Chapter 180: Meeting (2)


    "...S-Shinto?" Crowelin''s eyes shook as she desperately attempted to remain calm under the circumstance of replying to the sudden whisper that she had received. "The heck?! You finally replied! For now of all times... Hey! I have so many questions to ask you! You better not ghost me again like you do with Arceus!"


    "...cough. Crowelin... You''re showing your Arceus side again," a sigh could be felt behind his message. "Look, I''ll answer your questions when this is all over. But, you''ve got to keep your mouth shut about me. Don''t say anything to them. Keep anything rted to my status or rtion quiet."


    "...what?" Crowelin raised her brow in a confused manner. "Keep my mouth shut? Don''t say anything? Hey... That means you''re here! Where are you? Show yourself!"


    The situation was sudden for her. To suddenly receive a whisper from someone who hadn''t replied for days upon days in the past week, Crowelin couldn''t help but feel dumbfounded as she was left with many sorts of questions within her head. And, Shinto''s reply was of no help.


    "...I''ll show myself soon. I just need to make sure that you wouldn''t say a word about me to the ones around you. Just, act like you don''t know me, alright?" Shinto stated. "If you do just that, I''ll exin everything in due time."


    "...sure you will. But that''s beside the point! Why are you acting so secretive?" Crowelin frowned. "If you ask me. If a guy named Ethaniel outright stated that the Shinto that I was looking for, which is obviously, you, wasn''t you, he''d know you by name or even was a fan, right? No way can you hide the fact that you''re Shinto from him! He even knows me!" she exined. "Well... He never outright stated it, but he knows me! So he''s not dumb. You''ve got your looks, your equipment, your ss, your level, heck... Even your guild''s badge stapled on all your equipment. So... This is just..."


    "...huh? Ethaniel knows you by name?" Shinto questioned. "If he knows the 7th ced user on the rankings... Hah," he seemed to sigh. "I''m not sure about him. But, he hasn''t questioned me once in regards to my name or affiliation. Whether he knew that I was actually Shinto and was keeping it a secret or just an unwarranted suspicion from me, that doesn''t matter. I''ve no longer got any of what you mentioned anyways. Well... Besides my usual looks."


    "...yet he hasn''t asked you? Wait... I''m having a headache from you," Crowelin pressed the bridge of her nose in helplessness. "You say you haven''t gotten a single thing on you like equipment and stuff... Even your ss? What? How have you survived?! Hikari said you haven''t gone and taken your gold from the guild and most of your items are kept in the storage... Hey! Stop being so damn confusing! What is your current status?!"


    "...you''ll see for yourself," Shinto stated. "I''ming to you now."


    "Hey! What does that mean? See for yourself? Hey" Upon continuing to send countless messages to Shinto, Crowelin was no longer receiving a single response from him. "Argh... This guy is being difficult. Hah... Well, I''ll just wait and see then."


    ...


    Within the pinewood forest nearby the abandoned vige, a young man who had been within miles reach from the group sat behind one of the countless trees in the area.


    "...to think that I would meet Crowelin of all people here... Just why?" with a sigh, Shinto quickly ended the ongoing whisper with Crowelin, and soon turned his head over towards the direction of the group that was in the distance. "First Tristan and now Crowelin... Who''s next? Hikari?" frowning, he stood up from the ground.


    "And to think that Ethaniel actually knows me... Whether it''d be by name or an actual fan, yet... He doesn''t know that I''m Shinto?" he raised his brow. He didn''t know why he hadn''t been questioned at all in regards to this. Although he no longer looked the part to be the 1st ranked user, no one could directly mimick the looks of Shinto beside himself.


    "Am I just being overly worried about this?" Shinto just couldn''t understand the whys and how. "Perhaps he didn''t question about my status because he didn''t care or that he just wasn''t sure..." he thought to himself. "Maybe, he knew. But until I decide to speak up, he won''t say a thing?"


    At this point for Shinto, he just couldn''t find a simple reason that would satisfy him. Even considering to ask the person himself, he shook his head at the thought. He had no will to.


    If it came down to the few options he had thought up off with the unrity of Shinto''s identity to Ethaniel, he didn''t want to outright reveal himself by asking him.


    "...why am I even trying to hide the fact that I''m Shinto in the first ce?" he solemnly questioned. He didn''t know why, but, deep down, he had a certain feeling. A feeling in which he wanted to just burry down his previous title of 1st ranked to the ground if he wished to start anew.


    "...hah. I''ll just..." muttering out to himself, he suddenly recalled a past conversation in the past that he had been in when he first initially met Raina and Ethaniel.


    ...


    "...the ex-first ce yer, Shinto?" Recalling on a question which Lucas had asked him back in the dungeon, Shinto seemingly frowned. "I haven''t heard of him before."


    "Oh really? You don''t know him? Hmm... I figured that since your name was ''Shinto'', I thought that you might''ve taken inspiration on his name as a fan or something. But I guess not," Lucas shook his head whilst shrugging.


    "...ah, my name? Well, the name was given to me by a friend of mine. So I just decided to use it as my in-game nickname," Shinto replied. "Though, it''s a funny coincidence that I ended up having the same name as him."


    "Oh haha. Yeah, a real funny coincidence, huh?" Lucas chuckled. "Since you don''t know him, I suggest..."


    "...right," Shinto replied with a slight smile. "But... Just a question. Why did you ask a question like that so out of the blue?"


    "Haha well... I just want to get him some more fans, y''know!" Lucas replied casually. "Despite suddenly falling off the rankings, he still has an unprecedented amount of presence in the game. So I don''t want him to be forgotten like that!"


    ...


    Recollecting on the past conversation with Lucas, Shinto muttered out to himself. "...at that time, I wasn''t sure whether or not he was acting friendly or suspicious. But, seeing as how Ethaniel would directly know me in terms of someone on the rankings, it''s no doubt that it was Lucas attempting to spite him," he thought to himself. "Perhaps it was because he was a swordsman too... But if so... Then no doubt, Ethaniel would know who I am."


    Back when he was in the town of Parm, Shinto didn''t need to worry much about the fact that he might be recognized in public. After all, everyone was a newbie there. But, the question was different in regards to Ethaniel.


    Just as much effort as he does to keep a secret about himself, Ethaniel had been doing the same thing in terms of ss, information and himself. All he knew was that he suffered the same fate as him. Ethaniel had his level reset. But, it was on the reason that he had made a mistake in terms of a quest.


    "...just what is Ethaniel trying to do here?" he frowned. However, he soon shook his head as he rid away from the thought. "Argh... This is frustrating. Why am I even fussing over this?" with a sigh, he soon began making his way out of the forest and then to the group.


    ...


    Leaping through the snowy ins in a rush, Reru frantically headed into each and every single building that was still intact whilst shouting out in a loud voice. "Rustly! Where the hell are you?! Stop hiding ande out!"


    Searching through each building within the vicinity, all Reru could find was that of skeletal remains, broken furniture and cobwebs. There were no indication of anyone stepping into said buildings until Reru had barged in.


    "Ugh... Rustly..." Reru frowned. "I''m not putting up with this charade. Come out now before I inevitably destroy every damn building in the area!"


    Yet, even with his voided threat, there wasn''t any reply. All he could hear was the cold winds of the atmosphere. The battle which had been going on for quite some time now? It seemed to have ended.


    "...Rustly..." Reru seemed to be biting on his lips. However, the moment he did so, a loud voice rang into the distance.


    "Reru!"


    "...Rustly?!" Turning around in excitement, his expression grew sour as he noted who had called him out. In front of him, two familiar girlsHikari and Raina ran up to him in a rushed manner. "...ugh, it''s you..." he uttered out in Arcos.


    "Hey... Reru!" Raina cried out. "Where''s Rustly? Shouldn''t he be with you? This is..."


    "I searched freaking everywhere. He''s nowhere to be found!" Reru clicked his tongue.


    "W-What...?" Hikari blinked in confusion. "Rustly... Shouldn''t he be around here? I could''ve sworn I heard his voice..."


    "You think I didn''t?" Reru frowned. "Ugh... Did he die somewhere and didn''t want anyone to watch?? What kind of sick joke is this?!" Turning his head away from the humans, his voice cried out under the hushed winds. "OI, Rustly! Come out now! I''m tired of this!"


    "R-Reru... Please calm down..." Raina murmured out. "I''m sure he''s fine... But-"


    "Fine? Hah... Bullshit! Just a day ago, he told me, directly in the face, that he was dying due to the curse. But now with the curse gone? I had thought it was all over," Reru exined as his voice became shaky. "But... But... Was it all just a stupid lie?"


    "..." Hikari solemnly nced at Reru. "I''m sure he''ll be alright... Even if he wasn''t, we still have time before he ends up dying, right? At that point, I''ll do my best to cure him. So... Please, don''t give up. Shall we continue finding for him?"


    "Ugh... It''s hopeless. I searched through every damn building," Reru averted his gaze away from the priest.


    "...the forest. If he''s not in the vige, perhaps in the forest?" Hikari tilted her head. "Let''s try going a little further. I''m sure he wouldn''t have gone too far."