Chapter 31: B-Rank?
Ethan closed his eyes once and took a deep breath before looking at Athena. Athena was already staring at him.
"Do you know what’s going on?" Ethan asked. "I know I’m looking stupid by asking that, but still I wanted to ask if you know or not."
Athena looked at him for a few more seconds before turning her attention to Isolde, who sat there politely, but a sense of worry was visible on her face. Her face was covered with sweat, brows were furrowed. It was clear that she had sensed something far worse, which was putting the lives of innocent people at risk.
"I can sense multiple life forces which carry killing intent. I can’t fathom who they are currently because of my core."
Ethan listened to her carefully before he pushed himself up. He travelled towards the main door and opened it, stepped out of the house, and locked the door with a low THUD.
He looked at the front; a bunch of people were rushing towards their houses. It seemed as if they were running away from something, which didn’t seem plausible at all.
The sword which Ethan had obtained rested next to his waist. It had a long, dark-silver blade with faint blue lines running across it like veins. When mana flowed through the sword, those lines began to glow, and a thin layer of blue Aether surrounded its edges.
Its hilt was simple and dark, with small blue markings carved into the guard. The design looked simple, but still the sword radiated a powerful presence.
Ethan’s hand rested on the sword’s hilt; he was prepared to unsheathe it any second if some kind of danger came towards him.
He slowly walked in the direction where people were running off to. His eyes drifted from one direction to the other, studying the surroundings clearly.
Without wasting any time, he made his way to the middle of the city where a colossal fountain made out of white polished marble stood. The fountain was splashing water all across the area, and the water was getting stored in the circular tank beneath it.
It caught Ethan’s attention for a sliver of a second before he turned it back towards the houses, which were now locked; sobbing noises of people were coming from inside.
A loud SCREECH echoed through the air; it came from Ethan’s right. His head snapped toward the sound. There was nothing in sight, only the dense forest stretching ahead of him.
Then, once again, SCREAMS echoed through the trees. This time, they clearly belonged to humans.
Ethan’s jaw tightened, his fingers curled around the sword’s hilt as a thought appeared inside his mind. ’Should I make my way inside the forest or wait here? Because whatever it is, it’ll definitely tear me apart if I put even a single step inside there.’
’I think I should wait here... why should I risk my life? The people who are in the forest, most probably they’re already dead, and if I currently walk in there to save them, I’ll die too. It’s better if I stay back in here and wait for whatever is in there to come out itself.’
He had made his decision to stay back. He stood next to the fountain, crossed his arms as his attention remained fixed on the forest.
Multiple minutes passed, yet nothing happened. His patience had started to wear thin with every second that passed. But then, he heard loud footsteps coming from the forest ahead of him.
The sound slowly grew louder.
His expression changed when he realized the footsteps didn’t belong to just one being, but several. His brows furrowed as his body tensed, and he slowly pulled the sword from its sheath, keeping his eyes fixed on the direction of the approaching sounds.
Green silhouettes that towered right above eight feet made their way out from the forest. They carried huge maces made out of stone; nails were embroidered across their surface, which were coated with crimson colour that seemed to be nothing less than blood.
Ethan’s eyes widened, his lips parted slightly as he muttered under his breath. "O-Orcs?!"
He grabbed his hair and pulled it lightly; he looked visibly frustrated. "What the fuck are Orcs doing here?!" He said out loud.
He started pacing from left to right; his steps were hurried. He was stroking his chin as if he was trying to think about something, but nothing was coming to his mind. He finally lost his composure. "Wait, wait, wait!!! Orcs?? Aren’t they B-Rank monsters? What the fuck am I going to do in front of them, mate? I’m just cannon fodder for them!! I’m just a fucking stepping stone!!"
Out of nowhere, he slapped both of his cheeks, his eyes closed instinctively. He took a deep breath and puffed his cheeks before letting the air out. "There’s nothing which I could do if I lose my composure. My first priority is mine and my wives’ safety. Then comes the safety of the people living in this neighbourhood."
He took cover behind the nearby house, slightly peeking his head to clearly see the pack of orcs. His eyes moved from one orc to another as he started counting them. ’One. Two. Three...’
Eighteen visible figures were walking towards the neighbourhood; each carried maces with them, but some of them were carrying huge metallic axes which had double faces.
’Okay... my first question is why eighteen B-Rank monsters are here. Why are they marching towards a neighbourhood which clearly doesn’t have any important figures?’
But the moment his brain mentioned ’important figures’, the silhouette of his wives appeared in his mind. His eyes widened as he grabbed his hair, still visibly shocked. He pulled at it until the pain snapped him out of his thoughts.
’I can’t waste my time here anymore... I have the mana affinity of C-Rank now; also, I have some good skills... I think that I can pull this off.’ He said inwardly.
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A/N: I will try to do release of 6 Chapters today... behold!!