Surviving as the Second Main Lead: Second Lead's POV

Horas looked at the gathered adventurers in front of him. Most of them did not look that impressive to him. He quickly glanced over their profiles to know what he was dealing with.

Only the black-haired guy called Howard Plumb looked to be somewhat competent in the first batch of 10 participants. But Horas knew that ‘Howard Plumb’ was Howard Spencer, the protagonist.

He was currently in a disguise that was given to him by Jack Hollow and his new identity had also been crafted by the same man.

‘Just how much influence does Jack Hollow have to even be able to pull this off?’

Pulling a rug over the dungeon and adventurer association’s eyes was not easy. But maybe for a secretary of the former no.1 guild, it was not a big deal.

“These people are not going to last long in the dungeon. The only one I feel confident taking in is that black-haired guy standing on the side. The rest looks like they could care less about what happened to them.”

Of course, Nesh had noticed it as well and now she was pointing it out.

Horas knew very well what had happened here and he was not surprised to see the outcome.

Most of the adventurers chosen for the first round were ones that had come from recommendations and not from their actual skill assessment. Horas was even willing to believe that none of them had entered any dungeon above F-level.

‘Maybe this D-rank dungeon might prove to be a little too much for most of them. I almost feel like calling this expedition off.’

Horas did want that but the burning brown eyes looking at him did not allow him to do that.

He had to remind himself that this dungeon was an important plot point that was supposed to take place. He could not back out now that it had been decided.

“Just grin and do it. We will end the day early if something truly terrible does happen.”

Nesh’s words did not inspire any confidence in Horas. If anything, they made him much more annoyed than he thought he would be.

‘It’ll alright just do not think about it more than you have to.’

Horas took in a deep breath and stood in front of the group. He quickly looked around, only to realize that he was the youngest by age. (sparing Howard because Howard was cheating)

“I welcome you all to the dungeon team. You all were handed the rules and the pamphlet beforehand and I hope you all read that. For any specific information, refer to your system database and be careful inside.”

Horas quickly summarized the important parts but he could see that people were still curious.

Curious and a little pissed off as they noticed him.

“Hey, why is a kid leading us? Do you even have the experience necessary-”

“Yes, I do and I will not hear any complaints about my age once we are inside. If you have a problem then quit right now.”

Horas did not take into consideration the provocation. He had experienced it too many times by now to be concerned about it.

He still remembered the first time he had joined a ‘real’ dungeon exploration team. He had been 10 back then and everyone had a bone to pick with him.

“You all, Horas here is more than qualified (maybe a little over qualified) to babysit you all so make sure you follow his lead. You will be black-listed from any future explorations if you do not show proper respect.”

The adventurers who had joined the team looked uncomfortable and pissed off. They also looked like they did not believe Nesh’s words about being black-listed.

They all had connections so they were not worried. But they still decided not to risk getting in trouble with the senior adventure.

“Umm, excuse me but there is information missing in our system’s data. Is this a technical fault?”

Horas was surprised to hear Howard talk in such a tense atmosphere. His expression said that he was actually surprised and genuinely curious to know why data was missing in such a manner.

No one else seemed to have considered it (or even read the report mailed to them) so they looked confused as well.

“This is a newly formed dungeon so you cannot expect the association to have all the data available. That is why we all are here today - to gather data and to explore this place.”

“And since it seems like no one read the information package sent to you, I will stress it out - if you find the boss, do not engage in combat and wait for others to come and find you. You will die if you are not careful.”

Horas’s words held no humor in them and they caused a lot of people to gulp down in nervousness.

Suddenly, half of the gathered adventurers looked scared for their lives while the other half looked like they could not care less.

With such a mixed and matched gathering, Horas decided it was finally time to enter the dungeon. The timer had started already.

…………………………

Howard looked toward the group that had gathered for the dungeon exploration and he could not help but find them weird.

From what he had heard, this group was the first wave of dungeon explorers and had been carefully selected from the bunch that had applied.

He had expected them to be the cream of the top, the best of the best. But they all looked and sounded like dead weight to him. Many had not even read the information package that the association had sent them.

But most of all, no one except him was taking Horas seriously. They looked at Horas as if he was an annoyance rather than their leader.

‘Does age matter that much to these people? How would their pride feel if I defeat all of them? I think I can do that easily.’

From the way these people walked to the way they stood, everything seemed as if they were not interested to be here but were forced to come.

‘Why do these people even come here when they don’t want to? Will it cause trouble for me later? Shall I do something about this?’

Howard was worried about what would happen next but he still decided to take his time and think his options through.

In the end, he decided to leave things be as they were. It was not his responsibility to ensure that these people behaved.

Besides, Jack had specifically asked Howard not to draw attention to himself. He needed to gather experience without anyone knowing.

“From here onwards the dungeon will start. Once we are in, we will not be able to go out again until the timer hits zero. So you all should make sure you have all the necessities.”

Nesh instructed for the last time but no one seemed to have anything they wanted from the outside world. It was finally time for them to head inside.

The world shifted and changed around the group as they passed through the gate. The lines that surrounded them faded and the metal was replaced by the concrete of the cityscape.

The destroyed buildings still looked ready to collapse.

People behind Nesh took in a deep breath as they had their first look at this destroyed place. They had not expected such a toxic environment despite having been told of such beforehand.

“You all are free to head out and look for clues. But remember, call me or Horas if you find something you cannot handle alone. Especially if you find the boss, you have to call us.”

The adventurers nodded to show that they understood before they left the scene. Horas took a seat beside Nesh on the only clean surface around them.

Then, he took out small black objects from his inventory and let them fly all around him. Their glassy camera blinked at Horas and he opened his system screen, only to see his face.

“What is this? Some new tech you have been developing? I thought that cameras did not work in the dungeon due to all the electromagnetic waves they created.”

Nesh, being the curious one, tried to touch one of the small recorders. But Horas pulled her hand back before she could touch the small black object.

“Don’t touch these machines or they will break. These are still prototypes of a new experiment Mark is conducting. He wants to see how well these cameras will work in toxic environments.”

Horas explained as he allowed these cameras to disperse. The image they formed was not clear but it was better than nothing.

These cameras followed the 10 adventurers Horas and Nesh were looking after. It was a good way to keep an eye on them for now.

“Hoh? Well, this seems to be handy. Make sure you hand me one once they are finished developing.”

Horas shook his head at Nesh’s greedy voice. She was certainly interested.

“Hey Horas, look at that. I think that guy is in trouble.”

Horas quickly looked at the camera screen but he knew that there was only one person who would get into trouble this quickly.

And once he looked down, it was Howard Spencer who was the cause of Nesh’s concern.