Ryu's reappearance was shocking, to say the least. Valor City's Circle of Elites was in shambles, but aside from the trouble to their fourth wall, the Mercenary Guild was relatively intact. In fact, many mercenaries were still gathered, excitedly speaking of the events that occurred barely a couple dozen minutes ago.
It was under these circumstances Ryu reappeared. Not only was he obviously not dead, as many had expected after his body was nowhere to found, his condition actually seemed far better than when he first entered the guild earlier that day.
Before, his clothes were ripped in several places, his hair, though still speckless, was unkept, and even his flexible armor showed signs of withering away.
However, the Ryu who appeared now took no attempt to hide his aura. His body seemed several times its actual size. Those here could see the rage boiling within his eyes.
His back was so straight that it almost felt as though his feet were connected to the skies. His clothes were crisp and clean, drenched in a dark endless black. His silver eyes pierced through the veil of space, forcing those who saw him to look away. Even the Steward, who was currently facing the brunt of Ryu's rage, felt his heart palpitate uncontrollably.
He seemed to remember his earlier doubts. Not only had he had them, he even subtly laid them out before this young man. What was he thinking?
Ryu's eyebrow raised. "Can it be that your Mercenary Guild doesn't dare?"
The Steward, had it not been for his years of experience, would have blushed in shame. He was just speaking to Ryu about how many Thrones they had taken under their wings, if he now backed away because of the actions of a mere Immortal Ring expert, wouldn't he be slapping himself in the face?
He could see the clear disdain Ryu had for the cloaked woman. Could it be this young man really didn't put such an expert in his eyes?
To those of the Pedestal Plane, and even to a large segment of the Blossom Plane, the Immortal Ring Realm was a lofty god-like level they would never touch. But to Ryu, an Immortal Ring Realm cultivator hadn't even been worthy to be his maid, let alone dare to raise a hand against him. There would come a day where he'd slaughter her. Even if he could kill her by underhanded means, he wouldn't do so. He wanted her to see the day she was helpless before him.
To some, Ryu's rage was likely overboard. Even the Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm Steward trembled under his unbridled aggression. But this was the person Ryu had always been, and was also the reason Ailsa felt he was still immature. Still, at the moment, Ailsa was even angrier than he was.
"Our Mercenary Guild fears no one." After a moment, the Steward recollected himself.
His words weren't exactly true. However, the method the cloaked woman used to come here gave him plenty of leeway. Though he had a pretty good guess of who she was and where she came from, he could deny his knowledge due to her own attempts at secrecy.
Objectively speaking, his organization truly wouldn't fear a single Immortal Ring expert. In addition, even if she was from where he assumed, they wouldn't be able to completely ignore their guild's face either. Like this, both organizations would be able to work under a veneer of cordiality, allowing their normal operations to continue unhindered.
The Steward led Ryu up the stairs of the guild toward a back room. Thanks to its location, all of walls were completely intact. Or, maybe it was designed such that even such a large blast couldn't harm it.
"Those of Valor City will likely be unwilling to serve you any longer. The other major cities might soon receive news of this event and likewise be unwilling. Maybe the enemies you should be most worried of aren't those cloaked individuals, but rather all of those ambitious individuals with nothing better to do with their time than to make things difficult for others…"
Seeing that Ryu didn't seem to care for his advice, the Steward wrapped it up quickly and said nothing more. Though he was curious about how Ryu escaped such an ordeal, he didn't ask about this either. Their guild was built of loners. Though there were some squads, they were mostly concentrated in the lower echelons. Higher echelon squads also existed, but they were made up of three or four individuals max, usually only two, actually.
Simply put, he was used to dealing with people who liked to keep their own secrets.
"Our organization is split into two levels. What you see on the surface are split into Orders. However, these individuals only have the right to receive laymen missions. The true power of our guild lies in our Stars. You have reached the minimum power requirement for a One Star Mercenary.
"One Star Mercenaries have the strength of Spiritual Severing Realm experts while our highest designation, the legendary Nine Star Mercenary, is reserved for those with the strength of Sky Gods."
The Steward scanned Ryu's reaction to this information, a hint of pride in his eyes, but he couldn't help but be shocked when he was met with the same deadpan gaze.
"Why do you feel the need to have these two levels?" Ryu asked plainly.
The issue here was obvious. It seemed like a hassle to have two different grading systems. What exactly was the point of having two Spiritual Severing Realm tiers? Fourth Order Mercenaries and One Star Mercenaries? It seemed like complexity for the sake of complexity.
According to the Steward's words, there were tougher missions for Stars. But, instead of having Order Missions and Star Missions, why not just grade Star Missions higher within the Order Missions' ranking system and give them to higher ranked Order Mercenaries?
The Steward nodded. "This makes sense on the surface, but there are many purposes this system has. I'll give you an example. What if our guild receives a mission to a Small Realm where entry is restricted by cultivation realm? In that case, we'd need individuals with the highest battle prowess possible."
Ryu suddenly understood. If this logic was taken, there were definitely many applications where this system would be useful. But, he somehow felt that this was only a surface explanation, his instincts were telling him that there was an even deeper reason that even the Steward wasn't aware of.
"As a Steward, I have the right to award you a One Star ranking, but if you want to progress, you will have to leave this Outer Ring." The Steward opened a small black box hidden in a compartment of his dark office. Taking out a black ring, he solemnly handed it to Ryu, a small bit of concealed envy within his eyes. But, he quickly regained his cool when he remembered that he would be rewarded for finding Ryu. "Take your time and refine this treasure. Only if you are worthy, as I think you are, will you succeed. If you fail to succeed within the allotted time, the ring with grind itself to dust."