Raid: The Blacksmith-Chapter 86: Talk of The Town: Part Two

~Clack!~Clack!~Clack!~Clack!~Clack!~...

The flashes are consistent.

"Mr Raid! Please answer...-!"

"Mr Raid! How difficult was the...-!"

"Mr Raid! Tell us about your...-!"

And the questions, seemingly endless.

"I wanna teleport the fuck out of here so badly. But these guys aren’t just taking pictures, they’re taking videos as well. Can’t reveal I’ve got a Spell like Domain Transit so easily."

~Sigh~

"Hah... okay, okay, people settle down." I finally speak after a heavy sigh, waving my hands up and down to calm down the crowd.

They do just that, much to my surprise. I start doing a head count. Excluding myself and the two guards, there’s exactly twenty-one people crowding the Dungeon site right now.

"Listen..." I wave my left hand out in their direction, sticking out only three of my fingers as I do. "Three questions, that’s all I’m gonna answer, so choose wisely."

They crowd erupts, murmuring amongst themselves while constantly raising their hands up to get my attention.

I pick one at random. An older bearded gentleman, right in the middle of the crowd, wearing a short sleeve blue shirt and a black tie, some brown trousers and very good looking designer shoes. He’s light skinned and holds a holographic tablet in his left hand and a classic old school stylus pen that went outdated years ago in his right hand.

"Thank you." He says after noticing me point at him, his voice carrying an unmistakable level of wisdom, that is without a doubt a testament to the years he’s lived. With a genuine smile on his face, he continues. "Mr Raid, can you tell us how it’s possible for you to supposedly be able to clear higher Ranked Dungeons on your own, despite the fact of you being F-Rank?"

"How do you know I really am an F-Rank?" I taunt with a smug look on my face to gauge his reaction.

He immediately catches on. "Well, simple. Because Rank Falsification is impossible, even if you work for the Warriors Association." He assures.

"Hm... alright then." I chuckle slightly, taking my loss with readied acceptance. "Well, I honestly don’t think I could explain it in ways you could understand. While my Class says F-Rank, my powers are anything but. And I feel like there’s more at play than I care to realize or even try to figure out. All I can tell you is, Ranks aren’t the only thing that decides a Warrior’s strength. While they help in narrowing things down, don’t be so quick to take them at face value." The simple statement alone has the crowd in an uproar.

My questioner starts noting what I assume would be what I said on his tablet, while everybody else starts raising up their hands to be picked to ask the next question.

The next person I pick is a much younger guy. Looks about my age. Same skin color as well. He’s wearing a grey jacket over a v-neck black shirt along with grey shorts and white sneakers. He’s also holding a holographic tablet, looks to be one of the latest versions too. He has no pen however. "Thanks!" He exclaims after I point at him. "Okay, what I’d like to know is, since you’ve cleared a B-Rank Dungeon, which is seen as like... the neutral zone in terms of Dungeon difficulty. Do you plan to go straight to an A-Rank Dungeon right after this?"

"Good question, bud." I respond. "And a simple answer to that would be, no. No way in hell." The crowd goes insane again in response to my answer. But starts settling down again as I continue. "I’m definitely planning to go to an A-Rank Dungeon. But not right after this. I need to prepare first, and make sure I’m ready for it. A-Ranks are no joke, trust me, I would know." The crowd laughs at my statement, which fills me with a slight hint of pride, then I keep going. "Truth is, I actually almost died in that Dungeon, twice at that. I’d be stupid to go straight to an A-Rank right away." Everyone looks at me with genuine smiles as I finish.

"I want people to think I’m capable. Not omnipotent. ’Else I’ll find myself having bitten off way more than I can chew."

I pick the last person to ask the last question. A woman who looks to be in her late twenties. She’s wearing a grey and white business suit with a tight skirt that reaches her knees instead of trousers. Black heels and black stockings cover her legs all the way up her thighs. A white shirt with a black tie and a grey coat covers her upper body. And she’s a beaut to boot. To the point of catching the gazes of some of the men in the crowd. She runs her left hand slightly above her ear to shift her hair to go all the way behind her head then looks at me with a nonchalant expression and speaks. "Do you perhaps... have a girlfriend?"

"Eh..." Now that really catches me off guard. "Uhm..." I pause for a second, eyeing not just her but the crowd as well. Some of the men look at me with mischievous smirks. Most of all, the old man from before, as if to say ’’way to go, young man". I shake my head at him in disapproval. Once again, I’m very thankful for my complexion. I then look back at the woman, then do my best to give her the most genuine smile I can muster. "Yes, actually I do... sorry." I lie. Shamelessly so at that. What do you want from me? I was raised by Gam Sukala.

In a fit of slight embarrassment, I leave, politely pushing my way through the crowd, without even looking back, expertly ignoring their small chuckles as I do.

I step into my car and drive off, letting out a heavy sigh.

~Sigh~

"Something tells me that’s going to keep happening."

"I don’t blame her. My Master is pretty good looking after all." Says Dawn after materializing out of the Item Space to sit right next to me on the passenger seat. "Still, she doesn’t know there’s only one woman worthy of my Master, and that’s-"

"Don’t you dare say Peyton." I cut her off, ignoring my own surprise at her sudden appearance.

She just laughs it off as I continue driving.

"So... where are we off to now?"

"Phoenix Hotel to check out. Go back to the Item Space." I order Dawn in response to her question.

"Aww, but why?" She whines, looking at me with pure white puppy dog eyes. As adorable as she is, that’s not going to work on me.

"Do I really have to answer that?" I ask her rhetorically, a single one of my eyebrows raised.

"Hah... guess not." She caves. Then she goes back into the Item Space, disappearing in pixel form before me.

I arrive at the hotel and park my car right by it. After stepping out, I walk inside the hotel and go to the first receptionist I see to officially check out. After that, I go straight to my room to unpack my things, then come back down with my three suitcases, politely bidding the receptionist farewell in the process.

Finally leaving the hotel for good, I open the back of my car and pretend to place my suitcases in there. I say ’pretend’, because what I’m really doing is teleporting them into the Item Space and only using my car as cover so as to not draw any attention to myself.

After I’m done, I step back into my car and drive to the Warriors Association.

You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but considering my mental exhaustion, the drive feels like it lasts centuries. But I finally arrive and drive into the parking lot to park my car, then immediately step out to go into the building.

It’s different now. I’m no stranger. I’m not going in to register, or to sell Mana Crystals. A sliver of unintended pride ignites within me as I step into the building, going through the doors as if I own the place. Why not? My uncle actually does own it, so by extension, that’s not exactly far from the truth, now is it?

I feel the eyes of multiple Warriors staring at me as I walk across the hall. Some, First Time Registerers, some, Mana Crystal sellers. I hear the distinct noises of them murmuring amongst themselves, whispering quietly. An attempt to not be heard by me, I take it. Little do they know, my senses are no joke.

"Is that him?"

"The F-Rank?"

"He’s a lot taller than I thought he’d be."

"Really? Think so? I think he’s actually a tad shorter."

"He’s a stud though, not gonna lie."

"Oh my gosh, girl, I know, right?"

"Bastard, thinks he’s all that."

"Heh." I chuckle internally.

I ignore them with expertise then go to pass by Hazel’s table.

"Hey, you."

"Mr R-Raid? You’re back?" She asks, noticing me late as if a bit taken aback by my sudden appearance.

"Yeah." I reply as I quickly pass by her and walk off into the main hallway, seeing as I shouldn’t disturb her from her work. Noticing that, she simply waves me off and immediately gets back to servicing her attendees.

I walk straight to the Main Elevator, and use it to send me to the lobby in the eighteenth floor. After arriving, I step down the stairs and simply start strolling around, meeting with a few familiar faces that I met before, through Peyton and Melissa.

Speaking of which-

"-Well hey there, kinkster. How’s it feel to be the new talk of the town?"