Not long after, Tylan confirmed his brother was safe. He got called to take care of something else.
The new division headed upstairs to a small hall beside Shom's office. Here, the long-awaited briefing would occur.
Shom asked Michael to step forward. Michael did as instructed.
Everyone thought Michael was called because he was the vice. No one could predict what Shom had in mind.
He told Michael to leave the hall. He didn't want Michael present in the first stage of the report.
Most of them were shocked. They struggled to rationalize the captain's decision.
'Of all the team members, Michael is the least likely to lie or spin the story on its head. So why have him out?' Zeta thought.
Michael complied and headed out.
"Now you, Lin. You seem to be the most critical, so I'll start with you. What's your analysis of your performance in the first raid, and what did you do to better said performance in the second raid?" Shom asked.
Lin was shy. She didn't know how she would begin explaining how she flopped during the first raid.
"Well, I cleared a lot of goblins in the second raid."
Rose looked at her, proud. Lin saw Rose's affirmation and continued on.
She explained how she and Rose coordinated their attacks to wipe out as many goblins as possible.
Shom nodded his head negatively. Most of the team had thought that was enough, but it wasn't.
"Hey, everyone, notice how she started from the second raid," Shom exclaimed.
"Did my question state you should begin with the second raid?"
"Explain your prior performance," he said.
Lin was shocked. She didn't know what to tell Shom. She froze, and no matter how she would like to spin the story around, it was simply that—she, a hunter, froze at the most critical moment.
"I... I..."
She stammered.
"Ok, that's alright. You can leave now," Shom said.
Everyone was in shock. What did he mean she could leave? Porter thought. 'Is she out or something?' Miles thought.
Lin herself didn't quite understand. Was this truly her end? She couldn't do anything but comply.
"Ok, now that Lin's out of the picture, let's go to Miles."
Miles explained that being paired with Michael in the first raid left him with very little to do. He decided to do better in the second raid, but sadly he still got paired with Michael. Miles sounded pitiful. He had no real accomplishment other than being Michael's aid.
"So you just decided to render assists. You saw your error and failed to rectify it. That won't do," Shom commented.
"You can get out now."
The tension was now real. For Lin, it was understandable. Everyone sort of saw it coming, even if they didn't want to say it. Miles, on the other hand, was only a victim of circumstance. Being paired up with the top hunter, there was no way he could do anything of significance.
Miles used the door as instructed.
"Ok, Porter, go ahead."
Porter stood. Before he said anything, he struggled to articulate his words. He knew just like Miles, he didn't do anything in the second round because he got paired up with Michael. He wasn't willing to go out like that. So he bet everything on his achievements in the first raid.
"I'll skip the filler. I didn't do much against the boss in the second raid. I got paired up with Miles and Michael. I carried my weight way more than Michael did his, but still, I wouldn't call my performance anything noteworthy." He paused.
Shom smiled. Porter took the underhanded route. He called out Miles' incompetence while criticizing himself, but putting himself on a level above Miles.
'I, however, want to highlight my performance in the first raid. I was on high spirits. I started out strong, clearing a bunch of the egg monsters we faced. I shined especially strongly when I got separated from Rean. I had the chance to clear hordes of monsters all on my own. I initially regretted losing Rean, but I think I now realize I did what I knew I had to do. If I went after Rean, then I'd be leaving reward points to waste. That is something I know I'd regret,' he ended.
Shom wasn't particularly impressed. At least, he didn't seem so.
"So you think letting someone you know is reckless act on their own in a B-rank dungeon was a smart move? Or your personal growth supersedes that of the team?" Shom asked.
"Wait. I didn't—" Porter got cut off.
"You're completely right. That's the kind of thinking that'll earn you your place."
"You may sit," Shom said.
'Wow, he got to stay.'
"Rose, your turn," Shom said, pointing at the hunter.
"Well, I got paired up with Charles. We were more of a balanced duo. He'd save my butt; I'd save his."
"I think I quite held my own in the first raid. I continued to do so even in the second raid by syncing my attacks with Lin's," she ended.
"Hmmm, you say all that. That's what you think," he traced back. "You say all that with a smile on your face. You think your efforts were satisfactory. It just seems to me like you participated in a dungeon, but not a raid. You may leave."
'I don't quite get it. I am happy I earned my place, but why not Rose? I thought I had started getting Shom, but it seems I haven't quite cracked his thought process.'
"Zeta, you're up," Shom said.
"I got paired up with Lin at first. I got handicapped hard. I just didn't realize it on time. I saved Lin time and time again. I did my best to clear as many of the monsters as I thought would suffice within reason—"
"Within reason? Would suffice?" Shom questioned.
Zeta was the first to get cut off mid-report.
"I don't know what was running through the others' heads, but I had every intention of racking just enough points before going on an aggressive hunt for the dungeon boss."
'Interesting,' Shom thought. 'Rather than just head for the boss like Rean did, she wanted to first earn points so at least she'd have those just in case. Quite rational.'
"In the second raid, I got paired up with Rean, Lin, and Rose. After gaining sufficient points, I decided to let Lin and Rose have at it. I then acted as support. I was ultimately instrumental in making sure my team got back safely," Zeta ended.
"I'm yet to give this one out, but your report was impressive. If your actions align in any way with how you've presented them, then you deserve some praise."
"You may sit."
"Finally, let's hear it, Rean."