Marlon landed on the ground beside the corpse of the spike-backed ice bear. He observed the damage he had left on it for a second before his eyes darted toward the direction of the strange voice that had cast the fire magic spell that saved him from death's door.
He spotted a familiar face—a young man with short blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a dumbfounded expression as he stared at him. His mouth hung open, eyes wide, shifting between the corpse and Marlon standing beside it. His look grew even more bewildered by the second.
'Johnathan? Did he enter through the same doorway as us? I didn't see him at the spawn area,' Marlon thought.
He quickly shifted his gaze away from him and returned it to the corpse in front of him. He needed to harvest the loot immediately before anyone got ideas of stealing it. He clenched his fist and shattered the skull of the monster, revealing the loot hidden within. He paid no heed to the confused stares from his teammates, especially Lyra.
Defeating a mini-boss with a single punch was something none of them had seen coming, especially from him. It left them astonished beyond words particularly Lyra and Johnathan, who had never seen him in combat before and only knew him as the talentless and big mouthed masochist. Logan and Ashton were equally baffled, even though they had fought alongside him before.
No matter how strong they believed Marlon was, none of them expected he could take down a spike-backed ice bear — a mini-boss with high defense — with a single punch.
"We hit the jackpot, you guys! Our first encounter dropped an EXP orb and an F-grade monster core!"
Oblivious to the chaos he had stirred among his onlookers, Marlon lifted the loot from the corpse and shouted with pure joy, grinning like a kid who had just found a hidden stash of candy.
"You guys…" He turned toward his teammates.
The three of them were still sprawled on the ground, staring blankly at him.
Lyra's mind spun with thoughts. The memory of the horde attack flashed before her as well as the masked stranger who had defeated most of the monsters using nothing but his fists.
Was Marlon that guy? she wondered, before quickly shaking the thought away. No… there's no way they're related.
"Lyra, are you okay? The ice bear's attack must've hit hard judging by its strength," Marlon said as he walked toward her and extended his hand to help her up.
Her dumbfounded look shifted back to her usual arrogant one as she lightly slapped his hand away and stood up on her own.
She picked up her daggers, stored them in her inventory, and then turned to face Johnathan.
"Were you following us?" she asked coldly.
Her tone snapped Johnathan out of his previous frozen state.
"What? No! I just heard a fight nearby and thought someone might need help. I had no idea it was you guys," he quickly refuted.
"Good. The threat's gone, so you can leave now."
Johnathan gave a nervous smile and scratched the back of his head. "Actually, I was hoping to join your team. You know, I'm a strong magic user who is good in both offense and defense. I could be really useful."
Lyra stared at him coldly for a few seconds without replying. She knew he was simply trying to join the team because of her — just like many other guys at the camp. Honestly, she was tired of rejecting them herself.
So, she pointed at Marlon and said in her usual dismissive tone, "I'm not the one who decides who joins the team. You can ask him."
Johnathan turned his head toward Marlon, who didn't even look their way, still chatting with Logan and Ashton.
Conflicting thoughts raced through his mind. Just yesterday, he had acted all high and mighty toward Marlon and even vowed to deal with him the next time they met.
Now that same person had turned into a powerhouse capable of taking down a mini-boss with a single punch. And not just that, he was now the leader of the team that Lyra was part of.
The change was too sudden and unbelievable. The same weakling everyone mocked for being a talentless masochist had somehow become a one-punch monster.
"Did I just hear someone wants to join our team?" Marlon's eyes met his, and he spoke with a mischievous smirk.
Before Johnathan could respond, Lyra answered flatly, "Yes. You're the leader of the team. If you want him in, I have no choice."
"Hoho…" Marlon chuckled softly. "First off, thanks for the save. I'd be in bad shape without you. And since I don't like owing favors, here, have this."
He equipped an FF-grade monster core and tossed it toward Johnathan. The mage was too surprised to react in time, and the core fell to the ground before him. He hesitated for a moment, then bent down to pick it up—something he would have never done before. But this time, he endured the humiliation for plenty reasons, the major two being that he doesn't understand Marlon strength and that there was a possibility their conversation were being broadcasted.
"I appreciate your offer to join my team," Marlon said calmly, "but we've already got enough people."
He didn't refuse Johnathan because of their bad blood, but simply because he wanted fewer members. Lyra was already a potential threat to his EXP gain since she was a good fighter. Adding another one would only hurt his growth.
Besides, aside from gaining experience for himself, he had already decided to help his weaker friends grow stronger to build his image as a selfless hero before the audience.
Adding another member was not part of the plan.
"You heard him," Lyra said coldly, taking the words from his mouth. "We don't need any new members. You can leave."
Johnathan nodded stiffly and turned away, humiliated and conflicted. A pang of frustration hit him deep inside, he felt like a man watching the woman he liked slip away to someone else.
"You didn't have to be that harsh. You know the guy's got a crush on you, right?" Marlon said, glancing at Lyra with a small grin.
"I don't care," Lyra scoffed, crossing her arms.
Marlon didn't bother to continue the topic. Instead, he motioned for the others to follow. "Let's move. We need to find more monsters and a warm zone before this frostbite curse gets worse."
The group nodded and followed him deeper into the Frost Grave, their breaths forming faint mist as the cold wind howled around them.
Barely ten minutes into their journey, they encountered a group of monsters and their first real team battle began. An event that would once again send ripple amongst onlooker.. causing them to question the identity of the unknown anomaly..the shinning star with a simple yet overpowered talent.