Chapter 13: My New Toys: Part One

“So let me get this straight, you’re telling me that the Warrior who went in the Dungeon before the Zeke Party was really an F-Rank!?”

“Dude, would I ever lie about something like that?”

“I don’t see why you would but…are you sure you didn’t see it wrong or…”

“As sure as can be. I saw it all as soon as he gave me his Warrior ID to verify it. As clear as day, Class, Blacksmith, Rank, F! His name was Raid, he didn’t have a surname so no Family.”

“An orphan?”

“What else? On Dungeons Entered, it read zero too so this is-”

“His first time entering a Dungeon.”

“Yeah…”

“Is he nuts!? He’s an F-Rank with no Family and the first Dungeon he chooses to explore is one Rank above his own. Is he hoping he’ll get lucky or something?”

“No idea. It’s not like we could stop him even if we wanted to. It’d be a different story if it was a D-Rank Dungeon but as long as it’s either his own Rank or one Rank above then he’s got the right to enter.”

“Narly. These Warriors operate on a completely different method from us normal folk. Still though, not to disrespect the people that are risking their lives to protect us, I doubt he’ll make it back alive.”

“Yeah, you and me both. It’s a shame really….mh?”

“What’s going o-”

“It’s the Dungeon, someone must be coming out.”

“Is it the Zeke Party? They must’ve cleared it.”

…

“No way…”

“He’s still…? But how?”

“Urgh, maaan! Finally out of that heat! Is global warming not a concept in other planets? Sheesh! I’mma need a real cold bath after this, a shower maybe? Nah, standing water works best. Or maybe I’ll swing by a local swimming pool or see if the hotel I’m renting a room in has one…huh?”

I saw the two guards from before staring at me as I walked out of the Dungeon Gate stretching my neck with my hand on it and it closed signalling that it had officially been cleared.

“Oh. Heyyo, guess you guys are basically out of a job now that this Dungeon’s been cleared, huh? Sorry ’bout that. Well tootles!”

“Erh… S-sir please wait!!!” The guy who had previously verified my ID before I entered shouted and grabbed my shoulder as I was about to leave.

“Whoa! Dude! You scared me there a little.”

“Oh uhh… S-sorry about that.” He said as he calmed down. “But wait, how did I surprise you, aren’t Warriors’ senses incredibly sharp?”

“Oh no, yeah don’t mind that. That wasn’t canon, it was just for the sake of the gag.”

“Uh…gag?”

“Don’t worry about it. So, what can I do for ya?” I asked.

“Oh uhm, right yes…not to sound rude but did you really clear that E-Rank Dungeon?” He asked looking quite flabbergasted.

“Oh. Uh…yeah, why?” I answered.

“Uhm…well you see, last I checked, you’re an F-Rank so that should be impossible, no?” He asked once more.

“Yeah, you’re right about that. Even I was surprised. I mean I almost died even, but it wasn’t really as hard as I thought it’d be…” I answered.

“What do you mea-”

“Wait, the Zeke Party. What about the Zeke Party!?” The other guard then chimed in.

“Zeke Party???” I played dumb. I wasn’t about to just casually disclose the fact that they all died by my hand.

“You’ve…never heard of the Zeke Party?” The first guard asked.

“Nope.” If old man-Gam saw me now, he’d be so proud of how much I’ve grown the lying techniques he’s taught me.

***

Now listen kid, you need to learn how to lie your teeth off.

Lie my teeth off?

That’s right! Lie your teeth off. Always remember. The most important skill a man can have, is his ability to lie! When you rob a bank and the cops start accusing you as a suspect – lie.

Hold on, have yo-

When your girlfriend finds out you cheated on her with her sister – lie.

You have got to be kid-

When you stea-sorry, I mean uh…”borrow” your brother’s car for the day and return it without him knowing, but then he finds a scratch on it and then suspects you – lie.

Okay, why do these scenarios oddly sound like things that have specifically happened to you?

I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Lemme guess. Is the next scenario: When the kid you’re raising finds out that you’ve actually done some pretty effed up stuff in your past – lie?.

Now you’re get’n it!

***

Seriously, sometimes I don’t get that man. How did someone like that end up being a caretaker and founder of an orphanage? I always wonder. I don’t even have a brother, let alone one with a car.

“But I guess this counts: When you murder an entire party of Warriors and people start asking questions – lie.”

“Well…you see, there was a party formerly known as the Zeke Party, they entered a while after you did. Did you not cross paths with them maybe?” He queried.

“Not even once.”

“B-but the Dungeon has been cleared, does that mean they’re trapped in there?” The second guard worried.

“No.” Both the first guard and I answered in unison.

He then continued alone…

“Cleared Dungeons won’t close until all alive Warriors that were inside exit it.”

“So the Zeke Party is…”

“Yes, all the members of the Zeke Party have died.”

“But that’s impossible! That party had one C-Rank, Zeke Reinhardt, third son of the Reinhardt Family, two D-Ranks and one E-Rank. How could they die in an E-Rank Dungeon instead of clearing it with flying colours!?” The second guard queried in disbelief.

“Beats me, it’s even more unbelievable since an F-Rank instead was the one who managed to clear it. Oh…n-no offence.” The first guard added.

“None taken. But I have a theory…”

“A…theory?” Both guard, their faces laced with curious expressions, asked in unison.

“Yeah, what if…just hear me out…maybe, just maybe. Is it possible that the Zeke Party actually encountered the Dungeon Boss before I did and managed to weaken it? Which is why I was able to kill it and clear the Dungeon? Hhheh? I don’t know… What do you guys think?” I asked as if I wanted to hear their opinions, but in truth I just fed them lies so they could feed them to other people while making them think that it was all their idea.

“So you think that the party members all died facing the Boss and weakened it in the process. That would explain why you were able to kill it despite you Rank but…” The first guard paused.

“Would the Zeke Party really die at the hands of a D-Rank monster?” The second guard inquired.

“Well, it wasn’t just the D-Rank Boss.” I added.

“What do you mean?” The second guard asked.

“While I was exploring the Dungeon. Its main monsters, called Werehyenas, lived in caves underground….” I explained. “Making sure to stay very far away from them, I noticed that they were always in groups of at least seventy to a hundred in numbers, and that was before I even ’accidentally’ stumbled over the Boss’ cave and when I did, the Boss was alone, and heavily injured now that I think about it, but at the time I was too focused on my survival to notice and ran. It chased me down and caught up to me, leaving me no choice to fight back. Fortunately, I was miraculously able to defeat it despite my Rank.”

“Of course!” The first guard declared.

“It all makes sense now!” He continued. “The monsters must’ve ambushed and outnumbered the Zeke Party, since it was the Boss’ cave then the number of Werehyenas must’ve been humongous. I’d estimate ten times as much as normal which is at least seventy. So the number of Werehyenas that the Zeke Party must’ve faced was probably seven-hundred plus, and they were still able to defeat that whole army of monsters, but it must’ve came at cost.” He finished.

“Right. Defeating that many monsters must’ve really tired them out, and when it came to the Boss. All they could ever hope to do was weaken it enough for Mr Raid to then defeat it.” The second guard concluded.

“Wow, you guys are geniuses. I for one would’ve never figured this much out of all of this.” I praised insincerely, but they didn’t need to know that.

“Ah shucks. You’re giving us too much credit sir. All we did was just connect a few dots.” The first guard said humbly while scratching the back of his head and smiling awkwardly.

“Yeah, you’re the one worthy of praise for clearing the Dungeon. Even if the Boss was weakened, it’s still an amazing feat!” The second guard added.

“Thanks for that. Really means a lot. Well I’ll be off now. Later fellas!” I said as I entered my car.

“Yes, goodbye!”

“Safe travels!”

The both bid me farewell respectively as I drove off.

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