We walk down the stairs on the right as we head to the surface of the Floor.
"Alright Raid. Time to get you acquainted." Says Peyton as we come down the stairs and start walking around the Lobby.
"Since you'll be working here from now on. We'll introduce you to some of our most notable colleagues." Adds Melissa.
"Sounds good. Lead the way." I say in agreement.
They take me to the fountain situated in the center of the whole space, and to the seating arrangements around it.
"Hey Gura, you busy?" Says Peyton.
~Sigh~
"Exhibit A, I am currently seated in quite the comfortable position with an earphone plugged in one of my ears. Exhibit B, even though a considerable number of seconds have passed since you've approached me, I haven't looked at you once. And finally, exhibit C, instead of you, what I've been focusing all my attention on is my tablet as I attempt to go through all this annoyingly humongous data about Project you-know-what. You tell me if you think I'm busy or not." Such are the words of the man who sits before us. There's a handbag placed next to where he's sitting as he's holding his tablet. He's dressed in an all-black tuxedo and looks to be in his late twenties. Much like myself, he's black, and looks a few inches taller than me.
"You know, you could've just said ''Yeah, I'm really busy Peyton, what do you need?''. I don't think it would've been that hard."
"Haah… Yes, I'm really busy Peyton. What do you need?" He says as he finally looks up. "Oh? I've never seen you before." He adds noticing me.
"Yeah. That's what we came here to talk to you about." Says Melissa. "This is Raid. Our newest recruit."
"And also your new superior." Adds Peyton as she smirks.
"Excuse me?" Gura replies, looking a tad confused.
"Oh yes." Peyton sees fit to rub salt on the wound.
"How the hell did that happen?"
"It just did. Tell me Gura. How does this make you feel?"
"What is she, a therapist?"
"I feel…a-absolutely nothing. This doesn't bother me at all." Says Gura with his eyes closed and a very thin smile on his face. Looks a bit forced.
"Really? I find that a little hard to believe considering that large vein popping on your forehead." Peyton replies condescendingly.
"Vein? What vein? I don't see any vein." There is a vein. But I decide not to say anything about it. The guy has enough to deal with, what with Peyton all up in his business. Sadly, my attempt to give Gura a break doesn't really amount to much of any change. It's only after what Peyton says next that I'm reminded of her backup.
"Well I quite clearly do. What do you think, Melly?" That backup is Melissa.
"Welp, I tried Gura, I really did."
"Hold on, lemme see." Melissa closes in and starts to attentively look at Gura's forehead. "Oh yeah, that's a legit vein, alright." She adds while Gura just quietly sits there, his tablet on his lap as he slowly crunches his fist.
"While I don't think he can. I'm pretty sure he would if he could." I think as I watch him. Finding it incredibly hard not to pity him.
"… Both of you can go to hell. Together at that since you deserve each other." He says, looking very annoyed.
"Aw… Such a nice thing to say." Replies Peyton with a bright smile. It's fake. We all know it's fake. We can all tell it's fake.
"I know, right. He really is the sweetest." Adds Melissa with her own signature thin but genuine looking smile. Also very much fake.
"Looks like this duo does more than just giving Uncle Chadwick migraines."
I look at Gura. He looks back at me. He then gets up from his seat after putting his tablet in his handbag and carrying it over his shoulder.
"Raid, huh?" He says. "Allow me to properly introduce myself, since these two are obviously doing a terrible job of that. The name's Gura. Nice to meet you…" He extends his hand out to me.
I respond in kind and give him a handshake. "Gura, ey? Pretty weird name, don't you think?"
"You really think so, Raid?"
"Heh… Touché." We share a small laugh.
"So you're my superior from now on, huh?"
"Seems like it. That's gonna be a problem for you, I take it?"
"I may come to terms with it if you're not anything like these two." It doesn't take a Sherlock to figure out who he's talking about. The 'two' in question just stare at us blankly. Attempting to look innocent I'm guessing.
"And if I told you I'm worse than them?" I reply while smirking.
"Then I may have to consider my resignation."
I find it excruciatingly difficult to hold myself from laughing after he says that. But I succeed and manage to bust out only on the inside.
A certain someone then replies in protest. "Hey now, don't say that. You know we'd miss you if you left." It's Peyton. "Not to mention, there aren't that many A-Ranks out there who can analyze information as good as you do."
"Oh, is that his job?" I ask.
"Yeah." Answers Melissa. "He's our Chief Information Analyst. Analyst is also his Class and he's one of the best there is among the A-Ranks."
"Nice." I say in admiration.
"There's a worldwide shortage of Warriors of the Analyst Class. People neglect it almost as much as they did the Blacksmith Class. There's more Classes like it out there too. Classes that seem like they won't bring about many benefits if chosen. Seeing an Analyst of such a high level is really refreshing to say the least. It's good to know there's at least one person who values the importance of information to that extent."
"Well! Now that that's outta the way. We should get going." Says Peyton. "There's other more important people Raid needs to meet you se-"
"Say no more." Gura interrupts, ignoring Peyton's attempted jab at him. A small part of me admires that. "I'm just happy to get rid of you." He then adds, waving us off while smiling. It doesn't look fake. He must be really happy to get rid of us.
"Or at least, just these two."
"We'll miss you too Gura." Says Melissa, not even trying to hide the sarcasm as we leave.
"Please don't." Gura replies.
Both the girls giggle as we walk off. We stroll around the lobby for a bit. I'm introduced to a few more Warriors B-Rank and below, and even a few more A-Ranks.
After some time, we end up leaving the lobby as we take one of its elevators and head back to the 14th Floor. As we walk around the halls, I feel that a significant amount of time has passed so I ask Melissa to show me what time it is. She checks her watch and shows me.
"Looks like it's getting late." I say in observation. "I oughta get going then."
"Uhm 'get going' where, exactly?"
"Where else? Home obviously. Y'know, the place where I live." I answer Peyton's question. Rather perplexedly if I may add as we all stop walking and continue talking instead.
"Yeah, not gonna happen buddy." She says.
"Excuse me?"
"You have a target on your head, remember?" Melissa joins. "As such, we can't let you go outside of this building alone."
"You seem to be forgetting that I'm 'a tad' extremely capable of handling myself."
"And you seem to be forgetting that out there is no simple sparring match with rules or whatever. It's life or death. And you won't just be fighting one A-Rank but at least eleven or more of them."
"Don't even get us started on the Family Head Andrew Reinhardt himself who's S-Rank." Adds Melissa to Peyton's statement.
"Or his first son and only daughter who are also S-Rank." Says Peyton.
"Or his Vassal Families' Heads who are all A-Rank." Says Melissa.
"Holy smokes, they're teaming up!"
They really are.
"Look…" Peyton grabs on to my shoulder. "You're strong Raid. You really are. That's no secret. But you're nowhere near a level where we can afford to not worry about you right now."
"The Twelve Guardian Shadows of the Reinhardt Family have no names, so the Warriors Association assigned them codenames to tell them apart. The one Pey killed was codenamed 'Adder', and he's by far the weakest out of all of them."
I'm a tad bewildered by what Melissa tells me. Regardless of how easily Peyton dealt with him, that Warrior was incredibly skilled.
"If he was the weakest link out of all twelve, then the Shadows must be bigger monsters than I initially thought."
"Even I would have a hard time taking on their nine strongest all at once, any more than that would be overkill and…no offence Raid…but as it stands, you're nowhere near my level yet." Peyton's eyes glow a black light as she says that. The serious tone in her voice running shivers down my spine. Her right hand which was placed on my shoulder before, now removed, forming a clenching fist. Her body radiating an intense and overwhelming aura. She's not kidding.
"Yeah… I already know that. You don't need to tell me. Even back then, I sensed it. When I was fighting Melissa. Sure I may have held my own, but I could tell, what she showed me was far from what she is truly capable of. Her full power. She was holding back. Probably for my sake. Of course Peyton noticed. What with those eyes of hers. As it stands, I'd say I'm a tad stronger than the average A-Rank. But these two. These two I'd wager are quite easily two of the strongest A-Ranks in the world. Still though…"
"That may be true…"
"If I wanna have even a snowball's chance in hell at reaching their level…"
"But…"
"Then it's times like this…"
"I can't…"
"That I should stand my ground!"
"Back down!" I declare. "Not now…not ever."
My statement echoes throughout the hallway, slightly surprising both Peyton and Melissa.
~Sigh~
Peyton sighs.
"So stubborn." She says with both her hands placed on her hips.
"Oh my. I wonder who that reminds me of." Melissa says with her right hand placed on her jaw while turning her head sideways.
"Shut up, you." Peyton fires back.
"Okay, how about, this, Raid…" Says Melissa. "Why don't you at least wait until the boss comes back with your official Dungeon Exploration Permit before you go?"
"Why does part of me feel like you just wanna get the old man in on this so that all three of you can team up against me?"
"Probably because that's exactly what I'm trying to do."
"The heck!? She's not even trying to deny it, she's just straight up admitted it! How ironically ballsy of her… Still… It's not like this back and forth I've been having with Peyton is gonna get me anywhere so, might as well play along for now. If I see a chance to escape the clutches of these people, I'm definitely taking it."
"Okay." I say begrudgingly. "Guess I don't have much of a choice on this one."
"Great-"
"No, not great at all-"
"In the meantime. Pey, what do you say we take Raid to meet a very interesting person?"
"Hm?"
"Who did you have in mind?" Peyton asks Melissa.
"Why Sakura of course."
"She's here? Since when?"
"She arrived just today actually, around the same time you came back from the Dungeon. 'Bout thirty minutes before if I'm not mistaken. Come on. If I know Sakura and trust me I do, she's probably in her favorite Training Room, Training Room 19. Let's go see her."
"Yeah we're not doing that." Says Peyton nonchalantly.
"Huh?" Melissa says with a confused tone. "Why not?"
"Just…" Peyton pauses and looks up for some reason. "… No."
"Hmm… Could it be because…you feel threatened by her?" Queries Melissa.
"Huh?" I'm quite obviously bewildered by that idea. "Someone who can make Peyton feel threatened? I can't think of anyone other than an S-Rank or above. Just who is this walking tyranny they call Sakura?!"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Peyton replies to Melissa, folding her arms.
"Hey don't worry. I'm sure Raid is not that kind of guy."
"Uhh what?"
"Right Raid?"
"Uh… Yeah. Right. Sure thing."
I answer Melissa's question amidst my confusion without even thinking.
"Hold on. Just what the heck do I have to do with this?"
"Okay so what exactly is wrong with this Sakura person?" I ask.
"Oh nothing really." Melissa answers. "She's just this S-Rank Warrior…"
"Called it."
"But that's not what's bothering Pey right now."
"Huh? It's not?"
"You see… Sakura has a…biiiiig personality." She says as she waves her arms outwards. "If you know what I mean."
"I…I don't…think that I do, but…but I…oddly feel like I should..."
"Well, you'll see once we get there. See it's because of this big personality that Pey is so against going to see her. Because you're here and all. Because she likes yo-"
Before Melissa could finish speaking, a figure appears. From absolutely nowhere. So fast that both me and Melissa couldn't see her coming. It's Peyton. Her right hand on Melissa's mouth preventing her from talking. And her left around Melissa's neck, scarily seemingly capable of snapping said-neck in an instant. She then smiles as she looks at me.
"Yoghurt." She says. "She was about to say I like yoghurt. It's my favorite. Right, Melissa?" That oddly terrifying smile of hers grows wider as she looks at Melissa.
Melissa then nods her head in agreement. Seems a bit forced.
"Well, I'd be lying if I said I knew what yoghurt has to do with anything at all that we discussed about, but hey. Whatever."
"Uhm…okay." I say. "Well… I mean. Y'know… Yoghurt's nice."
"Isn't it?" Says Peyton with a smile.
"Yeah… Th-the best."
"Totally-ah…?"
"Hm?"
What has my and Peyton's attention right now, is Melissa. She's grabbing Peyton's hands as they're wrapped around her mouth and neck.
"Uhm…Melly? What are doi-IIIIING!!?"
Before Peyton even finishes her question, Melissa takes off. She runs at an incredible speed with her little sister's arms wrapped around her neck as she's dangling like a ragdoll from behind her.
"WHOOOOA! OKAY, OKAY! I'M SORRY! PLEASE JUST LET ME DOWN ALREADY!"
"Nope. You asked for this." Melissa rejects Peyton's plea as she continues running.
"Should I follow them?" I follow them.
"WHEN DID I EVER ASK FOR THIS!?" Shouts Peyton.
"Don't be such a baby, we're almost there." Says Melissa.
I finally catch up to them. "And just where exactly is 'there'?"
"Here's 'there'." She says.
~Screech!~
A loud screeched is heard through the hallway as we stop running, our shoes sliding against the floor.
"You're quick on your feet. I didn't even tell you where we were headed and yet you stopped around basically the same time I did." Says Melissa as she turns to look at me. Peyton only barely hanging from her. She looks out of it, so I decide to snap her out of it, literally.
"Thanks."
~Snap~
I reply to Melissa as I snap my fingers close to one of Peyton's ear. She instantly gets up and looks at Melissa. "You..." Even a blind man could tell how unhappy she is. A suffocating aura is radiating from her entire body. It feels like it could instantly kill anyone below A-Rank.
"Oh come now. Lie to me and say it wasn't a little bit fun."
"Urgh… Seriously, I hate you so much it hurts."
"And I love you so much it kills."
"I know."
…
I take a look around where we stopped. In front of us was a Training Room, labeled 'Training Room 19'.
"So this is where this Sakura is?" I ask.
"If it isn't here, I couldn't tell you where." Melissa answers. "Come on, let's check it out." She takes the lead as she opens the doors and Peyton and I follow her inside.
We're met with quite the scene as we enter the room. It's much like the one I fought Melissa in. One large arena, seating arrangements on two sides and a large set of varying weapons on one side. The only difference this time, is that there's a person in the middle of the arena. She's training all by her lonesome. Her hands, each wielding a uniquely designed blade. They look familiar, like I've seen them once before. What's really eye catching however, is the woman herself. She's beautiful, really beautiful. Her gorgeous emerald eyes shining even from a fair distance away. Her luminescent bright pink hair, long enough to reach her lower abdomen, dancing in the air as she moves. Her pale skin glistering in the light. Bewitchingly so at that. Her mature body, an hour glass shape, even more so visible with the clothes she's wearing. They're the same as the ones I wore when I fought Melissa, but they look way better on her. As for her movements, they're masterful. Her duel wielding skills far exceed mine, I can tell this from a single glance.
"Beauty wise, she's without a doubt on the same level as Peyton and Melissa. But strength wise, they don't even begin to compare."
An S-Rank, through and through.
Melissa then walks towards the arena, followed by Peyton and then me.
"Hey Sakura. You busy?" She says.
"Hm?" Sakura stops to look. "It's Melly. Oh and Pey-Pey too? Hehe, come on, you know I'm never too busy to see you two!" She says as she runs towards them. Leaving her blades on the arena's surface. She then jumps on them as they both catch her. "I missed you guys so much! What are you doing here? Did you come here to see me because you missed me too? Aw, that's so sweet!" She rambles on as she snuggles both Peyton and Melissa.
Three beautiful girls hugging each other.
"I won't lie, that's adorable."
"Hm?" Sakura pauses as she notices me. "Oh, who's the cutie?" She asks.
"Cutie?"
"Cutie?"
"Well. While it's no secret that Raid is indeed incredibly cute-"
"I am?"
"Please refrain from saying that out loud when Pey's around, okay Cherry?" Says Melissa.
"Didn't you basically just say the same thing just now? What's up with that anyway?"
"Oh…so it's like that, huh?" Sakura asks.
"Yes. Exactly like tha-urk!" A hand's placed on Melissa's neck.
"Urk!" And so is it on Sakura's.
They're Peyton's hands. Her face is laced with an intent to kill. I doubt there's anything that can stop her from going through with it. Her eyes are glowing a black light.
"Truth-Seeking Eyes!"
"Hold on, Pey-Pey! You've activated your most powerful Skill!? Y-you're not gonna do anything right!?" Sakura asks with slightly teary eyes.
"Looks like she's about to cast Revela A Sheol." Says Melissa.
"Hold on! Isn't that her last resort Spell no one alive has ever seen!? The one that can kill even S-Ranks in an instant!?" Sakura wails.
"She has something like that!?"
"Yes. Yes it is." Says Melissa.
"You gave me no choice. I have to do this now… You two only brought this upon yourselves. To you the Spirits of Light are but nourishment. A feast meant to quench your insatiable hunger…"
"She's doing a great job at sounding like an overpowered MC who's finally been pushed over the edge right now. She's even already started chanting that Spell of hers they're talking about. And I thought she was plenty scary before. I see now that I had no idea."
"Welp… It was fun while it lasted." Says Melissa closing her eyes,
"How are you so calm about this!? We're about to die y'know!" Sakura cries out.
"Death at the hand of my little sister. Doesn't sound so bad."
"You've always been insane. H-hey, hey new guy!" Sakura says as she looks at me. "Raid, right? C-could you please help me out here!?" She begs.
"Sorry sister, I'm honestly scared of that woman." I say slowly backing away.
"P-please! I-I don't wanna die like this!"
"Yeah no shit! Me neither! Who the hell does!?"
"Haah." But I cave regardless. "Let's see…how do I do this?"
"Oh…that could work. Hey Peyton…"
"Yeah?" Peyton looks at me.
"Remember how you said that blade of mine is better than your knives?"
"Of course. That blade was a work of art."
"Well, then. If you let these two live. I'll make you two new knives as awesome as First Dawn."
"Eh? ...promise?"
"Promise."
"…alright then!" She says as she lets both Melissa and Sakura go.
"Haah. Sweet release!" Sakura sighs heavily.
"Meh. Makes no difference to me." Says Melissa.
"Yeah, no one asked you…hm?" Sakura then looks at me. "You really did me a favor there, new guy. I don't know what the whole knives thing was about but, thank you!"
"Hmph! …uhm?"
"Sorry! I'm a hugger." She is in fact hugging me.
"And I'm a total stranger." I say.
"Any friend of these two is a friend of mine!" She replies.
"You don't say."
"Now that I've gotten a closer look at her, she really does have a 'biiiiig personality', considering my head is basically buried in it as we speak."
"I see what you meant back there now." I say looking at Melissa.
"Told you." She replies.
Sakura looks a bit confused. Not surprising. It's basically an inside joke at this point. Peyton however isn't confused. She just looks slightly irritated.
"Okay, you can stop hugging him now." She says.
"Oh right… Sorry. Hehe." Sakura lets me go.
"Haah… Seriously." Says Peyton scratching her head.
"It's odd though. I still don't get why Peyton felt threatened by Sakura. She seems cool and it looks like all three ladies get along just fine and don't care at all about all that Warrior hierarchy bullshit. Besides, Peyton has a special Spell that can kill even S-Ranks, apparently. So then, is it really the so called 'big personality' she's so threatened by? I didn't think Peyton cared about that kinda stuff, but I guess…if a certain part of my body that will not be mentioned was a tad smaller than some random guy's, I'd probably not be okay with it. But I'm confident in my size so it's no big deal…or should I say no small deal. Heheh. Anyway, same goes for Peyton. In my view, hell I think she's got it going on, but I guess a woman would have a different perspective on the matter than I."
The girls have begun chatting among themselves and catching up while I'm lost in thought.
"I should try to comfort her." I think.
I then walk up to Peyton and tap her shoulder.
"Hey, don't worry…"I say. "You're still young, I'm sure if you give it time, your chest will grow into a size you can be proud of." I finish with a thumbs up and a smile.
"Nailed it."
....
The room falls quiet. Everyone's looking at me with jaw dropped expressions. Well, everyone but Peyton. She's just looking down.
"Hey Melly?"
"Yeah Cherry?"
"Tell me new guy didn't just tell Pey-Pey not to worry about her chest size."
"I can't do that, Cherry."
"Why not, Melly?"
"Because that's exactly what new guy just said."
"What's up? Did I say something wrong?" I ask both Melissa and Sakura.
"Uhm… What is wrong and what is right, really?" Says Sakura.
"Can we truly say we know if a line has been crossed?" Adds Melissa.
"After all, we are but simple humans."
"Merely following the whims of the universal forces that govern our reality."
"What is this, Philosophy Class?"
"What is up with you two-"
"Do you really mean that?"
"Hm?"
"Do you really mean what you just said?" Peyton asks as she looks at me.
"Uh…yeah of course."
"Really? …then…thanks a lot!" She says with a bright smile.
"Whoa, she's not mad."
"Of course not, it's because it's him." Melissa replies to Sakura.
"Huh? What's me?" I ask.
"Wow… Seems like it's true what they say about handsome guys after all." Says Sakura.
"The heck she talking about?"
"Hey Raid?" Melissa calls.
"Yeah?"
"Could you trust me well enough to tell me your Intelligence Stat?"
"You think that's why?" Sakura asks.
"I guess it's not a problem since it's gonna change anyway… It should be above fifty-thousand by now." I answer Melissa.
"Then that proves it. It's definitely the handsome guys thing." She says.
"I see, so the new guy's a B-Rank, ey?"
"F actually." Peyton answers Sakura.
"Huh?"
"Raid's actually an F-Rank." Melissa joins.
"Uhm…but he said his Stats are-"
"Yeah he's apparently pretty broken like that."
"Hey! Rude." I lash out at Melissa's comment.
"Come on guys… You really expect me to believe that he's a Blacksmith Class!? The first one in history!?"
"Yes! That's exactly what we expect you to believe!" A yell echoes through the room from a distance, responding to Sakura's question. We all look to the direction it came from. From near the room entrance, a man approaches. He's clad in a pure white suit and a black tie and shoes. From his face alone, one could easily tell that he has lived for quite the number of years. However, his posture, the way he walks, his entire physique is toned to perfection. A presence that demands respect. A strong and firm build, as if he's physically capable of damn near anything. This is the Manager of the Niger Branch Warriors Association. This is…Chadwick Sukala.
"Uncle Chadwick." I respond.
"Sir." Melissa follows.
"I went through quite the trouble to find you three. Part of me did however briefly expect you two to take Raid to see Sakura since she only just came back recently from her mission. And of course, where else would she be if not her favorite Training Room?" He says as he approaches us.
"Goodness. Am I really that predictable?" Says Sakura.
"More than you know." Chadwick answers.
"Hey-"
"Now then, Raid. Catch." He throws a small object at me.
I catch it and look at it, the three ladies peeping from behind me.
"A card." I say.
"You're looking at your new Warrior ID. Behind it is an official permission statement with my signature on the bottom."
It looks a lot like my previous Warrior ID, only a lot fancier and with additional info. The first being the statement 'Permitted to explore all Dungeons up to S-Rank' with what I assume is Chadwick's signature on the bottom in the back of the card, the second being my 'Affiliation' in the front which read 'None' before and the third being my 'Position' coming under 'Affiliation', which wasn't even present before but now is and reads 'Solo Correctional Officer'.
"Correctional Officer?" I ask.
"Yeah, it's more of an alias really, a mask for your actual position. The true name of your position is Solo Disciplinary Officer…" Chadwick answers. "Much like Sakura here, you're a member of the Disciplinary Committee now."
"What!?" All the girls and I say in unison.
The Disciplinary Committee.
"So it is real."
Ten years after the Warriors Association was established, which was five years after the start of the Great Age of Warriors, an anonymous rumor leaked on the internet. It was about a task force, an elite team of highly skilled Warriors that work directly and solely under the Managers of the Warriors Association. It said that each Branch of the Association across the entire world had a special secret team comprised of only S-Rank Warriors and that there were a hundred of them in each team, not to mention the fact that they only took orders from their Manager, meaning that even though all Association Managers are of the same rank, members of a Disciplinary Committee of a certain Branch have the right and privilege to disobey any orders not given to them by their direct Manager.
"The Disciplinary Committee deals with the roughest and toughest of missions where all else fails. Discounting the Eighteen Generals and Six Emperors of course. When a considerable number of Warriors have died in a particular Dungeon, they're the first to deal with it. However, their true purpose, as the name entails, is to discipline Warriors when it calls for it. It wouldn't be a stretch to call them the spear of the Warriors Association. With that in mind, their main enemies, are Dark Warriors. Warriors that fight and kill other Warriors just to get stronger."
At least, that's the idea the rumor from many years ago gave us. Of course, the Warriors Association denied this rumor, calling it simple click-bait, but a lot of people weren't so easily convinced. Among other things, a large number of Dungeons being cleared around the world without anyone knowing who did it acted as a crutch to people's skepticism for the many years that followed. Overtime however, that stopped. Every time a Dungeon got cleared, people knew who it was, the only thing that was left worth noting was the fact that some of the Warriors wore masks, but people easily dismissed it as just some Warriors being mysterious and not wanting to show people their faces.
"Though, it was probably them. Most, if not all those 'mysterious' masked Warriors were probably members of the Disciplinary Committee. Only a select few people around the whole world are sure of their existence it seems. And this old man now wants me to be a part of them? As a solo act at that?"
"Is that even possible?" I ask. "A Solo Officer of the Disciplinary Committee?"
"Oh yeah. With a Manager's authority, just about anything is." Chadwick answers with a sinister looking smile on his face.
"Seriously. This old man." I can't help but chuckle internally.
"Heh." And externally as well. "Alright, then I won't complain…but uh…what do I do with my old ID now that I have this new one?"
"Toss it." He says.
"Why?" I ask.
"It's about to self-destruct."
"What! O-oh my god." I panic as I take my old ID out and throw it away.
"Hahahahahah!" Chadwick laughs. "Hahah-hah! Y-you should've seen your stupid face, heheheheheh."
"Seriously?"
"Yes." He says as he continues laughing.
"Well, he's officially a part of the fam now." Says Peyton.
"I'm guessing he's done this to you guys too?"
"Yes, unfortunately." Melissa answers me.
"What a mean old man."
Safe to say, the card has not exploded. That is until Chadwick conjures out a small ball of fire the size of a button and launches it at the card as it immediately turns to ashes.
"… It's nothing like my Ifrit Skill. His control is second to none. The purity in the Mana around it alone is mind boggling… Incredible. Even from such a small act, it's clear who the stronger S-Rank is between him and Sakura."
I can't even begin to figure out what his Class is.
"Now then, lemme explain your position in detail. Because your overall power is still around only that of an A-Rank, we won't be sending you out on any of the same missions as the other members of this Branch's Disciplinary Committee. Don't worry though. That doesn't mean you're below them. I, Melissa and 'certain someone' are still the only ones who'll be giving you your orders."
"Would you please stop calling me that!?" 'Certain someone' yells.
"Fine." Says Chadwick in response. "Anyway…last but certainly not least. When you're not on a mission, you're free to explore any Dungeon of your choosing. And I mean 'any'. Like all other high ranking employees here, you've got clearance to go to any other Branch using the big teleportation device found on the 20th Floor. Every time you visit other Branches, you'll be supplied with all that you need as long as you show them your ID."
"Okay, got it."
This is me on the outside.
"Holy fuck! This is freaking awesome! This is by far the best thing that's ever happened to me as a Warrior!"
And this is me on the inside.
But they don't need to know that.
"Great." Says Peyton. "Now that that's done. Sir, could you please explain it to Raid why we can't let him leave?"
"You wanna leave?" Chadwick asks me.
"Well I can't exactly live here forever."
"True. But we also can't let you go out there alone. Even Peyton would have a hard time if say nine of the strongest Twelve Guardian Shadows ganged up on her. Any more than that could be overkill." He says.
"Exactly! That is quite literally what I told him." Says Peyton
"Yeah it's weird, even the number they estimated is the same."
"At least, if you have to leave. Then we might be a little more relaxed if Peyton were to join you."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
Peyton, I, Melissa and Sakura, in that exact order, can only respond as such to Chadwick's statement.
"Follow me everywhere? Guard me twenty-four seven!? You can't be serious." I say in disagreement.
"C'mon. What's wrong with that?"
"Forget the fact that you're even genuinely asking me that question. I mean, for starters I-eh-?…" I'm stopped mid-speech by an old man's hand placed in front of my face. His other hand is on the back of his ear.
"Hm… Looks like an urgent message. Hold on…this might be the window I've been waiting for!"
"Yeah?" Chadwick utters. Not towards us, but towards whoever's on the other end of the call through the communication device on his ear. "Right now? …....all of them? Urgh, a Manager's work is never done, I see….... No I mean just me dumbass, you don't do nearly half the work that I do.... Whatever jerk, we'll be there in ten. Later kiddo." He says as he removes his hand from his ear.
"Haah." He sighs. "Change of plans. Girls, we need to leave. Austin and the others are done going through the report Sakura gave me on Project X. A meeting's been called. Melly, I'm gonna need you to contact Gura for me and Raid…" He looks at me, a tad exhausted. "I guess you're free to go."
"Aw man. And here I thought I'd get to stay just a little bit longer, but hey, what are you gonna do? Duty calls-"
"Yeah quit the bullshit act kid, I see right through you." He says.
"Heheh. Of course you do."
"Here." He throws me something.
"Again?" I catch it. "What is this?" I ask.
It looks like a simple black rubber band.
"Put it on your wrist." He says. "It's a very special high tech watch. It's got a user's manual and everything, just tap it once after putting it on." He adds as he leaves and all the girls follow. "It'll allow you to call us if anything happens, and you're in deep-shit. Which I'm willing to bet you will be. Later kid."
"Cool." I reply as I put it on.
"I'll check it out later on."
"Uhm Melly?"
"Hm? What is it Cherry?"
"I'll be straight with you. I've actually been lost for a while now. At least tell me I'm not the only one please?"
"Right now? Yeah, sorry but…you are in fact the only one. Don't worry though, I'll fill you in later."
"Thank you."
"Hm? What are those two going on about?" I wonder as I watch them take off.
"Whatever. All that matters is…"
"I'm finally free!" I shout in excitement after noticing that I'm the only one left in the room.
…
"Hold on…"
"I'm the only one left in the room! How the hell am I supposed leave without those guys opening the doors for me!?"
I run towards the doors and continually bang on them.
"Anyone out there! Hello!!"
I then look to the side of the doors. "Wait a minute…what's this? A card scanner." There's a card scanner a small distance below the retinal scanner.
"So retinal scanning isn't the only way to open doors around here. Seems Uncle Chadwick and the others are just too lazy to take out their cards all the time. Aren't high level Warriors supposed to be the ones with the highest amount of energy? Seriously."
I place my ID on the card scanner and the doors open as I remove my card out and step out. I take the main elevator back to the first floor and walk through the central corridor then passed the reception hall. I'm met with Hazel once again.
"Mr. Raid. You're back." She says.
"Yeah. So apparently I work here now."
"What!-"
"Anyway bye!" I say as I leave.
"W-wait b-but hold on! You can't just say something like that and then up and leave! Can't you tell me more!?"
"Nope. Later."
"Meanie!" She yells.
"Heh."
I exit the building and enter my car.
I immediately drive off afterwards and head back to the hotel. Upon arrival, I park my car accordingly then head straight to my room. I enter and lock the door behind me.
A deep and long sigh follows afterwards.
~Sigh~
"Haaaahh. Finally, some privacy."