Natasha was in deep thought as she swept her gaze to her teammates. But she was startled in surprise to see an extra person...
It's him!
Seeing her glance at him, Bruce gave a curt nod but otherwise didn't say anything. He was too tired to care.
He simply crossed his arms on his chest and stared at her seriously, as if waiting for her to speak.
Natasha was quite dumbfounded. She felt her cheeks turn a tad rosy. But she reigned her stirring feelings in.
There was a time and place for everything, Natasha! Keep that in mind!
She shook her head and gave a curt nod as well. Since the other party greeted her, it was basic decency to respond with a greeting as well.
Seeing that they were all complete, Natasha took it upon herself to start a conversation. She looked at everyone and nodded.
While she might seem... foolish at times, she was still a very renowned prodigy who was more than capable enough to handle a leadership position.
"Professor Aisea is calling us to choose our group's artifacts. Why don't you all introduce yourself first before we choose which artifacts we should get? That way, we can choose which fits us the best. I'll start first then."
Bruce and the others nodded, completely fine with her arrangement.
"My name is Natasha Raven," She bowed at them slightly, holding the hems of her skirt. "I'm a member of the Raven clan. I'm a close combat fighter and my preferred weapon is a scythe. My awakened talent is a bit special, but it's a combat-related one."
Saying that, she whipped out a black, thin stick from her skirt. Then the stick widened, turning into a deadly scythe.
Woosh!
Bruce was stunned. How did she get a weapon that long from her skirt? Did that stick just grow longer? What kind of...
"Our time is short, so I'll spare some details of my ability for now. It's related to combat and assists me greatly, that's all I can say."
Natasha finished gracefully and couldn't help but notice Bruce's awed expression. She couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed by his straight stare.
Hey! It's just me! Are you regretting rejecting me now?
Seeing that she was finished, one of the two guys followed after her. He stepped up and gave a gentleman's bow.
"My name is Noah Cyr."
The man introduced himself gently. He had white, short hair and a kind face. His voice was soft and harmless.
His eyes shone with a bright, light gold color. There was a sense of deep emotion in his eyes, but it was hard to pinpoint what exactly.
More than a fighter, he was like a saint.
"I'm a simple, ordinary man. Please don't expect anything too much about me. I'm the most useless person to ever exist, bar to none. My ability... it's useless, so useless! I'm afraid I'm extremely useless. Useless, useless, useless!"
Bruce held his temple. He was on the verge of putting his hand on Noah's mouth to shut the man up, but fortunately, the man stopped his rant.
"...My ability is called [Light and Gold]–I have the power of healing at my fingertips, but I can only heal little injuries and as a side effect, amplify the pain the patient is feeling... It's absolutely useless..."
Noah seemed like he was about to break down. He held his head, dismayed over his ability. It made the other three suspect if there was something wrong with his head.
Obviously, a healer ability was really good. It was unfortunate that his ability had such side effects, but was there really a need to dramatize it too much?
Natasha was worried and comforted him.
"It's alright... uh, Noah. Your skill will come in handy. A healer is necessary if we want to pass this test, even if it's painful, I'm sure we can handle it. I mean I can. I'm used to pain, as long as it's not very, very painful."
"Really?"
Noah's eyes brightened like gold. He immediately came in front of Natasha and held her hand, crying to her as if she was her savior.
"Thank you! Thank you! I'm absolutely blessed to have all of you as my teammates! This is what people call—a miracle! An absolutely miserable, useless person being helped by bright, shining symbols of virtue... I am... blessed..."
He choked on his words, a fanatical smile erupting from his face. The other three were stunned and slightly creeped out by his long rant.
Natasha immediately took back her hands, afraid they would be dirtied by his tears. She took a step back from Noah as her eyes glanced at him worriedly.
'... Is there something wrong with this guy?'
Oblivious to her thoughts, Noah continued staring at her with a hopeful and grateful expression. It was as if he was looking at the savior of humanity itself.
"Oh brother, we have someone crazy on our team."
Bruce pinched his temple and sighed tiredly. Good thing he was not the leader, otherwise he wouldn't be able to deal with this cr*p.
He looked at the other person on their team. The man was in a similar state as them, absolutely flabbergasted and weirded out by Noah.
He prayed in his mind that the man wouldn't be as abnormal.
Seeing them stare at him, the man realized it was his turn and coughed awkwardly. He gave a short bow.
"My name is Penguin Oswald, son of the Merchant Oswald. My ability is called [Contractor]–I can make vows and contracts with others, causing certain effects. I'm relatively proficient in long-range combat, my preferred weapon is a gun."
A normal person, thank goodness... both Bruce and Natasha sighed in relief. Then, they suddenly raised their head and looked at each other.
To not incur any suspicion, Natasha kept her gaze on him despite feeling hotness and shame rise to her face.
How's that? I dare you to look away!
Bruce laughed internally but didn't show it, keeping his stoic and calm demeanor. He gave a short nod to everyone.
"My name is Bruce Ryker. My ability is [Energy Extrasensitivity] it helps me sense energy faster than others. I'm a little durable and have some proficiency in close combat."
The other nodded, looking at each other. They quickly realized that their abilities complemented each other.
Natasha, their leader, and damage dealer...
Bruce, their main tank...
Penguin, their long-range damage dealer...
And finally, Noah, their crazed healer...
While they were not a perfect team in any metric, their team was solid enough to stand a chance of passing the test.
All of them sighed in relief, with the exception of Bruce. He didn't seem to be interested in anything at all.
It puzzled Natasha to see him act so... cold and uncaring. It was completely different from her image of him in their past interactions together.
'... Was I mistaken about him?'
She shook her head, burying it in the back of her mind. Since everyone already introduced themselves, she led them to Professor Aisea to choose their artifacts...