4 The Crusader

The party waited around for a whole two hours before seeing a tall, blonde haired man walking towards them. He didn't seem to be the slightest bit troubled at the fact that he made the poor students wait around for two whole hours. In fact, his face was slightly tinged with a hint of red and you could practically smell the alcohol coming from him from a mile away.

"Hi guys!" The man wore light armor and had a sword sheathed on his back. This guy was definitely a fighter class hero. His tone seemed cheerful. It was as if him being late was a regular thing. On top of that, he was still holding a bottle of alcohol. "Sorry I'm late, I got a little mixed up in something. I was on my way here when..." He started telling of an elaborate tale of how he saved a damsel in distress, glorifying his achievements. He was so shameless that Enoch, Mark, and Ruby all stared at him with a blank expression on their faces, clearly not amused by his elaborate storytelling.

Once he finished his story, he finally introduced himself. "Oh right! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Michael, a platinum ranked crusader. I'll be your guy's party leader for the time being." He said as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

T-this is a platinum ranked hero? Enoch thought to himself, clearly disappointed at the man. He sighed, and decided to not take the this person too seriously. It looked like he would have to lead the party himself, if Michael was continually this unreliable. All of the other platinum ranked heroes from earlier looked formidable and had an aura of authority and prestige around them. How did this kind of guy become a platinum ranked hero?

"Now that I'm here, why don't we introduce ourselves, I want to know a little bit more about you guys." Michael said. He then took a sip of alcohol while he waited for everybody's introduction.

"I'm Mark, an archer." Mark said, his voice was barely audible, "And uhh... I like animals." His introduction did not have much content, but apparently it was enough for Michael, who didn't seem to be paying him any heed. "Next!" Michael said in an obnoxious voice after taking another sip.

Enoch decided to introduce himself after, "I'm Enoch, a fighter. I like to practice the sword." He decided not to reveal too much about himself. After all, what kind of fighter could use magic? To his knowledge, fighters who could use magic usually didn't because their physical abilities far exceeding their magical ones.

"I'm Ruby, a mage." Ruby then introduced herself without waiting for Michael to say 'next' in that obnoxious voice again. "I like reading books, my favorite subjects are magic, history, and fictions." She said. Her tone had a certain pride to it, it was clear that she was definitely a strong minded girl who wasn't afraid of the perception of others.

"Great! We've all introduced ourselves now. I don't have anything else for you all today. Go home and rest for tomorrow. Meet me here at daybreak tomorrow, I'll have something for you." Michael waved his hands in nonchalance as he walked away without another word. Enoch frowned, but didn't pay it any mind.

"Enoch!" Enoch heard his name being called. He turned his head to see Ruby. She had grabbed Mark's wrists, "Come on, we're a party now, let's go get some food together!" Enoch thought about it for a minute, but found that he didn't have a reason to say no. "Alright."

Although Ruby seemed to have some pride in herself, it didn't stop her from being friendly with others, perhaps this was why the students liked her. She was the opposite of Enoch, and was somebody who always had people around her.

"W-wait!" Mark said, but before he could even say anything, Ruby was already dragging him. "We're a party now. I know you two loners don't like being with people, but there's no choice, we have to get along now!" Mark seemed to be unwilling as he was dragged.

Enoch was amused at this and followed Ruby. Initially, he was going to go home to practice, but there was no harm in accompanying his party members. After all, they were party members, they would have to get along in some form.