Ten years later, in a dungeon on the central continent, five people explored a dark cave. A handsome, bearded man in full armor, wielding a sword and shield, looked back.
"Hey, Rai, hurry up! Don't fall behind, you jobless, rankless bum!" he barked.
Rai, now 22, handsome with short, messy black hair, a very muscular build, and wearing simple clothes without armor or leather, walked a little faster than before, without protest or a word, carrying several backpacks at once. A girl in a sorceress's outfit glanced at Rai, a sneering smile on her face. She then hooked her arm around the handsome, bearded man beside her.
"If he's slow, we'll just leave him, babe," said the A-rank sorceress.
"Whoa, whoa, it'd be a hassle for us to carry our own stuff, wouldn't it? A talented sorceress like you wouldn't want to carry heavy things, would you?" chimed in a man wearing a mask like an A-rank assassin, with two long daggers at his waist.
"Huh? Are you defending him, Trent?" the woman asked, turning to look at Trent the assassin.
"Hahaha, not really. I'm just paying attention to you, Alfia. Don't just cling to Julian all the time, just because he's an S-rank Phalanx," Trent said.
"Hah, whatever! (She turned to look at a woman dressed like a priestess, carrying a long staff.) You hurry up too, Rafina!" Alfia retorted.
"Y-yes, sorry," Rafina replied.
"You're still a B-rank Priest, huh? Not an A-rank High Priest yet?" Julian asked.
"Y-yes, I'm sorry if I'm a burden to you all," Rafina replied.
"Hah... don't worry about it. At least you're B-rank, right? (She glanced at Rai.) Unlike some people with no job or rank, hehe," Alfia chuckled.
"Sssst... quiet," Julian suddenly whispered, stopping.
Alfia, Trent, and Rafina stopped too. Julian stared intently ahead, preparing his stance. Shring! Trent pulled both daggers from his waist, ready. Alfia stepped back, readying her staff. Rafina, unable to fight directly, retreated behind and stood next to Rai.
"Alfia, cast a fireball forward," Julian whispered.
"Right," Alfia whispered back.
Alfia chanted her spell, then aimed the tip of her staff forward. A fireball formed at its end, and psshooo! the fireball shot into the cave to illuminate the darkness. Trrr... creak... creak... creak. They heard the sound of thousands of insect legs, and as the fireball passed through the cave ahead, their eyes all widened at the sight of countless spider-like monsters called Lesser Spiders and Black Lesser Spiders, crawling all over the walls, heading toward them.
"Huh... just Lesser Spiders," Trent mumbled.
"B-but there are so many of them," Rafina said.
"Ah, no need to worry," Alfia replied.
Alfia raised her staff and aimed its tip at the cave. She closed her eyes while chanting, then opened them. "Freeze!" she shouted the name of her spell. An incredibly cold blizzard wind blew into the cave, freezing the entire cave wall, along with the spiders that were moving toward them.
"Alright, let's collect our money, hehe," Alfia said.
"Good job, Alfia," Julian praised.
Suddenly, Julian turned to look at Rai. He immediately motioned for Rai to collect the spider legs, webs, and eyes, which were now frozen in ice crystals. Thud. Rai put down all his bags without protest and stepped forward, but tap, Trent suddenly extended his hand, his palm landing on Rai's chest.
"Not yet, something's coming. I don't think everything's frozen," Trent said.
Rai stopped and moved back. Julian and Trent immediately got ready, as did Alfia, preparing to cast her spell again. The atmosphere grew tense, and the sound of something large and very fast echoed from deep within the cave. Trek. Julian raised his shield and sword, ready. Tap... tap... tap. "Skrieeeeeeek!" The sounds of approaching footsteps and a high-pitched shriek came from inside the cave.
"Huh... what kind of monster is that?" Alfia asked.
"Get ready, everyone! Rai... fall back, protect Rafina!" Julian ordered.
The footsteps and shrieks grew closer. Suddenly, a massive spider leg lunged at them. Julian and Trent jumped back, and Blam! the spider leg, which turned out to be a frozen arrangement of Lesser Spiders, crashed to the ground right in front of them.
"Krieeeeeeek!"
Suddenly, a pair of bright green eyes appeared from the darkness. "Watch out! Don't look!" Julian shouted. But it was too late. Trent had already looked, and his body couldn't move. Trent looked down at his feet, and his face instantly turned pale.
"H-help, I'm turning to stone... help!" Trent cried out in terror.
"Krieeeeeeeeek!"
They were all shocked as a giant spider monster emerged from the cave, with a half-woman's body on top and snake-like hair, named Gorgrachne. An S-rank monster, a combination of an Arachne and a Gorgon. Clang! Alfia immediately fell to the ground, terrified, dropping her staff. Julian could only stand frozen, raising his shield. Trent's body had completely turned to stone.
Gorgrachne turned to look at Trent, and crash! its leg smashed Trent's petrified body into pieces. Seeing Trent killed, Julian immediately turned and grabbed Rai's clothes, then threw Rai, making him stumble and fall in front of Gorgrachne.
"Finally, you can be useful! (He looked at Alfia and Rafina.) Come on, let's run! We can't fight this monster! Hurry!" Julian shouted.
"Okay, before that..."
Alfia stood and chanted her spell. She fired a paralyze beam, shaped like lightning, at Rai, making Rai unable to move. Rai just smiled without saying anything.
"Okay, let's run. No hard feelings, Rai," Alfia said.
"S-sorry, Rai," Rafina said, turning and running.
After everyone had run off, leaving Rai alone, Rai looked up at Gorgrachne in front of him, who stood still and seemed afraid of him.
"Sorry, but I need your XP," Rai said.
He effortlessly released the lightning beam that bound him and raised his index finger. A blue laser beam shot from his fingertip, piercing through Gorgrachne's forehead.
"Kieeeeeeeeeeek!"
Gorgrachne shrieked, and thud! its massive body crashed to the ground. After that, Rai turned.
"Do you really think you can escape? Oh, but Rafina shouldn't be killed... hmm... what to do?" Rai mumbled.
Rai seemed to be thinking. Then he glanced at Trent's scattered body fragments near his feet.
"Ah, that's right," Rai said.
He immediately opened his palm towards the fragments of Trent's petrified body, and a beam of blue fire shot out from his palm. The fire burned Trent's petrified fragments, then they floated in the air.
"Targets: Julian and Alfia, go!" Rai said, pointing his finger.
The stones, which were actually Trent's body fragments, shot into the cave where they had come from and where they had run off to. Meanwhile, huff... huff, Julian, Alfia, and Rafina, who hadn't yet exited the dungeon, paused to catch their breath.
"Are we far enough? Are we safe?" Alfia asked.
"We should be safe now. Rai really did us a favor, hehehe," Julian said cruelly.
"He's useless anyway since he has no job or rank. He's just a baggage carrier and bait, hehehe," Alfia replied, chuckling.
"B-but, I feel bad for him," Rafina said.
"Don't worry about it. He's just trash," Julian said.
Crack! Suddenly, three finger-shaped stones covered in blue fire pierced Julian's head, and crack... crack... crack! Before Julian's body hit the ground, several stones covered in blue fire pierced his body like machine-gun bullets, setting him ablaze. "Kyaaaaaa!" Alfia shrieked, seeing it. Rafina was silent, unable to say anything. Clang! She fell to the ground, tears welling up around her. Alfia immediately turned to look at Rafina, who had fallen.
"Ra... Rafina... we have to hurry and run..."
Crack! Before Alfia could finish speaking, a body part shaped like a calf bone, covered in blue fire, pierced her neck. "Ghaack!" Alfia gasped, clutching her neck and falling to her knees. Crack... crack... crack! Stones burning with blue fire pierced Alfia's entire body and burned her, then the stones passed by Rafina, who sat stunned, silent, and frozen.
"A-aaaaa... aaaa... h-help... someone... please help," Rafina mumbled, stunned and sobbing uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, Rai calmly walked toward the exit, which was indeed one-way. He opened his status screen.
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Name : Rai
Race : Human
Gender : Male
Age : 22 yo
Class : None
Rank : None
Level : 98 / 99 (EXP: 7,450K / 9,800K)
Power : 2,500,000
Speed : 1,500,000
Magic : None.
Stamina : 1.000.000 / 1.000.000
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Passive skills:
Superhuman aspects
Kaiju martial arts
Regeneration
Auto barrier
Night vision
Atomic flame mastery
Atomic thunder mastery
Fast stamina regen.
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Active skills:
Partial body transform level 99 / 99:
- Legs transform high jump level 99.
- Arm transform shield level 99.
- Tail spike bash level 99.
- Back Finn throw level 99.
Atomic Fire Breath level 99.
Atomic fire ball level 99.
Atomic flame wall level 99.
Atomic fire storm level 99.
Enchant atomic fire level 99.
Atomic Thunder Breath level 99 / 99.
Atomic chain lightning level 99.
Atomic thunder struck level 99.
Atomic paralyze spark level 99.
Atomic Thunderstorm level 99.
Enchant atomic thunder level 99.
Blue laser blast level 99 / 99.
Claw strike level 99 / 99:
Claw arts mastery level 99.
Fist arts mastery level 99.
Kick arts mastery level 99.
Homing throw level 99.
Transform into Raigan (*locked* open if all active skill and main level already level 99)
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Gigas (Kaiju): Raigan
Type: Humanoid dragon kaiju (Male)
Power: 10,000,000
Ability : Kaiju martial arts, Regeneration, iron scale skin, telepath.
Arts : Atomic breath, claw strike, dash bump, leap jump.
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"Ugh... only a small increase. This is pathetic. Just one more level, and I can transform into my past life's form," Rai muttered, clicking his tongue.
He closed his screen and walked leisurely, tossing Gorgrachne's head up and down. When he reached the spot where Julian and Alfia had been killed, he saw Rafina still sitting there, but unconscious.
"Huh? She's still here? Haaah... what a hassle. Come on, lets go," Rai mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.
He tossed Gorgrachne's head away, then crouched down and picked up Rafina, he carried Rafina like a princess, then He looked at Rafina's face, which seemed to be sleeping, with tears still streaming from her eyes. After exiting the dungeon, Rai walked along the forest path, heading back to the city. As he went, he looked around and thought to himself:
"After 10 years of wandering, I finally understand why I destroyed Kingdom of Hestalia. Back then, as Raigan, I'd just been betrayed and killed by humans. And as Reinan, I felt that kingdom had betrayed me too. But things are different now. I've seen what this world is truly like. Not all humans are evil; there are good people, like this girl, out of four of them, only this girl treats me as a human being."
He glanced down at Rafina's sleeping face, then His face hardened.
"But this job and rank system? I still have to destroy it, even if it means challenging the gods themselves. And I still need to find Reidan in this world."