Star Seekers… Alnea had chosen that name for his team only because the names that the girls were coming up with were too embarrassing to use. Even its philosophy, chasing after the ‘Stars’ that they were ‘Seeking’… It was something that he had made up on just a whim. But after more than a month of living as a Star Seeker, of leading other Star Seekers, and watching them chase after their Stars with all their might, he was finally beginning to understand what Star Seekers truly meant to him.
There was still much that he had to learn though. Things that he could not learn by just training on his own. Besides, he had not lied to Karl. It was indeed time for them to venture into the Black Desert. But before that, there were still a few things he needed to discuss with the rest of his teammates, which was why he had asked Zain to bring everyone over to his mansion. It was just that…
Why was the stinky mouth taking so long? Even considering that they could not act together all the time, and might be roaming the bloody streets of the city, four hours should have been enough for Zain to inform everyone of the meeting. So, did everyone decide to just ditch the meeting together, or did Zain just forget to remind them?
If he was being honest to himself, Alnea could indeed imagining Zain forgetting things that were not said in his praise. That was just how selective his hearing was. Or else, with his personality, the White Arcanist of the Lost City would have collapsed from peer pressure and isolation long before coming to the Lost City. Thankfully, Zain did not disappoint him too much. He was late by over an hour, but at least he brought everyone with him.
“You have not begun the meeting yet?” Zain said, sitting down next to Karl. “It looks like I made the right decision by coming a couple of hours late.”
…Alnea had to admit. There were things that even he could not predict. Like how he would one day want to beat up his own teammate. Or that instead of him calming down Cecilia, it would the latter calming him down. Zain Enhall… He truly was a talent. A unique talent, the kind of which Alnea had never seen, and wished to never see again. Such a dazzling talent… It was better for other Orthodoxies to have him. As long as they would leave him alone…
“…We are sorry for being late, leader,” Ralph said, sitting down next to Zain. “We would have come an hour earlier, but Aren was issued a Blood Challenge, so we got delayed for a while.”
“A Blood Challenge?” Alnea said, staring solemnly at the pink robed Wanderer. “What was the result?”
“…The Arena saved his life, but I made sure that he paid the price.”
“…What was the price?”
“…His right hand.”
“…Why did he issue a Blood Challenge against you?”
“How would I know?”
“…Did you not know him?”
“…I have never seen the man before in my life.”
“…Have you offended anyone lately?”
“…I beat up a few people in the Desert.”
“A few people?” Vestia said with a smirk. “Has the meaning of ‘a few’ changed these days?”
“…I beat up some people in the Desert.”
“…Forget about the numbers, is the term ‘beat’ enough to describe what you did? Do not tell me that they began calling you the Pink Demon for no reason.”
“…Is it not just beating some Wanderers senseless, and bringing them to the territories of Oren Beast, and threatening them with leaving them in front of the Oren Beasts, if they did not answer your questions? Why are you acting shy about something as silly as that? It is not as if the leader does not know about it.”
“…I really did not know about it.”
“Huh? Did I not tell you about it before?”
“…All you told me was how you earned the monicker of the White Arcanist.”
“Now that you mention it, I did not tell you about that time—
“Later, Zain,” Alnea said, before turning back to Aren. “Are you sure that you have never seen the man before?”
“…I am sure.”
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“…What about the rest of you? Did you recognise him?”
“…He seemed to be from the Bulen clan,” Ralph said. “That’s all I could see from his robe.”
“Bulen clan…” Alnea mumbled. “Has anyone else been challenged recently?”
“No… It was just Aren.”
“…So, are there people who do not wish to see you enter the inner city, Aren?”
“…I understand,” Aren said after a brief moment of silence.
“Huh? What did you understand?”
“…Karl has some information for you,” Alnea said, ignoring the befuddled Zain. “Be sure to talk to him later.”
“…Got it.”
“…And if you need any help, you can come to us any time. That is why we have gathered together as a team in the first place. To help each other.”
“…Thank you.”
“…If you want to thank someone, then thank Karl, not me,” Alnea said, before turning back to the rest of the Star Seekers. “Recently, we have made quite a name for ourselves. And yes, I know this is what I asked you to do. But remember, this is the Lost City. Here, if you wish to climb higher, you must step on others. And if others want to climb higher, they must step on us. After all, there are only so many people who can make it to the inner city.
“Aren’s Challenge is just a reminder to us. As we show strength that can compete with other teams who are aiming to enter the inner city, the number of people challenging us will only keep growing. And just because Aren easily overcame his Blood Challenge, this does not mean that Goddess Ilea will favour us next time too. Just a few hours ago, I was tired, and completely exhausted from my battle in the Arena, with not so much as even a drop of Spirit Power left in my body. If I had been challenged at that time…”
“…Even you were reduced to such a state?” Karl mumbled. “The Lost City is getting even more dangerous.”
“It is not the city, which is getting more dangerous, but us, who are beginning to grow strong enough to attract those dangers.”
“…Zain told us about your battle,” Norren said, shaking his head with a sigh. “It is a pity that we missed such a brilliant fight.”
“Indeed,” Ralph said. “It is not very often that we can see our Captain use his full strength.”
“…You will get the chance soon enough,” Alnea said. “Anyways, I was saying that you need to be careful in the coming days. Try not to go out alone. Especially you, Aren and Zain.”
“Huh? Why me?”
“…After me and Aren, you are the one who is most likely to get challenged.”
“…Are they so jealous of my talent that they will even dare to issue Blood Challenge against me?”
“…Let us come back to what I called you here for,” Alnea said, ignoring the delusional White Arcanist. “First of all, as your Captain, I failed in accomplishing the task that I set for myself. For that, I would like to apologise to everyone.”
“There are still a few days left…”
“Apologising a few days earlier or later would not make any difference,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “As I said to Karl before, although there are still a few days left for the month to be over, the five of you have already accomplished what I asked you to do. Vestia and Karl have also collected a lot of useful information. Only I did not accomplish what I said I would. In fact, I am so far away from accomplishing my goal, that I would not be able to complete it even if you gave me another month.”
“…It is not your fault, Captain,” Ralph said. “You have already done your best. Rather, you have done better than most people would have in your sandals. Even the Purplebird heir that you fought today took more than two months in getting where he is now. Matching his rank in just a little over a month is already very impressive.”
“Comparing myself with others does not make any sense. Besides, it is precisely because I did my best that my mistake is even more grave. As your Captain, I failed to estimate my own abilities… It is fine for now. I only missed to meet the goal I set for myself. But out in the Black Desert, where even a slight mistake could end up being fatal, if I were to misestimate our abilities…”
“Huh… I never thought of it that way,” Karl mumbled to himself. “So, it seems that my approach of always underestimating my abilities is more conducive for survival.”
“…Although you are right, do not forget that the best way of increasing your chances of survival is to increase your strength. And the fastest way of increasing your strength is to enter the inner city. The sooner you enter the inner city, the faster you will increase your chances of survival… Is that not why you joined us in the first place?”
“…Maybe,” Karl said a little hesitantly. For Karl, that was as good as admitting to what he was saying.
“Anyways, I apologise for overestimating myself. I understand if some of you are disappointed in me—
“Things are not so serious, Captain,” Ralph said. “You were new to the city back then, so it is understandable if you made a mistake or two.”
“…Just be careful next time,” Fran said, nodding to show his acquiescence with what Ralph was saying.
“Indeed,” Norren said, nodding along with the rest. “We are only humans, after all. We all make mistakes. And we learn from those mistakes. That is how we progress… More importantly, when are you going to fight me, Captain?”
“…I am grateful that everyone is still showing their trust in me. Rest assured; I will never make such a mistake again,” Alnea said, nodding solemnly, while a warm current washed over his Heart. “Coming back to what I was saying, since everyone has accomplished the goals that I set for you, it is now time for us to finally begin venturing into the Black Desert as a team. All ten of us.”
“Finally…”
“…About time…”
“…With ten people, we should be able to go even deeper into the desert…”
“…Before we discuss our plans about exploring the Black Desert though, there is just one little thing that we need to take care of first.”
“…What?”
“Your rewards,” Alnea said. “Since everyone has accomplished their tasks, it is only natural for me to keep my end of the promise and give out your rewards.”