Free Web NovelChapter 35: C-Rank Explorer
The barricade rattled as the goblins attempted to break it down. One of the green monsters slipped, sending itself sliding into the middle of the plaza. Two of the goblins made their way through the grease and clawed at the barricade. They managed to free a rack before Luke was able to get a clear shot.
Frost glinted in the sunlight as it shattered on impact with the ground. Only one goblin remained. It stood on top of a bench, like a wrestler on the top ropes. It jumped towards Luke, floating through the air. He didn’t have any time to cast; it was only a few feet away.
Then it was engulfed in fire.
Luke watched as every single goblin was melted into ash and coals. A singular flame leapt from monster to monster, leaving nothing but remains in its wake.
By Luke’s estimates, the flame killed over a hundred goblins with a single cast. That was devastation only capable of higher-ranked spells.
He watched as the caster walked through the shopping district, his hands remaining in his pockets. The man’s stride was casual as he evaluated his work.
Multiple people who were actively being attacked stood still as their attacker was burnt to a crisp. Most were screaming in the agony of their wounds.
Not far behind the man, five people in white lab coats ran to catch up. On their coats was a red cross, the symbol of a healer. They spread out through the plaza, casting their healing spells on those that lived and turning away from those who had already died.
While Luke’s sights were on the healers, he didn’t even notice the man had approached the storefront.
"Repair Door."
With one cast, the barricade was pushed out of the doorway, while the glass was separated from the grease and magically reassembled inside the doorframe.
"Do you have anything to clean this up?"
The man called out to Luke, who was staring at him through the mended door.
Would Cleanse work? It’s usually limited to the body and wearables of the caster, but clothes are just objects at the end of the day.
Luke stepped forward, pulling the door open and bending down until his hand was only millimeters away from the ground. Before casting, he used Valeria’s teachings and focused on imagining the outcome.
"Cleanse."
All the grease turned back into its original form, mana, and disappeared into the atmosphere.
The man walked closer to him. Luke couldn’t help but notice his striking resemblance to Leon. Noble facial features and blonde hair stood out in any crowd.
"Cleanse, huh? I’ve never seen it clean anything other than clothes and skin. How did you learn to do that?"
"It was my first attempt. I just used some of the pointers that my wife taught me."
Luke watched the man raise his eyebrow in question. He pointed back to Valeria, who was sitting beside the shopkeep.
It took him a moment, but when he realized who she was, his complexion went pale.
"That’s Lady Valeria. Wait, I’ve heard about you. My brother mentioned entering a rift with the husband of the lady."
"So you are Leon’s brother then?"
The man regained his complexion, turning more cheery.
"Haha, I heard a lot about you. Without you Leon wouldn’t have returned home. I do have to thank you for that, but we are working on getting compensation from the academy for the mistake. It’s well known that the Bony Worm rift is above its F-Rank classification. Even I didn’t have the balls to attempt it at F-Rank."
"I would have appreciated not having to attempt it in the first place."
"Don’t worry, Leon begged our head to negotiate compensation for you as well. Enough of the chit-chat, I have to get back to my job. It was nice meeting you. I’m Lex Gregory, a C-Rank explorer."
The two clasped hands, giving each other a firm handshake.
Once their hands parted, Lex gave a small bow to Valeria before continuing with his duties.
Luke turned around and started to put the benches and couch back. The shopkeep came to help, and when they were finished, he returned to Valeria. Her mind was clearly occupied by something, so he didn’t worry about signing to her.
"Any chance you are still open?"
"Absolutely, a true McGregor never turns away customers. I will even offer ya a discount, as I’d have surely died ta tat goblin if not for ya."
Although Luke already found the shop’s prices cheap, he wasn’t one to turn down an opportunity to save money.
He wheeled Valeria throughout the store, picking out a massive portion of the shop’s stock. The shopkeep counted out the total.
"Your total after the discount is 11 gold, 23 silver."
Luke reached into his empty pocket, activating his inventory. The menu appeared in front of him, with a couple of slots filled. Inside were 4 platinum coins and the change from the purchase at the bakery.
Luke used the ability to fill his pocket with 12 gold coins and set them down on the register.
"The change is yours."
While the shopkeep fiddled with the money, Luke turned to Valeria, signing while also pointing.
Is there room?
His finger pointed to the ring on her finger.
The silent conversation snapped her out of her thoughts.
Yes.
Luke slowly handed her a few pieces of clothes at a time, making sure not to overwhelm her.
The mound of clothes vanished into the ring, leaving nothing behind.
"Thank ya for ya patronage."
Luke pushed Valeria out of the shop into the aftermath of the rift break. He could see the healers working tirelessly to heal those injured, while Lex was nowhere to be seen; probably entering the dungeon to destroy its nexus.
After witnessing the spell he used, Luke couldn’t help but eye the explorer association store. There were hundreds of spells, just as destructive, if not even more so, just sitting in storage, waiting to be bought.
No, he couldn’t give in to their monopoly, not yet at least. He had more than enough firepower to clear any F-Rank rift, and Valeria’s mana core still hadn’t been fixed.
There was more to do before he needed to think about upgrading his arsenal.
Luke couldn’t wait to enter another rift. Before long, he could fix his wife’s mana core and reach the max size for an F-Rank. He needed to register for another rift.
