Joining

In front of the mage-looking person, there were three other individuals listening in, with two of them being male and the last being unidentifiable due to a large cloak obscuring their appearance.

"Ghost?" said one of the men out of confusion.

"Yes, ghost!" the mage-looking informer replied, nodding his head excitedly. "The nobles at Fermes call him Requiem, and I've heard that this person already has a kill count of over a thousand men." At this moment, the informer chose to take a brief pause before taking a peek around to see if others were paying attention. Once he confirmed it, he went on, "As far as anyone knows, this ghost has only ever targeted the nobility, and turned each of them into corpses using the most gruesome methods."

Nearby, Leo was also listening in as he waited at an adjacent table. He couldn't help have his ears perk up as his curiosity grew with the informer's words.

'Someone is going around and killing the Fermes nobles?' Leo felt slightly skeptical but still intrigued. 'Is it really a ghost though?'

"How do you know for certain that it is a ghost?" asked the other man in Leo's place.

"Simple," the mage-looking informer cleared his throat, "I've heard that multiple attempts of divination magic have been used to uncover the identity of this 'Requiem'. So far, every result only gave the information that this individual is already dead. And if that's not enough, they say that this guy's appearance is also obscured by some strange black mist that has been identified as ethereal.

"If you don't believe me, there are many other sources who all share the same opinion that this guy isn't a living person. I'm telling you, it's a ghost."

The two men listening across shared a glance with each other as they processed these words. Only the cloaked figure sitting beside them held no reaction. There wasn't any indication whether or not this mysterious person was even listening.

Leo continued to stare over at the adjacent table for a few seconds before he suddenly heard a knocking sound at his table. The sound startled him and caused him to turn away his attention from the previous discussion.

"Hey there!" greeted a cheerful person wearing casual clothing. It was Alex, along with his two teammates Sarah and Judy who also looked to be in their civilian garbs.

"Oh, hello..." Leo stood up to return the greeting after calming his heart.

The two men who recently fought together quickly shook hands.

"Heh heh, didn't know you liked to eavesdrop on fellow guild mates," Alex teased while glancing at the nearby mage who continued to unveil on what he heard.

"Tha-that was..."

"It's fine. I'm just making a joke," Alex reassured Leo's stuttering while letting go of the latter's hand. "It's not uncommon for people to overhear information around here. In fact, some informers might be hoping for this sort of stuff to happen."

"Eh, really?" Leo didn't understand how that was the case.

Soon, everyone began sitting down and started casually discussing.

"Information brokers want to gain some level of notability within their respective areas," explained Judy. "It helps their business when others become interested in what they have to say.

"Of course, when they allow others to eavesdrop, they won't reveal everything they know. They simply want to peak people's interest before asking them to pay for further knowledge."

"I see." Leo nodded as comprehension dawned on him.

'So just now, that person didn't choose to keep his voice down because he wanted someone like me to be tempted by what he heard. Well, I wasn't actually planning on paying him anyway.'

It seemed that Leo's knowledge of an adventurer's lifestyle still needed to be updated.

"Ah yes, didn't Judy also get tricked one time by that old mercenary from the capital?" Suddenly, without consideration for the current mood, Sarah randomly unveiled her own interesting piece of information.

Judy's cheeks burned red as she retorted, "That wasn't my fault! That scumbag acted like he was an actual knight!"

Alex strained to keep a straight face.

"I remember that one," Alex held his hand to his forehead as he resisted the urge to chuckle. "Didn't he run off with half the gold you earned from that one quest?"

"Gah! Don't remind me! Just remembering about it pisses me off!" Judy held her head as she put on an unpleasant expression; her hands were moving as she slightly rustled her chestnut-colored hair.

"Ahem, sorry to interrupt," Leo cleared his throat as he tried to keep the conversation on track. "But didn't we agree to come here to discuss about the forming of our new team?"

"Oh right! Almost forgot." Sarah clasped her hands in apology as she looked around. "I suppose it is quite discourteous to be acting amongst ourselves when we should be helping you get further acquainted with us."

"And who's fault do you think that is..." Judy spoke in exasperation as she started wordlessly muttering to herself about her past experience.

"Anyways," Alex took the lead. "I think the first thing we should talk about would be our team's division of roles."

"You mean like how we should form up in groups during combat?" Leo guessed while recalling his lectures with Gerald.

"Correct!" Alex turned his gaze around the table towards each of his teammates. "Far as I can tell, we each possess our own unique specialties.

"Judy has mastered various intermediate spells, but prefers to act as a long distance caster at the rear of our team to fully optimize her strength.

"Meanwhile, Sarah is a priestess who can provide both protection and healing while in dangerous situations, and can help bolster our overall fighting capabilities. But she is also someone who needs to be protected as she doesn't have many offensive spells of her own, which often forces her to remain at the rear along with Judy.

"As for me," Alex indicated to himself. "I'm best suited at close-quarters combat, so I'm often tasked with the role of this team's vanguard."

Alex then gestured to Leo.

"Which now leaves you. Personally, I think you're very suited to adapting on the fly. You can coordinate with our team as an all-rounder in between the rear and the front, but I'm willing to hear a little bit more about your abilities before we can make any considerations."

Leo paused as he thought about what he should first divulge. At this stage, it was important for everyone to quickly get a good grasp of each others' skills before they can work optimally together; that time in the ruin was only a temporary thing, and there weren't really many examples of team synergy that he could recall.

Leo decided to choose his words carefully.

"I think your assessment is mostly correct...

"I can afford to switch between the roles of being on the frontline and the rear in the team's formation. However, I do think it would be better for me to remain on the frontline to support you as the vanguard."

While he did agree that he was an all-rounder, Leo still felt that he should mostly stay on the frontline to prevent any accidents from occurring. After all, just Alex being the only reliable vanguard will put more pressure on their team. Having an extra person helping him out would offset potential risks.

"I see," Alex commented before looking around the table. "What does everyone else think?"

Without wasting a second, Judy first responded, "This suggestion will definitely give us a more balanced team composition.

"Alex, you can't always shoulder the burden for the rest of us. I always felt that it was about time we finally recruit someone who can fight alongside you."

Observing from the side, Sarah also chimed in while tucking in her golden hair, "She's right, you know. You've always been charging headfirst into danger, and yesterday's mission nearly killed you.

"And I do also think," she paused and fixed a stare at Leo that made the latter slightly uncomfortable, "that our new teammate has the potential to be quite reliable."

"Is this your intuition again?" Alex asked, slightly teasing.

Sarah shrugged with her usual serene look, not elaborating any further.

"Alrighty then," Alex stood up and looked around with a compassionate gaze. "I didn't realize how much all of you secretly cared for my well-being."

"That's because you've always ignored our concerns," Judy grumbled.

"In any case," Alex gestured to Leo to also stand. "We all officially acknowledge you as a part of our team. Congratulations for joining us!"

"Uh, heheh. I'm honored," Leo shook Alex's hand again with an awkward smile as everybody else stood up as well to greet their new member.

"No need to be shy," Alex pulled Leo inwards and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, startling the new teammate. "Is there anything you would like to ask about?"

"..." Leo pondered for a moment and instantly recalled his previous hours exploring the streets.

"Yes, there are a few things," Leo replied while shyly smiling after extricating himself from Alex's arm. "I would like to know of the places where adventurers can buy their equipment and spell books."

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In the capital city of Bavalon, adjacent to Victoria City, a meeting was being hosted in the grand castle of the King and Queen.