Chapter 54: The Crimson Moon Squad
The first person he noticed, sitting on a wooden chair, was Lana.
She was looking at him with anticipation, her gaze filled with trust and expectation.
She was one of the two woman in the 'Crimson Moon Squad', and so except for her, Stark knew nobody else.
Stark then switched her gaze to the other members, analyzing them all in the process.
There was a man with silver hair and pale skin, dressed in a neat suit, and a staff in his hands, he immediately got up from his seat once Stark's eyes fell on him.
[Class: Magus]
[Level: 109]
"Welcome, Stark. I'm glad you could make it. My name is Lance, I heard lots of things about you from our little Lana here," he nodded in approval.
"Shut up, old man, don't say anything else if you know what's best for you…" Lana groaned, a fierce expression on her face.
"Haha~ sure sure, wouldn't wanna put off your crus-"
An arrow came flying toward Lance, landing right next to his head.
Of course, Lance was a powerful Magus, so such an attack wouldn't hard him, plus he would have had the time to cast several spells, but he still let it go since it was Lana.
Stark nodded politely, returning the smile.
Next, he noticed a tall, muscular man with short, curly black hair. He wore a leather vest and had a gruff look on his face.
[Class: Warrior]
[Level: 97]
"I'm Thorn, the muscle of the team. Nice to meet you," he grunted, giving Stark a firm handshake.
Stark replied, but immediately as he did so, he felt Thorn's pressure on his hand, almost as if he wanted to crush it.
"…?" Stark looked at him with a blank expression, not hurt at all since he had immediatly activated [Domination] and put the entirety of his aura around that hand.
"Hm…" Thorn was confused, he had the idea of hurting Stark a bit to show him it would be difficult, but he didn't seem affected at all, "Good strength kid, I approve," he finally let go, finally giving him a smirk.
Stark continued to scan the room, his eyes falling on a woman with long, flowing red hair and striking green eyes, she had glasses and seemed to be focused on some potions that were placed on her table.
"Hehe~ almost done," she giggled, not even acknowledging Stark and his arrival, but still telling him her name, "Olivia!"
[Class: Alchemist]
[Level: 116]
The next person that caught his attention was a man, draped in a cloak that seemed to meld with the shadows of the room. His eyes glinted with a keen intelligence as he met Stark's gaze.
[Class: Assassin]
[Level: 105]
"Max…" that's all he said, and Stark nodded.
He then turned his attention to a woman with long, golden hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall. She wore a simple white dress and had an ethereal quality about her.
[Class: Exorcist]
[Level: 112]
"Stella!' they were stars shining in her eyes, and anybody who saw her from afar could guess that she was a saint, "Nice to meet you!" she grabbed both of Stark's hands with hers, and smiled.
Finally, his gaze settled on a man who exuded a dark aura, his eyes glinting with mischief and power.
He had a green heart with a hat on top of it pulsating in his right hand, and he seemed to be playing with it.
[Class: Soul Wielder]
[Level: 124]
He had white hair and wore an intricate suit that hinted at his agility and skill in combat, fairly similar to the one Stark was wearing.
"Well, well, if it isn't the new recruit," he smirked, crossing his arms over his chest confidently, "Call me Vex."
Vex seemed to be the leader of this small squad, both because his aura was the most powerful, but also because of his level.
"Stark Heartsouls," Stark replied while staring at all the people in the room.
"Welcome, Stark," Vex's voice was smooth and commanding, "We've been expecting you." He gestured for Stark to take a seat at the table where the squad was gathered.
As Stark settled in, Vex continued, "No need for lame explanations, all you need to know is that the Secret Rift opens in exactly 7 hours from now on, so we need to be going there soon."
"Very well, any information I need to know?" he replied.
"You requested to be alone, so all you need to do is seperate yourself from us at the start, that rift is Hell-Level so it is so big we might not see each other until we leave…"
Stark nodded in understanding, mentally preparing himself for the upcoming challenge.
The atmosphere in the bar became tense as each member of the Crimson Moon Squad geared up for the mission ahead.
Lana's eyes sparkled with determination, Thorn cracked his knuckles, and Max's gaze sharpened even more.
After the rest of them (except for Stark) sipped into their wine, which he clearly found to be dumb since what would happen to you if you were drunk inside a dangerous rift, all of them left the bar.
Stark had been given some information along with that alcohol break: dozens of organizations woukd participate in this it was a perfect moment to conquer a powerful rift and attract the media and also gather materials.
Whether it was several powerful houses from other countries, military groups, conglomerates, and even solo classifiers, all would be there.
As they exited the bar, there were a black limousine-like cars waiting for them.
It hadn't been there when Stark had arrived, but looks like these guys were prepared.
"Good luck, let's hope you aren't too late," Vex smiled as Stark and Lana entered the car.
"You aren't coming?" Stark was confused, why were they the only one that needed to take that car?
It didn't take more than a few seconds for him understand.
Vex, using his 'Wielder Heart', began flying in the air, shooting in to the sky with a magnificent green flash.
Max, the assassin, also just hid in the shadows and disappeared out nowhere.
Thorn, the burly man, jumped on a building and dashed toward the location of the secret Rift at an incredible speed.
Lance used some sort of spell and teleported away.
And as for the two women on the group that didn't go inside the car: Olivia, the achemist, just drank a potion and turned into a bird before flying into the horizon.
"What the fuck?" Stark was astonished.
And as for Stella, the exorcist, she summoned a giant golden cross and got on top of it before also flying, like she was on a magic carpet.
"We aren't that strong… are we not?" Stark awkwardly laughed.
"Maybe not…" Lana shrugged, "But i'm sure we'll reach that level some day."
Stark was honestly confident in his speed, he could of course always focus all his aura around his legs and be way faster than the car, but he decided to be prioritize rest over showing off as it was useless.
Six hours passed after they got inside of the car, and soon enough, they left Fellarburg.
They were now in a giant plain with green grass, and in front of them were dozens of other cars, as well as hundreds of people, some still arriving from the sky or even ground.
"That's our stop," Lana nodded, and the two got off the car.
Everyone was there was one simple thing: the Secret Rift that was bound to open soon.