Chapter 364 (1/2)

Thea’s hearing slowly faded out after Alana made her announcement, and began to split up the remaining people into groups for war games, giant team battles to simulate some of the actual challenges that the Squads of Donnyton would face.

Bear girl… that couldn’t be anyone but her, right…?

Tykes, who was apparently the man she had been facing, grunted and gave Thea a dirty look before walking away, the huge metal ball slung above his shoulder like it was nothing. He didn’t seem phased at all by the fact he had been smashed in the face with Thea’s hammer. It made her wonder who the hell was strong enough to leave him so bruised and battered.

Now that the heat of Chrysanthemum was out of her System, Thea felt a certain amount of confusion over the man’s actions. Based on the high level of his Stats, he must have some Skills, or special moves that he could use, aside from simply throwing the iron ball around. Yet he hadn’t used them.

Perhaps he was afraid of injuring her…?

Either way, it was a win for her, and it filled Thea with a small seed of happiness. Things like this weren’t easy, so it was best to savor them while she could.

It turned out Alice was the woman from Squad IX that had beaten her so brutally previously, and she came over and gave Thea several quiet tips about her form. Watch how far forward the step she made when she attacked was. Develop a natural way to flow into another attack if the first misses. Don’t let the opponent always control the distance between them.

Finally, after the war game was in full swing, Alana returned, looking at Thea with undisguised interest. The woman was of average height, and was beautiful, in a way that a desert was beautiful. Harsh and unrelenting, and truly itself. There was also that constant light, that made it quite difficult to look directly at her.

“I was afraid you would break, quite honestly.” Alana finally said, giving Thea a sharp smile. “You faced 20 of our best fighters today, aside from Tykes, that petulant child… I wanted to know your level of strength, without your mount. But I also wanted to see how strong your spirit is. Color me impressed. With you there, I doubt Star Crossing will have any need to worry about monsters.”

Blushing, Thea nodded and looked at the ground; Alana laughed.

“Well anyways, time for me to work off some steam from last night… you four against me. Take some time to talk about strategy if you must, but be ready for me to grind you into the ground. Also… I want you to be thinking about something while you are fighting: what is the most powerful Skill?”

****

Randidly didn’t even blink when one of Simon’s strange bird constructs settled on his shoulder, as he walked towards the edge of the Village. He had figured that Simon would use his power to visit them, and it was slightly reassuring to know he was here.

Not that Simon could really assist in any battles that would happen, or that he would be extremely effective in such battles, but the reassurance that everything was fine between them felt good. Although they had spent only a few months together, a lot of that time was when Randidly was at his weakest point, and needed someone to rely on. He wouldn’t forget that kindness.

Randidly walked up the hill towards the overlook of the town, feeling the sun on his back. It was a good feeling to be here, and be back. Especially after spending several hours pouring over those reports from Mrs. Hamilton…

A mental inquiry to Neveah indicated that she was off playing with some of the Squads of Donnyton, happily chasing down and devouring a Raid Boss. Shaking his head, Randidly sent the information he had gained from Mrs. Hamilton in their talk, regarding the Bone Wurm population. Once they were settled, they could begin to produce the Marrow Silk for Donnyton, which would put textiles back on the map as an industry. Plus, the materials should be invaluable for armor, it was just that Randidly really hadn’t paid much attention to what it could do…

After he reached the outlook, he took in a deep breath, and then paused. There was someone else on the outlook. Randidly turned and looked at the other figure, who was masked. And yet, just from the warm feeling he had at looking towards her figure, he instantly knew who it was.