King Of Limbo

After Lady Rose went away to her spot all attention turned to Aron who remained standing with numerous gazes on him.

However he said nothing to them and only turned his head to face Henry before walking over with Evanora in toll.

Seeing this, Claudia decided to march over as well and Jagu and Jin followed behind. Soon Esmeralda, Brutas and the other group leaders all followed until a sort of gathering was formed around Anastasia and Juliet's spot.

"How do you think we should divide the groups?" Aron asked Henry with a brow raised and his arms crossed. Anastasia felt uneasy hearing him ask for someone's opinion as she knew full well he could easily do something easy like arranging people.

Claudia had the same thoughts as Anastasia and even Juliet but unlike the two of them Juliet chose to ask. "You should be able to sort people into groups quite well, no?" She asked indifferently as if out of genuine curiosity and no malice, she was truly hard to read.

"I could but you have spent more time with your groups than I have so you should know of their strong points and weak points. By having everyone give their input we can derive the best possible formation." Aron explained bringing clearance to the two girls who especially doubted his intentions, but from his words what he chose to do was quite sensible.

They had just fallen victim to their tendency to overthink and overestimate Aron's actions due to his past accomplishments that were still engraved in their minds.

After giving clarity everyone gave their opinions on the matter and a problem soon presented itself.

Everyone's suggestion had their own group included in the team to explore the ruin while placing others on outer roles. It was clear no one wanted to be left out from going into the ruin.

The only person to not give his input yet was Aron but that was to be expected since it was obvious no matter the decision he would be entering.

"If you're looking at this through a greedy perspective i advice you to rethink that. The events of the Newman highlands and Komi Islands are a good example of how problematic ruins can be. If you're confident in protecting your group and yourselves then that's fine but keep in mind everyone is to look out for their own lives in there." The one to give this piece of advice wasn't Aron but Juliet who could see that everyone was just trying not to be the one to miss out.

"That's right, if you prove to be burden then it's only natural that you receive anything in return despite entering. If you're worried that possible valuables may be taken then talk it over with Lady Rose as she has first choice either way." Aron added causing Claudia to especially feel left out as she was the worst combatant present.

Her only option was to pick a role in which she could still contribute greatly so she was the first to raise her hand and offer. "My group will act as the bridge to the surface, delivering what the expedition group will need."

"That's one group, we'll need at least two groups to play that role and another two to do the scouting role. The individuals from Lady Rose and my groups will take the scouting role, though Jin and Jagu should be shifted to that group to act with Mirai and Sharla. They have the best skills for that." Aron suggested and got no complaints.

It was indeed better to have two Aethelians in the scouting group, while Aron found that Jin's illusion arts and Jagu's primal nature coupled with his instincts would also fit into this role.

"That leaves only one more group to add to the support group. I suggest Brutas take the role, he still hasn't fully healed from the incident in the Newman highlands making him the weakest and biggest liability." Juliet harshly pointed out and some glances turned to Brutas who hadn't spoken much.

Brutas wanted to defend himself but what could he say? Although harsh her words were right and everyone knew this, the very fact that no one defended him was testament to this.

In the end he could only frown but ultimately accept the decision. This meant those who were left automatically belonged to the expedition group.

"That settles it then. Relay instructions to your teams, we will begin tomorrow morning after Claudia and Henry's groups get some rest." Aron instructed before turning to walk away.

….

The morning came fast and soon each group was ready to fulfill their role. The expedition group was the first to leave and enter the tunnels followed by the support group which carried supplies.

The one leading the expedition group as a whole was of course Lady Rose who made full use of her scouters to ensure no trouble was met.

Many days had passed since Aron laid waist to the Veldra settlement he found the map in, by now he was confident that the Veldrea had found out. In regards to this he felt they were two main possible responses he would receive.

The first being they would be on guard even more and were actively looking for them, the other being they had retreated perhaps to a more secure settlement entirely and abandoned this tunnel system.

Considering Aron hadn't run into a single Veldra again since then he leaned more towards the latter option. After all the Veldrea couldn't handle a full raid by Aethelians, worse fighting heavy battles in the tunnels was suicidal and would only lead to the deaths of many of there people.

"What's on your mind?" As the rest of expedition was following closely behind Lady Rose, Juliet noticed Aron seemed to be in thought.

Aron glanced at the enigma that chose to walk beside him for a moment before responding somewhat honestly. "I was thinking it would be a pain to have a battle in such a place."

This answer received a nod from Juliet who was ever intrigued with topics such as these. "I was pondering something similar. How best would you go about a battle here?…"

The two who usually never chatted much with anyone were all of a sudden engrossed in a deep talk over strategical theories regarding their current scenario. In Aron's case what he was giving were text book answers and not his personal thoughts, to give one's personal thoughts was akin to letting her have on even more solid idea as to how he went about his critical thinking.

As for Juliet, her answers seemed genuine as they fit into what Aron would expect from her given what little he knew.

….

It took an entire day of traveling before the group got close to the ruin's entry point. It was there that it was decided they would take a break before progressing as they couldn't explore whilst being tired.

While the rest of the expedition group began to rest, Aron along with Lady Rose walked further ahead to inspect the entrance.

Much like the Newman highland's ruin, it had a hardened sort of earth that was far stronger than any other material he had encountered in Pesia. The entrance this time around also held this material along with visible runic drawings.

The other group leaders made sure to follow as Aron and Lady Rose approached said entrance. Some out of curiosity whilst others didn't trust them to move alone, whatever the case Lady Rose didn't pay them any mind and began quietly looking at the runes.

"Wow, what incredible and interesting runic patterns…" the one to be impressed by all this was Sebastian who held a great interest in runes and their applications. To see one's he hadn't before sparked his interest and had him move closer before being stopped by Aron.

"Unless you know what they do, don't touch them carelessly." Aron warned seriously and caused Sebastian to remember the Newman highlands before chuckling awkwardly and stepping back.

The next to step up was Henry who didn't want to touch but was just curious. "Can it be cracked? How long do you think it'll take?" He inquired curiously but at this point the constant talking had Lady Rose furrow her brows. "If I hear any of you so much as breath loudly and disrupt my concentration then you will be off this expedition." She warned without turning her head but the irritation in her voice could be heard quite clearly.

The first to react was Juliet who said nothing and just walked away, the others however chose to remain although none dared to utter a peep.

From there time began to fly, Aron and Lady Rose casually stood in front of the ruin's entrance without leaving once. The others had wanted to watch them as they worked but saw they were doing nothing of note.

Eventually Lady Rose stepped forward and began drawing on the entrance with a runic brush. Aron only quietly observed and made no comment.

By the time it had become night once again, she was done. She took a step back as if to admire her own work before muttering. "Invoke."

In response to these words the runes she had drawn began to glow brightly and resonate with the runes already present on the entrance. Soon both sets of runes just vanished entirely leaving none anymore to be seen, what followed was the entrance rumbling as it slowly began to open.

Everyone who watched this happen was left confused as to how Lady Rose performed this feat.