Chapter 463: Chapter 463 - S-Ranks(Part 1)
"Let’s see here," I muttered, as I opened the World Map tab in my System and zoomed in on the area outside of the cave, a group of five people appearing on the screen.
"Shit..."
"You know them?" I asked Celestia quietly, as I made it so that only the two of us could hear the audio of the live footage.
"Yeah. Three of them are S-Ranks, the other two are A-Ranks. And one of the A-Ranks has Detection Magic. They must be here looking for me," She replied with a grimace.
"Hm? Hey, I’m sensing two presences nearby. One’s definitely human, not sure what the other one is though, I’ve never sensed anything like it. It doesn’t feel too powerful though," Remarked one of the Adventurers, presumably the one with Detection Magic.
In this world, people have Auras, which are stronger and more intense the more Magic one possesses. Celestia had taught me how to suppress my Aura, as well as how to sense the Auras of others.
But if suppressed, a person’s Aura can’t be sensed unless you get really close. Unsuppressed, Auras can be sensed within a radius of upto around twenty meters, depending on how much Mana the individual has.
The Auras of C-Ranks span no more than about five meters, ten meters for B-Ranks, fifteen for A-Ranks, and then twenty for S-Ranks. And according to Celestia, she can sense my Aura from upto thirty meters away when I stop suppressing it.
Those limits don’t apply to Detection Magic though, those who possess it can sense others over a significantly wider range, I think Celestia mentioned that S-Ranked Detection Magic users have an upper limit of a hundred meter radius, and A-Ranks upto seventy-five meters.
The group of Adventurers are about fifty meters away from the cave, so we’re well-within the range of their Detector’s Magic.
"Damn it, they’re heading right this way," Frowned Celestia.
"Any chance they’ll be willing to hear you out instead of attacking on sight?" I asked her.
"Almost definitely not. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if all of them are aware that I’m innocent. S-Ranks may be valuable, but there are currently twenty-eight in the nation, so they won’t see killing me as that big of a loss. Oh, wait, four newbie S-Ranks were killed a few months ago, so it’s actually twenty-four," She recalled.
"Oh, uh...yeah, that was me, they attacked me in the Dungeon. To be fair, I gave them multiple warnings to leave me alone, but they just kept attacking."
"Huh, so that’s what happened. More importantly...they’ll be here soon," Remarked Celestia with a grimace, as the group steadily drew closer and closer to the cave.
"Yeah, I can sense them now. Is there a Healer among them?"
"No. This guy’s an S-Rank with Physical Magic, he uses twin blades. And this guy has Water Magic, also S-Rank, and also an insufferable prick. She’s S-Rank too, with Wind Magic. As for the A-Ranks, the guy is a Detector and the woman is an Enchanter," She informed me, pointing them out one by one, before adding, "These three S-Ranks are really strong, among the strongest in the entire nation, they’re much stronger than the inexperienced group you fought in the Dungeon."
"Good to know. How do you compare to them?"
"Well, I might be able to hold my own against one of them, but it’d still be an uphill battle. So, the only way I’m surviving this is if I can count on your help," She admitted sheepishly.
"Sure, I’m not going to let you die after taking the trouble to save you once already. I’ll launch a pre-emptive strike," I remarked, as I got up and strolled towards the entrance of the cave.
"Wait...the unusual presence I mentioned is on the move," The Detector informed the others.
"Huh? Has it noticed us?" Frowned one of the S-Ranks.
"Hm...no, I don’t think so. It’s moving at a relaxed pace, I don’t feel any urgency in its movements. And the human presence is staying still."
"Let’s hang back and stay out of sight until the unusual presence you mentioned leaves."
"Yeah, good call."
They’re pretty cautious, this could be tough. I need to be careful not to give away the fact that I’m onto them.
I can sense them and see them through my System, I know exactly where they are. But they can’t see me, they’re hiding behind a large tree, relying on their Detector to keep track of me.
I then split my tail in two and extended it out, sending it slinking into the bushes and through the forest, steadily sneaking closer and closer towards the Adventurers.
I can extend my tail upto twenty-five meters, and they’re just about within that range. Almost there, just a little further...
As the two halves of my tail then slithered up behind the group, I sent them rapidly shooting out, plunging into the back of the Detector’s neck and piercing through his throat, a choked gasp ringing out as the second half of my tail shot towards the S-Rank with Wind Magic.
Suddenly, the one with Physical Magic drew out his twin blades, spinning around before whipping them across, deflecting my tail away before it could strike.
"What the...?!"
"What just happened?!"
"Is that a snake?!"
"Whatever it is, the fact is that we’re under attack! Get out into the open, and keep your guards up!"
I swiftly retracted my tail as the Adventurers rushed back out into the open, before I shot towards the spot they were heading towards, intense, swirling masses of blue flames erupting around my hands, the air around my arms shimmering as I charged up the flames.
Right as the Adventurers emerged from the shrubbery, I thrust my arms forward and blasted the charged up flames towards them, which roared through the air with immense speed.
The S-Rank with Water Magic swiftly stepped forward, raising a wide, towering pillar of rapidly swirling water, a massive cloud of steam erupting out as my flames collided against the pillar, extinguishing my attack before I swiftly spread out my wings and zipped up into the air.
A devastating blast of lightning then shot towards the steam cloud, a powerful gust of wind erupting out and blowing the steam away, before the Water Magic user quickly unleashed a rapid water ball, intercepting the incoming lighting, a sharp crackle ringing out upon impact.
Another cloud of steam burst out as the lightning vaporized the water, right as I swooped down towards the Enchanter at full speed, transforming my left hand into a blade as I began to close in.
"Look out!" Exclaimed the Physical Magic user, rushing back as he spotted me, but he was too slow to react.
I swung my left arm down, striking the middle of the Enchanter’s head and slicing through, splitting her skull open and cutting into her brain, before I quickly tranformed my right hand and raised it up defensively as the Physical Magic user leapt towards me and slashed at me with one of his blades, a sharp clang ringing out as his blade collided against mine.
I then grimaced as a powerful gust of wind struck me and knocked me back several meters through the air, before I brought myself to a halt by sharply spreading out my wings and canceling out the momentum, regaining my balance and letting out a slow exhale, right as a barrage of intense, crackling lightning streaks came zipping in towards the Adventurers.
The Water Mage formed a large, swirling dome of water around the ground, shielding them from the lightning, puffs of steam bursting out as the lightning collided against the dome.
I then flew back towards Celestia and landed beside her, cracking my neck with a tilt of head as we regrouped.
"Damn it, I was really hoping we’d manage to take down at least one S-Rank with our opening attack. Well, at least the Enchanter’s dead, so we don’t have to worry about any power boosts," She sighed, before locking in as the dome of water dissipated.
"A Unique Monster, huh? Not everyday you see one of those," Remarked the Physical Magic user, eyeing me warily.
"I don’t get it, why would a Unique Monster protect a human? And her, of all people?" Frowned the Water Magic user incredulously.
"Hm? Hey, look at its tail, I think that’s what attacked us in the forest," Added the Wind Magic user, as she narrowed her eyes at me.
"Two of us should take it on, while the third fights her-...," Began the Physical Magic user.
"Let me take her. I’ve wanted to put that Commoner bitch in her place for a long time, and this’ll be the last chance I ever get to do so," Volunteered the Water Magic user, a malicious smirk on his face.
"Alright, then, in that case, the two of us will handle the Unique Monster."
Yeah, like we’re just going to let them pick their own match-ups, I-...
"Hey, I know what you’re probably thinking, but I say we play along. I’ve wanted to kick that bastard’s ass for ages, so this works out fine for me. You don’t mind taking two of them on at once, do you?" Inquired Celestia, cracking her knuckles as she glared icily at the S-Rank with Water Magic.
Looks like they’re waiting for us to make the first move, they likely plan to split us up with a counterattack.
"No, that’s fine. Alright, if you’re sure."
"Thanks. Also, if you can, try not to destroy that guy’s blades. I wasn’t able to grab my own weapons before I fled, and his blades are way nicer and higher quality than mine were."
Right, she did mention that she uses dual blades herself. Normally, only Adventurers with Physical Magic use weapons, while those with Elemental Magic fight at mid and long range.
About half of all Adventurers have Physical Magic, which boosts their physical prowess, and doesn’t have any Attack Spells.
The norm is for Physical Magic users to stand at the front line, Elemental and other Attack Magic users back them up, and Support Magic users provide, well, support, like healing, buffs and barriers.
But Celestia was a bit different, she used weapons despite being an Elemental Magic user, so currently, she’s not at her best since she’s unarmed. That said, she seems confident enough.
"They’re starting to get antsy, shall we?" She prompted me with a smile.
"Yeah, sounds good," I nodded, as I tranformed both hands into blades.
