"Huh? How do you know his Power Level?" Isla asked me in surprise.

Shit, I was so taken aback that I didn't think before speaking.

While Mages are ranked primarily using their Mana Levels, Power Levels are also taken into account when assessing ranks since the Mana Level reading always remains constant from the moment they Awaken.

"Oh, I'm good at reading Auras. And his looks around the same level as a lower-end Q-Rank, maybe somewhere between a hundred and forty to a hundred a fifty thousand," I replied, playing to cool.

"My, how impressive. You're correct, his Power Level is a little over a hundred and forty thousand. Ordinarily, he would be ranked at Q, but his Magical abilities are extremely high level, so an exception was made.

As far as Enchanters go, he's the cream of the crop among K-Ranks when it comes to Spellcasting, he might even be better than some Ace Enchanters," She informed me.

Yeah, he can cast debuffs, which is fairly rare for K-Ranked Enchanters. And while his Aura isn't the largest, it's got a pretty high level of intensity.

"Hi, I'm Kaivel Intrix, it's nice to meet you. You can call me Kai," I introduced myself with a polite smile.

"Cool. I like the black fit you've got on, and those purple eyes are dope," He remarked as he glanced at me.

"Oh, uh...thanks, I appreciate it. Most of my outfits are black, actually," I smiled wryly.

"Nice, me too."

<Perhaps now you'll reconsider adding a bit more color to your wardrobe>

Not now, Ai.

"By the way, uh...what did you mean when you said you've been here the whole time? Exactly how long are we talking?" I asked him curiously.

"GM called me in here, we argued a bit, she got a call, told me to wait, I went to the couch, and she forgot about me. I've been here ever since."

Huh?

"What? That was over two hours ago, you've been here this whole time?! Why didn't you say anything?!" Responded Isla incredulously.

"I mean, like, what even is time, you know what I mean?" He mumbled as he stared up at the ceiling and let out a dramatic sigh.

"You're a pretty fascinating guy, aren't you?" I remarked in amusement.

"That's your perception...and we're all only as real as others perceive us to be. So, if there's no one to perceive us, we're not real. But in reality, we're all alone in the big picture...so none of us are real."

"Is he doing this on purpose?" I inquired quietly as I glanced at Isla.

"Like I said, I don't even know anymore," She shook her head with a sigh.

"So, can we get back to what we were discussing now?" Called out Damien, as he sat up and slumped back.

"What?"

"You got that call, told me to wait, I came to this couch, you-..."

"Right, yes, how could I forget? As I was telling Kaivel, Keira is unlikely to step out of line in a Dungeon. She's not stupid enough to attack her own party members in a serious life or death situation," Remarked Isla.

My passive lie detection isn't going off, so she believes what she's saying, at least.

"I hope you're right. Because, to be blunt, if she does attack me or something, I'll kill her in self-defense," I stated frankly.

"Totally justified. I'll help with some debuffs on her and buffs on you," Responded Damien with a half-hearted thumbs up.

"Sounds good, I'll go straight for the head," I smiled as I gave him a thumbs up back.

"Nah, go for the eyes first...eyes are the windows to the soul, so draw the blinds on her soul and then go for the head."

"Cool, it's settled, let's go with that."

"Uh, please don't talk about murdering a fellow Guild member so casually," Isla sighed in exasperation.

"It's only if she does something first, self-defense isn't murder. Can't be too careful, life is fleeting. In the end, we're all just slowly rotting sacks of meat and bone, we'll all die someday.

Ultimately, it's only a matter of time...and that time is precious. If someone threatens that time, it's only fair that we threaten the time they have," Responded Damien dryly.

"Yeah, what he said...uh, sort of," I nodded with a wry smile.

"Well, glad you two seem to be getting along, at least. The raid will be proceeding with this party, make sure to use the rest of today and tomorrow to prepare for it."

"Yeah, alright. I'll be heading out now, then. Later," I replied with a polite nod, starting to head for the door before adding as I glanced at Damien, "And it was nice meeting you, man, I'll see you at the raid."

"Sure, see ya. I'll stay here a while longer...I've melded with this couch, there's no longer any telling where I end and it begins," He sighed, as he raised his hand towards a light on the ceiling.

Well, he sure is an interesting one, isn't he?

I then headed out of the room, shutting the door behind me as I walked out, stretching my arms up with a sigh. I've kinda got mixed feelings about this upcoming raid.

On the one hand, it'll be my first High Level raid, a good opportunity to boost my stats and get stronger. But on the other hand, I'm in a party with someone that might try to kill me.

When she first attacked me in that training room, I definitely felt some serious murderous intent behind her attacks, she was legitimately trying to kill me.

Hm...I should be careful not to use Enrage around her. In that state of cold, merciless logic, I might actually try to kill her.

I mean, it would make sense, she's a potential threat to me, and since I obviously don't want to die, I'd be better off if she wasn't around anymore.

But I suppose Isla has a point...I can't imagine that an experienced Hunter would be stupid enough to try and kill a party member during a raid.

That doesn't mean I've completely ruled out the possibility though, I'm going to need to watch my back.

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