The SSS-rank Guide Doesn't Need Saving

Ares drove them through what Aisha initially assumed was just the entrance district, but the further they went, the more she realized her assumption had been wrong from the start.

"The Association isn’t just the tower," Ares said, gesturing out the window at the sprawl of buildings stretching in every direction. "That’s just the command center. This whole thing—" he waved a hand vaguely at everything, "—the entire floating island, all of it belongs to the Association."

Aisha looked out at the massive scale of the territory. Towers and residences, training grounds, and what looked like small parks were tucked between buildings. The streets were filled with people in uniforms and others clearly dressed in ordinary clothes.

"How big is it?"

"Bigger than most cities on the ground," Ares said proudly, like he’d built it himself. "We’ve got our own weather regulation, protective wards, and weapons. If the empire ever went to hell, this place could probably survive it."

He kept talking as he drove, pointing out buildings—the medical wing, the archive tower, a residential block reserved for ranking officers. Eventually, the conversation drifted toward Zeke.

"You know, the Admiral’s not really the type people expect," Ares said. "I mean, look at him. Cold, doesn’t talk much, looks like he’d rather be anywhere else. But I owe him my life."

Aisha glanced at him. "How so?"

Ares grinned, clearly pleased she’d asked. "Years back, I was just a regular soldier. Our squad was sent into a contaminated zone that turned out way worse than intel said. Half my comrades didn’t make it out. I got pinned down by something I couldn’t even see straight. I think I remember the miasma inside the zone was seeping into my body."

He tapped the side of his head. "I would’ve died there if he hadn’t shown up. He cut straight through the danger like it was nothing. The admiral looked so cool back then! Then, he dragged me out."

"And since then?"

"Since then, I decided wherever he goes, I go. Simple as that." He said it without hesitation, not someone who was too embarrassed by what they had to go through and survived.

Aisha considered his words for a moment before asking the question that had been sitting in the back of her mind since learning Zeke’s true identity. "Then why is he... why is an Admiral like him working as a combat instructor at the academy??"

Ares’ easy expression faltered slightly. He glanced at her sideways, clearly debating something internally.

Aisha wasn’t the type to fill silences unnecessarily, so she waited.

Finally, Ares opened his mouth, "That was the Chief Master’s doing."

"The Chief Master of the Association?"

She’d heard and seen him once at the Imperial Palace during a party. He was standing right next to the Emperor with another two men. And in Aisha’s memories, these men who were with the Emperor not only did not fear him. Instead, they acted as if on equal terms with the Emperor.

Moreover, every awakened Guide and Sentinel should have heard of him.

Lucas Valearion.

He was someone every Guide and Sentinel on Gaia planet looked up to.

"Yeah." Ares’s grin came back, though smaller this time. "As for why, that’s between the two of them. Even I don’t know the full story."

He didn’t mention that the Chief Master happened to be Zeke’s father. That wasn’t his to tell.

Aisha let the matter drop, filing the information away instead of pushing further.

Their next stop was somewhere Ares clearly enjoyed showing off more than the command towers.

The market stretched across an entire district, packed with stalls and storefronts crammed shoulder to shoulder. Tents lined up on either side of the path, and signs were written in a dozen different scripts.

"Since it’s a floating island, getting up here isn’t easy for ordinary people," Ares explained as they walked. "So a lot of folks who work for the Association just end up living here permanently. Over time, it turned into its own little city."

He spoke with pride, the same way he’d talked about Admiral Zeke. "It might not be as big as our two neighboring floating islands in Sector 1. But this is the safest place on this planet."

Aisha didn’t say anything, but privately she thought that made sense. Most of the equipment sentinels and guides used likely originated in a place like this.

As they walked deeper into the market, she noticed the crowd wasn’t uniformly human. Some had others had features that were almost human but not quite—elongated ears, fingers, and nose, eyes set too far apart, and skin with a faint sheen like scales beneath the surface. Some even looked part animal with their ears and tails swinging around.

"Where are they from?" she asked, nodding toward a merchant with faintly luminescent markings along his jaw.

"They’re Out-Worlders mostly," Ares said, and rattled off a few names of planets and Out-Worlder races that were too fast she could barely register them. "In a way, the Association is the emporium of our planet to connect us to the Out-Worlders."

They continued walking forward.

"This section’s for goods made here in the Association—stuff developed by guides and sentinels themselves. That row over there’s imported, brought in from allied Out-Worlders." He gestured further down the street, where the crowd thinned slightly and more tents that looked rundown were. "And that’s the black market."

Aisha stopped walking. "The Association allows a black market?"

Ares looked back at her, clearly having expected her shock. "Are you surprised?"

"Yes."

"I figured you would be." He shrugged, unbothered. "The Association has no way to stop guides and sentinels from entering contaminated zones. Since a lot of monsters inside the zones either can be harvested for materials or they have Monster Cores that we use to trade to Out-Worlders. Of course... there’s another reason why."

Aisha thought about the pure energy stones. As contradictory as it was, the contaminated zones where corrupted monsters lived, and humans try to avoid, possessed the pure energy stones. They’re deeply buried on the ground and people have to mine while keeping a close eye on attacks from both humans and monsters alike.

"And no one has complained?"

"Nobody complains when it’s convenient for everyone." Ares started walking again. "Only real rule down there is no one is allowed to engage in a deadly fight inside our territory."

Aisha lowered her head in deep thought. Not inside. Which means that anyone can do anything outside the Association’s territory.

Ares was midway through pointing out a shop he wanted to take her to when his terminal buzzed sharply against his wrist. He glanced down at the interface, his expression turning more serious.

"Sorry," he said, already backing away with hurried steps. "Something urgent has come up. I’ll be quick!"

Before she could respond, he was already jogging off down the street, weaving through the crowd until he disappeared around a corner to drive his hover car up.

Aisha stood there for a second.