The Martial Unity

The sheer surge of relief that emerged on the young evosapien’s face was palpable. “…Thank you. You have no idea how much of a relief that is. My name is Sternon, and I look forward to working with you.”

A round of introductions swept the group as they quickly informed him about themselves. His body language betrayed how nervous he had been about trying to find a party that would accept him. Ria felt bad for him at that. It wasn’t nice to exclude people on the basis of their race just because a large portion of said race was part of the Evolutionary Army and was a menace to the entire world. When she sized him up, she didn’t sense anything concerning about him. His appearance was dowdy, composed of simply a spandex-like exosuit that hardly flattered him. He fashioned a buzz cut with his hair, keeping it short at the top and shaved at the sides of his head, while the way he carried himself was a little stiff, in contrast to the nonchalance of Misha. However, more importantly, she found his power level to be quite high for his age, which undoubtedly meant that he was a Neo-Evosapien, the generation born from Supreme Commander Anthea.

She was curious as to how strong he was, but more than that, she sensed something strange about him. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Still, it was no reason to exclude him, as far as she was concerned.

“There’s no need to be that concerned, it’s not as if every evosapien is born and brought up in the Army,” Misha remarked casually. “Actually, about that…” He awkwardly scratched his head. “I was actually born and brought up in the army.”

The three of them simply stared at him wordlessly. “But…! I defected.” He raised his hands defensively. “I don’t really believe in their ideology anymore. And I can assure you that I’m just an evosapien trying to live his life.”

Ria’s amber eyes bore deep into the young man’s. She understood why she felt something strange about him. It was only the lightest of shades of resemblance, but she was faintly reminded of her father. Probably because her father was an evosapien hybrid as well, even if an artificial one.

“That must have been difficult,” Ria remarked thoughtfully. “Defecting from the Evolutionary Army.”

The man heaved a shaky breath. “You have no idea.”

Ria could sense the deep emotional scars the young man had. She wondered just how he had managed to escape from the Evolutionary Army as a deserter when it controlled so many star systems in human civilization. It must have been one hell of a story. A story that she was curious to hear more about.

But for now, they had one more teammate to find.

The four of them turned towards the rest of the room with eying expressions, trying to find one more candidate for their team. There were several Martial Artists in the room, but none of them were particularly interested in adding yet another Martial Master to their team, given that it already had two of them. There were options that weren’t too diverse, unfortunately. They found themselves mostly staring at a large number of Martial Artists, much to their chagrin.

“What about her?” Sternon pointed to a lone girl sitting further back. “I think she’s the only one who’s less wanted than me.”

They turned towards the girl he pointed at with a complex expression on their faces. The girl wore green clothes woven from organic fabrics fashioned from vegetation fibers. She smelled like crushed leaves, with a pointed, but somewhat pleasant odor associated with plant tissue. Her ears were sharp and long, while her skin was that of a light tan. She fidgeted slightly, stealing glances at the various groups, before averting her gaze.

Ria figured Sternon was right about her. Elves were generally unusual in the frontier, even though there was an elf colony on Planet Sarantel. They were often insular, even though they did make an effort to partake in the community of Planet Sarantel. The power of elven pathwalkers was dependent on the presence of nature. So it was unusual that the elf had chosen to come all the way to the frontier, where nature was less likely to be found. It was also why nobody was particularly interested in inviting her along.

“We should invite her,” Ria remarked.

Runark raised an eyebrow. “Ria… she’s not going to be of any use.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Runark,” Ria replied with certainty. “That lady is… strong. Trust me.”

Misha raised an eyebrow, shifting her gaze towards Ria in a loose manner. “Are you some kind of psychic?”

Ria shook her head. “I just have a strong instinct. I’m quite positive about her being useful. We should get her before she goes to some other group.”

Runark shrugged. If Ria insisted, then she was likely correct. He knew that she was rarely wrong about this kind of thing. Besides, he would much rather a girl join his group than another man. He didn’t like the way Ria looked at the evosapien, directing a pointed gaze at Sternon.

The man simply smiled at Runark genuinely, simply happy to be accepted in some group. Meanwhile, Ria walked over to the elf, who looked like she was about to make a move.

“Hey, do you want to be a part of our group?”

The elf was startled at Ria’s words, doing a double-take even as she got up. “W-What?”

“We’re short one member in our party, do you perhaps want to join?” Ria asked again in a calm and composed manner.

The elf stared at her with a stunned expression. Her sapphire eyes shot back and forth between Ria and the other three, who were waiting, looking at her. “D-Do you really want me?” “Do you not want to join us?”

“…I’ll take you up on your offer.”

Ria smiled at her. “Great. My name is Ria. Ria Falken.”

“Siliscia,” the elf replied with greater enthusiasm. “Siliscia Norwana.”