Raid: The Blacksmith-Chapter 69: Be It An Ant Or A Dragon?: Part Three

"Aaand, voilà. There it is." Said Felix, seated on a chair with a coffee table in front, after typing something or other on a semi-holographic laptop. "Wow. Look at that, three days in and dude already has his own forum. Hell of a fanbase too. If that doesn’t scream super rookie then I don’t know what does."

"So this is the guy who stole all our rewards in that Goblin Dungeon?" Asks Chifala, coming behind Felix from over his right shoulder to peak at what the laptop displayed.

"He’s handsome. Those pictures look like they were taken without his knowledge, yet he looks so good in them. Does the camera just love him?" Says Saika, standing next to Chifala on his right, smirking almost seductively, as if looking at a meal.

"Or the cameraman." Says Felix.

"Heh, nice." Chifala responds as he and Felix fist pump.

"Alright, settle down everyone." Says Ruby while seated to Felix’s left, drinking a warm cup of coffee, not even caring about what the laptop is showing her teammates. "Especially you Saika. Jeez girl." She adds jokingly.

"What, I know what I like is all." Saika responds with a light chuckle. "You’d be drooling too if you saw him."

"Doubtful. I don’t droo-" Before finishing her sentence, Ruby is immediately interrupted by Saika turning the tablet over to her direction. "Uhm..." She pauses. "Okay. Ahem. Well, I guess... He’s... not bad." She utters, seemingly at a loss for words.

"Wow." Exclaims Chifala.

"Ruby, you dog!" Felix follows jokingly.

"Be quite." She says in response to both of them as she sips her coffee while turning the laptop back to face Felix.

"Uhm, I... honestly don’t see what you all see." Chifa, who has been silent this entire time and simply observing finally speaks.

"And I’m thankful for that." Chifala says in response, voicing out his mixed feelings with the thought of his younger sister seeing some guy in that manner.

"Well, in any case, it’s hard for me to buy that this guy is really an F-Rank. There’s no way he would’ve been able to usurp all the monster cores of that Dungeon if that were the case."

"Or he actually is an F-Rank and there’s someone powerful backing him." Chifala responds to Felix’s comment.

It seems like the more plausible explanation, but Felix still sees fit to ask Chifala. "You think so?"

"You said that you think he might not be really an F-Rank. That would suggest that he’s Falsifying his Rank. And with today’s Rank Measures, that’s impossible."

"I agree with Chifala. The more likely scenario is that, there’s a high level Warrior helping him. It’d be impossible for him to clear two Dungeons on his own otherwise, both of which are of a higher Rank than his at that." Says Saika.

"But there’s something I don’t get." All the Silent Wind party members direct their attention towards Chifa after she says that. "What’s the point of having someone stronger clear Dungeons for him just to make people think that he’s stronger than he actually is?" She asks.

The others fall silent. The Cafe they’re at isn’t vacant but the room goes quiet nonetheless. Chifa’s question is valid. Really valid. It just doesn’t make sense. What truly is the point in doing that. Why would Raid do something like that? Neither one of them has an answer.

"It really doesn’t make sense. I can’t fathom a reason one would get someone stronger to clear Dungeons for them just to lead people to believe that it’s them. Seems like it’d bring about more harm than good. However, it’s impossible for anyone to Falsify their Rank in this day and age." Explained Chifala.

"So then. Is this Raid fella really an F-Rank?" Felix joins, his words carrying a somewhat curious and confused tone.

"But if he is. Then how the hell is he able to solo clear Dungeons with such a weak Class. Unless the Class was secretly very powerful and we just didn’t know it." Theorizes Saika.

"There’s no way a Class that potentially powerful would be so easy to obtain." Says Ruby as she then continues. "So then, what if it’s not the Class, but him."

"What...do you mean by that?" Asks Chifa.

"Well...I mean, why are we placing so much importance in a Warrior’s Class, as if the Warrior’s personal capabilities don’t play a role at all?"

The rest of the team pauses in response to Ruby’s rhetorical question. It’s valid. But... wild.

"So you’re saying...that he may very well have skills outside of his Class’s capabilities that allow him to do the things he’s done so far?" Chifala clarifies. None of them have ever considered that possibility. As to why they didn’t, neither one of them has an answer.

"A Warrior who uses his capabilities beyond the powers of his Class to achieve his goals. Interesting." Says Saika. "Whatever the case may be, one thing’s for sure, this Raid guy is obviously only just getting started."

"You said it." Felix agrees. "New update. Says here that he soloed two more Dungeons today." He reports, looking at the laptop.

"What!?" All the others exclaim in unison.

"Yep!" Felix confirms. "Apparently, he cleared a C-Rank, right after clearing a D-Rank just today. And immediately after that, he reported that he was going to a B-Rank Dungeon next."

The gang fall silent once more. Maybe that’s why they’re called Silent Wind.

....

"He’s insane." Saika breaks the silence. "He really is a rookie."

"Agreed." Says Ruby. "He’s drawing way too much attention to himself."

"One might say it’s a little too late to worry about that now but... what if... he’s just... really confident in his skills." Says Felix.

"Hmm..." Ruby mulls. "I guess... we’ll have to wait and see. Whether he comes out of the B-Rank Dungeon with his tail tucked between his legs or with his head held high."

With that, the Silent Wind party members decide to change the topic as they continue to hang out at the Cafe.

*******

It’s crazy to think that it’s only when you’re so despicably close to it that you realise that you were never really afraid of death. Not in the literal sense. Or maybe... Maybe it’s just me. I don’t know. But it’s only now. Only now that I realise, that death in particular wasn’t what I was afraid of all this time, it was simply the idea of it that made me jump. Because, when you think about it. I mean really think about it. Death is... essentially everywhere. It’s only when one is in serious life threatening danger that the idea of death registers. In that moment, reflexes kick in, senses are hightened and the human brain will instinctively try to figure out multiple solutions in an attempt to protect itself... and its host. It’s only now that I realise this. Only now because... I’m about to die.

The loud howl from the animal fills the forest, echoing with purpose. Perfectly invading my earlobes in no kind manner whatsoever. I’m seated helplessly on the ground, while my upper body desperately leans back against the tree behind me, treating it as the only thing preventing it from falling flat down. My eyes are half opened. I can’t muster up the strength to fully open them, and even if I could, my vision’s still blurred by the frozen blood that rests from my forehead to my face so it wouldn’t exactly fix the problem completely, plus it’s not exactly sunny in the morning. Far from it. The black moon light isn’t helping much either. Still, I look to my left, an instinct-driven action, it’s hard to see but the immense pain I feel helps in clarifying for me what condition my entire left arm is in. And that condition is, non-existent, missing. My entire arm, including my shoulder, has been cut off clean. A pool of blood would be pouring out like a faucet, if, that is, what remains of my non-existent arm wasn’t frozen completely. It feels so cold, even outside of my shoulder. Or maybe it’s the air. After all, my foe has the ability to manipulate Ice Elemental Magic. Furthermore, there’s a hole in my stomach. It’s also frozen cold. The ice is reaching all the way to my heart and lungs, so I can’t even breath properly. Then, there’s the fact that my legs are also frozen, their outer skin basically turned to crystalized ice. It’s hard to focus on one pain when your body is agonizing all over. In the midst of all of this, the first thing that comes to mind... is how much I’d really love a cream puff right now.

"Just what did... what in the hell... how in the hell did this... happen?"