Chapter 63. Appearances Can Be Deceiving

POV: Lili

Lili came out after Jonathan, hurrying to catch up with him.

"Hey, slow down," Lili said.

"You are the one walking too slowly. Hurry up," Jonathan replied.

Jonathan was in a great mood, just like Lili. They had finally reached their first serious milestone. They had been promoted to D-rank.

Yes, they were only eighteen years old, but they had already become D-rank adventurers. One could even call them true prodigies. Among their peers, no one had reached this level yet. Even the most talented ones were still stuck at E-rank.

Today they were going to celebrate this event together with their party. Of course, their rapid growth was not due solely to personal talent, but also to the support of their team. The leader of their group was an old acquaintance of Jonathan’s and Lili’s parents, and it was he, together with the other experienced adventurers, who trained them and helped them grow.

Jonathan really seemed to be in a hurry. The place where the celebration was planned—the restaurant where they were going to celebrate their promotion to D-rank together with the team—was already very close.

Of course, for the team itself, this event was more of a formality. While for Jonathan and Lili it was a real celebration, the other members of the group treated it calmly. After all, almost all of them were B-rank adventurers—the highest-ranked adventurer group in this city.

Their leader was even considered, perhaps, the strongest person in the city.

That was precisely why Lili was especially proud to be part of this team. Even if she was currently one of the weakest members, the very fact of belonging to such a group filled her with a sense of confidence and importance.

They only had to turn off this street, and the restaurant where they were going to celebrate their rank promotion would already be in sight.

Jonathan was walking ahead and was clearly in a hurry. Without slowing down, he sharply turned the corner without even looking around—and in the next moment, he crashed into someone.

"Hey! Watch where you are going!" Jonathan immediately shouted irritably.

"I am sorry. I did not notice," the man replied calmly.

Lili, turning the corner after him, saw who he had collided with. The man looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. A huge bag was hanging on his back, and he was holding another one—just as large—in his hands.

"It is nothing serious," Jonathan continued in a lecturing tone. "But be careful. With collisions like that, you can get injured."

Lili immediately understood that Jonathan himself was at fault. He was the one walking too fast and not looking around. But now he was behaving as if he were the one who had been wronged.

"I apologize. I will be more careful next time," the man said politely.

"And in general, do not walk so fast and fuss around like that," Jonathan continued. "You could pose a threat to civilians. You are an adventurer, after all."

He said this in the tone of someone senior, even though in reality he was simply savoring the moment.

"You should listen to advice from those who are higher-ranked than you," he added.

The man also turned out to be an adventurer. He was wearing standard equipment, and an E-rank badge hung around his neck.

Although until today Jonathan himself had been an E-rank adventurer, now that he had obtained D-rank, he suddenly began to behave as if he had always stood above everyone else.

He continued lecturing the man, talking to him almost like an old man teaching a little boy, even though Jonathan himself was younger.

Lili already wanted to intervene.

Stop Jonathan?..

No, let him enjoy it. After all, today was their celebration.

Besides, the man did not seem to mind at all. He looked very polite and calmly listened to everything Jonathan was saying.

Lili was starting to get bored, so she decided to use her skill "Analyze" on the man to check his level.

She had long since grown accustomed to using this skill constantly. On one hand, it allowed her to better understand the people around her, and on the other, constant use helped raise the rank of the skill itself.

So… what level was he?

If he was an E-rank adventurer, then at least level 21.

But considering his appearance and the way he carried himself…

Probably around level 25, Lili assumed.

[Level: 162]

…A shiver ran through Lili’s body. She did not want to believe what she saw, but the system did not make mistakes. It was the truth.

The person standing in front of them was extraordinarily strong. The leader of their group was level 159, and this man was level 162.

His level was higher than that of their leader. Lili’s chest tightened.

Such a person could kill Jonathan with a single blow—without the slightest chance of resistance.

And this idiot…

He was provoking someone so powerful.

What a stupid, stupid Jonathan. What are you even doing?!

"Jonathan, we have to go," Lili said sharply.

"I want to give this guy a few more pieces of advice. After all, it is the duty of higher-ranked adventurers to teach those below them," Jonathan said proudly.

"Enough, Jonathan! We are late!" Lili almost shouted.

Then she quickly turned to the man.

"Please forgive us," she said, trying to sound as polite as possible.

Without waiting for a reply, Lili grabbed Jonathan by the arm and forcibly dragged him away, farther from there, toward the restaurant where the team was already waiting.

"I told you, I was not finished yet!" Jonathan resisted, but Lili used all her strength, practically dragging him by the arm.

After they had gone a couple dozen meters, Jonathan suddenly jerked and yanked his hand free.

"What are you doing?!" he asked in an angry, irritated voice.

Lili turned back and let out a sigh of relief. The man was no longer visible—apparently, he had turned off the street and gone onto the main road.

"What the hell are you doing, idiot?!" Lili shouted, turning back to Jonathan.

"Why are you yelling at me?" he snapped back. "I did nothing wrong. I just wanted to give guidance to an adventurer of a lower rank than me!"

He spoke loudly, but his tone made it clear—he was making excuses more than he was indignant.

"That man could have killed both of us with a single blow!" Lili said loudly, almost shouting. "If you had angered him…"

"Hey, calm down, calm down," Jonathan said, now trying not to justify himself or get angry, but to calm Lili down. "You saw it yourself, he is just an E-rank adventurer. And did you see his clothes? They were brand new. Not a single scratch. He probably has not even fought in any real battles. I am sure he just bought his equipment and never really used it."

Jonathan waved his hand dismissively.

"And his sword? I am sure it is more decorative than combat-worthy."

"You are an idiot, Jonathan," Lili said quietly, in a low, restrained voice.

She fell silent for a moment, then added with obvious anger,

"He was level 162."

Jonathan froze.

Lili was truly angry. Not just irritated—genuinely furious. Jonathan had behaved like an experienced adventurer, speaking in a confident, "wise" tone, but everything he listed had been wrong.

In a different situation, his conclusions might have been logical.

But this time, he had been completely mistaken.

And the price of such a mistake could have been far too high.

"No, that is impossible," Jonathan said in a confused voice. "Even Darmon is only level 159. And he is the strongest person in this city… and in the entire region."

"That is what we think," Lili replied. "Do you remember what Darmon himself said? He said there are people here with much higher levels than him. We just did not believe him. But he never lies to us."

Jonathan clenched his teeth.

"Damn… I am sorry. I did not think about it at all. I just… I could not imagine that guy could be that strong," he said more quietly.

He fell silent for a moment, then looked at Lili almost pleadingly.

"Please… do not tell Darmon. And do not tell anyone about what just happened."

Lili looked at him carefully.

"Please," Jonathan continued, almost begging. "Please."

He was not afraid of the fact that they could have died, nor of how badly he had misjudged the situation.

He was afraid of something else—that Darmon would laugh at him… or, worse, punish him.

And Darmon’s punishments were harsh.

A full training course—one week, two weeks… depending on the mistake.

But this time, Lili was sure:

Jonathan would be trained for at least a month. From morning until night.

"Fine," Lili finally said. "I will not tell him."

"Thank you…" Jonathan exhaled in relief. "I will owe you. If you want, I will buy you anything you want. Anything you want to eat."

Lili narrowed her eyes.

"Alright," she said. "Then when I ask for something expensive at the restaurant, you will not refuse."

"Yes," Jonathan answered quickly. "I will buy anything you want."

Lili promised not to tell Darmon not only out of pity for Jonathan.

She herself feared that in such a case, the punishment might affect her as well.

Of course, most likely that would not happen, but she did not want to take the risk.

Besides, Lili did not want to ruin her relationship with Jonathan.

There was another reason.

If Jonathan were punished and sent into a month of exhausting training, the team might cancel their dungeon expedition. And that was the last thing Lili wanted. She wanted to return to the dungeon as soon as possible and fight monsters again.

The more monsters she defeated, the stronger she became.

And, to be honest with herself, she liked spending time in dungeons far more than sitting in the city.

And anyway… what kind of monster was that—someone with level 162?

Darmon had warned Lili more than once: the Analyze skill had to be used carefully, especially against high-level people. Such individuals could easily sense when skills like that were used on them.

It seemed Lili had simply been lucky.

The man, apparently, was in a good mood and behaved politely. From his appearance and manner, it was impossible to even guess that such a monstrously powerful person stood before her. Nothing about him revealed his terrifying strength.

Alright. She needed to calm down.

They had already reached the restaurant. Inside, the team was waiting to celebrate the rank promotion of Jonathan and Lili. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her pounding heart, and went inside.

Jonathan entered after her.

No longer as self-confident and hurried as he had been when they left the Adventurers’ Guild. Now he walked silently, quietly following behind Lili.