, I won't touch it," Ichigo grumbled, looking at the glowing lamp with obvious regret. It was so close, but he knew what the 'ugly pig' had said was correct. So he quickly withdrew his hand, though his eyes lingered on the blue flame.
With that small matter sorted, the group continued down the tunnel. For about five minutes or so there was complete silence, the only sounds their soft footsteps and the distant drip of water, before someone from the group spoke up, finally breaking the awkward atmosphere. It was Reina Song, the other woman, who still had the whimpering Kushui grabbing onto her hand.
"Why don't we all introduce ourselves to loosen the mood?" she carefully suggested, her voice soft but surprisingly steady. "My name is Reina Song. Originally from Korea, moved to Japan around 5 years ago. I'm a powerless like all you guys, and I enjoy singing."
The room went quiet for a few moments, a brief pause of consideration. Then slowly, tentatively, one by one, everyone in the group began stating their names and hobbies. The mood of the room lifted considerably, becoming significantly more light-hearted than before. It was all thanks to Reina Song; she had completely shifted the atmosphere.
Blake's gaze drifted towards the woman in admiration. 'Dealing with a pain in the ass like Billboard Man and shifting the dark mood of the room. Not all heroes wear capes. Perhaps not all powerless people are untalented after all.' With that, Blake's evaluation on the powerless increased by one nano point.
As the group moved along, each and every one of them introduced themselves. During the short time they had, Blake learned quite a bit about each of them. Ichigo, the black-haired teen, was apparently 21 even though he looked barely 16. He was an only child and worked as a part-time mechanic. To his right was the chubby young lady, Yumiko, who self-proclaimed herself as an 'otaku queen.' A big woman with a big stomach, she liked food, anime, and yaoi manga. When Blake heard this, he cringed, being the only one in the group besides her who seemed to understand what that was.
Then there was the already stated Reina, the room mood maker, and then the tall black guy called Gerald. 'All Gerald told us was his name and nothing else. He wasn't a very talkative fellow,' Blake observed. Of course, Blake couldn't forget the human advertisement billboard, Kushui, who occasionally sniffled. And finally, there was the invisible guy of the group, Kamodo, who had also briefly introduced himself with a quiet mumble.
Recollecting all the information, Blake looked up to see everybody staring at him. 'It seems like everyone has finished.' Clearing his voice, Blake turned to everyone. Everyone was looking at him with expectant eyes. 'Geez, would you stop staring already.'
"Name's Blake Yamoto, 19, occupation Jobless."
With the swift and short introduction complete, Blake breathed a sigh of relief. Being a school dropout who was bullied for the lack of any powers or boosts, Blake had always been afraid of public speaking. At this moment, a sense of pride swelled through the young man. 'I didn't think it was that bad. It was scary, but I think it was quite charismatic. Okay, that might be going too far. But for a first time in a while, it was alright. I need to improve my social skills if I come out alive. After all, they do say that bad habits die hard.'
"Hey, look, it's a massive door!"
Blake quickly snapped out of his stupor, to see Ichigo pointing at a massive 10-meter tall door. It had an intricate pattern with what seemed to be a goblet in the center of it. Looking at it, everyone in the group took a deep gulp. It seemed like they had all come to the same conclusion: the dragon emblem that they needed to obtain was in there, somewhere. But every sense of their body was telling them not to enter.
Then out of nowhere, it suddenly happened. The door of the room opened by itself, smoke billowing out of it, releasing a mercilessly cold pressure from the confines of the room.
It was then they heard the voice. A voice so mighty, so powerful, so omnipotent. A voice that one could not disobey.
"I have been waiting for you potential system holders, come in!