Chapter 55: The Boss


    ?


    The yers, around thirty of them, stood in six different rows. They looked like a military unit preparing for the battle.


    In front of them all, Ron stood with one hand holding a sword and another one holding a shield. He emitted a powerful aura that instilled fear and respect in all who looked at him.


    "Follow me." With that simple order, Ron turned around and stepped through the door to the fourth floor.


    The yers, hesitant at first, followed right behind him. First, it was the leftmost row, then the right one, until all six rows of yers had stepped through the door.


    This was thest time that this group of yers were seen in the safe area.


    -


    After a sh of light had passed, the yers opened their eyes to an amazing view. They were standing on a long stairway that led up into the starry sky. The stairway was hovering in the air with no visible means of support.


    "Ah!" The yers cried out; some of them almost even fell off the stairs in their shock.


    "This is the fourth floor?" Donald looked around in amazement. "How mystifying."


    Ron continued walking up the stairs, his boots echoing loudly with each step. Only one person was following him; it was Adam. Then, other yers woke up from their shock and quickly followed after them.


    It looked like the staircase led all the way to the space above. It just continued stretching on and on, seemingly without end.


    At that moment, it was as if the reality around them shifted; the distance between them and the sky shrank rapidly until they all took the final steps on the stairway and stepped onto a starry tform.


    The tform had stars engraved all over its surface, twinkling and shimmering in the darkness. The tform was surrounded by the starry sky on all sides, creating a mesmerizing and enchanting atmosphere.


    The tform hovered in the air without any support and was as high as the clouds themselves. It was an experience unlike any other.


    Those with a fear of heights felt their stomachs churn with anxiety as they looked down at the vast expanse below.


    Ron stopped in the middle of the tform, then turned 180 degrees and faced all the yers, who were amazed by the view.


    "Excuse me, where is the boss?" Seth asked, his voice trembling with slight anxiety. "This is the boss room, right?"


    "That''s right, this is the boss room." Ron nodded.


    "Then where is the boss?" Ramon asked with a prideful voice. "I like the view and all, but I would like to leave the tutorial already!"


    "Well, about that." Ron chuckled and stabbed his sword through the tform''s floor. "I am the boss."


    After the words echoed throughout the sky, the yers eximed and cried out in shock. "You''re the boss?!"


    "What the hell?!"


    "Ahahaha..." Ramonughed slowly and grinned sinisterly. "I see now. So, mind sharing your rank with us?"


    "My rank is Grandeur." Ron said. "It is the sixth rank in the Mercenary Hierarchy." ''Grandeurs are considered quite powerful; they are usually part of the core of the guild.''


    "I see..." Ramon licked his lips and asked, "How strong are you from us?"


    "Strong enough that even a thousand of you wouldn''t be able to beat me." Ron said it with a cold voice.


    "Hah, humble one." Ramon jokingly said, but he could feel the unfathomable pressure sinking his shoulders down.


    He knew that defeating Ron wasn''t an option. It wasn''t even a possibility.


    "How the hell can we clear this floor then?!" Seth asked in urgency.


    "Clearing this floor has different requirements." Ron said and then, his fancy armor started disappearing into pixels, revealing a skin-tight ck shirt that outlined his perfect muscles.


    "You only need tond a scratch on me, and you all will clear the floor."


    "Only a scratch?"


    "That should be easy enough..."


    "It must be much harder than the third floor, so be prepared!"


    "That''s right, if Ron knows Kiryoku, we can''t evennd a hit on him!"


    Ron, hearing all the discussions, smiled in amusement.


    "Also, to make it even easier, I won''t use any of the Three Powers or my skills. It will only be my sword and shield."


    Hearing that, yers felt excited and more confident about this uing challenge. However, there were a few yers who weren''t as naive.


    Those were Ramon, Hannibal, Adam, and Donald.


    They wore solemn expressions as they had a hunch that this wasn''t going to be as easy as Ron made it sound.


    "Whenever you all are ready." Ron chuckled, pulled out his sword from the ground, and faced the group of yers.


    At that moment, all the yers noticed something strange-the shield and sword were exactly the same as what Adam had been using. It was the ordinary steel shortsword and the


    round shield!


    This meant Ron wasn''t even nning to use his vastly better weapons. He nned to use the same poor weapons as them!


    ''How much is he handicapping himself? Facing thirty of us can''t be that easy for him!''


    That thought was shared by the majority of the yers. They started to feel increasing


    concern.


    They all knew that Ron was stronger than them, but not by how much.


    "Come on, didn''t you guys want to leave?" Ronughed. "This is your chance!"


    The yers hesitated, none of them wanted to be the first to attack.


    At that moment, one yer rushed past the yers and swung his sword at Ron.


    "Hahahaha!" Ronughed after seeing who it was. "Come on, show me what you''re made of,


    Adam!"


    ng!


    Adam''s shortsword shed with Ron''s sword. The sparks flew as they shed in a fierce


    confrontation.


    CRACKKKKKK!


    Adam side-stepped to the side, moved to Ron''s side with amazing speed, and then drove his sword towards his exposed waist.


    At that moment, Ron''s shield came down and parried the stabbing sword away.


    Adam changed the grip on his sword slightly, then thrust it upwards towards Ron''s chest.


    Ron chuckled in amusement and took a slow step to the side, avoiding the thrust with time to


    spare.


    Adam quickly moved his shield and rammed straight at Ron, but as if he expected it, he blocked the ramming attempt with his own shield.


    The two shields shed, but Adam couldn''t force Ron to take a single step backwards. It was a clear difference in physical strength.


    "Is that all?" Ron asked with augh. "Where is that speed of yours?"


    Adam silently reeled back his sword, then started stabbing repeatedly towards Ron''s face. Each stab was designed to deliver Instant Kill. He was fighting to kill his opponent!


    Ron chuckled and weaved through the rain of stabs with a smile on his face. It looked so


    effortless.


    ''Isn''t he using Kiryoku?''


    The yers wondered to themselves as this resembled Kuruma''s movements.


    However, Adam knew the truth.


    ''He isn''t using Kiryoku; it is just that all of my attacks look like they''re moving in slow motion


    in Ron''s eyes. His speed is just beyond ourprehension.''


    As Ron weaved through another wave of stabs, his ears perked up as he heard some noise. He


    quickly spun around and blocked a machete strike with his shield.


    "Oh, you might be a nice assassin." Ron chuckled as he looked at the grim-looking Ramon. "I almost didn''t hear you."