Suzume's eyes burned.
She'd been staring at her laptop for six hours straight. The sun was starting to rise outside her apartment window, grey light filtering through cheap curtains.
Forum posts. Testimony from victims. Grainy footage of Rina moving through dungeons like smoke, there one second and gone the next. Every search led to more questions, more contradictions.
PlayerWatch Forum - User: BrokenSword88 She took everything. EVERYTHING. Left me with nothing but my starter gear!!!
PlayerWatch Forum - User: MageKnight_Taka
Shadow Vipers hit our party after we cleared Akasaka Nest. Rina Kurogane disabled our mage before we even knew she was there. Cold as shit. I do want to point out, though, she took everything except our potions. Our healer begged for her potions back and Rina left them.
MeTube Comment - Video: "Shadow Vipers Exposed?" say what you want about her but she never broke a contract... if you hired shadow vipers and paid upfront, job got done... i don't have any issues with them... it's a player-eat-player world... just business...
Suzume rubbed her face. The coffee beside her laptop had gone cold hours ago.
Rina was ruthless. That much was clear. But the pattern was consistent—she followed rules. Never killed anyone according to the testimonies. Always completed contracts. Left victims with whatever they'd need to get out alive.
The footage showed precision. Rina moved through dungeons with the kind of efficiency that came from understanding every mechanic, every monster pattern, every trap placement. In one video, she disabled three traps in under ten seconds without breaking stride.
[That skillset would complete our party.]
Kasumi could handle combat. Hikari could strategize. Honoka could heal. Suzume could extract. But stealth? Reconnaissance? Trap disabling? They had nothing.
And destabilized dungeons were unpredictable. Eventually they'd hit something brute force couldn't solve.
Suzume leaned back, staring at the ceiling.
Was she being practical? Or was she compromising everything the guild stood for by letting a thief join?
Her phone showed 6:23 AM. She hadn't slept. Her head pounded.
But she'd made her decision.
---
Rina arrived at the office at 2 PM exactly.
Suzume watched her through the glass. Same clothes as yesterday. Same careful posture. But something about her eyes looked different. Tired, maybe. Or resigned.
Like she'd already accepted rejection and was just here to make it official.
"You can let her in," Suzume told Honoka.
Honoka opened the door. Rina stepped inside. Kasumi, Hikari, and Yumi were already there, seated around the conference table. The air was thick with tension.
Rina stood by the door, hands in her pockets.
"So?" she said.
Suzume stood.
"I'm offering you a probationary position."
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Rina blinked. Once. Like she hadn't heard correctly.
"What?"
"Three months. Under Hikari's direct supervision. You follow orders, you work with the team, and you're completely transparent about your past. No lying. No hiding. If you screw up once—and I mean once—you're out."
Rina didn't move. Didn't speak. Just stared.
"Additionally," Suzume continued, "you'll need to pass a trial run. Prove you can actually work with the team. Mesh with our operations. If that goes well, you're in."
Kasumi's chair scraped against the floor. She stood.
"Are you serious right now?"
"Yes."
"She's a thief, Suzume. A thief."
"I know what she is."
"Do you? Because it sounds like you're letting someone who's robbed god knows how many Players join our rescue guild."
"I'm letting someone with skills we need prove she can be more than her past." Suzume turned to Kasumi. "Isn't that what we do, in a way? Give people second chances?"
"That's different."
"Obviously, but I still think it's okay."
Kasumi opened her mouth. Closed it. She looked at Hikari.
"H-Hikari, tell her this is insane."
Hikari was reading something on her tablet.
"Unfortunately, from a strategic standpoint, it's sound. We need a fifth member. Rina's skillset fills gaps in our capabilities. And probationary terms with direct supervision mitigate risk."
"You can't be serious."
"I'm always serious." Hikari looked up. "But I'll be watching her. Closely."
Kasumi turned to Yumi.
"And you're fine with this?"
Yumi sighed.
"I don't love it. But we need five members. The Association's breathing down our necks. And honestly?" She looked at Rina. "If she's willing to work under Hikari's supervision, knowing Hikari will catch every mistake, that tells me something."
"It tells you she's desperate."
"Maybe. But desperation can be useful."
Kasumi stared at all of them like they'd lost their minds. Then she grabbed her jacket.
"Fine. But I'm watching her too. And the second she steps out of line—"
"She's out," Suzume finished. "I know."
Kasumi stormed to the window, her back to everyone.
Suzume turned to Rina.
"Do you accept?"
Rina still hadn't moved. Her expression was unreadable. But something shifted in her eyes. Surprise? Relief? Suzume couldn't tell.
"Why?" Rina asked.
"Because we need you. Plain and simple."
Rina was quiet for a long moment. Then she pulled her hands from her pockets and stepped forward.
"I accept."
"Good." Suzume gestured to the empty chair. "Sit. We need to discuss your trial run."
Rina sat. Hikari immediately opened a new file on her tablet.
"Standard probationary contract," Hikari said. "Three months. All dungeon operations require my approval. Any equipment or loot acquired during missions goes through inventory review. And you submit daily reports on activities and decisions."
"Fine."
"I'm not finished." Hikari's voice was flat. "You will also attend weekly sessions with our legal team to ensure you understand Association regulations. Any contact with former Shadow Vipers members must be reported immediately. And if I determine you're a liability, I have authority to terminate your position without Suzume's approval."
Rina met Hikari's gaze.
"Understood."
"Good." Hikari slid a tablet across the table. "Read and sign."
While Rina read, Yumi cleared her throat.
"Assuming the trial run goes well, we can officially register five awakened members. That's one requirement down. Next is headquarters."
"We found that location in Shibuya," Suzume said. "Former Player gym. 600,000 yen a month? Sounded good before. Maybe we can secure it after the investigation wraps. Can't sign a lease while the Association's watching every move we make."
The TV in the corner suddenly blared louder. Everyone turned.
Breaking news. A reporter stood in front of a shopping district, police barriers behind her.
"—confirmed monster outbreak in Nakano. Authorities estimate at least thirty creatures have breached the portal. Evacuation is underway, but several civilians are reported trapped inside the commercial center—"
[Holy fuck. A monster outbreak? Now!?]
Suzume stood.
"Everyone, get ready. That's our trial run."
Rina looked up from the tablet.
"You want me to prove myself during an outbreak?"
"You said you could help us save people. No better opportunity to show that, I think."
Rina stared at her. Then she signed the tablet and stood.
Hikari quickly assumed control of the situation, which was exactly what Suzume hired her to do.
"We leave in ten. Everyone, gear up."
Kasumi turned from the window, her face hard.
"I still don't trust her."
"You don't have to trust her," Suzume said. "You just have to work with her."
Kasumi's jaw tightened. But she grabbed her spear.
"Fine. But she's staying where I can see her."
"Works for me," Rina said.
The office exploded into motion. Gear bags, equipment checks, weapons. Yumi was already on her phone, coordinating with her photographer girlfriend for coverage.
Suzume pulled on her jacket and secured her rescue line.
[Five members. One trial run. An outbreak.]
She looked at her team. Kasumi, furious but ready. Hikari, calm and calculating. Honoka, nervous but determined. And Rina, standing apart, watching everyone with those sharp red eyes.
[Please don't make me regret this.]
