Oh, Serif looked at Zhadra with curiosity. To be considered the person with the most offensive power, even while he was here, that was certainly impressive and a little annoying.

But a small smile appeared on his lips, the type that if you weren't vigilant, you wouldn't notice.

Veymir cleared his throat, drawing attention back to himself, "Oh, even with Serif here?"

"Yes sir, you and Serif haven't been around much, but without disrespect to sir Serif," the bulky man with the sleeveless shirt nodded towards Serif, "I'd say, she beats you in pure offensive power, I'm sure everyone here agrees."

The others looked uncomfortable, avoiding eye contact with Serif, fidgeting but still nodding in agreement nonetheless.

Meanwhile, the person in question, Zhadra didn't look at Serif or Veymir, eyes stayed fixed on the map, arms folded, her expression straight, as if she had no concerns in the world.

"But sir Serif will win in a fight," a woman to the right of Serif muttered, moving strands of hair over her eye.

"Without a doubt," another agreed with her.

"No offense Zhadra," the lady next to Serif added with a smile.

"That's enough," Veymir 's voice echoed through the room, everyone's attention returned to him as he adjusted his tie and smiled.

"That puts Zhadra on the Search team then, that's two people in place." He looked at Serif.

"But we'll need someone with authority, someone who can lead on the other team, and the only people qualified for that are me and Serif," he said with a smile, "plus her offensive power alone won't be enough, the team would need someone with Serif's expertise to increase chances of survival, not to mention that's his primary mission, guiding the Gishiki, am I right." He finished with a smile on his lips as he adjusted his gloves.

"Honestly sir, I don't think there would be any need for Sir Serif to leave the tower," the bulky looking man said, causing Veymir to slowly turn to him.

"And why's that," he asked, a faint smile on his lips.

"I believe my offensive power should be second highest after Zhadra, and her leadership abilities are splendid, we can all testify to that," The man said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh," Veymir's already narrow eyes narrowed even more, almost a slit now, he looked around the table, everyone subtly trying to avoid eye contact, then his gaze stopped on Serif.

"It seems the grim reaper is being challenged, aren't you going to respond to this," Veymir mocked.

Serif stayed silent, their eyes locked.

He was right, offensive power wasn't enough to survive this place, even with his experience, he wasn't sure of his survival.

And offensive power doesn't exactly translate to lethality, he could kill everyone of them here, within thirty minutes at most, even she.

So just having offensive power wasn't enough for exploration. He looked towards Zhadra, as much as he was compelled to trust her, he couldn't trust anyone with the Gishiki.

"As long as we can recover the Gishiki, nothing else matters," he turned to the bulky man, ignoring the victorious smile on Veymir's lips, as he adjusted his black gloves again.

"You'll stay here along with Veymir, offensive power would also be required for defense." The man nodded in acknowledgement.

"Alright, then," Veymir's voice rang out, "we have two people on each team, now." His gaze scanned across the table.

****

Serif leaned against the black wall, absent-mindedly observing the team preparing for the expedition, packing supplies, preparing their anima.

While he himself calmly wrapped the silver chains around his forearm, the chain digging tightly into the textured combat sleeves.

The exploration team made of him and Zhadra, his eyes moving to her figure, already ready to move, a black jacket over her combat shirt, segmented shoulder guards over the left arm, the handle of a hammer peeking behind it, a bow peeking over her right shoulder.

An odd combo of weapons choice, as much as he wanted to deny it, he was looking forward to seeing her in action.

Aside from her there was another woman, no a teenager, Tavena, who had the ability of foresight and sensing energy changes, a useful ability for scouting and avoiding danger.

Although as he looked at her, he wondered why her hair covered one of her eyes. It was obviously a hassle.

Then there was Jake, a unique case, his blonde hair sticking out, identifying him as a foreigner.

Considering Ursa was pretty big on culture, he was surprised to see a foreigner in Thiodol. He was also a teenager, about Axel's age, although a lot more meek, and shy, his own ability was enhanced sight and the ability to levitate.

And finally, Orivin, the mountain man, the only defense of the group. Serif looked on as he hoisted a big shield, the fabric of his combat outfit straining as his muscles tensed beneath, as he hooked the shield to the holster on his back.

I now understand why that idiot tore off his own sleeve, Serif thought, as he finished wrapping the chain, he looked up the stairs to catch sight of Veymir, smiling at him.

He threw down a rolled up map at Serif.

Veymir smiled and went back up the stairs, five members for exploration, half of the group that came down to this hell.

Serif sighed and hooked the map to his back, he was ready, he scanned the room again, his team was almost ready, the man with sleeveless shirt talking to Zhadra, although looking at her clenched fist, her feet tapping, Serif knew she wasn't enjoying his company.

Serif smirked and left.

He walked a little away from the tower and took a deep breath observing the Netherveil again, the eerie and hunting expanse in front of him.

The Gishiki somewhere out there, he took a deep breath, and rubbed his face, his shoulder dropping as he remembered Axel's face, if only he was more careful, vigilant, the kid would still be alive.

But what's done is done, there's nothing I can do about it, it was his fate, Serif sighed.

"Never thought I'll see that expression on your face," a voice came from his side.

Serif looked to his side, Zhadra standing there, arms folded, a rare surprised expression flickered on his face, to reach his side without him realizing, impressive.

His eyes narrowed as he turned back to the tower, "Are they done?"

"Not yet," She answered, "what do you think our chances of survival are?"

Serif looked towards the dark expanse in front of him, a dead forest in the distance, caves sprawled around, glowing rivers of lava.

"Thirty percent," he muttered looking up.

"I see."

"Make that fifty," Serif added.

"Why's that," her brow raised.

The wind blew Serif's hair to the side, "because I am here."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.