Ronald's words left everyone staring with eyes wide open.

What an outrageous threat!

They had seen adventurers threaten people before, and nobles too, but never something so novel.

It was nothing short of artistry with words!

Anderson could appreciate the immense hidden thrill in those words after just a slight taste.

He never expected the new cannon fodder to have such skills. Anderson turned to look at Ronald, already calculating if Ronald had potential as a lackey.

The rest reacted differently.

Old dwarf warrior Hammerfist immediately pulled out a crumpled scroll from his clothes, clearly taking down Ronald's words as golden quotes.

Archer Belinda's face turned red as she spat on the ground, the blonde girl very much looking down on Ronald's methods.

Cavalrywoman Mia stared at Ronald like he was a criminal, her love-addled brain only having eyes for the radiant Anderson. Any other man was just a lowly pig in her view.

Priestess Carlotta looked worried, afraid that Ronald had provoked the elf.

Captain Lagren secretly gave Ronald a thumbs up.

Ronald quietly waited for Hathaway's reply.

The silver-haired elf had a big reaction, quickly putting away her guilty look and eyeing Ronald warily instead. "What are you trying to do?"

Ronald paid no mind to the strange looks from those around him. He went straight to the heart of his doubts.

"What spell did you cast earlier? The one where you took something out of a circle of light."

There were sounds of disapproval from the onlookers.

Great expectations led to greater disappointments indeed.

Ronald's opening threat was so thrilling that many members, Hathaway included, thought Ronald was going to take advantage of gratitude to do something bad!

But after all that it turned out the barbarian was just curious about magic!

This let down many people, especially Anderson. He thought to himself that if he had this chance instead, how great would that be.

An elf's promise was a rare treasure. Just taking a little something from their hands could benefit Anderson for a long time.

Such a precious opportunity, yet it was given to this lowly thief who knew nothing. What a waste of a perfect chance!

Anderson was not a subtle man. His frustration showed plainly on his face.

"You're just a thief. Why do you care about magic? The mysteries of the elements are not something a muscle-headed fighter like you can grasp. I advise you not to bite off more than you can chew."

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When scolding others, Anderson really held nothing back, firing right off with an AoE attack! He didn't care if his words offended his teammate fighters, or rather he knew but didn't care.

The dwarf warrior rolled his eyes and muttered a dwarven curse at Anderson's mother, before turning his back on the scene.

The other fighters had dark looks hearing those words, but didn't speak up either, because everyone knew Anderson could say that with impunity due to his irreplaceable position.

Advanced apprentice mages were still quite in demand compared to other physical jobs, so Anderson had no worries about joining a party.

Without the Blazing Rose party Anderson had many other options, but without Anderson it would be extremely difficult for Blazing Rose to find another mage of equal caliber.

Clearly recognizing this point, Anderson behaved with utter disregard.

"He can do what he wants, you just worry about yourself." Captain Lagren shot back without an ounce of politeness.

Cavalrywoman Mia looked pleadingly at Lagren, hoping the captain would not quarrel with the party's only mage, as that would rapidly deteriorate group cohesion.

And of course, personally she also didn't want to see Anderson kicked from the party, or else what excuse could she have to keep following Anderson...

Anderson was about to retort, but Hathaway's unexpected reaction next left everyone shocked.

Far from coldly refusing as they imagined, Hathaway beckoned to Ronald, and used a sound transmission spell to attach a message.

Ronald jumped in fright hearing the sudden voice in his mind, then looked at Hathaway in surprise after realizing what happened. He didn't expect the elf to see through his disguise, especially when even Agatha didn't notice...

Hathaway pointed outside the camp. Ronald mulled it over then followed along.

He was very curious about the elf's abilities. If so-called elven magic was really that powerful, what would it look like?

The two left the camp one after another.

This scene greatly astonished all the humans present.

Anderson in particular could not restrain the jealousy in his heart. He stood up and directly said, "Miss Hathaway, this thief only just joined us yesterday, we know nothing of what he's done before. For your safety, I hope you'll allow me to accompany you."

"As if we know what you've done before either," the hot-tempered dwarf immediately retorted.

Anderson didn't even glance at the old dwarf warrior, intent on playing the gallant protector.

But before he even finished standing up straight, Hathaway's cold voice drifted over.

"No need, I trust my judgement."

"Miss Hathaway, you can't jest with your own safety. If you're worried about the conversation leaking, I can cast a sound insulation barrier..." Anderson was determined not to let them converse alone.

"Yes Miss Hathaway, we don't mean to meddle, just thinking of your safety. Ronald has been with us for too short a time, we know nothing about him at all..." Devotee Mia chimed in as well.

The named Ronald silently watched the back and forth between the two, feeling not a single ripple in his heart. He even felt a little like laughing.

His decision not to integrate with the party was so wise indeed. A party full of so many "minding everyone else's business" types simply wasn't worth his time investing in.

Elves were very stubborn creatures. Once they decided on something, it was difficult for others to persuade them with words. And Hathaway was also quite tired of Anderson's overtures.

"I won't repeat myself again." Hathaway said coldly and strode off in big steps.

Anderson started to call out to Hathaway, but seeing her unhesitating steps, could only reluctantly lower his hand in the end.

After walking for a while in the dense forest, Hathaway brought Ronald to a waterfall's edge.

Under Ronald's wary gaze, Hathaway cast a sound insulation barrier.

Once the transparent bubble enclosed them both, Hathaway circled Ronald twice, asking in a curious tone, "You're clearly a mage, so why are you pretending to be a thief?"

Although prepared, Ronald still felt a jolt hearing the other directly say it out.

The spells he reworked all had "concealment" abilities, even fellow thief Agatha didn't notice, yet the elf could decisively declare so. Were elven magics really that powerful?

"How did you find out?" Ronald asked back instead of confirming or denying.

"Oh come on, no one told you your thief techniques are an utter mess?" Hathaway couldn't help sighing out in exasperation tinged with laughter.

Ronald never expected to be exposed here. He couldn't help asking, "Is it really that obvious?"

"Very obvious. You should be glad only I and that half-baked thief saw this. Otherwise get ready to be kicked out of any party. No party would welcome someone who hides things from their teammates like you." Hathaway even rolled her eyes at Ronald.

"I see." Ronald made a helpless gesture of concession.