A few days have passed with no interesting events occurring. Everyone went on with their routines, training daily and going to whatever location the system directed them to.

For the sword users, it was easy, since Charlotte was versed in the sword to a certain extent. Her life, mysterious as it was, raised suspicions that made Sebas and Alex cook up the worst possible scenarios, ranging from murder to her being part of a secret military project.

"Wake up, you idiots!"

Charlotte’s voice ravaged the two conspirators, who were awoken right on time to feel the weight of her blade. She struck against both of them, sparing them no mercy. Despite restraining herself to even the battle, Sebas and Alex could barely fight back. She had skills, in the truest sense of the word.

"Never let your mind wander during battle."

Both of them gathered their remaining strength to answer, nodding in silence as their bodies lay on the floor. Neither of them could move a muscle, choosing to act like a stone would.

"Come on now, don’t tell me you’re tired."

Her sword rested on her back, as she held it with one hand, enough to keep it in place. Training had been going smoothly, and leveling became even better. More and more portals have begun to appear, marking what could possibly be a forced introduction to a new era.

"Well, you can rest for the time being, but be prepared for another call."

"Yes, yes, we know, take a break for now."

Alex had grown tired of all the nagging, almost wishing to go alone in the mountains and train there, where no one could annoy him.

"How’s training going?" asked Xandra. Her appearance was enough to twirl Alex’ thoughts into disappearing, reminding him how well off he was there.

"It’s all good, we’re done."

He tried to muster what remaining joy he had within him and gave a thumbs-up to approve of his condition. Sebas watched Alex, thinking about his own loneliness.

Damn, these guys sure do get along. I wonder when my time will come.

All of a sudden, he got up, marching for the main room.

"Where are you going, Sebas?"

He turned to Charlotte, looking at her lifelessly.

"You know, I think it would be better if we split up the team for a while. Now that the number of portals is increasing, we need to cover more ground. With this simple change, I believe we will solve two problems: more experience and more portals closed."

All eyes were on him, Alex finally getting up, cracking his knuckles while thinking.

"Well, you’re not wrong, but I don’t believe it to be the best call. Our team is pretty much out of balance; doing this will only—"

"This is why we have to force ourselves to grow. I won't try to explain it any further; instead, I'll simply wait for the opportunity and leave. Sys said she could contact us separately now, meaning that we don’t need to always stay together."

He finished his sentence, then went away. Alex and Darius tried to stop him, but to no avail.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Just what the hell happened to him?"

Alex felt that something was wrong, yet he couldn’t say exactly what. He knew Sebas, this was unlike him.

"I don’t know, man. I just heard him say he wanted to leave. I put down my axe and came over."

"No matter, what he says isn’t completely wrong. We should split up into teams that can take care of multiple gates. Sebas is going alone, leaving the four of us."

Charlotte was quick to take charge of things, always aiming for the best result in the shortest amount of time possible. She knew her things, which troubled Alex.

Just who is she, really?

"So, I guess we choose our teams then. I’m going with Alex."

Xandra’s decision was based on some logic. Their styles of fighting complemented each other, with Alex using her magic to augment his sword, yet something else seemed to be part of the reason as well, something that is deeply hidden.

"That leaves me and Darius. I think I could work with that. The difference in level might be a hindrance, but we’ll have to work around that."

"So that means that we’ll work alone? Shit, I better get myself in fighting shape."

Darius was pumped, since it’s not every day that one gets to fight with a beauty like her. It was written all over his face, prompting Charlotte to issue a warning.

"Watch where you’re looking during battle; this is serious. Don’t get any wrong ideas."

Alex laughed at him in the same old manner they would always do when one guy screwed up. First came the laughter, then the solution to the problem.

"Don’t worry, he’s harmless; even looking at women is a problem sometimes."

"Don’t go exposing me, you moron!"

Darius tried to hit him, which quickly turned into a game of catch, with Alex running all around the place.

"Well, I wonder just why did he choose that…"

Sebas was already gone, only he knew where. The rest of the team prepared some strategies to increase their efficiency since they would be acting as separate groups.

"Xandra and Alex, make sure to have each other’s back and never get far away from each other. You’re better off spending more time on the battle than trying to rush things."

"Ok, ok, since this is our weakness, that means that we have to work on this exact aspect, right?"

"Bingo!"

Alex did get how he should fight, but it troubled him. Usually, he is calm, doing the bare minimum, but when in battle, he gets the urge to rush off into the midst of the enemy group and start killing left and right, overwhelming the enemy with power alone.

I better calm that part of me down.

He looked at his sword, the mixture of colors reminding him of the very thing he thought of.

Sly bastard, did you really do it on purpose?

"What about you and Darius? Do you think you can handle the situation?"

Xandra aimed at the weak point of their team, since the aim of this discussion was this very thing: point out weak points, and keep them in mind, improving them down the line.

"I guess I will be able to do this, as long as we don’t fight enemies that far surpass Darius. I can cover for him even if the gap in levels is large, but he should also watch out for himself."

She looked at him, all stuck in thought, looking at his axe.

"Hey, brother, don’t worry, you got it."

Darius listened to his words, yet something didn’t sit right with him. He couldn’t wrap his head around what he should do aside from getting stronger. The steps towards reaching that goal were like strangers to him, covered by a mantle of fog.

"I’ll try to get it to work, thanks."

A system tab appeared before them, warning about two incoming attacks.

"Damn, already time?"

Alex rose up, grabbing his sword.

"Yeah, it’s time; I just wonder where Sebas will go."

Sys spoke, scaring them.

"Sebas has his own place to go to; I told him specifically."

"Ok team, time to head out!"