PICK ME UP, ANOTHER LOBBY!

The fairy told me that the second floor summoning chamber only summoned 3-star heroes and above.

Though being a 3-star did not necessarily guarantee we would be welcoming a fighter. After all, Gerrits was a 3-star and he turned out to be a craftsman.

Once the light dissipated, the door to the summoning chamber slowly opened.

Came out from the building were five people.

A gray-haired middle-aged man carrying a short bow and a quiver full with arrows.

A lightly-armored halberd-wielding woman.

A muscular man with scars all over his arms and a heavy sword strapped on his back.

A cloaked pale-skinned man. From the openings of his cloth, I could spot two daggers belted on his hip.

And an axe-carrying giant man whose thick grayish blond hair resembled a lion's mane.

All of them were carrying weapons. Thank the goddesses.

"They looked strong."

Trudy commented as she gazed at the new arrivals.

"We shall see if that is a fact. Come!"

I replied to her.

My comrades and I walked up to the summoning chamber and welcomed the five.

"Hello there! My name is Serafina Magda Zeref. May I ask who you folks are?"

I introduced myself.

The muscular man with the heavy sword stepped up with a big smile.

"Well hey there, pretty lady! You can call me Zecht. The most handsome mercenary in Dunia!"

He introduced.

Now up close, I could notice from his black-haired head that he was in his late-twenties or early-thirties. There was also a small scar running down his cheek. Perhaps from a sword wound.

The lady with the halberd then came forward.

"This guy's right. I've been making a name for myself in the mercenary guild because of my looks, but I could not dare compare myself to you! I'm Norn, by the way. Norn Farass."

She had this gentle feminine look because of her flowing purplish hair and soft face.

But from the firm tone of her muscle and how she moved her limbs, I could sense she was a fierce fighter.

"Darius Mare. I worked as a mercenary in the Mala region. How do you do, my lady?"

The gray-haired middle-aged archer introduced himself while performing a slight bow to me.

He sported a thick white beard and long ponytail under his green cap. Wrinkles were all over his face.

But his boulder-like shoulders and steel-like arms indicated that age had not declined him just yet. And his sharp blue eyes were as penetrating as the arrows in his quiver.

"Other mercenaries calls me Lisham. That's all you need to know from me."

The pale-skinned man said uninterestedly.

His cloak did not reveal much of his appearance. But I could tell he had a strong and firm physique. 

"Haha! I suppose it's my turn now! The best is always saved for last after all!"

Crash!

The giant lion-like man suddenly planted his huge axe to the ground, creating a long crack along the square.

"Jyrgil Artos! I'm the strongest mercenary there is. You weaklings better not forget that!"

I could barely hold my laugh upon his introduction.

His physique might had triumphed all the other people here.

But from his stunt with his axe just now I could already gauge how strong he actually was.

I had met countless warriors during my time in Dunia. I could tell one's worth from a single swing of their weapon.

"Hi, everyone! I'm Trudy, and this is Shanny, and that is Jonah. Nice to meet you, folks!"

Trudy introduced herself and the rest.

"All of you are apparently mercenaries. Do you people know each other?"

I asked them.

I knew it was a possibility for the people summoned together to have relations with one another, considering Giacomo and Linnie's circumstances.

The five of them stared at each other with a frown on their faces.

"No, not really."

"This is my first time seeing any of these people."

"Me too."

So it turned out they did not know each other.

Had these skilled fighters been comrades before coming here, they could become a formidable party.

"So, what is this place?"

Zecht, the heavy sword man, asked.

"Yeah, do you know something, pretty lady?"

Norn, the halberd lady, joined him.

Considering they were at least 3-star heroes, they should know something about the forged land.

"You folks did not know anything too?"

I turned to the other three.

The middle-aged man grabbed his silver beard, thinking.

"All I know is that I'm here to fight. That there is this master I must obey and that they will send me to battles. I don't know how I knew any of these though."

Darius, the archer, explained.

"Same for me. It's really weird. My head hurts if I try to remember more."

Lisham, the cloaked man, added.

"What about synthesis? You know about it?"

I asked again.

"Ha! It's something that can make us stronger by sacrificing other people, right? I don't know how I knew it either, but it sounds exciting!"

Jyrgil, the giant man, answered enthusiastically.

So apparently their knowledge was the same as Gerrits when he first came here.

This would mean they were all 3-stars.

If they had been 4-stars or higher, they would had known the voice I spoke to. Supposedly.

[Darius, Lisham, Norn, Jyrgil, and Zecht! Come to the first floor square! Master is calling for you!]

The fairy suddenly announced their names in front of the rift below.

The five of them did not raise any question when they were called.

They instead readied their weapons and obliged the instruction.

It was as if they instinctively knew they had to listen to what the fairy said.

"Finally, time for battle!"

Jyrgil said excitedly.

"See you later, pretty lady!"

Zecht exclaimed while descending the stairs.

"Talk to you guys soon!"

Norn waved us goodbye.

My comrades and I watched these 3-star heroes walked into the rift.

Having talked to them, we had a grasp on their personalities, which was important if we were going to work with them.

"That Jyrgil guy is an asshole."

Shanny stated immediately.

"Zecht and Norn seemed nice though."

Trudy said.

"I don't know. I don't really like that Zecht fellow. He's not polite."

Jonah objected with a frown.

"Not sure about Lisham yet, but Darius seemed trustworthy. Plus, he's an archer, which we need."

I told my comrades.

Before we could talk about them even further, the rift of space-time glowed up.

The five newly-summoned fighters had returned.

"What? They're done already?!"

Trudy said in surprise.

"Ha! Those goblins and wolves were nothing!"

Jyrgil shouted.

"You did well shooting down those harpies, old man!"

Norn said while tapping Darius's back.

"You and that Zecht fellow fought well too."

He replied.

Goblins, wolves, and harpies.

They must had gone to the fourth floor, if the sixth floor did not have the same types of monsters that is.

Anyway, it had not been a minute since they went in.

I supposed 3-star heroes were on a different league after all.

"Hahaha! More! Give me more monsters to kill!"

Jyrgil's laughter resounded throughout the square.

Seemed like he had an appetite for battle, which was not entirely surprising.

"Tch! Would you quiet down already? You did not even fight that well."

Lisham suddenly blurted out under his cloak.

"What did you say?!"

Jyrgil snapped back at him.

"All you did was throwing that giant axe around without a care in the world. You almost hit me back there."

The cloaked man said.

"Ha! It's not my fault if you and your little knives could not keep up with me."

Quick as lightning, Lisham drew the two daggers from his hip and pointed them toward Jyrgil.

The giant man had also placed his hand on the hilt of his axe.

"You want to say that again, you retard?"

Lisham asked while pointing his daggers.

"I'll do you one better. 'A battlefield is no place for frauds like you who only uses kitchen knives.'"

Jyrgil said tauntingly.

"That does it!"

Lisham immediately dashed forward, aiming to slice Jyrgil's neck.

Jyrgil quickly drew his axe, ready to block Lisham's assault.

It was then that an invisible barrier appeared in front of Lisham, impeding his charge.

[Hey, fighting among heroes are prohibited!]

The fairy suddenly appeared between the two quarreling heroes.

"Out of my way! This man just insulted me! He has to pay!"

Lisham shouted at the fairy.

[I said stop! No fighting among the heroes! Master will punish you!]

Lisham turned his daggers and redirected them toward the fairy.

"Just shut up, you bug!"

He threw his arms forward to slash through the winged-creature.

Right at that moment the fairy formed a grin.

Splurt!

With a simple swish of the fairy's hand, Lisham's head flew out of his shoulders, spurting blood all over the first floor square.

['Lisham (★★★)' has returned to the Goddesses' embrace! His fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]

[Cause of death – Suicide due to stress.]