Towards S-Rank (2)

S-rank? Me?

To be precise, it was Provisional S-rank.

First, you had to be acknowledged by the S-rank Awakeners within your own guild to become a Provisional S-rank. Then, you had to be acknowledged by S-rank Awakeners from other guilds to be officially recognized as a proper S-rank.

That was because S-rank wasn’t a grade officially recognized by the government, but one created by the guilds themselves.

The standards were vague, so if one really wanted to, they could just churn out S-ranks.

To prevent that, the major guilds had apparently made a pact to mutually recognize each other’s S-rank Awakeners.

“So, you know you’re not a real S-rank yet, right?”

“Yes.”

“Here, then.”

That made four.

Of the six signature slots on the document stating ‘Lee Han-gyeol is hereby recognized as an S-rank,’ four were now filled.

S-rank Yoo Hyun-sik (Yoo Hyun-sik)
S-rank Choi Yoon (Choi Yoon)
S-rank Patricia D. Nott (Patricia D. Nott)
S-rank Shin Min-ha (Shin Min-ha)
S-rank Jeong Ju-ho (—–)
SS-rank Jin Harin (—–)

“Still, it feels like you’ll become a full S-rank if you keep at it for just a little longer.”

“Huh? …Thank you.”

“So the only ones left are the Vice Guild Master and the Guild Master?”

“Yes.”

“I hear the Guild Master is in the Spirit World, so I guess the Vice Guild Master is next.”

“Yes. I plan to visit him at the gate where he’s currently stationed.”

“Is that so? Good luck. Becoming a Provisional S-rank at twenty is a huge success, so stand tall. I look forward to working with you.”

I shook the hand that Shin Min-ha, an S-rank Awakener of Elemental, offered me.

From her grip, I felt a cool flow of water.

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be on my way.”

“Take care.”

As I turned to leave, I heard a quiet whisper.

“…I wonder why they all try so hard to live.”

*

On my way to meet the Vice Guild Master, I ran into an unwelcome face.

“Is it true?”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

It was Jeong Ji-hoon. His usual lackeys were nowhere to be seen.

By the way, why the sudden informal tone? I’m pretty sure he used formal speech the first time we met…

If I were Seo A-gyeol right now, you’d be dead.

“Don’t play dumb. I’m talking about the S-rank recognition. I heard you’re going around collecting signatures.”

“…Yes.”

There was no reason or need to lie.

“Don’t you know your place?”

“My place?”

“An S-rank title obtained through mere politics… who do you think is going to acknowledge that?”

“Well, for starters, these four people did.”

S-rank Yoo Hyun-sik (Yoo Hyun-sik)
S-rank Choi Yoon (Choi Yoon)
S-rank Patricia D. Nott (Patricia D. Nott)
S-rank Shin Min-ha (Shin Min-ha)

I shamelessly shoved the paper in his face.

“…Ha! That piece of…!”

“More importantly, if one could become an S-rank through politics, what have you been doing all this time?”

“What?”

His eyes turned ice-cold.

“Ah, my words could be misleading. What I mean is—”

His glare? Like I cared.

“—who are you to tell me to know my place? What makes you so much better than me?”

“…Hey. You.”

“Yes.”

“Follow me.”

Oh, how terrifying.

*

The place he led me to was a gate.

“Excuse me, but did you receive prior authoriza—”

“Move.”

Wow, so forceful.

“Oh, and don’t tell anyone we’re here. Got it?”

“…Mr. Ji-hoon, you shouldn’t be doing this—”

“Hey. Don’t you see who I’m with? I just want to talk for a minute where no one’s around.”

I made eye contact with the staff member.

His eyes were trembling like an aspen leaf, so I gave him a slight shake of my head, as if to say, It’s okay, I’m fine.

The staff member sighed.

“Then you must come out quickly. …And forgive my concern, but there must be no injuries. You know how things have been with the guild lately.”

“I know. And whose fault is that? I’ll take care of it, so just get out of the way. I have my own plans.”

“…Understood. Please, go ahead.”

As we entered the gate, we made eye contact again. This time, it was the staff member who shook his head with a bitter look.

Really, I’m fine.

I had my own reasons for following him.

And so we entered the gate.

He was right about it being empty; the guild facility inside the gate was silent.

A blue sky, a gentle breeze, the atmosphere was nice—

“…Does Elemental look like such a pushover to you?”

“Pardon?”

In an instant, the atmosphere was no longer ‘nice.’

“Elemental isn’t so weak that someone can become an S-rank in just two months after Awakening. Especially… if they were a native C-rank.”

“A native C-rank? On the contrary, wouldn’t the fact that I climbed from C-rank to here in ‘just’ two months prove I’m qualified? Maybe they saw more potential in a ‘native C-rank’ who showed a steep climb to A-rank… than in a native A-rank who’s been stuck in the same place for years.”

“…Shut up.”

Flames rose from his left arm in a double helix.

“…I’m pretty sure the staff member asked that there be no injuries—”

“I told you to shut up. Come at me. I’ll show you that Elemental is no pushover, and that you can’t become an S-rank with a mere two months of experience.”

His flames flared larger, forming the shape of snakes. They coiled around his arm like the Rod of Asclepius.

The two snakes opened their mouths wide—

“Haha, and who do you think you are?”

Horns and wings unfurled simultaneously.

With them came a sense of omnipotence.

It was on a completely different level from what I had felt before.

One horn of flame, surging in a reverse vortex, and the other, an antler of lightning that flickered in and out of existence, changing shape with every pulse.

At the same time, the two spirits living within each horn—one was simply reveling in the moment, while the other merely sublimated its displeasure at the disrespect with a snort. In any case, both spirits were thrilled at the thought of crushing the arrogant challenger before me.

And behind my back—

Wings of magic, formed from my body’s mana condensed like a bundle of nerves or a network of roots, reading, scanning, and dominating the ambient mana around me.

They meticulously read the mana contained in even a single gust of wind surrounding us, riding that wind to learn that Jeong Ji-hoon, standing before me, was enraged, tense, expectant, jealous, and filled with desire.

The hissing snakes, the two flame serpents flying toward me with their mouths agape—I could feel every single strand of mana that formed them: their mouths, teeth, tongues, neck bones, ribs, and scales.

And at their center, what was likely the snakes’ hearts.

The pulsation of life I felt within the blazing flames, throbbing without rest, hotly sustaining life—

How curious. There’s a reason they call this a vision.

But it felt familiar, like I’d experienced it somewhere before—

Aha.

Those countless, heated gazes that had desired me.

The lips that had fervently coveted mine,

The countless tongues that had tenaciously teased my own,

The white-hot flames that had blazed at the sight of my fingertips, my toes, my chest, my ass, my face.

Thump.

The part of the body faithful to the ancient desire for procreation, for eternity.

The pillar, stiff and hard as blood rushed to it, swelling at its peak as if a mushroom cloud were blooming.

Thump, thump.

The pinnacle of carnal desire, the purest, rawest lust.

In that moment, every thought, every idea, every action was dedicated to procreation, a passionate, fervent movement to leave behind one’s seed.

Thump, thump, thump.

The body’s response, the drug-like reward bestowed upon one who is faithful to desire.

Lubrication flows on its own, pleasure shoots up the spine to strike the brain, and the entire body screams for more.

Thump, thump, thump, thump—

At the peak, finally at the peak,

The pure white seeds scattered thickly as if vomiting up a soul, the night flower blooming in abundance, the seed, the seed of life, the beginning of life.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump—

The fundamental pulsation I felt in that moment…!

BOOM!

The Fire Spirit shot out from my horn of flame.

It was in a human form, curled up with its knees to its chest.

Long, gently waving hair, and the voluptuous curves of a body that couldn’t be hidden even when curled up.

A human made of flame, and the spot where its heart would be glowed, pulsing as if it were beating—

‘Thank you!’

The Fire Spirit stretched its entire body as if waking up, a stretch so satisfying it was refreshing just to watch.

Her body was made entirely of flame, but in every other way, she was identical to a naked Seo A-gyeol.

Or was she?

I’d never made such a cheerful expression before.

“What is this! Then that woman…!”

Jeong Ji-hoon’s eyes widened.

While he was recalling his memory of Seo A-gyeol, Seo A-gyeol (Flame) grabbed the neck of each snake, one in each hand, and crushed them.

“Ahahahaha—!”

A seductive laugh echoed as if a chorus of Seo A-gyeols were singing.

But he was still a formidable opponent. Jeong Ji-hoon quickly formed a fireball in his right palm.

Fzzt—!

A death beam—a condensed bolt of lightning—struck the fireball.

The heads of the unraveling snakes were severed.

Seo A-gyeol (Flame) closed the distance and got in Jeong Ji-hoon’s face.

In an instant, she twisted her body—light flared sequentially from her waist to her shoulder, elbow, wrist, and finally her fist, which shone brilliantly.

“You fucking—”

CRACK!

Jeong Ji-hoon was sent flying in a U-shape.

THUD!

He collided with a shipping container.

Stuck to the container in a pose that seemed eternal, he couldn’t defy gravity and slumped to the ground.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be dead.

But he must have hit his head hard, as he couldn’t right himself easily.

I started to run toward him but stopped, using my wings to leap into the air as if floating.

Swoosh—!

I dodged the bite of a snake head that had materialized in mid-air.

Seo A-gyeol (Flame) reached him before I did.

She delivered a soccer kick to Jeong Ji-hoon’s gut, slamming him into the container once more.

CRASH!

“Fuck… Cough, cough.”

Jeong Ji-hoon coughed repeatedly.

Not fooled by his coughing, I raked my right hand through the air, and five streaks of lightning shot from my fingertips, gently grazing his body.

“Ghk, grk—”

Jeong Ji-hoon’s eyes rolled back as he foamed at the mouth and passed out. His head, which had been twitching finely, soon dropped, limp.

Confirming he was unconscious, I quickly reverted my transformation.

Now, how should I cook you up?