Volume 3 Chapter 5: Part 2: (Patreon)

Volume 3 Chapter 5: Part 2:

Vinnie and Blaine's faces are all beaten up. And it isn't from the blow Nigel dished out. They're black and blue everywhere. If it wasn't for the clothing yesterday, Onyx wouldn't have recognized them.

"Apparently, they tried to make a run for it. But a guard spotted them trying to jump off the walls. And when they resisted, they were beaten up." Etta says.

"I see." Onyx understands now. Well, it isn't that surprising. With how much they sweat, it's no wonder they tried to escape.

"Hmm? What's wrong, master?" Rena felt something was off with what Onyx said.

"No, it's nothing to worry about." Rather than worrying, Onyx felt something was off with the two of them. Lifeless. That's the feeling Onyx gets as he looks at them.

Is it because they couldn't escape? Their eyes are blank. What's more, they look like they'll fall any second. However, there's no use worrying about them.

They tried to ruin his life. That's what they get.

"These two have falsified their claims. Rather than being used as bait, they abandoned their own. And they have even accused them instead."

Revealing all of this, the people around start to murmur around. And Oliver steps up,

"Let the man finish!" And silence came about again.

The messenger continues, "And for people who don't believe us: we have asked the client about what happened. And under a lie detection orb, everything the two said is false."

The silence continues further as they know what's about to happen next.

"For lying and trying to accuse your own fellow adventurers falsely, your guild licenses will be revoked. What's more, you will be sentenced to 4 years of jail." Revoking their guild licenses means they can never become an adventurer again.

Vinnie and Blaine's faces just became whiter when they heard it. They know it'll happen. But hearing it was much worse.

The messenger doesn't say anything else,

"Take these two away!" Oliver orders out. The guards pick up the two of them. Their bodies are limp as they drag them away to jail.

...

And that's the end of that. Onyx doesn't look at the two any longer and is about to leave,

"Onyx." But Madelyn calls out to Onyx.

"What's up?"

"The guild master wants to speak with you."

"Understood." Onyx looks at Rena, "Rena, you can do what you want. You don't have to wait for me."

Rena nods, and Onyx walks away and into the guild hall. Going into the office, he asks Oliver, "What's up, Oliver?"

Oliver smiles at Onyx, "It hasn't been long, Onyx."

"Hmm? But we haven't seen each other for a week or two."

"Yeah. And in those weeks, you always do something big." Oliver laughs. It's like problems are clinging onto Onyx's back like ghosts. Sometimes even Oliver wonders what kind of black star the kid got born from.

From fighting with the demons to this incident with Finn and Blaine: these are all in a short timeframe!

Onyx scratches his head, "My bad on that. But it isn't my fault." How am I supposed to know these guys would do something like that?

"I know it's not your fault." Oliver sighs, "But do you know how much paperwork I have to do?" From the demon incident, he had an increase in paperwork! And now this, there's a lot more paperwork he has to do now!

Just let me vent abit! Oliver also warns, "You need to be careful about people around you now."

Onyx sits down, "I know. Those two were on my radar for the most part. But I didn't really have to worry."

"Hmm?"

"After all, someone was watching over us after all."

Like some magical force, Oliver almost slips out of his chair. He looks at Onyx, "What do you mean?"

"Oliver, you don't need to hide it from me. I know Cyrus isn't a C-rank."

Cyrus was not C-rank at all.

"There's no point in trying to deny it." Onyx smiles even more. In the end, Oliver gives a long sigh,

"Sometimes, I wonder whether you are foolish or actually bright." Oliver really can't tell with this child at all. He would have sparks of genius. And times when he would do the most inconceivable thing.

But Oliver nods, "You're right. Cyrus is not a D-rank adventurer. He's a proctor for the examination."

"A proctor?"

"Mmhmm. Sometimes depending on the group's level, we'll have proctors go with them. There will be fewer deaths, and they act as an extra judge on whether or not the person is deemed to rank up."

"But how did you figure out Cyrus is a proctor?" Oliver found it impressive. Most proctors have great control, making them harder to figure out. So how did Onyx figure it out?

"Oh, that wasn't my doing. All of it was from Rena." Rena was the one who discovered it. As someone who uses a bow, she found something was off with Cyrus.

"Master, please be wary of him. He's holding back." In the tent, she said those words to him.

Onyx understood and kept his eyes on Cyrus. He didn't know what was up with Cyrus. But he trusted Rena. And bit by bit, he starts to realize it. But what clinched it was the horde of stone lizards.

Cyrus's moves during that incident were way too refined. It's similar to Rena's level. That's when Onyx realized that Cyrus was hiding it.

"He was cutting corners, trying to make it look like he's C-rank." Cyrus was only doing the bare minimum work. But he was also guiding Tricia and Willa on what to do.

So that made Onyx realize Cyrus was harmless, and maybe he was set up by Oliver.

"Onyx, don't tell anyone about this. And tell this to Rena too. If the lower rank adventurers were to find out about this: then they wouldn't be focused at all." The whole purpose was to allow the adventurers to fight with death in mind.

So having them know there's a high-rank adventurer with them would make that goal obsolete.

"Don't worry about it. Rena and I won't be saying anything about it."

"Thank you."

"But where were you these past few days?" The reason why Blaine and Vinnie could go all in was that Oliver wasn't in Advent City.

If Oliver was here, there was no way those two would cause so much havoc for Onyx and Rena. He would have ended the two right then and there.

"I have some guild master matter to attend to." Oliver doesn't say more. Onyx knows he won't say anything else other than that. But he asks instead,

"Oliver, what are you going to do about Galven?" That's the other matter they had to deal with. Punishing Vinnie and Blaine is a must. However, Galven should not be left off.

When Galven stepped up, Onyx had a hunch that he was the instigator.

Oliver grabs his head, "Don't you think I know that too? But Galven is one slippery fellow. Do you know how Vinnie and Blaine got those injuries?"

"Isn't it from the guards?"

Oliver shakes his head, "Those injuries came from Galven."

Huh?! Onyx was surprised.

What happened was Blaine and Vinnie took a chance and tried to sneak out of Advent City, knowing that people would be on the lookout. But when they were about to escape, Galven was the one who brought them back.

"...Damn." Onyx didn't know what to say.

"Yeah." Oliver didn't know what to say either when he saw it too. He essentially threw his disciple down to save himself. He continues,

"You don't have to worry about Galven doing anything to you for a while. With this stunt, he will lay low. And you guys are the same rank now. Go get some rest now."

"Understood."

....

"Let's congratulate our 4 adventurers who've ranked up!" Stewart raises his mug in the air as a toast!

"Now, let's party!" With that, the party started.

Onyx scratches his cheeks, "You guys didn't have to do any of this."

"Nah! Do you know how many people can rank up to C-rank?" Etta says with a smile. Getting to C-rank is not what many people can do. It defines beginners' change to a middle-tier one.

"Also, shouldn't you be helping Rena?" Etta points over to the side. Rena was surrounded by girls. Well, it's the girls Scarlett Lynx and Blue cats.

"It's ok. Rena's fine." Despite her wry look, Rena seems to not mind it. Thank goodness she's having fun. Onyx smiles gently.

White hair is a bad omen.

Despite Blaine saying this: people are treating her with kindness. She's just another person."

"Hey, Onyx." As he watches over them, Mord calls out from behind.

"What's up, Mord?"

"You know-" There's a moment of silence before, "I'm so sorry!" Mord quickly apologizes as he bows his head down to top it off.

"Hmm, what are you talking about?"

"I mean, I tried to beat you up. I'm sorry about that." Mord knows he messed up. Anger clouded his mind, and the only thing he thought about was seeking justice for his juniors.

"It's fine. Let's just have bygones be bygones." Onyx didn't think of Mord as a bad person. Hot-headed, yes. But he didn't have that hostility from before.

"Thanks!" Mord makes a big grin.

"Enough with that gloomy mood, you two!" Out of nowhere, Reynold came behind Onyx. With one look and breath, he can tell Reynold is drunk. He stands at the table, "Eat your fill, everybody! Our Scarlett Lynx will be the one to pay for all of it!"

"Wha-"

"Woohoo! Thank you so much, Stewart!"

"He's soo cool!"

"As expected of a captain of a B-rank party!"

"Ughh! Yeah! I'll be paying for it all! So eat up and have fun!" Stewart screams out with a strained face.

"...." You gotta stop getting peer pressured like this. Onyx shakes his head. This isn't the first time he saw this.

And this isn't the first to see the rest of Scarlet Lynx in dismay. Reynold is the only one who looks happy about what happened.

Onyx doesn't know what to say. But one thing is for sure, he knows tomorrow won't be a good day for Reynold.

Should I prepare some flowers as well?

...

"Ughh." I ate too much food. As Onyx walks down the street, he can feel something coming up from his stomach.

Yesterday was a feast. Onyx didn't stop a single second from eating. Well, he was forced to eat. Lucia, Rebecca, and other girls kept adding more food to his plate.

And he didn't want to be rude, so he ate it all. And the aftermath is him feeling unwell.

Thank goodness Rena didn't come with me. Rena was not in a different position than him. She got force-fed just the same, maybe even more than him.

She was going to come with Onyx. But Onyx told her to stay in bed to rest up.

When Onyx arrives at the guild building, he walks over to Madelyn, "Madelyn."

"Hmm? Onyx. What's wrong with you?"

"Don't mind me. Just have a stomachache."

"..." That doesn't look like a stomachache. Onyx's hunched over right now, "Do you need me too-"

"No. You don't have to do anything." Onyx flaps his hand around, "I'll be fine after a while. Do you have any quest you can give me?"

Madelyn frowns, "As an advisor, I can't give you any quest given your condition now."

"It doesn't have to be a difficult one. I don't want to fight monsters right now. Just give me something easy and simple to do. I need to move my body to get rid of this stomach ache."

"Hmmm, if you want only something with manual labor: these jobs should be good for you." Madelyn takes out a couple of quests for Onyx.

Rank G: Need help loading cargo onto Wagon.

Rank F: I need people for farming.

Rank F: Need help at the auction house.

"These are the ones that fit what you want." All these quests focused on manual labor. Madelyn adds,

"I suggest the cargo one. It's in Advent City and is the easiest out of the three."

Hmmm. Onyx thinks about it for a bit and grabs one, "I will take this one instead."