Chapter 58: Heroic Introductions
R’lissea was a soft-spoken, shy elf with the youngest appearance among the other heroes. Judging by her small hands and girlish face, I guessed her around 13, but her ability to distill conflict was astounding. The other heroes settled down the moment she spoke, accepting her interruption with grace.
"Um, what did you want me to talk about?" She asked Soltair, making an effort to speak loud enough for everyone to hear.
Soltair smiled warmly, the earlier edge in his voice gone. "Thank you. I thought we would summarize where we’ve been and how much we’ve improved the last five months."
R’lissea took a moment to compose herself. "I’ve been studying at the kingdom of elves, Sylvarus. I know it’s not much, but I’ve mastered several sixth-circle spells."
The heroes reacted with surprise, and Alex leaned forward, mouth falling agape. "Sixth-circle? And here I thought you’d be at four, at most!"
As the heroes looked at each other, impressed, I frowned, not missing R’lissea’s crestfallen expression. While Alex’s condescension might have been unintentional, I knew from experience that it hurt all the same.
"Oh," R’lissea whispered, cheeks red with shame.
Everyone turned to glare at the Fire Hero, who shrugged dismissively. Ronin, who sat beside the Life Hero, leaned over, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Don’t let him get to you; he didn’t mean it like that. You struggled in the first month with learning even first-circle spells, which makes your current abilities all the more impressive."