A well-placed stone met the back of Scar Cheek, destabilizing him and throwing off his aim. If he could play dirty, so could others. Reacting fast, the woman saw her opening and did to Scar Cheek what he wanted to do to her, ending his life in a single thrust of her sword.
Soon after, the bandits were handled, but the woman never forgot the timely help. Seeking him out, Phoenix found the young youth that had saved her life. The Dark Flames Adventurer team had accepted a mission to clear the bandits in that region, and that was what they were doing.
They did need someone with knowledge of the area and background of the bandits, and here was Batoo, ready and very eager to roll on every one of them. He was going to use the adventurer team as a borrowed sword to kill his enemies.
After a period of intense fighting, during which Batoo proved to be highly motivated and knowledgeable, Lady Phoenix invited him to join the Dark Flames Adventurer team. By now, rumors about him had already spread among the adventurers, but few took any stock in this. Some were spooked, but they were in no position to argue it out.
That was how Batoo found his fortunes changing once more. He had finally found a ticket out of the village and there was no turning back. Perhaps in this new life, he would be a changed man, with none of the nightmares he had had to deal with following him.
The village was ecstatic. The father breathed a sigh of relief. Every time he saw his son, he'd feared for his life, afraid of being associated with the curse. When the family had taken him, he had complicated emotions.
He didn't hate his son, he just feared what he represented. When the boy found a home willing to take him in, he hoped for the best, he truly did. However, after their deaths, he felt as though he had been vindicated for all his 'mistreatment' of his son. After the boy ran away, the man could only pray for a good life for his son.
The one good thing about Batoo was that he was hardworking. All his years of crawling had taught him that if he wanted something he had to work for it. Under Mrs. Freda's care, he diligently worked in the motel with everything he had.
However, hard work didn't always translate into excellence. Batoo had very little knowledge in the way of combat, having to learn from scratch. Back when he met Phoenix, she assumed he was a good shot only to find it was a lucky shot, but by then, Batoo was already in the ranged unit.
He took his Adventurer test only to barely qualify to be a ranger. It should be known that the Dark Flames Adventurer Team didn't just absorb anyone. However, there was a long-standing tradition that if a power brings an adventurer to take the test and he qualifies, no matter the results, the power had to take him in for a period.
Just like before in the village, his life was turning out to be just as mediocre. In a team where excellence was everything, Batoo was lost to oblivion once more. A sordid existence that promised no future, until he met Barda.
Back then, Batoo was looking forward to having someone he could bully as well. After all the newbie routine he had had to endure, he couldn't wait to do the same to someone else. Too bad the new someone ended up being an elite, an unsurmountable existence to the likes of Batoo.
Before Batoo could feel back, he found that the elite didn't shun him, despite knowing his rank as an adventurer. Instead, he offered to give him lessons. Moreover, he had been instrumental in his development in the team, including him in roles such as scouting. Batoo had found a way out of the oblivion that had hounded him all his life.
When Barda got promoted, the happiest one there was his dear friend. He wasn't just thinking of himself, but he truly was happy for his friend. When he got picked, he was in zenith, but not for long.
Of the people he was grouped with, Batoo was the last to understand the forging methods. His products were below average at best. Nevertheless, Batoo found something that could be made better by hard work.
All through, Batoo had faced massive pressure especially with his association with Barda. Barda was the best of the best, a Gold-ranked adventurer, the apex of all adventurers. Batoo was the same from the other end, a Green-ranked adventurer. In terms of looks, Barda was a walking sculptured god.
What Batoo didn't know was that Barda's body had been designed in a lab. It was not meant to age or transform. As an android, Barda's body was built to perfection. What humanity defined as handsome. Think about it, have you ever seen an ugly mannequin?
Interestingly, for a man, the definition of beauty didn't change with time as with women. The standard remained the same, strong and well-built. Facial beauty for a man had never been that important, but who wouldn't want a cute face if they had a chance. Barda was perfect either way you look at him. Bulging muscles that looked as though they were chiseled, smooth skin with no blemish. A picture of perfection.
To get back to the point, Batoo and Barda were the most unlikely pair. Batoo admired Phoenix and Lady Ellen, the founders of Dark Flames Adventurer Team. However, he venerated Barda to the point of worship. To Batoo, Barda was nothing short of a god. He had seen far too many miracles far too often to believe otherwise.
This just motivated Batoo some more since this god was willing to associate with him. Batoo decided that for as long as Barda would have him, Batoo would follow him to the ends of the earth. To do that, he needed to have sufficient strength. Already it was getting hard for him to keep up.
It took Batoo some time to realize that he now had a purpose for his life. previously, he was just existing, drifting from one place to another. Now he had a set purpose, a reason to wake up in the morning. For that Batoo was very grateful.
Batoo could handle not being anywhere as good as Barda since he expected it, what he couldn't handle was coming up short compared to everyone else. Right now, the pressure was too much, especially with the increase in the number of people joining the Dark Flames Adventurer Team Logistics department.
Barda's creation had been too eye-catching, even recognized smiths had heard of it. Lady Ellen had already departed to fulfill her quest with the elites, otherwise, she would have been swarmed with people looking to see the sword.
Before she had left, she had made sure to show it off to anyone who mattered, hoping to promote her adventurer team. If she had access to the palace, she would have made sure to show off to the princess as well. Although in this case, it wouldn't have been just marketing. She couldn't contain her joy at knowing that he had made it for her, and not for some other people.
By the time she was leaving though, all the adventurer team heads had seen the weapon and drooled over it. So had many others. This was not just limited to Lady Ellen's sword, but to every weapon made by the team that day.
After thorough investigation, it was found out that all these weapons had been made by the team's logistics department. The moment that happened, many who were interested in crafting applied to join the team, while several non-combat personnel applied to join the adventurer team.
Not often would non-combatants join an adventurer team, with many opting to just start a vocation or find employment. This was especially true of gifted craftsmen since they had many options to pick from. Hearing that such an individual was spearheading an adventurer team's logistics division, many would-be craftsmen rushed to apply for membership to the adventurer team.
There had been 3 remaining vice-commanders, but they had all made a unanimous decision to allow for talented members to join since they knew their boss would agree to that as well. Now the logistics team had grown from 5 to 15 members, and many were still growing.
What many did not know was that Barda was just getting started. He was now done with laying low. There was no longer any reason for him to do so. What he wanted to do now was to bring glory to the Dark Flames adventurer team. He knew that since this was his foundation in this world, for as long as he lived his fate would be tied to theirs, he might as well give them a good start. By the look of its membership stats, it was going okay.