"This guy tried to punch me, so I stopped his blow. He tried to punch me again, so I crushed his knuckles. One time might be an 'accident', but a second time, can you justify his side? You're welcome to try, but I don't take bullshit very well." Elgin shrugged.
Adel heard Elgin's words, assessed the situation and looked at Ivan, who immediately reacted and shook his head to defend himself in a frantic manner.
He was a good judge of someone's character and knew from the very beginning that Ivan was the type to cause trouble just like what Elgin said.
"..On behalf of him, I will apologize. I think he was just agitated because.. You know, we were thrown here out of nowhere, and-" Adel tried to fan down the argument and reclaim peace.
However, he was cut off by Elgin.
"He called me arrogant, said that I was stupid for running away, and that I came back here to follow you guys' footsteps. From what I've seen, you guys are the stupid ones. You don't even know what to do, scattering about like baby chicks who have no sense of urgency at all. At this point, you are all going to die as soon as you reach Yggdrasil."
Adel was taken aback. Did that mean Elgin knew a lot more than them? And his unprecedented strength, too, made him cautious.
Indeed, when he first came down to the scene and saw that Ivan was on the ground, he didn't believe that the culprit would be Elgin. After all, Elgin looked quite small compared to Ivan, who was the bulkiest out of the entire group when they arrived.
He believed that Ivan was the strongest out of pure common sense.
However, his thoughts spun around one more time and connected Elgin's disappearance to the reason he was back here again. He
"Wait.. Did you already begin fighting creatures? Alone?!" Adel thought he had solved the case.
In their status, there was a clear experience bar and a parameter for strength shown in the stats. If Elgin grinded to level up and increased his strength in that amount of time, his showcase of power would make sense.
He saw that Elgin's clothes were quite disheveled. It was torn up here and there and seemed to have deep stains of blood even though Elgin had cleaned himself up with Water Magic earlier.
"...I don't know who you are, but unlike him.. You're a bit smarter. You should choose your teammates well. Get someone with a brain. The opposite of this guy. That way, maybe your chances of surviving would increase. Not that it would matter to me, though." Elgin stated before continuing his original path to the butcher's shop without paying the crowd a single heed.
Adel was slightly skeptical.
Why did Elgin rush everything so much? As if he was chasing a concrete goal, even though it had only been days after they arrived here? Like he was already originally a part of this world in the first place- not needing any time to get adjusted and having all the knowledge he needed?
"..This is the second time someone warned me about ditching the group.. Why are they all like this? Isn't it better to stick with teammates? In such a foreign environment, how can they be so.. calm?" Adel muttered under his breath in a low volume.
"Hey, what are you waiting for?! Catch that son of a bitch! What are you doing, why did you apologize like a sissy?!"
"Shut it!" Adel rebuked the man. "Weren't you the one who experienced his strength? Do you think we are able to contend with him right now? Save your hatred for later. I'm sure that there's a reason he got so strong. If you can be as strong as him, then you can resume your talk!"
Ivan wanted to shout even more. Unluckily for him, he forgot that his palm was injured and moved it too harsh. Pain quickly overwhelmed him and drew a sharp, anguished sound from him.
Adel clicked his tongue in displeasure. Things were in a chaos right now. With every act he committed, Ivan began to seem even more displeasing to him.
He knew that some of the group members were already starting to be looked down on by Ivan, this man who thought that he was the king of the world. He assumed the position of a leader and didn't show any signs of respect to the others unless they looked useful.
This kind of man can't be good for him. He knew this, and yet he stayed by Ivan's side because he thought forming a group was the way to go. Cooperation to solve problems. At least, Ivan listened to him to a certain point, so he tried to ignore it, but..
"..You guys, go bring Ivan into the inn!" Adel massaged his temples in distress, ordering the others to help Ivan.
As for Elgin, Adel saw him walk confidently and enter a store. A butcher store.
It was clear at this point. He must've fought a lot, and was here to drop his materials before going forward. Ivan, who picked a fight without knowing this fact could only suffer from his own actions.
He had so many questions. The elf, the hooded girl, and now Elgin.
What was it that they knew, but he didn't?
Yggdrasil, the tower of challenges. Their goal was the top floor, and there was no time limit stated. And yet, they rushed to dominate the competition and risked their chances being going solo in their journey.
Could he.. do that too?
Could he turn his back on his group and set off like the three did?
What a headache.
The group treaded back to the inn they stayed at, with Adel having complicated thoughts brewing inside his mind.
He might have to reconsider his stance.