Ivica's eyes were glowing crimson red, and a massive dragon made of fire materialized behind her.
Roooooar!
The dragon made of fire roared fiercely and menacingly as it breathed fire into the sky, raising the temperature even higher.
"Ahk!—"
Everyone covered themselves in mana to withstand the heat as the temperature continued to rise.
And some of the adventurers were visibly dripping with sweat because they already knew what Ivica was capable of and could tell she wasn't kidding around.
Knowing if anyone tries to approach Ares, she will 'literally burn them to ashes.
"...I now understand what Helena meant about Ivica being scary," As Aegis watched the enormous fire dragon materialize behind Ivica, she muttered.
"...."
"I never knew she cared so much about her students," one of the adventurers who appeared unaffected by the rising temperature said.
He created a chilly environment around him using his ice element, which also had little impact on the people standing next to him.
"...Perhaps I graduated from the academy at the wrong time," The woman in her twenties muttered to herself.
"It doesn't matter if it's you, Ivica, because I need more information from him about the gate," Jessica, who was also unaffected by Ivica's fire dragon, spoke up.
"You—" Mika was about to respond, but I interrupted her and spoke quickly.
"If you want more information about the gate, you can get it from her," I said, pointing to Alice.
!?
Everyone's attention was drawn to where I was pointing, and they were greeted by Alice.
"...Who exactly is she?" One of the adventurers, perplexed, inquired.
"...Haha, Hello everyone my name is Alice, and I, too, entered that ominous gate alongside Sir Ares— oh, I mean we, as I entered with my group," Alice explained while smiling awkwardly.
"...."
"So...where are the rest of your group's members?" The woman adventurer in her twenties inquired.
"Oh, they decided to act alone, and one of them later killed himself, another was killed by Sir Ares, and the last member was killed by the boss monster!
And I was only able to survive thanks to sir Ares," Alice explained.
!?
"Wait—wait, you're telling me that one of the members of your group was killed by Ares?" Jessica asked with a crooked look on her face.
"...."
'She didn't inquire about the odd circumstances surrounding her teammate's suicide or the manner in which her last member was killed by a boss monster; instead, she was more concerned with understanding why Ares killed one of her team members,'
Just another typical Jessica moment for you. Everyone had the same thought.
"...You silly bitch, why don't you wait for her to explain further before you make any assumptions!" Mika made a remark after noticing Jessica's distorted expression after learning that Ares had killed someone.
"...."
"Pfttt!—"
Everyone held back their laughter when they heard Mika, knowing how twisted Jessica can be when it involves murder.
Meanwhile, Jessica ignored them and simply stared at Alice, as if she was seeking an explanation.
Gulp—
Before speaking, Alice gulped audibly.
"T-The thing is, they abandoned us and fled when we were confronted with the monster waves, but when we cleared all the monsters by ourselves and were exhausted, they returned and attacked Sir Ares because they wanted all the credit and to be promoted to Rank-A.
And, sir Ares just defended himself..." After Alice finished her explanation, there was a brief moment of silence.
Meanwhile, Jessica simply turned to face her secretary, who nodded before speaking.
"...She's telling the truth!"
Hearing her secretary, Jessica simply nodded her head, while others also believed her because they were all aware of her lie-detection ability.
And it was also why I told Silvia to give Alice accurate information.
And no one enquired further as to why one of her team members had committed suicide or anything else, as if they didn't care about him anymore.
"Oh, and this is my reward for clearing the gate!" Alice spoke up while holding her skill scroll, grabbing everyone's attention.
!?
She then used her skill scroll immediately in front of everyone present.
"WAIT!—" One of the adventurers dashed over to Alice to prevent her from using the skill scroll, but it was too late.
It was a one-time skill scroll, so the skill scroll began to emit light for a brief period before disappearing along with the skill scroll.
"Y-You! Why did you use that skill scroll, you idiot!" In a ferocious tone, the adventurer inquired.
"Isn't that obvious? Who else will use it other than me? As it was my skill scroll!" Alice responded as she gradually opened her eyes.
"Y-Yeah, but it would have aided us in learning more about the gate," The adventurer retorted.
"...Tsh, stop embarrassing yourself, you goon! Everyone knows how you investigate things," Mika remarked, grinning.
When the adventurer heard Mika's remark, his face distorted.
"Ares, do you see that? This is how people like him got to the top by stealing other people's opportunities," Mika said to Ares, turning to face him as if sprinkling salt on the adventurer's wound.
"...."
"...At the very least, could you tell us what skill you acquired from that scroll?" In a curious tone, the adventurer in her twenties inquired.
"Sure, why not?" Alice responded, pulling a status scroll from her storage ring.
"...Hmm, it says non," Alice said after a brief examination of the status scroll.
"Non what?" The woman inquired, intrigued, while everyone else also focused their attention on Alice, as they were also curious.
"It's...none of your damn business!" With a smirk, Alice responded.
!?
"Eh?"
"Pfttt, Hahaha!—" Aegis suddenly burst out laughing.
'Did she acquire balls as a skill?' As I heard her bold response, I chuckled and thought to myself.
"...."
Meanwhile, the woman was staring at Alice with a blank expression.
"I won't lie, she got you there!" The adventurer beside her, who appears to be her mother, began giggling.
"...Are you really my mother? Why are you salting my wounds,"
...
...
"All right, it's time for us to leave Ares, as you also need to prepare for the upcoming tournament," Ivica stated.
Ivica's voice caught my attention, and I turned to look at Mika to see how she would respond. However, I was utterly unprepared for her reaction— as she seemed to be rather at ease.
"...You should leave with her my disciple; I have some work to finish as well!...and, I'll come see you when I'm finished with it," Mika said with a hesitant smile.
"When she heard you entered this mysterious gate, she rushed here, leaving everything behind," Aegis added.
"...Alright!" I replied, smiling back at Mika.
"Wait a minute, I have something else to discuss with him!" Jessica spoke quickly.
"Fuck off, what else do you want to talk to him about?" Mika said, giving Jessica the middle finger.
"...."
'Mika is the only person brave enough to show the Hero Association's leader the middle finger, I reflected inwardly.
"Ahem, you can get an appointment if you want to talk with him," Ivica said before disappearing with Ares, as if by teleportation.
"What else would you like to discuss with him? Isn't he just a developing fetus in your opinion?" Aegis chuckled to herself as she walked past Jessica.
Meanwhile, Mika cast a brief glance at Tania before departing with Aegis, while Tania was busy investigating that enormous white light.
***
"...Hmm, why do I have the feeling that I'm forgetting something?" Ares murmured inwardly.