CHAPTER 14: E RANKED GATE

Later that evening, Silva booked a taxi. He and his sister headed to the restaurant he had reserved online.

The driver was a man in his middle ages, with some grey hair and squinted eyes. He kept both hands on the wheel as he drove but occasionally asked questions.

"So, are you two lovers?" he asked, a slight smile on his face as he felt he had hit the bingo.

"No," Silva replied, short and quick.

"He is my brother, and despite the fact that he is nice and I love him, I could never date someone like him," Ella said.

"What the hell do you mean, someone like me? I’m not letting you date someone who isn’t at least a good person," Silva said.

She stuck out her tongue. Silva already knew it was her way of hiding something. He stared at her for a few seconds before looking away.

’Seems like she might have a boyfriend. Tsk, she didn’t even tell me about it. Well, as long as whoever it is isn’t a douchebag, I don’t have an issue with it. I’ll have to find him still’ Silva thought as he leaned back into the car seat.

"Brother and sister, huh? It’s nice to see that some people still do these little things like having fun with their families, rather than running off into gates and whatnot," the man said.

Silva wanted to engage with him a little more, to see why the man seemed down when he spoke about the gates, but they made their final turn and arrived at the restaurant.

After paying and the man bidding them a very enthusiastic goodbye, they headed in, got their reservation, and went to their seat.

It wasn’t anything too fancy. Wooden tables sat across the tiled floor, the soft smell of wood and fruit-scented candles filled the air, while a recording of jazz played.

When it was time to place the order, the waiter came in with two glasses of chilled water for them. They both picked a simple beef steak and had to wait for some time.

As their food was getting cooked, Silva stretched his hand to his water. He took a sip and then looked at Ella.

"I can tell you are uneasy. I’m sure it’s because of the fact that here we are in some fancy restaurant when we don’t really have much money," Silva said.

"Bro, we don’t have to be here," she replied. "You can’t just spend this much to make me feel happy. I know what you go through for me—the house rent, my school, everything is on you, I know it." Her eyes turned glassy.

"It’s because of me that you went into that gate and got hurt..."

"No." He cut her off. He looked her right in the eye, his gaze soft. "If you say that again, I’ll hit your head," he said in a soft yet very threatening tone.

"Who the hell threatens their sister with that type of look on their face?" she asked.

"Me, hehe," he replied. He leaned back into his chair and then spoke, "I want to make you a promise. From now henceforth, you don’t have to worry about anything money-wise. I’ll get it for you," he said.

She wanted to say something, wanted to say more, but as she looked at the eyes of her brother, the confidence she was used to doubled.

She didn’t doubt him, after all, he had been doing it for a while now.

With their discussion out of the way, their food arrived. They ate and discussed a bit before heading home for the night.

[....]

The next day, Silva waited for his sister to head to school, and then he got ready to leave as well. He refused to use the remaining keys for the Minotaur gate since the system didn’t give him a countdown for now.

He wanted to be stronger before he braved that fate again. He was certain that the miracle that kept him alive would not do it a second time.

He got everything he needed, put on a simple black shirt, black combat pants, and his boots before leaving.

His target for the day? An E-rank gate. That was as low as it got here, and for someone in F-rank, he couldn’t just choose to enter a higher gate. He had to be cautious.

He took a taxi and arrived at the gate. It wasn’t as guarded as the other gates, but lots of awakened were entering, in groups, pairs, and a few solo.

A few groups called out to him to join their party, but he ignored them. He made it to the gate and showed the man his guild card.

"You are an F-rank and you want to solo an E-ranked gate?" the guard spoke, a hint of mockery in his voice. His eyes looked at Silva like he was trash trying to overestimate himself.

But Silva didn’t care about that. He looked at the guard. "Yes," he responded.

"Tch." The guard handed the card to him. "It’s your funeral," he stated. Silva took the card and without another word, he walked into the gate.

When his eyes opened again, he was at the center of a large forest.

"This is nice," he muttered. He began walking through the forest. He could hear small squeaks and other sounds, but he didn’t pay attention to them.

He went five minutes without meeting a single enemy, and then finally, he spotted the first monster, a three-foot-tall goblin with a disgusting puke-like green skin, ears that were too long for its head, and a body that looked heavily malnourished.

Its eyes were yellow like it was sick, its teeth were jagged, sharp but also filled with large holes.

When it laid eyes on Silva, it let out a cat-like hiss and got into a pouncing stance.

Silva closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. This was a creature that would normally defeat him, but today, all that changed.