“Can someone tell me why I agreed to this in the first place?” Jinhwan grumbles as they walk towards a mysterious cave sitting at the foot of Mount YG. “I told you a thousand times, hyung! There’s buried treasure here! Treasure!” Junhoe exclaims in a giddy manner, rubbing his hands together as he tries to contain his excitement. Jinhwan turned to the others, giving them a confused look, to which Bobby answers with a shrug. “Guild Master said that it contains a rainbow hotbar.” Hanbin says slowly, trying to remember why this rainbow form of Junhoe’s favorite snack seems important. Donghyuk then looks up from his tome, “Legend has it that when a rainbow hotbar is consumed, and the user is deemed worthy by the item, it will provide them with an eternal hotbar buff, allowing the user unlimited summoning powers of this treat. Oh! I also heard that if the user masters the skill, they can morph the hotbars into a claymore.” He explains. Upon hearing this, Jinhwan stopped in his tracks as he stares blankly at them. “A rainbow hotbar. Unlimited summoning powers of hotbars. A hotbar claymore.” He says in a flat tone that was drowned by the squeals of Junhoe. “Isn’t that amazing, hyung? Imagine all the hotbars I can eat! And I don’t have to spend konys for it!” He exclaims. “Hurry you guys! The entrance is there!” He yells as he holds onto his sword, dashing towards the mouth of the cave. Chanwoo sighs at that, shaking his head, “How do you deal with him, Jinhwan-hyung?” He asks, following suit as Yunhyeong chuckles softly and smiles, “It’s called love, Chanu-ya.” He replies on behalf of their eldest, walking behind their youngest as he shifts his staff to his other hand. Jinhwan sighs again, this time in defeat as he follows the rest.

Upon arriving at the entrance, the group suddenly felt a chill run down their spines. “Are you sure we’re qualified for this?” Bobby asks in a whisper, shifting to stand closer to the leader of their team. Donghyuk hums softly, checking the map that was given to them earlier, then he nods, “Past the River of Snakes, across the Tangerine Forest, and…” he pauses, turning to look to his left, “Yup, that’s the lake of Tea. We’re at the right place.” He says, folding the map neatly but blinks in confusion when they heard their youngest snicker. “Haven’t you guys see the sign?” he asks, pointing to the rickety wooden sign just beside him which reads ‘BEWARE: HEVAN’S LAIR. ENTER IF YOU DARE.’ The others simply blink and look at each other, “Seriously guys, and you’re all older than me.” He jokes. “Come on guys! There’s no time to waste! Rainbow hotbar here I come!” He exclaims happily as he marches inside. “Is the rainbow hotbar the only reward here? What about the rest of us?” Bobby asks, still not moving from his spot. “That’s not my problem anymore!” Junhoe calls out. “Come on guys, let’s just get this over with. I don’t like this place. It’s too….silent.” Jinhwan mumbles, looking around as he holds his bow tight. With hesitant nods, they all enter into the cave.

True to what the ranger said, the cave was eerily silent. It was damp and cold, but there was this feeling that none of them can actually pinpoint. “Dong-ah, can you give us a light?” Hanbin asks in a whisper. “Yeah light—wait why are we whispering?” Bobby asks in a hushed tone. Donghyuk shrugs at that as he stretches his hand out with his palm up, with a short mumble of a spell, a ball of fire ignites and rests atop his palm, its glow was faint but it was enough. “Did someone hear from Guild Master what the boss was?” Yunhyeong asks, looking around as he keeps a firm grip on his staff. “Nope, but since this is a cave, won’t it be exciting if it’s a dragon?” Junhoe tells them with a grin. “No way, there’s no dragon that can fit this cave. It’s too small.” Chanwoo retorts with a steady tone, yet his grip on his swords were tight, steps tentative and heavy. “You honestly think there are no small dragons? We live in a magical world, anything is possible.” Junhoe huffs. “Really? Is that why this cave with a supposedly rare item is conveniently placed right below our guild?” Their youngest counters. “Now now children, keep it down you two.” Yunhyeong tries to ease them while looking around but he suddenly bumps into Junhoe’s back, nearly losing his footing and grip on his staff. “Yah! What was that—” he jumps from the shriek of joy from their swordsman. “It’s there! Rainbow hotbar!” he exclaims, pointing to a shining chest resting atop of a platform made from rocks, a beam of light mysteriously shining down on it. “That’s it? No boss?” Hanbin asks in disbelief. “Something feels odd here.” He mumbles. “It’s too easy.” Hanbin echoes his thought.

 Junhoe steps forward when suddenly a strange gurgling sound was heard, followed by a gust of wind blown towards them. “W-what was that?” Donghyuk squeaks as he and their eldest steps back, weapons drawn. Bobby had also gotten his long-range rifle as his eyes sharpen while scanning the surroundings. “Guys, be ready.” Hanbin mumbles, his war axe ready in one hand while his war club in the other ready. “Yunhyeong-hyung, buff us.” Chanwoo whispers as he unsheathes his dual swords while Yunhyeong steps back and stretches his palm out to them, buffing them with increased attack and defense power. Another sound was heard, followed by rapid ‘ticktick’ noises on the ground. Whatever it was, it was coming for them, and fast. “Nothing can stand between me and hotbars!” Junhoe lets out a battle cry as he raises his claymore and charges, but his cry fades quickly as he stops, arms raised ready to strike. He blinks twice as the sounds slow down, and the origin of the noise was made visible thanks to the glow from the fire. “Junhoe? What is it?” Jinhwan calls out nervously, their usually loud swordsman went quiet.

 After a minute of silent tension, Junhoe broke into a fit of laughter as he lowers his sword, “This? This puny thing? Really?” he asks in between laughter as he points to the creature. Curious, Yunhyeong and Chanwoo peeked. One simply sighed while the other brightened up upon seeing the creature. “Oh! Evan!” Yunhyeong exclaims in happiness as he rushes over to his friend. The jaw of the remaining members drop, “Evan?? That thing that you gave hot chocolate the other day? The reason why lunch got delayed???” Jinhwan shrieks as Yunhyeong bends down to gently pat the head of the cockroach. “Hyung! Evan is not a thing! He’s my friend! And we bonded over that hot chocolate okay?” Their priest huffs then smiles softly while ignoring the continuous laughter of their swordsman. “It’s been a while, how are you?” he asks. The remaining sane members watched in disbelief and wonder as Evan’s antenna twitches and moves. Their reaction turned to surprise as Yunhyeong laughed, “Really? Waah that sounds cool! So you live here then?” he asks, his question confirmed by another twitch. “How did—but cockroaches don’t—is it really—you know what, I give up.” Jinhwan says flatly. Donghyuk blinks twice, “So that’s Hevan?” He asks slowly, jumping in surprise when the cockroach turns to him and its antennas twitched again. Junhoe’s laughter doubles, “That’s the boss? Really? For the rainbow hotbar? You’ve got to be kidding me!” he says with glee. Yunhyeong huffs as he stands up, walking to position himself between Junhoe and Evan.

“Hey! Don’t make fun of Evan! He’s strong!”

“He’s a cockroach, hyung. He’ll simply die from being squished! How is he strong?”

“How would you know that?”
“Everyone knows it! They’re cockroaches! You’re being ridiculous!”
“Uh…guys?”

“You don’t understand! Evan’s special!”

“Guys…” Chanwoo tries again, but was still ignored.

“How is he special? You’re dreaming! Look at it, hyung!” Junhoe points behind Yunhyeong, but pauses as he sees that the cockroach was no longer there.

“Hey…where did it go?”

“I’m not an it.”

A creepy voice echoes around the cave, causing the group to flinch. “And for the last time…” a puff of hot air came from the darkness, just beside Junhoe as the same gurgling sound was heard. The ‘ticktick’ sounds were heard again, this time heavy. A silhouette was caught moving, slowly coming out of the darkness. “My name is Evan.” Out from the shadows, a dragonroach emerges, its beady eyes staring straight into their soul. The group, excluding their priest, slowly takes a step back. A cacophony of screams of terror was heard as Hevan’s wings begins to flap. With a surge of panic, the remaining six members pushed each other as they try to run to the exit. “Why is the exit far??? We didn’t walk that much!” Bobby wails as he runs, using a buff on himself to increase his speed. The group then shrieks even more as Hevan begins to fire hot chocolate missiles towards them. “Go away! I don’t like how you talked to my friend!” Hevan roars as he chases them. “I am always watching! So if any of you are like that to my friend, I’m coming for you with an army of heavannies!” He adds with a roar.