“If I die, don’t forget about me, my love!” I blew my nose into a handkerchief and gave a heartfelt goodbye to August before attempting the trial.

Entering the controlled dungeon, I felt a comforting breeze envelope me. I was in the middle of a huge meadow. There were no trees, rocks, animals. There was nothing except the ground, sky, and grass as far as the eye could see.

A two-headed giant appeared with a club as big as Moken appeared. It began charging towards me. I sent an Ice Javelin and pierced through one of its heads. It stopped and its body began convulsing, probably from the brain damage. Another Ice Javelin impaled the other head and the giant fell before it even got close.

Giant spiders, scorpions, wolves, just about anything you can think of, began spawning out of nowhere all around me. Pikes were thrown at me from some creatures I couldn’t even see through the thick band of enemies of many different species seemingly working in tandem with each other. Divergence pushed them all away at once. A circular wall of stone rose from the ground to keep them out. Convergence orbs were placed around the rim of the wall for the flying enemies in case they tried to nosedive to me.

Grey clouds formed above us, blotting out the sun. I cast Thunderstorm, a spell I learned near the end of mastering lightning manipulation. It, like Arcane Missiles, sought out enemies and struck them down with lightning bolts as weak as Arc Lightning or as strong as Wrath of God. It made sure to scale each bolt’s power so that the enemy would die.

Another wave of enemies stronger than before formed. Incinerate turned them to ashes. The third wave, even stronger than before were wiped out by Arcane Missiles. The next wave, impaled and frozen by Arctic Rage. The next wave, drowned by a massive tsunami. Then it was a flurry of Wind Cutters. Then the pure strength of Divergence made them hit into each other so hard that they died. It got to the point where I just let a clone handle it and I laid down to relax in Voidwalk.

Suddenly, I felt someone shaking me awake. I woke up, a bit dazed. “Scadia? Why are you here?”

“Wait, did you sleep in the trial?!” she asked, and I looked away nervously. Her little hands grabbed me by the collar, “You piece of shit! If you failed, I’ll kill you!”

“I’m sorry, Scadia. You’re just,” I smiled, “way too cute when you’re angry.” That statement earned me a headbutt right to the nose. “Hydra’s ass! What kind of mage headbutts people?! Stop hanging around August!”

She smirked maliciously, knowing that she got through to me with physical force. “She used to hate you, now she worries about you. Soon…” I could’ve felt Donna rubbing her palms together like an old perverted geezer.

Stop it, you disturbing queen.

After a while, Scadia and I entered a waiting area, with the rest of the guild. Literally the entire guild was given a chance to attempt the rank-up trial. Scarlet spent a dubious amount of money, to the point where they actually gave her a group discount.

Everyone got their results in one fell swoop. The RC members handing them out wore knackered faces. They probably had a lot of work to do. A lot of people, including family and friends of our guild members were there. Everyone began screaming and celebrating from the rank-ups. Thanks to the enchantments, our guild no longer had any E-ranks, neither were there any D-ranks. Everyone was C-rank and up. Scarlet got to S-rank, as well as Freya. Phil became a B-rank. Scadia took her test, but like August and I, our results weren’t given out yet.

None of her family or friends came to see her result and I wondered about it. I’ve never seen any of her friends… I thought, as I sat next to her. She held onto my wrist, then eventually her fingers climbed towards my hand and her grip increased. “Excuse me,” a man called out with some envelopes in his hand and I understood why she was so nervous, “your results,” he gave us, and walked off.

Scadia, wondering what an S-rank could possibly become, got even more nervous. I took it from her, opening the envelope and giving her a mischievous look. I pulled the paper out with the rank on it, and she gasped, but the sigh of relief didn’t come. I turned the paper toward me to see what it was and it said ‘SSS’. No wonder her sigh of relief didn’t occur. “Wow, triple S! That’s pretty nice!”

“What does it mean…” she was a bit worried.

“It means you’re the best sorceress to exist,” I said, giving her a little hug and kiss.

She finally sighed, “I know you’re pulling my legs, but thank you. Anyway,” she brushed her hair behind an ear, “open up yours. Let me see.”

Just as I was about to open mine, August literally announced it to everyone. They gathered around like vultures, as did he. He has to open his own too… I said to myself, knowing it would be as much of a pain for him, as it would be for me. My paper had ‘X’ on it. “What does it mean…” I copied Scadia. “Did they ‘x’ me off?”

“It’s because you slept in the damn trial!” Scadia wrung my cheek so hard it left a mark. August decided to open his own after, and it was the same thing as me. Was it even a rank?

“Excuse me, members of First Flight,” Bruno Ulyen’s voice caught our attention. He sure was loud. “There have been some changes that you must be notified about. To keep it short, three new ranks have been added in order to properly categorise dungeoneers who exceed S-rank. These individuals have all exceeded expected performance. Limiting those who have surpassed S-rank by a great deal to that very rank would be an inadequacy on the Regulations Committee. The three ranks above S-rank are double S, triple S, and X. A more detailed explanation can be found on noticeboards around the RC building shortly. That is all. Thank you for verifying your ranks, and best of luck.” He bowed a bit, and left.

“So, it’s actually a rank.”

Yeah. Good thing I didn’t fail for sleeping. Plus, I got a heck ton of mana from this test.

Scarlet wandered off, and a few minutes later, she returned, sprinting towards August and I. She literally jumped, screaming at us. She landed on top of us, toppling us over. “First Flight is the number one guild!” She yelled out, and screamed again like a madwoman.

I grabbed the sheet and noticed we had two X-ranks, one triple-S, two double-S, eleven S-ranks, twenty-seven A-ranks, forty B-ranks and seventy-nine C-ranks, totalling one hundred and sixty-two people. Even though other top guilds had close to one thousand people, we still ranked above them all. It was clear they positioned guilds based on the number of high-ranked people, and not on achievements.

But that would fall in our favour, as our guild now had sixteen people capable of attempting Earth-Sky Tower. As I thought about that, my eyes fell on Freya and Shem Glacierheart and their interest in that particular dungeon. As it stood, it was the only S-rank dungeon that required S-rank people only, where-as other S-rank dungeons could be attempted with other A-rank or even B-rank dungeoneers, but the latter were usually excluded for safety’s sake.

After all the commotion, First Flight returned to the guild building with beaming smiles, with an immediate party starting. Of course, where there was August drinking, there was Eric spiking his drink. I was going to make more liquor for everyone, but it appeared Scarlet spared no expenses.

~

A ticklish sensation snaked onto my neck and I woke up. My hand was comfortably cupping someone’s breast, and from the general shape and size of the person, I suspected it to be Scadia. I then got a good whiff of her when I breathed in and confirmed it. She, like I, was totally naked. The thought of what could’ve happened alone got me excited and my boy began standing up. Donna, clutched onto me from behind, made me unable to move an inch.

“Haven’t you had enough?” Scadia complained, turning around at me and kissing me on the lips. I was so discombobulated and hungover that I had to cast Renew to properly access the situation.

“He doesn’t remember,” Donna told the sorceress and sat up. “But, isn’t that better for you? Or did you actually want him to remember?”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Scadia faced away from us, blushing even though she was without a single piece of cloth covering her. “So, uh, did we…”

“Yup,” Donna answered snappily.

“Can I ask for a do-over?” I bemoaned, “I remember nothing.”

Scadia, back to her normal aloof self, rejected my advance without hesitation. So cold. I stood up and stretched after healing Donna and Scadia. “Since we’re having an awkward time, I might as well ask the awkward things I’ve been meaning to ask.” My focus converged on Scadia, “Did you come to First Flight because Onyx Heart used you as a reward?”

She looked away, so silent you could hear the gentle winds outside. I walked over and placed a hand on her head, caressed her cheek and held her chin up, “Answer me. Did they bet you?”

Her face contorted, but she eventually nodded. I stormed out and Voidwalked right through Scarlet’s door. She and Phil jumped. Like us, they were both under covers from bathing in decadence last night. “Onyx Heart bet Scadia, and you accepted it.”

“This isn’t the time or pla–”

“Scarlet,” I cut her off, “my patience is already thin. Please just give me an explanation before I resort to other measures. Why did you accept the challenge if they were trading someone like cattle?”

She gripped the sheet, and Phil tried calming her down. “I’m sorry, but it isn’t your business to know why.”

A smirk rose from within me, contrasting the real expression I wanted to display. “Scarlet. I fought and I won that duel,” I made clear, then collected electricity around my hands, “speak, so that your life may be spared.”

“Phil, leave,” she stepped out of the sheets with nothing on. The young man refused to leave her side, but that mattered not to me at the moment. She had a dangerous look in her eyes. “Eric. I cannot tell you. But if you still insist, then I will not die lying down,” she said, equipping all her gear from her inventory in a second. Her weapon faced me.

“So be–”

“Stop!” Scadia hugged me from behind, “Stop! Please just stop!” She, the person in question, pleaded with me. So, I breathed slowly to calm myself. Without waiting around, I grabbed Scadia’s hand and led her outside, transmuting the bed sheets she wrapped around herself in a rush to actual clothing.

I flew to a nearby eatery and requested a table. She sat down, not saying a word. We waited patiently for some breakfast. The quiet morning was relaxing, but that relaxation didn’t rub off on me at all. “Why,” she spoke softly, “do you care so much?”

“How can I not? I can’t just standby while other people are treated like objects to be traded. I was basically the buyer! What did you expect me to do?” My teeth grinded against each other and my fist tightened. “I caused this…”

“You didn’t. The day of the match, it wasn’t Onyx Heart that offered me up. It was First Flight that asked to have me. Even though I was angry for losing, I was happy that I could join First Flight.”

“Happy?”

She nodded, “Yeah. The only reason I was in Onyx Heart is because my family had connections with older heads in the guild. No one there liked me anyway. They only kept me around because of the spells passed down in my family. Scarlet probably knew this when she asked for me.”

“You’re saying she actually wanted to help you?”

Once again, she nodded. “I believe it to be so. She’s never even asked anything of me. She’s been kind to me this whole time. Onyx Heart only wanted me for what I could do for them. But since my family fell from prominence, all I became was a fallen noble brat with strength I didn’t deserve.”

“That so… Guess I owe Scarlet an apology,” I chuckled nervously.

Scadia scooted around to me and leaned on my shoulder, “No one ever stood up for me like that. Thank you.”

A huge weight was pulled off me. I didn’t wish to turn my sword towards anyone in First Flight, much less the guild master. After eating, we returned to the guild. Donna was drinking a mug of mead in the lobby, just like any responsible adult would do first thing in the morning. Freya came in a little after us, in full gear. It was as if the alcohol didn’t even affect her. Following her like a shadow was August, and he looked simply horrible.

“Oh my,” I commented and gave August a sly smirk, “what do we have here? Where did you two disappear to last night?”

Freya turned her face away and continued walking inside. I figured I wouldn’t continue teasing her. She didn’t look too resilient.

“Alright, gather round everyone!” Scarlet yelled, and the zombies we had as guild members slowly circled her. “We’ll start doing A-rank dungeons immediately. I want at least five A-ranks per group, or at least two S-ranks per group. If you’re higher than S-rank, you carry the group by yourself. This way, we can include as many C-rank dungeoneers as possible. Once they feel comfortable, they can take another rank-up trial,” she said with a smile on her face. “The minute we have only B-ranks and up, we will begin living in S-rank dungeons. Surviving S-rank dungeons enough should be able to get you into S-rank as well. Once a high enough number of people become S-rank, First Flight will attempt Earth-Sky Tower!”

Everyone else erupted in cheers at her announcement. The guild’s morale raised significantly and she hardly did anything other than talk. Her leadership ability was unquestionable. She made all the C and B-ranks choose who they wanted to go with on the first day, and after some hiccups with August and my lines being too long, we finally set off.

My group was full of casters, with only two people having healer roles. They probably hoped to get some sort of insight out of me when it came down to magic. Our dungeon for the day was an old ruin. We entered it, and walked for a couple minutes. To our immediate left was a flight of stairs that led to a hill. The hill snaked like a king cobra in the desert sands. Eventually, we arrived at a plateau, and at the centre of that plateau was a colossal. Oh, that’s the same giant I saw in the rank-up test.

It appeared to be sleeping. “Hey, isn’t this the boss?” one of the sorcerers inquired. The others nodded, affirming what he said to be true.

They all looked at me. I rubbed the back of my head, “Well, don’t worry. I won’t let anyone die. But it’s your job to kill it.” Otherwise coming here would make no sense.

One of them began with a binding spell. Thick tree roots came from the ground and wrapped around the giant’s feet and the onslaught of magic began. Fireballs, Ice Javelins, something akin to Wind Cutter and even a thick ball of acid was thrown. Ice Javelins and the wind spells didn’t cut into the flesh. The Fireballs and acid only brought his skin a dark spot. All they managed to do was wake the two-headed giant up. With its club held tight, it used the weapon to prop itself up and roared right at us.

My team dispersed, surrounding the giant and ensuring the spacing between them was equal. The two healers were divided between the two halves of our team. The giant, confused as to who he should attack, took some time before focusing on a woman who dealt with lightning magic.

Being shocked, no matter how low the voltage, could be a pain in the ass. It bolted toward her, each of its step loud and obvious. She stopped her cast and began running, but did it too late. The giant swung its club down at her.

A double-layer of Water Wall then Earth Wall stopped the attack and trapped the monster’s weapon in the dense water. It stayed there for a few seconds trying to pull its weapon out of the water. Eventually, I released the magic and the giant could go back to focusing on the group. It put a foot up, then stamped down with all its might, causing an earthquake of sorts and interrupting the spellcasting of everyone.

Another, who commanded fire was then targeted. The giant leapt into the air and came down with its club in one attack, but my Convergence grabbed the fire sorcerer and pulled him to the side of the giant’s warpath. The club hit the ground and the sound it made was horrendous. The weapon skated on the ground as the giant decided to bat the sorcerer away from the side. Another Convergence greatly reduced the speed.

I could’ve stopped the attack instead, but the fact of the matter was, allowing them to be injured would be good training for the healers. One healer began focusing on the injured guy whilst I encapsulated most of the monster’s feet in Frost Trap. They took that chance to use stronger, less mobile magics.

After bombarding him with the stronger spells, they noticed the giant actually got hurt in some form. I released Frost Trap and they began moving around again, trying to avoid staying too close to the enraged giant.

“Two mages should focus on binding spells!” I yelled out eventually. “One mage good at evasion should act as the distraction. Use flashy spells. The other four, it’s your job to kill the boss!”

Only then, did they begin gaining the edge in the battle. The occasional stamp would throw them off, but the guys who did he binding magic kept at it. The distraction did his job almost perfectly. The firing squad took a while, but they eventually brought the giant down. The healers patched up their teammates with a couple spells and they were as good as new.

“Where’s the damn gate?!” one of them complained.

“Come to think of it,” a woman watched to the skies exhaustively, “there were two more paths to take at the start.”

We trekked there, this time taking the stairs on the right. The right path was almost identical, ending with another giant just like before. They paced themselves for this fight, but since they had a rough tactic down, they were able to kill the monster without my help. But they were on their last legs when it came to mana. Their heavy breathing alone told me enough.

After a quick rest, we proceeded to the middle path. This one went down into a swampy area and at then back up into a mountainous setting. It felt like we walked until we got to the other half of the dungeon.

We reached a final staircase and there was a steep drop at the end of the staircase. The plains we looked at was a bit strange, but still quite normal. The really striking issue was the sleeping giant in the middle. That monster was at least thrice the size of the others we defeated. Looking back at my team of C-ranks, I knew they couldn’t afford to fight another giant, much less for the actual boss of the dungeon. But what’s the point if they don’t fight… I made them all potions and once their mana and stamina were back where they should be, they were rearing to go.

They started off the same way, binding the target, then letting the distraction get a hit in, then doing a simultaneous attack from the others. The only problem was, the binding never worked. The distraction wasn’t annoying enough to capture all of the boss’ attention. The big attack at the end did miniscule damage.

An Arm of God laid the behemoth to rest. Isn’t there some way for them to get stronger? They already have the best of the best enchantments. Teaching them spells doesn’t feel like the right direction to go… I brainstormed, eventually being gently pushed towards the gate by one of them. We did that dungeon nine more times, totalling ten runs. It was afternoon by the time we finished and returned to the guild. Scarlet looked like she just came back from a dungeon as well.

I asked her aside for a while. “Listen, about this morning, I’m sor–”

“I forgave you a long time ago,” she dismissed my apology, “but if you want to make it up to me, I know the perfect way.”