The night passed, and morning arrived with the soft songs of birds and the distant crowing of roosters.
A sudden knock echoed through the room.
Akeno, Kinuko, and Boros were all inside. Even though Griffin had paid for separate rooms, they chose to stay together instead, while Derrick slept alone in one of the extra rooms.
When Boros opened the door, he found Scarlet standing outside.
For a brief moment, a question crossed his mind.
'How did she know we were here?'
But he quickly brushed the thought aside, figuring Griffin must have told her.
"What do you want?" he asked bluntly.
"The Guildmaster requests your presence at the Guild Headquarters today," Scarlet replied, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground.
Boros couldn't tell whether she was avoiding eye contact because he was shirtless... or because she was genuinely afraid of him.
"We were already planning to come," Kinuko said from the back of the room. "He told us last night."
"Yes, but he sent me to remind you. In case you had forgotten," Scarlet replied softly.
"Please come as soon as possible. I-I'll be taking my leave now."
She gave a quick bow before turning away.
"Tch," Boros clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Kinuko."
"Yeah?"
"Go tell Derrick to get ready. I want to introduce him to Griffin before sending him on his way."
"Alright," Kinuko replied before walking out of the room.
Boros then turned toward the bed where Akeno was still sleeping.
"Oi, you lazy bastard. Wake up!"
A snowball instantly formed in his hand through his ability, and he launched it straight at her face.
"Ahh!" Akeno jolted awake.
"We're leaving early, so get ready already, you damn sleepyhead," Boros said.
"You could've just called my name... or tapped me normally," Akeno muttered angrily as she climbed out of bed. "But no, why do the normal thing when you can throw a snowball at me?"
.....
Nearly an hour had passed.
Boros, Kinuko, and Akeno sat in the inn's reception area waiting for Derrick. They hadn't been there for very long, but Boros' constant foot tapping against the floor made it obvious he was already losing patience.
Then, Derrick finally arrived.
"My apologies for keeping you all waiting," he said.
"Let's go," Boros replied immediately.
The group stepped outside and began making their way toward the Guild Headquarters.
For most of the journey, silence accompanied them.
Then Boros suddenly spoke.
"Derrick, I want to introduce you to Griffin."
A small flicker of hope appeared in Derrick's eyes. For a moment, he wondered if Boros had reconsidered his offer overnight.
"Then you can leave afterward," Boros finished coldly.
The hope vanished instantly.
Derrick had already accepted reality, yet somehow hearing it again made him feel even worse.
"To be honest, I was already planning to visit him before leaving," Derrick said after a moment. "It's customary, after all."
"Customary?" Akeno asked curiously.
"Yeah. Calonia falls under the White Tigers' territory, so Adventurers from other Guilds are expected to report in when they arrive. It helps avoid future problems," Derrick explained.
"I see," Akeno said, lightly pounding her fist into her palm in understanding.
As they continued talking, they eventually arrived at the massive gates of the Guild Headquarters and walked inside.
The Adventurers stationed near the entrance immediately saluted them as they passed.
"Are you guys seeing this?" Kinuko whispered.
"Yeah... this is kinda weird," Akeno replied quietly.
Boros ignored the stares and salutes entirely, keeping his eyes forward as he walked.
"Well, it's normal for junior Adventurers to salute higher-ranked ones," Derrick explained.
And technically, he wasn't wrong.
But the three of them had only received their ranks yesterday and still hadn't been properly informed about what those ranks truly meant.
Still, one thing was certain. The news had already spread throughout the Guild.
They now had two new S-Rank Adventurers.
And one newly appointed Apex-Ranked Adventurer.
The group headed straight toward the main building.
As soon as they arrived, they spotted Griffin standing outside with a wide grin on his face, Adam beside him with his usual expression.
"Was he waiting for us?" Akeno asked quietly.
"Looks like it," Boros replied.
He walked forward until he stood directly in front of Griffin.
"We're here."
"Yes ya are," Griffin laughed before pointing at Derrick. "Who's the fella? Made a new friend?"
"My name is Derrick Shawn, from the Draken Claw Guild," Derrick introduced himself respectfully. "I met him on Ryujin Island and returned here alongside him."
"Draken Claw, huh?" Griffin muttered, slowly eyeing Derrick from head to toe.
"My, my... aren't you a little far from home?" Adam said with a grin.
"Ryujin Island is close to your Guild's territory, isn't it?" Adam continued. "So what brought you all the way to Calonia?"
Derrick glanced toward Boros for a brief moment before tightening his fists.
"There was something I hoped to accomplish," he answered quietly. "But things didn't go the way I planned."
"That so?" Griffin scratched his beard thoughtfully. "Well, good thing yer here then. I was wonderin' how exactly I'd return the IDs he recovered back to yer Guild."
Boros raised an eyebrow. "Some of the IDs I brought belonged to his Guild members?"
"Quite a lot of 'em actually," Griffin chuckled. "Though that ain't surprising. Draken Claw's one of the closest Guilds to the North Cardinal after all."
The moment those words left Griffin's mouth, Boros' expression darkened slightly.
His fists slowly clenched at his sides.
The image of Derrick's comrades he trapped on Ryujin Island flashed through his mind again.
'Tch...'
He gritted his teeth quietly before looking away.
Griffin noticed the shift in Boros' expression but chose not to comment on it.
Instead, he waved his hand dismissively.
"But that ain't what we're here for today. Come on inside. There's some things I need to explain."
Griffin turned and entered the main building, with the others following behind him.
The moment they stepped inside, every Adventurer in the hall immediately stood at attention and saluted.
It was a normal occurrence whenever the Guildmaster was present.
"Let's head to my office," Griffin said. "We'll talk there."
The group followed him out back toward another building currently under repair. A massive hole remained in the roof - one of the many aftermaths of Boros and Rudeus' fight.
Once they arrived, Adam stepped ahead and opened the office door for Griffin before entering after him. The others filed in soon after, shutting the door behind them.
"First things first," Griffin began as he dropped into his chair with a relaxed slouch, "congratulations on yer new ranks."
"Thank you," Akeno and Kinuko replied in unison.
Boros simply folded his arms and stared silently.
'A promotion?' Derrick thought.
"Before we continue, I should probably explain the basics of the ranking system," Griffin continued. "As yer already know, the standard order goes from D-Rank, C-Rank, B-Rank, A-Rank, and then S-Rank."
He held up two fingers.
"Now, within the S-Rank, there are two separate grades. Low-Grade S-Ranks... and High-Grade S-Ranks."
"Above that is the Apex Rank."
"And finally, at the very top, the Guildmaster Rank."
Derrick's confusion only deepened as he listened.
The way Griffin explained everything made it sound as though the three of them were complete rookies.
But that made no sense. He had personally witnessed Boros' strength. And if there was one thing he had learned from the few days he'd spent with Boros, it was that he despised weakness. So he was sure they were high ranked Adventurers.
Then suddenly-
A terrifying thought crossed his mind.
Cold chills ran down Derrick's spine.
'Wait... don't tell me...'
'Was this a Direct Ascension?!'