Mallory’s Assessment

Each of the new recruits had their own strengths and weaknesses shown during the carrying out of the mission.

Some may have shown some areas where they excelled in combat or cooperating with others as a part of a team while others would have an opportunity to show where they would be of use outside of combat.

Even those that had been a part of the group longer than others or had been a part of another group for a long time had been under some kind of assessment in some way to better help determine their place in the group.

The newbies were not the only ones that were being tested during the mission.

Every single one of them were being judged one way or another to determine their suitability, abilities and roles as a part of the group.

Splitting them up into two groups allowed for there to be an increased difficulty and to allow more opportunities for them to each show off their strengths and weaknesses.

Those that participated without a status granted by the gods would not gain any kind of Excelia or stat boosts like those that did but their first experience would let them know about their own lack of power and bring them down to earth a little before they started gaining power.

It was best to test them out in such an environment before they were granted the status from Goddess Seshat just so they would be determined to be suitable for the group and trustworthy enough to be allowed such a chance.

It was very easy for anyone to become corrupted by power and forget about the struggles of the weak once they gained a little power for themselves so they could abuse that power one day.

Precautions were necessary even if it was just for a single mission where they would have to face dangers without that extra layer of protection and power to support them.

It would help to let them understand just how precious the status was that would be granted to them so they would not take it for granted later.

The competition between the two groups had come to an end after Mallory took more of a direct approach while Franco's group tried to find other ways to slowly infiltrate the camp.

The cautious approach had been proven to be problematic once mistakes had been made resulting in them being discovered and losing their element of surprise.

Mallory's team had arrived first and won in the small competition resulting in her being able to earn more Excelia as the captives were saved and released from their restraints.

It was finally time for someone among the group to show their value.

Tia the Bull Race girl had stepped up right away holding her bag full of medicines, potions and other treatment equipment. "Please form a line and I will tend to your injuries as soon as I can."

Her voice was gentle and calming to the captives which let them trust in her as she began stitching up their wounds, applying bandages and applying or giving out medicine to treat their conditions.

She may not have had the experiences and resources of the past Alchemy Association of Visa City but she still was able to build her own abilities and experience under the suppression of them which had made her a competent and trustworthy person who would not shy away from those that needed treatment.

There was no need to calculate the costs of the treatment since it would likely be compensated later and it more far more important to deal with the current problems of those unwell and injured before considering other things. "Next patient."

Hiiro was silently sitting close by with a large backpack near him as he had taken out small cups and filled them up with a little clean water before distributing them to those at the front of the queue. "Here you go sir."

The captives were very grateful to receive treatment and to have some rations given to them by those that had saved them.

Not too far away from them was Nia who was sitting up on top of a large rock overlooking everything with caution in her eyes. "Hmm.."

She remained vigilant about her surroundings and was ready to jump down to protect the newbies if the saved captives had started to cause problems.

Swaine had done the same until his old friend Franco had arrived so he went over to see how their side had coped with the mission while gloating about how his team had won which earned him an eye roll from Franco. "Hahaha and then this happened.."

Mallory overlooked those that were a part of her team then began to go over her experience. 'Swaine was quick to action once danger had arrived and trusted that I could handle the rest.

Although he had left us to go find a more advantageous position to attack the enemy, there may have still been a way for us to have worked together to overcome the threat. I guess this should be put down as him being useful but he still needs to get used to working as a part of this team.'

Swaine and Franco had jumped between several mercenary groups so they picked up various habits along the way.

In order to survive and to overcome certain obstacles, they had to learn to adapt and how to make split second decisions in order to preserve their own lives and ensure the success of the mission.

His first reaction was to seek out another way once the path was blocked so that he could avoid harm and get into a more advantageous position but that left behind Mallory to take on most of the difficult work of defending others without being able to counterattack.

Mallory was a level two with high stats and combat power so if she was given more freedom to act then the battle may have been settled much sooner.

He trusted in her abilities to hold others off but he had failed to see where he could have helped to lessen her burden.

It all worked out in the end but there was always a chance that there could have been some casualties from the decision he made.

Mallory continued to think to herself. 'I will just put this down to him not settling into this group yet and having less cooperation with me and others in real scenarios like this. Next would be Nia.. she acted quickly and made good use of her combat abilities.

The main issue would be that she acted alone just like Swaine. It is clear that she is powerful and skilled enough to be able to act alone but it would have been better to try to find a way to push forward with her support too.'

Nia was another one that was a part of another group and trusted in her own capabilities but needed some time to adjust to those around her.

Mallory pondered. "During combat Tia and Hiiro had listened well and avoided harm while cooperating with my requests which really helped to create opportunities to set up a way to counter the bandits.

Their roles as supporters had been done well even if they did not take down any of the bandits using any kind of combat capabilities. They hid away and did not draw attention to themselves when asked and now they are using what they have to distribute supplies and provide treatment.'

Hiiro was managing the distribution of the supplies and was rationing it all quite well between all of the captives so it had shown how careful he was to not waste anything.

Tia was making use of her medical skillsets to treat those that were in need of it.

Both of them may not have shown anything to show they had a future in fighting on the front lines but they would still be able to find some place for themselves in the group.

Mallory's group assessment had shown that those in it had some potential if those in it would be able to learn to work as a team more effectively while there were some that had begun to show how they could provide additional assistance outside of combat.

That would have a chance of changing once they gained a status and it was always uncertain how they would grow but it was enough to get some kind of an idea for what kind of role they would take as the group was beginning to form.