Tier gave no heed to Zackhs’ question, nor the aura emanating from the avenger. Zackhs face was of a clear excitement instead of something malicious. Nevertheless, he was rather surprised that the avenger had unusually taken off his helmet. “Why aren’t you showing your helmet?” the hunter asked.

“It’s Renma’s idea.” Zackhs shrugged. “He said we might have an easier time getting a DPS to play with if I open up my helmet.”

The hunter frowned. Renma actually using his brain was something really surprising for Tier. Not to mention that he actually suggested some great ideas two days prior. Had sitting next to Alvin in class made Renma more creative?

“You know, Ega, you should’ve utilised your br….”

Tier stopped his sentence when he turned to Renma. The priest seemed to look towards the direction of the two level 80 girls, who were still arguing about money, with keen infatuation. The hunter clearly can’t find anything infatuating about two people arguing over payment.

“Anyway, buddy.” Zachks tapped Tier’s shoulder again. “How did you come to know them?”

“You talk as if I just met a celebrity, really?”

“You gotta be kidding me, buddy,” Zackhs chuckled in disbelief. “These two… they were one of the few exceptionally beautiful and skilful players in Clashing Realms, dubbed as the Six Beauties of Clashing Realms.”

“The what?” Tier frowned. “Aren’t people supposed to duke it out in a contest or something? How come there are beauties of yadda yadda?”

Zackhs shook his head in confidence. “Of course, but you know people. If they saw pretty ladies having great skill, these girls would be worshipped like goddesses.”

“So… these 2 and?”

“Well, the other four are Sami, Rielle, Arlian, and Esferta.”

“Huh? No Manna?”

Zackhs tilted his head in confusion. “Yeah, she’s one hell of a cutie, but why would Manna be there?”

Tier was stunned for a while. He wondered if Manna’s prettiness was not as absolute as what he had thought. But then again, he just realised that Manna took an orc warrior character last time. She would have definitely used her helmet, closed it all the time, and appeared like an angry midget orc.

That wouldn’t be so far-fetched considering an elven player mistook her for a dwarf last time.

Tier shook his head and shoved the thought away, “Nevermind. Anyway, the one who knew them was Manna.”

This time, it was Zackhs turn to be confused. Tier could somehow imagine there was some gear turning inside the skull behind Zackhs handsome face. Then, he asked a very cryptic question, “About your Manna, is she that Manna?”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“That Manna, I mean the Crystal Chalice Manna?”

“How on Zurefgar would I know that?”

“She’s your girl for crying out loud, buddy.”

“She’s not.”

“Yet!”

“Goddamnit, man,” Tier groaned annoyedly. “Take your positivity somewhere else. I need to pay for the portal.”

Ignoring the madness around him, Tier approached Krysta and offered the sum of money she had asked earlier.

“Now, that’s a real gentlem….” Giggling happily, Krysta was about to accept the gold before she stopped abruptly when she saw Zackhs. She then cleared her throat and promptly refused, “It’s okay, Tier, save it. I believe lower level players would need it more than I do.”

She then leaned towards Tier, hiding her face from Zackhs, and asked, “Who is he? Your friend? Is he single?”

“Really, old hag? You haven’t changed!”

“Ssssh!”

Tier ignored Argkengrad’s protest nor Krysta’s hisses to stop her. He knew exactly from the day he first met Zackhs, that this thing would eventually happen. He answered lazily, “Yes, we kinda started together. But, I don’t know about his personal life.”

“Well, well.” Krysta straightened up. She quickly fixed and folded her side hair over her ear and winked at Arkengrad. “The aggressive one is gonna get the prize,” she said as she walked towards Zackhs and Renma to greet them.

Tier couldn’t bother any more about that. He instead just glanced sharply at Arkengrad, which the paladin quickly became aware of.

“What are you lookin’ at, creep?” Arkengrad hissed. “We’re even now!”

“Nuh-uh,” Tier countered. “It was Krysta who saved us, not you.”

“But you won’t meet Krysta if you weren’t following me.”

“I was already riding toward that direction anyway,” Tier lied, “If I saw Krysta’s name on the map, I would just go there. Manna mentioned her before.”

“Tch, fine, what do you want?”

“Stop bugging us.”

Arkengrad sighed. She walked away a little bit and leaned her back to a moulded wall of one of the buildings. “I want a second chance, Manna and Steven offered it. There’s no way I would deliberately ruin it again.”

Tier’s eyes were still staring at the paladin. He wondered if he could somehow persuade Arkengrad to protect his friends if the occasion rose. Krysta might be talking about something completely different earlier, but she was right about being more aggressive to achieve something,

“Then that’s your promise to Steven and Manna,” Tier said sternly.

“So? Want me to protect you next time?”

“Well.” Tier scratched his head. “How about you protect my friends instead?”

Arkengrad eyes widened, then she quickly frowned. “You think you can survive alone?”

“I’m not going for Clashing Realms.”

“Then what are you doing?”

Tier glanced over Renma and Zackhs who were chatting with Krysta. Arkengrad seemed to have caught the gesture.

A cynical remark blurted out from her lips, “Playing goody-two-shoes, huh?”

“I just want to help.” Tier shrugged dismissively.

“For what?”

“The same reason as you.”

There was a clear confusion in Arkengrad’s face due to the answer Tier gave her. She stared at Tier, eye-to-eye, as if testing the hunter’s mettle by understanding his intention.

“Redemption, huh?” she hypothesised. “From what, Tier?”

“My past,” Tier said simply. It was rather weird, to be frank, that he was able to say it easier to a stranger rather than to his friends, family or Mana. As if he couldn’t care less about what they think even if he blurted out the whole truth. Perhaps, because he felt he had nothing to lose with strangers anymore, but not the people he is close with.

He mused in his mind that it might not be the right thing to do.

“You made a mistake with them?” Arkengrad questioned again.

“It had nothing to do with them,” Tier answered with a calmer tone.

“Huh,” Arkengrad chuckled. “Self-sacrifice won’t break you away from your past, you know?”

“Such grandeur feeling is just an illusion, people might forgive you and give you a second chance, but they don’t forget what you have done,” she continued as she summoned her mount.

“I can’t protect any of you, Lyra is better than me when she gets serious. But….”

Arkengrad looked at Tier for a moment as she mounted her strider. Before leaving, she suggested, “I could still warn all of you of their positions, that way you would be able to run to safety.”

“Thanks.”

Tier just watched as Arkengrad went away while he started to ponder about the paladin’s words. Like what he had thought before when talking with Steven, was it really worth it to keep obsessing over his past? Was it really important to erase it by doing some sacrifice?

“At least, I’ve secured their safety,” he whispered to himself as he walked towards Zackhs and the others. At least, he knew that keeping his friends safe until they reach level 80 would definitely be worth it.

And, at that moment, he started to think that it might be fun to fight alongside them in Clashing Realms.