Before Michael and the others arrived, Ragnar was looking at the scenery.
Since the continent of the Elves and Sprites were just boundaries apart, after his successful raid in Gargantuan Cave, Ragnar went to the land of the Sprites and ended up in front of Illusion Forest from grinding monsters and beasts.
And since he was here, he might as well enter the Forrest and try his luck with another Boss again. He was tired of grinding anyway.
He looked at the groups present outside of the forest. They were at least five groups that were calling for other members.
Ragnar was thinking of his options, but the only group who didn’t look him up and down or raised their brow were two siblings with white hair and dark skin.
Ragnar chose that group and went towards the two. He then introduced himself while the two siblings greeted back.
Roxy welcomed him with open arms while Rox looked over at him with a worried face.
“Two Orcs in the team? Is that okay, sister?” Rox asked, a bit worried.
Roxy shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Two is better than one anyway.”
“But we need a healer and a mage.”.
“I can be both,” a girl chimed in and said, “My name is Evie. Are you still looking for members?”
Ragnar looked at the newly arrived woman. She was short, reaching only around his chest but her face was nothing but ‘short.’
Ragnar had to admit that he momentarily couldn’t react. He just looked at the girl for seconds before he pulled away. Her beauty was striking that it even stole his attention. And this was coming from him, a man who had seen it all.
Her face was small, and her eyes were mystifying. She was short, but her physique was alluring. Probably the only thing he criticized about her was her dead expression.
After the siblings introduced each other to Evie, the two went ahead and called for other players, leaving him and Evie at the side.
She looked over at him and said with a deadpan face, “Evie.”
“Ragnar,” he replied.
“. . .”
“. . .”
From the corner of his eyes, Ragnar knew that Evie was peeking at him under her thick lashes. She must be curious about his ugly face.
It was silent, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, and Ragnar liked the silence for some reason. He then hovered his eyes around, passing the time by looking at the scenery. Before his gaze went to Evie without a thought, and at that exact time, Evie smiled while looking at her screen.
Ragnar couldn’t even blink, and he was hypnotized. Evie had a paralyzed face and seemed like she couldn’t make any emotions. Even a smile was so elusive to the point that it wouldn’t graze her lips. It added to her charms. Like anyone would want to please her just for that little smile.
But when she did, it was all worth it.
Ragnar had seen plenty of beautiful women. Models. Actresses. Influencers. Heiress. Young Miss. But all of them seemed to pale in comparison to Evie’s charisma. Even Silvia didn’t have that charm.
Ragnar didn’t know that he was intently staring at Evie, who was currently showing all sorts of emotions. From smiling to frowning to trouble to panicky. It was quite amusing, in fact.
She seemed to be messaging someone, and Ragnar couldn’t help but think that it was her boyfriend. And he thought that was one lucky guy.
Ragnar shook his head and took a deep breath through his nose. A good thing that he wasn’t interested in women. He could have them whenever he wanted. And women were mostly a pain in the ass all his life. So he developed some kind of aversion towards them.
Good thing that Silvia was there. She was her shield against them as he was to her. So far, their relationship setup have worked out quite well for the two of them.
Love or other cozy feelings weren’t important in finding their partners. As long as they respected and fulfilled their roles, everything was fine.
After a few minutes, four players went up to them. Ragnar wasn’t interested as long as they completed the numbers and started the raid into the forest.
However, when Evie flinched, it caught Ragnar’s attention. Her face was still stoic as ever, but something told Ragnar that she was troubled or even irritated.
Ragnar knew why the moment he saw the newcomers. One of them had a very thick gaze directed at Evie, and when introduced to the rest of them, he only extended a hand at her.
It was clear as day that he like her. It was a classic strategy to feel her hands and press them to let the other know his intentions.
Michael didn’t have to. Ragnar thought. Just his gaze that wouldn’t stray away from Evie’s face was enough indication.
Ragnar almost stifled a laugh when Evie didn’t accept the handshake and looked the other way. It was clear that she wanted to snub him but had second thoughts because they were about to be teammates, so she said instead.
“Sorry. I’m not used to handshakes.”
Michael retrieved his hand with a grin on his face. He was the type that have a cocky macho attitude that didn’t back out easily.
“Alright, since this is our first time partying with each other, I think it wouldn’t hurt to plan our strategy so we wouldn’t make a mess out of ourselves inside there,” Roxy said.
“If I may,” cut in Michael. “So as not to confused and being complicated . . . we four have our strategy in battle. I think it might be best if we stick to our own routine and don’t get in each other’s way.”
Rox and Roxy stared at each other. “Huh? But . . . why did we even form a party in the first place if we don’t coordinate?”
“We are coordinating,” Lyka said, “Just not with you.”
Rox shook his head. He was confused. “How is that going to work?”
Michael chuckled. “I think you’ve misunderstood us. What we mean to say that we will party with you is until only when we find the Boss. Meaning, an alliance between two groups until we faced the Boss.”
“I see . . . ,” Roxy said, thinking.
Ragnar didn’t comment. He didn’t really care as long as the other group wouldn’t leech.
Evie clutched her hand and also didn’t utter a word.
“Sister, how would that work?” Rox asked.
“Basically, we’re still two groups but would form an alliance to help each other until the Final Boss.”
“I think it’s great,” Gilbert butt in and stretched his hands over the back of his head. “You get to keep your loot, and we get to keep ours while watching each other’s back. And we wouldn’t have a problem with coordination since we have our own strategy.”
Michael nodded, but his eyes never strayed from Evie’s face. “What’s more, it would keep the other groups from doing something funny.”
It was only when Michael pulled his gaze away and briefly shifted his attention to the other party present. “With these groups entering with us, fights could break out at any moment.”
“. . .”
That was true. Ragnar thought. Michael had a point . . . but . . .
“There’s only one problem,” Ragnar said, looking at Roxy since she was their leader, “at the end, if we find the Boss, it would be them that we will face.”