Seeing Rosaria still trying to calm herself down, Sweet Lily approached her and patted her back.
Slowly, they could be seen hugging.
Ms. Maria knows just what they need to cheer her up.
"Hey, brat!" Ms. Maria called Ioki.
Ioki told the Goblins to drop him down.
Ioki slowly walked toward her with a big smile on his face.
"What is it, big sis?" Ioki asked with a teasing tone.
Ms. Maria could be seen tightening her fist before approaching Ioki's face closer.
She pinched his cheek and played around with it.
"Listen here, we are gonna have a rematch," She said to Ioki while still pinching his cheek.
"Wh---Wet gwo!" Ioki tried to speak.
After playing with his cheek for another moment, she finally let go.
"Ouch! Hey!" Ioki rubbed his cheek, "Besides, we already talked about it. It's best out of 3; we will still have a rematch!"
"Sure, but I want you to join in the fight this time." Ms. Maria smiled.
"You already know yourself the purpose of this sparring is to train the Goblins! Why would I need to participate?" Ioki replied.
Before Ioki could open his mouth again, Ms. Maria's hands were on his cheeks.
They slowly twirl and twist, rubbing and pinching Ioki's cheeks.
"You see, Rosaria is sad now because of what just happened. It should be your job to lighten her mood up as a man!" Ms. Maria explained.
Ioki grabbed her hands, "Aww! No! I won't do it, besides it's not my fault! She is the one that started it first!"
Ms. Maria's expression slowly changes as she hears Ioki's explanation; she knows he is right... But she needs to cheer Rosaria up so the party's mood can return to what it was.
Ms. Maria slowly let go of Ioki's cheeks and opened her inventory. She took out a shiny blue chest with diamonds embellished all over it.
Everyone's attention suddenly was turned to the shiny chest; even the Goblins had their mouths drooling upon seeing the jewels-embedded chest.
"Th---that is a Diamond Chest! The highest reward known in Ashen Fantasy, it's my first time seeing one in real time!" The Warrior yelled in shock.
The two approached her after seeing how she had just taken the Diamond Chest out of her inventory.
"What are you doing?" Sweet Lily asked.
"Don't tell me you are planning to give this to Ioki? I know you love him very much, and the same goes for me. Bu---" Without finishing her sentence, Ms. Maria put her finger on Rosaria's lips.
"Shhh! You are frustrated, right? And you want to take revenge on this brat," Ms. Maria asked.
"Yes... But..." Rosaria replied with a low voice.
Without waiting for another word from her party, Ms. Maria raised her chest in the air.
"Look at this, Ioki! Don't you want it? Hmm~ Big sis will give it to you if you beat us in the next round!" Ms. Maria said while teasingly bringing the box in and out of Ioki's face.
Ioki opened his inventory and took out a similar box.
"Why would I want to agree to that?" Ioki said as he held the chest in front of him.
The chats were laughing at Ioki's reply.
"HAHAHA, THAT'S WHAT YOU GET YOU WENCH! YOU'VE WATCHED IOKI, YET YOU THINK A DIAMOND CHEST WOULD BE ENOUGH TO BRIBE HIM?" DarkFlame typed.
The Warrior passed out upon seeing 2 Diamond Chests before her, and her party tried to wake her up.
While these were happening, the Goblins slowly approached them with their mouths drooling.
"Chief... Open... Chest."
"Loot share, Chief!"
"Shiny..."
Embarrassed with Ioki's reply, Ms. Maria took another item from her inventory.
A colorful marble and a thick blue colored book.
"Then, how about these? These are Rock Turtle's essence with skill book of a Monk!" Ms. Maria exclaimed.
"Are you insane? The essence itself would be a great suit for you because of its stats bonus and the skill it provides. While the book itself isn't much, it could still be sold for a price!" Rosaria shouted at Ms. Maria.
While they were arguing, Ioki looked at the sphere and asked, "Big brothers and sisters, can you tell me more about the marble and skill book?"
"The essence provides you with a stats boost and grants you the monster's skill upon consumption. While the book lets you learn the designated skill upon reading, as far as I know, the skill books can be a great help because you can learn skills from other Class/Jobs." Adamant_Zer0 typed.
"Hey, big sis. Tell me about the book and the essence skills," Ioki asked Ms. Maria.
After hearing Ioki's voice, the three stopped arguing and stared at Ioki.
"Hm~ hm hmm~ Is the brat interested in what big sis holds?" Ms. Maria teased Ioki.
"Yes, let's just say that..." Ioki replied flatly.
Rosaria then pinched his cheek this time around, "You see, nothing is free in this world. Agree to that rematch term first!"
Ioki struggled to let himself go because the chains always stopped him whenever he wanted to grab her arm.
After being satisfied with playing with Ioki's cheek, Rosaria let go of him.
"Okay! I will agree to it, but don't regret it! Taking this chance as well, I want you to take them into your side and let them learn with you!" Ioki pointed at the other party.
Seeing how Ioki pointed at them, they stared at each other in confusion.
"Wh---what do you mean?!" The Warrior replied with cracks in her voice.
"The battle would be boring if I went in and fought against them as well. You guys need to even the chance!" Ioki replied.
"Are you saying we will lose this time because you will join the fight?" Sweet Lily asked with a clear annoyance on her face.
"I'm not the one that got crowded and beaten by the Goblins," Ioki replied with a shrug.
"This brat..." Sweet Lily muttered.
"Enough talking! I want to bind and throw you around this time! It's fine for this round because you will join in the fight, right?" Rosaria yelled as she readied her chains.
Ioki commanded the Goblins to their positions, and they organized neatly in a short period of time. After the training and the sparring session they just went through, the whole Battalion had new looks on their face.
Mr. Kross joined in the back of the formation neatly while wagging his tail.
The other party slowly makes their way to the place Ms. Maria's party. They exchanged greetings and smiled at each other.
The winner of this round gets all! Because of the weight this round carried, they also started to organize themselves neatly because they do not want to lose to the Goblins.
The Warrior stands in the front beside Ms. Maria, Rosaria stands next to the Priest guarding the Mages behind them, and the Archer stands in the back covering for them.
Ioki stood before the Goblins and raised his hand, signaling the start of the final round.
"Fortune Squad!" Ioki shouted.
"Fortune Squad!" The Goblins shouted in unison.
"Awoooo!" Mr. Kross joined in.
Seeing the three creatures of different races standing before them, working side by side, brought them to awe.
Although it could not be seen, even Ms. Maria was shivering upon hearing them shout in unison after Ioki shouted their name.
While the other party tightened their grips on their weapons, Rosaria and Sweet Lily looked upon them and smiled. Reassuring everything was going to be alright even though their hands were shaky as well...