Shortly after Kyros had fainted due to the excess of mana consumption, Birch flew down from the trees to land beside his body. Birch had watched the entirety of the fight. While he’d be hard pressed to defeat the gorilla, it’d be simple for him to grab Kyros and escape. So, he had opted to stay in the shadows and watch Kyros battle.
Near the end, he had been ready to swoop down and pick up Kyros. However, he was stunned when Kyros had suddenly released a spell that he could only assume was class 2, maybe even 3 spell. Birch couldn’t figure out why he would wait so long to use such a strong spell.
I felt something special about him from the beginning, but now he suddenly used a class 2 spell. There’s definitely something up with him. Maybe, just maybe if I continue to follow him, I might have a chance. Birch thought to himself, as he scooped up Kyros’s body and flashed off into the distance.
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Kyros awoke to the wind rustling his hair. He was slung over a man’s shoulder, judging by the frame he could deduce it was Birch, as Gerald had a much wider back. His surroundings were just a blur, Kyros was surprised at how fast they were travelling.
He had assumed Birch would be fast as he seemed to have been working as a scout under the Mavis family. However, this current speed surpassed what Kyros had initially expected. Kyros would be hard pressed to move this faster using his shadow step.
“Ah, Birch?” Kyros wanted to alert Birch that he was awake.
… Birch ignored him. Did he just ignore me?
“Birch! Let me down!” Kyros shouted this time, wiping away any possibility that Birch just couldn’t hear him.
“You’re too weak. Slow. This is faster.” Birch’s deep voice sounded out, as his speed didn’t slow down a bit.
This bastard! Who’s weak! Kyros struggled to free himself, yet, Birch’s ironclad grip held onto his body. Kyros continued to wiggle around, seeking freedom. But no matter how hard he struggled, Birch continued to keep his grip on him.
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“Damnit let go of me, Birch! I’m warning you!” Kyros’s voice could be heard in the distance.
“Hahaha, this is them here.” Gerald laughed as he spoke to the young man and woman who had run into him as they were escaping.
Jean and Ethan were nervous, as they didn’t know the intentions of this purportedly friendly man. They weren’t fools, they knew there were all sorts of characters that could be found around here. The man had told them to wait around with him as he waited for his companions to return.
Ethan was weary, as he kept his hand near the hilt of his sword. He was ready to buy as much time as he could, so Jean would have a chance at escape.
Damnit, this was only supposed to be an F rank quest. First, we ran into that crazy ape and now this! Ethan cursed internally.
Birch could be spotted in the distance of where the earlier shout came from, moving at a blinding speed.
Who the fuck are these guys? Would I even be able to hold them off for a minute? Ethan could only hope they were friendly, as he knew he’d be helpless against them.
Birch who had been running in the distance had finally slowed down as he reached them. Ethan was surprised to see another person slung over the man’s shoulder.
“Let go of me, Birch! Argh!” Kyros used all his strength to push himself off Birch but was shocked as Birch released his grip. Kyros fell off and landed on the ground with a thud. Kyros looked up to see Birch smirking down at him, uncharacteristic of his normally expressionless face.
“Bastard did that on purpose.” Kyros grumbled to himself as he picked himself up and cleared the dirt off himself.
“Ah! It’s you” Jean suddenly yelled out from beside Ethan. Ethan had also been surprised to realise it was the young mage who had helped them.
“My name’s Kyros, not you.” Kyros was in a bit of a foul mood due to Birch man handling him.
“Ah, sorry.” Jean looked down, she didn’t mean to upset her saviour.
Kyros stared at the downcast Jean and felt a bit guilty.
What’s wrong with me? Since when did I care about other peoples feelings? Kyros sighed after concluding his thought.
“Forget it, how were you supposed to know.” Kyros said, causing Jean to look up with a smile as if she was never upset in the first place.
Did she just play me?
“You’re looking a bit wobbly at the knees lad” Gerald interrupted.
“Oh. Yeah, used a bit too much mana.” Kyros said nonchalantly.
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“Mana?” Gerald had a look of confusion, as did the others.
Oh yeah, they wouldn’t know what mana is.
“Magic. I used too much of my power.” Kyros clarified.
“Ohhh right, makes sense. Must have been a tough beast.” Gerald said.
“Yeah, after all those wolves I was disappointed in how weak the beasts were. But this one took my all to kill.” Kyros had pictured deadly dragons or hordes of goblins when he was first warned of the beasts in the forest. But the most dangerous thing he had fought was the pack of wolves.
“Wait! You killed it!?” Jean and Ethan shouted in unison.
“Ah… yeah.” Kyros was caught by surprise by the sudden shout.
“Really?!” Ethan asked for confirmation.
“Yes.” Kyros grew a little annoyed he was being doubted.
“Ah, I meant no offence. It’s just a little unbelievable. The stone gorilla is a C- beast.” Ethan said, a look of amazement in his eyes.
“Oh, a stone gorilla! Good on you lad.” Gerald also looked a little surprised, only Birch didn’t seem to care as he drifted into the background.
“Umm C-? What’s that?” Kyros asked. He suspected it must be a grading of beasts but the only way he would know was if he asked. Everyone looked at Kyros in amazement yet again, even Birch lifted an eyebrow, which was a big deal for him.
“Lad, don’t tell me you don’t know about the Adventurer’s guild?” Gerald questioned.
“Um… Should I?”
“How can you not?! It’s the Adventurer’s guild!” Gerald shouted in wonder. Everyone else looked a little taken back.
“Well, I’m not really from around here.” Kyros made an excuse.
“Where are you from? The guild covers pretty much all of the World!”
“Oh, so it’s like the Mage’s guild?” Kyros linked the two.
“You’ve heard of the Mage’s guild but not the Adventurer’s… Just what in the world. Lad, the Adventure’s guild is arguably the strongest faction in this world. The Mage’s guild is terrifyingly powerful, but there’s no comparison to the Adventurer’s guild. Why do you think that is?” Gerald fell into a full-blown lecture.
“Um… the Mage’s guild is a part of the Adventurer’s guild?” Kyros assumed something like that would make sense.
“Close, but not quite. The Mage’s guild isn’t a part of the Adventurer’s guild, but it’s members double up as adventurers and mages.” Gerald corrected.
“Oh, that makes sense. Does that mean all of you are adventurers?” Kyros was quite excited. He was similarly excited when he heard of the Mage’s Guild. It’s what he expected from a fantasy world.
“Of course, Birch and I are both C ranked.” Gerald declared with a hint of smugness to his face. Kyros turned to Ethan and Jean, gesturing for them to state theirs.
“Oh… yeah. Jean and I are both F ranked.” Ethan was a bit surprised to find out that those two men were C ranked.
“Aren’t you all low ranked?” Kyros had yet to grasp social queues, so he just spoke what he thought. He didn’t know the details of the ranking system, but it didn’t take a genius to know a C rank would be far below an A rank.
“Low?! Those two are C ranked!” Ethan couldn’t help but shout in surprise, he couldn’t believe that the guy in front of him who seemed around his own age was saying C rank was low.
“Oh. That's not low?” Kyros scratched the back of his head as he asked.
“C ranked is quite respectable. Those two could find work pretty much anywhere.” This time it was Jean who voiced up. Kyros turned to look at Birch and Gerald, a little confusion in his eyes.
“If you two are so impressive, why were you guards?” Kyros had always assumed being a guard was kind of like being a slave with just more freedom.
“Oi, you brat. We weren’t just some guards. We were guards employed under the great Mavis family.” Gerald reprimanded, dissatisfied that he was being looked down upon. Kyros noticed that both Ethan and Jean were shocked when they heard that.
Seems like my initial impression on the Mavis family was wrong. If just their guards are this prestigious, then the family itself must be even more powerful than I thought. This will make things tough.
“Alright, I apologise. I’m still unfamiliar with these rankings. Do you mind explaining them?” Kyros was intrigued by the rankings.
“I still can’t believe you don’t know any of this… First up, the ranking system used by the Adventurer’s Guild is the main method the world uses to classify power levels. It ranges from G all the way up to triple S.” Gerald explained.
“Oh. So what level would the wolves be ranked at?” Kyros interrupted the explanation.
“Wolves are only G ranked beasts, but when the pack together they rise to an F rank danger.”
“So, the both of you would be able to hold your own against a pack of wolves?” Kyros asked Ethan and Jane this time.
“Um, by ourselves it would be tough. Together it would be pretty simple though.” Ethan responded for Jean as well.
“Wait, so then what rank is that old servant who followed the Mavis master around?” Kyros suddenly asked, remembering who his target was.
“… Oh, you must mean Giles. He’s a B ranker, pretty strong for a B rank as well.” Gerald responded.
“What! Only B ranked? I thought he’d be at least A rank.” Kyros was quite surprised by this, he figured Giles would have been in the upper echelon of strength.
“Lad, don’t be underestimating a B ranker. Most people won’t even reach C rank on their road for power. As for an A ranker? It’d be around 1 in 500’000 adventurers might reach that level. A rankers are the top of society and would be welcomed by any kingdom.” Kyros could hear the respect in Gerald’s voice as he spoke of an A ranker.
“Wait then what about the S ranks?” If an A ranker was so amazing than the S ranks must be something else.
“The S ranks? Lad, there’s no chance of reaching that level. You know what makes a great family great? Each one has an S rank within the family. As for an SS rank, well that’s another world entirely. Having an SS rank is what turns a power into a superpower, in fact, our kingdom doesn’t even have one. The closest one would be the Pope of the Holy Athearan Empire.”
Wow, never realised there would be such a vast difference between ranks. I wonder what that would make Lilith? I’d guess somewhere around S or SS. These guys would probably freak if they knew I helped such a strong being escape. I wonder what she’s up to these days now that she's free. Wait, he didn’t mention the SSS rank.
“You forgot the SSS rank.” Kyros reminded. Everyone’s expressions went dark at the mention of the SSS rank.
“Lad, that rank is used to classify beings of such strength that they hold the fate of the world in their palm. Whenever these beings have been sighted, disaster always follows. The dragon god Vakuik is such a being.” Gerald described with a pained look.
Kyros didn’t continue his line of questioning even though he had more to ask, he could tell no one was up for talking. He could tell there was more to it, but Gerald nor the others seemed to be up for talking. The only one who seemed normal was Birch, but he wouldn’t talk willingly in the first place.
“Let’s go, we’re only 2 days travel from the city.” Gerald slapped the backside of one of the horses, to which it started pulling the wagon forward. Kyros stood still as watched the others head off.
Hmm to think there's an Adventurer's Guild as well. It would be beneficial if I actually joined them. There's no saying the Nerva family will accept me just because I knew James, but if I held a high rank, well then that might bring some merit to my name.
Kyros set off after them, his mind made up to join both the Adventurer's and Mage's guild.