Stepping out from the tower, I had a small smile on my face.
The blue blood of the goblins and monsters covered my entire body.
I had a bag full of goblin ears, Fire-Fist orc fingers, and of course, the Orc King's head.
"I should snag quite a fortune for this."
As I walked away, I heard whispers, but paid them no mind.
"Did that guy... just solo the first floor?"
"Who is he?..."
The two guards conversed with surprise in their tone.
"He's only an F-Rank... how the hell did he-"
.
.
My bag smacked onto the counter of the ACA reception.
"Umm, sir, we changed our policy... Items are now sold over there."
The woman pointed with an uncomfortable voice, sweat falling.
"Oh, thank you for informing me... It's been a while."
With a slight bow, I grabbed my bag and walked over to the market reception on the other side of the room.
All kinds of people were waiting in line, mostly guys like me, weak, and selling anything they got their hands on.
But that me is dead now, because I have the head of a boss monster, and tons of ears and fingers from other beasts.
My bag dripped with blue blood, eyes following the trail leading up to where I now stood in line.
"Umm, your bag is leaking, dude." One guy said, tapping me on my shoulder.
I let out a small exhale, "Oh, thanks for letting me know, I didn't even notice."
A few others chimed in to comment on my bag, "That thing is packed full, just what does he have stuffed in there?"
"Probably a bunch of things worth trash, that's usually how those types of bags look."
I smirked a bit at their comments, pretending not to hear.
With my increase in the
I can feel when something bad is gonna happen, like back when the Orc King moved too fast for me to see, and I managed to dodge. Though it's faint right now, with a steady increase, I might even be able to sense hostility.
The line moved at a slow pace, and I tapped my foot, the bag leaking further.
"Hey, can someone perhaps get a custodian to help clean this up?..."
As I said that, the voice of the smug, punchable James sounded.
"You're back? You didn't die? Well, color me impressed. But you aren't fooling me, you hired a team, didn't you?"
My jaw clenched, and the thought swirled in my mind.
'Could I do it? Can I kill him as I am now? No, he's at least a low A-rank in power. I'm still mid-C-Rank, I'll be demolished.'
Though rankings may seem like just a letter, they truly can tell you how strong a person is.
The gaps between each letter ranking are quite drastic, and only get further as the rankings go up.
It would probably look something like this:
[S>>>>>A>>>>B>>>C>>D>F]
So as of right now, I'm still like an ant in terms of power.
'But not for long...'
"James, you sure know how to piss someone off," I said with a sharpness in my tone.
James smirked, "That wasn't my intention, Senior. I was just expressing myself. So, what's a useless guy like you, with a worthless ability, doing in line?"
His voice grew louder gradually.
All heads in the vicinity were now turned.
-"What's going on over there?"
--"Is that James Lee? He's a renowned A-ranker from the Sorcerer's Guild!"
---"But, who is he talking to, and so negatively at that?"
"Oh, was I too loud? Looks like I nearly humiliated you." James said, ready to break out into loud laughter, his face full of mirth.
I was ready to jump at him and slice him in two.
Then I stopped myself, my face of clenched anger releasing, becoming a soft smile.
"You're right, James. Maybe I am useless, someone like me should just kick the bucket, or get out of town." I said, walking forward to the reception counter.
"Now you're getting it, hmm? Where are you walking to? Ah, didn't you hear me? Those neighborhood raccoons you've brought back won't cut it."
I smirked, "You're so right. As always, my junior."
Now at the market reception counter, I raise my bags, dumping the bloody mess of combined goblin ears, Orc fingers, and of course, the Orc King's head.
A wave of surprise went across the room.
-"That entire load for him? It looks like he didn't split a thing with anybody."
--"What are you trying to say...? Are you saying he..."
---"Cleared the floor alone..." Someone finished.
"Ring these up for me. Please and thank you." I smiled, confidence dripping from every word.
I gave a side-eye to James, who was speechless and staring.
"Y-You..."
"Yeah, me," I said.
"Y-You hired a team, didn't you! There's no way you can-"
"Argh, shut up with that, will you?" I glared.
I got closer, a maniacal grin, full of mirth at his awe etched on my face.
My eyes a fierce chaos, as I turned, flipping him off.
"So stand there. Gawk. Watch the bottom-rung bug you used to kick... step on you."
.
.
I was now back home. I sighed, stretching and resting on the bed.
"That felt good, seeing that idiot's face like that."
--"But man, I've done it, huh? I PASSED THE FIRST FLOOR!" I yelled in victory.
A few tears of happiness and anger welled up, "I'll spite all of you bastards who looked down on me, and devour you until I'm at the top."
I grabbed my phone, checking my bank balance after selling all of that.
[Balance: $560,555]
"Half a million dollars. I can't believe that just yesterday, I had barely a thousand dollars inside. Yes, this is it... this is just the beginning of my rise."
--"Watch me from the sidelines, as I soar, you side-characters!"
.
.
[To Be Continued]