SSSSS-Rank: Negative Leveling

When the meeting concluded, Jax stormed out of the room. His personal secretary hurried to keep up with him.

They exited the Association headquarters and got into a black car that was waiting for them. The driver closed the door, and the vehicle pulled smoothly into the city traffic.

Jax slammed his fist against the armrest between the seats.

"That old bastard! Paulas has finally gone senile! Utterly senile!"

The secretary flinched but remained silent, staring straight ahead.

'The President is one of the ten strongest hunters in the country, and you are calling him senile? You have got to be kidding me.'

"'Observe and recruit'! What a load of crap! That unranked piece of trash made a Beast King kneel! A being that could wipe this city off the map! And the President wants to give him a pat on the head and a membership card? He is a threat!"

'A threat? Yes. But the President's approach is the logical one. Why is he so angry?'

"And that brat, Marco! 'His eyes were empty'! What kind of sentimental garbage is that?! He's a hunter! He should have known better!"

The car turned onto a main highway, picking up speed. Jax stared out the window at the passing buildings, his reflection a mask of fury.

"I am the Fist King! I am the one who reached S-Rank through pure physical power! My strength is absolute! I am the pinnacle that all other physical-type hunters strive to reach! My glory is everything!"

He turned his head and looked directly at the secretary, his eyes wide and intense.

"This… Luthra. This anomaly. He is a bug. A parasite that is trying to feed on my legend before it has even begun. If a man with no mana can be that strong, then what does that make me? What does that do to my story? To my glory? It makes it worthless!"

The secretary felt a cold sweat form on his back.

'Ah. I see now. He is not afraid of Luthra being a threat to the city. He is afraid of Luthra being a threat to him. To his ego.'

Jax leaned back in his seat, a strange, calculating look on his face.

"The President is old. He has become soft. He does not understand. Some threats cannot be reasoned with. They must be eliminated before they have a chance to grow."

He turned to his secretary, his voice dropping to a low and dangerous tone.

"Kai."

"Yes, Guild Master."

"Contact the information broker known as 'The Rat'. I want everything he can dig up on Luthra, from his place of birth, family, age, everything."

Kai bowed his head, "Yes, Guild Master. I will contact him immediately."

Jax stared out the window, his expression dark. 'A person of interest, Paulas? No. A person of interest is a resource. This Luthra… he is a disease. And I am the cure.'

---

The cart jolted along a road that was barely a path. Luthra held the reins, the new black chain coiled around his arm. Beside him, Rebecca was humming, kicking her feet against the front of the cart.

"Hey, Luthra. Are we there yet?"

"No."

"How about now?"

"No."

"Is it going to be a long trip? I'm kind of hungry again."

He reached into a sack without looking and handed her a piece of dried meat. She took it and began chewing on it happily.

'I picked up a child. This was not part of the plan.'

"So, the mines. Are they really big? Are there going to be a lot of bad guys?"

"Probably."

"Are you going to beat them all up by yourself?"

"Yes."

Rebecca giggled. "You're funny. You only say one word at a time. But it's a cool kind of funny."

He did not reply.

'The system is quiet. I haven't gotten a quest for this mine trip yet. That means I'm on the right track. The system only gives quests when things get complicated or when I do something unexpected. This is a straightforward objective. Go to the mines. Break everything. Free the people. Simple.'

"Hey, Luthra."

"What."

"When we free all the slaves, are they going to give us a reward? Like, a big pile of gold? Or a cool magic sword?"

"I don't care about a reward."

"Then why are you doing it? The bounty hunters said the mines are super dangerous."

He was quiet for a moment. He looked at the endless stretch of rocky plains in front of them. "Because it sounds more interesting than sitting in an empty room."

Rebecca looked at him, her chewing slowing down. "Oh. Okay."

She was quiet for almost a full minute before she spoke again. "When we're done, can we go get some of that grilled meat from the city? The kind with the spicy sauce?"

He remembered the food stall. He remembered the girl with the red ponytail.

"Maybe."

"Yay!"

He looked over at the map she had found. The Gorgon Mines were still a few days' travel to the north. 'This is going to be a long trip.'

---

Marco put his fork down. "I can't eat! I can't believe what just happened! We stood in front of the President and the top Guild Masters! We're just E-ranks, Pola! We shouldn't even be allowed to breathe the same air as them!"

Pola did not look up from his plate. "You are being too loud. The neighbors will complain."

"Neighbors?! I'm worried about being assassinated by the Fist King Guild and you're worried about the neighbors?!" Marco stood up, and began to pace around the room. "Why did I say all that stuff? 'His eyes were empty.' What the hell was I thinking?! I sounded like a poet! Jax probably thinks I'm in love with the guy!"

Pola did not look up from his plate. "You said it because it was the truth. It was a good observation. It might have saved us from being formally investigated."

Marco stopped pacing. "What? How?"

Pola put his fork down. "Think about it. Jax sees Luthra as a rival, a threat to his reputation. He wanted us to confirm that Luthra was a monster so he would have an excuse to hunt him down. But you painted a different picture. You made him seem like a person, not a monster. It gave the President the justification he needed to call Jax off."

Marco sat back down in his chair. "So... me being a sentimental idiot actually worked?"

"Yes. Now eat your steak. It was expensive."

'Damn, I usually forget that Pola is scary smart. He figured all that out in that short time?'

He picked up his fork but did not eat. "That video. I can't get it out of my head."

"The Beast King."

"Yeah. That woman... she was terrifying. She just shoved her hand right into his chest. I thought he was dead for sure."

"He was not. Instead, she was the one who collapsed."

"What was that? What did he do to her?" Marco leaned forward. "There was no magic, no flash of light. He just stood there, and she just... fell. It's like his whole body is a passive counter-attack skill."

Pola was silent for a moment. "When we were at the Omafo gate, I used my [Mana Detection] skill on him. The result was zero. It wasn't that he was hiding his mana. It was like the concept of mana just didn't apply to him. He was a hole in the world."

Marco shivered. "A hole in the world that can punch you in the face. Pola..."

"What."

"I was thinking about it on the way back. Jax is an S-rank because of his physical power. His whole thing is hitting things really, really hard."

"That is correct."

"But if Luthra can make a Beast King, a being that's probably stronger than Jax, fall to the ground just by being touched..."

Pola stopped eating.

Marco spoke again. "What do you think would happen if Jax actually managed to land a punch on him?"