Noah stared at the expression of the disciples in front of him and couldn't help but feel that they were somewhat familiar.
'Don't tell me that I had that face when I scammed the guards in Balvan mansion?'
Complaints resounded in the area as soon as Noah had those thoughts.
"Come on, vice-captain, we have talked about this! You agreed to warn the new members only after they a game of card!"
"Or dice!"
"Or a spar with extremely favorable conditions for us!"
The disciples turned toward the one that spoke for last.
"What!? We have already lost him, I'm allowed to crack some joke at this point."
Noah stared at the disciples' interactions with wide eyes, he cursed his greed when he saw the situation of that faction.
'If I have to speak the truth though, they all seem quite strong.'
Noah analyzed.
Under that messy behavior, Noah could clearly sense that each one of them had a powerful aura.
It wasn't a matter of cultivation level, the students in the area were either in the first or second rank, it was more about the battle experience.
'They all seem experienced warriors, maybe their many misadventures have tempered their character.'
Every cultivator had unusual peculiarities in its personality.
Noah was addicted to cultivating, June was a battle maniac, Roy didn't seem able to lie, these qualities were only enhanced as the level of the cultivator increased.
That's why he didn't feel too strange that the disciples in Bruce's faction were like that.
They were thieves after all, their missions were dangerous, it was normal for them to relax as much as they could when they were inside the sect.
"Shut up, he is a special case. Is Alison in her usual spot?"
As soon as Seth said those words, the disciples were silenced and only the bravest among them managed to nod to answer his question.
"Come, I'll take you to your captain."
Seth grabbed Noah's shoulder again and dragged him across the training area, the disciples that they crossed shot pitiful gazes at him as they watched him disappear in the distance.
"Poor guy, he has just joined our faction only to be sent in that hag's clutches."
"We couldn't even take one Credit from him, what a waste."
"Hey, who wants to play cards?"
Noah listened to those whispers and moved his attention away when heard that they had resumed in their gambling activities.
"Is this Alison that bad?"
He asked Seth.
"No, she actually is one of the strongest captains in our ranks."
"Then, why were the other disciples speaking as if I was going to die?"
"…"
Seth was speechless for a moment, he had momentarily forgotten that Noah was a rank 3 mage and that he could clearly hear the whispers of the disciples behind him.
"Let's say that you should be careful. She is the oldest among the rank 3 cultivators in the faction but her cultivation technique allows her to appear to us in the form that we like the most."
"I still don't see what's so bad about it."
Noah complained when he saw that Seth didn't explain further.
"I hope you won't see her bad side, just don't trust your eyes, too many good disciples have been traumatized."
Seth led Noah toward the end of that training area where a series of caves could be seen.
"Does your faction live here? Why don't they use the residential areas?"
Noah saw that the area was inhabited, there were many mats and pillows on the ground along the road.
"Well, the disciples here have tried to scam those belonging to other factions or caused some mess. Edgar's faction forces them to live here because they disturb the environment of the sect."
'This is basically exile!'
Noah was astonished.
He had joined Bruce's faction because of the evident advantages but he had only seen the bad traits of its members until now.
They arrived in front of an open cave, an awful smell was exuded by it which seemed able to affect the purple halo radiated by the exoskeleton of the coral.
"Alison, I have a new member for your team."
Silence reined after Seth spoke, he and Noah stood firmly in front of the entrance, waiting for any reaction.
"MHHHH! Seth, my date yesterday went pretty bad, I want to be alone."
A loud grunt followed by words spoken in a guttural tone came out of the dark cave.
"This new member is good-looking."
Seth replied and shook his head to reassure Noah, yet, his hand forced him to stay still with even more strength than before.
Noises resounded in the cave and a gracious figure came out of it after a few minutes.
It was a woman with dark skin and silver hair, Noah couldn't help but think that her facial features resembled June in some way.
"Oh my, he is indeed good."
The woman spoke with a young voice, the guttural one from before was nowhere to be found.
'So that's what he meant with a form that we like the most.'
Noah thought, repressing any kind of self-analysis about his tastes, Alison's figure seemed a mixture between Nina and June's features after all.
He didn't have time to analyze himself because his mind sent warnings about Alison, Noah felt as if he was in danger even at that distance.
He forced himself to bow at her but his focus never wavered, he really couldn't understand the cause of that unsettling feeling.
"He is so formal! I like a guy that knows his manners, why don't you come inside and tell your story to aunt Alison?"
Seth let go of Noah's shoulder and began to retreat.
"I'll leave you two be then, welcome to our faction Zach, I hope you enjoy your stay."
Noah wanted to shoot a cold gaze at Seth but Alison began to near him, increasing the dangerous feeling in his mind.
"I refuse, I need to return to my cave."
"Oh, don't be so shy. I'm your captain now, I'm more than happy to share my bed with you."
Alison replied to Noah's refusal, she continued to get close to him as she spoke.
She stretched her hand toward him and the dangerous sensation reached its peak, Noah sensed some sort of invisible gas nearing him at fast speed.
He instinctively activated his Demonic form, black smoke came out of his figure and devoured the incoming threat before dispersing in the air.
A change occurred after that.
Noah's spell seemed to counter the illusion created by Alison, her appearance changed right before his eyes, revealing an elderly woman whose skin was filled with pulsating pimples.