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Shouko returned a polite smile at Blade's casual remark. Normally she might even be happy to receive a compliment from a cute guy. However, as the situation stood, Shouko wasn't even sure what these people were. They were also colleagues in a fashion. She could care less about guys or appearances when she was holding a real bow and had been fighting for her life for half a day.

Actual name? So they are all using aliases?

She neglected to respond to Blade's last sentence in fear of asking the wrong question.

“Oho, five seconds in and you’re already trying to make ground with our beloved Shouko?” Tian-Gui interjected, breaking Shouko's train of thought. Come to think of it, she was the only female in the group. That was odd. Wait, I feel like I'm forgetting someone...

With the addition of two new members, they soon used more bait. Maybe too much. The hordes of monsters that attacked threatened to overwhelm them, but somehow they managed to survive. Shouko would try to keep her new spell, Stone Guard, cast upon herself whenever possible. Since the spell caused the enchanted object to become heavier, she was reluctant to use it on the other teammates.

Shouko collapsed on the ground out of exhaustion when the hour finally ended. Before she could get much rest, Tian-Gui's loud mouth opened up again.

"Fifty-thousand yen? Really?" Shouko said to Tian-Gui when she found out about the cost. "You could have gotten better equipment, you know." Despite her tone, she said no more. Shouko was eager for a feast too.

Kamui began to talk at length. Shouko's eyes stared at him blankly, being unable to comprehend most of his words. Class change? Real life? Toon? It was too much for a person without any video game knowledge. Seeing no one respond to his words, Shouko tried to come up with a generic but suitable answer.

"Ahahah. I uh, just picked something at random? You know, um, bows. Bows are cool," Shouko raised her weapon and plucked at the bowstring. With this additional piece of information, Shouko was getting a clearer picture. These people were gamers too, in a sense. They are, or at least, believe they are playing some kind of game.
 
Blade was happy to seemingly getting along with his new compatriots. He intern kept his big smile as Shouko smiled back at him and in fact stayed on his feet very well after Tian smacked Blade's back and complemented on his bold actions. The red-haired fighter simply laughing aloud in a friendly manner at it all; not noticing that Shouko neglected his last question and forgets about it. "Oh come on. I was so holding back man." He responds jokingly before thinking to himself for a moment before the group began grinding together for the first time.

This really was a good call. Aside from the one guy they seem real awesome. I wonder if that Ama-Rei is like these guys.

Then the most grueling grinding session Blade had ever experienced while playing this game occurred. Knowing full well that fighting so much in such a short time could not have been possible with just Kamui and himself, enjoying the fact even more so that they were part of a proper team again and it well good. What perhaps didn't feel good was the intense strain and feeling of exhaustion the fighter smack into his body after it was all over and done with. The hot-bloodied young man wasn't good at holding back and has always had the issue of over exerting himself (despite his physical prowess) but this was more than he bargained for usually as he would teeter side to side with his grip on his weapon loose and his eyes would even become hazy for a moment before going back to normal. Rightfully collapsing onto his back sprawled out next to the purchase chest breathing deeply and heavily with sweat causing his red bangs of hair to droop over the top of his face.

Looking over and around at everyone he would notice that most of Team JUSTICE has gone ahead and advanced classes post haste. Blade wasn't the most observant person in the world so he didn't think much of when they did it more so his mind was trained on the thought that he should followed suit so as to not drag anyone down by forgetting to do things. Meekly leaning over to one side to fiddle with the purchase chest; Blade makes sure to advance his class and the Berserker sounded the most appealing to him aside from the fact that he would rather think of himself as not just some bloodthirsty brute but it was the most fitting option presented to him.

Finally catching his breath the fighter thinks about the team comp of the new Team JUSTICE thanks to seeing what everyone could do thanks to the heavy grinding session; while also smiling from his still laying down position about a feast being on the way as his chest rose and sunk from his deep breaths.

Three ranged focused, two of which are heavy magic. One crit rogue type and two front lines.

He continued to think the party dynamics over though to his annoyance thinking about it seemed to be a bit more of a challenge than it should have been. Wondering about this Blade opened up some menus to see his stat changes and what not, noticing that becoming a Berserker got rid of a few INT points which made him sit up with a surprising amount of energy and panic as he spoke out loudly in a shocked manner. "Gahhhhh! I don't wanna become some brainless meat head! Looking at his hands and looking around in a comical panicked state before slumping forwards a little bit in a defeated sense. "Awwww man..."
 
Well this was harder than I imagined it would have been. Though by my experience shooting up, it has certainly been worth it. Alex found himself kicking back whenever he had the chance to. The nice thing was that he could grind some skills without drawing too much attention as it would look like he was just resting in an anti social manner, which, given the conversings with the wolves earlier, made sense.

Alex looked at the ex-wolves curiously, Wonder if Rei can notice we have them here, or what he will say when he does notice...Why didn't people like them get this gamer power instead of us? They seem gamer to the 'T'. I am a social gamer, only playing when my friend wants to, and the others don't seem the type to pick up controllers. Gaia must have a strange sense of humour.

Eyeing his companions now, Alex listened in to their chattering. Tian ordered a big feast using the abyss auction, the idiot. Those two shouldn't see anything else to do with the abyss... Though with how bizarre the ufo delivery is, I guess it would make sense for it to be from a game. Also, that cost for a meal is absurd! Then again, that cost for a book is also absurd...Alex mentally shrugged, everything these days seemed absurd.
 
After spending some Gold on upgrading a few things in the Camp, Rei summons the Laptop to purchase a couple of things from the Abyss Auction. Food and water. For food he buys something called Abyssal Instant Ramen. And then a twelve pack of pure water, water that is good for both drinking and things like Alchemy or anything that uses Water as an ingredient since pure water is just better for those sorts of things. It cost him just 7200 Yen. He decided to also get a bit of Weak Air Elemental Essence as well. This cost 13,500 Yen.

The purchase comes right away with something... a bit extra. Something that was ordered thirty minutes ago. Something called a Hero's Feast. Rei almost considers rejecting the order, since its a huge waste of money. But before he speaks a thought stops him from doing so.

Just because we can't get mental ailments... doesn't mean that we shouldn't find time to unwind. And in the end... the Food Bonuses this gives are nice. Plus its better than the that I suppose.


Rei looks at the Instant Ramen he is waiting to be done, made with Magic Water... but when comparing that with this feast in a box.​

Hero's Feast (Rank 7, Group Item, Food)
A feast fit for about eight people. Has a medieval theme with plenty of high protein foods, but there is also corn, potatoes, and other good tasting, non-meat options in this feast as well. This food has been cooked to protection and packed and set up with magic, so it is fresh and hot the moment the box is opened. By partaking in this glorious feast of champions, you get +20 Regeneration / Recovery and +2 STR, VIT, and WIS for two hours. Furthermore your MP and HP are both restored fully.
Yea... this Feast is immensely better.

So Rei decides to accept the order, paying for it with the yen from the storage chest. A note on the box says he'll need to set it on the table and wait fifteen more minutes before its fully ready.

Enough time to make that Sphere and fight some Elementals.

So after setting the box on the Meeting Table and pulling what appeared to be the magical tag from the box, a bit of Magic Static appears around it, Rei moves to the Purchase Chest next.

82 Gold is how much they have when Rei opens the chest. Zero is how much is left once Rei makes two more purchases. The first is on upgrading the Purchase Chest to Rank 6. An Upgrade that will pay for itself with relative ease. The second was five of the Minor Baits, and the last was a Small Bait.

Given the Minor Baits the Preying Mantises had and the few the Eagles had, five more was all Rei needed to go through with this project. Placing all fifteen of the Minor Baits on the Workshop Bench, Rei breaths in, then out, and then gets to work.

He places his hand over the baits, a faint blue glow appearing around it. The bench seems to resonate in kind, before a flash of blue static flashes over all of the baits. They now begin to move, being enveloped and consumed in the static, as their now glowing shapes merge with one another. Its not too long now before the the merging shapes start to take the form of a single shape, a sphere.

After five minutes of this, it going about as well as Rei could make it go, the Sphere finally took shape and formed in a bright flash of light. Rei picks it up, checking what it can do.
Minor Enemy Sphere (Rank 10, Materia Sphere)
This Sphere has been made from magic that is meant to draw hostility from weak foes. As such, when used, it will create a Pseudospace to draw in 4 + 15% SR Level 10 - 15 Monsters based on the area you're in, or will simply spawn these Monsters if already in a Pseudospace.
Use/Recharge Cost: 76 (110) MP/HP
Uses Per Day: 3
Affect DL (Beginner): 75

A small smirk appears on Rei's face.

Perfect. With this, I don't need to rely on paying Arcadia to make the Pseudospaces, since I can summon the Monsters I need with this, or even his Monsters. And once I get enough Small Baits to merge with this Sphere, it'll be even better. That cost is a bummer though.


Rei just shrugs now. He decides to test the Sphere for now. Grabbing the Air Essence he bought, Rei focuses now as he holds the Air Essence in one hand, and the Enemy Sphere in the other. They both glow, a bit of energy flowing out from the sphere and the essence vanishing, both of these happening in a flash of blue static, before a slight wave erupts forth from Rei.

Seven Air Elementals show up. Seven Air Elementals are dispatched. The battle was rather easy thanks to Air Elementals being weak to Flame, which gave his Pata a moment to shine brighter than before, and thus allowed him to test something.

He decides to go for three more bouts with the Air Elementals, since he still had a good amount of time, after healing himself up and drinking one of the Magic Waters he was waiting to be done, since like the Ramen he is just going to stick in his Inventory for later, they took about five minutes of waiting before being completed.

No more uses. Ill go ahead and set it to recharge, which should take 20 minutes.

Making sure he still had enough HP and MP to recharge all four uses, he pours what he needs to in there before finally checking his finished products of his Magic Water productions, having tested a few things, including making a Spell Potion with one of them, a temporary one though that would expire after thirty minutes.

Ill make sure to drink it before it expires, so I can get the full forty minute benefit.


With that done, a ding resounds from the table. He simply sends a PM to the other Gamers now.
From: Rei Amagi
Subject: A Meal

The Feast is ready. So go to the Chest and teleport over here. And you can even bring those other two who you recruited... which we will definitely talk about later.​

That is definitely not something Rei is happy about. When that notification appeared that those two joined the Party, which was done through them joining the Team, he had visibly scowled. Nothing he could do about it though, and in the end... thanks to the news he has received from the fact that this is indeed a game.

Those two are very expendable.

Plus having extra numbers for the rest of the team who had to rely on such things helped. In the end, Rei decides they are just like his Summons more than teammates. He won't rely on them, but he will make use of them. Perhaps if they ever need to tackle a bunch of hard opponents perhaps. This Team Snake he heard about from Yozakura seems like it will be trouble, so having some an extra sword or two always helps.

He goes to the table now, and pulls off the lid of the box. A bright flash of blue static envelopes the entire table, the medieval feast for eight now appearing on it, and when the rest of Team Justice arrived, they would see now the generous spread upon the table.

An actual pig with an apple in its mouth, roasted to golden perfection. Corn, potatoes, and stew all giving off a very warm, hearty aroma. Other forms of meats. Its all like something straight out of a medieval movie. A very stereotypical medieval movie.

And of course, just as the info on the board says, he has leveled up since they last saw him as the Gamers can see by the 27 now above his head, instead of the 25 from the last time they saw him.

Rei looks at them as they would appear.

"We can talk about the new 'Teammates' later. We have about an hour or so before the Peacocks plan on coming along. So for now... lets just go ahead and eat. You all look exhausted... but stronger nonetheless."

Indeed. Surprisingly enough, Rei didn't cancel the order as Tian-Gui originally thought.

After saying those words, Rei goes to take his place at the table now, waiting for the others to do the same, since its only proper manners to do so.
 
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Xenon had been mostly happy that the negotiations, both with team wolf and subsequently Arcadia, had gone well. Though, it wasn't until the entire party had teleported back to the festival hill that he was beginning to realize the boundaries there were to hold. There's Gaia's interference rule that keeps us from exposing the gamer power, and also the mysterious being Shouko mentioned, prohibiting talk about reality... And that wasn't even including the fact that they had acted without consulting their head gamer.

Either way, it seems like there's going to be some serious talk once this bounty hunt is over...

However, any "serious talk" took the back burner to the grinding that followed. Arcadia, if anything, seemed to keep his deals solid. By the time grinding was through, Xenon felt akin to the time he had accidentally booked himself for seven chain performances the night before a test (spoiler: he fell asleep during said test). The fatigue of training left him unable to really make any proper responses to talk, so the red haired teen simply leaned back and soaked in sounds like a sponge.

The ex-team wolf members are pretty much matched with us in terms of combat. But beyond aiding in fighting, they're certainly more versed in the games, Xenon thought as he listened in on Shouko and Kamui's conversations.

Then came Rei's message, indicating that the ordered food had arrived, and that Rei wanted to have a talk about the wolves. Xenon made a small groan and contemplated just staying on the ground. It was nice... and flat... and, and... so very lay-down-able. Then his stomach churned. "Ah... time to get up, huh?" Xenon pulled himself up with what felt like a herculean effort, then gave his shoulders a good roll.

Once magically teleported once again to yet another camp, they were greeted with Rei and a literal feast - which smelled heavenly. Xenon let out a breathy chuckle of disbelief. The whole thing seemed oddly out of place - one moment all of them get trapped in some sick jester's game, grinding away for their lives, and the next there was a classical medieval feast in front of them. Not that he was complaining though.

"It's nice to see that you're doing well, Ama-Rei sensei," Xenon said with a weary, but light smile as he took his seat."Should we toast to your surviving the bounty hunt?" the red haired teen teased lightly.
 
Not being told anything due to the fact that the gamers were the only ones messages by Rei, Blade simply followed after Xenon to be teleported. Once reaching the destination the fighter's eyes gazed around at not only the medieval spread of food worthy of a feast but also the specific camp they had teleported to. It wasn't a camp like the others, it seemed just flat out better. After a moment of thought he would quitely come to the conclusion that this had to be either some advanced camp or it just had a fuck ton of upgrades. Either way it was impressive.

But then as Blade's eyes looked towards Rei his casual smile vanished to a more neutral expression at the hearing of that emphasis about the new 'teammates.' From Blade's perspective it didn't take a genius to tell that the guy wasn't the most pleased person at the moment despite everything. Probably being the strongest player in the game whom has gone up even more levels which throws the fighter for a loop of how this guy is advancing so fast at such a high level. Also, some now mentioning of the Peacocks showing up soon didn't help his spirits much either. Figuring this wasn't to fight them cause it was an announced visit of sorts.

The red-haired fighter wanted to go walk right up next to this Ama-Rei and greet em but something was eating at him not to. Maybe it was just instincts about the threat of power that player held. Wouldn't take em for than a few seconds to be done with us 'new teammates' if he wanted to. Blade simply clenched his fists and gave a small nod to Team JUSTICE's strongest player and proceeded to walk over and sit down at a far corner seat away from Rei and wouldn't begin eating until everyone else sat down. All of this without a word from the usual eccentric load mouth.
 
"Well, this is going to be a fun meal." Alex adjusted his hair before getting ready to teleport over, And the discussion on us acting on our own and inviting the two wolves into our pack will surely be a fun time of being told off. I wonder If I can push the blame if they try to sell out that it was my idea? Alex started plotting his verbal escape if things went sour for him. To be fair, they don't like me, and I almost started a fight with them. I am also the reason we got a deal for better training with. Surely he will notice our growth.

Comforting himself along the way, Alex also teleported over to be greeted with the pleasant fragrance of a feast. Hot, juicy and ready to be devoured, laid out perfectly on a table. It was an impressive sight, and the two hit combo of appearance and aroma made his mouth water. "This looks great, hopefully it will taste even better." Though the cost still seemed a bit steep, Alex was more willing to accept it as he sat himself down next to Rei, "Seems like training was about as successful on your end as it was on ours, I was hoping we would have closed the gap more than that." Alex let out a playful sigh of defeat, "Oh well~"

Changing topics back to the glorious food infront of him, Alex started eyeing the pig up, thinking of how it should best be cut. "So, has anyone ever carved a pig before?" He gestured to the Gamers and Non-gamers with a knife, "If not I'd be more than happy to give it a go." Then his eyes moved to the rest of the table, to the thoughts of everything else that he would shortly be consuming.
 
"Finally," Shouko said in a deadpan tone when she saw Rei. She had been anxious ever since the mysterious being had contacted her, and no longer wanted to wait even though the roast pig was calling out to her. She glanced at Blade and Kamui. A message was the safer choice.

Let's get this over with first. I'll summon the thing. Get ready for... anything.
Shouko opened her interface and searched for the summoning spell. If no one stopped her, she would read the chant.
 
Summon? Rei's eyes widened as a wave of realization hit him. He had completely forgotten about whatever it was that Shouko had met. Rei, unfortunately, can't exactly chant "PM" out loud right now unlike Shouko, who was still away from the others, so before he can signal her or anything, Shouko would read out the chant, which is able to be done quickly since its only a single word.

'Ddi-rym'
23 - 6 Earth Magic = 17

The Spell goes off without a hitch. That is what the Gamers would see. For the two Ex-Wolves, time simply stops. A large flash of greyish-blue static erupts forth from Shouko, the Magic enveloping the entire Camp in a dark flash. When visibility returns, the Gamers would see the Gremlin Battle Brewer that is their Guardian, each other, and nothing else except for a greyish dark-blue space around them, blips of Magic Static able to be seen throughout the space.

A soft, quiet voice emanates from their Guardian now. Its hard to gender this voice, or if this voice even has a gender. Its just a quiet, non-descript voice, devoid of specific tone except one. Quiet. A voice that carries no presence. The only defined presence it has is the fact that it is coming from their Guardian, who's eyes are like obsidian.

"I see that you have all gathered. I do not have much time to explain though, so I shall make my explanation through 'Neges' rather than speech, and after that I only have time to answer but a few questions."

The Guardian, who had no tags or text above its head at the moment, suddenly draws their finger through the air, static following the trail of the Gremlin's finger. It then swipes its hand through the strange letter it draws.

The space in front of the Gamers glitches for a moment, before suddenly a window appears before them. In a sense, this entity knows that a person can ready much faster than anyone can speak comprehensibly, so it decides that in this case a text based explanation is better than a spoken one. The message is definitely one that is better read quickly rather than spoken out fully, given its content and not too brief length.
My name is Ddi-Rym, or 'Void' in your tongue. I am one of the Familiars of the Void Wizard, who is unfortunately away on a very important emergency. As such, my master's other Familiar, Clogyn o Ddim Byd, or 'Cloak of Nothing' in your tongue, was tasked with guarding this area.

The other Familiar is more powerful than Arcadia, but that Jester found a way to seal him in Gekkoukan and use his power to help create this special space. I do not know what Arcadia is doing this for, but I know what he's doing.

He is harvesting the Spiritual Force, or the energy of one's Will, of the Players. The way he is doing so should be impossible and break the Interference Law, but he is doing this using both magic and technology as one to call a small fragment of the Players' Spirits into the game. Tiny enough to not endanger them, yet enough to be a problem in the long run the more Force he manages to draw from these fragments. What he wants it for, I know not.

And he draws more Force by making the game more intense, or even throwing their minds into disarray through the pain of battle or thoughts of death. Which is why telling the players about the real world will be a problem.

There is a way to end the games early though. There are five Camps around Gekkoukan. By controlling all of them, you'll gain access to the Dungeon Arcadia has hidden there. This Dungeon is where the other Familiar is sealed. Defeat the Guardian there, and I can help you free the other Familiar to put a stop to Arcadia's plans.

Rei Amagi, however; mustn't fight this enemy, for I believe it is a Doppelganger, an enemy that can assume the complete powers and forms of those it sees. There may even be more than one. If these were to take Rei Amagi's form, as he is the strongest here, the results would be catastrophic and the battle nigh impossible to win. Furthermore, I believe it would just benefit Arcadia even more.

There is little time remaining. Please make any questions you may have concise.

And if you ever need any assistance in battle, then please have Koizumi-san summon me.​

Rei reads through the message rather quickly, asking his question not too long after it appeared. Rei probably assumes that they should ask just one question each, or just a few questions. After all, Rei assumes that this 'Void' is hiding their presence from Arcadia for now, and having Arcadia find them would be bad.

"Will freeing this Familiar really stop Arcadia for good? By 'Round 1' I assume there will be more rounds of these Games."

"Unfortunately I cannot say for certain. Still, freeing the other familiar will at least force Arcadia to stop with his plans for quite a while if he does manage to escape our grasp, since Arcadia wouldn't try the same seal twice."

Rei gives a nod, deep in thought now. He seems like he isn't going to ask any more questions for now, giving the other Gamers a chance to ask their own brief questions. If they noticed the outline of the space, it seems like bits of blue static are starting to appear, almost as if implying that their time is starting to run out.






 
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As time came to a standstill again, Alex instinctively grasped himself where the bolt had hit him to steal his money from last time. Slowly lowering his as he read all that the mysterious being had to say.

Maybe Arcadia has something fun up his sleeve? Do we have to stop him, or could we push it further? Alex tried to weigh his thoughts as to which side truly had greater potential and which he would go for. Perhaps I don't have to decide just yet.

Remaining in his seat Alex listened to Ddi-Rym as he spoke quickly and with purpose, time clearly running out, and Rei's one and only question. I'm surprised he didn't ask more. Not being shy to take the opportunity to open his mouth, Alex asked one as well. "What's stopping Arcadia from simply stopping us from hitting the kill switch to his plan?" Why would he make a method to find and stop him anyways? Something is fishy...
 
"Because Arcadia is unaware of my presence. I am Ddi-Rym, 'Void', 'Nothing', and can only be sensed by those I directly interact with. Furthermore, simply defeating the Guardian of Gekkoukan won't end this Game. Only I can break the seal since you all lack the power and means, and Arcadia is not yet aware of my presence, of this I am certain."

The creature speaks quickly, quietly, and precisely once again.

"Plus, I believe you all are part of his plans. An unknown element to make the game more intense, to draw out more Force from the players."

So there is a reason we are here after all... if this Ddi-Rym is to be believed.

Rei thinks for a few moments. The edges of the area are starting to glitch more, Rei assuming this being a sign that their time is running short. Deciding that they need to be quick, Rei figures he can ask one more question. Doppelgangers in games have many different ways they can be threats. There is no way one single copy of himself would be catastrophic. Why would this being tell him not to fight if it would just be a low threat like that.

If this is an enemy they will be facing, Rei decides that getting more information on it is important. After all, this is 'real life', not a game. He can't keep trying to compare these supernatural happenstances to games forever, especially when it comes to specifics like how a certain form of being works.

As much as Rei wanted to know the specifics of Arcadia's plan, it is clear that this creature doesn't know those, or there is not enough time to hear or obtain such information. So for now, getting information on the enemy they'll be fighting

"What exactly makes this Doppelganger, or Doppelgangers, a threat? Do they possess their own strengths as well?"

"Usually yes. If there are multiple, then their strengths may be around your own, but the numbers would overwhelm you. If its one or few, then they will possess innate strengths much greater than your own, or perhaps special abilities that augment the abilities it copies. Doppelgangers come in many forms."

Rei just nods. If this is true, then it makes sense that he shouldn't fight the enemy. It'd be one thing if it copied one of the Gamers or one of the players, but himself? That would indeed be disastrous, considering how easily he managed to deal with multiple players by himself, almost all of the damage that was dealt to him having been either from the Guardian or from his own abilities.

"Whereas if it copied someone with very little offensive capability like Tian... it'd be much easier to deal with. Perhaps there's a benefit to Tian's simplistic skill set after all."

As much as Rei doesn't want to admit it.

He then wonders if Doppelgangers can copy new targets after they have copied someone else. If they couldn't, then he could let it copy one of the others and then strike.

"Can--" Rei goes to ask one more thing, but a sudden shaking of the area interrupts him.

"There is no more time. Remember, after defeating the Doppelgangers summon me to break the seal. And if you ever need my help at any other time, summon me during battle and I shall do my best to assist you, but only if Arcadia is not around."

Suddenly the Gremlin Guardian outstretches its hand. The Rings that the Gamers received from the Auction suddenly begin to glow, and once the static around them fades, they seem... a bit duller now in color. But a window appearing shows that they are stronger now.
+5 Void Wizard's Minor Protection Ring (Rank 9, Enchanted Ring)
A ring with a barrier enchantment strengthened through magic. Protects the wearer.
Grants +10 Barrier Rating.

Also if the user were to suffer a fatal blow, the Protection Shard in the Ring will shatter instead, absorbing up to 150 Damage of this possibly fatal blow to lessen it. Once the Protection Shard shatters, however; the Ring will be weakened, losing 2 point of its Barrier Rating.​

"A gift from my Master. To help you stay safe. For now, I must go. My time has run out."

With that, and very little fanfare, the area simply blinks out of existence, and the Gamers are left wherever they were standing or sitting before Ddi-Rym had been summoned by Shouko.

It seems like a new direction and a strengthened Item have been given to the Gamers. One they can't really discuss with the Wolves of course, but whether or not they follow it is an entirely different story.










 
Kamui had been silent after his initial try at starting conversation with the others, merely taking the time to observe the others as well as get a feel for how he and Blade would get along with them. They were a decently balanced team without the powerhouse player...even stronger with him. Kamui nodded to Shouko "Well, yeah bows are pretty sweet, and it wouldn't do for someone delicate to sit in the front lines...I'm just a lazy coward that's my excuse haha." Truthfully he wasn't either, he just used that excuse because it worked and fit with the role he felt like playing within the game, people online always play different personas of their true selves anyway it was a given, empowerment is what it was called. The empowerment to be anything you wanted within a virtual world. He nodded to Tian-Gui "I for one think it was a fantastic buy, no matter what anyone else says, also I can now give you guys all a nice power boost with my wind magic, settled for imbuing weapons and whatnot rather than an actual offensive or defensive spell cause it's less hassle for me, also the incantation is super easy haha."

He walked with the otehrs and teleported to the new camp, hearing Ama-Rei say teammates off rubbed him the wrong way but he gave the player a quick, super fake smile "Ha, wow, so your the big bad that had the bounty placed on them, I can certainly see why though...scary strong. Nice to meetcha, I'm Kamui. Anyway oh feast, looks tasty doesn't it." He moved next to his bud and leaned in whispering "Blade, be casual...be yourself, try to weigh them, we've fought with all of em save King Doucher so just wait it out and act normal. We gotta see where he stands along with the others, they're obviously more fun and all but we still have to get to know this Rei person." Kamui leans back and gives another smile over to the Gamers.
 
In the end, did that change anything?

The Void Wizard was gone, Arcadia exploited that disappearance to arrange his Games and push forwards an ulterior motive, and they were now supposed to capture more Camps in order to unlock a new dungeon, unseal one of the Void Wizard’s familiars, and solve this whole problem?

It really was a lot for Tian-Gui to take in, and ultimately, he just decided not to care at all about it. Time resumed, and the feast was before his eyes once more. Taking in a deep whiff of all the tantalizing aromas that wafted through the Station Camp’s air, the large man nodded in satisfaction at how much value the fifty thousand yen meal generated, before rolling up his sleeves.

What Ddi-Rym said was interesting, but at the same time, there wasn’t much reason at all to think too hard about it. They were just playing the game with a couple new objectives, is all, and with the support of Team Peacock, taking five camps would be a piece of cake.

“Well then,” he said, pouring a mug of ‘grape juice’ for everyone, “Rei was definitely going to get past the bounty hunt regardless, so let’s toast to our new allies everywhere, yeah? Cheers!”

With that, Tian-Gui promptly downed the mug in one gulp. There wasn’t a pleasant alcoholic buzz (not that there ever will be anymore), but he was feeling like having some fun regardless. Taking a few moments to inspect his hands, he marched right up to the pig, before taking it by the hind legs and lifting it right up.

“Alright then, since carving’s on the menu and all, let’s play a game! Who wants to see how many cuts they can make on this little piggy before it hits the ground? Bladesong? Alex? Xenon? Don’t worry about the pieces falling onto the ground! I’ll catch all wayward piggy bits!”
 
Kamui's words to Blade suggesting that he act like his usual self causes the fighter to respond with a slight nod before Bladesong's attention snaps to Tian pouring drinks for everyone at the table as well as his quick welcoming cheers to the recruited wolves. He gave a soft smile at first at the cheer looking at his drink before leaping up out of his seat. He held his cup out in front of his as his soft smile turned into his iconic goofy grin with his eyes closed shut.

"To new companions and old friends alike." He says followed by a quick laugh before downing his drink in one gulp as well and slamming his mug down into the table, actually causing it to shake a little. Blade never liked terms such as allies, enemies, acquaintances and the like so he put in some of his own even if he was the only one currently who say everyone at the table as a companion in some way even if it was just sharing a meal.

Hearing the challenge Tian had stated, Blade didn't even sit back in his seat as he picked up his cutting knife by his plate and pointed it towards the little pig. "Your on!" Blade decrees as he makes his way around the table near Tian and getting into position with the knife, prepared to begin slicing and dicing at the drop of a pig in this case.
 
So he doesn't realize what we are doing just yet? Hmm...Though After we start getting the things in line to challenge his prize dungeon, that should set off some bells in his ears. Probably not the interesting he wanted. Alex pondered the words that had been spoken, And If the doppelgangers copy our skills, I suppose it would be best to save some first time creative ideas for when we arrive there and have taken out our own copy.

"Really? We are just going to throw the costly little oink in the air, and hope for the best that we catch it and cut off slabs of meat?" Alex Stood up from his seat, acting like the idea seemed foul to him, like he objected and was completely offended by the very thought, "Sure why not." He shrugged dropping the charade in an instant.

Holding his knife, Alex attached a mana thread and got ready to throw it when the pig would reach its maximum height, assuming Tian didn't decide to super human chuck the piggy. The thought of it happening had crossed Alex's mind, but he pushed it out as he continually reassured himself of Tian's love of meat, and that the big guy would want to eat some as well.

"Ready When you guys are I suppose." Getting himself into ready position, Alex was also ready to move if he missed his throw, to pull back the blade and hopefully get the last cut in.
 
To Xenon, the games seemed to just keep getting more complicated. The number of independent forces kept bouncing around, with groups being absorbed and outside influences poking their noses in. Objectives seemed to have much more overlap as they learned more about the workings of the games. Defending ourselves from other players, getting information, the new dungeon at Gekkoukan, Ddi-Rym, Void Wizard, Arcadia... are games always this complicated? The teen rubbed the back of his neck. Either way, looks like another gamer assembly is coming soon.

Once time reset, Xenon leaned back in his seat and let out a breath. Later though. Right now is time for much needed rest.

When Tian Gui brought up a pig carving challenge, Xenon felt more inclined to just watch. However... the bandwagon mentality and ambient atmosphere were terrifyingly convincing. Plus, agility was one of his strong suits. "I'll give it a try," the red haired teen piped in. Xenon pulled out his katars and took off his armor for the time being to maximize his movements. "Make sure you catch the bits, Ge. Can't waste a 50,000 yen meal, right?"
 
"Indeed, so ill catch the bits with something I've been wanting to test out, if you can actually manage to cut through the entire pig that is." Here, Rei gives a small chuckle. "You may need to use a weapon rather than that eating knife. Though... do wipe down whatever you're using first. Otherwise, it'll be inedible."

Surprisingly, instead of stopping this reckless party display, Rei seems to go along with it, even offering to do something to catch the bits that will fall to the ground as he walks over to the other side of the table where the Pig Throwing is taking place, which is away from the table so that they don't accidentally ruin the rest of the feast with this.

"If Alex can create threads out of Mana with the basics of the basics... then perhaps a large disc of Essence shouldn't be too hard."

Rei focuses now, putting both hands forward. Bluish-green energy forms in his center, glowing brightly, before it travels up his arms. He then faces his palms upward. In a flash, it begins to swirl right above his hand now, slowly taking shape and form, two discs about the size of dinner plates forming above his hands.

Much better for catching pig bits than one's hands. Well... actual plates could be used, but this just felt better. If they are going to use the worst method ever for cutting a pig, as after all they would really only be able to cut it when it got within arms reach and thus it would be immensely claustrophobic except for Blade, who could use a sword, they might as well go all out.

And then it began. And boy... was it interesting. A knife is thrown at the pig. It, unfortunately, missed the flying piggy projectile, but luckily it is returned to Alexander's hand with a pull of his thread. Ultimately not a bad strategy if he were to just get the Knife Throwing Talent he has.

If anyone cuts it the most, its Xenon. He is able to get two strong slashes into it with his Katars meant for cutting human flesh, effectively trisecting the pig. Rei catches the trisected pig that also had a dinner knife cut into it, which only left a mark on the flesh and didn't do much damage at all, by Bladesong with his Essence Discs, before being quickly deposited back onto the platter it had been on.

Before Rei can say anything, Tian has already chucked the three more pieces upward, and at this point Xenon manages to cut two more of them in half.

Thankfully its a small, tender, juicy pig, and Xenon's Katars are now covered in grease and juices, as well as bits of meat and vegetables. Xenon would definitely need to clean those blades. Thankfully the competition is over. Xenon, with his Katars, won this competition with ease.

With the pig divided up now into five pieces, it makes it easier to cut up at least. Even if it is a bit of a mess.

This is when the feast of six starts.

And there is alot of food, and possibly conversation, to be had.

 
Shouko shakes her head and sighs deeply for the umpteenth time today. As if the Gamer system wasn't confusing enough. As if the Arcadia games wasn't confusing enough. Now they had to contend for yet another goal? She felt lost in the web of plots.

At least we got an upgrade on our ring. It's more than Arcadia has offered.

Shouko accepted the mug of wine from Tian-Gui with a nod and drank it after the toast. It tasted quite sweet and fruity, but she remembered that they couldn't even get drunk anymore. "Right. The joys of becoming superhuman," she muttered under her breath. Shouko left the boys to their meat-slicing games and retreated to a corner of the table with some food. It tasted absolutely amazing. "-and the joys of becoming superhuman, too. I guess."

Despite her disdain for wasted food, their antics drew a chuckle or two from her. Shouko clapped when Xenon managed to slice a piece twice mid-air. "Good job! Why don't you try to add that to your next show?" she shouted to the red-haired youth.
 
Seeing as the two Wolves are sitting as far away as they can, it makes conversing with the Gamers a bit easier, not that Rei is planning on keeping anything he says quiet unless he needs to, but it still makes it easier to have quiet conversations.

---

After the whole flying pig fiasco was done with, Xenon sat back down with his katars held away from his body. The red haired teen had to admit that while the mini game was pretty fun, he hadn’t really thought ahead about the aftermath. He grimaced as a bit of grease dribbled onto one of his hands. “Can anyone pass me a napkin or something?” he asked, motioning towards his occupied hands.

---

Kamui stared wide eyed as the pig went into the air with gusto and started smiling and chuckling to himself as the others attacked it with kitchen knives, their own weapons...and Xenon cutting it with his katars was the best part. Kamui applauded and whooped as the pieces fell into the disc “Well that was fun to watch, how was it for you guys that actually participated?” He waved for some to be passed down to the two ex-wolf players and looked at everyone else “So you guys started together huh? Gotta say you guys were luckier than us, we were a bit imbalanced party wise comparatively.” He tosses a few napkins towards Xenon as an afterthought.

---

“Yes we did. I was a solo player until I was made to form a Guild in Dungeons of Masmorra so that I could bring my character over to this Game. I’m guessing the reason we didn’t get to the start of this event were a few glitches. Who knows really, VR Games have always been different than regular games.”

Rei looks at the two Ex-Wolves as he slowly partakes in his own plate of food, having just grabbed some of the meat of the pig, some corn, and a few other things. Luckily the mystical discs he conjured made it so that nothing got on his hands at least, although a small bit of grease splattered onto his clothes.

Thankfully he’s not in his Gekkoukan uniform at least, and the amount is very small, just a few little dots here and there.

“That being said... I’m not really all that pleased with you two being here, nor with the decision made to bring you two here.” Rei glances at the two Ex-Wolves as he takes a bit of pork. He waits until he has finished his current bite of food, as is proper to do, before speaking again.

“Of course... my personal feelings aside...” Rei pauses to wipe his mouth. “It’s not a decision I disagree with. If we’re going to take on the other Teams, we need greater numbers since they currently outlevel all of you and outnumber all of us.”

“So ultimately...” Rei stops, clenching his hand a bit around his fork. “It was a good decision.”

---

Xenon barely caught the napkins with his occupied hands. “Thanks. It was surprisingly fun. Minus the pig grease, that is,” he replied as he wiped down the blades. The red haired teen perked up at Rei’s mention of his unenthused feelings about the ex-wolves. That was something he was sure all the gamers had expected from their dear teacher. Not so much for what followed, though.

“Speaking of the other teams,” Xenon began, “What are our objectives concerning them, or just in general at this point?”

---

There were plenty of reasons why Bladesong hadn’t used his sword to participate and the mess that covered Xenon’s katars was perhaps one of the main ones. Not being disheartened too bad from winning the fighter returns to his seat with a smorgasbord of little bits of just about everything on the table and happily began chowing down.

As Rei mentions he was not the most pleased with the ex-wolves being present within the team Blade swallowed all of the food that had been shoved into his mouth and returned a glance to Rei as that gut feeling he had wasn’t just him being crazy.

Speaking in Rei’s direction with a joking smile…”Well, I’m frickn glad to hear this may be a democracy afterall and not some monarchy run by some grouchy stick up his ass mother fucker huh.” Blade laughing to himself only taking smaller bites of his food now.

---

“Well they don’t stick by me because they like me. They only do so because it's profitable to them. It’s just how human beings are. The moment they find someone more powerful than me or strong as me, but actually likeable, is when they’ll leave. If I stop being profitable, and then demand something, that is when they’ll betray me.”

Rei says this very calmly, taking smaller bites as well.

“And even then... lets just say they had other options they should have, but refused, to take.”

And that is all Rei will say on that as he changes the subject. Mainly due to the extra information being about the Real World, which they can’t mention to the Players.

“As for the other Teams. The Peacocks approached me, they want to ally with us to help take down Team Snake, who have grown quite massive. They have sixteen members last I checked, who are all getting stronger, and may be going after the three other smaller teams for more. In a sense, they may not have power, but when it comes to sheer numbers they could wipe out any other team.”

Of course, Rei has no idea of the history between the Wolves and the Peacocks.

“So needless to say, either I conduct a series of very difficult, quick guerilla tactics on their camps and try to wipe out as many as I can, or we do this the easy way. Get Team Peacock to help us take care of them, in return for all of the Camps they control around the Gekkoukan. This will give us more Gold, and in return make it easier for us to take them on later.”

Even if the Wolves hated the Peacocks, their willingness to form an alliance and Team Snake’s ever growing, threatening presence were both things to take into heavy consideration. After all, if Team Snake isn’t stopped soon, who knows how much more powerful they’ll grow.

---

After failing in his attempt to cut the meat with his knife being thrown, Alex pulled it back and watched the others go at. He was impressed by the work that was done on the meat, and the slabs got cut, with the only really mess seeming to be on Xenon’s hands, and not on the ground. Thankfully.

Alex enjoyed the show while he sat back eating. The nice banter of the group was mildly entertaining. He didn’t expect Rei to be straightforward and state his opinion on the wolves joining, nor was he expecting blade to continue to act like a brat.

“Throwing this out there. I like Rei.” Alex continued eating, then stopped to speak again, “I plan on getting to know past your cold exterior.” Finishing his food, Alex placed his knife and fork beside each other on his plate. Alex then pointed at Blade and then gestured to Kamui, “Why can’t you be more like your friend? I’d like to get to know him as well, he seems mature and civil. You seem to be a child going through puberty who can’t watch his language or control his emotions.”

~~~


Kamui waved his hand “Mature and civil...well maybe the civil part but getting angry is too much hassle for me. I just don’t let shit like this get to me, I’d rather sit back, enjoy some food, fun, and playtime with everyone. Rei’s whole humans are only in it for profitable stuff rubs against me the wrong way but it’s his view...I’d like to think even if it wasn’t profitable for everyone they’d stick by him if he’d just open up a little more, but that’s my piece, maybe they wouldn’t I can’t really say for myself.” He shrugs and just gives them a wan smile “If you guys are like that though then we’d have been better off with another team, I’d like to think you guys would show more loyalty than just to a level, skills, and money.”

---

Blade simply huffs and scarfs down the rest of the food on his plate before dropping his utensils, placing his hands on the table and pushing himself up from his seat. “Just a couple of try hards…” he mutters to himself before walking away from the table towards the exit. “If anyone wants to know where to find the child that enjoys the world more than the stuck ups he’ll be waiting outside...grinding if I find anything.”

Though Blade stops at the door, just turning his body enough so he could look back at everyone at the table, specifically looking at Rei. “I don’t fall into this common form you and that other one there think I’d be apart of. Your view on others is pathetic. The reason you don’t receive loyalty or friendship from others is because you lack either in the first place. Even a “child” like me understands that.” As Blade’s blood continued to boil over as he says that last sentence directed towards Alex before looking back to Rei with a scowl from across the room. “Yall can talk to the Peacocks for all I give a shit about. I know I don’t need to be apart of the discussion, less I throw a tantrum and attack them right.” Not bothering to listen to anything else Blade makes his way outside and goes on too grind monsters on his own.

---

Xenon listened in while eating his share of meat and some vegetables. He internally sighed at Rei’s curt simplification of the relations between him and the other gamers. It wasn't entirely wrong in his opinion - they had pretty much forced him to teach them despite having the option to forget it all. But still, their dear teacher’s aptitude to doubt and mistrust was amazingly negative. I mean, while we do disagree in philosophies, I can more or less understand where his decisions come from. Plus, so far he's been genuinely helpful… Xenon thought. His lack of ambition other than a general goal didn't leave much room to betray Rei, in his opinion.

Whatever ambience that remained then fled with a mild chastising from Alex taken strongly. Xenon looked off at Blade’s retreating figure and couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic for some reason. “I think I'll go join him,” he announced calmly, then stood up and followed after the other player.

---

Kamui sighed and got up “Well bigmouth bass you did it again haha. I’m going to see if I can get him outta this mood too.” He says getting up and wiping his hands and face he drops the napkin on his plate and waves noncommittally behind his back to the others “See ya when I get my bro back.” He chuckles and walks behind Xenon “It’s nice but why are you taking an interest in Blade, I mean if Rei is right we’re just fodder for you guys anyway.” The mage gives a half smile and tiny chuckle to the katar wielder.

~

As shots were fired and burns were exchanged, Tian-Gui was too busy stuffing himself to really listen in on the conversation. From what he heard, it sounded like they were discussing strategy or whatever, which was totally fine with himself. No matter what plans they made, things were likely to go to shit when they panned out, so he just had to be ready to catch them all when they fell. Sinking his teeth into a particularly succulent cut of pork, the large youth licked the grease around his lips before moving onto the soup, plunging a loaf of sourdough bread into it before taking a large, large bite.

“Ah, bliss…”

Chasing it down with grape juice, he leaned back for a moment, content to just relax for a moment. Then he realized that Bladesong, Xenon, and Kamui all left the table one by one, heading off into the same direction.

“Eh…” he said to Shouko, peeling a banana, “they finished quickly.”

~

Shouko looked up with cheeks bulging with half-chewed food. She looked away and swallowed it quickly, trying to regain her decency before answering, “Our Rei was introducing his wonderful personality to the Wolves.”

Although she had been stuffing herself as well, Shouko had kept an ear out on the conversation happening on the opposite end of the table. Her heart sank when she heard Rei’s cold appraisal of their relationship with him. The fact that it was technically true made it feel worse.

“What’s up with him, really? Acting aloof, yet helping us so much. It doesn’t make sense,” she said at a whisper.

~
“Ah,” Tian-Gui nodded, chewing thoughtfully on his banana, “his wonderful personality.”

Was Rei that upset about them bringing in two new members? Wasn’t having more people useful? Or did he just want less coattail passengers on his way through the games? Really, it was sorta annoying.
`
Leaning in to catch Shouko’s whispers, he shrugged.
“Guilty conscience? A big softie on the inside? Who knows? Don’t even know why he wants to grow stronger and all that. Really, need to get a good ol’ heart-to-heart chat with him some time. Dude’s literally only super serious all the time.”

~

“Rei is always kinda like that. He tends to word things on the blunt, objective side,” Xenon noted to Kamui, scratching the back of his neck. “I think he means well though. He's just… really passionate about games,” the red haired teen said thoughtfully. “Though, that does lend him a bit of a tyrannical personality at times, doesn't it?” he added, chuckling.

“As for myself… well,” Xenon smiled lightly, “Blade’s personality reminds me of a close friend. I guess you could call it a sense or inclination.”

---

“I dunno, I think your leader sounds like a real jerk.” A man in black leather armor suddenly seems to come right out of the thin air, as if walking out of it. He is holding a strange green stone in his hand, but other than that doesn’t even have an Inventory Pouch or a weapon on him. He seems tall, as tall as Tian-Gui, but is rather lanky and lacks muscle mass.

Team Snake Scout
Jörmungandr Level 18


“The name’s Jörmungandr, and I couldn’t help but overhear a few things.” The man smiles, putting the stone next to his ear, before returning his hand to his side.

“A leader who doesn’t trust his comrades, who’s willing to go to the enemy of his own teammates for aid, doesn’t seem to want to be friends with anyone at all, and who has complete disdain for humanity...” He just shakes his head, clicking his tongue.

“Sounds like a pretty awful person right?”

---


Blade looks over with an uneasy look at the shady as fuck appearing man who spoke to him.

“Hey dude, you don’t look all the joyful and sparkly either ya know...and yeah he is an awful person.” Now fully turning to face the guy in a decently relaxed posture seeing no weapon on em. “If you're thinking about adding some more bodies to your force ya can forget about it in regards to me. I ain’t trading one tyrant for another.”

Just then a curious idea strikes Blade’s mind as he never recalled a TEAM JUSTICE at the start of all of this so they must have made the team somehow, maybe asking Arcadia. “I play games to have fun but there is no way playing with that guy around will be any fun at all. Yeah, I’m sure he pulls the strings for that team and I’d believe he’d just kill my friend and me if we don’t do what he says...and that ain’t honorable for shit.”

Continuing to think about the two members in that party that just rub him wrong in all the wrong ways. “Can people not just enjoy themselves, saying their crap at other people just wanting to be havin fun.”

The berserker fighter takes a few steps more forwards, not directly towards the Snake Scout and takes a deep breath. “HEY ARCADIA!!! IS THERE ANYTHING AGAINST MAKING A NEW TEAM!!!?”

He wanted to make his own team away from these asshole players as that is what he normally did in other RPGs with guilds. His guilds and such always stood for more virtues stances like helping out new players or defending weaker players from high level death parties wanting to troll kill rather than other guilds that either just wanted strength in numbers who recruited noobs before even knowing what they are doing or exclusive guilds full of assholes that just stomp new players. Sadly there were a few people in TEAM JUSTICE that Blade would like to get to know better but he wouldn’t be able to stand it.

“If I can’t than I’ll just leave this team and not be apart of any team and solo play.” He knew doing so would probably be the dumbest choice he has ever made in any game he has played tactical wise but purely and simply he wants to play the game his way.

Looking back to the Snake Scout with fire blazing in Blade’s eyes. “I’ll show that bastard up there and everyone else that there is more to a game than just leveling faster than others and stomping them into the ground.”

---

The Snake Scout just listens to what Blade has to say. “Solo play huh? That’s the beauty of Team Snake. Join us, and you can literally do whatever you want. Us on Team Snake tire of all of this team stuff and just want to fight Monsters or explore the Dungeons that appear. The fact that we are in a perfect recreation of the Port Island District fighting Monsters is amazing to us, and we just want to enjoy that.”

Of course around this time, Arcadia does appear, or more or less an illusory Arcadia.

“You can’t make a new Team, and if you’re not part of any Team then you can’t get any Camps to heal yourself with or spend your Gold Coins to purchase things.”

After saying this, the illusory Arcadia vanishes.

“And if you join Team Snake, you can meet a lot of guys who just want to play the game. Who aren’t like all of the other serious dullards you’re going to meet. If anything, several of us are survivors of the Teams that Sparrow or Peacock has attacked.”

And at this point he holds the green Crystal in his hand to Blade.

“We asked Arcadia to make us this, cost a fair amount of Gold. Lets us talk to anyone at our Camps or listen from afar, to make communication between us much better. One of our guys is actually a survivor from when those Peacocks attacked your Team.”

He gives Blade a simple, genuine grin.

“And he asked me that, if you guys are here, to let him talk to you.”

---

Blade wasn’t all that surprised at Arcadia’s answer and quick departure. But he was very pleased to hear what the Snake Scout was telling him about the people who resided in Team Snake. They are tired of the same shit too? They just wanna enjoy the game. When the green crystal is mentioned, Blade assuming that it was like some communication earpiece device based on what he was told but hearing that one of his old Team Wolf buddies had survived, was in Team Snake and wanted to talk through it.

The berserker being a little surprised at this but sprouts a big smile to accommodate the scout’s grin. Accepting the green crystal and placing it respectively into his ear.

“Hello?” “Anybody there?”

---

A voice speaks from the crystal in response to Blade. Blade would be able to recognize the voice. Icarus, the Archer who had helped the two of them escape the first time, the voice being recognizable since this guy always talked a lot.

“Bladesong is that you? Seems like you survived huh? Thank goodness.” A sigh of relief can be heard from the other side. “I’m guessing Kamui is with you as well.”

“But yea, things are pretty good at Team Snake. We can’t get a whole lot of grinding done since there are a lot of us, but just being able to hang out and fight monsters with everyone else is fun. You and Kamui should totally come on over. Team Wolf may be gone, but I think this Team is pretty cool regardless.”

So his friend from Team Wolf really is alive. If that’s the case, then this definitely made going to Team Snake all the more desirable, and thus gave Bladesong other options for Teammates.

The Snake Scout looks at Xenon. “Of course, you are free to come with us as well. The more the merrier I say~” The scout gives Xenon a smile now.

---

Shouko leaned back and shrugged. “I’ll leave it to you to get through to him, then. You’re a guy, you should at least understand him more than me. Then again-” She turned to look at their young leader. His face was nothing but soft features and feminine charm. “-he looks really girly, doesn’t he? Much more than any guy I’ve ever seen, anyway. Could easily pass him off as a girl.”
.
“What do you think? Is Rei cute?” Shouko asked Tian-Gui with a sly grin.


---
 
Xenon instinctively took a step back at the sudden appearance of Jörmungandr. I didn't even hear his steps... or was has he just been there the entire time? Either way, the red haired teen felt a bit on the edge with the team snake member's sudden appearance.

"Thanks, but I think I'll stay where I am," Xenon declined the offer to switch with a smile in return. "As flawed as it may seem, Team Justice is a good team," he added. But even if that was true for him, the teen felt that the other two ex-wolves didn't share the same sentiments considering their stilted reception at the dinner.

The whole situation's a bit problematic. If they leave now, then it's more firepower for Team Snake, and they know that Team Justice is contemplating an alliance with Team Peacock, Xenon thought worridly.
 
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