Everyone looked at the scattered pieces of the Icestone Fiend.
Kyle just grinned. "Income secured!"
Sven landed on the ground and nodded at the distant Lily.
Lily had an expression of disgust and annoyance on her face.
She had lost two golems, and she wasn't happy about that.
Michael slowly walked closer with a smile.
Meanwhile, Falk was still standing far away, looking at everyone in shock.
He still couldn't come to terms with the situation.
"The enemy is dead," he whispered.
Then, he looked at the ground with a shocked expression.
"But what did I do?"
This was the new team's first fight, and as much as it pained Falk to admit…
Their old team couldn't even hope to compare.
Tracy, Horatio, and Bormine had been outstanding teammates.
Falk had seen them as his equal.
A true team.
But this new team…
He had launched one attack at the enemy.
Sure, he had caused some damage, but only because Sven and Kyle had already weakened the armor.
And that was it.
That was all the damage Falk had caused.
On top of that, Lily even needed to save him.
"Stay on the sidelines and let the adults handle this!" was what Lily had said during the fight.
These words echoed in Falk's mind again and again.
Lily had kept the Icestone Fiend busy, saved his life, caused immense damage to the enemy, and even supported Sven.
Michael had filled the area with Steam Ether, making it harder for the Icestone Fiend to make sense of its surroundings. Additionally, he had torn huge chunks out of the crab while also destroying one of its weapons.
Sven had weakened the enemy's armor, stunned it for a second, damaged it brutally, kept it busy, and even helped Kyle deal the finishing blow.
Kyle had broken the crab's entire back, making it open to attack. On top of that, he had opened the fight, which was always the most dangerous part. Then, he had killed the crab shortly after returning back to the group. Lastly, he gave everyone their orders and built the team himself.
And Falk?
A small poke.
That was what he had contributed to the mission's success.
With Tracy, Bormine, and Horatio in the team, Falk had still been useful. He was on the same level as them.
But this time…
All of his teammates were monsters.
He was an Armor Piercer!
He was supposed to deal with heavily armored enemies!
His attacking power was supposed to be very high!
And yet…
He couldn't compare to the three Armor Breakers that were Kyle, Sven, and Michael.
So, he had to contribute by causing a lot of damage after the armor was weakened, but then, how could he compare to someone like Lily?!
Falk's attacks were stronger than one, or even two, of Lily's golem's attacks, but she had ten!
Lily's peak power was similar to Falk's, but in terms of quantity, she was like five Falks.
It was hard for Falk to accept this.
However, even harder to accept was that the person he had doubted, Lily, had actually saved his life.
Would he have risked his life to save her?
At this point, Falk didn't know.
"Hey, good job."
Falk looked at Michael, who was smiling at him.
"Good job?" Falk asked with a bitter chuckle. "Honestly, what did I do?"
"You saved my life," Michael said.
Falk looked at Michael in surprise.
"Remember?" Michael asked. "The Icestone Fiend was about to kill me, but you pushed me out of the way. Without you, I would be dead."
Falk remembered that moment.
"Yes, but that's what I'm supposed to do," Falk said with a sigh.
"You mean, do your thing?" Michael asked, referencing Kyle's orders.
Falk wasn't sure how to answer.
Earlier, he had been a bit confused and bothered that Kyle gave everyone else orders but not him.
Did Kyle think he was unimportant or weak?
Now, after the fight, Falk believed that Kyle had done the right thing.
Yes, he was unimportant and weak, and his leader had noticed that.
"Hey, Falk!" Kyle shouted from a distance. "You're the fastest. Can you go tell the client to collect the Icestone?"
"Oh, yeah, sure," Falk answered before shaking his head to regain his bearings.
Then, he just left.
After he left the clearing, Lily snorted. "Useless brat cost me a golem!"
"Chill out, Lily," Kyle said with an eye roll.
"He cost me over 20 Ether Stones!" she shouted. "For what?! What did he do?!"
"He saved my life," Michael answered calmly.
Lily snorted. "Great, I did that twice today while also dealing twice as much damage."
"Lily," Kyle said. "Don't take one instance and believe that's how it's always going to be. Today, you saved his life. In the future, he will save your life in return. That's what a team is."
Yet, Lily just snorted again. "So what? A new, stronger member would do the same thing while also contributing more," she said with annoyance.
Sven looked at Kyle with interest.
He wanted to know how Kyle was going to resolve this situation.
Meanwhile, Kyle just smiled. "You don't know Falk as well as I do," he said. "Trust me. He will find a way to be just as much of a help as you."
"Trust you?" Lily repeated with annoyance. "Why? I don't see how trusting you will help me. Trusting others is naïve."
Kyle just sighed. "Lily, sometimes, trust is necessary. If the others hadn't trusted me, you wouldn't be in the team."
Lily suddenly narrowed her eyes in anger and hatred. "They believe I am weak?!"
"No," Kyle said. "It's just… the way you talk and put everyone down makes them think you're looking down on them."
"How can I not?" Lily answered with an arrogant and disgusted expression.
"And because of that," Kyle said, "they didn't believe that you would be willing to save their lives."
"They didn't trust you, but they trusted me. I told them that you would save their lives."
Lily gritted her teeth, but she didn't answer.
Nobody could really tell what was going on in her mind.
"And now, I'm asking you to trust me," Kyle said. "You will see. Falk will find a way."
Lily just looked away.
It seemed like she was done talking.
Meanwhile, behind a tree, Falk looked at the ground.
He had heard everything.
He knew that Lily was right.
Sadly, he didn't know if Kyle was also right.
How could he ever hope to compare to these monsters?
He had no idea.
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