Floor 1: The Party (edited)

'WARNING: Name can only be set once! Please choose wisely!'

I pause and press the cancel option. It was never a good idea to be hasty. I wasn't particularly fond of my birth name anyway.

Another attention-setting clap comes to everyone's ears. Asule's fake smile was still plastered on him.

"Now, let's move on to the meat of today." He licks his lips. "I shall teleport all of you to the first floor. There you will face your first trial. If you succeed you will move to the second floor. You will be unable to return to the previous floor. The first ten floors will have no alignment and serve as a tutorial. You may enter a party for extra safety if you wish. You will have ten minutes to do so I suggest you hurry." He starts walking away from the center of the stage. He gives us one final glance. "I wish you all luck in the tower."

He snaps a finger causing a blackened portal to appear before him. He disappears along with the portal. His flicking tail is the last thing we see of him.

People stay stunned only for a moment before they rush off to recruit party members. Obvious groupings developed, bulky rough-minded thugs, rounded game-styled parties, and the uncomfortable loners between them. A blonde man approached me to ask for my class type.

"I'm a healer." I offered a friendly smile.

He responded with a giddy expression. In any scenario, healing classes would be appreciated. He led me away to his group.

"We should introduce ourselves. I'm warrior class. My skill is beginner swordsmanship." He has a rather average build, his blonde hair the only noticeable feature. "I go by Laren."

"I'm Meril!" A petite girl squeals out, her hair a bright purple, eyes lavender. "I'm a mage class, and I can cast an area of effect spell!"

I don't know what bothers me more her peppiness or the shocking amount of color. Although I've noticed many people are sporting unnatural colors. I can't help but reach out to my short locks in wonder.

"Reaver." A buff man gruffs out. He sways in nerves. "It says I'm a tank class. I can taunt." He's practically whispering at the end.

The last member only responds when the others eye him up for remaining silent. He smiles faintly, clearly not interested.

"Ren. My class is Shadow. I can hide in any shadow." We can't help but stare at him. He shrugs at us. "I know it sounds ridiculously edgy."

His amusement reaches to his cheeks, and the group. His black hair is slightly messied from his hand, his blue eyes glinting unnaturally for a moment.

After a brief moment of seemingly odd unity. The group focuses on me. Ren, in particular, eyes me up. His gaze seems rather curious. I lean slightly, crossing my arms to relax.

"I haven't chosen a name yet." I look away from the questioning eyes of the group. "My class is Saint, and I can heal minor injuries."

"What were you called before?" Laren remained friendly, his curiosity unintentionally causing me to flinch. "Sorry, you don't have to answer." He almost pats my shoulder trying to comfort me, but I tilt away.

"I was born in a noble household so it's rather snobby sounding." I offer up an awkward smile and a shrug in an attempt to add humor. "Fernagus." It was impossible to say it without twitching. At least they didn't question me further, they laughed and offered their condolences.

The ten minutes ended. Groups were teleported at once. A blinding blueish light envelops us. We blinked and rubbed our eyes to new surroundings.

The party stood at the center of a small clearing in a sparsely planted forest. An open-topped crate filled with simple weapons waited for inspection. A message popped up.

'First Floor: Defeat 50 slimes to access the next floor!'

I truly hoped that these slimes were just as tiny and weak as in games. Also why fifty?? Isn't that a bit much for people who may have never fought before now?

"50?!" Meril screeched.

"Maybe it's because there's five of us?" Laren suggested.

Ten slimes per person seemed reasonable.

The group formulated a plan for the floor. They would find a single slime first to test it out and have Laren, Reaver, and Ren fight it. If a group was encountered Meril would use her AOE skill. My job was obviously to heal, hopefully I wasn't needed often.

Inside the crate, it held conveniently selected weapons for some of us. A short sword for Laren, a large bashing shield for Reaver, and a pair of daggers for Ren. A bow and arrow set was left, along with an extra dagger.

"Can either one of you shoot?" Laren asked.

Meril and I shook our heads. As a noble, I never lifted anything other than silverware.

"Give Meril the dagger she already has a ranged attack. The healer could help out with offense at a safe distance with the bow and arrows." Ren scrunched up his nose. "Pick a name quickly or I'll just call you Fern. It's too much hassle."

"Do not call me Fern." I snap. "What if I hit the group?" The obvious question gets an obvious answer.

"Heal them." Ren shrugs at me. I glare back in response.

"We don't know if magic is limited or not." We don't have stats and no mana points, but there's no guarantee it's unlimited.

"Won't calling attention to the healer be risky?" Reaver points out another issue. "We don't need to use the weapons right?" He avoids eye contact at times, quite the nervous fellow.

"I agree. We don't know how intelligent the monsters are in the tower. Let me take the dagger instead. I can use it in an emergency." I glance over at Meril. "Forget the bow and arrows we shouldn't use them if we aren't trained for it."

We finish conversing and head out together in a random direction, vividly alert to any movement. Still, the party banters among themselves to get acquainted. Meril not so subtlety vies for Laren's attention. Reaver is too nervous to speak up. While Ren and I focus on our surroundings. Every once and a while he glances over to me.

"Spill it." Fed up with his behavior, I question him. "What do I look like? I'm obviously either hideous or handsome since you keep staring."

He coughs, caught off guard, facing another direction.

"Cute." A red flush was visible on his ears.