Extra's Survival: Raising SSS-Rank Characters Is My Only Option

The forest reclaimed its silence with surprising speed.

The ringing of steel faded into the distance, replaced by the pained groans of defeated men and the nervous snorts of horses trying to decide whether the danger had truly passed. Somewhere overhead, a flock of startled birds finally settled back onto their branches, as though the brief storm below had already become yesterday’s concern.

Harun rolled his shoulders and let out a disappointed sigh.

”That’s it? I was just beginning to enjoy myself.”

”You say that every time,” Berrick replied as he relieved another unconscious bandit of his sword.

”One day I’ll mean it.”

Sir Gareth ignored them both. His sword remained in his hand as he walked calmly among the fallen, nudging discarded weapons beyond reach before checking each man with a glance that somehow distinguished the unconscious from those merely pretending.

”Bind them.”

It was the only order he gave.

The White Griffin Knights moved without another word. Ropes appeared. Weapons disappeared into a growing pile. Horses were gathered before they wandered too far. No one questioned what needed doing because every man already knew.

Jin found himself watching them more than the defeated bandits.

The fight had lasted scarcely longer than a conversation, yet the aftermath revealed something the battle itself had hidden.

There was no celebration, no boasting, no lingering excitement-only experienced soldiers finishing another unpleasant task before moving on to the next.

For a fleeting moment, Jin wondered whether that was what true strength eventually became.

Not overwhelming power but a habit or discipline.

His thoughts broke as two knights dragged the broad-shouldered leader to the centre of the road and forced him onto his knees. Sir Gareth stepped forward without ceremony, resting the edge of his sword upon the man’s shoulder.

Only then did the old knight glance toward Jin.

The slightest nod.

The road, and every eye upon it, quietly became his.

That was the sign that it had ended, and now twenty-four men lay groaning, trussed, or wisely motionless, and the twenty-fifth - the anvil-faced leader - knelt in the road with Sir Gareth’s sword resting upon his shoulder - inches away from his neck.

Jin dismounted, brushed the dust from his coat, walked over, and crouched until they were eye to eye.

”Hello again.”

A pleasant smile spread across his face.

”Let’s restart, now that you have a little more information.”

He extended a hand toward himself.

”My name is Encrid Gannon.”

The smile widened just enough to make the bandit uncomfortable.

”What’s yours?”

The big man looked at the sword resting on his shoulder, then at the ruin of his company. Men who had ridden with him for years and supported him in all the robbery and terrible things he did lay scattered across the road, some unconscious, others nursing broken pride more than broken bones.

He let out a long, weary sigh.

It was the sort of sigh a man made when he realised his career had just ended and his life was hanging by a thread.

”...Volk.”

Jin’s eyes narrowed.

’Appraise.’

The panel appeared instantly.

[ Name: Volk ]

[ Age: 44 ]

[ Realm: Ascendant ]

[ Star Level: One ]

[ Talent: Common ]

Every field was visible. There were no black bars or errors.

’One-star Ascendant...’

Jin studied the panel for another second before dismissing it.

’So a One-Star Ascendant is within the limits of my skill proficiency.’

While that was one thought, the other was disbelief that the strongest man in this bandit company was just a single star ascendent and they dared to attack the White Griffin Knights.

’Truly audacious’

His gaze drifted back to Volk. There was nothing exceptional about the man. From looks to his talent - everything was just as the system described.

He was just an ordinary man who had clawed his way to Ascendant through years of fighting, surviving, and refusing to die.

’Quite commendable that he managed to survive all this time.’

A second line quietly appeared beneath the panel before fading as Jin was in his thoughts.

[ Skill Proficiency: F (19%) ]

Jin smiled.

”Volk. Wonderful.”

He raised his fingers.

”I have three questions.”

His smile widened ever so slightly.

”And depending on your answers, today is either the worst day of your life...”

A brief pause.

”...or merely the strangest.”

The bandit chief swallowed.

”First.”

Jin held up one finger.

”Who paid you?”

”The young lord of Maren. Rodric.”

The answer came without even a heartbeat of hesitation. Loyalty, it seemed, had not been included in Rodric’s payment.

”Triple the rate,” Volk continued bitterly. ”Half in advance, and I was instructed to kill everyone on the road.”

”I see.”

Jin raised a second finger. There was a question that had been bugging him since the moment he came across these bandits, and it was something Lord Ferris had warned him about.

”Those merchant caravans that have been disappearing since spring.”

He tilted his head.

”That was you?”

For the first time, the bandit hesitated, and his jaw tightened. His eyes flicked, almost involuntarily, towards the sword resting across his shoulder.

Sir Gareth had not shifted so much as an inch, yet somehow it seemed heavier and closer to his neck than before.

”...Aye.”

The word came reluctantly.

”On Rodric’s coin.”

His gaze drifted to the churned earth beneath his knees.

”His soldiers marked the rich caravans and told us which routes they’d take.”

A humourless chuckle escaped him.

”He takes a cut from every haul.”

Silence settled over the road, and it lasted only for a moment.

The pieces no longer looked like pieces.

A merchant caravan disappeared somewhere along a lonely road. House Maren expressed suitable outrage. More guards were promised. More patrols were dispatched.

And somewhere beyond the public eye, silver changed hands, soldiers quietly selected the next victim, and another wagon vanished into the forests without leaving so much as a witness behind.

It was an efficient arrangement where Rodric would grow rich without ever dirtying his own hands.

Jin rose slowly.

His third finger unfolded.

The smile was still there, but somehow the meaning behind it had changed. The nearest captive, who had been glaring defiantly until then, lowered his eyes. Another stopped straining against the ropes around his wrists. Even Volk’s shoulders lost a fraction of their stubbornness.

”Third question, Volk.”

Jin crouched once more until they were eye level.

”This one’s important.”

His voice remained pleasant and gentle.

”So think very carefully.”

He leaned in just enough that only Volk could hear the next words.

”Your stronghold.”

His smile never wavered.

”Take me to it.”

✦ ✦ ✦