After some well-needed rest, Maria and Celaine felt their minds clear up and the world around them seemed to be much clearer than before.
Although they weren't able to sleep with 100% ease due to them not fully trusting their new companions and even with that thought in the back of their mind they still slept comfortably.
"Everyone ready?" Aaron spoke after everyone was awake and they all nodded their heads.
"Alright! Let's move out!"
Everyone took out their weapons on his call, even Maria and Celaine readied their weapons in case something unexpected happens.
They began moving in a direction opposite of the area where Mira was presumably at and began their journey.
They trekked through the area collecting Light Crystals, killing beasts, and picking up anything that seems interesting for several hours while Maria and Celaine walked at the back, bored. There were several reasons for this, but the main one is that their new companions were just too weak and their enemies even weaker.
But there were a few things that they took note of while watching them act and it gave them new insights on how to function properly as a group.
The first thing Maria and Celaine noticed about this group was how coordinated they were for a 5-man party. Another interesting thing was they all seemed to have different weapons with a fairly well-balanced team.
Aaron was the leader and seemed to be part of the vanguard, along with Flint. He used a spear and his Earth affinity to mainly obstruct enemies and keep them at a distance. Flint used his sword and flames to deal more damage compared to Aaron. Most enemies never got past him.
Ike seemed to hover in the middle of their group, protecting their flanks and blind spots. He seemed to be more of an assassin with the way he handled his daggers and Darkness affinity, but he was much more useful in a battle concerning multiple enemies.
Valery and Vivian were the rearguards where one focused on single-target damage and precision while the other specialized in AOE or high output techniques.
Valery used her bow to hit the weak points of their enemies from a distance while also using her Water affinity to help heal her injured teammates.
Vivian was a bit different, using a weapon that neither Maria nor Celaine have seen before: a staff. From what they gathered, the staff helps to boost her lightning abilities damage output while keeping her Qi usage at a minimum. Her role in the team was to basically just lob a bunch of lightning bolts.
Their lineup intrigued the two of them because everything Mira taught was how to become a one-man army, or in their case a one-woman army. They need to be strong and fearless like the vanguard, agile like an assassin, and capable of ranged or AOE abilities like the rear-guard. Not only that, but they need to train their sixth sense enough to be able to sense when enemies are coming from behind while training and improving their instincts enough to dodge an attack in their blind spot without even seeing it.
So basically, they just need to go through so many battles that this becomes second nature.
And while they haven't reached the realm Mira is at, the two of them aren't necessarily bad at handling multiple enemies as long as they aren't stronger than them.
Whenever they watched the five of them battle, Maria and Celaine would put themselves in their shoes, except instead of 5 people having 1 role, it's 1 person with all 5 roles. They were trying to extract and understand what the five of them are doing in hopes of it helping their flaws or at least inspiring them.
The only downside was… They were too bored!!! There was no need for them to step up since these beasts are way too weak for them, but they didn't enjoy walking around doing nothing.
"Hey! Why don't Maria and I take over for a bit? I'm sure you guys would like a break." Celaine offered.
"Are you sure? If you are worried that we're too tired, don't. This is also good practice for us to sharpen our skills and coordination." Aaron countered, but part of him was also a bit bored with dealing with these weak-ass beasts.
"It's fine. Maira and I have been getting a little bored seeing how you all are having all the fun. Maria, why don't you go to the front? I'll stay at the back." Celaine said with a smirk.
Maria nodded her head with a large smile while the others started to get worried. They all felt like putting Maria as the leader was about the same as putting a child up there.
"Umm… Are you sure that's okay…?" Aaron asked nervously and before Celaine could answer, Maria shouted.
"Not to worry! My sense of direction and luck is quite good! For example, one time I was in this labyrinth and I never got a single turn wrong despite that being my first time in a labyrinth! Actually, I didn't even know it was a maze until after the fact! We will surely become rich was someone as great as me leading the way! Hehe~" Maria pounded her fist in the air while giggling.
She didn't even wait for a response before she started marching in a random direction, totally different from the straight line Aaron was going in.
They were a bit hesitant to follow such an idiotic reason until Celaine walked up to them and started to explain.
"It's true, her sense of direction is abnormally good. I don't know if it's her instincts or just plain old luck, but regardless following her will most likely be better than following me or you… Even if it doesn't make sense. Plus, it's not like there is any downside. We aren't looking for anything in particular so just go along with it for now." Celaine said before following after Maria.
"Sigh… Might as well follow her. Celaine is right, we don't know where we're going either and if she does have great instincts or high luck then we'll only benefit from this." Aaron said with a sigh.
"I suppose so. Hopefully, she doesn't lead us to our deaths though." Vivian said, having a somewhat bad feeling about this.
She knew that Maria and Celaine were both much stronger than them and their lucky encounters might involve things or beasts out of their league. At the same time, they might be able to acquire items that are above them.
"I vote to follow them! Maybe we'll get to witness them battle against a Rank 6 beast! And if they are that strong then we might even be able to gain something just by watching them fight!" Flint argued with blazing eyes.
The other two didn't say anything, but nodded their heads showing their support.
"Well, that answers that. Let's follow her for the time being." Aaron finished and the 5 of them caught up with Maria and Celaine.
What they didn't know was that they are about to experience the might of not just one, but two one-man armies!
