Sword Rankers
Prides

Team Ran was resting after a non-stop fight, but the atmosphere between them was not very good. They were all gathered in a desolate open, the sky had been pitch black since earlier.

Everything drifted away from each other, there was no casual or serious chatter between them, only silence that exuded an unpleasant atmosphere from all of them.

It's all my fault. Ran blamed himself.

Ran is aware and knows what his weaknesses are, he is aware if he is unstable, easily shaky, and does not have a firm stance. Unlike William who can separate personal feelings for the sake of mutual interest, he cannot be like Enzo who continues to be consistent and calm, he cannot be like Eduardo who continues to focus on his goals without faltering.

The more thought, Ran the more he felt very sad, almost not once Ran could solve the problems he experienced. He was always helped by others, even non-hyper until intervening to help himself.

I'm so pathetic. Ran said many times in his heart, sitting and hugging his legs, and drowning his face, between his legs.

The more guilt filled Ran's heart, he was more pessimistic and did not believe in her anymore.

At that time, again someone came like a light to Ran.

Pock

"Hey Ran, don't take it too hard."

A light pat and short, very soothing words present comforted Ran. It was William, himself coming and sitting next to Ran, after which just silence without saying any more.

Not a single sentence came out of William's mouth, he just sat quietly next to Ran, Ran was so, just silent without saying anything.

A few minutes of silence passed, Ran was calmer this time, although his mind was still chaotic, but not as chaotic as before.

Ran asked William very slowly, as he whispered, "Will... You're... Disappointed in me, right...?"

"Little." William answered briefly.

"so... Excuse me... I let you down, Will... Excuse me... Because you can't meet your expectations."

"Roman... I'm just disappointed in you, doesn't mean I hate you, it's okay if you make the occasional mistake. What matters is that you don't get dissolved in it."

The two went back to silence without a word coming out, a few minutes back missed. Ran asked William again, "Will... Do you think what I did was wrong...?"

"Wrong... Ran, this is an important test, everyone struggles to graduate from here, none of them expect to be pitied by you. I also feel guilty sometimes, but I don't want to dissolve into that feeling. It's not a cruel thing, but this is the name of the establishment, if you don't have that stance, you won't graduate from here Ran."

"Sorry..."

"But Ran, didn't I also eliminate someone before you in the first test, even we worked together to defeat Tim, but why are you so hesitant and afraid to eliminate others now."

"I'm sorry... Nor do I know, before, that the expression that people showed was always a scary expression, a cruel and merciless expression, he said, it made me forget about what happened in case they failed or the reason they took this exam. Even after you defeated them, the only expression that appeared was shock, only the first time I saw such a desperate expression."

"That's it..."

"But Will, don't you have a principle not to fight someone weaker than you? Why are you without hesitation fighting them all?"

"You misunderstood Ran, my principle is not that much, my principle is not to fight the weak, but that does not mean I will not fight people who are weaker than me. To me, none of them are weak, they are all strong, strong enough that I deserve to raise my sword against them."

"You've always been cool Will, not like me. You're right, I'm a weak man, I can't do anything."

"Quite Ran, you are strong, but you lack confidence, it makes you always afraid of what to do. Like I said when we first met in the first test, 'Trust me!' Don't be too afraid of something uncertain."

"...." - ".Ran was silent at William's words.

The atmosphere was silent again, Ran did not ask anything more, William did not bother Ran in the slightest.

In this silence, Ran thought about William's words carefully. He only realized that he was too afraid of new things, but simultaneously he could act impulsively if carried away.

Ran can be relaxed about something that he already knows, but he will worry excessively about new things. Negative thinking always accompanies him if he wants to start something new, the thought will fail, harm others, and overthink the views of others that are not even important to Ran, always there and never lost.

Come to think of it, even if I don't defeat them, they will still lose if they fight someone stronger than me.

Little by little, Ran reached a conclusion to decide what he should do.

Ran recalled the reason for taking this exam, the reason was related to self-esteem, but, why? It is indeed why if self-esteem is used as an excuse for this. Ran only realized if he was also important, he realized that it was okay to be selfish than others occasionally.

This exam to determine who is the best, if they can't beat me, means they don't deserve to pass. Yes really! The one who can pass this exam and become a Ranker is only the best, therefore I have to fight to be the best. Ran finally made his choice.

Ran stood up, William looked at Ran with a look that seemed to say, "You're ready?" Ran returned William's question-filled gaze with a firm nod.

Ran comes to where Enzo and Eduardo are, they are both in the same place, but turn their backs on each other.

"Sorry! Because of me, our team is in trouble, I already understand what my mistake is." Said Ran in a high voice while lowering his head.

Eduardo and Enzo remained silent.

"Once again... I'm sorry." Ran apologized once again.

But Eduardo and Enzo did not turn their heads or speak.

Even so, Ran's determination was already unanimous, he had already decided to apologize, therefore he remained down despite being ignored.

Ran remained low with high confidence, he still believed that if he sincerely and firmly apologized, it would definitely be accepted. And it's true.

"God... If you apologize like that, I'll feel guilty if you just shut up." Enzo first reacts, turning his body towards Ran and accepting Ran's apology.

Only Eduardo remained silent to his back to Ran.

Enzo who saw him became tempted to tease Eduardo.

"Nolumbus... My little Ed, you still seem to be craving Ran. C'mon, man... Don't temp... You're not funny anymore." Enzo teased Eduardo while poking his body slightly.

The grumpy Eduardo was finally provoked, he vexed and violently turned and beat Enzo to the ground.

"Gaaaaahhhhh.... Damnit damnit! You guys are so annoying, all right! I forgive you."

Seeing Eduardo willing to forgive him, Ran became happy, his face beaming with Eduardo's short words.

"....But, how do you find them again?"

"What?"

"Pake nanya, I ask, how do you find the people who stole our pins, or if you can find the pins from another team. You're conscious, right? The time limit of this test is 24 hours, we spend 10 hours to get our first pin if calculated from the beginning of this test, and it's been hours since we lost our first pin. If my calculations aren't wrong, then we're only 5 hours away."

Degs...

Ran only realized with this bitter reality, their exam time was only a little more. It would be difficult to repeat their trap strategy because it was full of betting, Ran would have to create another strategy in order to be able to get a pin in this very little time.

"So... What's your plan, Mr. strategist?"

Ran could not answer him, he did not think about it before, he forgot about their very limited time.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh... About that, take it easy." Enzo who was lying down because he was hit by Eduardo to fall down suddenly said.

"W-Did you have Enzo's idea?"

"Haha... Not just an idea, this is a pin map for us."

"Map?"

"Yes... Right, this is a map to get the pin. Before, when we lost the pin, I pretended to give up by raising my hand, but in fact it was a distraction, I quietly inserted my thread into one of their shoes. The thread was so thin, they wouldn't notice it, as proof, until now I didn't feel it being destroyed."

"Wait... So what you mean by that map is..."

"True, I can track their presence, maybe I've told you guys or maybe I forgot, but my mind can make the tracking device origin undamaged, because that's where I made it, where I'm from, so as long as it's not broken by anyone else, I can detect it wherever it is."

"Huh what????? If it's like that, why don't you just tell me stupid!?" Eduardo cursed in surprise.

"Hehe, the condition of our team is very bad, if I force the chase with the condition of the team like that, it is tantamount to suicide. I waited until Ran fully recovered."

The reason that makes sense for everyone, the condition of their previous team was very bad because of Ran, but now Ran has fully recovered, so there are no more obstacles for their team.

"Hey William, come here, we hunt those people again." Enzo invited William to join.

"Yes... Of course, let's."

"I have to follow you again."

They regrouped, and this time they were more prepared than ever.