CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE“I see you all guys have met, Riley. He is a cool guy.” Miles said with a calm but audible tone as soon as he walked out of the other room next to them. He quickly walked up to Riley who was glad that he was there, and grabbed his hand with a smile on his face.“Hello, Riley. You are back.”“Miles, you are here.”“Right here.” Miles retorted with a slight chuckle, and then he pulled Riley gently away from the other S-rankers who continued to stare at him with curiosity written all over their faces.“Ladies and gentlemen, I would have to steal him away for a while,” Miles said cheerfully to the others who protested with their eyes and body gestures.“This way,” Miles whispered into Riley’s right ear and led him into the room he had walked out from. They continued walking until they got right in the middle of the room, and then Miles let go of his hand.“They really wanted to choke me with a lot of questions, I didn’t even know where to begin.” Riley sighed heavil

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE“We shall now proceed with he induction rites. But before then, I have something else to say.” He paused for a few seconds and looked at the S-rankers one after the other in a flash. He had a smile that showed pride and fulfillment, and he sighed as soon as he was done glancing at them.“Guilds from different places all over the world will be coming today to pick some of you for their missions. There will be several proposals laid out before you, but I want you to be very careful of the choices you make today. As much as it would hurt to let some of you go, I wish you well and hope you find peace wherever you go.” He paused for a while, and then he sighed heavily.“Whatever the case may be, just know that I will miss you!”“We will miss you too, Chief!”“We love you, chief!”“You will forever be in our hearts!”The remarks continued to emerge from the crowd, and Jeff almost dropped the tears that were beginning to gather up in his eyes. The two people standing bes

CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN“That’s understandable,” Jessica said after a few seconds, nodding her head in satisfaction. She turned to look at Riley, who wasn’t looking, and called out to him.“Riley ?”“Mm-hmm?” Riley mumbled as soon as he turned to look at her, wondering why she had called him.“What about you?”“What about me?”“Yeah. Have you made up your mind about your plans for today?”“Oh, that?” Riley said calmly, and then it became obvious with his countenance that he wasn’t sure of what decision he was to make regarding the situation.“Honestly, I didn’t even know I was going to be making such a decision at a close time like this. Everything is happening so fast, and it feels very overwhelming.” He said, still maintaining the look on his face.“I understand. I was just like you when I became an S-ranker. I didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t even have anyone to talk to. I joined a guild a few months after my induction, but it crashed almost a year later, and I had to return to t

CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE“The guilds had come from all over the world to make their choices, and I was glad that I was going to have the chance to travel all over the world and go on different adventures.” She continued, but the men weren’t so pleased with the fact that she was taking so much breaks after each sentence, creating more suspense in them.They had to wait for over ten seconds each time she finished up with a sentence, and Riley, who had become really interested in her story, didn't think he could wait for that long; after all, he was in that particular phase in his life, and he really needed to hear the story of her own experience.“Maybe I will be able to make my choice after hearing her story.” He thought to himself, still paying all of his attention to her.“The guilds finally began to choose from among the S-rankers who showed interest in joining every one of them, and I was hopeful of being chosen by the Silver Guild. I mean, who wouldn’t? They were the most powerful an

CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONESuddenly, his heart started to beat faster, and the tension that aroused from the situation began to get on his nerves.“Calm down, Riley . Calm down.” He thought to himself as he sauntered back to his seat, but he almost lost his balance when he noticed that most of the S-rankers seated by the corner were staring at him, while some of them began to say inaudible words.“Why are you all staring?” He asked with a whisper, but there were too many eyes staring at him, and he didn’t know which one of them he was going to concentrate on.Eventually, he managed to get back to his seat, and Miles didn’t even realize he was around until he sat down, and sighed heavily.“Riley ? Where the hell did you go? You just left.”“I am sorry, Miles. I suddenly felt the need to use the restroom. I think it's from the mashed potatoes.” Riley said with a calm tone, but Miles didn’t seem convinced by his words.“The mashed potatoes? But I had them too, and I can’t feel anything. Are you