A Little Friction

'Why… why do I feel so frustrated?'

As Adonis stood among his classmates, hearing the words of the great Ralyks, he couldn't help but grate his teeth.

A sense of restlessness and unease rested upon him, and he calmed himself by squeezing his hand while placing both hands behind him.

He did his best to express a neutral expression, but any observant person could tell he was upset.

'I was never this strong in my past life. None of us were. This power that Sir Ralyks has is unreal…' His thoughts echoed as he stared at the dark-cloaked figure.

'… It honestly shouldn't exist. Still, I'm glad it does. If not, we would all be dead and humanity would have already lost.'

Adonis truly felt grateful for Ralyks and his existence in their lives—even if he didn't completely understand it yet—however, something ate at him.

It was something he desperately tried to avoid, but Adonis was fighting a losing battle.

'Why do I feel so envious…?'

Adonis had put in every ounce of spare time into training. He chose the most Optimal Class ad sets of Skills for combat, defense, and overall utility.

Since Skills and Classes had the chance to evolve into higher Tiers, and the Hero Class ensured quick growth—among other things—he thought he had made the right choice by choosing his current ability set.

Plus, he had the knowledge of his past life guiding him.

Adonis thought he could combine all of these factors to grant himself a better shot at saving everyone.

But… nothing has really changed,

'Compared to Sir Ralyks… I'm nothing.'

He wanted to cry. Hot tears welled up in his eyes, but he held them all in as he took in deep breaths.

'I know I shouldn't feel this way. It isn't right. We're all on the same side, and we have a common enemy to defeat.'

Normally, as long as that was the case, and Ralyks was contributing to that, he wasn't meant to have any problems with it.

But…

'I just can't help but wonder if all the efforts I put in didn't matter. If I'm even as relevant as I thought…'

Adonis smiled wryly, realizing he was probably being childish for wanting to be the central figure who led his classmates and this world to victory.

He wanted to be the strongest.

'Maybe I'm wrong, but I can't help but feel that way.'

After experiencing the terror of the Dragons in his first life, and watching the very world burn before his eyes, he couldn't help it.

He desired strength; for him, and all of his allies.

'It's just… I want more.'

He hoped that he could at least close the largely insurmountable gap that existed between him and Ralyks, at least a little, during the Raid.

'That would be nice.'

********

"Now that we're done with this little spar, this is the best time to reiterate that I'll be going over battle tactics and formations with you."

As Rey spoke in his Ralyks tone, he confirmed that everyone was paying attention to his words.

He could see Adonis sulking slightly, and while he honestly felt for the boy—after all, he was only sixteen—Rey was more concerned about the present situation.

'I'm sure he'll be happier once he starts Leveling and getting stronger.'

"I'll be Summoning Monsters to use for your training. This is less about the EXP and more about applying the tactics you'll learn so you can work more efficiently in the Dungeon."

Rey also considered using his Elementals, but since it was better to stick to the kind of Monsters one would find in a Dungeon, it was simply better to summon the latter kind.

"But first…" Rey glanced at Alicia and narrowed his eyes.

'She's the only one I didn't have to heal due to the rings. I'm happy it's working well…'

Beyond his thoughts, though, he had a reason for focusing on her.

"You're a Tamer, aren't you? And you have a Beast Summoning Skill, correct?"

Despite him using his best Ralyks impression, which would intimidate most or cause them to be flustered if he suddenly talked to them, Alicia remained composed.

"Yes. That is all correct. How did you know about all this?"

"I can see through your Status Window."

"W-what?!"

Everyone burst into shock as they looked at Ralyks. Their eyes widened in disbelief, and sharp murmurs rose from the group.

"Kidding! I'm just kidding… haha! I merely asked Conrad and Vida." Rey swiftly turned things into a joke and laughed it off.

He gulped and hoped everyone would take him at his word.

Thankfully…

"Ohhhh!"

"Whew! For a second there, I thought…"

"Well, that's a relief."

… They believed his words.

'That was a close one.' Rey nearly held his chest and heaved a sigh of relief.

He couldn't break out of his persona, though, so he refrained from doing so.

"Ahem… so, back to my point." He got everyone's attention back in no time at all.

Then—

"Why haven't you yet summoned and controlled something?"

Rey asked the burning question.

"I actually have. Maybe you should have asked Conrad and Vida for that information too." Alicia responded, folding her hands.

For some reason, Rey felt she was being a little confrontational.

'Or am I the one going too far? This must be how Seraph felt like when she was challenged by Alicia…'

It wasn't a pleasant feeling at all—falling under the girl's scrutinizing gaze.

"Fair enough. Can you elaborate on what you summoned and controlled?"

Of course, Rey knew the details already. It was during their Skill presentations.

She used her [Divine Beast Summon] Skill and managed to temporarily summon something.

She even brought it under her command for a few seconds before her Mana ran out and the Summon had to be canceled.

From that experience alone, everyone was able to learn two major things about Alicia's ability.

One was the fact that it drained a lot of energy.

Second… once energy ran out, it was all over. At the very least, that was what they observed.

"I'd like you to summon a Beast and control it, right here and now."

As Rey said this, he crossed his own arms as he stared at the defiant girl.

"Why is that?" She responded the same as last time.

In such a situation, he had no choice but to play his almighty card.

"Because, with the way you are now, you're too weak."