Astartes was stunned by Blaze Beam's words. Seven hundred and twenty catacombs? This was a shocking piece of news to him. To clear a single catacomb alone tool several rankers of as powerful as possible to clear. The most hardest thing was to maintain a regular clearing of the catacomb, otherwise, there was a massive risk of a catacomb outbreak.
Astartes realized that he had gotten a little irrational and inconsiderate at this point. Blaze Beam had no reason to lie to him about something like this. On the other hand, in order to prevent the ordinary populace from falling into despair and fear, it was best to keep such information hidden.
"I was a little to rash in my words, Branch Chief Blaze Beam. Please forgive me," Astartes bowed.
"No offence taken, Ranker Infinity. I only hope to protect Yosemite City at least. I cannot do this without your help." Blaze Beam shook his head and quickly gestured for Astartes to sit down.
"I wish to be helpful in any way, but I am only an F-Ranker currently," Astartes replied. "Moreover, I still only awakened days ago. I am lacking in experience."
Blaze Beam smiled. "But you still cleared an F-Rank Catacomb by yourself. The only experience you need as a ranker is power. With enough power, even experience means little. I believe you are special and can become one of our more powerful weapons when the time comes. Your performance despite your inexperience tells me this much. Therefore my aim is to help you increase your rank as quickly as possible in the next two weeks before the threat arrives. "
Astartes was intrigued by this proposition. Getting much more powerful was something he also truly desired. He did not forget about the last part of Blaze Beam's statement though.
"You mean the threats that led to the destruction of Gondor, Harran and Outer Oasis cities?"
"That is right, Ranker Infinity." Blaze Beam replied as he motioned with his two fingers. "There are actually two threats facing Yosemite City. One is the prevention of catacomb outbreaks within the city. The destruction we suffered a week ago came from the only D-Class Catacomb in the city, the Orc Ruins Catacomb.
Even despite my D-Rank power, I am unable to defeat the Catacomb Lord myself. Therefore, its continued existence had made the Orc Ruins Catacomb become increasingly dangerous and therefore it eventually broke out of the catacomb with its forces damaging several areas and killing our people. Although I eventually severely injured it and other rankers helped me kill it, several rankers lost their lives in the process, depleting our strength further." Blaze Beam lifted his shirt to show Astartes a very nasty scar across his chest towards his abdomen, a sight which made Astartes frown deeply and leave his mood heavy. The situation they were in was indeed dire.
Blaze Beam sighed. "I estimate that if the catacomb is not cleared within the next seven days, a catacomb outbreak will surely break out again. Due to the injuries of my party, we plan to use the next six days to recover our strength as much as possible before heading into the Orc Ruins Catacombs seven days from now."
"What about the second threat?" Astartes asked seriously.
"That was what I showed you in the photos, the effect of the Wild Catacombs."
"Since you may be now hearing of Wild Catacombs I will explain it to you. A Wild Catacomb is simply what happens when a catacomb within a stronghold is unable to be contained leading to a catacomb outbreak. The catacomb creatures are inherently merciless towards us humans and see us as feed. Several experiment show that they are biologically wired to see us as the enemy. Strangely, the catacomb creatures that broke out of the specific catacomb not only wipe the population of the stronghold, but destroy other catacombs and release the creatures within, increasing in number and in strength and most worse, the catacombs powers continue merging together, elevating their class - becoming Wild Catacombs.
"There Wild Catacombs have appeared and are on the loose. The closest to us are the Harran Wild Catacomb, followed by the adjacent Outer Oasis Wild Catacomb which have become Class D Catacombs. Our reports show that the creatures of the Harran Wild Catacomb will arrive here in two weeks. If they destroy Yosemite City, it is possible for the Harran Wild Catacomb to elevate to Class C.
In the past, the rankers of the Angelus Empire have destroyed Wild Catacombs much closer to the Empire's capital after expending enormous resources and personnel to deal with it. Those even around the middle belt of the Empire were dealt with slowly after several years. However, for a place like Yosemite City which was near the fringes of the empire, coupled with other major threats the empire was facing, it is unlikely that many reinforcements would be sent to help curb the threat of the Wild Catacombs. Even if reinforcements do arrive, they might be too late by then."
"Despite the challenges, I want to believe that the Angelus Empire is still acting as a force for good within this apocalyptic world. Our Rankers Association has received much support from Her Majesty and we have grown rapidly over the few decades. With more time, our association can become powerful. However, these damned Catacomb monsters will not be standing by idly while we grow. Therefore although we cannot rely too much on the association right now, I still expect some more D-Rankers and if we are lucky, a C-Ranker to help us deal with the crisis. In the meantime, let us focus on the threat of the Orc Ruins Catacomb."
Blaze Beam looked at Astartes and spoke slowly, "What I am saying is that we are on our own for now, Ranker Infinity. So what will it be?"
Astartes took a sharp breath when he heard this but Blaze Beam continued.
Astartes took a deep breath and closed his eyes maintaining his calm. Blaze Beam was pleasantly surprised to see that Astartes was not overwhelmed by the information given to him and remained composed.
If he was a normal ranker, he would have rejected this idea immediately. Yosemite City was his hometown but he still lost those he loved and his sense of belonging to this place and its people was not as dear like it was for others. Yet he did not wish to see it destroyed. But even if he wanted to help, nothing came before preserving his life. He did not want to die.
But at the same time, surmounting this herculean crisis before him would definitely elevate his powers rapidly if he succeeded. This was also his ultimate goal.
He stared at a certain section on his status panel.
INHERENT SKILL: INFINITE CASTER (Two Slots Available)
He had his answer. He was not like the others. He had a special power. He could accomplish what others could not. That was why he needed to risk it all to obtain the power he wanted at all costs with this blessing bestowed upon him. To ensure that the past will never repeat itself.
With his Inherent Skill, he could make a difference! He had to.
Astartes opened his eyes and all doubt was washed away. He stared squarely at Blaze Beam and said, his voice calm yet filled with his immense conviction, "My father once told me to be always strive to be outstanding. For the most part of my life, I was unable to achieve that. Now I want to try my best once more. I have made my decision. I'm in, Branch Chief Blaze Beam. So where do we start?"
Blaze Beam was overjoyed immediately and rose to bow to Astartes with respect. "Excellent decision, Ranker Infinity. I am most grateful for your cooperation. Your rewards will not be small, I promise you.
"Now that you are in, allow me to explain my intentions regarding the role you would play."
Per Blaze Beam's ambitious plan, he wanted Astartes to clear all two Class E Catacombs and four Class F catacombs within the next six days! Also his goal was for Astartes to reach Rank D in seven days and to reach rank C within two weeks, in time for the arrival of the Harran Wild Catacomb attack!
It was nothing short of ambitious!
But Astartes was all in for it. The heavy feeling of expectations and hope that he felt on his shoulders did not make him feel intimidated. Instead it was as if this was something he yearned for. It was like he was born for this. The pressure he felt, he would turn into the motivation he needed to become the most powerful ranker within Yosemite City in the next few weeks!
After the meeting with Blaze Beam, Astartes left the Rankers Association building and went to Adele's place. Although he left out the most crucial details, he did inform Adele about his attempt at the Lionmen Catacomb and his approach by the Branch Chief of the Rankers Association.
Despite her shock and immediate decision to let him leave the party freely, Astartes refused. He intended to honor his agreement with Adele although he knew in his heart for a long time that Adele never really meant to him to the agreement of joining her party raids for five times.
This was especially after he displayed his potential. Besides she felt more like an older sibling to him, than a boss. He wanted to repay her for saving his life.
However, with his schedule now altered, he intended for Adele and her party to accompany him as he aimed to clear all four Class D Catacombs in the next two days!