Aric was sitting inside the guild hall with Kail, Rone, and Elias. They were all at the same table, eating some food after finishing a quest. The guild hall was busy, people walking around, talking, and some arguing loudly in the corner.
"You know," said Rone while chewing his bread, "we've been friends for a while now, but we don't really know each other well."
"Yeah, true," said Elias. "Let's talk about ourselves a bit. I'll start. My name's Elias. I'm twenty-four, from the capital. C-rank adventurer."
Kail laughed. "Okay, I'll go next. I'm Kail, nineteen years old and I'm from here, Aegis. I'm D-rank. Brown hair but I dyed it red, hazel eyes. And obviously, I'm the most handsome one here."
They all laughed. Even Aric smiled.
"My turn," Rune said. "I'm Rune, twenty-five, from the west coast. I just got A-rank. Blond hair, blue eyes. And I disagree with Kail, I'm the most handsome."
More laughter followed.
Then everyone looked at Aric.
He smiled a bit but then looked serious. "I'm Aric. Twenty-one. I was adopted as a kid by a family in a village. I never knew my real parents, so i don't know my true origin. But… the village got attacked when I was young. It burned down. I was the only one who survived."
The table went silent for a moment.
"I'm sorry, man," Kail said.
Aric shook his head. "It's okay. My grandma took care of me since then, I had talent and trained hard to protect her since I was 13. I didn't want to be weak ever again."
"Well, you're super strong now," Rune said with a grin. "Even if you don't show off much."
Aric smiled a bit. "Thanks."
Just then, someone came to their table. A tall man with long brown hair tied behind his head and golden eyes. He looked calm but strong.
"Hey guys," he said. "Mind if I join?"
"Of course!" Kail said. "This is Ryn. He's A-rank. We knew each-other since we were kids but he left on a journey to get stronger five years ago and came back yesterday.
"Nice to meet you," Ryn said, sitting down.
They talked for a while, sharing stories and laughing. Elias told a funny story about falling into a swamp while trying to impress a girl. Everyone laughed so hard that Rune nearly spit his drink out.
After some time, Aric stood up. "Alright, I'm going to Kail's dad's shop. Need to buy some new armor."
"Go ahead," Kail said. "Tell him I sent you. He might give you a discount. Or maybe charge you double, who knows."
Aric chuckled and left.
The shop looked a bit different, they had displayed new weapons. Kail's father was a big man with a long beard and strong arms.
"Hello Aric," he said. "Here for new weapons?"
"Yeah, this time i came to buy armour. " Aric said with a small smile.
He looked around and found a nice light armor. It felt strong but not too heavy, perfect for his speed, so he bought that armour.
When he stepped out, he felt something weird. The air changed. Then loud horns blasted across the city.
BOOOOOM.
People screamed. Smoke was rising not far away.
"The city is under attack!" someone shouted.
Aric thought it must be a demon attack.
When he reached the city gate, he saw hundreds of demons pouring in. Most of them were small, weak demons. The knights and guards were fighting bravely, but they were struggling because of the numbers.
Aric didn't even slow down. He pulled out his sword and rushed in.
Every swing cut down two or three demons. Their weak bodies fell easily. They screamed and growled, but they couldn't even touch him.
Slash. Slash. Slash.
Aric moved fast, like the wind. The knights looked at him.
"The hero came to helpus this time as well." one of them said.
More demons kept coming, but to Aric, it was like walking through tall grass. He didn't even break a sweat.
Soon, Kail and the others arrived too, with more adventurers.
"Looks like you didn't leave any for us!" Rune shouted.
Aric smiled. "There's still plenty."
Ryn jumped into the fight too, cutting down demons with calm ease. The other adventurers helped the knights push back the horde. The low and mid-rank demons weren't much trouble for them either.
Then, the ground shook.
Six high-rank demons appeared. They were bigger than the others. Their skin was black and grey, their claws sharp, and their eyes glowed red.
The knights hesitated. For them, these were strong enemies.
But Aric was used to fighting them.
"I'll take care of them," Aric said calmly.
He walked toward the high-rank demons. One charged at him. Aric didn't even flinch. With one clean strike, he cut its head off.
The demon's body dropped to the ground.
The second one tried to grab him from behind. Aric simply moved to the side and stabbed it through the chest. It died instantly.
The third demon tried to attack from a distance, throwing sharp black spikes. Aric deflected them with his sword, then dashed forward and sliced it in half.
The last three high-rank demons roared together, trying to surround him.
But the other adventurers came in.
"I'll handle these!" Ryn shouted as he and the others charged at the remaining demons.
In just a few minutes, all six high-rank demons were dead.
The remaining low and mid-rank demons started running away. The battle was over.
The knights cheered loudly.
"We did it!" one of them shouted.
Aric stood there, barely tired. He wiped some black demon blood off his sword.
That was easier than I expected.
I guess I got stronger again.
The group gathered afterwards near the city square. They were all sitting on the ground, resting after the fight.
"Man," Elias said, laying flat on the ground, "that was crazy."
"It was easy for Aric maybe," Kail groaned. "I thought I was going to die at least five times."
Ryn laughed. "Come on, you only almost died three times."
Aric smiled calmly. "You all did well."
Kail slapped Aric on the back. "And you, monster. You cut those high-rank demons like they were made of butter."
"I barely had to try," Aric admitted honestly.
Everyone laughed.
"Next time, you fight while we sit and watch," Rune joked.
They kept laughing and talking. Even after a dangerous fight, they could still find something to smile about.
The city was safe. And for now, so were they.