"Just a little convenience?"
Faced with the deal Roy proposed, Fels was not foolish enough to accept it blindly. After a brief exchange, he had already realized that this young man was not easy to deal with. A powerful adventurer was one thing—but an adventurer with brains was truly troublesome.
"Ouranos…"
Fels took out a crystal ball about the size of a baby's fist. Clear and translucent, it emitted no sound, yet silently called out. The great god on the other end had heard their entire conversation.
Roy's eyes lit up. What a good item.
"Fels the Sage," who possessed the Development Ability Mystery, was very likely the greatest magical item craftsman of the current era. In the past, he had even stepped into the "realm of the gods," creating the Philosopher's Stone that granted immortality.
That crystal ball was also one of his magical items.
The magical item Eye Crystal. The scenes and sounds captured by one crystal would be projected into another. Even across vast distances, it could transmit information—this was the only communication device in the world.
"Approved!"
Moments later, a calm and resolute voice came from the crystal ball. Roy and Ryuu both felt their minds tremble. The great god Ouranos—the founding god of Orario!
Although neither of them had ever met Ouranos, that voice alone gave them an impression far stronger and deeper than that of ordinary gods.
"The deal is done. As long as you don't disclose information about the Juggernaut, you may do as you please."
Fels's figure gradually faded into the darkness.
"The Guild's ghost…"
Ryuu recalled a rumor. It was said that Guild staff would occasionally spot a mysterious black-robed figure near headquarters. As the story spread, it turned into tales of a phantom that appeared and disappeared at will—some even claimed it was the Guild's private soldier.
Now it seemed those rumors were not false.
"The most crucial trump card is in hand," Roy smiled inwardly. Fels coming to them on his own initiative was simply perfect.
What the Guild wanted was the exploration of the Dungeon and the completion of the three great adventurer commissions entrusted to Orario by the world. For that sake, they would "consider the greater good."
Even when Freya once charmed the entirety of Orario, the Guild's upper ranks still stepped in to protect her.
As long as it was for the greater good, they would pay any price. Roy almost felt a bit regretful.
He should have extorted a few more magical items.
Anything that slipped through Fels's fingers would be enough to let him live comfortably.
The Sage blocking their path was only a brief interlude. Roy and Ryuu continued toward the Guild headquarters.
With the Guild settled, Ryuu suddenly gained a bit more confidence in Roy's plan to destroy the Rudra Familia.
After finalizing all the details, a massive building constructed of white stone appeared before them. Grand and imposing, its exterior resembled a great divine temple—this was the absolute center of Orario: the Guild headquarters.
Large numbers of adventurers were constantly coming and going.
Some had just returned from the Dungeon, exchanging the magic stones they obtained for valis. Others had just joined a familia and came to register their status or look for advisors. In any case, this was a place completely unrelated to the word "quiet."
"It's Gale."
"That one didn't die?"
"Don't be stupid. Someone saw her on the eighteenth floor just the day before yesterday."
…
The moment Ryuu entered the Guild headquarters, she drew a great deal of attention. Whispers spread among the crowd.
With her slender figure and strikingly beautiful appearance, the elf girl already stood out. As a Lv.4 second-tier adventurer, Ryuu's title "Gale" was known throughout the world.
In Orario, there were almost no people who didn't recognize her.
Precisely because of this, when the Astraea Familia met with disaster—though it had not yet been officially announced—rumors were already flying everywhere.
Countless gazes gathered on Ryuu within the spacious Guild hall. The elf girl showed no sign of shrinking back; her small face was tense, cold like a block of ice.
Ryuu walked up to the counter. The one receiving her was the experienced shift leader, Ramer.
"Miss Ryuu, how may we help you?" Ramer asked politely.
"I'm here to revoke the adventurer status of Alise Lovell, Gojouno Kaguya, Lyra… and ten others," Ryuu said. Each name she spoke was like a blade carving into her heart.
That pain would eventually turn into a surging flame of vengeance, burning toward the members of the dark faction.
The vast hall of the Guild headquarters fell completely silent.
Revoking adventurer status—what that meant was something almost everyone present understood. The total annihilation of the Astraea Familia was already a foregone conclusion!
"Hiss!"
A collective gasp rang out in the hall.
The Apollo Familia, with over a hundred members and only a single Lv.3 adventurer, could already be called a mid-tier familia. The Astraea Familia, which had nine Lv.4s and two Lv.3s, was on a completely different level.
Looking across Orario, the only familias openly stronger than the Astraea Familia were the Freya Familia, the Loki Familia, and the Ganesha Familia… just a few.
The destruction of the Astraea Familia was nothing short of a thunderbolt on a clear day for Orario.
Shock, confusion, unease, even a sense of grim satisfaction…
Roy saw a mixture of complex emotions on everyone's faces. It wasn't hard to understand.
Some feared the dark faction's resurgence. Some felt a twisted sense of relief due to past grudges with the Astraea Familia. Others looked utterly lost.
Roy himself felt conflicted as well. He hadn't even registered as an adventurer yet, and he was already accompanying someone else to revoke adventurer statuses—it felt a bit unlucky…
Soon after, Roy shook his head, flinging those messy thoughts far out of his mind.
Even Ramer wore an expression of disbelief as he asked again, "Are you truly certain you want to revoke the adventurer status of Alise Lovell and the other ten?"
Ryuu's expression darkened. "Yes!"
Ramer dared not hesitate any longer. He called over other staff members to bring the Astraea Familia's registration files. An adventurer who had lost all their companions was a ticking time bomb—best to get rid of this hot potato as soon as possible.
Before long, the procedure for revoking the adventurer statuses was completed. On the files of Alise Lovell and the others, a red label was stamped: Deceased.
"Miss Ryuu, is there anything else you need?" Ramer asked carefully.
Ryuu replied, "I want to issue an adventurer commission!"
Just as some adventurers were about to leave the Guild headquarters to spread the news, they stopped in their tracks. This wasn't over yet!
Ryuu slammed the voucher Roy had given her onto the desk.
"This is a voucher worth eighty million valis. I am initiating a War Game against the Rudra Familia. If they refuse, then after three days, this money will become the bounty for an adventurer commission—putting a price on the Rudra Familia!"
"What?!"
The adventurers in the Guild hall stared wide-eyed at the elf girl in disbelief.
A threat—this was absolutely a threat!
Only two choices lay before the Rudra Familia: accept the War Game, or face an enormous bounty and be hunted to death by Orario's adventurers.
But had this elf girl truly lost her reason due to the annihilation of her companions? Was she really planning to oppose the entire Rudra Familia all by herself?
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