Chapter 98: The Light In Winter

Chapter 98: Chapter 98: The Light In Winter

Victor got off the bus in front of the Central Rankers Guild and found a crowd blocking the plaza.

They were protesters, dozens of them, and most wore white coats. They carried placards and boards, and the shouting bounced off the glass and stone.

STOP TAKING OUR LIVELIHOODS.

WE ARE PEOPLE TOO.

THIS IS THE ADVANCEMENT OF HUMANITY.

SCIENCE IS THE FUTURE.

Victor slowed for a second, curious. He remembered something like this from before his regression, a protest, but he’d never learned why. If it had been important, he would have known. It didn’t involve a Gate or anything major, and if it hadn’t mattered a year ago, it wouldn’t matter now.

Just then, one of the protesters, a full bearded man hurried for him. "You there. You are a Ranker aren’t you? One of those idiots that contribute to stopping the research of true medicinal science." The man looked like his eyes were bloodshot, most likely, he had not slept for days.

"You dare take away research opportunity that would save my daughter’s life?"

Victor actively ignored him, even as the man kept on shouting, and spitting behind him.

Also, it seemed like someone was already approaching to talk to them. And it was a priest from the church too.

Victor had other things to do. And so he made his way inside.

Victor held his phone with his Ranker ID over the scanner, the barcode beeped green, and the doors opened.

The reception hall was as impressive as he remembered it from the last time. Maybe because it was only his second visit, and tge previous time, he had been more interested in knowing his Ranker status. But this time, he noticed the statue standing at the center. It was of five figures, swords pointed together at the sky, and above the tips hovered small revolving spheres glowing bright yellow.

He recognized them from the news. The first generation of Rankers, or rather, the special few among them.

The Light in Winter.

They were the ones who had broken off pieces of the sun and carried them to five major cities of the country. Rumor said those shards eventually grew into the artificial suns. Victor read it off the plaque beneath their feet.

He approached the reception desk. "I’m here for the Outer Ring excursion test."

The receptionist took his card and glanced at it. "Oh. An E-Ranker." She sounded almost disappointed. Like she had seen thousands of his type. "This way, sir." She didn’t even check if he was following her.

She led him through a door into a room where other Rankers already waited. "Please wait here with the others. Someone will come for you shortly."

He nodded and went in.

Low voices drifted around the room.

"Did you see the protest outside?"

"Yeah, the doctors are at it again. Doctors and nurses."

"Ayah, again. But honestly, I don’t blame them. Medicine is dying."

Victor leaned in slightly. It didn’t concern him, but it was news. No wonder I never heard about it before. It was about doctors and nurses.

"I heard it’s because their research funding is gone. Especially for cancer research, all of it."

"What do you expect? Who wants to study medicine when one low-grade potion heals a broken leg?"

"That’s why the nobles and rich men have stopped investing in science. It’s all magic technology now. Potions work faster than slow science. And that is why we get paid good money as Rankers"

A few of them nodded.

The door opened and Manager Lee walked in. Everyone turned and straightened. Their gazes were respectful, almost careful. Victor realized Lee was far more important than he’d assumed.

Lee scanned the faces and found Victor at the far end. His gaze tightened a bit, but he said nothing about it.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the testing point. Please follow my assistants. You’ll be evaluated according to your ranks for the Outer Ring excursion."

Everyone in the room was E-Rank, so they all followed the same assistant.

If they were any better, then they would not be made to stand and wait.

They went down, and down again, and came out into a hall so large Victor stopped walking. It could have parked three airplanes side by side with room left over. The ceiling was lost in shadow overhead, and the walls ran off into the distance. They were deep underground, which meant the Guild was far bigger and richer than it looked from outside.

A pocket dimension. He’d heard of them. A space that looked small from the outside and held hundreds of meters, even a kilometer, inside. The Central Guild could afford that?

Facilities stretched across the floor. Rankers lifted objects the size of cars. Others sparred in marked rings, and training dummies shattered and reformed. The assistant led them to a long steel track with a massive sled sitting at one end.

"All you need to do is push the sled to the line," she said. "Two tons. Twenty meters. Anyone who can do that qualifies."

When it came to dungeon raids, E Rankers were mostly used to carry heavy equipments. This was a test to see if they could carry weight important to the job description.

A few of them laughed as they took positions, grabbed the bars, and heaved.

Just then, a small explosion rang out from across the hall.

Everyone turned.

Far ahead, two people sparred inside a ring. A blonde young woman with a sword, and a slim man with low-cut hair carrying a spear. Every time their weapons met, a mini explosion rippled across the floor and shook the air. Heads kept turning.

"Isn’t that Seraphine Vale?" someone whispered. "The B-Rank? ’The Untouchable’?"

"And that’s the A-Rank, Cassian Vale. ’The Needle.’"

"Needle" was apt. His spear moved like a thread being pulled through cloth, precise and thin and cutting.

"They’re twins, you know," another voice murmured. "She’s B-Rank, he’s A-Rank. You’d think the A-Rank is stronger, but their powers complement each other. One feeds the other. The more they fight together, the stronger they get."

"I heard the two of them could take five A-Ranks at once."

"Oh, they are that impressive?"

Victor listened and nodded. He didn’t follow Rankers much unless they were on the news. But he’d seen these two before, and heard their story. Watching them move up close was impressive.

After all, Victor had seen battles, especially those of Barbarians. And he had to admit, this was far more impressive.

When the spar ended, Seraphine wiped her forehead with her wrist, looked over, and pointed across the hall.

"You. The one with the black hair. Get me a bottle of water."

Everyone turned. Victor looked around.

She was pointing at him.

"Can’t you hear me? Bring me water, dumbass."

That was rude. But all eyes were in him like what just happened was normal.

She did not even a ’please’ and still called him a dumbass.

Victor had every right to say no, and he wanted to. But then he heard the whispers from behind him.

"Lucky brat. He gets to get her water. If he is smart, he might even create a favourable connection with such a star Ranker."

"Yes, I heard many E–Rankers in the past that played their cards right have been favored by such chance encounters and gifted armaments A Rankers no longer want."

"An Armament an A Ranker no longer wants is practically an heirloom for us."

An armament, Victor thought.

Then he nodded at Seraphine. Besides, it was only water. And she was a high Ranker. Maybe he’d truly make a useful connection.

He went to look for it.

It took a while. He didn’t know the layout of the guild. After asking around, he found a vending machine in a corridor. Most snacks and drinks at the Guild were free. He took a bottle, then thought about it and took another. Her brother might want one too.

He walked back to the ring. Behind him, the person testing the E–Rankers announced loudly, "sorry, but that will be all for today. Please if you’ve not been tested make sure to come back tomorrow."

Seems like I’ll have to come back tomorrow.

That was worry for another time. For now, where were those two? But they weren’t there.

"If you’re looking for the twins, they went to change," a Ranker told him. "Check near the restrooms."

Victor nodded and followed the directions through one corridor, then another, until he reached a quieter section of the building lined with changing rooms.

He heard sounds as he got closer. Muffled. Breathy.

He frowned. Is someone hurt?

He hurried forward and pushed the door open.

Then he froze, a bottle of water in each hand.

Seraphine and her ’twin brother’ were in the middle of the room, locked together, naked, kissing like nothing else in the world existed.