"Wh-... What?"
A young man stood in front of a table at a tavern. His five squad mates were occupying the seats. He stared at the saddened faces of his comrades with genuine shock. One of the individuals rose from his seat, being the leader of the group, Rainer. He has short, blonde hair shaved at the sides. He wears shiny metal armor that is chipped and worn in places, lacking plating on his left shoulder. Over his right shoulder rests a sword in an elegant sheath. Rainer always held a calm expression with his light blue eyes like a still pond. His pointed ears signal him as an elf, though his rugged style doesn't match the rest of his race's regality.
Rainer looked to the young man with an apologetic expression as he put a hand on his shoulder.
"Sier, we're not asking you to understand. Just, please, don't make this harder than it has to be."
The young man, Sier, stared at the party leader with his confusion evident in his dark crimson eyes. Sier is a young man with dark indigo hair pulled back and tied into a messy bun, the sides having been shaved down. He wears a short sleeve, cloth tunic under an iron breastplate with shoulder, forearm, knee, and shin guards. His dark brown pants are tucked into his buckled leather boots. On his right hip rests a shortsword in a brown sheath. He has a strong but lithe physique that shows his diligent training.
"Th-There's no way... Right?"
Sier looked to the table's other occupants, but none of them met his gaze. There was Mili, a half elf dressed in ornamental robes befitting of her occupation as a "Great Priestess". Her dark brown hair shadowed her pale purple eyes as she looked down at the table. There was Vondi, a human like Sier, wearing heavy armor made of scorched iron with a similarly made shield resting on his back. With it, he had done more than a good job at being the group's "Bastion". He had no hair on his head but had a braided beard that went down past his collar bone. He scratched the back of his head as his light green eyes darted around.
Then there were the last two, Rioka and her fiance, Freya. Rioka was a human at some point, becoming a dragonoid shortly after she became old enough for her family's ritual. She is the top "Slayer" of any guild member. Purple scales frame her musculature, though they are only really visible on the top half of her face as she wears an intricately designed battle kimono with a large, burnt orange scarf. Her dark orange hair was put into a ponytail with bangs swooping to cover her right eye. Her slitted, yellow eyes met her partner's fiery orange ones as they shared the same feeling.
Freya, a human, is taller than her partner with a bulkier build. She has bandage wrappings on her hands that end just past her wrists. Her stark white hair was cut short. Her bangs were parted above her left eye with that side being tucked behind her ear. She wears chest bindings with a zircon pendant hanging around her neck. She wears high waisted, brown gi pants held up by a red sash. She has on a pair of sandals that match Rioka's.
Sier began to panic as he saw none of them coming to his defense. He looked back at Rainer as the elf spoke.
"We all agreed on this, Sier. I'm sorry, but you have to go."
In a last ditch effort to calm his panicking mind, Sier used the Skill gifted to him at birth.
[Rage Flame]
Nothing happened outwardly, but internally he went stone cold. This Skill of his, which was one he inherited, told him exactly what he feared. He sensed that everyone was dead serious about this. They would never try to joke about something like this, even if he wanted it to be so. Along with the seriousness, he felt sorrow. Then, there was anger. Vondi was angry at himself, as was Mili.
Reaching deeper into his emotion sensing ability, Sier saw another emotion that was nestled deep in the hearts of his companions. Fear. It wasn't a fear of something, but for something. No... Someone.
It was fear... for him...
Sier tilted his head down as he could feel tears beginning to sting at the corners of his eyes.
"B-But why...? I-I thought I was doing good... I thought I was being helpful..."
Rainer firmly held both of Sier's shoulders and gave him a serious look.
"You were. You did everything you could, Sier. Believe us, we couldn't have asked for anyone better. But..."
Rainer looked back to the rest of the party.
"You know we're all S-Rank, right? The whole party is near the top of any list. But you're struggling to hold yourself up. Our battles are getting more deadly. I don't know how much longer we can keep defending you."
Sier's eyebrows furrowed.
"So, it's because I'm E-Rank...? Is that it?"
Rainer saw the growing emotion in his friend's eyes and immediately shook his head.
"Don't think like that. Please, you have to understand."
Sier put a hand up to his eyes as he gently removed Rainer's hands from his shoulders.
"I... I understand, but... Rainer, we made a promise, remember?"
Rainer sighed deeply.
"And I wish there was a way for me to keep it. Anything can happen in a fight. You know that. We just don't want to see anything bad happen to you."
Sier wiped away his tears and looked back at the party.
"But I can still help! I can carry luggage, help set up camps! I-I'll pull a wagon for you guys if I have to! I even helped in the last fight, remember?"
As he spoke, he didn't see Rainer tightening his fists.
"So, please just give me another chance! I won't let you down! If it means dying for you guys, I wouldn't mind-"
"-We don't want you to die, Sier!"
Sier paused at the angry expression on Rainer's face. He already knew it wasn't directed at him, though.
Feeling wrong for shouting, Rainer's head fell and he put a hand up to his face.
"... We'll buy you a carriage ride. So please, Sier. Go home. We don't want to see you die. Head back to Alagon with your sister. Maybe she can help you become a knight."
Sier's head hung low as he gave his response in the form of a nod.
"... I'll... I'll be on my way, soon. Can I just... say goodbye to you all before I leave?"
Before the words were even out of his mouth, Rioka, Freya, Mili, and Rainer rushed to embrace him for what could be the last time for a long while. Vondi rounded it out, being the largest of the six and nearly being enough to wrap around the entire group.
The group hug lasted for nearly ten minutes, though not a single member of the "Dire Pack" felt it was long enough. Least of all was Sier, who bid them one last tearful goodbye before exiting the tavern.
X
A long, long, long... long ride home. That was the only thing his mind could focus on. It was an attempt to distract him from the sadness he felt upon having to leave his friends.
Sier understood perfectly well that their decision was the correct one. With how weak he is, at least compared to an S-Rank party, he ended up a liability. But, what could he even do? He was never given an occupation, and his inherited skill wouldn't even tell him what it does.
With a single thought, Sier brought up his system window. In front of him, floating in the air and only available to his eyes, was a holographic blue panel. On it sat various nodes of information such as his name and Skills.
[Name: Sier Kallahan]
[Race: Human]
[Age: Eighteen]
[Occupation: None]
[Inherited Skill(s): Rage Flame]
[Learned Skill(s): Basic Swordsmanship, Basic Fire Magic, Intermediate Quickstep, Intermediate Harvesting]
[Aptitude(s): Physical Strength, Fire Magic, Sensing]
[Guild Ranking: E]
This gift, as many call it, is bestowed upon every living being by the 'Creators' the day they are born. Everyone and everything from a sprouting plant to a nobleman has this system. The only difference is the ability to view it. Similarly, the guild was also a gift from the Creators, being an inherent part of the system. But, it was up to the members and staff to keep it running.
However, that is the most that the Creators gave to the life of the world. The people are proud to call everything else their own, though they would never deny the Creators' grace.
But pride wasn't what Sier felt. He sighed to himself as he raised his right hand. He extended his index finger and stared at what formed just above it. Hovering just above the tip of his finger is a flame that some would call unique. Others who weren't afraid to tell the truth would call it useless. The fire was a deep indigo in color with a pitch black center. It didn't produce as much light as a regular flame and lacked any heat.
Sier didn't care to show this side of his Inherited Skill. After all, it doesn't burn anything. Pushing more mana, aka magic energy, into it just tired him out for no results. No matter what he tried, this fire could do nothing. The only part that he did use was the aspect that allowed him to sense emotions, which was still a mystery of how it related to the fire.
Sier snuffed the flame with a thought and lowered his hand back down. By now, he shouldn't be too far from Alagon, his home city. He smiled as he remembered the people there. They were always kind, wearing warm smiles befitting of a calm natured city such as their's. He and his sister were lucky to grow up in such a place. Returning after nearly six years would be a relief he couldn't yet imagine.
Sier was jumbled out of his thoughts when the wooden carriage ran over a tree root, tossing him around a bit. He landed on his back with a pained grunt.
'Right... I still need to get there in the first place...'