...

On a secluded map within the Elven Kingdom, Owen and the others were waiting for Shin and Charlotte to arrive before proceeding to their next destination.

"Tsk! They are taking longer than what we have expected," said Akailu while wearing a deep frown.

Hearing that, Alucard couldn't help but turn his head to him before asking. "How many times have you said it already? Eleven times? Thirteen? Sixteen? Honestly, I already lost count when it surpasses ten."

Akailu suddenly smirked when he heard that and said sarcastically. "Are you flexing your ability to count? Being able to count from one to ten sure is amazing-… For kids, of course."

"What? Are you picking a fight? How about we find out which one of us is really stronger?" asked Alucard while standing up from sitting position and putting his left hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Finishing what we started earlier? Sure, I am really getting tired of you," said Akailu with a huge grin while staring to summon his monster beasts one by one.

Sigh~!

In the meantime, Owen was sighing helplessly from the sidelines. "Here they are again. How long are they going to keep on fighting each other?"

"Are you not going to stop them?" asked Ithilien while watching from the side.

"Hiss…! Stop them? Why would I? It is their problem now ours," said Owen before sitting under the tree and planning to rest a little more while waiting for Shin and Charlotte to arrive.

The fight between Alucard and Akailu was about to break out when Shin suddenly appeared in between them and stopped their tracks. "Tsk! It is really hard to leave the two of you alone. Since you guys have that much energy, then how about you guys head over to the Beast Glade Kingdom and pick a fight there?"

"I'm pretty sure that you will never get bored when you arrive there," he added smirkingly while shifting his gaze between those two.

The two suddenly stopped moving not because Shin had stopped them but because they were able to read between the lines of what they just heard.

"Us? Then what about you? Don't tell me you are going to ditch us after getting what you want?" said Akailu while wearing a deep frown.

"Tsk! I think too highly of you. I guess I am all wrong," said Alucard sneeringly.

Aside from Owen, Charlotte and Ithilien were also looking at Shin quite weirdly. They seemed to be starting to look at him negatively.

Understanding what they were thinking, Shin couldn't help but chuckle a little before explaining himself. "I know that this sounds like an excuse, but there is really an emergency that I need to take care of, so I can't accompany you with this."

"Hey-…!" Akailu was about to curse at Shin when the latter suddenly stopped him from taking by raising his hand.

"Hesh! Let me finish first before saying anything," said Shin to calm Akailu down before continuing. "I may not be accompanying you, but you will get better teammates this time. I can even guarantee that you will be grateful to me for not partaking on this quest."

"Heh! Stop making it sound too overrated. You are making it sound as if an elite group of top-ranked players is joining us," commented Alucard.

He was trying to mock Shin's words by saying that but Shin just shrugged his shoulders and replied nonchalantly. "You can also put it like that. Their skill levels and combat capabilities are at least 'decent' enough to stand at the peak of this game."

Alucard and Akailu couldn't help but laugh at Shin's words as they found it ridiculous. It sounded like a joke to them.

"How about telling us the name of this great team?" asked Akailu with a sarcastic tone while also wearing a huge grin.

But to his surprise, Shin really answered his question with the same nonchalant attitude that he currently had. "I heard that it is still not an official adventurer team, but they indeed have a name already. It is called 'Empyrean Talons', from what I remember."

Hearing such a straightforward answer, the two could no longer laugh at Shin nor say anything to refute back. And when Shin saw that both of them suddenly turned silent, he immediately continued. "If you don't have anything anymore, then I will be going now."

"If you want to know more about them, then go ask them directly. Or-… you can ask him for more details since I heard that he is also a member of that team," he added while pointing at Owen.

Hearing that, the other four simultaneously turned their heads at Owen while wearing a weird look on their faces.

"You have joined an Adventurer Team? How come you never mentioned it to me?" said Ithilien while wearing a deep frown.

"You are a part of an Adventurer Team? So, you are no longer a solo gamer," said Alucard as he looked at Owen curiously.

On the other hand, Akailu was currently fuming with anger and quickly appeared beside Owen to grab his shoulder. "You piece of a-…! If you really are a part of an adventure team, then why didn't you ask some help from them when we are doing that stupid quest earlier?!"

"I-I…" Owen became overwhelmed by the sudden shift of the situation. He didn't even know which of them he needed to answer first. All he could do was turn his head at Shin while sending a pleading look to save him.

Unfortunately, Shin had no plan of taking the aggro back especially when he successfully took it off from him. So, he just ignored all of the pleading looks that Owen was giving him. Instead, he even added more oil to the fire by saying. "I already sent the details to your commander so all you need to do is brief them a little when you meet up later."

"Ah~! And say hi for me to that 'guy'," he added as he started to walk away.

"Hey! Hey-…! Are you really leaving me like this?" shouted Owen desperately as he watched Shin walk away.

The other three, on the other hand, already lost their interest in Shin the moment they learned that Owen joined an adventurer team. Such news was big enough to attract the attention of some big guilds and organizations.

Itilhien was close to Owen so she was only a little surprised when she heard that news. But it was quite different for Alucard and Akailu since both of them were also solo gamers who received a lot of invitations from different guilds and adventurer teams. Though, Owen's case was a special one since he was a tank.

Skilled damage dealers were everywhere, but it was different when it came to talented Tanks and Healers. And since Owen could be ranked as one of the best Tanks within the game, it was natural for him to receive some generous offers from famous organizations such as Powerhouse Guilds.

With that thought alone, the trio was sure that whatever team did Owen had joined, their members shouldn't be too shabby. In fact, they might even be a very formidable group.

Moreover, Owen was also quite picky on the team or guild that he was going to join. So, their suspicion became even stronger that he might join a powerful adventurer team. They even forgot that Shin told them that it was only an adventurer team in the making.

While those three were busy interrogating Owen about his team, Charlotte chased after Shin instead and blocked his path.

Raising his eyebrows behind his mask, Shin suddenly asked. "What? Do you still need something from me?"

Charlotte didn't immediately reply to his words and continued to stare at him for a few moments. She might have a little interaction with Shin but she was sure that he was not the type to suddenly go back to his words.

She also saw how stubborn he was when she was working with Lawless and the others. So, she knew that he was not the type that would suddenly stop in the middle of something. Her instincts were telling her that he was plotting something.

"Hey! What are you planning this time?" asked Charlotte while squinting her eyes.

Hearing that, Shin slightly knitted his brow before replying with a question of his own. "What are you talking about?"

"Suddenly changing your plans and-… asking for some assistance from your friends? I can tell that there is something going on," said Charlotte while moving closer to Shin.

"And don't try to dodge the question by telling me you don't know what I am trying to say. I am pretty sure that the team that you are talking about is the same team that Siegfried and Simba are trying to build," she added, which made Shin's face twitch. If not for his mask, then it was the same as him admitting her words.

'Is this the famous 'woman's intuition' that they were talking about? It is really a scary 'talent',' thought Shin to himself as he stared back at her eyes.

Unfortunately for him, Charlotte had a hidden card under her sleeves and was able to read what was running inside his head.

It was already too late when Shin noticed it. 'Mind Reading? Sh*t, I let my guard down!'

With that Charlotte finally got her answer without Shin telling her. And even if she only got little parts of it, but it was more than enough for her to understand his plan. Moreover, it looked like she learned one of 'Shin's weaknesses' that only a very few people knew about.

Satisfied, her veil showed some slight upward movements, indicating that she just smiled. "Oh~! So, that was it. I understand now! Don't ignore me when we meet again in the Beast Glade Kingdom, alright."

Then she gently patted Shin's shoulder before brushing past him and hopping towards Owen and the others.

"D*mn it! I've got a bad feeling about this," muttered Shin before turning around and looking at Charlotte's back.

...