Joaquin was tempted.
And he wasn't alone. Marcelo and Sara were tempted too.
Until now,
all they could do was hide from the monsters, picking their way carefully through cities and villages.
They had to stay alert for attacks at every moment.
Because—
"Monsters can't be defeated"!
If they wanted to stay alive, caution was essential.
But that made searching for the achievements of the Alternate Universe's civilization painfully inefficient.
At every moment, they had to worry about monsters discovering them.
But if—
if they could determine how strong the monsters were, they would have far more options.
"You think Sage Harper was wrong?"
Joaquin asked sharply.
Xu Yuan gave him a harmless smile. "I'm new here. I don't know anything. But I just saw a monster die when everyone attacked it together."
"—I'd rather let the facts speak."
"Exactly! That's how the Red Demon King does game reviews. He never speaks for the developers—he shows everyone the problems!" Marcelo pumped his fist excitedly.
Joaquin considered this, then glanced at Sara.
"My dagger went into the monster's body without any trouble," Sara said. "I didn't feel that it was particularly strong."
Joaquin nodded.
Sara hadn't said she supported Xu Yuan, but she, too, had let the facts speak.
That amounted to support for Xu Yuan's argument.
Of course!
An S-rank ability user had demonstrated his talent and strength during the mission.
He deserved the respect that came with it.
"Thirty seconds left. Let's all attack and see what happens."
Joaquin said.
The tension suddenly eased, then drew tighter than before.
They relaxed because the whole team had reached an agreement.
The tension returned because they were about to do something none of them had ever tried.
—Fight a Dark Knight!
The mountain forest was quiet.
Above the abandoned farmland between