Chapter 28: The City Lord’s Respect! Someone from the High Command Arrives!

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: The City Lord’s Respect! Someone from the High Command Arrives!

The conference room fell completely silent.

Captain Adrian Cross’s hand tightened slightly around his communicator.

At the head of the table, the City Lord of Westmere also raised his head. Although he couldn’t hear everything being said on the other end, Adrian’s changing expression made it clear that the call concerned something extraordinary.

After a moment, Adrian asked slowly, "Are you certain?"

Administrator Lucas Bennett answered with a bitter laugh. "Captain Cross, I personally witnessed the result. There’s no mistake."

Adrian took a deep breath.

"Check the historical records. What was the previous fastest clear time for the Frost Cave on Hell difficulty?"

The sound of typing came through the communicator.

Several seconds passed before Lucas spoke again.

"I found it."

His voice had grown even more strained.

"The previous Westmere record was set five years ago by a four-person team with an average level of fifteen. Their composition was a Shield Warrior, a Priest, a Fire Mage, and an Archer. A standard, well-balanced party."

He paused.

"Their completion time was three hours, seventeen minutes, and forty-two seconds."

Adrian fell silent.

The City Lord’s brow furrowed further.

"Captain Cross, what’s happened?"

Adrian slowly lowered his communicator and looked at him, his expression complicated.

"Nathaniel Beaumont went to clear a dungeon."

The City Lord blinked.

"Nathaniel Beaumont? Nathan and Eleanor Beaumont’s son?"

"Yes."

Adrian paused, allowing the next words to sink in.

"He just cleared the Frost Cave on Hell difficulty. Alone."

The City Lord’s eyes sharpened.

"The Frost Cave? The dungeon with a recommended entry level of thirteen?"

"That’s the one."

Adrian spoke each detail carefully.

"Solo clear. SSS rating. Twenty-nine minutes and forty-eight seconds."

The City Lord’s pupils contracted.

Even with his position and years of experience, he couldn’t hide his shock. Westmere had produced plenty of talented professionals over the years, but this result belonged in an entirely different category.

"What was the previous record again?"

"Three hours, seventeen minutes, and forty-two seconds," Adrian replied. "Set by a four-person team."

The conference room fell silent once more.

After a long pause, the City Lord slowly leaned back in his chair.

"He’s a monster."

Adrian gave a helpless smile.

"That hardly covers it."

Yesterday, Westmere had received devastating news.

The Three Pillars, the city’s strongest guardians, had reportedly fallen in battle after being caught in a spatial storm near the Abyss Rift.

For Westmere, their loss had been a disaster of unprecedented proportions. The city’s strongest line of defense had vanished almost overnight, leaving a dangerous gap that couldn’t easily be filled.

Yet today, another name had begun to shine through the darkness.

Nathaniel Beaumont.

The young man who had killed a Level 100 powerhouse shortly after awakening his class.

The young man who had entered a Hell-difficulty dungeon at Level 13 and cleared it alone in less than half an hour.

The young man whose potential was becoming harder to measure with every passing day.

The City Lord remained silent for a long time.

Finally, he spoke in a low voice.

"If Nathan’s parents knew what their son had accomplished, they would be proud."

Adrian didn’t respond.

The words carried a weight neither man could easily ignore. Nathaniel’s parents were among the people reportedly lost in the spatial storm. No one had confirmed their survival, and no one had recovered their bodies.

Nathaniel, however, refused to accept that they were dead.

He intended to become strong enough to find them himself.

The City Lord turned toward the window.

"Westmere’s situation is terrible. Truly terrible."

His gaze lingered on the city beyond the glass.

"But at least we have one piece of good news."

A faint light appeared in his eyes.

"Nathaniel’s talent might be the most valuable asset this city possesses right now."

Adrian considered his words.

The City Lord tapped his fingers against the tabletop.

"And his value isn’t limited to his own strength. Think about the resources and attention his talent can attract."

Adrian looked up.

"You’re thinking about the Five Top Academies?"

"Exactly."

The City Lord nodded.

"With the combat record Nathaniel demonstrated yesterday, none of the Five Top Academies can afford to ignore him. If they send representatives to recruit him, we may be able to negotiate something in return."

Adrian’s expression changed as he understood the implication.

"You want to ask them to station high-level professionals in Westmere?"

"Even temporarily."

The City Lord’s voice became firm.

"If we can persuade one or more of those academies to send powerful experts here, we might survive this dangerous period until the Alliance can arrange more permanent protection."

The plan wasn’t guaranteed to work, but it offered a possibility where few existed.

Adrian’s eyes brightened slightly.

Then his expression grew serious again.

"There’s a problem."

The City Lord looked at him.

"What problem?"

Adrian leaned forward.

"I submitted Nathaniel’s information through the highest encrypted channel last night. His awakening, his battle against the Lion Syndicate, and the death of its leaders were all included in the report."

He paused.

"Someone at that level of talent should have attracted immediate attention. Yet nobody has contacted me to verify the information."

The City Lord’s brow furrowed.

Adrian continued.

"It’s not just the Five Top Academies. Even the other leading institutions haven’t made a move."

He shook his head.

"Under normal circumstances, their admissions representatives would already be trying to reach him. Some might even have dispatched people to Westmere personally."

The room grew quiet.

It was strange.

Nathaniel’s performance should have made him one of the most sought-after young professionals in the Alliance. Yet the institutions that normally competed fiercely for promising students had remained suspiciously silent.

The City Lord considered the possibilities.

After several seconds, his eyes narrowed.

"Could someone have suppressed the news?"

Adrian’s heart skipped a beat.

"Who could possess that kind of authority?"

A calm voice answered from beside the window.

"Someone who has the authority to suppress it, of course."

BOOM!

Adrian and the City Lord froze.

Both men turned sharply toward the voice.

A stranger was standing beside the conference room window.

Neither had seen him enter.

He wore a long black trench coat, and he appeared to be around thirty years old. His face was ordinary, almost forgettable. He carried no visible weapon, and he wasn’t releasing any overwhelming aura.

That was precisely what made his presence so unsettling.

This was the highest-security conference room in the City Lord’s Mansion.

Several layers of guards protected the corridors outside. Energy-detection arrays covered the interior, while rune-based restrictions had been installed throughout the building to prevent unauthorized spatial infiltration.

Yet the stranger had appeared without triggering a single alarm.

There had been no detectable energy fluctuation.

No warning from the security arrays.

Not even the slightest indication that anyone had crossed the room.

He had simply appeared beside the window, as though he had been standing there all along.

The implications were chilling.

If this man had intended to kill them, neither Adrian nor the City Lord could confidently claim they would have had time to react.

Adrian shot to his feet, one hand moving toward the weapon at his waist.

"Who are you?"

The City Lord stood as well, his gaze fixed on the stranger. Shock and caution were evident in his expression.

The man in black didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he casually reached into his coat and produced a token.

It was pitch-black, its surface smooth and polished. A golden dragon had been carved into the front, its enormous body coiling upward as though it were about to soar into the heavens.

A faint crimson-gold light shimmered within the dragon’s eyes.

On the reverse side were two unmistakable words.

THE HIGH COMMAND

Adrian’s brows drew together.

He had never seen this particular token before.

But the City Lord’s reaction was immediate.

The instant he recognized the insignia, his entire expression changed.

Shock.

Disbelief.

Awe.

And beneath them all, a sudden, almost overwhelming sense of relief.

Without the slightest hesitation, the City Lord bowed deeply toward the stranger.

"City Lord of Westmere, greets Your Excellency!"

Adrian’s heart lurched.

The City Lord of Westmere wasn’t someone who bowed casually. Even when meeting senior officials from the provincial administration, he maintained the dignity expected of his position.

Yet now he was bowing before an apparently ordinary man in a black coat.

And he was addressing him with the utmost respect.

Who exactly was this person?

The stranger put the token away.

"There’s no need for such formalities."

The City Lord straightened, though his posture remained respectful.

"Your Excellency, may I ask if you’ve come because of Nathaniel Beaumont?"

The man in black nodded.

"I happened to be carrying out a mission near the Southern Province."

His tone remained calm, almost indifferent.

"The higher-ups issued a temporary inspection order, so I decided to stop by and take a look."

The City Lord’s expression tightened slightly.

An inspection order from the High Command.

And a representative capable of bypassing every security measure in the mansion.

This was no ordinary visit.

Adrian stood silently beside the table, finally understanding why the City Lord had reacted so dramatically to the token.

The High Command stood above the ordinary institutions of the professional world. Its authority extended far beyond the reach of any single city, and its agents were not people local officials could afford to underestimate.

If someone of this man’s standing had personally come to Westmere, the reason could not be trivial.

The City Lord drew a measured breath.

"Then... does the High Command intend to recruit Nathaniel?"

The stranger looked toward him.

For the first time since appearing, a faint trace of interest entered his otherwise unreadable eyes.

"Recruit him?"

He repeated the words as though considering them.

"That depends on what the young man is truly capable of."

He turned his gaze toward the city outside the window.

"Records can be altered. Reports can be exaggerated. Even an SSS rating doesn’t tell the whole story."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"I prefer to see things for myself."

The City Lord and Adrian exchanged a glance.

The stranger had come all this way because of Nathaniel Beaumont.

And judging by his words, he had no intention of leaving without forming his own judgment.

Outside, Westmere continued its ordinary afternoon, unaware that a representative of the High Command had arrived in the city.

Meanwhile, deep inside the Lava Ruins, Nathaniel was already preparing to face his next opponent.

He had no idea that someone from the highest reaches of the professional world had begun paying attention to him.

For now, he had only one objective.

Grow stronger.

Then find his parents.

Everything else could wait.