I was Reincarnated as an Ant! Vol.2

Chapter 3.5- Jan, The Gladiator

At times the world is yours and other times it's not. The day I had my little buddy actually talk to me was the day I lost him. We had made a connection unlike anything we've ever had and as fast as it came, it was gone. I've replayed that day every night in my head, dreams, fears, mistakes, childish tantrums, my rude behavior, and above it all, what was I to him?

I had made the friends along the past years as a fast growing low D-class ranker in the adventure's guild. Every other night or day I'd return to see him, he'd gleefully leap to me only to ignore me afterwards. I had gotten used to it, I had gotten used to the life without any actual purpose of course. I made money, we lived together, I was climbing the ranks but, I was now stuck in higher ends of D-class ranker territory for years now. I was told that it was common, so I believed it. My abilities were limited afterall, I was special like most. My skills mostly consisted of social interaction and my combat abilities were lackluster. Yet, having reached the level of a class most considered average, was a feat in of itself. I was content with how far I could go.

This was my downfall to Aed, he probably saw I wasn't worth the time given his special disposition. He was a beast that wasn't on pair with others, he was a mythical creature of habit and ability. A daunting challenge to even compare as he could've grown to become much more if he wasn't tied down to me.

The nobles that had somehow managed to had meet him before me, claimed he was theirs but even though he definitely wasn't, he allowed them to take him as he knew he could become much more than I could ever hope to give him. I had nothing to my name and I wasn't even a noble much longer after the next year.

Nih confiding in me not assume anything of importance for Aed's relationship with those thieves. Only brought reality that I was limiting myself by joining them. They had use for me as a offensive coordinator but other than that, each of the party members had homes and businesses that could provide the pillar of support after my time with them had passed. I was a tool that soon would be discarded, each of them were of higher quality than me.

Our time spent on raids and missions with the split up crew tasks grew significantly at a staggering pace. It was all in efforts to help me grow strong but, nothing seemed to help me. My [Hero's Egg] wasn't budging and my skills weren't improving at a pace like my previous years. Yet, a small celebration for my now official rank update to C-class as most of my friends now had reached higher levels of B-class. Others would start asking if I was the only one that was still at low C-class.

Arguing with them about what I needed to do, only solidified what I knew. They had aspirations in a few years that I didn't know until I asked. Dyaldic was going to be a father soon, but needed more money and wasn't planning on letting up the team until we all had solid footing in the guild, although Nih had started his own faction of underground vigilantes, he wanted now to see where I'll be in a few years before looking forward to cementing his legacy, meanwhile Yeshia had been thinking of settling down too, yet was waiting for me she'd say. I was merely holding them backwards, I know my place to them.

Now that Aed was gone, I wasn't as promising as I had boasted myself the first time around to join a team. I was now more than ever a replaceable member. Thanks to Aed's bond with me, I had many skills too. Yet, my growth had started to slow down once more! The only reason as to why I hadn't been abandoned by the team had to be exactly due to Aed's gifts to me. I was a C-class ranker that evidently could hold my ground against another greenhorn B-class ranker. Moreover, given how common my combat classification was, it was soon possible to be replaced.

Departing from the team as now the squad was dismembered, we all would go on our ways. I joined the local militias to hone my craft in skills. Only after a month was I deemed suitable due to my high vast skills that offered versatility in abilities. My problem with the system of the military was information on backgrounds of their soldiers. Since I barely could give actual information and when individuals assumed I was a spy, less leadership tasks were offered to me. Further, making me unable to progress in the military positions, and even more so, my age. Older folks viewed me lesser than most others, even though I was a young adult!