Zarek's thoughts raced as his head turned. A new surge of Godsfall came, energy gathering and pooling together. As though a new beacon was forming, the Godsfall in the air rushed out, casting a larger and larger net.
'I see… I really need a damned fucking Appraiser…'
Zarek had forgotten how frustrating it was to not have information on Godsfall Tears ahead of time. You could only guess and speculate at its scope and possibilities because everything was uncertain. Unfortunately, the system refused to give you anything.
There were two ways a Godsfall Tear could give out the same rewards at different Classes.
The first was dependent on performance. Either one would trigger a harder version of a Tear or perform better than others—this would result in a reward that was better than normal.
The second was in this case: a Nested Godsfall Tear, a type of Tear where whomever arrived first received the best reward, and every subsequent person to enter received a lesser reward until the Tear ran out of energy.
From what Zarek could tell, this was a Time Nested Godsfall Tear, not a Depletion Nested Godsfall Tear.
The former would produce new Tears for a set period of time. Whether you cleared it once or ten times, it would continue for as long as the timer was still ticking away.
The latter would continue until it ran out of Godsfall to produce.
'A Time Nested Godsfall Tear… that means that there's a chance the Tear could still be performance-based… hm…'
Zarek made a decision and extended a hand toward Zade.
"Hm?"
Zade looked down at the extended hand. It was especially odd since Priya was still clinging to Zarek like a koala bear, but Zade still took it hesitantly.
The firmness of Zarek's handshake took Zade off guard, but he still reciprocated.
"I'll ally myself with you brothers."
"Huh?" Zade was confused. Why the sudden change? That was the question he really wanted to ask, but for some reason he was a bit afraid to.
"No need to be confused. That's because very soon you're about to be very useful to me."
Zade blinked, but then his body completely relaxed. He, his elder brother, and his lifelong brothers had always been this sort of man. Straightforward, without a care for the mannerisms of normal corporate life.
In that way, Zarek was the same. Never once had Zarek lied to them.
When they wanted him to reveal his Talent, he just refused. When they asked what he wanted, he straightforwardly said he needed something, but refused to tell them what. And now that Zarek had changed his mind, he was saying quite clearly why.
"But also it's because on a scale of one to ten, I can probably trust you at a four. And that's pretty good in this world. Let's go."
Priya squealed as Zarek suddenly hauled her over his shoulder, beginning to walk toward the Tear.
Zarek paused, looking over his shoulder. "Well? Are you coming? Or are you going to wait for more 'monsters' to appear first?"
"Uh… coming."
Zade jogged to catch up.
…
Zarek watched Priya and Zade fight, the latter taking the vanguard while the former supported from the back.
'As expected. It's easier. But in that case, who got the first Atom Link…? Was it Marx?'
Zarek had been able to deduce Zade's Talents. But Marx—that man was still a bit of a mystery. It made Zarek wonder just what it meant.
There was no need for the first person who got Atom Link to be very important. An A Class Talent that was essentially just a scouting Skill didn't seem too important in the grand scheme.
But was it still just a scouting Skill now? The B Class version certainly was, but there was no telling if this one was as well.
Zarek suddenly moved, catching a lance before it smashed against Zade's head. He pushed, sending the fourth Gladius stumbling back.
"Try again. You overextend yourself too much when you battle because you're looking for an opportunity to catch your opponent off guard with your Talent. But the main principle of battle is to end it as quickly, and with as little cost as possible. Balancing the two is what takes time and experience."
Zade blinked and nodded. The advice was sound, but how exactly to apply it… well, that was difficult.
Still, Zarek was correct. He was quite obsessed with using his Talent, but his Talent also wasn't the best in direct combat either. At the very least, it wasn't yet—not with its current slate of Abilities.
What Zade was more shocked by was how much stronger Zarek had become. Why was he treating this Tear like it was a place he could freely stroll into and out of? What was going on?
If the Tear was this easy, why did it take Zarek so long before?
Zarek didn't explain much and just took a step back again. He watched on in silence as the two fought, slowly making their way through from the first Gladius all the way to the final one.
Then, finally, the reward appeared.
"Wait." Zarek called out, taking a step forward and observing it.
His eyes narrowed. 'Another A Class… it definitely shouldn't be this strong. Interesting, interesting… what a unique Godsfall Tear. It must be related to the volatility I've been sensing here. It just makes it feel like everything I deduce is just wrong. It's making me out to be an amateur here.'
"Alright, Zade. You take it."
Zade blinked. "… Are you sure? I really didn't do much."
Zarek gave him a push in the back rather than responding.
Soon, Zade had gotten the Talent and looked at it with confusion. Truthfully, it didn't look very special.
Even with an embellished description, it didn't look all that great—let alone the fact Zade didn't have a C Class Scouting Skill to describe it to him.
"Trust me, you won't regret it. Now, let's call your brother here."
Zade's lip twitched. What was happening here?
As the trio stepped out, Zarek looked out in a certain direction, his mind churning. This… was a very interesting turn of events. Very interesting, indeed.
"No, don't call your brother here. Call all of your brothers here."