"What do you mean? She's in his team, isn't she?" Soren was irritated; he kept his sword. "Anyway, it doesn't matter; let the beasts coming be the ones to rip her apart."
'beast?' Luna cast her gaze into the distance; her covered eyesight couldn't see anything, yet she couldn't cast away the ominous feelings that had now descended before her. She moved to Marta, who was still screaming and crying out in pain. "Stop whatever it is you are doing to her." She shouted at Soren.
Soren didn't like the feeling of being ordered by Luna; he would have attacked her with his magic if not for the fact that Lucian needed her back, obviously unharmed. He groaned and deactivated his magic. "Let's go." He walked ahead and stopped, turning around to see Luna trying to calm down Marta, who broke down in tears after waking up from the spell that was cast on her. "We don't have time for this! Leave her; let's go!"
"We are taking her with us." Luna stated strongly.
"No, we are not."
"It's either you agree or I'm not going to follow you. When you meet Lucian, tell him that he's free to search for me on his own."
'No.' Soren thought. 'I can't meet him and tell him that I failed.' His shoulder deflated in defeat. "Okay fine, she can come with us."
—------------------------------------------------------
Marta anxiously scratches the side of her hand repeatedly. She glanced at everyone in the cave who stared at her; she took more glances at Lucian because of his handsome features. Marta blushed hard and cast her gaze down when her eyes met Lucian's blank gaze.
Lucian turned to Soren, who shrugged and crossed his legs as he sat down on the ground. "Don't look at me; bringing her here was not my idea, it was hers." He pointed at Luna.
As much as Lucian was happy to see Luna alive and not dead, he didn't know what to make of Marta. 'What am I supposed to do with her?' he thought and then suddenly realized that if Luna wanted to save Marta, the choice of what happens to Marta wasn't his decision, but it belonged to Luna. It was her burden to carry, not his.
"Why are you doing that?" Lucian asks, unable to hide the irritation he feels from watching Marta hurt herself. "Stop it."
It took Marta a minute to realize what Lucian was referring to. She stops scratching her own skin and then moves over to fidgeting with her shirt while asking herself if Lucian cares about her. Somehow the thought made her happy.
Lucian turned to Luna, who was standing by his side; he raised a questioning brow.
"I only wanted to save her from Caius and…" She glanced at Soren. "Well, I guess there is no way she can survive alone." Luna turned to Flint, who had been nice to her since she came to his hideout. "Please, is it possible for you to accept one more person to your team? Although she doesn't look it, her system magic is quite strong."
Flint smiled; since he was already losing Soren, there was no harm in welcoming someone new into his team, but such a decision was something he couldn't make alone. He looked at the expression on his teammates' faces; they had a pitiful look over Marta's rough state, smiled, and nodded their heads in approval of letting Marta join the team.
"Huh…" Marta struggled with her words and pointed at Lucian. "I would like to join his team."
Soren felt like shouting no, but he stopped himself because he was new to the team and didn't have any right to reject Marta.
Lucian's brow rose; it would have reached his hairline if possible. He wondered if the reason Marta wanted to be on his team was because of Luna; since Luna was her survivor, she didn't want to be away from her. He groaned loudly at his thought, making Marta nervous.
"You do know that he's the villain of the game, right?" Luna asked. She didn't understand Marta's decision: "Being in Lucian's team will put your life in constant danger, and there is also the risk of you dying. I can't promise you that anyone in this team will be willing to risk their life for you." She spoke harshly because she didn't want to give Marta any hope, not when she knew what Lucian was like.
Marta nodded, insisting that she still wanted to be with Lucian.
"I can't say that I will be able to guarantee your safety, but I will try my best to protect you." Lucian said sincerely. He felt like it was the least he could do for those who were willing to follow him regardless of the danger ahead.
"So you do have a heart after all." Flint smiled at Lucian, who glared at him and told him to shut up.
—------------------------------------------------------
"Captain." Reed walked into Thorin's private space in the little camp they had set up for themselves. Thorin was doing a push-up with his one arm; over the days his strength has grown tremendously. Reed was glad to watch his growth because it meant that his brother's sacrifice wasn't in vain.
A girl followed closely behind Reed as he approached Thorin.
Thorin used his earth magic to push his hand forward, making him settle steady on his feet. "A runaway? Or an abandoned player?" He asked as he looked at the girl behind Reed; she had short blonde hair with blue highlights.
"She is an abandoned player, and she's also a healer. Once she heals your arm, she's welcome to join the team." Reed stated coldly. He had lost the warm part of himself since his brother's death.
Runaways are players who ran away from their teammates because of fear or personal issues, while abandoned players are players who had been told that they weren't good enough and were too weak and were thereby kicked out of their team or simply abandoned by the team in battle. Thorin's new team was formed from this new set of people; his old teammates didn't want him anymore, and he wasn't going to force it.
"Remember what I said before, Reed." Thorin smiled at the girl hiding behind Reed.
Skai was intimidated by Thorin's strong build but felt relaxed after his kind smile.
"There's no condition attached to joining our team." Thorin continues, "Anyone except for Lucian is welcome." Regardless of the recent change in his heart, there was still a lingering hatred in his heart for Lucian, and since Lucian was the villain, it didn't affect his system; as long as he doesn't let his hatred for Lucian consume him, then he is fine.
"I don't mind healing you." Skai spoke out. "Although my healing spells aren't as fast as others, so I'm not that reliable." She stated in a depressing tone.
"What is your name?" Thorin placed a hand on his waist.
"My name is Skai." Her voice came out tiny, leaving her mortified because she wanted to be bold.
"Welcome to the team, Skai. Having someone as special as you on our team is an honor, and don't worry about my arm. I don't want to be healed now, not until we win this game. So on that day you can heal me if you still want to." Thorin gave a bright smile.
"Yes, captain." Skai replied.
"Are you okay, Reed?" Thorin asked. Reed was lost in his thoughts.
"Yes." Reed stated blankly and walked away with Skai, who followed him. He was going to introduce her to the rest of the team.