Chapter 16: Meetings

Eight figures moved out of the fenced gate, leading in front was a guard fully clad in black with a piece of baggage over his shoulder, followed by seven kids all equipped with weapons and armors. Silence dawned the group all the way till they reached the forest.

They did not immediately enter the moment they spotted the forest. Instead, they took a curve around it before the guard abruptly stopped.

“This will be your entry point. Your objective is to reach the point marked on the map.” the guard took out seven maps and seven transparent cloaks from the baggage and gave each member a pair. And without any other comment, he turned away and headed towards the city.

Franswift scanned the three new members who newly joined, a pair of brother and sister clearly from their matching similarities, same brown hair, black eyes, and wearing the same armor. The only differences were the male was a tad taller, had short hair, and carried a great shield while the female had her tied with a ribbon and wielded a sword. The third member wore a green cloak but did not put his hood on. He had an average height, slim figure, green eyes, and dark black hair. He held a bow, and an arrow quiver was strapped to his back.

He faced the new three members and said, “Although I would prefer to talk first in detail, we do not know if there is a time limit on this test. So I recommend we have a brief introduction to facilitate our formation.”

He took a deep breath and said, “My name is Franswift, I can mostly use all kinds of weapons; therefore, I could fill the hole on any vacant position.”

“Hey, who made you the leader? I did not agree with that. Shouldn’t we discuss that first? I would like to vote.”

“I agree on making him the leader,” Bylun intervened. He glanced at Crnobog beside him and pointed with head to support Franswift.

Crnobog, who had never said a thing since they met, finally talked. He said in a monotone voice, “I. Concur.”

“What? Both of you...” Erica turned her head to the new members. “What about you?”

The silence was broken by the boy from the pair of brother and sister. He stood firmly and said in a clear voice, “I abstain.”

“I also don’t want to vote.” His sister followed with a faint voice.

The cloaked boy stared intensely at Crnobog then looked at Franswift. He said, “I agree on Franswift.”

Franswift stared at Bylun suspiciously. He exaggerated the importance of a simple remark and raised him into the leader. He also seemed to be overly familiar with Crnobog, to have him support him on notice.

“Ughh. Fine, have it your way then, but don’t regret it later.” And contrary to their expectations, Erica did not quarrel more despite being dissatisfied. She also did not seem to hold it over Franswift as she only starred at Bylun grudgingly.

Bylun ignoring the stare coming from the side, took a step forward and said, “I am Bylun Igor. I specialize in close quarters combat and defending.”

Bylun again gave Crnobog a look that suggested he talked.

The monotone voice sounded, “Crnobog Charna. Scout. Assassin.”

“Crnobog, I would love it if you stopped if you stopped talking this.”

Crnobog stayed silent without replying to Erica.

Franswift sighed and said, “I think we should finish this quickly without interrupting each other, don’t you think so, Erica. I even only knew your name from Bylun, for that matter.”

Erica narrowed her eyes at Franswift and said, “Fine. My name is Erica Rucci, you can call me Rica for short. I am proficient in using a shield, and I am a sword expert.”

Most of the people around looked at Erica in surprise, which she seemed to be delighted with.

Franswift had heard about that term from Wilhelm because he was apparently training to become a weapon expert. To be an expert in a weapon, an individual needed to able to achieve a specific state with said weapon. He knew to become a weapon expert, he needed to become the weapon, while for a sword expert, it was becoming one with the sword.

“Umm, what is a sword expert?” the girl from the brother and sister pair asked.

Erica seemed elated that someone asked and said, “A sword expert is someone who has the sword become a part of his body. Every sword expert must achieve a state called ‘one with the sword’, but each has different results. Mine is I move the sword as if it was an extension from my arm. I heard there were flying swords and third arms. I really wanted those.” She gazed at the sword the girl was holding and asked, “What about you?”

The girl fidgeted in her place before answering, “I am not a sword expert, but I am proficient in my family sword style called [Calm Fire]. Oh right, my name is Rina Still, and this is my brother, his...”

The boy interrupted and said, “I will introduce myself, Rina. You don’t have to do it.” He turned to the group of people in front of him. “The name is Arthur Still. I am a shield defender.”

The group turned silent and waited for the last person to talk.

The cloaked figure said in a velvety voice, “Arlin Rebuke, a hunter.”

A few memories crossed Franswift when he heard Arlin’s specialty. He used to be a “hunter” when he was in the slums, albeit not a true one in a sense. The people in the slum had heard about the hunters from the other parts of the city and decided to use the name for themselves, even though they did not have what it required to entail that. A true hunter had three skill sets, Archery, tracking, and trap setting.

Discarding his thoughts. Franswift said in a slightly loud voice so the other people could hear him, “Since we have finished the introductions, we can assign ourselves to a proper formation. Crnobog will be our scout, Arthur and Erica will hold the front, at the back, Arlin will be our archer protected by Bylun and Rina, who will also protect our rear. I will stay in the middle and support whoever needs help. If anyone has suggestions, say them now.”