Chapter 198 198 - Shadows
"They are all SSS+ Ranks. I want to know how far you can go, I want to find out if you can be the first person to reach Rank SSSS+"
* * *
After a brief conversation with the three, Ryan understood a little better what had been agreed between the Guild and the four SSS+ adventurers.
John Wrynn had explained to each of them about a new training technique that had been discovered by a Guild adventurer. With a special skill, he could make one of them a little stronger, overcoming the natural limitation that each person has. Obsessed with power and strength, the four travelers accepted the offer without a second thought
Alexandra Lightstone was the leader of that group, and after five minutes of talking to her Ryan could already understand her pattern. She was the same type of person as Lyza.
A serious woman who was completely focused on becoming stronger, but who became bitter after reaching her limit. All the girls in that group had reached the limit of their strength, they could get more skills or discover new abilities, but their levels and mana had reached the limit.
Alexandra's group consisted of a four-member party. One of the girls was a 22-year-old prodigy with small breasts and long green hair, her name was Sylph, a healer and mage specializing in the wind element.
The tank was a 25-year-old girl with beautiful long brown hair. Her name was Megan and unlike what was expected of a Tank, she didn't use shields or heavy armor. Her defense methods consisted of various types of shields and magical protections, something unusual but effective.
The veteran of the group was an old companion of Alexandra's, a quiet woman who wore a black blindfold over her eyes. She wore short black clothes, which made a striking contrast with her blue and yellow hair. The only information Ryan received was when he heard Alexa calling her K.
"I see, so that's why my daughter has had such an increase in her skills," said Alexandra, with a neutral tone of voice.
"Fucking the daughter and the mother, that guy's a bit daring, isn't he?" said Megan, laughing.
Sylph patted the girl on the head, "You shouldn't say that kind of thing so loudly" and K agreed, shaking her head up and down.
"I don't mind doing this to you," said Alexa, leaving the room, "I'm going to solarize some Rank A blue portals. Megan, send him my number. Let's set up a moment alone," said the blonde as she walked out.
"You know, Ryan, if we could arrange to go out for a drink... I wouldn't see a problem with that," said Sylph. Holding out her hands, she handed Ryan a piece of paper with her cell phone number on it.
The girl ran out of the door while Megan and K stood watching their companion with confused faces. "She always behaves like that," said Megan, and K nodded again.
Although K hadn't spoken a word, she seemed to communicate a lot through gestures, which made Ryan wonder if she couldn't speak for some other reason. Taking out their cell phones, the two girls passed their contacts to Ryan.
"We can train any time you like," said Megan. "It'll be a pleasure to train with you two," Ryan replied, turning K's face red.
"You don't have to react like that," Megan replied enthusiastically, making K feel much more embarrassed. The mysterious girl then tapped her friend on the head and disappeared seconds later.
'How confusing they are,' Ryan thought, although he liked that kind of animation.
"Well, I have some business with John," said Ryan, who walked out of the meeting room with Megan.
"Well, I have some business to discuss with John," said Ryan, who walked out of the meeting room with Megan.
Ryan kept walking, but the brown-haired girl ended up lagging behind. Before he could turn around to invite her to walk, Megan's voice came from behind him "You know, Ryan, I got stuck on level 199".
Megan's voice sounded sad, as if she was trying not to cry. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Maybe that sounds like a lot, but it's not. I managed to be rated as a triple S, but I'm so far away from people like Alexa who's at level four hundred... I... I just hope you can fulfill my dream of reaching two hundred"
The girl then ran off, Ryan watched her pass him by without knowing how to act. Even in the middle of the office, he shouted with all his might "Don't worry! I promise I'll get you to level two hundred".
Megan stopped running and turned around. Her face was streaked with tears, and with a smile she said "thank you" and then disappeared.
'A magic of locomotion...'
<So this is how people feel when you disappear out of nowhere>
- Ha... bitter isn't it? -
A few minutes passed inside the guild office before John Wrynn was free again. During this time, Ryan couldn't stop thinking about what he had discovered with Rin. If even that box couldn't diminish the energy of a portal capable of killing Rank SSS+, what could he do to deal with it? This was a much bigger problem than anything he had found.
'The impact would return... It was only a matter of time'
"He's arrived in the room again, you can go in now," said the secretary, and at the same moment the magnetic door made a sound and opened by itself. Ryan walked through and found John standing in front of the window with a cigarette in his hand.
"I hope the meeting with those girls went smoothly," said the guild's regional officer.
"I didn't have too many problems, they're exactly what you'd expect from high-ranking Travelers," Ryan concluded.
"Completely obsessed with fighting and getting stronger. Most end up forgetting how to live outside a portal, I remember when I was like that..."
<So John was a high rank traveler, surprising>
>It's the least you can expect from someone in a position like his.
'Quiet, we need to pay attention'
"So, what do you need to talk to me about?" Ryan asked, trying to steer the conversation in the direction he wanted.
John turned to his desk, and placing his hand on the wood, he activated a hologram. It was a map of the three major cities, and every second, small explosions appeared on top of the map, representing the places where portals were appearing.
"So the number of red portals hasn't decreased?" Ryan concluded.
John nodded and after taking another drag on his cigarette, he sighed and let out a puff of smoke. "The portal eater manages to eliminate around two hundred portals a day. But since we started using it, the number has only increased."
'Portal Devourer... So that's the name of the cube'
"Soon the external support will return, and then the whole continent will have serious problems dealing with this number of portals. I've been looking for the core of this impact for a few weeks, but it doesn't seem to exist," said John. His eyes were shining as he used his ability to observe Ryan and the map of the continent.
"You want me to look for the core of this impact?" Ryan asked. John nodded as he sat down in his armchair.
"The core is hidden, it's shifting positions in red portals. Our travelers who died entered portals that seemed to be camouflaged."
* Beep *
A screen appeared on the table, with a video of a skeletal, disturbed man.
"I, I saw them all being consumed by a purple flame. Their bones were burnt until they disappeared, I started to run but it was following me. It's following me, they're going to come back. They'll be back... They'll be back"
The man seemed to be having a vision, with both hands he started hitting himself on the head while shouting for it to stop.
"Let's skip some of this, we don't need to see him suffering," said John, the video then sped up until a moment when he calmed down again.
"A woman, she had completely white skin. She was glowing, she said I wasn't the chosen one. When, when I came out of the portal I saw the body of the rest of the raid consumed by worms at the entrance to the portal, and then some kind of mummy pushed me. I can't! I can't take it anymore!"
The man then started banging his head against the wall.
* Beep*
The video was paused by John, who lit another cigarette before continuing to speak. Holding out his hands, he placed several photos on the holographic transmission.
"This man was William Stormthunder, an S Rank veteran. He took part in an advanced level Raid on a red portal of extreme danger, he was the only survivor among the forty travelers who took part"
With a pinching motion, John enlarged one of the images in the hologram
"This photo was taken the same week he entered the portal. It's William with his two daughters, the youngest is five and the oldest is eight. They still don't know about their father's condition"
A bad feeling came over Ryan as he looked at that photo. Activating his Demon Sight, Ryan realized that there was a shadow behind William.
'That, that shadow...'
"Why did you call me here?" Ryan asked.
"I saw you in a vision, they were calling you into the portal"
Ryan stood up and approached the hologram, looking closely at the shadow behind William.
'Without a doubt, these are the same monsters I met at the portal to the abyss'
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