Limits

The Golem said "There are couple of rules, regarding your new membership. For one, you have to stay active. You have 100 days, to carry out at least one task. If you can't finish any tasks within 100 days, you will have to provide a reason for that. If the reason is not sufficient enough, we might strip you of the membership. There are of course exceptions. If your task is supposed to take 100 days or more, you will be exempt from that rule. Another exemption is, if you encounter large trouble, or leave North. We will demand an explanation in case of the former, while a notification in case of the latter".

I nodded my head, and asked "So, if I want to leave North, you will not strip me of my membership?". The Golem nodded, and said "Yes, your membership will be suspended. When you return, and report to one of the branches, it will become active again". He then continued "There is another exception. If you are above a certain rank, you will not have such deadlines. Moreover, you will have many more benefits from the Mercenary Guild".

I asked "What rank am I now?". The Golem explained "You are the lowest rank right now. To rise up in ranks, you will need to successfully carry out some tasks first. For further ranks, you strength matters too, and there will be different tests concerning that". I nodded, and asked "What are the ranks then?". The Golem replied "The lowest rank is called Bronze Rank. This is your current rank. The next in line, is the Steel Rank, then Silver Rank, then Gold Rank and lastly Black Gold Rank. I should also mention, that there are special ranks, but you will not be informed about them now. If you rank is sufficient, you will be provided that information".

I wanted to ask something, but he stopped me and said "Let me continue. Each Rank, has a specific number of Tiers. There are 3 Tiers in the Bronze, Steel and Silver Ranks. There are only 2 Tiers in Gold and Black Gold Ranks. To advance a Tier or a Rank, a specific amount of contribution is needed. The contribution can be checked in any branch, as your membership stone records your contribution points". I nodded, and asked "So, can I now finally do that task?". The Golem nodded his head, and said "I already registered it. Keep that paper with you, and bring it with the items specified. Besides the money, you also receive contribution points. This task will reward you with 5 points". I nodded and asked, a bit curious "How many points do I need, in order to advance to the next Tier?". He replied "You will need 200 points. For the Tier 2 of the Bronze Rank, you need 500 points, and Tier 3 requires 1000 points". 'That is quite a lot. 1000 points, just to reach Tier 3, how many points one would need, in order to get to Gold Rank?' I thought. I decided to not ask that question, and simply said "Great, I'm off then. See you soon".

I finally managed to get, what I came for. 'It took me some time, just to get a job. Who would have thought, that getting such a low paid job, would be so difficult' I thought. The membership, had its advantages too. For one, if I reached a higher ranking, I would have access to greater amount of information. This could prove useful in the North.

I soon left the city. I headed towards the caves, in order to "complete" my task. Of course, I already had the required amount of Lears, so I didn't need to go anywhere. I didn't take that task for money. Further away behind me, a group of humans was trying to follow me. They kept their distance, and didn't follow me in a straight line. 'They don't seem to be that stupid, but even if there is someone as strong, as the woman who severed my arm, I can still deal with them. The problem would be, if some of them are as strong as Woody… This could get messy' I thought.

When I travelled far away from the city, the group of humans got closer and closer. 'So, they finally make their move' I thought, and continued at the normal pace. After a while, the managed to catch up, while one of the members from that group shouted "Friend, Wait!". I stopped and turned around. The group consisted of 5 members, there were four males and one female.

A guy that seemed to be the leader, stepped forward, and said "Are you going to do a task? We can help you out, as you are new here". I shook my head, and said "It's a simple task of collecting some Lears, I don't need help with that". They didn't take it to heart, and simply walked over. The woman from that group looked at me, and said "I think I saw your face somewhere". While others nodded and agreed.

'What a charade. I don't get it thought. Why not simply attack me? After all, that is what they are here for' I thought. The leader of that group suddenly exclaimed "I remember! You are that wanted man!". I looked at them, as if looking at idiots, and simply said "It seems to be the case. Do you want anything in particular?". I decided to play their game a bit too. The leader shouted "You filthy bastard! Giving bad reputation for your own kin. You should be brought to justice!".

'This is something, I never understood in humans. Why play the hero? Why are they trying to justify their greed?' I thought. Of course, there was no need for an answer, as they already started their attacks. The leader guy charged at me with a sword and shield, while others followed suit. None of them were archers, or ranged weapon wielders.

'They are not weak though. They must've broken through the Half Step of the Outer Limit too. Let's see how this goes' I thought, and launched forwards as well. I didn't use any of my skills from the Art of Hidden Weapons, I simply used the close combat. My first attack, was blocked to my surprise. 'Although I didn't use most of my strength, the guy still managed to block my 60% strength output. Not bad' I thought, as I slashed with my daggers.

Others didn't stand there watching, and attacked as well. I had to utilise my Natural Path skill, in order to evade the attacks. 'The leader seems to be the strongest, I should take care of others first' I thought, and backed away a bit from the leader. He immediately figured out my intentions, but with my strength, I managed to get away from him. He shouted "Watch out! He is coming after you guys!", but it was too late. I appeared behind the guy with a shield, and used my Pressuring Dagger skill.

"BOOM!"

To my surprise, something unexpected happened, and I was blasted backwards. The guy I attacked, was fine. They quickly tried to grab that occasion, but I managed to escape. 'Just what was that thing? As if my attack hit some kind of barrier, then bounced me of' I thought. The Leader engaged me in the battle again. He was trying to focus my attention on him. I had other plans, and used 100% of my strength, to push him back.

I then sped towards the woman, who seemed to be the weakest. But then out of nowhere, I got rammed from behind. I lost my balance and I was about to hit the ground. I reacted quickly, and used my hands to push myself further away. The distance between me and the group, increased again. When I looked behind, it was a guy with a large sword, that rammed into me. For some reason, he didn't use the sword to attack. 'These guys are no amateurs. If I can take out one or two of them, I will have a much easier time. The five of them makes a good team, I hate to admit. Time to take this a bit more seriously' I thought.

I quickly took out my bow and arrows. They seemed surprised, while I started shooting. One of them shouted "Shit! Retreat! He is also an archer!". They tried retreating, while I shot at the guy with the shield. "SWOOSH!" "SWOOSH!" "SWOOSH!"

I shot three arrows, one after the other. He managed to evade one, but the other two were on target. Then, something made them change course. 'It's not their skill. Now I know, why I was pushed backwards, when I tried to backstab that guy. Their clothes or some kind of items on them, have Formations. No wonder I have such a hard time killing them' I thought.

This was bad, truly bad. I hid my bow, and prepared to deal with them differently. I pressed my legs into the ground, and launched.

"BOOM!".

Someone shouted "He's coming!". I released my condensed Domineering Aura, my target was the shield guy. When I arrived in front of him, time seemed to slow down for him. I didn't aim at the parts where his clothes were, I aimed for his neck, which was not protected.

"SWISH!" "CLING!"

I jumped back, and noticed that my arm became numb. 'This guy… He has an Aura as well' I thought. It was that leader guy. He used his own Aura, to overcome mine, and blocked the attack. 'They are truly a perfect team. If that is the case, I have no other options. I need to use Frosty's strength' I thought, and prepared for the next bout.