We had to camp here tonight, because the carriage only takes us during the day.
The village doesn't serve rooms for guests, so we are forced to camp in the woods. Like actual adventurers.
This is actually not my first time in the wild at night. There was once when I was too busy with hunting, I didn't realize the sun was already going down. I was stuck on the trees with packs of wolves until morning. That was a shitty night.
But I wasn't alone this time. We switched guards during the nights. Honestly I don't trust them, but it's not like I have no choice.
Gen guards first. And when he started to get sleepy, he woke Cane up.
While Cane is guarding, a snake suddenly snuck up on Brian's sleeping bag and bit him.
He screamed loudly in the middle of the night.
After Cane guards, he woke me up to switch. Then he went to sleep.
Nothing much happened during my switch. Aside from bears that came, but ran away as soon as I released my energy pressure.
I didn't really feel sleepy anymore. But I think I will have to pass on the first mission schedule, in the morning. Probably take a day off.
Plus, killing a dragon as well as the White ranked beast baby, should give me a ton of cash to cover a week's worth of pay.
At least I thought so. If we let the dragon alone, it will eat the White ranked egg and turn into a regular dragon. And if we let the egg alone, it will grow and create an arachnid kingdom. I say we have saved the future from turning into White ranked disasters.
God, these missions are hurting my brain. Since when have I bothered about saving the future?
Afterwards, the sun finally went up. In the end I didn't have to wake up the poor Brian. He already got bitten by a snake. He's lucky it's not venomous.
The sun is finally up. I woke everyone so that we can go back immediately. The first carriage was already gone before dawn, so we had to take the second one.
We both cleaned up our camp area then headed to the village.
I wonder where the dragon ran when we fought it. But I don't have the luxury to check it, and I'm too tired.
The second carriage was about to hit the road before we came. Luckily, there's still enough seats for us. The road will be bumpy like before, but I don't mind. I just can't wait for the day off.
The three chats, but weren't as loud. Seems like they all are still tired.
They even involved me in their conversation.
"Woah. So wait, Rize. Are you actually a Gray ranked??"
Gen asked me when he heard from Cane.
"Yes. Why?"
"Oh... Nothing. It just made me a little inferior as a Purple now."
"Don't be. If I had kept on climbing, I should've been at least a Green by now."
Boohoo. Someone sure is cocky.
"Woah..."
"You know, I too also wasn't rushing for ranks."
"Yeah. Why did you do that, Cane? I knew from before, you could've gotten the Blue rank earlier than anyone. Why did you stay?"
Brian had to ask. He and Gen have been with Cane for the longest time. But it never occurs to him why Cane doesn't bother to take on the ladder.
"I just... Don't feel like I wanted to."
"But you can get even more payment!"
"Well yeah, but I wasn't running this for money..."
"Hehh..."
"Rize. What stopped you from going up the ladder?"
Ah... There's that question again. This time it came from Cane, who is also a fellow ladder dweller. So I guess it's fine to answer.
"Hmm? Well previously, I just thought of it as a drag. But I can see now..."
"See what?"
"... You can fight stronger monsters by getting higher ranks."
"Really..."
Cane expected more from the answer.
Haha, I guess so. Most people didn't want to rank up because they were scared of stronger monsters. But here I am, asking for stronger ones.
"I don't want to fight stronger monsters..."
"Then I'll give you a better reason."
"Which is?"
"You can save people from a much bigger threat as a high ranking adventurer."
The sound of the horse carrying the carriage can be heard, but the cart isn't stopping.
Cane thought about that answer for a while, but then came to a resolution.
"I guess that's true. The higher the rank, the more I can help the people. By killing more stronger monsters..."
Typical heroic behaviour.
"All right then. I guess I will climb the ranks again."
"There is a Blue rank test coming in two days. You can still join."
"Erk-"
"Yeah! You can become a Blue immediately, now that you killed a dragon!"
"Erm, I..."
"Everyone will totally fear you, for you are the dragon slayer!"
"Gen... Not helping here..."
"Why not? Having a title is good for you."
Everyone was pouring oil to the flames. I thought I'd join in.
"How is it any good, Rize?"
"For starters, people will acknowledge your strength. And came to you for assistance."
"That sounds like a drag."
"I know right."
"Wait, Cane-blergh-"
The carriage hit a big hole this time. Brian hit his head on the ceiling while talking and bit his tongue. Gen took out an ice immediately from his ring, and shove it on Brian's mouth.
"Mbleerghh!!!"
"Shut up, or you can get irritated!"
The ride just got interesting.
.
"Tell me, Rize. What does it mean to be a high ranked adventurer?"
I looked at him. He is staring at the road, as do I. Since we are both sitting on the end. He seemed to be really thinking about it.
Gen and Brian are still busy in the back. There wasn't anyone else now.
"It means you are strong. Strong by all means, will, strength, and emotion. The strength to protect, not to harm. That's what it means."
"Hmm. The truth is, all this time... I have been holding back so that I can hang out with them."
He looked at his friends. Gen and Brian are in a very awkward position right now.
"What? What are you looking at!? Please don't misunderstand, I'm only trying to heal his tongue!"
Gen is currently shoving his hand at Brian's mouth. Which looks... Weird.
We both looked at the roads again. It is a ten times better view than what is behind us.
"You can still hang with them. Even as a high rank."
"But there are cases where I will get even busier."
"No you won't. That's all up to you."
"What?"
"Whether you want to take the quest, or whether you choose not to save people. Either way, the Office will send someone. Whether that will be you, or someone else. So it is all up to you."
He processed what I said for a while. Then came to another resolution.
"I guess I will try it. The Blue rank test. Maybe that way I can protect even more people. And still be hanging with them. I don't want to be separated from them."
"True. But there are things you should mind."
"Which is?"
"The higher the rank, the more dangerous the mission. If you wish to still be hanging with them, don't bring them to the dangerous missions. Otherwise, you are dooming them."
It's true. The higher the rank, the more dangerous the enemies. Just now we are fighting an opponent worthy of yellow rank. No, higher, nearly a white rank.
It was pure luck that Cane was actually a ladder dweller, who is as strong as a Yellow ranked adventurer already if you ask me. Otherwise, those two would have already been dead.
Once Cane has access to missions like this, it will be more dangerous for those two. The chances of them getting killed are higher. That is why Cane must think twice before taking them on a high ranked mission.
"Right... I will... Do what you suggested."
"Hmm."
The Mazino Kingdom finally appears on sight. It's still far away, but that's what makes it beautiful. From up close, all we can see are walls.
But from far away, especially from a high place, it's like one of the views you can't miss.
"Okay, that fixed his tongue."
Gen finally reached Cane. He has fully patched up Brian's tongue, which was accidentally severed during the big bump. Thanks to magic, that could've been a very tragic and heartless tragedy. Losing a tongue on a ride. Hilarious.
And just last night he got bitten by a snake. I need to stay away from him, because who knows. His cursed luck can be contagious.
"We are here."
The gate is finally in sight. We are entering through the south-east gate, as usual. Well, not exactly enter with the cart. But more like stepped out from the cart at the gate then walked all the way to the Office.
The four of us walked to the Office together. Brian stopped by to buy a cold drink, maybe to cool his tongue. Or he just wants it. I don't understand that guy.
"That's... Amazing!"
Klane shouted from her side of the table. By the way, we sat at the diner because she wanted to hear the whole story when I said this is going to be a long story.
"When a dragon grows two more wings, it is a mark that they are going to advance to the next level! It also means their danger rank has increased! And a simple lesser dragon alone is already a Yellow. I guess it was right to team you guys up!"
"Haha! No problem, miss! We are the world's best group, after all!"
"Tell me. Who killed the dragon?"
By the way, Jrake is here. He also wished to hear about what happened.
And not just Jrake. More than ten adventurers have gathered around behind Klane and Jrake. Some even sat down at the next table, pretending they weren't listening when clearly they were taking notes. This will go to the news, won't it?
"This guy did."
I pointed my thumb at Cane.
"Eh? But it was a team ef-"
"This guy killed the dragon with one attack. While me and those useless two are just simply distracting the dragon."
""Useless...""
The crowd started to comment between themselves. They even threw some questions and their own marks.
"I guess that's understandable. He is the Green one right?"
"Yeah. The Gray and Purple ranks are probably just distracting the dragon. While he, the Green, killed the dragon."
"But still, for a Green to kill a dragon, that is nuts! It's like he has the ability of a Yellow ranked!"
"That makes more sense!"
The crowd kept on talking to themselves. Jrake looked at me, not believing. But I simply lifted my eyes.
"Wait, a second, Rize! I told you, that was a team effort! If it wasn't for you who-"
"You wanted to protect people, didn't you?"
Cane is protesting, but I had to remind him of his new goal. He has to keep ranking up. Even if it means showing himself to the public.
"Ugh... I mean..."
"Then it's settled! The four of you will receive the prize for slaying a dragon, as well as stopping a spider disaster from happening. But you, Cane!"
She stopped for a while. And she lifted her hand to point at Cane.
"You will take the glory for killing a dragon with one hit!"
"What?!?"
"All hail Light Slayer, Cane!!"
"Wait-!!"
But it was too late. Everyone is already echoing the calling. From now on, Cane will be known as the Light Slayer. That's pretty convenient, since he is a light element user. Plus, he slayed nearly White ranked beasts. He prevented a huge disaster from happening, just within a day!
The people are going crazy from the story. Pretty sure, his name will be on the front page of the newspaper.
He looked at me with a sinister look.
"Don't worry about it, Light Slayer. This is your goal, isn't it?"
"Khh..."
I stood up from my seat. Everyone around is still cheering to a stopped disaster, as well as a new hero from the Green rank.
Jrake saw me left, so he followed me outside.
Klane went back to her receptionist room to take care of the payments. She will be done after a few minutes, then I will go to her.
Meanwhile, Brian and Gen are cheering Cane up. But Cane stopped breathing somehow. Gen gives him a first act push to bring him back to life, while Brian shouts the name Light Slayer, like everyone else.
Outside, Jrake approached me where I stood, next to the door at the right wall.
"So tell me. Did you slay the dragon?"
"Didn't you hear? The dragon was slain by him."
"But why am I feeling that you were letting him kill the dragon?"
I grinned at him.
Jrake always knows how I think. After all, he was the one who took care of me from the beginning. He is already like a father to me.
"Well, there are a lot of reasons. One would be, I simply don't want attention. You know that better than anyone. Otherwise, I wouldn't run around in that dungeon with a mask."
"True. Another reason?"
"Well, he said that he wishes to protect people more. But he can't do it as a simple Green rank. So I encouraged him to take the Blue ranked test, coming soon. This act is simply a way to make people know him. That's all."
"Hmm. You have a good reason. But what about the other two? Aren't they his friends?"
"If you ask me, I would say... They are his biggest weight."
"What do you mean?"
"Jrake, he is strong. Could be stronger than you are. He killed a dragon with one strike. The reason why he wasn't climbing the ranks is because he feared his friends would join him in the higher ranked missions."
"And this would be bad... How?"
"Think about it. What would you feel when you bring a Gray ranked, like me for example, to a Yellow ranked mission?"
"I would feel dumb. Because I will have to protect them and can't focus on the mission."
"This guy isn't like that. He trusted his friends too much. They are as close as a family. One day, he will bring disaster to himself. His friends could die."
Jrake went silent for a while. But I know that he knows it too.
"... I can see that."
I gripped my right arm tightly. Trying so hard not to hit the wall.
"There have been countless tragedies where the low ranks died during high ranked missions. Since then, the high rankers have retired."
"Then, please. Help him. So that his friends wouldn't get killed."
Jrake thought about it for a while. Then he finally came to a conclusion.
"I'll talk to Klane. And maybe we can talk to the Office Master."
"About what?"
"A new rule."
.