L.E. Miranda
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SSR - Chapter 29: Culmination and Hunt (1)
🕑 Added 2025-01-02 15:18:02 +0000 UTCRylan adjusted the sword on his waist, looking at the group of seven soldiers before him. Jack, Scott, Daniel, and Raniel were among them. The soldiers talked among themselves. Behind him, Sarah stood silently. He glanced at the System notifications floating in front of him, wiping the sweat on his brow.
[Strength has increased by 1.]
[Endurance has increased by 1.]
Just like usual, it was gratifying to make progress. With a grin, he dismissed the messages, then clapped his hands once. All conversation ceased as they turned to him. He spoke with a smile.
“Today won’t be too different from the other missions, except for the fact that I’ll try to push myself further. Let’s keep up the good work.”
Jack gulped. His eyes were filled with trust and respect.
“Push yourself further, my lord?”
Rylan nodded.
“I now have a solid grasp of what I’m able to do. Dancing on the edge of that limit is what makes me a swordsman. That is not to say,” He raised a finger as he watched the soldiers’ expressions change, “You guys should risk yourselves for no reason.”
Scott nodded seriously.
“That’s a matter of course. You’re different from us, master.”
“So long as you guys keep up your training, you’ll be able to do the same. Honing your basic skills should come first.”
Jack flashed a bitter smile. The atmosphere was strange. The man spoke.
“…I don’t think we’ll be able to catch up to you in this lifetime, sir.”
The other soldiers nodded. Rylan realized that the strange atmosphere was dejection.
Am I reinforcing their beliefs every time I display the gap between us?
This couldn’t go on. He looked at Jack dead in the eye.
“Is this what you tell yourself in order to stop trying? Would you rather give up because the path is long before you even try?”
The soldiers shifted in place, looking at one another.
“And, personal growth isn’t so simple. Even if you stop halfway through, your achievements won’t disappear,” He continued, grabbing Jack’s shoulder, “As long as you keep at it, I assure you that you’ll be better than you were yesterday.”
Turning to the others, he dealt the killing blow.
“Shoot for the moon, gentlemen. Your efforts won’t be wasted. None of you are anywhere near the end of my training.”
Scott’s expression changed. There was now an edge of determination to it. He spoke with a firm voice.
“I believe you, master. As I said before, I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth if you can make me powerful.”
The soldier’s pursuit of power reminded him of Roland’s life. It was why he had something to say about it.
“Power alone doesn’t mean everything. It is vital to have a reason.”
Scott tilted his head.
“Being powerful is an end in and of itself. It grants complete freedom. The ability to go anywhere you please, do whatever you want.”
Rylan nodded. He understood Scott’s perspective, as it was a common one. It was partly correct; power did mean freedom, which was why he had decided to reach the peak as Rylan as well, but he disagreed with the first part.
“Power without purpose can be meaningless, especially at the end of one’s life. You’re unlikely to believe my words at face value. I can only hope that you understand what I mean in the future.”
Scott furrowed his brow with a strange expression. He hesitated for a few seconds before speaking.
“…But master, you’re younger than me.”
Rylan smiled.
In this life.
“That’s true, which is why I don’t think you’ll believe me.”
He turned to Jack and the other soldiers, who still looked dejected.
“Of course, you can decide to simply continue living the life you had before.”
As his voice died down, he noticed an immediate change. Frustration and anger adorned the expressions of the rest of the group.
“Being ignored for being unable or unwilling to use magic, being constantly compared to Mages, and always thinking you’ll be inferior to them. A life where you’re nothing but a common foot soldier in a world of magic that rejects your very existence.”
Those feelings became more obvious. It was only natural. The soldiers had lived for years, maybe even since the beginning of their lives, as people considered to be worthless. They honed their bodies and skills, as that was the only choice they had, but still only ended up as the lowest of the forces of an ordinary noble family. Rylan had been certain that they had hoped for more, even if only once.
He smiled.
“To escape that life, all of you will need to try. It will take effort and time, but it can be done.”
Once he reached a high enough level of power – enough to protect himself and his family – he could teach his mana circulation to the soldiers without being afraid of being found out. Even if they couldn’t awaken Aura, their abilities would still drastically improve. However, because the method required mana in the first place, being in the First Circle was the minimum requirement. The soldiers unable to gather mana wouldn’t benefit from it.
At least from its current version.
If he awakened Aura and confirmed its existence in this life, he could try to improve the method so that even the unawakened could benefit. It would require more knowledge about mana and its exact workings, but he believed it could be done.
“Now, let’s go to the Adventurer’s Guild.”
The soldiers nodded with determined expressions. It seemed that he had helped them rediscover their flame. Sarah merely stared at him. The group set out with firm steps. Outside of the estate, Rylan had become intimately familiar with the looks of scorn and despise. Yet, for the first time, he noticed something different. A few people looked confused. Circulating his mana, his ears picked up on their voices.
“Something’s fucking weird. Have you heard any news about Rylan Flameheart’s fuckups?”
“No… He looks like he’s heading to the Adventurer’s Guild with his soldiers. Is he trying to claim the credit for killing more monsters?”
“Hasn’t he been doing that often? He never did anything like that before.”
“It’s probably another ruse.”
The rest of the discussions were as usual, but these had stood out to him. He grinned. Due to Roland’s memories and experience, he had been able to easily endure all of the scorn thrown at him, especially when he knew that his past self deserved it, but that didn’t make the process pleasant. He had decided to let his actions speak for themselves, and that seemed to be bearing fruit.
Let’s keep at it.
Soon, the group arrived at their destination. Rylan pushed the doors open. He immediately felt a multitude of gazes hover over him; the noise noticeably decreased, but some conversations could still be heard.
“It’s him.”
“Again? How long will he keep this up?”
“His soldiers must be pretty good if they’re managing to kill monsters so often.”
“Do you think he’s fighting too?”
“No way.”
“But didn’t you hear the rumors? The Bluefang team apparently watched him mow down a group of enemies.”
“He obviously paid them off. Don’t be stupid.”
Rylan walked up to the counter. William looked at him with a smile and spoke.
“Good morning, young master. I’m glad to see you again. Are you looking for the same types of quests?”
He smiled.
“Hello, William. This time, I want to develop the soldiers’ teamwork, so I’m looking for something a bit more challenging. Enemies they will need to fight against as a group.”
William nodded with a pensive expression, looking at the papers on the counter in front of him.
“The upper end of F-ranked quests might suit your needs. However, it’s been decided by the higher-ups that you’ll need to formally register as an Adventurer before taking on more quests. Please understand.”
“Sure,” Rylan said, nodding, “How does it work?”
As if he had been waiting for it, William reached under the counter and pulled out a bundle of papers and an enchanted quill.
“First, we’ll need you to sign these documents.”
Rylan started reading them. Nothing stood out to him; they were mostly about acknowledging that his life was his to take care of and that the Guild wouldn’t take responsibility if he were wounded or killed. There were some clauses about equipment and teaming up with other Adventurers, but they didn’t matter to him. The contracts discussed some of the services the Guild offered, but his family could do all of that too. After thoroughly checking the papers, he signed them.
William smiled at him.
“Congratulations, young master. You’re now an F-Ranked Adventurer.”
Rylan nodded with a grin. No matter their background or how powerful they were, every Adventurer started at F-rank and raised their rank by completing quests. An adventurer couldn’t take on quests far above their rank for their own safety, but there was enough room for shooting up the ranks if one were too powerful. He liked this system.
“Yeah. Now, what I told you about. It would be better to fight against few, powerful enemies instead of many weaker ones.”
“Then…” William nodded and pulled a paper from under the counter, looked at it, and frowned slightly, “Please check this quest out, young master. It’s an E-ranked quest that fits your requirements, but…”
Wondering why the man had frowned, Rylan grabbed the paper and read it quickly. The quest was simple: the quest giver asked for two creatures in the woods east of Cantavega to be exterminated.
Trolls?
Trolls were weaker than ogres, ents, and other large creatures, but they were still much stronger than hobgoblins and kobolds. He didn’t know enough about them to judge if the soldiers were able to take on one of the creatures on their own. He looked at William.
“Please tell me more about trolls before I accept this quest.”
William nodded.
“First of all, they aren’t in the same weight class as kobolds or goblins, which you have faced before,” As he said this, a strange expression crossed his face, as if he didn’t believe his own words, “Trolls are, on average, taller than two and a half meters and weigh over two hundred kilograms. Their physical strength is considerable. The common method of dealing with them is to keep one’s distance and use spells.”
“And you think my group isn’t up to the task?”
William bowed.
“My thoughts don’t matter. You’re the one to make the decision, young master. I only ask you to be careful.”
In a way, William’s response was expected. Based on what Rylan had learned, a group of goblins led by a hobgoblin was considered to be the greatest challenge a small group could overcome without magic. It was seen as the hard limit of ordinary people, even if they were trained soldiers.
With enough skill, it is possible to defeat such enemies on one’s own.
As he had proven in the previous expeditions, skill alone was enough to crush a group of goblins and a hobgoblin, and it was the same for kobolds. Yet, could the same be said about trolls? Anticipation bubbled within him. He turned to the soldiers, waving the paper.
“As you heard, our enemies would be two trolls. What are your thoughts?”
The soldiers hesitated. Daniel spoke tentatively.
“Even if you handle one of the trolls on your own, I don’t think we can contend with the other.”
Raniel nodded. Scott scoffed.
“Are we supposed to fight goblins forever? If the master thinks it’s possible, it means it is. Worst-case scenario, he can help us.”
His words revealed unshakable confidence in Rylan’s abilities. Rylan smiled. He looked at Jack, who was still silent. Truthfully, Jack was the most talented out of all the fifty soldiers. If he could overcome the beliefs that had been hammered into him from a young age and truly try to become stronger, his achievements would be considerable, despite his age. Of course, according to Rylan’s standards, not Roland’s.
The soldiers spoke to one another. Rylan waited patiently, keeping his gaze on Jack. After a few seconds, the man raised his head. His gaze was filled with a mix of conviction and hesitation.
“…Scott is right. We can’t keep fighting weaklings forever. The young lord will help us if we need it.”
Still unsure, Daniel and Raniel ended up nodding, as did the other soldiers. Lastly, Sarah spoke.
“I am against this, my lord. Trolls aren’t easy opponents.”
Rylan smiled and shook his head.
“We’ll be careful. If the situation looks bad, we’ll run away. I’ll test the troll’s strength myself before committing the men.”
She hesitated, but in the end, said nothing else. Rylan turned around and looked at William, waving the paper.
“We’ll take it. Tell me the precise location.”
William, who had clearly heard their conversation, had a strange look on his face. In the end, he only shared the location. After handing the paper back, Rylan and his group left the Guild. It was then that a voice reached Rylan’s ears.
“Master Rylan.”
He turned to the speaker.
