Astartes freshened up and came out of his room. He wore a blue, long-sleeved shirt and black pants with black shoes. Coupled with his lean, athletic build and his short obsidian black hair and silver pupils he was very captivating and handsome. Even Adele clicked her tongue amusingly at the sight of him.
After he left the room, he followed behind Adele who led them to a small courtyard where a group of people were gathered. Some were drinking beer and eating meat while others were simply engaged in chit chat.
But everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the two of them.
"Looks like the brat is awake. I hope you did not terrify him too much, Captain Ink Sword," a muscular and long bearded man looked at Adele while drinking his beer.
"Shut up, Bear Paw. It is not as if you can do anything to me," Adele retorted lightly.
One of the individuals, a slim yet cute looking female spoke, "Wow, he is quite the handsome individual isn't he? If he was so unfortunate that he became a a ranker, he would have been such a famous model." she laughed.
Her words made the others laugh too.
Adele was even more annoyed by their lack of seriousness and said harshly, "Will you also shut up, Willow Steps. The lad has agreed to join our party. Although he is still very green, the extra assistance will give our party an extra percentage of success in our upcoming catacomb raids. You understand?!"
The group of individuals who were four in number, nodded their head in understanding. One by one they approached Astartes and began introducing themselves.
The four individuals were Willow Steps, Bear Paw, Autumn Leaf and Oaken Shield. It turned out that they were all Class F Rankers just like he was. It was only Adele, the captain that was a Class E Ranker.
However, judging by their confidence and subtle body language, August was very clear that these individuals were no rookies whatsoever. They had a lot of combat experience as well as accumulation of their powers, something he could not compare to.
When he observed his status, he was absolutely weak in terms of his attributes and his spirit was below average, the lowest possible level for a Ranker. For now he had to find a way to preserve his life if he wanted avoid suffering the same fate as his friends and family in his traumatic past.
"What is your name, young lad?" Bear Paw placed his arms around Astartes neck which made the latter nearly fall to the ground just due to the weight of the former's arm alone.
"You can call me Infinity."
Bear Paw laughed heartily patting Astartes' shoulders even more, "What a bold name! Such should be the fire of a youthful spirit! Hopefully you live up to that name!"
Everyone one else treated Astartes cordially which was surprising to him and made him feel a bit of warmth."
"Alright, enough talk. Let us prepare our equipment and logistics. After that we will get Infinity registered at the Ranker Association branch within the city. Once that is done, we shall head straight to the Class F Catacomb, [Lionmen Abode]"
Adele turned to Astartes "Now that you have joined my team, it is my duty as captain to ensure that you are safe. Hence I have a skill I want to give you. It is not of much use to me but with it you can prove to be a little useful in our raid, at least. But it still costs $20,000 so you have to pay me back, got it?"
Astartes was stunned but immediately thanked Adele for the gesture. He really had a good impression of Adele. Despite her tough talk on the outside, he could tell that she genuinely cared for her members.
After preparations, the team entered a transport vehicle, a flying car, and made their way to the Ranker Association Branch. In the car, Astartes took out the skill book.
The name of the skill book Astartes received from Adele was a Class F skill called [Icicle Blast]. He crushed the skill book and it dissolved into magic particles that got absorbed into his mind. His status displayed the skill description.
SKILL: ICICLE BLAST (F) - Allows user to shoot an icicle at enemies.
"Status" Astartes commanded.
NAME: ASTARTES (HUMAN)
RACE: HUMAN
OCCUPATION: RANKER (CLASS F)
STRENGTH: 0
AGILITY: 0
VITALITY: 0
SPIRIT: 10
SKILLS: Icicle Blast (F)
INHERENT SKILL: INFINITE CASTER (Two Slots Available)
Infinite Cast Slot 1: None
Infinite Cast Slot 2: None
**Place [Icicle Blast] in one of the Infinite Caster slot? Y/N**
Hmm?
Astartes noticed the update on his status. He had always been curious about the true functions of this...Infinite Caster Inherent Skill of his. But if he understood it clearly, it appeared that a skill could be placed into a slot so that it could possess the 'Infinite Cast' effect?
He had a feeling that this Inherent Skill was far more mysterious than usual. He was very expectant to see the effects.
The flying car flew over the high rise buildings of Yosemite City. The view was impressive but from the window, August could see the destruction of a part of a town from a far distance as well as the gigantic monoliths that were sprawled everywhere across the city. They were the catacombs.
Within fifteen minutes, they arrived at a tall white skyscraper, the Ranker Association branch. This was where rankers came to check their ranks or update them, receive certification as rankers which provided its perks and privileges, as well as trading in resources. a ranker association branch could be round in every city in the Angelus Empire.
Astartes was escorted by Adele for the registration. After placing his hand on a large spirit stone, the scientists running the scans and their tests and confirmed his power as a Class F Ranker. Astartes realized that the test could not detect his inherent skill and heaved a secret sigh if relief. Who knew which people who begin to target him just after learning about this ability of his?
After receiving a ranker's badge, which had the emboldened letter F on it, He perused through the various skills, equipment and strength, vitality, agility and spirit cores within the association's store and his gaze was green with envy.
When will he be able to buy all this items he had shortlisted in his mind?
Ah well...
Since he was too broke to buy anything, the team immediately set off to the [Lionmen Abode]
Reaching the Lionmen Abode Catacomb, they walked displayed the several other rankers that were gathered around the place. Some were coming out and others were preparing to go in, or perhaps just idle. Astartes saw a party of rankers emerge from the Catacomb. Three of their members were covered in blood and two of them were missing a limb. It was unclear whether they were alive or dead.
"This is the daily fate of a ranker," Adele who stood beside him, muttered to him softly. "It is a daily encounter with life and death. You can lose your life at any time or you can become more powerful at any time. It is a pendulum that can swing in any direction."
She said nothing more and led them to the entrance where they displayed their identification cards and entered the catacomb.
The catacomb was very expansive than Astartes expected. The narrow halls within his mind were replaced by this vast open field of rocks and trees. It was as if he had entered a new world!
"Stay sharp everyone. We will aim for the third floor today! Oaken Shield, you will keep an eye on Infinity. Make sure that he does not get harmed, do you understand?" Adele instructed.
"Yes Captain," Oaken Shield was a gaunt faced, stout individual who held a large centurion shield. He was a ranker that specialized as the tank of the team, a role that meant that he was to block enemy attacks or distract them. He was always serious and seemed quite reliable.
Astartes was a rookie after all so he did not mind the extra care. But he knew that he had to adapt quickly otherwise not even Oaken Shield would be able to do anything for him.
"Alright get into formation."
Adele took the foremost position as she was a warrior. Bear Paw also stood to the left side while Willow Steps took the right side. Oaken Shield stood in front of Astartes and Autumn Leaf. During their journey, Astartes discovered that the young girl, Autumn Leaf was a healer. Together they remained in the middle with Oaken Shield and were to provide support.
They did not move far when about 10 figures appeared. They were hulking figures, all 2 meters in height. They had a gray human lower body but had a large lion head. They exuded a chilling vibe.
"Lionmen incoming, prepare for assault!"
Instead of rushing in, Adele stood her ground and gave her orders. The Lionmen roared with fury and they charged at the group with their fastest speed. The first Lionmen reached Adele and leaped towards her, its powerful claws swiping at her head.
However, instead of dodging, Adele swung her black broadsword to met it. The impact was loud and powerful, but Adele was able to slash apart its arm in a single strike! She seized the initiative and with several rapid follow up attacks, decapitated the Lionman with ease.
On the side Astartes was inwardly shocked by the power displayed by Adele.
So this is the power of an E-Ranker. Her sheer strength alone is enough to overpower a Lionman in a single blow. Her sword is also likely a Class E weapon.
One had to understand that although the Lionmen within the Catacombs were Class F, their strength attribute were still top rank for their rank.
The Lionmen were relentless though, as two more took advantage of the opportunity created by the dead Lionman and attacked Adele at the same time!
But before their attacks to land, they were intercepted by Bear Paw and Willow Steps!