I let out a short sigh before checking on my phone, leaning against a wall where the shadow of the building was providing shade for.

"Where are they? Punctual, my ass." I thought as I fiddled with my device, checking my inboxes and refreshing before eventually putting it away. Two days had passed since Myla and I went with Ilya on the cycling trip; after taking the route, we had met up back with her and afterward returned to our routines until Hunter had messaged us with a file folder. Intrigued me and Myla had it opened at work only to realize it was a schedule, a list of things to bring, a map, and telephone numbers. It seemed Hunter was ready and eager to take us out on the convention, which had conveniently taken place on our day off. The schedule tasked us with arriving at 8 AM as the venue would be open to visitors at 9. Even so, the place was already bustling to life, with convention-goers, cosplayers, and a few staff outside the large venue. Speaking of, the venue itself was the city's convention center; it was massive, even larger than aiAI's place of operations, and was newly renovated along with the city. It was a three-story building with massive glass panels lining its walls and a unique roof that almost looked like origami.

I don't know if I find that cool or pretentious.

I considered, as I snapped a photo of the building and began walking closer to the building. The streets outside were lined with con-goers and people in cosplay, as a steady stream of attendees flowed out of the nearby hotel. It was a lively sight, seeing as it was so early in the morning, and it came off as familiar, seeing as I had gotten used to the early hours of work as well.

These people are committed, I'll tell you that.

I thought as I observed those in cosplay, from the vibrant hair colors, large prop weaponry, flowing coats, and much more, the dedication these people had to not only come here so early from all parts of the country but do so in uniform amazed me to no end. I, on the other hand, followed Hunter's instructions to dress comfortably and to bring spares in my backpack. I wore a plain white t-shirt, black joggers, black sneakers, and a thin red jacket wrapped around my waist. I decided to complete the ensemble by wearing a small pair of clear glasses and the camera that Alexandre had me bring.

This is profile picture material, not that anyone cares.

I thought as I pulled out my phone, only to be greeted by a message.

"I'll be at the bus stop. Where are you as of now."

Myla had messaged me, and while messages usually lose any emotional context from the sender, her usual monotony fit the medium quite well.

"I'm by the main entrance, I'm out in the open, so I should be easy to spot," I replied, as I started looking for her as well.

"I see you. You look like you're trying very hard to reconnect with your youthful self." She replied back.

Never mind, I can sense the emotions.

I observed as I looked up from my phone to see my partner standing before me. Her hair gleamed from the sun's rays shining a near-white, I could partially make out her eyes behind her tinted sunglasses; she wore a beige turtleneck that accentuated her hair color, dark blue jeggings, and on top of her attire, a pair of brown Hi-cut sneakers. She placed her phone back into her purse before going up to me.

"And you look like a stereotypical millennial," I said, putting away my phone and snapping a photo of her.

There's a Starbucks right around the corner. Come, we can find your fellow kin.

I pondered as she let out a short sigh. Her casual outfit was unfamiliar, but I knew her already annoyed expression far too well.

"So, where's Hunter?" She asked, ignoring my earlier comment as I gave her an irritated look of my own.

"That's what I was gonna ask you. It's already 30 minutes past what was on the schedu-" Before I could finish that, however, a voice sounded from afar. We both looked towards the source of the noise, and it was a young man with long blonde hair, a small pair of glasses atop his face, a black t-shirt with a graphic design of an anime girl, and black jeans running up to us, his large backpack swayed as he moved, the sound of his white sneakers slowly coming closer. His white Kimono flowed in his brisk rush towards us, its floral pattern dancing with his energetic smile.

"Hey, guys! Sorry for the wait. I overslept in the nearby hotel." He pointed back towards the dwelling as I once more saw the steady stream of attendees.

"Don't you live super close by anyway? Why rent a hotel?" I asked as me, and my partner began walking closer to him

"We'll need a base of operations! If we are to succeed on this battlefield in the upcoming days, we shall need a place to return to!" He exclaimed, determination seething from his voice.

"That won't be possible. Today is our only day off," Myla stated briefly and gave Hunter a disappointed look.

"Wait, what?" He asked back.

"Yep, sorry, man," I said, patting him on his back and giving him a warm smile.

"Bridger, you'll at least come back the next day, right?" He asked me with pleading eyes. My dear partner gave me a judgemental look as the grown man begged me to accompany him.

"Y-yeah, sure," I said anxiously.

I mean, I did do some research, and a lot of rare loot might be available here if I'm lucky, not that I wanna buy any, nope.

I thought as he gave a joyful laugh and Myla let out a sigh.

"Alright, so did you guys pack everything on the list?" Hunter asked with an enthusiastic smile, looking at my backpack and Myla's purse.

"Should be everything," I said as I opened it and presented the contents. Hunter had us bring the essentials to a convention, a large sum of cash, an ID with a photo, a fully charged phone that contained a schedule of the events, and a map of not only the venue but the surrounding area, along with chargers, hand sanitizer, and alcohol, a few snacks like protein bars, granola bars and a few bags of chips and nuts, we had the basic survival kit for any convention goer.

Not even mentioning the 4 liters worth of water I'm lugging around.

"Yep, you're all clear, Bridger!" He exclaimed, throwing a thumbs up my way.

A seal of approval from the master himself.

I thought as I faced Myla, who only had a purse on her.

"Hey, you did bring everything, right?" I faced her with a worried expression.

"I thought we'd only go for a day? What I usually bring outside should be enough, right?" She said with a curious look.

Me and Hunter's gazes met one another, both bearing a sorrowful expression, I put one hand on Myla's shoulder, a tear almost welling up in my eyes.

"It was nice knowing you," I said melancholically, as I began walking to the main entrance.

"Yes, even though it was short, thank you," I could hear Hunter state from behind me as his footsteps followed soon after.

"You're a bunch of idiots. Fine, I'll at least get some more water." She said as I heard her walk behind us as well.

It might be my first convention as well, but even I know to prepare for the upcoming battle.

We began making our way towards the entrance for registration, noticing the massive line that had formed as people slowly piled their way in. It looked almost like a color spectrum with all of the hairstyles, outfits, and aesthetics in the organized columns.

I Bridger Blaithe, dub thee "The Eccentric-Degeneratic Spectrum."

I joked mainly to brace myself for the long wait ahead when Hunter pulled on my sleeve.

"Do not worry, friends, I have a man on the inside," Hunter said as he took a detour from the path towards the sides of the convention. Myla gave me an inquisitive look which I answered with a shrug as we followed him.

"Hmm, hmm, hmmm," Hunter hummed a song unknown to me as we made our way to his detour.

"Guess it isn't just Ilya who thinks about music out on her hobby, huh," I commented as I walked behind him.

"Yep, it's from an idol band I enjoy; they'll be here today, so I'm pumped," Hunter replied, not turning his gaze from the path ahead.

We eventually ended up at the side of the venue and were met with a large door. It seemed to be mainly used by staff, seeing as no one else was there. Hunter pulled out his phone and sent a quick text, and after a minute or so, the door opened and a large man wearing a black polo shirt with the words "Staff" written on it, and white pants came out to greet us.

"Hey Hunter, I'm guessing these are the other two you registered?" He asked in a deep, yet friendly voice.

"Yep, here's the payment as promised." He replied, handing over a small paper bag with something thin inside. The man looked around before pulling out the item which revealed itself to be a CD.

"Hmm, well, your word was good last time, so I'll accept it." He said before opening the door to let us in; he also handed Hunter our badges for the con.

"Welp, shall we?" He said, smiling at us as we entered through the narrow and pure white hallway, illuminated by the harsh fluorescent lights.

"What was that anyway?" I inquired as to the contents of the disk.

"Just a game he wanted, it was only sold in Japan at a limited time, so he was looking for it." He said with a warm expression.

"I thought you already registered us anyway. Why would you go through all this extra trouble?" I asked, curious as to why he'd put in all this effort even though we were already preregistered.

Do you want to cut your latest WR run by a little bit?

"Well, that man, he's helped out with a lot of these cons, and I wanted to pay him back, but he didn't want anything for free, so he decided to give us the fast pass." He said, his head focused on the front of the hallway.

Guess even the staff are dedicated to making this as enjoyable as possible for everyone, even if it means moving around the country.

Myla, who had been quiet for the most part, decided to perk up.

"Well, it saves us having to line up with those characters, at least," She replied, already a bit exasperated.

"You say that, but we're gonna be with them in about...now," I said as we reached the end of the hallway, and a door greeted us. Hunter turned to face us, determination and fire steaming from his expression.

"Alright! Hope you guys are ready for your first convention!" He said as he opened the doors to the Holy Land.

Crap, I'm actually a little excited.

I pondered as the colorful spectrum of characters returned to my view and a quick snap sounded from the camera.