BAM! The ground shook, and the trees danced. People ran away, and soldiers scrambled to move the injured people out of the way. With each step, the earth quacked as Arad approached the well, carrying the massive boulder on his back.
Thud! Arad stopped walking.
One of the soldiers stared forward. The water rushing from the well has turned the ground to mud, and Arad can’t move forward without getting stuck.
“Bring logs to pave a path for him! I doubt he can stand for long, so hurry!” The soldier shouted, his eyes darting around, seeing anything useful.
A faint purple flash emerged in Arad’s eyes as he took a deep breath.
ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!
From a faint rumble to a deafening roar, Arad’s scream washed over the city, forcing each person to stand still for a second. That didn’t sound like a human but more like a giant monster howling.
With one foot forward and his arms holding tight, Arad’s torso jerked rapidly. The massive boulder flew forward and crashed into the leaking well several meters ahead with an earth-shaking boom.
Half of the soldiers fell on their assess, staring at the well in terror as the ground shattered. Their eyes shifted toward Arad as he cracked his neck, “Done.” He mumbled.
Arad turned around. The moment his stare washed over the people, they gasped, stepping back.
Thud! Thu! Arad started walking with a passive face, heading straight for the soldiers’s commander. “The paper, is it signed?” Arad asked the moment he got close.
“Paper?” The commander gasped, confused for a second before his mind started working again, “Yes, the paper!” He cried, running toward his tent, “I will bring it at once,”
Rushing into his tent, the commander scrambled to find a pen and hastily singed the paper, his arms shaking. ^It’s happening again!^ His mind cried, remembering a barbarian woman throwing building in the capital as she clashed with the paladin general.
^One wrong word and we might end up creating a monster that we can’t handle,^ He grasped his hand, stopping it from shaking, ^Images of a buff swordsman swinging his blade down, dicing hordes of guards as he protected a vampire in a cage,^ 𝒆𝙣𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝙚𝙩
^Slaying a dragon-like Alcott and boasting a monstrous strength like berserker Nina, the hell is Princess Isdis playing with?^ He took the paper and rushed to Arad, “Here is it, sir. Sorry for being late.”
Arad stared at the paper, inspecting the sign. It was a bit shaky, but nothing major. “Got it, thanks,” Arad turned toward the crumbling gate, walking to get back into the city.
Soldiers and adventurers moved out of his way alike. No one wanted to stand in front of an S-rank, especially if they didn’t know his personality. Until the ways of dealing with him, what he likes and finds offensive is known, approaching him might be as dangerous as tickling a dragon’s tail.
Arad walked through the gate and slipped into the shadows, teleporting back to the castle with [Void Step] The moment no one was looking.
CLICK! Arad opened Isdis’s office door and walked in, “Got the job done,” He laid the paper on her desk.
Isdis smiled, “Thank you a lot. That’s a month’s work cleared in less than an hour,” She pulled another paper, “Can you keep helping us?” She pulled another paper.
Arad smiled, “As long as it helps you finish work early,” He took the paper to read it.
Isdis smiled, a sweat droplet trailing down her forehead. ^He clearly intended to break my hips tonight. I can hear it in his words. Aella already warned me.^
“I need to stop a forest fire?” Arad laid the paper on the table, “How am I supposed to do that?”
“You can either dig a trench to prevent the flames from spreading or splash it with a large amount of water from the river,” Isdis explained, resting her chin on her hands.
“Water mages spread thin, and they should be starting to run out of mana,” Rey said with a passive face.
“Fire spread, no wood for the winter and large devastation.” Ray clenched her fist, “No venison soup,”
Arad looked at them for a second, “The river, how far is it from the burning forest?”
“The flames are at the edge of the river. You can see them from the balcony,” Isdis stood and showed him.
A raging crimson blaze gleamed in the distance, consuming the great forest at a terrifying speed. The dragon’s flames have ignited it, but it’s a stroke of luck the fire started close to the river.
“I rather not use my stomach, so I will try putting the flame in another way,” Arad stated, and Isdis nodded.
“We are counting on you!” Ray smiled, lifting a thumbs up.
“We will have more work for you, so come back quickly,” Rey added, and Arad stared at her for a second, “Don’t give me a complicated job,”
ZON! In the blink of an eye, Arad disappeared.
Isdis walked back to her seat and sighed, “He finished the boulder quickly. We need a more exhausting task,” Rey said.
“Let’s break his back, sister,” Ray pulled a stack of papers, searching through the jobs for something harder.
“You two really want to test his limits,” Isdis stared at them with a wry smile.
“Only so you won’t get hurt,” Ray said with a passive face.
“We need you healthy to work tomorrow,” Rey added.
“Come on, you two are just having fun,” Isdis smiled, “But Arad can take it. He is far stronger than you can imagine.”
***
Thud! Arad landed beside the river, instantly closing his mouth as the winds shifted, pushing the smoke in his direction. “It’s bigger in person,” He gasped, lifting his hand.
“Zephyr! I know you’re awake, come here!” He shouted.
Coming from the distance like a bird, Zephyr answered Arad’s call and landed on his head, “What? I was asleep,” She yawned, curling into a ball on Arad’s head.
“Choke the flames,” Arad said, pointing toward the raging flame.
“I can’t do it, Aella is exhausted from straining herself taking down the golems,” Rubbing her face in his hair, “Can’t you deal with it in another way?”
“Can’t you use my Mana instead?” Arad tapped her head.
“Unless you want to waste the one minute you have this month. Otherwise, I can’t do much.” Zephyr mumbled, almost falling asleep.
Arad grabbed her in his fist and started squeezing her tightly, “AW! AW! AW! AW! AW! AW! My tits! You’re squashing them!” She cried.
“Do something!” Arad growled, glaring at her, “I can smell the magic inside you,”
“You’re going to spill that magic with my guts!” Zephyr cried, “Fine, I will divert the wind against the fire spread. Is that fine with you?”
Arad looked at the fire, “Do it,”