Chương 12: An Unexpected Invitation

"Please wait a moment!" A brown-haired middle-aged man stepped in front of him.

"Hmm? Who are you?" Kyle raised his brow.

"I'm Marcus, captain of the "Silent Strike" party. Can you give us some of your time?" The middle-aged man extended his hand, which Kyle shook with a look of surprise. Following his gaze, a young blond woman, a brown-haired young man, and a black-haired man were looking at him. They were sitting at a table in the corner of the guild hall, with a bunch of food and drinks on their table. Seemingly noticing their gaze, the young woman smiled and waved. After a moment of silence, Kyle nodded.

It wouldn't hurt to listen to what they want.

"Sure." Marcus walked to the table and introduced himself.

"This is Elaine, our Archer and the team's eyes." Marcus pointed at the blond woman.

"Hello! Nice to meet you!" Elaine said enthusiastically. Pointing to the brown-haired teen, Marcus said, "This is Ron, a warrior and our team's most talented member."

"Yo!" Ron raised his hand and said. Despite trying his best to hide it, excitement and the desire to fight shone through his eyes. Finally, Marcus pointed at the black-haired young man and introduced him.

"This is Evan, the party's scout. He's a bit reserved, but he has a good heart." Evan nodded before looking away, and a flicker of light flashed in his eyes. Kyle greeted them before sitting down and looking at Marcus, waiting for him to speak. Marcus sat down across from Kyle and folded his hands on the table.

"We wanted to invite you to join our party." Kyle raised his eyebrow. In his records, he was just a cautious newbie adventurer with two quests under his belt. He couldn't see the reason why these guys would invite him. Seemingly seeing his confusion, Marcus explained.

"A few days ago, we saw you fighting goblins in the Silverbark forest. Despite being surrounded by more than ten goblins, you easily slew them all. The skills you displayed at the time are outstanding even among all apprentices." Elaine quickly nodded.

"You were amazing! Especially that final strike where you used your combat skill and beheaded three at once." Ron also nodded at the side.

"You're very skilled with the sword. How about we spar sometime?" Ron said excitedly, his eyes shining. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Ron! Don't be rude!" Marcus snapped at him before apologizing.

"Please don't mind him; he's always like this." Kyle silently watched their performance. He didn't expect his battle with the goblins to be seen. He hadn't noticed anyone nearby.

'I really need observation-type combat skills,' Kyle thought. He didn't take the praise to heart. His skills might be outstanding among low-level adventurers, but they shouldn't be anything impressive for true professionals. He had never won a single battle against his father, despite the latter's injuries.

"So, what do you think? Being a solo adventurer will only take you so far. Joining a team will make completing difficult quests much easier. Besides, camping in the wild is much more convenient with partners, right?" Marcus said sincerely. Kyle silently took in their proposal. He looked at each member and their expressions.

'A warrior, a shield bearer, an archer, and a rogue, huh? It's a fairly complete team.'

'It's a pity. If they had invited me a few weeks ago, I might have agreed, but now that I have reached the professional level, joining them would be impractical. It will only make it awkward when I inevitably need to leave later as my strength grows.'

'Then again, they wouldn't invite me if they hadn't seen me fight, so I suppose it's a matter of circumstance that I broke through before the invitation came.' Kyle's mind wandered. After a moment of silence, Kyle spoke.

"Mr. Marcus, could you tell me how you saw the fight? I didn't sense anyone nearby."

"About tha—" Ron interrupted Marcus before he could continue.

"Ahahaha, curious, right? We used this." Ron pulled out a pair of binoculars from his bag.

"It's a tool that allows you to see distant things, called binoculars, as if you were right there. We picked it up in Tarnfell City; it doesn't even use magic!" He introduced with a grin on his face. Ron placed the binoculars in front of Kyle and urged him to try it.

"Pretty cool, huh? It's said Emperor Neos invented it a thousand years ago." Kyle's pupils shrank. Of course, he recognized them, but the binoculars shouldn't have appeared in the Middle Ages, right? He picked them up and used them to look out of the guild's window before giving them back to Ron.

'A coincidence? Or is it because of the existence of magic? I'll look up this emperor Neos later.' Kyle decided.

"Don't always interrupt me!" Marcus whacked Ron on the head and said.

"Eh?! I just want to help, Mr. Marcus." Ron rubbed his head and complained.

"You just wanna show off!" Elaine giggled and said. Kyle ignored their bickering and pondered for a moment before looking up.

"Thank you for thinking highly of me," Kyle said with a faint smile on his face.

"However, I'm afraid I can't join you due to some circumstances. Besides, your team composition is already quite perfect. My role in the team would clash with Ron's, so rather than a swordsman like me, I think a priest or mage would be more suitable."

"Mr. Kyle, apprentice priests and mages rarely become adventurers, and even if they do, even professional parties are eager for them; they won't bother looking at a low-level party like us," Marcus said wryly.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't know that," Kyle said, a bit embarrassed.

"Well, it's a shame, but I respect your decision. If you change your mind, you're free to come to us. We're often in the adventure guild." Marcus said with a look of understanding on his face. He could tell that this young man wasn't telling the full truth, but it didn't really matter. Everyone had their own circumstances.

"I thought you would agree." Ron scratched his head, a bit disappointed. If he had joined their party, he could have justifiably asked to spar, but now it was all for naught.

"How about this? If you ever need temporary help or cooperation, feel free to ask me. I won't refuse short-term cooperation." Kyle pondered for a moment and said. Marcus' eyes brightened slightly.

"That's fine too." He extended his hand once more.

"In that case, let's consider ourselves acquaintances from now on." Kyle shook his hand.

"Sure." After exchanging a few more words, Kyle declined their invitation to share a meal and walked out of the guild. Elaine, Ron, and Marcus looked at his back for a moment before continuing to eat and laugh. Evan's gaze followed Kyle as he walked out of the guild, his expression unreadable.

'They're not bad people, I guess.' Kyle thought as he walked towards the Ber River.

'Then again, I can't really be sure after just one meeting.'