Heroic Rank Gathering [Pt 1]

That last blow did it.

~BOOOOM!~

In a rush of wind and unstoppable force, Adonis sprang forth like an ascending meteor. His body became shrouded in brilliant light as he charged straight for the beast.

He ripped into the beast's mouth and burst out through the other end, searing its body with enough pressure to cause blood to splash all over.

By the time he made his triumphant exit, it was already too late.

… The beast was dead.

Blood spilled all over the ground as Adonis stood over the creature's corpse, his tired body hunched over a little in an attempt to display exhaustion.

Despite how wretched he looked, covered in the vile blood of the enemy, he smiled in victory.

"I did it…" He muttered, still feeling the sting of the battle—or, at least pretending to.

Everything was perfectly set up to lead to this moment.

"I really did it!"

*********

"You really surprised me, Sebas." Britta beamed, calling Adonis by his code name.

She handed a potion over to him to help him recover from his injuries, but he rejected it and professed that he would be fine after a long rest.

However, after her insistence—especially with how wretched and borderline miserable he looked—he finally agreed to the potion.

As he took it, Adonis of course felt nothing.

The potion's quality was too low to really do anything to him, and his injuries weren't really caused by the Monster, but through injuring himself with [Grand Light Magic].

He activated his Passive Healing ability, however, and he was good as new in no time.

After the entire fight, the entire arena which was supposed to be the strongest center now looked like a mess.

Melted walls, and shattered floors all filled the area, and it seemed like whoever would clean up the Monster corpse and wipe off the blood was in it for a chore.

Still, that was the problem of the Guild's non-combatant staff. As such, Adonis took his mind off it and focused on the more pertinent issue.

One of which was currently staring at him.

"You did well, Sebas. I could see it, your potential, as I watched you do battle."

As Jet made this statement, Adonis' eyes nearly bulged.

'Potential? Does he have some sort of appraisal Skill?!' He felt his heart race as he wondered if everything he did was in vain.

To make matters worse, Jet proceeded with yet another statement.

"Your true power… remains hidden. I sense great powers within you. Keep up the good work."

Those words sealed the deal for Adonis.

'He knows something! Does he know my true power? Maybe he realized I was faking it…' His heart pounded tremendously.

If that was the case, then it meant Jet was a lot more formidable than he imagined.

He cast his gaze at Lux, who was just silently watching him without saying a word. In a way, she was even creepier than Jet.

He couldn't guess what was on her mind at all.

"Well, since we're done here… shall we leave?" Britta broke the tense silence, and everyone had to agree at that point.

"Y-yeah…"

*********

'Why does he look so gloomy?' Rey wondered to himself as all three of them sat—alongside Britta—as they waited in the Guildmaster's office.

Since Adonis had made the cut, he was also going to be introduced as the newest Heroic Rank Adventurer alongside Jet and Lux.

'I already knew this would be the outcome.' He nodded slowly. 'That's why I thought Adonis would try to be more proactive in his fight so he can properly match up to expectations.'

Of course, that didn't work out the way he thought.

'I even tried to prop him up a little by making him seem stronger than he displayed, but I guess he didn't like that either.'

At this point, Rey decided it was better to prevent any kind of glazing and just leave Adonis to his plans.

"I really apologize for the Guildmaster being so late." Britta broke the awkward silence within the room in no time.

The room they were currently occupying was at least five times larger than Burke's office, and rightfully so.

It belonged to the man at the helm of authority within the Adventurers Guild—and by extension, the entire City—the Guildmaster.

Several skulls, horns, or special body parts of animals were hung on the walls in the office like they were some kind of trophy, and the 6 Star Badge of the Guildmaster was on the table, collecting dust.

It had to have been a while since he reached that rank, and back in his Adventuring days, it must have been a big deal.

As Guildmaster, however, he really had no use for it.

The furniture in the room wasn't particularly exceptional, but it was decent enough—same as the designs and interior decoration.

Despite being the most powerful man in the city, it seemed he didn't really crave the luxury.

'I kinda like that…' Rey smiled and nodded.

"How often does this happen?" Adonis asked Britta. "The Guildmaster being late and all."

She sighed and shook her head in response.

"Every damn time!"

"I see…" Perhaps it was just Rey's imagination, but he saw Adonis smiling as soon as he heard that.

"That's good to know." He added.

~FWIP!~

The door behind them all flung open, and everyone turned—

expecting to see the Guildmaster walk in—but it was someone else entirely.

"Ahh… looks like I'm the last one to arrive."

The voice sounded charming and free, though a bit more mature than what his appearance represented.

It came from a relatively short and young-looking Adventurer whose 6 Star Rank spoke for itself and reinforced how one shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

"Ahh, I forgot you'd be coming too, brat." Britta said as she stared at Noah."

"The name's Sherlock!"

Despite the ensuing drama, Rey was more concerned with the expression Adonis had on his face.

'He's seeing Noah for the first time in a while…' He smiled.

'I wonder what is going on in his mind.'