Unlimited Power 02 - The Ranger's Domain

After that talk that Ryan had with Yahiko, he spent the night pondering about such things. In the end, he only confirmed the fact that working alone was the best. While his life was on the on a daily basis since he rarely picked the fights that he could easily win, at the very least, Ryan knew that the success or the failures were resting only on his shoulders. He didn't have to rely on anyone… aside from his pets.

"I guess I have what it takes to be a dictator," Ryan shrugged. "Or things go on my way, or they go the highway."

"It took you a while to notice that," Femradiel said.

It was only natural that he would think of his Steel Eagle as a vehicle than as his ally, but in the end, Ryan couldn't do the same to Furball and, to some extent, with Femradiel. They helped him more than a little bit, so their safety was starting to bother him quite a bit as of late… bother him in a good sense. Still, as long as he survives, they will live, and Ryan wasn't planning to die anytime soon.

When the sun started to rise, Ryan noticed that things were getting kind of intense in that building. Many people were moving around in a hurry. Since that was a big deal and probably the first time that happened, Yahiko would alert everyone that he was going to leave his domain and someone else would do his job for him.

"I am not planning to stay in a single place forever, so I guess I have to find someone to look after my domain now and then," Ryan muttered. "Apparently, the range of the domain can increase by using mana and stamina, but I won't be able to relax until my domain can cover the entire territory of a large state."

"You are pretty ambitious," Femradiel said.

"Aren't you going to offer yourself that job?" Ryan asked.

"Knowing you, you would only wonder if I am plotting something by doing that," Femradiel said. "I am not very interested in managing a dungeon, since the things that I need to become stronger will be consumed by the dungeon pretty much all the time."

"So, you decided to stay away from that problem since it would only slow you down," Ryan said. "What a teammate you are."

"While you are not wrong, it doesn't mean I won't do it," Femradiel said. "As long as I have some tools, I can counter some demerits and besides, if you give the order, I will obey it."

"I really don't want to give such an important job to someone who doesn't want to do it," Ryan shrugged.

Furball was pretty strong, so maybe he could guard the domain in case some creature clears the dungeons that Ryan might possess. As long as Ryan gives him the right skills, he truly could become an awesome watchdog. The only real problem was that it was kind of worrisome to give such an important task to someone who could only bark.

Regardless, that was a problem Ryan could worry about later. While standing at the top of the building, Ryan watched Yahiko's whole speech to his people. Ryan didn't understand a single word, though. Thousands of people came to watch him, and despite everything, they didn't make much commotion. Just like Yahiko said, those people relied too much on him. When the people began to disperse, Ryan approached only to see a really excited Yahiko and a nervous Haruna.

"Don't worry, you got this," Yahiko said.

"Yes, sir! I will try not to disappoint you too much, sir!" Haruna said.

"… I don't think that is too late to reconsider this," Ryan said.

After hearing that, Haruna got even more nervous and a bit depressed, but Yahiko only laughed. In his eyes, it looked like Haruna was truly the person for the job. The only question was for how long? Ryan, Haruna, and the others cleared the previous dungeon in a single afternoon. Now he would clear a more difficult dungeon with the help of his pets and just another person… they had to be faster because her nervousness might be too much for Haruna. She will end up making a mistake. If that happens, her lack of confidence will only get worse.

"Shall we go then?" Yahiko asked.

Some people accompanied Ryan and Yahiko, but they eventually stopped when they reached the barrier's boundaries. At that moment, Ryan finally realized that Yahiko wasn't wearing a single piece of armor. Even if his items were on a storage dimension, proceeding without equipping them at that moment seemed like arrogance.

"Where are your items?" Ryan asked.

"You mean this?" Yahiko asked after he summoned a semi-transparent set of Japanese armor and a katana.

Ryan frowned when he saw those since he failed at identifying the items… actually, they weren't items. They were some kinds of skill that Ryan never saw before and couldn't even begin to understand.

"I call them the ghost sword and the ghost armor," Yahiko said. "By summoning the spirits of some samurais that I absorbed, I can transform them like this as well. If I use several spirits, the armor and the sword become much more powerful."

"That seems pretty useful…" Ryan said.

In a sense, it was like an item that could grow almost infinitely stronger. While Yahiko's special skill had a limit, he will eventually find a way to improve it. Ryan wanted power like that too, or at least a weapon that could grow with him, but he didn't have a single idea where he could get or how he could forge such a weapon.

After advancing for a while, Ryan felt that weird sensation that he was being watched. In the end, Femradiel warned him about the location of a single enemy. Even before Ryan could do anything, an azure dragon hidden at the peak of a certain mountain began to fly away from them. Ryan began to charge his Power Shot, but in the blink of an eye, Yahiko swung his sword, and two seconds later, the dragon lost its head