"Hold on. Before we get to that...," I trailed off.

Ai, done with your analysis of the summoning ritual that brought us here?

<Yes, I have>

<I have gained an understanding of it, but...>

<I’m afraid I won’t be able to reverse-engineer it>

<I do logically understand how to pull it off, but I can’t actually do it>

<These ritual scrolls, it isn’t enough to simply inscribe them with Magical formulae>

<It seems to be a delicate process, a steady infusion of Mana while inscribing the text>

<Use too much Mana, or not enough, of if the stream fluctuates even slightly, you’d have to start over from scratch, there’s no room for error>

<We’d need an expert in crafting these ritual scrolls to do it for us>

"Well, bad news, guys. We can’t create the ritual to send us back to our world ourselves. So, we either go to the Demon nation and negotiate to use the ritual they’ve already made, or we kidnap a ritual crafter here and force them to make it for us. The good news is that Ai will be able to analyze it afterwards and confirm whether or not it’ll work and send us back to our world," I informed the others with a sigh.

"That’s too bad, so much for getting home the easy way," Frowned Aria, a vexed look on her face.

"Let’s just bust right into the Demon nation and get them to cast the ritual on us. Oh, hey, maybe if we kill the King and take his head to them, they’ll be willing to cooperate," Suggested Ciel thoughtfully.

"<Well, that’s not brutal at all>."

"Ahem...don’t you guys think it’d be a lot easier if we had a guide with us? Or, better yet, a whole group of them?" Spoke up Jaden, as I let out a quiet sigh.

I really didn’t want to get dragged into this, but it’s starting to look inevitable.

"What are you talking about?" Responded Cleo uncertainly.

"So, after we got summoned here, I ended up in the hideout of a resistance group, fighting against the ruling forces of the nation. If we help them in their battle, they’ll agree to guide us to the Demon nation."

Based on the others’ expressions, it’s looking like we will in fact be going along this route. Fuck it...so long as we get back home in the end, I suppose I can put up with it.

Plus, while we are way stronger than the Knights, they outnumber us pretty heavily, fighting through all of them would be a pain. With that in mind, it’ll be useful to have more numbers on our side...

...

...

"Oh, you’re back. I take it this means you’ve decided to help us?" Zelmira greeted us, as we stepped out of the Pocket Dimension and into Revolt’s hideout.

"Yes, though that is subject to exactly what you need us to do for you. If it’s more trouble than it’s worth, to the point where we’ll be better off working by ourselves, then no deal," I replied, as I shut the portal.

"That’s fair. Don’t worry, we’ll ask as little of you as possible," She responded, before adding as she gestured to four people standing by her, "First, let me introduce you to the rest of our core members."

"Hi. I’m Veon Tyens," One of them greeted us with a nod.

He was a big guy, with a bald head, black eyes, a scruffy face, fair complexion, and was pretty tall, with a muscular build. Let’s see, Appraisal:

Personal Details:

Name: Veon Tyens

Age: 38

Gender: Male

Height: 6’5"

Weight: 114 KG

Ability Details:

Elemental Magic: Lightning Magic

Spirits: Thunder Ox: Strike

Spirit Fusion: Yes

Stats:

HP: 1055

MP: 803

Strength: 1040

Agility: 705

Vitality: 1070

Perception: 822

Power Level: 915,800

Hm, decent brute strength, from the look of it.

"And I’m Erisia Tyens, a pleasure," Added a woman with a smile.

She had short black hair that was messily pushed back, black eyes, a fair complexion with freckles on her face, and she was about average height, with a slender build.

Appraisal:

Personal Details:

Name: Erisia Tyens

Age: 27

Gender: Female

Height: 5’4"

Weight: 65 KG

Ability Details:

Elemental Magic: Fire Magic

Spirits: Pyro Serpent: Sizzle, Jack-o-Lantern: Pumky

Spirit Fusion: Yes

Stats:

HP: 525

MP: 936

Strength: 518

Agility: 897

Vitality: 532

Perception: 760

Power Level: 694,700

Jack-o-Lantern? As in, the Halloween pumpkin monster thing? I kinda wanna see it...

"Nice to meet all of you, I’m Drewen Wifts, look forward to working with you!"

He had long, dark brown hair that went halfway down his back and was neatly combed, green eyes, a light brown complexion, and he was a bit over average height, with an agile build.

Let’s take a look, Appraisal:

Personal Details:

Name: Drewen Wifts

Age: 22

Gender: Male

Height: 5’8"

Weight: 79 KG

Ability Details:

Elemental Magic: Sound Magic

Spirits: Banshee: Screechy

Spirit Fusion: Yes

Stats:

HP: 704

MP: 779

Strength: 702

Agility: 1005

Vitality: 706

Perception: 920

Power Level: 802,700

Hm, pretty decent Agility.

And that just leaves one more...

"Uh, hello. I’m Ezel Plyce, nice to meet you, I guess," She muttered listlessly.

She had wild, messy dark maroon hair that framed her face and went past her shoulders, dark gray eyes, a pale complexion, and she was pretty short, with a skinny build.

She doesn’t look particularly strong, but appearances can be deceiving. Let’s find out, Appraisal:

Personal Details:

Name: Ezel Plyce

Age: 20

Gender: Female

Height: 4’8"

Weight: 41 KG

Ability Details:

Elemental Magic: Fire Magic

Spirits: Oculus: Eyeball

Spirit Fusion: Yes

Stats:

HP: 80

MP: 1008

Strength: 75

Agility: 92

Vitality: 85

Perception: 1500

Power Level: 473,300

Huh? The hell? She’s incredibly weak physically...but she’s got a tremendous amount of Mana, and her Perception is on another level compared to her other stats.

Based on their expressions, looks like Aria and Cleo are using Appraisal too.

"Alright, now that introductions are out of the way, let’s get down to business, shall we?" Suggested Zelmira with a smile.