The Perfect Balance?

The group got back up and kept walking soon enough.

The Ladies had healed their injuries. Their clothes were still sliced up in certain parts but neither of them gave it a lot of thought.

Taking spoils from the many E-rank burrowing Ants around was kept to a minimum.

"We are going to meet many more of the infernal things so might as well save up space" Alessia had said and the others agreed with her.

They left the Ant carcasses behind and went further down the path with Alessia's lamp to lead the way.

Her lamp became no longer needed though as right ahead of them, a bright light was shining.

*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*

Vincel could hear the clashing of metal against metal and he looked over at Yvette.

"More Buttowimg Ants?"

Yvette nodded.

"Many more. There's a group also fighting them already" she said.

Alessia's eyes sparkled and she raised her battle Axe which caused the usual enticing jiggle of her large breasts before she yelled,

"Ah ha. A contest with actual people!"

She was ready to charge forward but Delphyne thrust out an arm to stop her.

"Calm yourself. Are you in a hurry to fight those awful Ants again?" she asked.

Alessia paused and then she relaxed upon seeing sense in Delphyne's words.

Delphyne looked over at Yvette.

"How bad is the fight?"

Yvette paused with her eyes closed trying to sense what was happening ahead in detail.

"Not too bad. They're battling the Ant Queen now. It should soon be over" she eventually said.

*BANG!*

The sound came from up ahead and it was followed by an even more ground-shaking *Bam!*.

"They're done"

Delphyne nodded.

"Alright then. Let's go"

Vincel and the other two followed Delphyne's lead and soon they walked out of the opening of the path and onto a massive space.

The space had two paths leading to it and one path leading out and further into the labyrinth.

The space was littered with killed Ants but it was nowhere near as much as the Ant carcass Vincel and his group had left behind.

'They killed the Ant Queen faster' Vincel realized 'They didn't give it the chance to spawn a lot of minions. Smart'

While Vincel could see the Ant Queen as an opportunity for Arcane Shard farming, he also realized the danger and how quickly things could get out of hand.

The smartest plan was to go for the Ant Queen and kill her quickly and from the looks on the faces of Delphyne, Yvette, and Alessia, he was not the only one who saw it that way.

This second group didn't even get all that dirty at all. At least not in comparison with Vincel and his group.

Speaking of the group, they were All-male.

They were four in number and from how they were dressed, Vincel was able to spot what type of Adventurer each of them was.

"Two warriors, one Knight, and one Mage," Yvette said, confirming the census already going on in Vincel's head.

The Mage was the one responsible for the light in the massive space and this was made clear by the large ball of light floating above his head. He was also dressed in Mage robes and had the look of someone not well-versed in being at the front lines of any battle.

His job was clear: Stay back and provide support.

'Hmm, kinda like what I was supposed to be to my group' Vincel thought with a small smile before his eyes fell on the only Knight in the group.

He was equipped with a few pieces of Armor and had a shield strapped to his left hand while his right hand was wielding his sword that had all the markings of being a Knight's weapon (A long horizontal guard at the top of the handle as well as an eye-catching hilt).

Of the two Warriors, one was holding two sabers and the other was holding a spear.

The Knight was cutting up the Ant Queen for the division of spoils but he raised his head and looked over at Vincel's group the moment they made it out.

So did the rest and Vincel could see their eyes sparkle as they beheld the beauty of the trio of Delphyne, Yvette, and Alessia.

Despite how dirty and grimy they had been made due to their battle with the burrowing Ants earlier, neither their looks nor their eye-catching assets were covered up.

"Why, hello there," said the saber-wielding warrior, "My name is Hiro. What are yours, fair maidens?"

Hiro started taking a few steps forward but he was stopped in his tracks by a spear shaft.

The spear-wielding Warrior stopped his fellow only to flash his pearly whites.

"Don't pay him any attention. He's just being thirsty"

"You're one to talk!" Hiro said but the spear-wielding warrior ignored him.

"My name is Torin. But I go by 'Master of the spear'. If you give me a chance, I shall dedicate my life and my skills to your defense."

'Wow, going right for it. I'm impressed.' Vincel thought with a smile.

Delphyne rolled her eyes.

Yvette looked like she was flattered.

Alessia looked like she was itching to lift her Axe and split skulls.

"Enough you two"

The voice came from the Knight who walked over.

He had a rugged look. He didn't seem that much older than Hiro and Torin (Late twenties) but he seemed more mature. He was tall and had all the hallmarks of a Knight in regards to body.

"I'm Kaen. Leader of this horny group" he said with a chuckle but when none of the ladies, except Yvette, smiled at his words, his chuckle turned into an uncomfortable smile with twitching lips.

"We're just passing through. We won't bother you or steal your spoils" Delphyne said.

"I wasn't worried about any of that." Kaen said with a smile, "What are your names?"

"Yvette"

"Alessia"

"Delphyne"

"Vin-" Vincel started to say before he was immediately interrupted.

"Wait a second- Purple eyes, caramel skin- You're not an Alstern, are you? As in, a member of the Alstern Family?" Kaen said with his eyes a bit wide as he looked at Delphyne.

Delphyne shook her head.

"You have me mistaken," she said.

"Oh? I would have thought the eyes were a dead giveaway" Kaen mumbled.

Delphyne grabbed Vincel's arm and pulled him a bit closer so Kaen's attention would fall on him.

"Our Mage didn't get to introduce himself," she said.

Kaen smiled brightly.

"We have a Mage too. Hey, Coln. Get over here." he called to the Mage.

Coln the Mage started a slow walk over and as he did, Kaen whispered.

"He's always a bit shy actually"

Coln couldn't face any of the ladies so he looked at Vincel as he greeted them all.

"Hello,"

He had left his ball of light behind and let it go high up towards the ceiling of the space they were in so it could be an ever-present source of light.

"Hi, my name's Vincel" Vincel said to Coln, who stood a foot shorter than him and stretched his hand forward for a handshake.

Coln took the hand after a couple of double-takes and then he looked up at Vincel with a smile.

"S- So you're a Mage too, huh"

Vincel returned the smile.

"Just barely. I surely can't do that" he said with a head gesture at the ball of light floating above.

Coln let Vincel's hand go but he still had a smile on his face.

"Oh, it's not that big a deal."

"Oh it is. Don't sell yourself short" Vincel said.

'Probably more interesting than anything I can do at the moment,' he added in his mind.

Kaen let out a peel of laughter.

"What I see here is an opportunity," he said, "Your All-female group and our All-male group can band together and tackle the horrors of this Labyrinth Gate together.

The perfect sort of balance, don't you think?"

Vincel frowned.

'All 'Female' group? What the hell is that supposed to mean?'