Chapter 12 Rust and Rank
The Helgard Guild Hall had no grandeur. No marble pillars or gold-colored banners like the guilds in the central cities Ren had seen on public broadcasts. Just a large room with damp stone walls, a quest board made of yellowing wood, and the smell of cheap alcohol mixed with sweat.
The Awakeners drifting through here weren't the hero type. They were people with tired eyes and old scars — mercenaries, former criminals, or anyone who had enough power to kill monsters but not enough connections to climb into a big-city guild.
"E-Rank quests," Ren said at the reception desk, sliding over his new ID card. "Whatever's available today."
The guild clerk — a heavyset woman with a tattoo on her neck — tossed a sheet of paper onto the counter without ceremony. "Greyholt mine cleanup. Stonecrawler-type monsters, E-Rank. Last four reported nesting on level two. You can join a team that's already registered, or go alone and die."
"We'll join the team," Kael answered quickly before Ren could respond.
The registered team consisted of two.
The first was Juno — Ranger, D-Rank, a short-haired woman with sharp eyes that moved like they were scanning every corner of the room at all times. A short bow hung across her back, and the way she sat in her guild chair — feet up on the table, backrest tilted — spoke of someone who'd spent far too much time in places like this.
The second was Griff — Tank, D-Rank, a big man carrying a cracked shield the way a child carries a favorite blanket. His face was friendly for someone whose job was taking hits from monsters every day.
"A new Fighter and a Healer?" Griff grinned wide. "Our lucky day, Juno."
"We'll see," Juno replied without a smile.
The trek to the Greyholt mine took an hour on foot. Kael and Griff chatted — or more accurately, Griff chatted and Kael did his polite best to keep up. Juno walked ahead in silence. Ren brought up the rear.
"Alright, listen carefully."
Lyra. Her tone was that of a military instructor who'd just realized her student couldn't tell left from right.
"D-Rank Fighter. Average speed. Ordinary reflexes. Hits hard enough but lacks precision. You need to hit two, three times to bring down an E-Rank Stonecrawler. Not one. Not half. Two to three."
"I know how to fight," Ren whispered, barely making a sound.
"Yes. That's the problem." A pause. "Congratulations, this is the first time I've ever had to teach someone how to fight worse. A truly proud milestone in my teaching career."
Ren almost smiled. Almost.
"Listen — your body is already accustomed to Void enhancement. Your muscles respond at speeds a D-Rank Fighter simply doesn't have. So what you need to do isn't hold back your strength — it's delay. Every movement, add a half-second pause. Leave openings. Let it look... human."
"Fighting while deliberately leaving openings," Ren murmured. "Ironic."
"You want better irony? You used to be mocked for having no power. Now you have to pretend you don't. This world really never gave you a fair option."
Ren said nothing. Because Lyra was right, and that truth went down like swallowing glass.
The Greyholt mine was dark and narrow. The air smelled of sulfur and old metal. Dim crystals embedded in the walls gave off enough light to see by, but not enough to feel safe.
The first Stonecrawler appeared around a bend on level two — a lizard-like creature made of rock, roughly the size of a large dog, with claws that could shred thin steel. E-Rank. For an experienced D-Rank Awakener, a manageable threat. For what Ren actually was — a toy.
And that was the test.
Griff raised his shield. Juno drew her bow. Kael readied himself in a Healer's stance behind them.
Ren stepped forward.
The Stonecrawler lunged. Ren saw every detail — the angle of attack, the weak point between the stone plates on its neck, the perfect timing for a single killing blow. His body knew what to do.
"Delay," Lyra commanded.
Ren fought down the impulse, adding a half-second that felt like forever. He struck — hard, but not at the weak point. The Stonecrawler was knocked back but got up again.
"Good. One more."
Second hit. Rougher, less precise. The Stonecrawler went down.
"Not bad," Griff commented from behind his shield.
The second and third Stonecrawlers went the same way. Ren hit, delayed, left openings, looked like a D-Rank Fighter who was competent enough but nothing special.
Then the fourth.
The last Stonecrawler was bigger than the previous three. Borderline D-Rank, maybe. It burst from a crack in the rock above and dropped straight toward Kael.
Ren's reflexes moved before his brain had time to think.
In a fraction of a second, he was between Kael and the monster, his fist slamming into the side of the Stonecrawler's head with a force and speed that clearly didn't belong to a D-Rank Fighter. The creature hit the mine wall and didn't get back up.
Silence.
Juno lowered her bow slowly. Her eyes narrowed.
"Kael — that Healer buff of yours was pretty solid," Kael said himself, clearing his throat loudly. "I managed to hit Eren with an enhancement right before the thing dropped. Timing just happened to line up."
Griff nodded. "Healer buffs really are underrated."
On the walk back, Juno fell in step beside Griff. Her voice was low, but Ren's ears — far sharper now than any normal person's — caught every word.
"That new Fighter moves strange. Too clean for a D-Rank."
Griff shrugged. "Maybe he's just talented. You're too paranoid, Juno."
"The paranoid live longer than the confident."
Ren didn't look back. But inside his head, Lyra spoke in a tone stripped of all its usual sarcasm.
"We need to be more careful."
That night, Aela was already waiting at the inn. Her face was serious — more serious than usual.
"Sentinel," she said the moment Ren and Kael sat down. "A small unit. Three to five operatives. Word is they were dispatched to the border region two days ago. No one knows their exact destination yet, but they're moving east."
"Helgard is east," Kael said quietly.
"Yes." Aela leaned back. "Maybe it's not about us. Maybe it's a routine operation. But..."
"But we can't take that chance," Ren finished. He stared at the Eren Valk ID card lying on the table — thin plastic that was the only barrier between him and an entire system that wanted to destroy him.
Their time in Helgard had barely begun, and it was already running out.
"Build your reputation. Fast," Lyra said. "Because if the Sentinel gets here before you're strong enough to move... a fake identity won't save you from a military-grade scan."
Ren closed his eyes. Behind the darkness, the Void Core pulsed softly — patient, waiting, hungry.
And for the first time, Ren wondered which was more dangerous: the world hunting him, or the power inside him that was growing harder and harder to keep chained.