Chapter 26
It had now been a week since Zen joined the Silverfall Clan, and during those days, he still hadn't set eyes on Jace again. It was as if the man had suddenly vanished from existence. No matter how hard Zen searched or asked around, Jace was nowhere to be found, and eventually, Zen gave up the search.
Still, he never forgot the system's warning — that he wasn't the only player pulled into this accursed world.
Today was just like any other day. Zen had just returned from delivering a concoction to a small village. He now sat alone in a chair, lazily glancing around the hall.
After a moment, he sighed, leaned forward, and gently slammed his head into the table in front of him.
"At this rate, there's no way I'm ranking up as a Reaver in this clan. How do I get stronger when they won't even let me take a quest alone?" He sighed again, shaking his head against the table's surface.
"Damn. At this rate, it will take forever t..."
"Hey, newbie!" A voice suddenly cut through Zen's thoughts, making him twitch in irritation. A vein throbbed at the corner of his head as he looked up to see who was heading his way.
A young man with deep black bags under his yellow eyes approached lazily. With each unhurried step, the wind teased his messy brown hair.
"What do you want, Ryker?" Zen asked as the man stopped in front of him.
"I just want you to… hold on." Ryker raised a hand to his mouth, let out a long, jaw-cracking yawn, and rubbed at his eyes.
"Don't you ever sleep?" Zen asked, raising an eyebrow at the sight.
"I just want you to come with me," Ryker replied, yawning again.
"Come with you? Where exactly? And why me?" Zen pressed, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.
"Will you stop asking stupid questions and just come along?" Ryker snapped, glaring at him before turning to walk away. "You can come if you want to. If you don't, stay there," he added flatly.
"Yeah, I'm not coming," Zen muttered, resting his chin back on the table.
"Hey, newbie! Get me a refill!" another voice shouted from across the hall.
"On second thought… wait up!" Zen shot out of his seat and hurried after Ryker, who was now standing in front of the large quest board with a group of people.
"Took you long enough," Ryker said with his usual scoff, followed by yet another yawn. He turned back to the board, ripped a pamphlet from it, and faced the group.
"So what are we here to do?" Zen asked, one eyebrow arched.
"We're preparing for a picnic," a blue-haired man replied with a scoff, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Not only are you weak, but you're also dumb. Of course, we're taking a quest, you butt head."
"Come on, Zarin, no need to be that harsh to the poor boy," a purple-haired woman said with a sweet smile.
"Fine, I'll stop… but only because you're my love," Zarin huffed, crossing his arms.
"I have a boyfriend," Rina reminded him, her tone casual. The words seemed to crush Zarin's heart into dust.
"What quest are we taking?" Zen asked, his curiosity and unease mixing into one.
"A dungeon raid," Ryker replied simply, scanning the pamphlet with a slow, deliberate gaze.
"What rank?" another woman in the group asked, drawing Zen's attention.
The young woman's hair shimmered like obsidian silk, cascading down her back until it brushed her waist.
The strands swayed with each step she took, catching the light like liquid night. Her presence felt calm yet oddly intense, making Zen pause without even realizing it.
Deep violet eyes, sharp, calculating, and unreadable, swept across the group like a tactician surveying a battlefield.
At first glance, she didn't look too extraordinary, yet there was something in her gaze that hinted at a mind constantly working in the background.
Even among strangers, she still wore a warm, polite smile, as though nothing could ruffle her composure.
She was dressed in sleek black-and-violet leather armor that hugged her lithe frame, the material clearly made for both movement and durability. In one hand she held a finely crafted bow, while a quiver of arrows rested against her back.
It wasn't oversized or ostentatious, but the way she carried the weapon spoke volumes. She wasn't just someone who owned a bow — she was someone who knew exactly how to use it.
"Oh Aria… it's just a D-rank dungeon raid. Not too strong for some weaklings here, and not too big of a threat for us," Ryker replied, finally glancing up from the pamphlet. "If we succeed and clear it out, we get our MP. And that gets us closer to ranking up."
"MP?" Zen asked, raising an eyebrow.
"He means Merit Points," Rina explained quickly, stepping in before Zarin could add some unnecessary remark. "Every mission a Reaver completes earns them a certain MP. For F-rank quests, you get 10 MP.
E-rank quests earn 20 MP.
D-rank quests like this one give 40 MP.
C-rank = 70 MP.
B-rank = 150 MP.
A-rank = 300 MP.
AA-rank = 400 MP.
S-rank = 600 MP.
SS-rank = 1,000 MP.
SSS-rank = 3,000 MP."
'So that's the amount of MP one earns for each quest. Hmm… I wonder.' Zen thought, glancing back at Rina.
"So how many MP does one need to ascend each rank?" he asked.
"That's simple," Aria replied before Rina could speak again. "From F-rank to E-rank, you need 100 MP.
E-rank to D-rank = 200 MP.
D-rank to C-rank = 400 MP.
B-rank to A-rank = 700 MP.
A-rank to AA-rank = 1,500 MP.
AA-rank to S-rank = 5,000 MP.
S-rank to SS-rank = 20,000 MP.
SS-rank to SSS-rank = 600,000 MP."
She ended her explanation with a small, almost teasing smile. "So you see, that's why there has never been a Triple-S rank in recorded history. The climb is simply too steep."
'Alright! I give up. There's no way in hell I'm ever reaching Triple-S rank,' Zen thought with an inward sigh. 'Guess I'll just focus on getting stronger through the number of missions I take instead.'
"Now that we're done with the lecture, can we go on the mission already? I need to finish it so I can get my nap," Ryker said mid-yawn.
"Yeah, sure. I was already getting bored from the lecture anyway," Zarin added, stretching before letting out a loud yawn of his own.
"Here, porter boy, hold this for us," Ryker said, tossing a large bag toward Zen without warning.
"Porter boy?" Zen repeated, raising an eyebrow as his jaw tightened in irritation.
"Don't complain. Hold my sword too, it's starting to get heavy," Zarin said, placing the weapon in Zen's hands before walking off with a soft chuckle.
"Hurry up, slackers! Let's get some work in," Ryker called out as the group began leaving the Clan Hall, their footsteps echoing faintly in the stone corridor on the way to their mission.