"Alrighty then, Dungeon's cleared. All that's left is for us to leave this joint."
"Yeah…but I won't be going outside with you though?"
"Oh yeah? How come?"
"I entered here secretly, remember? So I gotta leave in secret as well."
"I see. Well, later then!" I hurriedly turned away from her to walk away, but was halted almost immediately by the sensation of something grabbing on to my collar. Or what was left of it anyway. I looked back. It was Peyton.
"You knew exactly what I was gonna say next, didn't you?" She asked. She was smiling, so you'd think that it was an honest, genuine inquiry with no ill intent behind it.
You'd be wrong.
Still, I felt compelled to answer her very rhetorical question.
"I haven't the foggiest clue of what-"
"I'll be having a brief meeting with the Manager at the Association to give my report. I expect to see you there in no later than an hour."
"Why God, why!?"
I could only agonize internally in response to her obvious order.
"… I'm not hearing an answer."
"I'm not hearing you giving me a choice!"
"… Of course. Wouldn't miss it for the world." I caved.
"Good!" She said enthusiastically as she let me go. "Later kinkster!"
Her body started to fade away until she then disappeared completely.
"Hm…must be that Hide Skill she told me about earlier."
My senses could still briefly pick up on her presence, up until a few seconds later on when they no longer could.
"That means she's a fair distance away now… Wait a minute…"
It was only after a little while that I realized…
"That girl…she used that insufferable nickname on me again didn't she!? I really can't with her! Seriously! She's lucky she's an A-Rank, or else I would…I would…chhyaah!"
~Sigh~
"Whatever, I'm slowly getting stronger. I'm sure soon enough, I'll be the strongest Warrior in the entire world, give or take a few years. AT MOST."
"That's if I don't die young anyways… Speaking of… I still haven't checked my 'advancements', it's been a while since I've seen my Warrior info. System?"
[Report. Command accepted. Now opening Warrior info...]
[Report. New advancements detected as rewards of the previously completed Immediate Quest. Now processing new advancements...]
[Weapon Fanatic Skill has advanced from C-Rank to B-Rank. Treasure Hunt's Sub-Skill Soul-Piercing Eyes has advanced from C-Rank to B-Rank. Cultivator Skill has advanced from C-Rank to B-Rank. Resilient Regeneration Skill has advanced from D-Rank to B-Rank. Hypermove Skill has advanced from E-Rank to C-Rank. Trigon Element King Skill has advanced from D-rank to B-rank. Trigon Element King's Sub-Skills Ifrit, Tetrax, and Marid have all advanced from E-Rank to C-Rank. Trigon Element King Skill has awakened its first Special Attack, Inferno Cyclone. Inferno Cyclone has been examined and found to be multi-usable. Subject can now use Inferno Cyclone with any weapon that has shooting properties. Subject has also gained a new Sub-Skill for the Weapon Fanatic Skill known as Sharpshooter.]
[Weapon Fanatic's Sub-Skill Bladework's effects on the Subject's Stats have increased. Effect on Strength has increased by 2700. Effect on Speed has increased by 3000. Effect on Health has increased by 1000 and effect on Intelligence has increased by 1000. Now redesigning the effects of the A-Rank Bladework Sub-Skill on the Subject...]
A-Rank Bladework Sub-Skill: Effects When Active
• Strength +9000
• Speed +9570
• Health +9260
• Intelligence +12720
[Additionally, subject has gained three more new Skills usurped from the Dungeon Boss, the Goblin Lord since all three have been found to be compatible with the Subject. Now processing list of Skills gained from Dungeon Boss...]
List of Skills gained from Dungeon Boss
• Bullseye C-Rank
• Unbreakable D-Rank
• Lancer E-Rank
[Report. Bullseye Skill has been found to be strikingly compatible with Treasure Hunt Skill. Treasure Hunt has thus devoured Bullseye. Bullseye is now a Sub-Skill of Treasure Hunt. Unbreakable Skill has been found to be incomparably compatible with Cultivator Skill, Cultivator has thus absorbed Unbreakable within itself allowing both Skills to merge into one, new, stronger Cultivator Skill. Cultivator is close to advancing to A-Rank and may do so if the Subject uses it to complete a difficult task. Lastly, Lancer Skill has been found to be strikingly compatible with Weapon Fanatic Skill. Weapon Fanatic has thus devoured Lancer. Lancer is now a Sub-Skill of Weapon Fanatic.]
[Furthermore, Mana Capacity has increased by 37000. Strength has increased by 12000. Speed has increased by 10500. Health has increased by 6000 and Intelligence has increased by 7000.]
[Now redesigning overall Warrior info...]
Name: Raid
Surname: ???
Affiliation: Awakened Warrior
Class: Blacksmith
Skills:
• Craft C-Rank: Can craft expert level equipment, weapons and amour Grades Elementary to Hyper from scratch as long as the necessary products to do so are present.
• Repair C-Rank: Can fix expert level broken equipment, weapons and amour Grades Elementary to Hyper as long as the necessary products to do so are present.
•• Improve D-Rank: Can improve high level equipment, weapons and armor as long as the necessary products to do so are present.
• Weapon Fanatic B-Rank: Possesses a profound level of understanding of how various weapons operate, including how to use them in battle.
•• Bladework A-Rank: Possesses an apex level of mastery with blades.
••• Sunset Slash: A very powerful slash with the power to bend nature to its will.
•• Sharpshooter B-Rank: Possesses a profound level of mastery with bows.
•• Lancer E-Rank: Possesses a moderate level of mastery with spears.
• Treasure Hunt B-Rank: Can expertly locate mines with products and minerals for crafting within a 1200 kilometre radius. Tip: Mines found in dungeons have the best products.
•• Soul-Piercing Eyes B-Rank: Exponentially increases sensory perception, allows one to spot a large number of weak points in their opponents and how to utilize them and even see many various hidden secrets of nature.
•• Bullseye C-Rank: Allows one to lock any form of projectile shot or thrown on to any desired target within a 600 kilometre radius, making it impossible for them to miss. The strength of the projectile is dependent on the Rank of the Skill, hence the projectile can be overpowered by Skills of higher Ranks or countered by Skills of equal Rank.
• Mine D-Rank: Can masterfully mine products and minerals for crafting.
• Item Space B-Rank: Massive space to store equipment, weapons, armory, products, minerals, etc...
• Brawler C-Rank: Possesses an expert level of mastery in hand-to-hand close-quarters combat.
•• Demolition Strike: A very powerful strike that releases shockwaves of incredible force that can demolish anything of weaker strength.
• Cultivator B-Rank: Possesses a profound level of mastery in Mana manipulation, through the use of a Dantian. Can now also draw out untapped potential, power and prowess by purifying one's Source Mana. Tip: Skill is very close to advancing to A-Rank.
•• Astral Unification B-Rank: Allows one to unify multiple aspects of oneself through breathing for the purpose of increasing sensory perception, Mana manipulation efficiency and overall amount of Mana.
•• Fury of Dantian B-Rank: Large sized Dantian that acts as the Mana Source of the Subject. Can temporarily increase Subject's Mana Capacity six-fold. Significantly increases Mana manipulation efficiency. Adds 160% extra Mana Capacity when absorbing Mana Crystals.
• Resilient Regeneration B-Rank: Can heal all damages to the body, regenerate any body part including limbs and entire organs except for the heart and brain, speed of regeneration is dependent on the scale of damage.
• Hypermove D-Rank: Can increase one's speed massively through the use of electric Mana. Said Mana also acts as a shield against air resistance.
• Trigon Element King B-Rank: Can masterfully manipulate Fire, Wind and Water Elemental Magic.
•• Inferno Cyclone: A cyclone of flames that turns all in its path to cinder and ash.
•• Ifrit C-Rank: Possesses an expert level of control over Fire Elemental Magic.
•• Tetrax C-Rank: Possesses an expert level of control over Wind Elemental Magic.
•• Marid C-Rank: Possesses an expert level of control over Water Elemental Magic.
Rank: F
Level: Locked
Mana Capacity: 101880
Strength: 25290
Speed: 25183
Health: 23084
Intelligence: 26000
[Finally, as for the final rewards. Subject has received 10329 E-Rank monster cores, and one D-Rank monster core along with the Goblin Lord's skin and spine.]
"Nice. Three of my Physical Related Stats are finally out of that hellhole called the C-Rank Maximum. I wasn't sure if I could beat an A-Rank as high level as Peyton before, but now I have no doubt that I can definitely hold my own, at the very least... Maybe… Still not sure. That girl's a monster. Still… I have to take the fact that I haven't even absorbed all the Mana Crystals that I gained into consideration. Once I do that, I'm sure I'll be a monster too."
I transferred all the monster cores and Boss drops to the Item Space. As I did that, all the dead Goblins' bodies started to burn.
"Hm, time must be up. Looks like it takes around ten minutes or so for the bodies to start to burn after the monsters die and lose their cores."
I then looked at the Goblin Lord's dead body. "So this guy will be the last one to go in a couple minutes since he was the last one to die… Still though…"
Something about it just didn't sit right with me. To have a true and bona fide Warrior like the Goblin Lord go out completely in such an undignified way. Driven by such feelings, I then did something unthinkable.
"Hmm… I wonder… Could it really work? Let's try it!"
I placed my hand out, facing the Goblin Lord's corpse and uttered: "Enter Item Space!"
It worked. "Whoa! No way!"
Of course I was surprised, even if I'm the one who thought of it.
"After all, it oughta be called 'Item' Space for a reason, right? It's why I never tried transferring myself there either, even though I've thought about it… What I can gather from this development though is that as long as whatever I transfer there isn't, y'know…alive, then it registers as an 'item'. Perfect, now to see if it worked. While I'm at it, I might as well check my total. I remember I still have those ninety or so Mana Crystals that I didn't absorb before because I wanted to save them for selling. Thinking about it now, I might as well absorb all of them too since they're also E-Rank and only sell the D-Rank monster core instead like I did last time."
So I waited around for two more minutes or so, having gathered it was the amount of time left for the Goblin Lord's body to burn up like the rest and turn to ashes.
"Okay, that should be enough time. Now open Item Space."
[Report. Command accepted. Now opening Item Space...]
[Report. New items detected. Now processing new items...]
[Renewing Item Space contents...]
[Now opening Item Space....again...]
Item Space B-Rank contents:
• Hammer of Unknown Origin: A fiery and sturdy hammer that the Subject can use to craft equipment and the like... its origin is unknown, it possesses a small yet strong ego and emits an otherworldly energy signature. Its Grade cannot be measured yet due to how little information is known about it. It has completely acknowledged the user as its master.
• Great Pickaxe: A strong and sturdy pickaxe with magical properties. Its Grade is unknown due to its bizarre and foreign properties.
• Great Shovel: A strong and sturdy shovel with magical properties. Its Grade is unknown due to its bizarre and foreign properties.
• Dragon Furnace: A furnace that can produce flames powerful enough to melt down almost any metal.
• 595 kilograms of iron, approximately. Fifty nine bars of iron in total, each weighing 10 kilograms plus one chunk about the size of half a bar weighing about 5 kilograms.
• Everchanging Anvil: A special anvil that can change into any desired shape to be able to produce any weapon.
• Various planks of wood.
• Various fabrics: Leather, cotton, silk etc...
• Twelve Whistling Daggers: Twelve strong sharp daggers made of Poison Steel, each in the Last Stage Intermediate-Grade. While they cannot be used by the Subject in battle, they can however be used as material to craft a new weapon/s.
• 4.5 kilograms of Viss Wood. A great and powerful type of wood found in one of the countless various Great Spirit Trees of the Spirit World. Can be used as material to craft a new weapon/s.
• Drakeduke Armour and Drakeduke Longsword/Broken: Incredibly sturdy knight wear and a broken longsword set made from the scales of a B-Rank Wyvern monster. They're in the Last Stage High-Grade. While they cannot be used by the Subject in battle, they can however be used as material to craft a new weapon/s.
• 11300+ kilograms of pure Cold Iron. Chunks varying in weight and size.
• 10420 E-Rank Mana Crystals and 1 D-Rank Mana Crystal. Can be sold for currency or used to increase Subject's Mana Capacity with the Cultivator Skill.
• Great Werehyena's claws, canine and spine: Ten times stronger than Cold Iron. Can be used for blacksmithing.
• First Dawn: Subject's first creation. Incredibly sharp, shiny and sturdy blade made from the Great Werehyena's canine, the Drakeduke Longsword, Cold Iron and normal iron. Has very high Mana conductivity. Cannot be stained and cannot be used by anyone except the Subject unless the Subject allows it. The blade is in the First Stage Hyper-Grade.
• Spatial Storage Pouch: A pouch that warps space to create a much bigger volume on the inside than on the outside in order to store materials. Currently Storing: Thousand Twin Death Needles: 1002 needles made entirely out of Poison Steel. They're all in the First Stage Hyper-Grade. While they cannot be used by the Subject in battle, they can however be used as material to craft a new weapon/s.
• Goblin Lord's skin and spine: The skin is a thousand times sturdier and more durable than normal leather and can be used for the same purposes, the spine is twice as strong as the Great Werehyena's claws, canine and spine and can be used for blacksmithing.
• Goblin Lord's corpse: Will not disintegrate as it is being preserved by the Mana within the Item Space.
"Nice. The reason monster corpses burn the way they do is 'cause the monsters lose their cores when they die, so if that 'life support' is replaced with something of equal efficiency, then the corpse will remain intact. With this, I'll be able to give the first warrior to ever earn my utmost respect a proper burial."
I then started running, leaving the Dungeon. I activated both Bladework and Hypermove to increase my speed.
"Now then, as for my Mana Crystals, my total is ten-thousand four-hundred and twenty, meaning I still had ninety-one left that I didn't absorb before. Great… With this, I should be able to stack up a ton of Mana Capacity. I'll absorb them all on my way to the Association meeting that I was practically forced to go to."
I arrived at the Dungeon Gate I came through when I first entered then walked through it. I then looked back and noticed that for some reason, the Gate wasn't closing behind me. Before I could even gather what that meant, the guards from before approached me.
"Ah Mr. Raid. You're back." Said one them. Going by the nametag on his uniform, his name was Carl.
"Yeah." I replied.
"Oh, but the Dungeon Gate isn't closing. Does that mean that you couldn't clear it this time?" Asked Carl's partner, Fred.
"Well actually, I-"
"Idiot." Before I could even answer, Carl interrupted with a jab to his partner. "It's obvious that the Dungeon isn't closing because the Silent Wind Party is still in there." He then added.
"Well at least Carl has some faith in me. I mean it's odd that he seems convinced that I'm capable of clearing a Dungeon faster than a full party of five experienced Warriors, despite the fact that they even entered first. Of course I did get some help from a crazy OP A-Rank but these guys don't know that. Then again, I shouldn't expect anything different, considering the so called ''unheard of'' feats I've displayed so far, not to mention my cheat abilities that seem very capable of making me the strongest Warrior in history in the future."
"Oh c'mon Carl. Mr. Raid is capable, sure…but to be able to clear a Dungeon faster than Silent Wind, a party that was far stronger than even the Zeke Party is just madness."
"There you go. Attaboy Freddy. See now this…this is the kinda doubt I can definitely get used to."
"Well, then you oughta expect to see more madness every time I'm involved from now on." I lightly tapped Fred's shoulder.
"M-Mr. Raid. You don't mean-"
"I do. Silent Wind must've also gotten a message that the Dungeon was cleared as soon as I did it, so they should be coming out very soon. But uh…small favor? Don't tell them it was me who cleared it, alright?"
"Judging by the method, me and Peyton used to clear the Dungeon, I doubt we left a good number of Goblins out for them. Which means that because of us, or, since no one but me knows that Peyton was there, because of me, they missed out on a ton of Mana Crystals. I can only hope that their personalities aren't anything like that of the Zeke Party's, so I'm not taking any chances. And since they're supposedly stronger than the Zeke Party ever was, they'll definitely be more troublesome."
"A-alright…" Fred seemed like he was still trying to process things so his reply was a little out of it.
Carl, however, was smiling ear to ear and looking at me as if I was some work of art.
"Is this what it's like to have a fan? Yeah, I definitely can't get used to this."
"Great. I'll be on my way now, good work fellas." I bid them farewell as I walked towards my car, entered and drove off.
"Hm…it hadn't really sunk in before but I look terrible, my clothes are half burnt and covered in dried blood stains. Peyton told me to be at the Association in an hour. The hotel I'm staying at is close so I should have enough time to change and go there if I hurry, right?"
"Yeah, but first. Some, good ole fashioned MCA."
"Oh, who am I kidding? There's nothing old fashioned about the way I absorb Mana Crystals… Whatever, let's get to it."
I activated my Item Space Skill, Bladework Skill, Treasure Hunt Skill, Soul-Piercing Eyes Skill, Cultivator Skill, Fury of Dantian Skill and finally Astral Unification Skill.
"It's insane, when I first used this absorption method, the pain in my chest was insurmountable, but now, it's almost as easy as breathing. My development speed really is unmatched. I don't think there's a single Warrior out there who can get stronger at the same rate that I do."
I started absorbing. My Cultivator Skill was now B-Rank so I was able to absorb 130 of the Mana Crystals at a time. After a little while, I felt a constantly growing power surge within me.
[Report. Success! The E-Rank Mana Crystals have been successfully absorbed.]
[Mana Capacity gained from all the E-Rank Mana Crystals: 52100.]
[Extra Mana Capacity gained from each E-Rank Mana Crystal absorbed with the use of Fury of Dantian Skill: 8.]
[Total amount of extra Mana Capacity: 83360.]
[Total amount of Mana Capacity gained from Mana Crystal absorption: 135460.]
[Report. Advancements in the Subject's overall Warrior info have been detected as a result of recent actions.]
[Now calculating advancements...]
[Treasure Hunt Skill has advanced from B-Rank to A-Rank. Treasure Hunt's Sub-Skill Soul-Piercing Eyes has advanced from B-Rank to A-Rank. Item Space Skill has advanced from B-Rank to A-Rank. Cultivator Skill has advanced from B-Rank to S-Rank. Cultivator's Sub-Skills Astral Unification and Fury of Dantian have both advanced from B-Rank to A-Rank.]
[Six of the Subject's Skills, the Treasure Hunt Skill, Treasure Hunt's Sub-Skill Soul-Piercing Eyes, Item Space Skill, Cultivator Skill and Cultivator's Sub-Skills Astral Unification and Fury of Dantian have all entered the A-Rank realm and above. A-Rank Skills and above have a significant temporary effect on a Warrior's stats. Now processing the effects of the Skills on the Subject...]
A-Rank Treasure Hunt Skill: Effects When Active
• Health +18000
• Intelligence +21000
A-Rank Soul-Piercing Eyes Sub-Skill: Effects When Active
• Mana Capacity +20000
• Health +15000
• Intelligence +16000
A-Rank Item Space Skill: Effects When Active
• Mana Capacity +24000
• Health +19000
• Intelligence +17000
S-Rank Cultivator Skill: Effects When Active
• Mana Capacity +37000
• Strength +31000
• Speed +30000
• Health +33000
• Intelligence +33000
A-Rank Astral Unification Sub-Skill: Effects When Active
• Mana Capacity +27000
• Strength +19000
• Speed +20000
• Health +21000
• Intelligence +22000
A-Rank Fury of Dantian Sub-Skill: Effects When Active
• Mana Capacity +33000
• Health +25000
[Weapon Fanatic's Sub-Skill Bladework's effects on the Subject's Stats have increased. Effect on Strength has increased by 10000. Effect on Speed has increased by 10000. Effect on Health has increased by 15000 and effect on Intelligence has increased by 16000. Now redesigning the effects of the A-Rank Bladework Sub-Skill on the Subject...]
A-Rank Bladework Sub-Skill: Effects When Active
• Strength +19000
• Speed +19570
• Health +24260
• Intelligence +28720
[Furthermore, Mana Capacity has increased by 150000+135460. Strength has increased by 17000. Speed has increased by 17000. Health has increased by 20000 and Intelligence has increased by 24000.]
[Now redesigning overall Warrior info...]
Name: Raid
Surname: ???
Affiliation: Awakened Warrior
Class: Blacksmith
Skills:
• Craft C-Rank: Can craft expert level equipment, weapons and amour Grades Elementary to Hyper from scratch as long as the necessary products to do so are present.
• Repair C-Rank: Can fix expert level broken equipment, weapons and amour Grades Elementary to Hyper as long as the necessary products to do so are present.
•• Improve D-Rank: Can improve high level equipment, weapons and armor as long as the necessary products to do so are present.
• Weapon Fanatic B-Rank: Possesses a profound level of understanding of how various weapons operate, including how to use them in battle.
•• Bladework A-Rank: Possesses an apex level of mastery with blades.
••• Sunset Slash: A very powerful slash with the power to bend nature to its will.
•• Sharpshooter B-Rank: Possesses a profound level of mastery with bows.
•• Lancer E-Rank: Possesses a moderate level of mastery with spears.
• Treasure Hunt A-Rank: Can expertly locate mines with products and minerals for crafting within a 2400 kilometre radius.
•• Soul-Piercing Eyes A-Rank: Exponentially increases sensory perception, allows one to spot every weak point in any opponent of weaker or equal strength and how to utilize them and even see many various hidden secrets of nature.
•• Bullseye C-Rank: Allows one to lock any form of projectile shot or thrown on to any desired target within a 600 kilometre radius, making it impossible for them to miss. The strength of the projectile is dependent on the Rank of the Skill, hence the projectile can be overpowered by Skills of higher Ranks or countered by Skills of equal Rank.
• Mine D-Rank: Can masterfully mine products and minerals for crafting.
• Item Space A-Rank: A space the size of a large system to store equipment, weapons, armory, products, minerals, etc... Space is now habitable.
• Brawler C-Rank: Possesses an expert level of mastery in hand-to-hand close-quarters combat.
•• Demolition Strike: A very powerful strike that releases shockwaves of incredible force that can demolish anything of weaker strength.
• Cultivator S-Rank: Possesses an incomparable level of mastery in Mana manipulation, through the use of a Dantian. Can draw out untapped potential, power and prowess by purifying one's Source Mana.
•• Astral Unification A-Rank: Allows one to unify all known aspects of oneself through breathing for the purpose of increasing sensory perception, Mana manipulation efficiency and overall amount of Mana.
•• Fury of Dantian A-Rank: Large sized Dantian that acts as the Mana Source of the Subject. Can temporarily increase Subject's Mana Capacity seven-fold. Significantly increases Mana manipulation efficiency. Adds 170% extra Mana Capacity when absorbing Mana Crystals.
• Resilient Regeneration B-Rank: Can heal all damages to the body, regenerate any body part including limbs and entire organs except for the heart and brain, speed of regeneration is dependent on the scale of damage.
• Hypermove D-Rank: Can increase one's speed massively through the use of electric Mana. Said Mana also acts as a shield against air resistance.
• Trigon Element King B-Rank: Can masterfully manipulate Fire, Wind and Water Elemental Magic.
•• Inferno Cyclone: A cyclone of flames that turns all in its path to cinder and ash.
•• Ifrit C-Rank: Possesses an expert level of control over Fire Elemental Magic.
•• Tetrax C-Rank: Possesses an expert level of control over Wind Elemental Magic.
•• Marid C-Rank: Possesses an expert level of control over Water Elemental Magic.
Rank: F
Level: Locked
Mana Capacity: 387340
Strength: 42290
Speed: 42183
Health: 43084
Intelligence: 50000
"Yeah. I can definitely dog walk an A-Rank now." I couldn't even begin to calculate how much stronger I'd gotten. I just knew I had become a total powerhouse.
"I now only have one E-Rank Skill, and that's only because it's still pretty new. My Physical Related Stats have all entered B-Rank. My Mana Capacity Stat instantly went passed the D-Rank Minimum. All-in-all, though they aren't low, my Stats aren't what contributes most to my being as strong as a high level A-Rank… It's my Skills. After all, I've got six A-Rank Skills now. Something a D-Rank Warrior can only dream of. Furthermore, Cultivator…I thought it'd easily become A-Rank due to that hint but instead it jumped straight to S-Rank and I can roughly figure out why. It's because of that Unbreakable Skill I got from the Goblin Lord that Cultivator merged with. From my understanding of the Skill, it allowed one to increase the quality and quantity of their Mana by purifying it with willpower alone, and in doing so, draw out great power from within, one fueled by the strength of their spirit. Since the concept of obtaining an S-Rank Skill and above works similarly in that regard, my guess is that, that specific aspect of Unbreakable is what acted as a catalyst for the Cultivator Skill to reach S-Rank. Now the icing on the cake is that Cultivator specifically was the one to reach S-Rank since it's one of only two Skills that temporarily increase all my Stats including Mana Capacity. Then there's the Item Space, it says that it's habitable now, which means that I should be able to go inside it. I'll see about that after I deal with that Association fiasco."
I decided to not go and change after all and just go there as I was.
"I'm practically being forced to do this anyway, so why the fuck should I give a shit about presentation?"
And so I drove straight there. Begrudgingly so if I may add. I then parked my car after arriving and immediately entered the building. I made my way to the Registered Warrior Service section then headed to the same table I headed to last time when attended Peyton me. This time though, there was a different girl there acting as the receptionist. There was no line. In fact, the entire reception hall wasn't as crowded as it usually was.
"Must be because it's gotten a bit late." Ithought.
I turned my gaze over to the receptionist. Hazel. She was busy with her computer and therefore couldn't see me.
"Hey there."
"Oh hello." She replied. "How may be of assist---it's you." She added as she looked up to me, as if noticing an old acquaintance.
"Uhm-"
"It's really you! Raid, the Blacksmith. Amazing! When Peyton told me you'd be coming, I thought she was joking but you're really here!"
"Uh… Fan?"
"Of course!"
"In just two days?"
"What does any of that matter when you're the first Warrior to solo clear a Dungeon of a Rank higher than your own?"
"Good point."
She then stood up from her chair and took out her phone.
"On that note. Do you mind taking a few selfies with me? I really don't wanna miss this chance."
I'd be lying if I said I was a photogenic person but I felt the what-the-hey urge to humor her.
"Sure, what-the-hey."
See?
Anyway. "But on the condition that you tell me where to go to see Peyton." I added.
"Deal." She said, smiling in agreement.
I then crossed over to her side of the table and she started taking her photos. Like I said, I'm not exactly a photogenic person, so while she was doing tongue-outs, duck-faces, peace-signs, finger-hearts and so forth, I was doing thumbs-ups, thumbs-ups, and even more thumbs-ups. We finished up with over ten selfies.
"Satisfied?" I asked.
"Yeah, these are awesome, thank you. Now, I shouldn't keep you here any longer than I have or else Peyton might have my head."
"That's a little extreme, don't you think?..." But then I remembered. This is Peyton we're talking about.
"On second thought. Yeah, she'd definitely do that."
"Right? That woman honestly scares me more than some Warriors and monsters."
"But she is a Warrior though. Does she not know that? Well, that's a Spy Class for ya. Not even her colleagues know about her true occupation."
"Anyway, she told me that I'm supposed to lead you to the Manager's Office, so you're gonna wanna go down the central corridor you see before you. Over at the end of the path is the main elevator, use it to go up to the thirteenth floor. After that, you'll find the Manager's Office at the end of the middle pathway." She explained.
"Got it, thanks. Have a good one then."
"You too. Thanks again for the selfies!"
I made my way down the central corridor. Following her directions perfectly, I entered the elevator as soon as I arrived. They called it an elevator but in actuality it looked nothing like one. There were no walls and no elevator doors.
All there was, was a flat cylinder surface with a black teleportation magic circle placed on it. As soon as I stepped on it, a holographic square appeared in front of me, it was the control panel.
"Maybe they still call it an elevator because even though it's more of a teleportation device, it still operates like any other normal elevator. I'm guessing it has a limit to how many people it can teleport as well. And it might also not allow two people from different floors to use it at the same time." The control panel had a large number of buttons, twenty of which represented the building's floors. I pressed the one written 'Floor 13: Association Management', as the elevator started to move afterwards. In an instant, I had arrived.
"Guess that's teleportation for ya."
"Hey there kinkster. What took you so long?"
I didn't need to look to know who that was.
"That insufferable nickname, again."
"Yeah sorry. I couldn't stop even if I wanted to at this point so you're gonna have to get used to it. Anyway, come with me, the old man's waiting for you."
"'Old man?', can she afford to say that about her own boss."
She started dragging me around, taking my hand and pulling me straight to the Manager's Office down at the end of the middle pathway. The door had a small rectangular board etched on it, written Manager's Office.
Peyton then entered enthusiastically. "Heyyo! Mission successfully complete and I've acquired the target! You are all permitted to praise me now!"
"Yeah, I highly doubt she'd be allowed this much casual exertion unless she had a special relationship with the Manager."
"Seriously? You call this a success? What part of ''must be done without the F-Rank's knowledge'' did you not understand?"
Peyton's excitement was almost immediately shut down. The one responsible, a silver haired beauty, her eyes thin with a beautiful velvet color. They looked almost distant, as if staring straight into a void. She wore the same working tuxedo Peyton wore and had a fancy old-school classic analog watch on her left wrist. She was slightly taller than Peyton though. And had other features that were bigger than Peyton's which will not be mentioned. Her nametag read Melissa.
"Hey, it's not my fault!" Peyton defended herself. "He had a Skill that allowed him to sense me!"
"There's no way that's true." Melissa had a hard time believing it. Understandably so.
"Uh…actually, I do have an A-Rank Skill." So I saw fit help Peyton out, it didn't make sense to me that she'd be blamed for something that wasn't entirely in her control.
"See?" Said Peyton. "Oh, and don't forget to tell them about how you tricked me into thinking you died too." She added.
"Don't you forget who's helping you out here."
"Okay, I'll be quiet."
"Good."
"She's so-"
"Excuse me, Mr. Raid."
"Oh, just Raid thanks."
"Alright then, Raid. Look don't get me wrong, we're aware of your…oddly unexplainable capabilities, but I hope you understand if we may have a tough time believing that you, an F-Rank, the only F-Rank in the world at that have an A-Rank Skill." Said Melissa.
"Of course I do. So I'll prove it." I then activated the Soul-Piercing Eyes Skill and Treasure Hunt Skill. I controlled the radar it emitted to only cover the entire building as the waves permeated throughout the room and outside. Only one person sensed it and gave out a slight reaction in response. The rest however, didn't feel a thing. I then spoke.
"Including Miss Melissa-"
"Just Melissa thanks."
"… Okay." I said in a chuckle then continued. "Including Melissa and Peyton, there's exactly nine-hundred and seventeen A-Ranks in this building right now, and only one S-Rank. You." I said as I pointed towards the only person who sensed my Skills and the only one my Skills couldn't sense.
"That's impossible." Said Melissa. Peyton just grinned ear to ear while nodding her head. She must've already gathered that Treasure Hunt had reached A-Rank.
"Hm." A soft chuckle. ''Live long enough, I guess." Then he finally spoke. The only one of us all who was seated. The Manager. Chadwick Sukala. There he sat, on his comfortable chair at the far end of the room. A large table in front of him, with a single cup of coffee on top of it. Unlike Peyton and Melissa, his suit was white and only his tie was black. On his right chest was a fancy nametag with his full name in small writing and the word 'MANAGER'' in bigger writing and all uppercases above it. He looked a lot like old man-Gam, which finally confirmed for me that they were brothers. But unlike old man-Gam, whose expressions could be used in memes, he radiated the aura of a leader.
"So you're the Raid kid I've heard so much about? Your reputation doesn't do you justice, that's for sure."
"Thank you sir. Although you'll have to forgive me. I really can't say I know much about you since old man-Gam didn't tell me much other than the fact that you had a car he once sto-I mean borrowed from you."
"Oh, so you do know who I am? I was sure he didn't tell you anything at all. I don't know if it's because he's scatterbrained or just a jerk but that older brother of mine is a real piece of work."
"Tell me about it." We shared a laugh while Melissa and Peyton kept quiet with slightly confused looks on their faces.
"Hold on." It had taken a while but I realized something that didn't add up right.
"Wait. Did you say that old man-Gam is your older brother? Isn't it the other way around?" I asked.
"Oh. Yeah, I can see why you'd think that. I do look a tad older than him. See… As soon as we Awakened as Warriors, that sneaky bastard actually circulated a large portion of his Mana to increase the already incredible longevity that becoming a Warrior grants us. All so that he could "LoOk GoOd FoR tHe LaDiEs" he said." He said using finger quotes looking exhausted and annoyed at the same time. I was under the impression that younger brothers are the ones who should be giving their older brothers a hard time.
"I mean, I'm an orphan on top of being an only child so I wouldn't know much about that kinda stuff, that's discounting the kids at the orphanage of course, but their relationship does kinda seem backwards."
Part of me theorized that the stress that old man-Gam gave Chadwick contributed in his aging somehow. Not to say he say he was weak, he had a very large build. I was sure he'd tear me to pieces if we had a go at it but the grey hair and beard he had honestly made me feel a little sorry for him.
"Yep, that sounds like something he'd do." High level Mages and other similar Classes proficient in Mana manipulation have always had the ability to use Mana to go beyond passed simply healing and preserving life to the point of prolonging it. It's why some Warriors have a much higher longevity rate than others even though the longevity we gain when we Awaken is more or less the same.
"Knowing old man-Gam's personality, Awakening as a Great Mage must've been the height of his life. Of course he'd milk it for all it's worth."
"Tell me about it. But enough about that, let's talk about why you're here… Aaand how to move forward, of course."
"Okay. Then, can I take a seat?" I asked.
"Of course. Make yourself at home. This is your uncle's office after all. Peyton, Melissa, you too. Get comfortable." He said harboring an honest smile.
In front of his table was a slightly smaller one with a large five person couch on its left and another one on its right. I sat comfortably on one of them and felt a calming sensation envelop me.
"I sense Mana. The couch is Enchanted!" I thought. "Amazing. To think there's someone crazy enough to even think of this, putting a Spell on a couch just to make it more comfortable."
Peyton and Melissa sat on the other couch opposite to me. It seemed like they were used to it since they didn't react the same way I did as they sat.
So we then started talking about why I was there… Aaand how to move forward, of course.