Silver Demon

"So right after your conversation with this man, you decided to come to the desert?", Andre asked.

"Yes, I was already running out of options, so I decided to take a chance. Also, because the desert is a little far from the kingdom, maybe I could find a solution on the way here.", said Gen

"I understand.", said Andre.

"You said you came from a northern kingdom, so you must have heard about the silver demon, right?", Darren asked.

"Silver demon?", asked Gen, confused.

"You've never heard of him?", asked Andre in surprise.

"No, I've never heard of him. Is he that famous?", asked Gen.

"It's not that he is famous, but for some years now, people who come from the north always talk about him and his strength.", said Darren.

"It's true, there are stories that say he fought a group of platinum-rank monsters alone, other stories say that he destroyed a huge group of bandits who dominated several roads to the north.", said Andre.

"Because of him, it became much easier to do business in the north. Many people even head north to try to find him, but as far as I know, none of them have succeeded, and probably never will.", said Darren.

"Why do you say that? From the rumors you told me, he doesn't seem to be a discreet person.", asked Gen.

"Well, answering your question, no one knows what he looks like. They don't even know if he is a man or a woman, so even if someone were to meet him on the street, no one would be able to tell that he is the silver demon.", said Darren.

"What do you mean no one knows what he looks like? How can that be possible? In one of the rumors you told me, you said that he eliminated a huge group of bandits. He must not have done it fast. Are you telling me that nobody saw him during this whole process? Or are you saying that he uses something to hide his appearance, like a mask on his face and maybe an outfit that hides the shape of his body?", asked Gen.

"It's not like no one has seen him, but everyone who has seen him doesn't remember meeting him.", said Darren.

"What do you mean?", asked Gen.

"From what they say, every time he appears, the people who are in the place where he appeared don't remember seeing anyone. The only thing they remember is silver flashes.", Andre said.

"For this reason, when people first heard of him, many of them considered the possibility that he was a monster, but when analyzing the bodies of those killed by him, they saw that a blade made all the wounds. Some people even considered the possibility of the blade being the monster's claws. Still, after he appeared more times, this idea was completely discarded. That's because every time he appeared, he helped the people around him.", said Darren.

"He saved people?", Gen asked.

"Yes, in every case, he saved a group of people from certain death.", said Darren.

"Then why is he called the silver demon? The silver one I can understand, but what about the demon part?", asked Gen.

"It's pretty simple why. Whenever the Silver Demon saved a group of people, they always found themselves in the midst of large amounts of bodies and blood strewn around them. The scene was so shocking that many said it was something that could only have been done by a demon, and that's how they started calling it.", said Darren.

"Got it, now I also want to find this 'silver demon', he seems to be extremely strong. Seeing him fight should be a unique experience."

"Many want to see him, Gen. However, it all depends on your luck.", said Andre.

"Speaking of strength, Gen, aren't you afraid to go to the Sand Ruins alone?", asked Darren.

"That's true, Gen. Many people don't even come back from there, don't you want to think about it? You look young to me. You don't have to risk so much. You still have a lot to live for. Maybe you won't even find what you're looking for there.", said Andre worried.

"You don't have to worry about me. I'm stronger than I look.", said Gen, taking out, from one of his pockets, a platinum ring and showing it to them.

Upon seeing the ring, the two were startled, and then Andre asked Gen, "You are a platinum-rank adventurer?! How is that possible?"

Gen laughed at his reaction and said, "Hahaha. Yes, I am ranked platinum. After all, I had the essence of the spear, and even without the essence, I am still very good at using the weapon."

"Hmm, stopping to think about it, it makes sense. A person who once had an essence couldn't possibly be someone weak.", said Andre, and continued, "But even though you are strong, it still doesn't make sense that you are platinum rank. You look very young to me. How old are you?"

"I turned twenty today.", spoke Gen.

"Twenty years old?! You are quite young, and besides, today is your birthday. Isn't there a better day to look for death?", asked Andre.

"I've been holding off on this trip. If I wait until after my birthday, who knows when I'll be able to make it.", said Gen.

Darren then said, "I see, but back to the subject. How did you get up the ranks so fast? It takes quite a while to get to the point you are at."

"Well, it's a long story, but to summarize, let's say that from my hometown to here, I went through several extremely dangerous situations, and with the passing of each one, I went up in rank without realizing it."

"For example, there was one time when I had just left towards the desert, and to make my journey easier, I decided to take a guard job for a small caravan, with about ten wagons, that was going to a nearby town that was on the way."

"When the caravan reached the halfway point, a small group of bandits appeared. They surrounded the wagons and started to approach, some of the merchants tried to negotiate a price with the bandits. However, they didn't even pay attention to them. Only one of them, who seemed to be the leader, said, 'Don't waste your time. What's the use of trying to negotiate if everything you have will belong to us.'

Hearing this, the merchants became apprehensive and began to discuss among themselves what they could do, but just then, the leader of the bandits whistled, and all the bandits advanced towards the caravan."

"Seeing them approaching, all the guards prepared to engage in combat. The fight started, but it wasn't looking very good for our side. The bandits were in larger numbers, and they had a little more than two bandits to each guard. I was fighting three of them at the same time, using a sword that my contractor had lent me."

"However, upon seeing that the other guards were being pressured and that if things continued like that, soon I would have more than three people to contend with, I decided to fight in earnest. I took my bandaged spear from my back and used it to defeat the three that were with me quickly, and then went towards the other guards to help them."

"Upon seeing me defeat three of the bandits, their leader came towards me and entered into combat with me, but a few minutes later, I had already defeated him."

"After a few minutes of battle, we defeated all the bandits. We then tied them up and took them with us to our destination. Upon arriving there, as we handed them over, the leader of the local guards reported what the merchants had passed on to him to the guild leader."

"Upon hearing about my contribution to the achievement, he promoted me directly from bronze rank to silver rank and recommended me to a larger caravan that was heading to another city that was on the desert path."

"After that, on the way here, I went through several similar situations, only some were more dangerous, and the next thing I knew, I was already platinum rank."

"Wow, you make it sound simple, but it must have been an extremely difficult road from there to here.", said Darren.

"That's right, you must have gone through a lot of life and death situations, right?", asked Andre.

"A few, haha.", said Gen, remembering the past.

"Where did you learn to fight so well?", asked Andre.

"I don't remember.", said Gen.

"You don't remember your teacher's name?", asked Andre.

"Not only that, I don't even remember being taught how to use the spear. It's like I've known how to use it since I was born, but I probably had a teacher. Since I lost my essence, my memories have been fuzzy about things related to it, argh!", said Gen with his hand on his head with an expression of discomfort.

"Hey, Gen, is everything okay with you?", asked Andre.

"Yeah, everything's fine, it's just a slight headache.", replied Gen.

"You better get some rest, you don't look so good to me.", said Darren.

"That's right, Gen, you can take a nap. When we arrive, I'll call you.", said Andre.

"Well, since you offered, I won't stand on ceremony.", said Gen, and then leaned back against the wall of the wagon and fell into a deep sleep.