"Thanks for the help. We noticed from a distance that some archer was really making a difference on the right side…" Ed said while he sheathed his sword since the enemies had disappeared in the distance. "It has been a while since they attacked like this…"
"Considering the number of monsters and how well they retreated and acted during the fights, I assumed that they could control a lot of them," Sigma frowned. "And yet, you say that it is rare for them to launch attacks like this."
"Nah, only high-level demons can control a lot of monsters, but it requires time for them to get a force of this size," Ed said and then sighed in relief. "We are lucky that most demons are egotistic… the stronger they are, the worse they become. If they worked together, we would be in a serious bind… regardless, I guess that after this, we can get you a good horse. No one will be against it."
All's well that ends well… Sigma leveled up a lot in that battle and had the chance to see some skills in battle… It was a pity that he didn't see the melee ones in action, but that could wait for another day. Besides, he could only learn so many of them at a time with the number of skill points that he had.
"By the way, what are those guys doing?" Sigma asked while pointing to the people that were sitting cross-legged.
"They are meditating… for people like me, mana is everything, and without it, we can do nothing," Sabrina explained without a fuss since it would make sense that Sigma wouldn't know something even that basic. "We do that daily to recover more mana over time, and it is like your training regimen that warriors do. There is a lot less sweat involved, though, and that is why I like it so much."
Sabrina sure looked to be in a good mood despite also looking exhausted herself. The battle didn't last even ten minutes, but it seemed that not everyone had a huge supply of mana. In any case, while those two were helping Eclair, Sigma left the area and then found a place hidden enough to heal himself. He immediately felt better… after that, he went to the tree where he used earlier to practice with his remaining arrows.
"I increased my magic a lot… so Heal did a lot more than I expected," Sigma nodded to himself. "This power is really something else."
While he was thinking about that, Sigma suddenly felt a bit weird, like someone was watching over his shoulder… when he looked around, he didn't see anyone. Still, that annoying feeling didn't leave him.
"Hmm…" Sigma furrowed his eyebrows.
Someone was watching Sigma. He was certain of it… it seemed that his actions in the battle picked the interest of someone who had good stealthy skills. In any case, he decided to ignore whoever it was since he could tell that he wouldn't be able to find them. Still, he had an idea of who it was.
"That is pretty underhanded… Rose," Sigma said and then started his training session.
"You did notice me… sorry for my bad habit," Rose said and then left the side of the nearby building.
"If you are aware of it, you should fix it," Sigma said and then quickly fired his remaining arrows.
"No can do. It is a habit necessary to investigate the enemies," Rose said. "Although you helped us in the wall, I am still not sure if you are an enemy. You don't want to look suspicious, but you are hiding some abilities… but still look surprised occasionally. I think of myself as a pretty good judge of character, and yet, I can't put my mind in a clear spot regarding you."
Since he had seen Rose playing with knives the previous day, her skill seemed to have relied on that area. Surprise attacks… it was hard to imagine how someone with that kind of expertise would become the leader of that city. Regardless, she seemed to lay low while waiting for the enemies to enter the city since she couldn't do much while they were far away.
"I see. Sorry for troubling you," Sigma said and then grabbed the arrows that he had just shot at the tree. "I guess in your position, you would think that I will attack and kill everyone in the city once I learn the location of the next city."
"The possibility did cross my head," Rose shrugged. "I am sure you understand that no matter what, you look suspicious."
"Yes, this is troublesome for me as well… but it is something that I need to endure, and it can't be helped," Sigma said and then returned to his shooting position.
Rose felt annoyed since Sigma didn't look that bothered by assuming the weirdness of the situation. It made her feel like he was acting… but if that was the case, would he go as far as killing hundreds of monsters like that? It is kind of time-consuming for the demons to control monsters, and if he was on their side, it made a lot more sense to kill everyone during the attack and grab some people to torture for information. Also, she wasn't that convinced that the other cities hadn't been discovered yet… the demons only were having a hard time attacking them.
"Ugh, this is so annoying…" Rose said and then sighed.
"I couldn't agree more," Sigma replied, recovering his arrows again.
Rose decided to leave the area since she deemed it impossible for Sigma to be read. She watched him during the whole fight and saw many openings to attack, and he also fought a bit clumsily at close range. That couldn't be an act… he also looked surprised at some moments, like he had learned a few things while he was at it, and that puzzled her even more. More than curious, Sigma was a pain to understand…