“…Fine, you win,” Alnea said after a few moments of silene. “Since everyone agrees on working together as a team, then there is no reason for me to refuse. But you must remember, this is not just practice. We are out in a Forbidden Area, surrounded by Oren Beasts, and quite possibly by our other enemies, from all sides. You cannot take this lightly. No matter what the orders I give, you must try to fulfil them to the best of your abilities.”
“Of course,” Vestia said, winking at him, while flashing her dimples. “Even if we were not in the desert, I would still have listened to all your orders.”
…Ignoring Vestia’s antics, Alnea turned towards the rest of the Star Seekers, and said, “Do not worry, I will not just blindly impose my will upon you. That is not how a team works. Or at least, I do not wish to lead our team in such a dictatorial fashion. So, here is what we are going to do. From now on, if anyone has any dissatisfaction with my arrangements, you can raise it in front of everyone. But only after I have said everything that I want to say.
“If, even after hearing all my arrangements, most of you think that your objections are reasonable, then we will change my arrangements accordingly. If not, then everyone will follow my arrangements, while I try to come up with a solution for your problems. Regardless, you must not put the team in danger because of your selfishness. That is the only necessary condition that everyone must agree to before we proceed any further with this. So? What is it? Do you agree with my conditions?”
“…You are too soft,” Vestia said, shaking her head with sigh, before resuming the grin on her face. “But this is why you are worth it.”
“…Sounds fair enough to me,” Norren added.
“…I think that following you, my chances of survival can be higher.”
“…I can agree to the condition, but you must show me the path to strength that you have been talking about.”
“…You will see it soon,” Alnea said, nodding at Fran.
“…I never said that I would not accept your arrangements. Just that being ordered around feels a little awkward.”
“…You will get used to it soon enough.”
“…What are you looking at me like that for?” Zain said, glancing around with wide eyes. “Alnea… Our Captain is the only one whose talent is comparable to mine. I am also very confident in his decisions. From the very beginning, I have never opposed him. You were the ones who kept chattering uselessly.”
“…He does not seem to be wrong.”
“…Since everyone has agreed to it, then let’s get to it,” Alnea said, glancing at Enn in the sky, before turning towards the red dot in the distance. “We are just an hour away from the city. If we do not move soon, we might get caught up by other Wanderers.”
Alnea paused, and turned back towards the Star Seekers, before continuing.
“Like I said before, Cecilia and Vestia, the two of you will acting as our Warriors, spear heading our formation, forming our first line of defence in case of any sudden attacks, while alternating as scouts every half an hour. Yuri, Zain, and I will act as your back up, providing you with support whenever necessary.
“Ralph and Aren, the two of you will be working together to trap our enemies when we meet them in large numbers. If things get beyond our control though, the two of you will aid the five us to contain our enemies, while we retreat to safety. Norren and Fran, you two can just find the right time and opportunity to launch your attacks. Just be sure not to hit any of us. As for Karl… You can stay at the back, and support us as you see fit.”
“…That’s it?”
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“…I know too little about your abilities to give you any tasks,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “Even if I do not know everyone’s details, I still know their general situation, and preferences… Only you, I know nothing about. Even in the Arena, you rarely show any of your strength. I still wonder how you made it all the way to the top twenty thousand ranks. In any case, I cannot give you any responsibility, unless I know that you are strong enough to complete it.”
“…I can tell you now.”
“…Too late,” Alnea said. “I have already given everyone responsibilities that complements the responsibilities of the rest of our teammates. Shuffling their responsibilities to include you in the mix would take too much time. And the only thing we are lacking right now is time. Who knows, there might be Wanderers chasing after our steps right now.”
“…Then what should I do?”
“…Be our backup,” Alnea said after a few moments of silence. “Stay at the back, and ensure that we are not ambushed, while responding to emergencies.”
“…Backup… is it?”
“…Be warned, the job will not be easy. You will have to guard against both, Wanderers, and Oren Beasts. At the same time, you will also have to rescue those who are in the most dangerous situations. You might even attract that danger to yourself. Not to mention that if there really are Wanderers trying to ambush us, you will become their first target.”
“…But you will not let me get hurt.”
“…Are finally willing to trust me?”
“…I have always trusted you. It is just that… I will be the backup.”
“…Good,” Alnea said, nodding at Karl with a smile, before turning towards the rest of his team. “Does anyone else have any problems with my arrangements?”
Everyone shook their heads.
“No? Very well then. Let’s get going,” Alnea said, before turning towards Cecilia and Vestia. “Lia, Vestia, maintain the same pace with which we were going at earlier.”
“Got it,” the girls said, and pressed their feet into the ground to begin running once again, only to be stopped by Alnea the very next moment.
“Let me complete what I am saying first,” Alnea said, smiling wryly at the girls.
“…Stop nagging, and say it already. My hands are still itchy.”
“…Do not stay more than five metres apart from each other. Make sure to scan at least one metre under the sand for any signs of Oren Beasts, or traps. And try not to consume too much of your Spirit Power. At the very least, you must reserve half of your Spirit Power. If your Spirit Power begins to fall below that limit, then immediately exchange your position with me and Yuri.”
“Alright, alright,” Cecilia said, waving her hand impatiently. “Anything else?”
“…Not to you,” Alnea said, before turning towards the rest. “Yuri and I will be following ten metres behind Cecilia and Vestia. Norren and Zain, you two will be five metres behind us. Ralph, Aren and Fran, the three of you will follow ten metres behind Norren and Zain. And Karl, you can decide what distance you want to keep with the rest of us. Just do not let the gap stretch more than twenty metres. Or I might not be able to help you in time.”
“…Got it.”
Nodding in satisfaction, Alnea turned back to Cecilia, and said, “Now, we can go.”
“Finally,” Cecilia said with a grin, before blasting her Aspects against the ground, pushing herself off into the distance. On the other end, not willing to be left behind by a girl three years her junior, and two entire Stages below her, Vestia too rushed off after her in a similar fashion, catching up with her in just a moment. As for the three metre high waves of sand that they left behind in their wake… What did that have to do with them?
“…Let’s go,” Alnea said, rushing after the girls, leaving behind just a faint flash of golden white light around his feet. As for the sands, there was not even so much a tremor in his wake. After all, when running at their speed, there was no need to waste their Aspects just to create a better spectacle. Using just enough Aspects to keep their footing stable was enough.
And he was not alone in his opinion. Whether it was Yuri, or those who came after him, all of them tried to leave behind as little trace of their presence as possible, not only to conserve their strength, but also to not give their enemies any clues to track them with. All, except Zain.
Trying to be the most conspicuous, as always, he tried to copy Cecilia and Vestia in his steps. Unlike the girls though, who blasted their Aspects just to launch themselves off to a run, and then controlled their Aspects just like the rest, Zain kept blasting his Aspects with each of his steps.
“Control your Aspects, Zain!” Alnea shouted at white robed man. “Are you trying to lure all the Oren Beasts to us?”
“I…”
“Conserve your strength for your Arcanas. We will be encountering our enemies very soon.”