After a quick change of clothes at Scarlet’s guild, named First Flight by her father, we were driven by carriage to Freya’s overwhelmingly large estate. The night had just formed with the sun’s retreat and the atmosphere was a bit lively, yet soothing. The people here were quite simple, and the more I travelled across worlds and experienced new things, the more I came to appreciate those types. Freya was speaking excitedly with August about her family, the Glacierhearts. They were a proud family of knights and nobles, known for their infallible belief in love, hard work, and kindness.
We arrived at her estate and dare I say it was bigger than mine! Just at the entrance of the house were beautiful paintings and sculptures. She led us through, a satisfied glint in her eyes. A room, hidden behind double-doors taller than Moken caught our eyes at the end of a hallway covered in murals. She knocked a couple times, “Brother, it’s Freya,” she announced, giving August a nod.
“Come in,” a voice from the inside yelled. She opened the heavy door with ease. The young man, with sharp eyes and short dark hair looked up at Freya from his desk cluttered with paperwork and smiled. He stood up, and they had a quick hug.
“Brother, I’d like for you to meet someone,” she said, and brought August in closer to do introductions. Once that was out of the way, Shem, Freya’s brother, asked the question I’m sure he – or everyone, rather – was dying to know.
He leaned against his desk, “You’re the E-rank who almost killed a B-rank?”
“I won’t put it that way. I just pushed him away a little,” August tried shifting the tones of context, not wanting to get on anyone’s bad side or make enemies. Ulanos was enough.
“With a kick, yes,” the man laughed, shaking August’s hand. “You must really be something special. Freya’s never brought a friend home before.”
“Shem!” she yelled his name under her breath, wanting to avoid embarrassment. “Anyway, I didn’t just bring them here to simply show you my friends, brother. I brought them to you because I feel like they could help you find Frozen Tear.”
As if adhering to the name, Shem froze, then he looked down a little and gave a less-than-assuring chuckle. “At the moment, we don’t even have enough S-ranks to attempt Earth-Sky Tower. I’m sorry, but, these two would have to be S-ranks in the first place. It’s just too dangerous for an A-rank or lower to go.”
Freya frowned; a childish pout smitten over her face. Her brother laughed, “Well, usually, you gain a rank depending on the number of dungeons you complete. But there is another way to rank-up. Tell you what, guys,” he turned to us, “if either one of you can become A-rank dungeoneers, I’ll personally see to it that North Sun invests in you and train you to become S-ranks. Sound good?”
“Sure,” August shrugged, not at all grasping the levels of power these people touted. “So, what’s the other way of ranking up?”
Shem perplexed, stared at us, “You gentlemen really aren’t from around here, are you? Well, I’m sorry but, Freya will explain that part to you. I’m afraid I have too much work piling up to afford you the time of an explanation.”
After that, we excused ourselves and Freya had quite the prideful grin about her. Walking back, we learned that Shem was actually an S-rank warrior himself who specialised in spear-wielding. We also got a summarised explanation of this rank up he teased.
In essence, it was simple. If someone was a prodigy with immense talent, the guild would put in a request to the Regulations Committee, asking for a trial which would re-evaluate the rank someone was given. This however, costed a small fortune. The RC made it to be so in order to steer people who weren’t properly trained and ready away from risking their lives at higher-ranked dungeons. The test was apparently difficult as well. Some people were even ranked lower for poor performance and judgment during combat. Some stayed in their same rank. That level of difficulty and uncertainty of outcome made guilds think twice about having a member attempt it.
The only thing that seemed to be a problem was that we had no way of doing the trial without being in a guild. Should we choose Scarlet’s guild, First Flight? Or should we try for higher with the guild Shem spoke of, North Sun? I raised that question to August, and he dismissed it, saying it would be better to speak to Bruno Ulyen, the bigwig at the RC first.
The first thing the following morning, we visited the RC. Bruno Ulyen wasn’t available, but that was fine. A normal employee gave us the list of guilds, as well as a breakdown of the numbers in the guild. North Sun, when it came to the most high-ranked dungeoneers, placed second after another guild named Onyx Heart. According to the sheet, there were only thirteen S-rank dungeoneers.
Onyx Heart had six of them, whilst North Sun had three. We looked for First Flight and found them at position fifteen. It made me wonder why Freya chose to join a guild like that, when I was sure her brother could’ve gotten her into North Sun. Her family name alone might’ve gotten her into Onyx Heart. “What do you think?” I gave up trying to choose. Knowing the guild would be impossible without first knowing the people in it.
“First Flight,” August said decisively, pushing the sheet back to the RC employee.
A lascivious smirk adorned me, “Someone has a thing for Freya, huh?”
“I’m not denying that. But that’s not the main reason.” He stood up and yawned, “It’ll be more fun with a weaker guild.”
“More fun my ass,” I called his lie. “You just wanna accept the challenge that dude gave to Scarlet.”
“It’s seriously freaky how good we know each other,” he laughed. “But yeah, let’s go kick ass.”
We flew over to First Flight and joined them. Phil, Scarlet, and Freya were quite excited to have us onboard, especially Scarlet the Glutton. The other members weren’t sure of us but at least we were welcomed. At the hour of the challenge, we were seated in a large arena with officials from the RC watching over the event. This whole setup felt like August versus the Sword Sovereign all over again.
Scarlet commented on how big a turnout this even had. There was never a time when an S-rank was matched up with an E-rank. Well, we were actually B-rank after the RC evaluated us, but most people would still assume we were E-rank because that’s how the news spread in the first place – E-rank fighting B-rank in the RC. August, the said ‘E-rank’, was looked upon with both suspicion and amazement.
Once the official gave the go ahead, the match began. His opponent, the S-rank assassin-type with dual daggers faded into obscurity, eventually becoming invisible. August stuck his sword into the dirt and instead focused on his surroundings. A light wind ruffled his casual clothes.
In but the blink of an eye, a dagger zoomed out of seemingly thin air and swerved, on a warpath to August’s jugular. The blacksmith, with movements faster than my eye could comprehend, ended up biting down on the blade of the dagger, crushing the metal like candy. The thin man skipped backward, his skillset giving him the ability to easily disappear. But that wouldn’t fly against August. The blacksmith turned around and gripped the assassin by the neck, lifting him up like he would a flower. The S-rank assassin continuously stabbed at August’s arm, but the skin would not be pierced.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
I don’t know what else August did, but the man gave up after a while. The match was won by forfeit. Hmm, if I use him as an average…
“Then even S-ranks are pretty weak, right?”
Hey… you said it. But I was wondering what kind of rewards there would be for clearing S-rank dungeons.
“More importantly,” she got a bit excited, “when are we gonna do it with Scarlet?”
My face lost all vibrancy. Not because Scarlet was unappealing – she was quite the opposite – but because of Donna’s unending thirst. In Hydra’s name, you need help. I’m not having you warp me in any illicit relationships again.
“But isn’t it fun to conquer them?”
I could only scoff, holding my laughter back. Her incorrigibility was infallible, but I loved her for it. Whilst distracted by Donna, Scarlet struck a deal with Onyx Heart for yet another challenge, impromptu as it was.
Donna came out of me and sat with August, Scarlet, and a lot of First Flight’s members. I was matched against one such as me, a sorcerer, robed in dulled purple with a staff and pointed hat to match. We met on the half and my opponent looked around my age. She was quite solemn, even in the face of my irresistible smile. But my smile wasn’t for her, no. It stemmed from pure excitement to face off with another mage.
“Hi, I’m Eric,” I extended my hand.
She reluctantly shook, her grip frail and her hand as soft as Hydra’s ass. Short, petite, jade gemstones for eyes, pale skin with contrastingly jet-black hair. She was a cutie in every sense of the word.
“Scadia.” Her voice wasn’t as squeaky as I assumed. In fact, it was quite the perfect balance between high and low pitch to the point where it felt pleasing to the ears.
“I can see that carnal look in your eyes,” Donna teased. Her accuracy was annoying sometimes.
Shut up… I don’t think it is what you think it is.
“I think it is what I think it is. Go for it,” she cheered me on. Looking up at her with Hawk Eye, the devilishly toothless smile of a pervert that I suspected she’d have, was certainly what she had.
The match began, and neither of us moved an inch. She showed caution, which definitely wasn’t a good thing when facing up against a mage. I could feel her calculative stare, but I kept my excitement down as much as I could and favoured a more reactive combat style. Seeing what an S-rank sorceress was made of had me much too intrigued to start first.
But it looks like she wasn’t one for chivalry, so I started her off with something simple – Flame Strike. The few seconds it took to start up gave her ample time to move. Once she did, I released a couple Sand Bullets in the direction she went to. But all she did was dodge was minimal movement. Oh c’mon! I complained, wanting her to seriously take action.
I was so focused on her strange lack of action that I didn’t pay attention to my surroundings. A quick surge of mana later and a bolt of lightning struck me in the back. I fell down like an idiot, but honestly, it didn’t do much damage. However, I made sure to make it look that way.
Once Renew renewed me, I continued my acting and made her drop her guard. She encroached with hands alit with electricity. When she got closer, she was able to see through my acting. I was much too excited to be serious for so long. Her realisation sank into her with impeccable timing. She dodged most of the water prison, but got her ankle trapped in it. A Water Wall then kept her left arm suspended in dense water. Arc Lightning hit the Water Sphere, keeping her from doing anything.
I used Voidwalk and flew up to her, releasing it so it would look like I teleported. She grunted in helplessness, but couldn’t escape my peck on the cheek. The second I released all my spells she directed her staff at me and a small vortex of fire engulfed me completely. I began yelling like crazy and dropped on the floor, rolling about until my screams turned into laughter.
I brought all the fire to the front of me and held it in my left palm. Phoenix’s little girl absorbed it with a smile. At least that’s what it felt like. “I’m immune to all burns, Scadia. Fire won’t work,” I advised, whilst laying on the ground in a sexy pose. Most of my clothes were burnt off, so I made the most of it. Eventually though, I did get up, surround myself with sand and transmuted it into new clothing. I began walking forward slowly.
She fired an Ice Javelin at me, a move I didn’t think I’d see. Reflect made it go right back at her, and her surprised face told me to pull the spells trajectory to her chest off with Convergence. A weak Mind Break stunned her just long enough for me to plant another peck on her other cheek. I then removed all her fear with Renew and then sat next to her. She was so confused at that point that I actually felt a bit sorry for her. “It was just a fear spell, then I removed the fear by healing your mind. So, are you going to show me what you’re made of now?”
“If you won’t take me serious, then I can’t take you serious either.” She stood up, quite firm in her belief.
“I see,” I rose as well and dusted my backside, “I’m sorry, it wasn’t my intention to come across as disrespectful. Let’s start over, shall we?”
She nodded, and we distanced ourselves a little. I put on all my Avatar buffs, all my God spells for manipulation, hit Timedial twice and just as I was about to attack, a circle of runes appeared over her, summoning countless Fireballs with quite the explosive effects. They followed me religiously, until I was forced to enter Voidwalk. Once I did, I flew upwards, only taking a second to return to the physical plane and cast Arctic Rage over our area of battle. It was a mess of frost and fire now. Once Arctic Rage was cast, I returned to the safety of the void.
To my great surprise, she flew upward, which looked more like a jump than anything else, and entered the void just like me. As she was reaching the jump’s plateau, a bolt of lightning zoomed to me, but I was able to cast Retrace and teleport instantly back to the ground. I repeated Retrace and returned to the sky, but she simply cast another lightning bolt. This time Reflect sent it right back to her and zapped her out the air. She began falling and losing consciousness, so her Fireball turret of sorts faded and so did her ability to stay in the void.
The minute she entered the semi-dome that was Arctic Rage, its ice missiles riddled her body. I immediately stopped the spell and made sure that Convergence gave her a safe landing. She was bleeding out quickly, so I hit Retrace yet again to reach ground, then channelled Vivify. The bleeding stopped, the muscle and bones repaired and the flesh closed up.
I chuckled, knowing her decision to fight seriously was foolish, but I respected her choice. She was scarily light when I picked her up, but considering Aug’s enchantments and her size, it wasn’t too alarming. I flew her out the arena and into the stands where Onyx Heart’s members stayed. Just as I was about to leave, she woke up suddenly, ready to continue the fight. Her mana flared and she coughed a bit of blood. Ah, right. She’s not like the elves in Tyrr, and doesn’t have Division either. “Easy there, hothead. The match is over. That fire spell took up a big chunk of mana, huh?” I conjured up a bit of ice and made a mana potion. “Drink up.”
She finally stood upright. “How do I know this won’t kill me?” she asked before her hand touched the vial.
“What’s with the lack of trust? You’re breaking my heart here, Scadia,” I held my chest as if in pain, then drank a bit of the potion to show her it was safe. She accepted it afterwards and drank the rest. “You didn’t really stop to consider that I’d be immune to it, did you?”
She gave me a confused look, then her eyes opened wide. “You bas–”
“Relax, relax,” I sniggered, “it’s just a mana potion. How do you feel?”
Her face displayed a kaleidoscope of emotion, and settled on one of disappointment. “I can’t believe I lost…” she said softly.
“It’s okay. It was just a match.”
“Just a match?!” she balled her fist and bit down on her lip, making it bleed. I didn’t expect her to take it this badly. I also didn’t understand why no one from her guild said a word since I brought her to them. They didn’t even try to help her when I was putting her down. I guess it was stupid of me to expect them to comfort her whilst she was on the verge of tears.
What was I to do but hug her? She tried to push me away at first, but my embrace only tightened, and that was when she let the water flow. Her push turned into a pull and her tears soaked into my clothes. Well, I’m confused as shit…
Later that day, August and I waited around for a messenger from the Regulations Committee. “I’m so bored,” August complained childishly and earned a chortle from Freya. Phil couldn’t stop talking about our matches, and Scarlet couldn’t stop giggling, and eating.
Finally, the guild’s door opened and we looked with anticipation, but the person who appeared wasn’t the messenger from the RC. It was Scadia. Was I surprised? Yeah. But admittedly, a little disappointed it wasn’t the messenger. The apathetic mage beelined to Scarlet and handed a paper over to her. Scarlet’s smile grew even brighter, yet she remained wordless. Finally, they both wrote on the paper and Scarlet threw an arm over her shoulder, “Welcome to First Flight, Scadia!”