Alan’s attention shifted to the carriage’s open gate as Ais approached. His gaze swept over her attire—a soft white off-shoulder corset top with delicate golden embroidery. The detached sleeves were tapered at the base but flared into elegant, voluminous ends.

  She wore a dark brown corset, reinforced as armor, seamlessly attached to her high-waisted pants of the same shade. Like her top, the high-waisted brown pants featured intricate golden embroidery, seamlessly flowing into her knee-high boots. The sturdy boots, with their low heels were both practical and elegant for her.

  "Wouldn't it be funny if goblins destroyed the village before we even reach the village?" she said with a chuckle as she jumped into the carriage.

  Honestly speaking, yeah, it might be, Alan thought. “Don't be an insensitive, idiotic creature who jokes about anything without thinking twice,” Alan said with a fake disappointed look.

  "Yeah, Mom, whatever you say," Ais replied with a sarcastic tone.

  The carriage began to move. Weeble siblings were sitting on one side of the carriage with an open window, while Alan and Ais sat on the other.

  Alan rested his head against the wall of the carriage, trying to get into a comfortable position. His eyes were fixed on the small bulb that glowed dimly, as if it would go out any second. His mind wandered back to the words Alisa had spoken.

  A hunch… just a hunch.

  But why would all the goblins from the Forest of Deadalus migrate with the intention to fight the city of Alcia? He questioned himself, clenching his fist absentmindedly. It doesn't make sense, Alan added, his inner thoughts disappearing as Ais's voice reached his ears.

  "Are you okay?" she questioned.

  "I am… I think, at least," Alan replied. He noticed how Rose, who had it out for him from the start, looked at him with something akin to a concerned expression.

  "About the battle formation," Ais spoke up, catching Alan and the Weeble siblings' attention.

  "I'm thinking that we should fight the goblins on three fronts, with each front led by a heavy hitter, followed by people who might complement them. But I'm not sure if it would be the right choice or not," she spoke with a serious tone.

  "Don't start to self-doubt your plans. Alisa gave you the chance to lead because she's confident in your ability," Alan scolded Ais, giving her a disapproving look.

  "Even though I don't like to admit it… you are the strongest one here, aren't you, Miss Ais?" Rose spoke up, her voice carrying a hint of respect, something she had never shown Alan. Adrian didn't add anything himself but simply nodded at Rose's comment.

  "The strongest, huh? Looks like you've got good eyes, Rose," Ais spoke, her serious expression vanishing as a small, playful smirk appeared on her face. She looked at Alan. "Aren't they right, Mr. Solo Knight?" she added in a teasing tone, clearly trying to mess with him.

  "Just start talking. What's the formation you want to go with? Where would the healers be stationed? And everything else," Alan said, narrowing his eyes.

  Ais nodded and looked in the Weeble siblings' direction."The first team, which would take over the right front, will be led by Sir Blake. I'm thinking about leaving all the A-rank adventurers from the White Tiger Guild in his team." She tapped her hand on her chest. "I'll be leading all the B-ranking adventurers and attacking the goblins' formation from the middle."

  "And about the left front… Adrian and Rose, you'll be under Alan's leadership," she added. "I'm thinking about stationing two B-ranking healers slightly behind the battlefield while letting Miss Bella join the battle with middle front, since she's also capable of casting offensive spells."

  "Won't that make the teams unevenly strong?" Adrian questioned, with a doubtful look on his face.

  Nodding at Adrian's response, Rose continued, "Miss Alisa told us there are ten A-ranking adventurers in the White Tiger Guild. Shouldn't our team have at least six or seven A-ranking adventurers instead?" she asked, with raised eyebrows.

  Ais simply waved her right hand. "Ah, don't you both worry about it. You three will be able to manage easily," she added with a confident look on her face.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  So, she ended up teaming me up with these two after all… Though, I can't exactly say the teams are wrong. Any of the White Tiger Guild members would have better synergy with Blake or Ais than with me, Alan thought to himself. He then looked in Rose and Adrian's direction, his gaze landing on the black scabbard kept on Rose's side, noticing the sword's white hilt."Since we're a team and all… why don't you both tell me a thing or two about yourself? Just a superficial description would be fine," Alan added.

  "I'm Adrian Weeble from—" Adrian started but stopped midway as he got lightly hit on the head by Rose.

  "He's asking about our abilities, G-E-N-I-U-S," Rose spoke, as she mocked him.

  "Domestic abuse, huh? That's certainly not something I like," Alan spoke to Ais, as he pointed at Rose.

  "Agreed," Ais chimed in unable to contain her laughter.

  Rose started playing with her hair, looking away, clearly flustered by the comment she got from Alan and Ais.

  That's the first time she showed that expression. Every other expression I got from her previously was…, Alan imagined the pissed-off look he had gotten from Rose before. Rather fierce, I must say.

  Adrian cleared his throat, grabbing Alan's attention back to him. "I'm primarily a mage—or a spellcaster. My fighting skills are weaker in comparison to my sister. Though I'm well-versed with light affinity spells," he added with a calm and polite tone.

  "Light affinity, huh?" Alan repeated with a huge smile. "What's your life goal?"

  "Weren't we talking about important stuff?" Rose added, looking at Alan with narrowed eyes.

  "Ah, yeah, I actually got carried away," Alan admitted. Ahh.. that sure was embarrassing, he mentally said. He then pointed at Roses' sword. "I can see you're carrying a sword. What are your strong points? Are you simply physically gifted, or do you possess magical abilities as well?" Alan questioned.

  "I can infuse fire affinity with my sword, if that's what you're asking," she spoke as she touched the sword kept beside her. "I'm not as good as Adrian in spellcasting…" she said, her face clearly showing a slightly sad look. "But I can still cast most of the intermediate spells of fire affinity," she added with a small grin.

  "Should I introduce myself next?" Ais questioned.

  Yeah, you should. You won't get preferential treatment just because you're an S-ranker, Alan mentally scolded Ais.

  "I can't think of anyone who lives in Alcia and doesn't know about you, Miss Ais," Adrian spoke with a sincere look.

  Rose nodded at this. "Your ability to use magic as well as a sword to its full potential is surely amazing," she added, her eyes sparkling with admiration as she spoke those words.

  Guess she will get preferential treatment, huh? Sweet. It's my turn then, Alan thought bitterly. "Guess it's my turn then," Alan said. As he spoke, Adrian and Rose turned to him with eager expressions.

  "I have dark and fire affinity, though I would say I'm more comfortable with fire affinity."

  "About my fighting style," Alan continued, "I am a swordsman for the most part, though I tend to use spells a lot during fights. My sword also has the ability to absorb mana whenever it pierces the enemy."

  "Wait! It can't be!" Adrian spoke up, his eyes widening in surprise. "Is that one of the Twelve Legendary Blades?" he exclaimed in shock.

  "It sure is—though I can't be completely sure," Alan admitted with a shrug. "I found it during a dungeon exploration and tested it against someone who owns a Legendary Blade. If it were a fake, it should have broken during the fight." As he spoke, his gaze flickered toward Ais.

  "You weren't alone when you found it, though," Ais interjected, her expression sour. "That sword was meant to be my second. You stole it from me." She said as she casted a sideways glance at him before crossing her arms. "Thief," she added with a scowl.

  "I did no such thing! Remember the coin flick we did?" Alan shouted. Their conversation, however, was interrupted by Rose.

  "It can replenish mana?" Rose questioned.

  "It can. It's really helpful in prolonged fights. Though I wouldn't exactly like to explain… the mechanism," Alan said, watching as Rose's face shifted from enthusiasm to boredom in an instant. "Ahh… fine, whatever," Alan spoke. Rose and Adrian were now completely focused on Alan, while Ais had an amused smile on her face, enjoying the interaction unfold.

  "Ferrust, or the sword I wield, is one of the Twelve Legendary Swords made by the master craftsman, Sage Bewildre. This sword was lost in the dungeon of Alcia during the 47th-floor expedition a decade ago." Alan added.

  Leaning slightly forward, Alan unsheathed the black blade, gripping it firmly in his hand, his eyes fixed on it. It was a longsword with a black metallic hilt and a matching black blade. Placing his hand on the blade, Alan turned his gaze toward Rose and Adrian. "This sword has three enchantments. The first one is corrosion—any damage dealt by this sword can't be healed by healing magic."

  "So if you cut someone's limb off with your sword… it's gone? Forever?" Rose questioned, her voice trembling, excitement radiating from her face.

  Alan smiled at her response. "Exactly. It renders healers useless. Isn't it awesome?" he added.

  Roses' gaze was locked on the sword as if she were trying to let the words sink in. She parted her lips, trying to say a lot, though the only words she managed to mutter were quite simple. "That's amazing."

  Alan looked at Rose. "Do you want to know how the other abilities work too?" he questioned. It's not like me to waste time talking with just anyone, but it's not like I have something better to do… and her reactions are rather nice, Alan thought to himself, wanting to talk more about his sword.