Chapter 92 - Together! (1)

"Very well. Then let's get going," said Averos as she used wind blades to break out of the ice and began walking towards the group.

"Finally, I was getting bored of breathing the same air as a certain someone," said Abby while giving Marya a dangerous glare.

"Someone seems to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed," whispered Sheela as he also turned to leave.

"What are you doing boy? Didn't I say that we are leaving?" said Averos as she stopped to turn and look at Arya.

"What do you mean?" asked Arya confused by what Averos was trying to imply.

"I mean come with us. There's no safer way for us to ensure that our duel continues than for you to come along with us on our journey," said Averos as the rest of her group stopped to wait as well.

No one seemed to object to Arya traveling with them. The group had seen him hold his own against Averos and were convinced that he would become a powerful asset. Yuuki especially liked the way Arya used his magic and was hoping to exchange a few ideas. Abby on the other hand didn't mind traveling with someone as handsome as Arya.

"Pfft. Like I would ever trust a group of strangers. What happens if you decide to turn on me midway? Or when there's a crossroad and someone has to be abandoned for the good of the group?" thought Arya as he wondered whether it would be wise to travel with them or not.

"Hmm, but if this Ryen attack has taught me anything, it's that we aren't strong enough to handle the dangers of this forest. Sure Marya is a 2-star mage, but she doesn't seem to have any combat experience, she might as well be a 0-star mage with her performance."

"And Calder is just a normal man, there's nothing he can do in such situations. Why is he even guarding her in the first place?" wondered Arya as he had an idea.

"I'll only come if my teammates can come with me," said Arya.

"By bringing my teammates I have a lower chance of being thrown in the fire. Plus in the event that they turn on me, at least I won't be alone." thought Arya as Abby began to voice her discontent.

"Why do we have to travel with the elf girl just because of him? If it's like that then we should just l-leave him behind," shouted Abby hesitantly. She liked the way Arya looked, but it wasn't enough to hide the hatred she had now grown towards Marya.

"Let's take a vote," said Yuuki, realizing that it wouldn't be fair to accept Arya's proposal on behalf of his whole team as everyone's life would be at stake.

"I vote yes," said Trent as he raised his hand.

"I vote yes as well," said Sheela right after. He didn't seem to care either way.

"Anything for my duel," said Averos as she crossed her arms.

"I vote yes as well. Sorry sister, it seems that we will have to travel with them," said Yuuki as he turned to continue walking.

"B-but. That man can't even use magic. I don't sense any mana coming from him." shouted Abby, trying to find any excuse not to travel with Marya.

"Abiyama! Assumptions like those are not befitting for a princess. What if he's just cloaked his mana core."

"Forgive my sister's impertinence," said Yuuki as he bowed to Calder in apology.

"N-no, it's okay," replied Calder, now even more shocked than before.

"Did he just say, princess? Wait does that mean everyone in their group is nobility?" wondered Calder, awe-struck.

"Very well then. Let us proceed, there's still one ring we have to go through," said Averos as she took the lead.

"One ring?" asked Arya, catching up to the rest of the group.

"You don't know? You guys really came in here unprepared didn't you," said Trent as he began explaining.

"The forest is divided into three concentric rings, with Belgard being in the innermost ring. The difficulty increases as you go deeper into the forest, and so do the points you can get. Meaning that the last ring would have the most dangerous beasts in the forest, mythical beasts." continued Trent with a foreboding tone.

"We already came across a mythical beast," said Marya as she walked behind Arya listening to the explanation.

"Ther's no way you already came across a mythical beast, or else you'd be long dead," said Abby, scoffing at Marya as if she were lying.

"She's trying to make herself look cool in front of us, but who on Merrum would believe such a blatant lie." thought Abby.

"I'm not lying. We came across a Roc in the first ring," replied Marya, trying to convince the group.

"A mythical beast in the first ring? The first ring is supposed to have normal beasts only," replied Trent trying to sympathize with Marya, however still acting as if she were lying.

"Must've been an interesting fight. I wish I were there to see it. How did you deal with it?" asked Averos now interested in the conversation.

Yuuki didn't turn to look behind him, as he was the leader he had the responsibility to look out for any danger that may lay ahead. And even he didn't believe that the group had faced a mythical beast and survived when they couldn't even confront a Ryen.

"Well, it was all thanks to Arya actually. He had this plan-" Marya was about to say but was cut short by Arya.

"Marya, don't exaggerate my role in all this. And plus, it probably wasn't even a Roc. It might've been a normal beast that looked similar." said Arya, trying to downplay their achievements.

"We can't let them know the extent of our strengths." thought Arya, as Calder caught on to what he was trying to do.

"Arya's right. It didn't look all too much like an actual Roc now that I think about it," added Calder.

"What other creature can use lightning the way that bird did? And how many creatures do you know that can grow to that size?" asked Marya, clearly not catching on to what her comrades were trying to do.

"Normal beasts can't use magic anyways. So you really did fight a Roc," said Averos as she got closer to Marya.

Marya usually had an expressionless face on but seemed to get embarrassed as Averos came closer to her face.

"So tell me, what was the plan the Arya came up with. As my rival I'm expecting that he must've shown of his prowess against such a beast," said Averos, excited to hear about the battle.

"Her rival? I wonder why it seems that I only come across danger and weirdos in this life." thought Arya as Marya began to explain the story again.

"Well there's no point now I guess. It's too late to stop this." thought Arya as he went ahead and started walking shoulder to shoulder with Yuuki.

"Did you really hunt a Roc all by yourself?" asked Yuuki as Arya approached him.

"Y-yes. But we got lucky. The Roc got distracted and we were able to take care of it due to our synergy." explained Arya quickly.

"Actually, I wanted to ask. I saw you use ice magic earlier, however, you're spells seem more powerful than mine. What stage are you?" asked Arya trying to test his luck.

Usually, mages wouldn't tell what stage they were at to a complete stranger. It was like reveling your cards in a poker game, but it seems Yuuki didn't look at Arya as a threat.

"I am a stage 1 ice mage. However, I'm sure you're more powerful than I am. You're teammate claims that you're the most powerful mage here." replied Yuuki, looking at Arya with a serious expression.

"What the hell did Marya tell these people?" wondered Arya before laughing nervously.

"She was just exaggerating," replied Arya hoping that Yuuki would believe him.

"Well, it's okay if you won't reveal your power. Everyone has their own reasons. Though I wish you wouldn't hold back when the lives of your teammates are at stake. We will need every ounce of power we have at our disposal to gain as many points as possible." said Yuuki as he turned back to look at the path in front of him.

"Why are you aiming for a lot of points? Is there a specific amount of points you are trying to get?" asked Arya, trying to change the subject.

"We have to get the highest amount of points possible, to be placed first on the ranking. I know my selfishness could get us killed, but there is someone I have to beat," said Yuuki as he had a faraway look in his eyes.

Abby heard what Yuuki and Arya were talking about and looked at her brother with pity.

"So what noble family are you from?" asked Abby as she approached Arya and Yuuki from behind.