Her ginger hair flawlessly swung with her waving, making Oren doubt if she was sparkling. Even at such a distance, he could see her blue eyes glistering in contrast to her white skin. However, if someone asked Oren about the thing that he liked the most about Selena, it would be her freckles. They turned her beautiful features into one of cuteness.
He tottered to the group that was waiting for him, albeit the rest not being as welcoming as Oren. He stood closer to Selena since she was the only 'friend' he had in the group.
"This armor suits you, Oren," Selena said, grinning in either mockery or delight. Oren had a hard time telling which of the two it was, but he still became bashful at her words.
"The mouse is now a rat, it seems." Said a guy in the group, clearly mocking Oren's timed character.
"Shut up," Selena snapped at him, and the guy shut his mouth. Oren could feel the guy's eyes burn with envy as he glared at Oren. "Are you guys ready?" Selena asked, slightly excited.
The group nodded and they headed into the dungeon. They showed their Union Awakeners IDs before heading toward the portal and finding themselves in a forest. Oren slightly tightened his hand around the hilt of his sword due to the nervousness of the fight to come.
***
Selena had a plan. A simple yet well-thought-of plan. The only reason she agreed to hunt in this dungeon, at the suggestion of another group member, was that she wanted to show how capable she was to Oren.
She was a girl with a crush, after all.
If anyone told her that she would like someone like Oren a year ago, she would call them liars. However, the reality was sometimes stranger than fiction. That's why when you notice someone, you can't help but starting to develop feelings for them.
It was all about noticing them in a certain way, that is.
It was a boring day at the academy, another routine she had to go through despite all the boredom she felt. Many of the students, male students mostly, flocked around her as she was a powerful awakener from a renowned background.
It was boring. Their ways and their games. Their showing-off at every possible chance. It was not appealing the first time, and it wasn't any appealing now. That's why she hated school. She hated her father as well, for throwing her in this school with her older brother. She knew she could go somewhere better, but her father sent her here to 'discipline her behavior' although he was met with little success.
She had a wild nature, she had to admit. That's why it was rather understandable (not really) that she would fall for Oren that was so unlike her. Yet he was so different from others. It happened on that boring day when she fled to sit on the roof. Her eyes reflected the sky as she was pondering the reason that she had to suffer here instead of fighting an exciting battle.
She heard a whimper, a scream, and laughter. Anything was enough to pull away from her already bored self, so she peeked from the roof to see what was going on.
Bullying, as always. A guy was getting mocked and shoved by a gang of thugs that called themselves students. Selena had some ideas of going down there and showing them true strength, but she knew better than that.
If she intervened, the life of the bullied students would get harsher and harsher. They wouldn't be able to touch her, so they would lash out their anger on the student when she was not around. It happened before. However, it seems someone wasn't as wise as she was.
He stuttered, telling them it was wrong to treat him like this. The gang roared in laughter after a slight pause. Selena was taken aback as well, as this student was a non-awakener. What did he step out for?
Foolish, she thought.
He couldn't even stand probably, and he was soon beaten like the other student. However, unlike the first and unlike what Selena expected, the guy kept standing up. Since she was looking at them from an angle, she could see the guy's face. Bruised, blood-smudged, and so unwilling to step away. He was like a mouse standing in front of a lion yet still daring to meet its gaze.
Selena saw his gaze and her skin was covered with goosebumps from the defiant look he had. It was a look she was familiar with. One of certain helplessness yet unwillingness to be trampled. That was how she noticed him. He was also cute.
"Selena?" His voice broke her reverie of the past. "Why are you smiling like this?" He asked with puzzlement. She had to cover her face in embarrassment for grinning at her memory. His puzzled expression made her want to ruffle his head so badly, but she held back. He had already rejected her, it was better to play it safe for now.
"Nothing, let's keep going." She said as the group made its way through the trees. This was a peculiar dungeon because there was a forest inside. However, it was still a mid-tier dungeon so the danger was simply a goblins' village.
They planned on hunting the patrols of the village, mainly low-mid-tier goblins. They didn't want to push their luck as they were neo-rankers. Their team had two swordsmen, one mage, one tanker, and one healer. The swordsmen were Oren and the student that had mocked him earlier, the mage was Selena, the tanker was another quiet male student, The healer was a female friend of Selena.
Selena continued to fantasize about the way Oren would look at her after she showed him the side of her that he had shown her of himself. She wanted him to notice her too. It was then she felt someone grab her wrist, and Selena turned around displeased at the interruption of her thoughts. However, seeing it was Oren, her face mellowed.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"I think there's something nearby…" Oren said with furrowed brows and uncertainty. "Something that could be dangerous."
"Dangerous? The most we would find here is low-mid tier." The guy from earlier interrupted. "If you're scared, you can go back." He mocked while stealing glanced at Selena's grabbed wrist. Oren shook his head and let go.
"It's better if we do…" Oren said, feeling uneasy.
"Coward!" The tanker spat with displeasure.
"Want me to beat the living hell out of you?" Selena glared at him, feeling rageful. The tanker shrunk back while clutching his teeth. Selena turned to Oren as she tried to assure him. "If any dangerous monster appears, I can take care of it." She said with confidence that forced Oren to nod his head.
The group kept advancing until they heard low murmurs of monsters. It was a goblin patrol like they had expected. They were all low-mid-tier wearing shabby armor and holding rusted and irregular swords.
"Attack like we usually do, assume formation," Selena ordered and the rest obeyed. They surrounded the goblins stealthily before launching their attacks. Sword slashes and blade-like water descended as the goblins' screams echoed. Oren used his mana to cover his sword, and it made a huge amplification to his powers as his mana was rich and abundant. The other guy had a sword-related ability that allowed him to send slashes across the air. As for Selena, she was a water mage with exceptional control that could command water to cut through steel.
The goblins were dead after a few attacks and counterattacks between the two sides. In the end, the group came out triumphant and the healer tended to their wounds.
"That's what scared you?" The swordsman whispered in a way that only Oren could hear but the latter ignored him as he felt the continuous dread pile in his heart. Selena kept stealing glances at Oren, expecting him to praise her ability, but she found him brooding.
She sighed and the group kept advancing after harvesting the cores. They met another group of goblins and were also successful in using teamwork and numbers to emerge victoriously. She could already feel the effect of battles on strengthening her but she noticed the worry on Oren's face.
"Are you okay?" Selena came over to ask him, worried about his well-being. "We should head back if you're feeling unwell." She said apologetically since she dragged him into this. Oren gazed at her in an unfathomable way.
"I don't want you to get hurt, we should head back." His words made her heart thud in her chest as heat covered her face. There was a slight itch on behind her ears as blood rushed there due to embarrassment. Before she could nod, a shout came like a sudden storm.
"Watch out!" The healer, a good friend of hers, shouted with such urgency that Selena knew there was something very wrong. She sensed a shadow creep underneath her legs and realized there was something behind her.
Turning around instantly, she could see a tall, dark green, figure waving a giant hammer in her way. It was a hideous looking ogre that was probably as tall as three meters. Selena cursed in her mind for her incompetence as she constructed a wall of water to defuse the attack. However, was never the best at defending so Selena waited for the pain to come as she braced her wrist protectors in front of her chest.
Another shadow emerged, also from behind her. Before she could say anything, Oren was already in front of her with his sword. His armor glowed exceptionally as runes emerged into existence and the hammer descended on the protection layer destroying it after shattering the wall of water. The hammer, who has been visibly reduced in momentum, descended as it met Oren's strike.
"O…." Selena's words were cut as the hammer descended and Oren's body was pushed back together with hers. Even with Oren protecting her, she still felt the strength of the impact and only wondered how Oren fared against such strength. The two stumbled to the ground
"It's an Ogre! We need to run, now!" The tanker screamed with a pale face as this monster was at least a middle-mid-tier. They could hunt a few low-mid-tier monsters using numbers and sneak attacks but they could do nothing against this monster who was well-versed for its abnormal strength.
Selena's dizziness only lasted for a moment before she sought Oren in worry. She found him unharmed but his hand was shaking due to the force of impact.
"We need to run!" The swordsman said as he pulled on Selena but the ogre was already next to them, dashing madly. It swung its hammer again and the swordsman let go of Selena as she stumbled back to the ground, the hammer missing her by an inch.
"Shit," The swordsman cursed as he turned and fled. The rest of the group were all hesitating but the tanker gritted his teeth and used his teeth to pull the ogre's hostility.
"HERE!" He roared and the ogre answered with a call of its own. However, one attack made the tanker fall to the ground.
'I need to do something…' Selena's head spun as confusion was swept away with determination. The ogre was already heading their way since they were on their knees. Before she could summon her water, the air next to her started to heat up. Then, like the blazing sun, Oren's body was covered with a raging fire. The fire was so strong that the earth under his body turned black in an instant.
"COME!" Oren roared as he bolted to meet the ogre. His body and sword, covered in flames, collided with the ogre as screams of the monster, shockwaves, and scorching air spread around the two.
Selene looked at this scene blankly. She thought she fell in love with a timid yet defiant person, but this was a raging dragon when the occasion called for it.