—-


    As Kieran and Luna conversed, Nemean looked at them out of curiosity. Because she remained quiet throughout most of their journey thus far, Nemean was staggered by Luna’s radiant smile. But, more than that, he was also shocked to see that Kieran somehow caused this smile.


    ‘Could we have a smooth talker in our midst? She could have fooled me; I would have thought this girl was nothing more than an Ice Queen who somewhat despised people. Nevertheless, it’s good to see that she’s capable of human reaction,’ Nemean thought.


    However, almost as if they sensed eyes on them, both Kieran and Luna turned in perfect coordination. As a result of this reaction, Nemean could only silently blink while wondering if this was a rehearsed movement. How could their timing be so perfect otherwise?


    “Is something wrong, Nemean?” Kieran asked once he noticed that Nemean seemed unusually startled. It hadn’t crossed his mind that Nemean’s thought process immediately ventured to more inappropriate ces. This was the difference between Kieran and Nemean’s characters. One was more geared to strict business, while the other was more of a speak-without-thinking type of person.


    Thus, Nemean chuckled softly and nodded. But, just as he was about toment, Luna spoke first.


    “Is it your level as well? I see that just like Aatrox, you haven’t reached Lv.25 while we all have.”


    Thisment made Nemean look twice at the party level. Truth be told, he hadn’t realized this fact until Luna brought it up. But, because this segue allowed him to avoid saying something stupid, Nemean took advantage of it for the time being.


    “Kinda, but it’s no sweat! I’m literally a sliver away from leveling up. Another monster, and I’ll most likely hit that point,” Nemean shrugged. After a slight pause, he continued, “What about you two? You two are bing chummy—does this mean it’s safe to say Luna is a permanent addition to the team?”


    “I think you’ve jumped to conclusions here. We are by no means friendly, as you say. And permanent addition? I doubt she’lle to our side. Besides, who’s to say that you’re permanent?” Kieran answered with a slight smirk.


    Off to the side, Luna nced from Kieran to Nemean. She had zero intentions ofmitting to a team outside of her own, but the fact Kieran said this to Nemean came as a surprise. Who wouldn’t dly ept someone as talented as Nemean as a tank? Although his defensive skills were awkward due to the unusual nature of his ss, provided that his Strength was high enough, he wouldn’t be inferior to pure-defense tanks like Bastion._-.


    “A-ah…” Nemean was too stunned to speak as this was a first for him. Simr to Altair and Bastion, he had once been recruited by gaming organizations. The only difference between his offers and the ones those two received was that Nemean’s offer came from a first-ss organization. To receive an offer from such a well-connected and prestigious organization meant the individual had the prospects to be a rising star.


    Otherwise, an organization of such a caliber would adhere to strict tryouts only to sift through the collection of talents and not-so-talented individuals.


    “Lighten up; I’m only joking. As I said before, talent isn’t the only criteria I’m judging you on. So far, I’ve seen nothing wrong. With that being said, I think we should get a move on. We’ll organize the loot and keep going.” Kieran said, which allowed Nemean to breathe a sigh of relief. Even though this team wasn’t his only option, instincts told him that this was the ce for him. From what he saw thus far, Kieran wasn’t the type of person he loathed—the slimy, deceitful kind that usually upied high authority because of their distasteful methods.


    The division of loot was handled by Alice, who unsurprisingly did a meticulous job. Luna was given exactly twenty percent of what dropped without Kieran needing to remind her. What’s more, Alice didn’t even flinch when she realized there was a Rare Item with an Item Level of 35 in the portion given to Luna.


    Having confirmed that she was satisfied with how they upheld their side of the deal, Kieran walked through the cavernous pathway that kept expanding in size. Soon enough, Kieran and the rest felt overwhelmingly tiny standing inside the passage,parable to a stadium in dimensions.


    “What isrge enough to make a tunnel like this? But, more importantly, what would need a space so big?” Sithik muttered while continuously turning around to marvel at the rocky terrain surrounding them.


    “Who knows, I just hope we don’t have to go up against some gigantic ogre,” Bastion grumbled. He didn’t want to think about what type of defense was required to handle a monster of that magnitude.


    Because of hisment, the entire party snapped their heads toward Bastion, with Nemean being the first to reprimand him. “Dude, what the hell? You just jinxed us! I’m willing to bet that because of what you said, it’ll end up happening somewhere down the road.”


    “It’s highly likely that what Bastion said is true. Such arge structure wouldn’t exist without reason. You need to remember that changes in environments are extremely important and should always be noted,” Kieranmented.


    Suddenly, Kieran stopped moving and widened his eyes. “Move!”


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Out of nowhere, fourrge rocks appeared from deep within the darkness, followed by the metallic gleam of arrows enveloped in what seemed to be a flimsy Mana shell. The impacts made the entire area tremble as the team tried to stabilize.


    ng! ng! ng! ng!


    Luna and Altair rapidly parried any of the arrows that neared them while swiftly moving away from the party. Due to their low movement speed, Bastion was forced to remain in ce and withstand the devastation of theserge boulders.


    “Guardian’s Sigil!” Bastion bellowed. A light blue aura burst from his body, forming arge shield that relied upon his Endurance for stability. At its current level, this skill could only withstand up to 10,000 damage beforepletely shattering. Still, it was sufficient to shield him and Sera, Sithik, and Cygnus, who stood nearby for protection.


    Whoosh! Boom!


    Kieran sped past Bastion and leapt into the air while a berserk aura coated the weapon in his hand. With a loud roar, Kieran executed a swift yet mighty vertical sh that started from overhead.


    Therge boulder that smashed into Bastion’s Guardian Sigil was cleaved in half by the Wild Crash. And with its new properties, the energy from the attack swept outward,nding on the enemies in the distance.


    「 Lv.28 Grand Goblin Archers (Champion)


    Goblin Type


    Health: 189,500/201,000 (94.27%)


    Special Traits: ?Precision? ?Mana Imbue? 」


    「Lv.