Stacking My Abilities

"Tsch." An archer scoffed. "Don't get too cocky boy. I can defeat you in an instance."

"We'll see about that." Jeff nodded with a relaxed expression.

"Tsch. Remember this. The moment you make eye contact with an esper, it's already over."

Jeff felt an invisible finger poking his forehead.

Without hesitation, that archer shot an arrow at Jeff's knee.

"Nope." Jeff caught that arrow.

'Ok. This is getting annoying.' Jeff knitted his brows. He could still feel that poking finger.

'Shield!'

Jeff smacked that finger away with his mana shield.

"Hiiiaaahhh!" The archer shrieked and squatted down. Holding tightly onto his own head, that guy seemed to be going through a serious headache.

"Tssss... Ahhh..." The archer sucked in air in pain. Looked like he needed a moment to recover.

Jeff: ?!

'Wait... Huh. So that's what happens? Well. That wasn't intentional.'

"Hmph. If those attacks are too slow to you, how about this." A dude in camouflaged gears pulled out three feathers.

Then he froze in place. Feeling the cold blade resting by his neck, the dude gulped.

"Mana projectiles... I don't know. Maybe." Jeff pulled back his dagger. "But you sure won't have a chance to fire them."

"You've got to be kidding right." Someone chuckled in disbelief.

"I have to be dreaming..."

These guys couldn't even catch a trace of Jeff's movements. In their view, Jeff had instantly appeared by that mage.

'Aannnd I didn't even activate any abilities...' Walking back to that open space, Jeff raised his brows and looked around, waiting for new challengers.

"How's this fair!" Someone shouted in disbelief, gesturing at Jeff. "Why does an untrained civilian get to awaken this level of power."

"Ohhhh. This world is bullcrap!" Someone ranted, as if questioning what they'd done with their time. "This guy doesn't even have his sidekick's form right!"

"You found some way to strengthen yourself didn't you!"

"Yeah! Don't lie to us. We've seen through you."

"Let out your little secret, or." A gunman stepped forward.

"Or what." Jeff squinted.

"Or..." The gunman gulped. Grasping onto his rifle, he still felt insecure.

Sure, Jeff wasn't faster than bullets. But he was sure faster than the people aiming and firing those bullets.

"Maybe I can pay you... For that information... If you don't mind..."

"Or..." It's another guy speaking. "We can work for you."

'Nope. Not happening.' Jeff shook his head at the offer. These guys would only drag him down in battle.

This offer reminded Jeff of Alice and that wolfman. 'Still not strong enough huh...'

Jeff balled his fist, and then unclenched his fists. 'Still can't ensure the safety of the people around me...'

Returning his mind to the present moment... Thinking of what to reply...

"Hmm..." Jeff thought for a moment.

The crowd waited in silence.

"It's really not a secret." Jeff shrugged. "You can only count on yourself if you want to get stronger."

(Yourself in other worlds is still yourself. <= No logic flaws here)

"To be honest, if I didn't awaken this level of power, I'd be dead right now."

The eyes of some fellas glinted. It's as if they had understood something.

The complaint mood in this room quickly died down. People's view towards Jeff changed.

Empathy. Approval. Respect. Gratitude for Jeff's generosity.

"If you want to get stronger, you can only fight for it, if you know what I mean."

(At least killing new monsters made Jeff stronger for sure.)

Nods here and there. Jeff's approval rating just skyrocketed.

This was exactly what these guys wanted to hear. Work. Train. Payoff.

"I mean. That's all I've got to share. I don't know how the world works either."

Looking around, everyone here was in thought now. Their itch for battle had cooled down.

Well. Good. Apparently there's no masochists here.

"Looks like I'm out of opponents." Jeff turned to Broadsword. "How's my performance?"

"Looks like we've got another S-rank here." Broadsword nodded with a smile.

"But a friendly heads-up." Broadsword flicked a card to Jeff. "There are plenty of maniacs and monsters in the sanctuary. I would keep my head low if I were you. Even being an S rank."

"Thanks." Jeff took a look at the card.

A red letter 'S' at the front. Turning it over, on the back, there was an empty slot for signature, a black magnetic strip, and a card number.

"As an S-rank, you start off with 100 Sanctuary Credits in your card." Broadsword offered Jeff a brochure. He extended his other hand for a shake. "Welcome to the sanctuary."

"My honor to join." Jeff took over the procedure and shook this examiner's hand.

Without further hesitation, Jeff left for the door.

Hearing Jeff's rank, the crowd here relaxed a bit. Their confidence quickly returned.

Hey. Being crushed by a top-notch hunter, there's no shame in that right?

Standing a little taller, these guys exchanged encouraging and affirmative nods.

Broadsword looked around. "Very good... Let's continue then, shall we?"

...

Patting the brochure against his hand, Jeff walked up the stairway.

Returning to the ground level lobby, a small group approached Jeff.

Young and old, ranging from 14 years old teenagers to 65 years old retirees.

All sorts of outfits, ranging from sales business suits to T-shirts and shorts.

If someone randomly pulled out twenty people from a busy mall, this was what that person would get.

"Hey man. Looks like you are a newly joined hunter." It's a skinny college student wearing a Berrystone College shirt. Wearing an awkward smile, this guy looked a little uncomfortable talking to strangers.

Walking up to Jeff, this guy pointed at Jeff's brochure.

"Hey. Yeah. Just joined." Jeff replied.

"Nice. Congrats. I'm Silverhand by the way. Uh. B-rank hunter. Current leader of the Starlight Hunter's Squad." The guy offered a handshake.

"I'm... Jeff." Jeff shook the dude's hand.

"Do people go with codenames here?" Jeff knitted his brows.

"Yeah... It's a trend here now." Silverhand nodded in thought.

Remembering his memorized lines, Silverhand continued. "So Jack."

"It's Jeff."

"Right. Sorry. Jeff." Silverhand took in a deep breath. The dude looked like he wanted to sit in a corner for a while.

"Erhm." This guy took in a deep breath and put on a smile again. "So Jeff. You may not know this, because you are new here. But there are many Hunter Squads that has formed in the sanctuary now."

"And uh. Those groups are not exactly friendly to newbies. They'll bully you out of the good missions that pop up."