Leon sat hunched over the table, eyes fixed on the sheet of paper in front of him as if it were some kind of classified dossier. He’d handled mission briefings filled with codes, maps, and redacted intel—but this? This was worse.

A blank Dungeons & Dragons character sheet stared back at him, filled with tiny boxes, unfamiliar terms, and far too many decisions. Strength, Dexterity, Constitution… it just kept going. When he’d agreed to come tonight, he’d figured it would be simple—roll a few dice, crack some jokes, maybe blend in for once like a normal person. Low stakes. No pressure.

Instead, he felt like he’d been dropped into another kind of operation entirely—one he hadn’t trained for.

Leon exhaled slowly, tapping the pencil against the table as his gaze drifted toward the door. He could leave. It wouldn’t be hard. Slipping out unnoticed was practically second nature to him—most enemies never realized he was gone until it was too late. He could already piece together an excuse: something wrong with his apartment, a last-minute call from HQ, an “urgent situation” that no one here would question.

His fingers tightened slightly around the pencil as he weighed it.

Before he could fully commit to the idea, a sudden clap on his shoulder snapped him out of it. Leon stiffened on instinct, glancing up to see Jeremy—the host, self-proclaimed “tech guy,” and the one who had convinced him to come—grinning as he handed over a drink Leon had completely forgotten he’d asked for.

“Doin’ good, man?” Jeremy asked casually.

Leon opened his mouth, ready to answer honestly for once—not even a little—but Jeremy had already turned away, his attention snagged by someone else across the table.

Leon watched him go for a second before looking back down at the character sheet. The pencil rolled between his fingers as he let out a quiet sigh, leaning back in his chair.

Yeah… this was going to be a long night.