Peyton Garner was an A-Rank Spy Class Warrior. An incredibly skilled Warrior with a very...interesting persona. She was very intelligent and very perceptive, but beyond that, she still had a slight naive child-like character to her. It mostly and strongly showed itself when interacting with people she was comfortable with, but the same could be said of her perceptiveness as well. Due to her being a Spy Class Warrior of the Warriors Association, she had to strictly practice the art of hiding in plain sight. So she had to have a cover occupation as a receptionist at the Association, that way, she could still be very close to her job while also maintaining the facade of seeming like a normal human. It was tasking simply having to navigate through all that. She just had to be given another tasking assignment in addition.
"What? A protection assignment?" She asked.
"You betcha." Answered her senior colleague and best friend Melissa, Chadwick Sukala's Secretary as she held a tablet in her hands.
In addition to working under him in the Association, they were both also Chadwick's students once in a Martial Arts School he used to own. So they've known each other for quite a while.
"Remember that F-Rank Warrior you recently registered?" Asked Melissa.
"Oh, you mean Raid?"
"Oh? You even remember his name?"
"He's the world's first F-Rank. Kinda hard to forget."
"Maybe, but you've been working here for years and you still haven't memorized any of the names of the Six Emperors to this day. Forgive me if I'm surprised to see you pay so much attention to one little ole' F-Rank." Said Melissa.
"I....don't know what you mean by that." Her cheeks, unbeknownst to her, turned red. It was fairly visible given her light skin complexion.
"Are you...blushing?" Melissa picked up on it.
"What!? W-why would I be blushing?" She asked in protest.
"Oh my god Pey."
"What?"
"Are you...?"
"What!?"
"You're not...do you actually like that F-Rank Warrior?"
"W-what!? W-what would make you think I like him!?"
"Holy smokes, you really do, don't you?"
"N-no I don't! Shut up! Just tell me more about this assignment already!" Ordered Peyton.
"Alright, calm down there lovebird." Said Melissa.
"I hate you." Declared Peyton. This was something she said a lot to Melissa, they both knew she didn't mean a single word of it and Melissa would always react to it as usual:...
"And I've got nothing but love for you my darling little sister."
"I know. So, just what am I supposed to be protecting him from exactly?" Asked Peyton.
"The Reinhardt Family." Answered Melissa.
"Why would the Reinhardt Family be after him?."
"There's a decent chance he killed Zeke Reinhardt, the Family's third son."
"You're kidding right?"
"Have you ever known me to be a kidder?"
"Yes and in fact a very awful one at that, since you don't even laugh or smile when you kid or make fools out of people."
"We can talk about the awful saddening image you have of me later. Bottom line is, I'm not kidding this time, even though I really wish I was. Here, it's all in this report..." She handed her the tablet she was holding as she added.
"The boss has decided to take Raid's side on this one...says the only reason he'd do what he did, that is if he did do it, would be as an act of self-defence. So here's what you're gonna do. Starting tomorrow, you'll be 'temporarily' assigned to the Registered Warrior Service section of the reception hall."
"Why's that?" Asked Peyton.
"The boss theorizes that Raid might come to sell Mana Crystals, and if he sees you when he does, there's no doubt he'll head on over to your table since you two are, more or less, acquainted."
"I see."
"From then on afterwards, you will follow him, everywhere."
"Oh that's totally not creepy at all."
"Perks of the job, get used to it. You'll make sure no one who looks even a little bit suspicious comes near him and deal with them accordingly. This must all be done without his knowledge, mind you."
"And if he does find out?"
"Then that'd make you a pretty terrible spy."
"Seriously, I really do hate you."
"And I love you with all my heart little sister."
"I know."
*******
"Peyton? What are you-"
~Gasp~
"Ah! You're alive! You're really alive! But...but how? How are you alive!? How's that even possible!? There's a large sword in your chest, are you sure you're even huma..."
She kept rambling something or other, I was hearing her less and less as I began to be lost in thought. It was odd, she was still as beautiful as ever, but the expression she had on her face was a first. Small tears were visible on her eyes, and she was a lot more talkative than before. Far from the calm and collected girl I knew.
"If she's here then that means she was a Warrior this entire time. Is she the one the Reinhardt Family sent after me? That'd suck if it was the case."
"This is bad. It's good that you're still alive but...I don't know what to do right now. Should I contact HQ? Maybe they can send a team of Priest Class Warriors and-"
"Hey, could I ask you for a favour?" I interrupted.
"Ah!...y-yeah, sure. What is it?" She hurriedly answered.
"Could you...pull this sword out for me? I need it pulled out in one go, but I don't have the courage to do it myself."
"Since she's a Warrior, I'm sure she can do it."
"What!? Just pull it out, are you crazy!? This is the only thing that's preventing mass bleeding right now, if I just pull it out, there's no way you'll survive!" She argued.
"If my survival is as important to you as you're making it out to be then you really oughta pull this sword out. I can't exactly explain right now so please just do it, I'm dying over here!" Not really, but still...
"O...o-okay then! When you put it like that, I guess I'll have to trust you. I'm gonna do it now, are you ready?" She asked.
"Impossible, no one can ever be ready for something like this. Just make sure to do it quickly. All in one go, okay?"
"R-right. Here we go then!" And she yanked it out, really put some effort into it, you know. The pain I felt was, in a word, immense.
"Sweeeet mother of all that is holy! That's money maker pain right there!" If it was my heart instead of my right lung, I surely would've died.
"This was indeed risky."
I then looked at Peyton, she was holding a sword that looked almost her size like it was a kitchen knife.
"She really is a Warrior, through and through."
"A-are...are you really okay?" She asked looking incredibly baffled after throwing the sword away. Considering how I was acting despite the mass bleeding and large hole in my chest, her reaction was understandable.
"I will be." I answered as I got up.
I then activated my Resilient Regeneration Skill.
"Finally getting to use this Skill, let's see what it's capable of."
Green Mana enveloped my body. All damages to my body started healing, my lungs, ribs, muscles and skin all went back to normal.
Peyton looked bewildered.
"Is that...a healing spell? I thought only Priest Class Warriors could do that."
"It's not a healing spell, it's a regeneration Skill. I can't use it on other people, just me."
"That's...unheard of. Is that another unknown trademark Skill of the Blacksmith Class." She asked jesterly.
"Uhm...no this is...this is something different I picked up along the-w-wh-why are you here? I mean, I doubt you're the assassin the Reinhardt Family sent after me considering how insistent you were on me not dying. So what...w-what exactly are you doing here?" I asked in curiosity.
"You know that the Reinhardt Family is after you?" She saw fit to dodge my question with one of her own.
"Figures they'd be considering I killed Zeke Reinhardt."
"Whatever, lemme just humour her."
"So you really did kill him." She said.
"Don't act like you didn't already know."
"We....had some suspicions."
"'We'?"
"The Warriors Association."
"And the reason they sent you after me is...?"
"To protect you."
"Finally."
"Well hello. That's interesting, how come though?" I asked.
"The Warriors Association deals with all problems concerning Warriors and Dungeons in a just, righteous and fair manner. The Manager, Chadwick Sukala gathered, from the info we were given about what happened in the E-Rank Dungeon, that if you really did kill the members of the Zeke Party, then you must've done it in self defence, meaning you were innocent. Hence your protection, against the Reinhardt Family specifically, is of great importance." She explained.
"'Sukala', can it be? Old man-Gam's brother that he only told me about once while teaching me about lying?"
"I see." I said in reaction. "I'm flattered though, how high maintenance would one have to be to be assigned an A-Rank Warrior as a protector?" I asked rhetorically while smirking.
"H-how did you know I was A-Rank!??" She asked genuinely while looking surprised.
"My B-Rank Skill couldn't detect you."
"You have a B-Rank Skill?" Crap. Why did I blurt that out so easily?
"Uhh....no?" I said, hoping she'd buy it.
"You literally just said you have one." She did not.
"You must've been hearing things."
"Please stop."
"Rats, of course that wouldn't work."
"Fine, I have a B-Rank Skill."
"Okay." Huh?
"You....don't look as surprised as I thought you'd be." I said in observation.
"I just saw you heal a hole through you chest a while back, so...."
"Good point." It really was.
While she in particular was pretty quick to accept it. An F-Rank having a B-Rank Skill was believed to be... How should I put it? Impossible. Just downright impossible. Warriors can only have Skills up to 3 Ranks higher than their own. And even then, not very many. At least, 1, at most, 3 or 4. Even the number of Warriors who had that privilege was low. I couldn't make heads or tails of why I was an exception of those rules so I simply just ignored it.
"She'd probably react differently though if I told her I have an A-Rank Skill, which I don't believe is impossible to turn to an S-Rank. Difficult, sure, but not impossible. Well it's not like I'd ever tell her about Bladework anytime soon, I mean, I like her, sure, but I still don't trust her enough for that."
"So did you know I was following you the entire time?" She asked.
"Well not the entire time. My senses picked up on your presence about a minute after I entered the Dungeon. They spiked up like crazy and my brain started throbbing. It wasn't necessarily a your-life-is-in-danger type of warning, just a slight heads up. So I used my Skill to try and find out who it was that was watching me, but it didn't detect anything. I knew that meant that either the person who was watching me had an A-Rank Skill-"
"Or they themselves were an A-Rank Warrior." She concluded
"Exactly."
"You were able to pick up on my presence with just your senses, which means that you have A-Rank level senses. Elemental Magic, a regeneration Skill, a B-Rank Skill and A-Rank level senses, I gotta ask. Are you sure you're an F-Rank!"
"As sure as the System is." I answered nonchalantly.
"Speaking of which, haven't you gotten a message about the Quest you just finished?"
"Ah! Right! Thanks for reminding me." I had completely forgotten about it, I then noticed that a message had been hovering next to me for a while now. I checked out it's contents.
[Report. Immediate Quest: Goblin Village Conquest has been completed. Now calculating rewards...]
[Tetrax Skill has advanced from F-Rank to E-Rank. Marid Skill has advanced from F-Rank to E-Rank.]
[Weapon Fanatic's Sub-Skill Bladework's effects on the Subject's Stats have increased. Effect on Strength has increased by 1700. Effect on Speed has increased by 2000. Effect on Health has increased by 1000 and effect on Intelligence has increased by 750. Now redesigning the effects of the A-Rank Bladework Sub-Skill on the Subject...]
A-Rank Bladework Sub-Skill: Effects When Active
• Strength +4000
• Speed +4570
• Health +4260
• Intelligence +6470
[Furthermore, Mana Capacity has increased by 3000. Strength has increased by 1900. Speed has increased by 2000. Health has increased by 1500 and Intelligence has increased by 1000.]
[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 armour as long as the necessary products to do so are present.
• Weapon Fanatic C-Rank: Possesses an expert 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.
• 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 C-Rank: Exponentially increases sensory perception, allows one to spot a large number of weak points in their opponents and see many various hidden secrets of nature.
• Mine D-Rank: Can masterfully mine products and minerals for crafting.
• Item Space B-Rank: Massive space to store equipment, weapons, armoury, 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 C-Rank: Possesses an expert level of mastery in Mana manipulation, through the use of a Dantian.
•• 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 C-Rank: Matured Dantian that acts as the Mana Source of the Subject. Can temporarily increase Subject's Mana Capacity five-fold. Significantly increases Mana manipulation efficiency. Adds 150% extra Mana Capacity when absorbing Mana Crystals.
• Resilient Regeneration D-Rank: Can heal almost all damages to the body, regenerate any body part including organs except for the heart and brain, speed of regeneration is dependent on the scale of damage.
• Hypermove E-Rank: Can increase one's speed drastically through the use of electric Mana. Said Mana also acts as a shield against air resistance.
• Trigon Element King D-Rank: Can manipulate Fire, Wind and Water Elemental Magic.
•• Ifrit E-Rank: Possesses a moderate level of control over Fire Elemental Magic.
•• Tetrax E-Rank: Possesses a moderate level of control over Wind Elemental Magic.
•• Marid E-Rank: Possesses a moderate level of control over Water Elemental Magic.
Rank: F
Level: Locked
Mana Capacity: 27380
Strength: 6290
Speed: 7683
Health: 9084
Intelligence: 10000
[Final rewards are being allocated. Subject has received 691 E-Rank monster cores.]
"What the!?"
"Something wrong?" Peyton asked while looking at me.
"Uhm....no...no, nothing's wrong." I answered.
"Something's definitely wrong." I thought.
"Warriors can't see other Warriors' messages so Peyton isn't seeing any of this right now, but in hindsight though, this...this...really doesn't make any sense. My Mana Capacity is currently twenty-seven thousand plus, but my Rank is still what I officially deemed my least favourite letter in the world yesterday when I chose my Class. F. Friggin' F!"
All Ranks F through SSS have what is called a Minimum and Maximum for their Stats. All Stats excluding the Mana Capacity Stat have the same Minimums and Maximums, namely the Strength Stat, Speed Stat, Health Stat and Intelligence Stat, groupely known as Physical Related Stats. The Minimum of these Stats of a certain Rank, starting from C-Rank whose Minimum is 5000, is five times as much as that of one Rank below, making the Minimum of D-Rank 1000 while E-Rank, being exempt from this relationship, is 700. The Maximum however is one point less than the Minimum of one Rank higher, and this relationship specifically, applies to all Ranks, including E-Rank. While the Minimums and Maximums specifically, of the Mana Capacity Stat are different from those of Physical Related Stats, the relationship between them is similar, the only difference is that, instead of the Minimum of a certain Rank being five times as much as that of one Rank below, it's ten times as much. So to clarify, the Minimum of F-Rank for the Mana Capacity Stat is 2500, making the Minimum of E-Rank 25000, while the Maximum of F-Rank is 24999.
Advancing in Rank, is a method of making sure that all Stats reach the Maximum of your current Rank. If even one of a Warrior's Stats haven't reached their Maximum, then the Warrior's Rank cannot increase. If a Warrior is left with a certain number of Stat Points for one of their Stats to reach its Maximum while the others are still far off and the System grants them more Stat Points than needed for the Stat to reach its Maximum then the extra Stat Points will be terminated and the Stat in question will be stuck at its Maximum until all other Stats also reach theirs. Then there's the Level Stat.
The Level Stat operates on a whole different pattern from all the other Stats. For starters, unlike the others, that continuously increase, it has a reset function. Its Minimum is 1 while its Maximum is 99. When all Stats have reached their Maximum including the Level Stat, your Rank will increase and it will reset back to 1. Hence the Level Stat better represents the difference in strength between Warriors of the same Rank.
"I really should've expected something like this to happen. Considering my Physical Related Stats have constantly been surpassing Rank Maximums, it's a given my Mana Capacity Stat would do the same. I just didn't think much of it because in the first place, as a result of my three year term strenuous training, my Physical Related Stats had already started off higher than average, which is the E-Rank Minimum. Because of that, the Physical Related Stats of F-Rank are unknown. We can theorize the Maximum to be six-hundred and ninety-nine but as for the Minimum, information on it is basically nonexistent. It can't be zero though since normal human peak capabilities, speed, strength and all, have been calculated to be equivalent to fifty-to-seventy Stat Points, so F-Rank Minimum is definitely over one-hundred, as for the exact numeral however, we don't know jack-shit."
I instinctively put all my Mana Crystals in the Item Space as I was lost in thought.
"One thing's for sure, all of this is happening because of my locked Level Stat. Because it acts like a gauge that regulates and measures the strength of a Warrior, the other Stats all piggyback on it when it comes to that aspect. So if it's locked, it's as if it's not even there to begin with, so the other Stats start to operate on a different set of rules, rules that suggest that the absence of a gauge means the absence of a Maximum which thus means the nonexistence of a limit. In conclusion, my Stats will continue to increase, surpassing Maximum after Maximum, ignoring my Rank entirely. And as soon as I accomplish what I need to accomplish in order to unlock my Level Stat, if I had to guess what'd happen then, I'd say that my Stats will operate as if the Maximum and Minimum of whatever Rank they match with at the time are in fact, actually that of F-Rank instead, and as such, will keep advancing like normal from there. With that in mind, it's possible for me to actually surpass the Maximum of SSS-Rank. Something not even the Six Emperors could do. Holy crud! I might just be a cheat character!"
As I couldn't help but salivate at the thought of how bright my future looked, Peyton saw fit to wake me up from my daydreaming.
"You sure you don't wanna be an astronaut?"
"Uhm...no? Why do you ask?"
"You've been spacing out for a while."
"...."
"...."
"Should've added a 'zingo' while you were at it."
"Was is that bad-"
"Yes, yes it was."
"Or maybe you're just a hater. If you wanna talk 'bad jokes', I'd say the award goes to intentionally letting a sword pierce your chest just to catch me."
"Crap, she figured it out."
"I haven't the foggiest clue of what you're talking ab-"
"Don't even try to deny it. I don't care how depleted your Mana was, heck, I don't even buy it was to begin with, but A-Rank level sensory perception should be more than enough to deal with that small fry Goblin."
"'Small fry' she says"
"Excuse me? I'm an F-Rank."
"An F-Rank with A-Rank level sensory perception."
"That's..." I paused as I looked at her face. She bore an extremely serious expression. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't scary. I had fully resolved myself to lie my teeth off but the moment I saw that face, still retaining its beauty yet being devoid of a smile, I chickened out.
"That's...th-that's...that's fair." I said in a stutter.
"Old man-Gam, in the end, your teachings were for not." A single tear ran down my left cheek as I thought that.
"Oh? That's unexpected. I was sure you'd keep denying it. Of course, even if you had, I would've been able to tell with my lie detection Skill anyway."
"Don't take this the wrong way, but you looked incredibly scary there for a se-I'm sorry, did you just say, 'lie detection Skill'?" I couldn't help but stop to ask.
"Huh? Oh yeah, it's called Truth-Seeking Eyes. Among other things, I can tell when someone's lying."
"And you'd just share valuable information like that with a stranger?" I asked.
"Well, you told me about your B-Rank detection Skill, and even showed me your regeneration Skill. So, aren't we even this way? Besides, I don't actually think of us as strangers."
"Oh? Is that why you were crying your eyes out when you thought I had died." I couldn't resist jabbing at her after she said that.
"W-what? Who said I was crying!? I wasn't crying, you were!" She defended herself, very poorly if I may add.
"Why in God's name would I be crying." I asked.
"From...th...the pain?"
"The pain I'm feeling right now is from watching you try so hard to defend yourself."
"Please stop." I said.
"What did they say about payback? Ah, right, it's a bitch."
"Shut up! I was just worried that I had failed my mission is all!"
"Who would cry just because they failed a damn mission?"
"I have a question. Can you tell when you're lying as well?"
"Oh you're very funny."
"I know, you should take some notes."
"...."
"...."
"I hate you."
"That's fair. Anyway, you gonna help me clear this Dungeon or-"
Silent.
~Whoosh~
Invisible.
~Ting!~
Fast.
....
"You could've dodged that." She said.
"Why fret when I have such a strong and dependable protector at my side?" I said rhetorically.
"Forcing a beautiful woman such as I to do the handy work. Aren't you pretty shameless." She said as she chuckled.
"Call it apart of my charm."
"You're awful."
Her hand was but a few centimetres the side of my neck. Her fingers held a small needle that dripped a transparent viscous fluid. She had moved faster than anything I'd ever seen before, faster than even me at top speed, to catch the needle, preventing it from sticking into my neck. She was right in saying that I could've dodged it but I wanted to see the skills of an A-Rank firsthand so I took a gamble. It was either; I'd get hit by the needle and regret it like shit afterward, or, I'd get to witness the spectacle of a high-Ranking Warrior's capabilities and I must say, it payed off wondrously.
After seeing her in action, I had but a single thought cross my mind.
"She's stronger than me." It was modifying to say the least. She had me outclassed in all Stats. I doubted I'd be able to defeat her the same way I did the Zeke Party. I knew that, yet still, I couldn't help but be excited.
"I really wanna fight her." But if I did that, I'd need to use all my Skills outside of Mine, Craft, Repair and Improve.
"So this is what an A-Rank Warrior is capable of. I was a fool to think I was a match for these monsters just 'cause I had one A-Rank Skill. But, with my current strength, I'm still sure I won't lag behind. Now then, just who in the hell threw that needle?..."
Both Peyton and I looked to the direction where the needle came flying from, as she threw it away.
Her guard was up 110%, and so was mine.
"Show yourself." She uttered.
A hooded figure with a mask then emerged from behind a tree, dressed in all black.
"How intriguing. I didn't expect the target to have an acquaintance." They said. It was obvious to the both of us who they were.
Peyton stepped forward.
"You must the assassin the Reinhardt Family sent after Raid."
"That I am."
"You agreed to that pretty easily."
"Considering you're going to die here, I figured that much information wouldn't hurt."
I then joined in on the conversation.
"You're gonna kill us both? I would've thought the Head of the Reinhardt Family would wanna see his son's murderer face to face before killing him."
"Oh, please don't misunderstand. I'll kill the girl, but you are definitely coming back with me. Alive."
"Well he seems pretty confident."
"That's because he's got the strength to back it up." Praised Peyton.
"Can you beat him?" I asked.
"Of course I can." She answered matter-of-factly.
"I'll be counting on you then."
"Wouldn't have it any other way." She said as she started approaching the hooded figure.
"Judging by your clothes and manner of fighting, you must be one of the Twelve Guardian Shadows of the Reinhardt Family." She added.
The hooded figure looked taken aback.
"You, how do you know about the Twelve Guardian Shadows? That's top secret information, only direct members of the Reinhardt Family should-"
"Oh c'mon now. You can't really tell me that you're that surprised. I work for the Warrior's Association, our information gathering is second to none. No other organisation, be it a Guild, Family, or both, can rival us. You should know that much, shouldn't you?" She poked, smirking ever so sinister-like. It did the job. The guy looked really pissed when she said that.
"I must say." He said trying to keep his composure. "This is....unexpected. I have no choice but to kill you now. After that I'll have to report this to the Great Lord. It seems the Warrior's Association is hellbent on protecting the target. And here on I thought you guys were neutral."
"We side with what we believe is right. How can we be neutral when the other side is the clear villain?"
"Oh? She's good." I thought. Honestly speaking, part of me wanted to fight the assassin myself, but a bigger part of me, the childish little boy in me that is, really wanted to see what a fight between two high-Ranked Warriors looked like.
"What are the Twelve Guardian Shadows?" I asked Peyton in curiosity.
"Just as the name suggests. They're twelve secret protectors of the Reinhardt Family. All of them are A-Rank Assassin Class Warriors and only the Reinhardt Family's direct members are aware of their existence, well excluding us of course." For some reason, she seemed really happy to just share top secret information like that with little ole' me. See now this is why I like this girl.
She then readied herself afterwards. I took that as a signal and moved back. I doubted I needed to help. I doubted she'd want me to. The Assassin got ready too.
It was on.
"Damn, I wish I had popcorn right now."