"What?" Clara and Arath exclaimed in unison.

"Can I join your group? You seem to know your way in the Tower and after what I witnessed here I am certain that I want to be a part of your group." Ben explained.

"We're scouts, the specific characteristic of which is not working with Heroes." Arath turned down the offer.

"Is there any written rule that forbids Heroes from becoming a scout? Or one that tells me who to make a team with?"

"Not really, the Council doesn't give a fuck about you as long as you get to the first heaven." Arath answered.

"Then I don't see a problem. Come on man, what do you have to lose? They say our powers are great so I'll be better than mercenaries, and from what they have told us going to the higher floors requires a large team. So why don't you join forces with me?"

"First of all, why don't you want to cooperate with people from your world?" Clara didn't sound to be convinced.

"I didn't say that, there are few great guys, it's just that most of them are either douchebags or crybabies. There is also a group that decided that they will command everyone and announced that there will be no separate groups. We are all supposed to work under them and listen to their commands. I never agreed to that and so did almost half of us, but their abilities are superior to ours in battle so we can't do shit about it."

"Fine, whatever. Clara what do you think about it?" Arath asked in a low voice.

"He does have some points and reasons aren't bad. I'm just worried that he will use us, get what he wants and later abandon us in the middle of the first harder battle." She whispered back.

"I think he is a decent guy. Should we take him for a probation period or something?"

"Sounds good, a strong elementalist could come in handy, just don't give him any important role."

"Alright. As long as you do your job and don't get us killed you can come with us. Let's meet tommorow morning at the entrance to the dungeon." He answered out loud.

"Great! Can a friend of mine come too?"

"It's getting even more suspicious." Clara whispered.

"What is their element?"

"Darkness."

"Oh shit, that's rare. Make sure to bring him along." Arath smiled broadly.

Hearing a positive answer Ben pumped a fist behind his back and sat near the two. Next he pulled out some food from his bag and shared it with his new team. It was roasted meat but any more details were impossible to deduce as they wolfed it down in a matter of seconds not willing to let it get cold. When Ben asked about a description of events that took place in the dungeon prior to the incident with the Face Stealer Arath gave a very detailed report trying to see their new teammate's reaction. He didn't look too concerned and at the mention of the death of over twenty people only his brow twitched once.

'That's good. He has already learned how to control emotions and not sympathise with the dead too much, while still having some compassion deep in his heart.'

"How about you? Who took down the monster?"

"The strongest fighting heroes together with some mercanary group joined hands and handled it. I with other defensive elementalists didn't play a huge role in it and obviously a member of the 'elite' decided that it was his role to deal the decisive blow resulting in high casualties. Six mercenaries together with four of ours were wiped out. That's what you call a good start, don't you?" He smiled grimly.

Another hour passed by quickly and before they even realised the bell rang twelve ten times heralding the arrival of evening. They bid their farewells and went back to their respective homes.

"Why did you allow that other guy to join as well?" Clara was on the verge of exploding, she barely held back her emotions and stayed relatively calm.

"Darkness Element is one of the rarest, do you know how hard it is to find someone like him? It's almost as rare as Summoning or Space Element. We really want to play our cards well with him, such an opportunity won't present itself again." He tried to explain.

"This opportunity can get us killed!" She threw and looked away trying to hold her tears back.

'What did I do? What just happened?' He tried to understand what was going on when the girl just entered the house and didn't utter a single word until she fell asleep. Arath couldn't fall asleep feeling guilty and confused.

The next day they both acted like nothing had happened and shared their ideas for a team formation and all possible tactics. Having eaten a light breakfast they left the apartment and went to meet their new companions. With the bell ringing two times they entered the plaza around the entrance and headed towards the door. The markets were unusally busy and vendors had the time of their lifes selling all kinds of trash to the rookie Heroes. Money flowed faster than blood during the massacre prepared by Face Stealer and the noise was hardly bearable. After few minutes the two noticed a nervous-looking Ben and a boy with long blonde hair. They exchanged greetings and introduced themselves. The new guy, called Carl, was sixteen years old but already over one meter and eighty centimeters high. In normal world he would be considered tall but here, where sun together with something the Heroes called 'vitamin D' was nowhere to be seen the guy was literally a giant. His slender body resembled a skeleton more than a human and blank eyes didn't reveal much life in them. He explained his powers to Clara saying that he can blend with shadows and become almost invisible when in dark places while his Seal granted him an ability to manipulate all sources of light within his sight.

"How is that powerful? I mean he can only hide and that's it." Clara asked Arath when the two gave them a moment of privacy.

"Only? His ability to hide will prove crucial whenever we want to take out an enemy wihout making too much ruckus. He will make for a great scout and a surprise behind the enemy lines. He can infiltrate any formation and just attack them from behind."

"Alright, I'm convinced." She replied.

After Arath shared his plan and everyone agreed to him being a leader, they entered the Tower once again.