Chapter 237: From B-Rank to A-Rank

Chapter 237: Chapter 237: From B-Rank to A-Rank

Behind it stood three female dwarves, each wearing the formal uniform of the Adventurers’ Guild, while a human man in his forties stood beside them, apparently responsible for handling higher-ranked adventurers and guild matters.

The four receptionists immediately noticed the newcomers.

Their attention was drawn not only by the unusual confidence of the three humans but also because they had already heard rumors about the incident involving the Tiger King’s son.

One of the female dwarves quietly whispered something to the others.

The human receptionist looked at Ares, Selene, and Leon with curiosity.

Ares approached the counter.

The human man stepped forward.

"Welcome to the Adventurers’ Guild. How may I assist you?"

Ares did not answer immediately.

Instead, he reached into his subspace.

Several objects appeared on the counter.

Clack.

Then another.

Clack. Clack.

Within seconds, more than fifty monster cores were piled across the counter.

Different types of high-ranking cores filled the surface.

The receptionists froze.

The surrounding conversations gradually died down as nearby adventurers began turning toward the counter.

Ares then placed one final core among the others.

It was considerably larger than the rest.

The S-rank core of the Double-Headed Ogre.

The guild became silent.

The human man stared at the mountain of cores before looking back at Ares.

"...What?"

One of the dwarf receptionists leaned forward in disbelief.

"Are those all monster cores?"

Another dwarf stared at the collection.

"Those aren’t ordinary cores. They’re all from high-ranking monsters."

The nearby adventurers began gathering around.

"What the hell?"

"How many are there?"

"More than fifty..."

"Impossible."

A beastfolk adventurer shook his head.

"There is no way three humans hunted all of those."

An elf looked carefully at the cores.

"And that one... Is that an S-rank core?"

A lizardfolk adventurer narrowed his eyes.

"That appears to be a Double-Headed Ogre core."

The whispers became louder.

"They’re just humans."

"Humans aren’t supposed to be capable of this."

"Perhaps they bought the cores somewhere."

"Or they took them from another party."

A few beastfolk openly laughed.

"There’s no way those weak humans defeated monsters of this level."

Another adventurer looked at Ares with suspicion.

"Then explain how three humans came back with this many high-ranking cores."

The guild staff remained stunned.

The human man finally looked directly at Ares.

"Did you hunt all of these yourselves?"

Selene crossed her arms and gave him a faintly sarcastic smile.

"No, of course not. We simply found more than fifty high-ranking monster cores lying around the dungeon and decided to bring them back."

The human man blinked.

Several nearby adventurers looked at her.

Selene continued with the same expression.

"Naturally, we hunted them ourselves."

The human receptionist lowered his head slightly.

"Ah... Forgive me. It is simply that this is the first time I have seen human adventurers bring back this many cores, especially cores of such high rank."

He carefully examined the collection again.

"May I ask what your current ranks are?"

Ares answered calmly.

"We are B-rank."

The man’s eyes widened.

"B-rank?"

He looked at the cores again before exchanging a glance with the three dwarf receptionists.

After a brief discussion, he returned his attention to them.

"Considering the number and quality of these cores, I believe your current ranks no longer accurately represent your capabilities."

He picked up the three Adventurer’s Guild cards.

"I will process your promotions immediately."

The cards were placed against a crystalline device behind the counter.

The crystal emitted a soft glow as the guild processed the information.

After a short while, the human man removed the cards and looked at them.

"Your promotions have been approved."

He placed the cards back on the counter.

"You are now officially recognized as A-rank adventurers."

Ares picked up his card and examined it briefly.

"Thank you."

The guild official nodded before looking toward the cores.

"As for the payment, let me calculate the total."

He carefully checked the number and rank of the cores.

"The high-ranking A-rank monster cores come to a total of eighty-nine gold coins."

He then pointed toward the large S-rank core.

"As for the S-rank Double-Headed Ogre core, the guild will pay ten gold coins."

He looked at Ares.

"That makes ninety-nine gold coins in total."

Ares nodded.

"Understood."

The guild official handed him a heavy bag filled with gold coins.

Ares accepted it and quietly placed it into his subspace.

The man’s eyes followed the movement.

Even the three dwarf receptionists remained visibly surprised.

They had seen countless adventurers throughout their careers, but it was rare for even experienced adventurers to return from a dungeon expedition with this many valuable cores.

What made the situation even more difficult for them to understand was the fact that the people standing before them were human.

Humans were widely considered the weakest race on the continent.

Yet three humans had entered one of the largest dungeons in the Dwarven Kingdom, hunted dozens of high-ranking monsters, defeated an S-rank monster, and returned without even appearing tired.

The human receptionist looked at them for several seconds before finally speaking.

"I must admit, I am still having difficulty believing what I have just witnessed."

Ares simply smiled faintly.

"There’s no need to worry about it."

He took the three A-rank cards and put them away.

"We’ll be going now."

"Of course."

Ares turned around.

Selene followed immediately, while Leon gave the receptionists a polite nod before walking after his master.

The moment the three began leaving the guild, the silence finally broke.

"Did that really happen?"

"They were B-rank when they entered the dungeon."

"And now they’re A-rank."

"They brought back more than fifty high-ranking cores."

"Not just that. They had an S-rank core."

A beastfolk adventurer shook his head.

"Three humans did all of that?"

An elf folded her arms thoughtfully.

"Perhaps we underestimated them."

A lizardfolk nearby snorted.

"Or perhaps there is something unusual about those three."

Several humans looked toward the guild entrance where Ares, Selene, and Leon had disappeared.

One of them smiled.

"Whatever the reason, it’s good to see humans finally showing thatw we aren’t completely helpless."

Another human adventurer quietly nodded.

"Especially after what happened at the dungeon entrance."

Several beastfolk looked irritated by the conversation.

"Don’t get carried away."

"They’re still humans."

"Do you really think defeating a few monsters changes anything?"

Another beastfolk crossed his arms.

"The Tiger King will deal with them eventually."

A few others nodded.

"They won’t be smiling when Tireromon hears about this."

The humans remained silent.

But unlike before, some of them no longer looked afraid.

They had witnessed something they had rarely seen in their lives.