Felix fell silent, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably. From the outside, one would think he was both hurt and angry at Lucy's words, but it was quite the opposite on the inside. Felix was trying his best not to laugh at Lucy's sermon.
Was Felix convinced that Aaron would defeat him in a battle? Heck no. Even without witnessing the full extent of Aaron's abilities yet, the same could be said for Felix.
The little brat had claimed they knew how strong Felix could be and had seen him all "buffed up," but had she? Did she know of Felix's [Weapon Proficiency] skill that made him a menace with any weapon he laid his hands on? Or did she know of the [Life Surge] skill that stole the health of the enemy to replenish his? Or was it the [Dominator] skill that subjected those he defeated to a 25% remittance of every attribute they gained either from training or slaying monsters? Or the [Witcher's Curse] that leeched off his targets and reflected their own attacks? Or the [Elemental Dominion] that made him two-in-one of a swordsmaster and mage? Or even the [Absolute Domain] that is the true definition of a broken skill?
Heck, did she even know the true essence of the [Overdeath] skill aside from "buffing up"?
That only left [Telekinesis] and the [Blade Aura] skill that everyone was aware he had in his arsenal. And she'd claimed she had seen all he could offer and was only a "frog in a well." Girl, you really should stick to stuffing your face with books in the library rather than appraising people, Felix thought in amusement.
If Aaron had a similar train of thought as Lucy, then he'd be dead wrong and would be the frog in a well just like the rest of them, who clearly underestimated Felix's abilities because they probably thought Felix had shown it all.
Even with skills aside, Felix had the highest attributes amongst them all, and they probably didn't realize this because they could only see the name and level of an individual using the appraise skill, rather than a long list of their attributes and skill sets. This must make them think Felix was at Lv2 like them with more or less attributes compared to theirs. How foolish.
Felix was confident in taking on either Aaron or Athenae and having the upper hand in the battle in both skills and attributes.
Though Aaron might prove to be harder to deal with—being a deadly marksman who could flash across several places and snipe at the enemy's blind spots—he couldn't escape Felix's [Witcher's Curse] skill and the [Overdeath] which could keep up with his erratic movements and bullets. And if it came down to Aaron using both a sword and a gun like he'd claimed was the true essence of his class system, then Felix would counter with his sword and the [Elemental Dominion] skill, which was no different from using a sword and gun and might prove to be an even more lethal combination in battle.
In the worst-case scenario, if Aaron proved to be stronger than Felix and in the process tried to kill him, then the Lv3 [Absolute Domain] passive skill would be activated as long as Felix was high on [Overdeath]. And no, Felix hadn't dubbed it the worst-case scenario for the sake of himself, but… it would be the worst-case scenario for Aaron.
Felix couldn't hold it back any longer; his lips stretched into a wide maniacal grin as he looked Lucy in the eyes like a predator staring into her soul.
"We'll see about that."
…
"We're on a quest now and have to move as fast as possible to stop Lady Morwen before the city is turned into an undead army," Felix began briefing. "Athenae, I'll need you with me to take down Lady Morwen. The rest of you should offer your support to the city and save as many people as you can, as every life lost is a plus one to the undead army, and we can't let Lady Morwen have her way."
"What about Aaron?" Athenae asked with a raised brow.
"Aaron has been expelled from the party. We do not care what he does from this moment onwards and our job right now is to complete the quest given: Save the city and take down Lady Morwen The Deathcaller. Whoever stands in the way of fulfilling that objective must be taken as an enemy and cut down like the enemy they are. No exceptions." Felix declared.
"Fine by me," Athenae shrugged nonchalantly.
"But how do we get through the soldiers?" Chelsey asked in uncertainty.
"We have to let them know their city is under an undead siege and that we are not the enemy," Lucy replied smartly, which earned her a nod from Felix.
"Sarah, I'm sorry but we'll have to leave y'all here. I believe this is a safe distance from the chaos and if anything were to go wrong, I advise you to run away with your people." Felix looked Sarah in his eyes.
She stiffly nodded in understanding.
"Lastly, I'll be needing everyone at their peak strength and thereby nullify your agreement with Aaron about not using your level 2 skill set. Desperate times call for desperate measures. We have to end this as soon as possible before the moon rises."
Coming to think of it, it was Aaron who'd suggested they make the 'fun bet' to not use their level 2 skill set. And that was to ensure neither of them stole the last hit on the mob boss so he could carefully watch its health deteriorate before delivering a devastating strike to end it.
Now that makes a lot of sense.
Just why was Aaron so desperate to kill the boss? Felix could attest there were no special benefits aside from some bonus attributes and the title which was a testament to the kill.
"Let's move out. Athenae on me." Felix ordered as he leaped on his sword and soared to the sky.
[Telekinesis skill has been upgraded to Lv5 >>> Lv6]
Athenae took her position and burst from the spot, sprinting across the field towards the battlefield at an incredible pace.
Chelsey levitated into the air, defying the laws of gravity as she gracefully soared towards the city with a string of flame snaking around her body.
Lucy murmured incomprehensible words in prayer and began glowing a radiant white light that didn't hurt the eyes and filled the hearts of all those present with serenity as she floated towards the sky glowing like a star, before shooting towards the city as well.