Yeah, this world actually has a ranking system. Of course it does. Why wouldn't it? I'm honestly not even surprised by this shit anymore.
Let me break this down before I get myself killed:
F-Rank: Absolute garbage. Bottom of the barrel. If you're F-Rank, you're basically a moving corpse waiting for something to breathe on you and end your life.
E-Rank: Slightly less pathetic. You function… barely. Congrats. That's literally me right now. Amazing.
D-Rank: Average. Not trash, not impressive. Just… there. You exist. Good job, I guess.
C-Rank: Mid-tier. Now we're talking. You won't instantly die if something looks at you funny.
B-Rank: Actually decent. Stronger than most people. You might even get respected instead of stepped on. Crazy concept.
A-Rank: Now this is where things get serious. Strong as hell. Basically the peak for normal people. If you're A-Rank, you're that person.
S-Rank: …Yeah, no. These people are just built different.
And then SS, SS+, and SSS are just super overpowered. Apparently this world has a lot of them.
And me?
Level 1. E-Rank. Barely alive.
HAHAHAHA… yeah, I'm so fucked.
Back to reality.
I looked behind me—dead bodies everywhere—and I could still hear faint whimpering.
Hah… I'm so tired. I'm honestly not even going to rely on or check this system unless I have to. It's temporary anyway, and it's just way too much to deal with right now. I can't be bothered.
"Hey, guys—quick, let's run."
I grabbed their hands, and we ran.
We came out through the side of the place, into a forest full of trees. Most of the guards were either inside or at the front, so we got lucky.
And then I realised something.
It was night.
Thanks to the system, I already knew what that meant— I can get a power-up so if monsters come i wont be completely useless and i also automatically knew we were in the human kingdom Ardenal - thank god it wasn't demon kingdom or something - i would have cried.
We might have to camp in the forest or even up in trees, but I didn't care. We were out.
That's all that mattered.
My new life had already started… I just hadn't fully accepted it yet.
"Hey, are you guys alright with camping in the forest?" I asked.
I didn't really expect an answer—but I got one.
"T-thank you… f-for helping us," the aqua-eyed girl said.
"Y-yeah… t-thanks," the black-haired girl added.
I blinked. "Wow… you guys can talk. What are your names?"
There was no way I was calling them blue-eyed and black-haired girl. That would be weird.
"My name is Aurelia," the white-haired girl said, her voice steadier now.
"My name is Zerelia," the black-haired girl followed.
I smiled slightly. "Wow… your names are kinda similar. They both end with -lia."
As we walked deeper into the forest, I kept talking.
"So… how long were you guys there?"
Their expressions dropped immediately.
"…Me and Zerelia have been there for almost a week," Aurelia said quietly.
Yeah… that explained enough.
I didn't think too much about it. I just acted. I pulled both of them into a hug.
We were deep enough in the forest that no one was finding us here anyway.
"Don't worry," I said. "I'm here. We're gonna stick together and get strong."
I was smiling while I said it… probably too excited about the "get strong" part i mean we would all become like super close right? I mean they should be happy I'm even nice if i was my former self i might have hit them instead - jut joking i wouldn't (probably).
Then—
They started crying.
Shit.
Did I mess up? Do they not like being touched?
"T-thank you…" they both said at the same time.
"O-oh.. yeah no problem" I said.
Thank god i thought i fucked up for a second. Then we kept walking and talking.
I learned they were both nine years old. They were slightly taller than me, but all of us were malnourished, so we were all small anyway.
They didn't have any family.
And then they asked about mine.
I had to think fast.
"O-oh, my family… huh," I said. "I don't really know. My parents didn't want me. My dad was a bandit. My mom… I don't know."
I lied.
What the fuck did I just say? I just waffled so hard.
Great. Now I actually have to remember that story… shit.
And I can't exactly tell them I'm from another world either. They'd think I'm insane.