Chapter 243 – The Warmth That Eased the Cold

Chapter 243

The Warmth That Eased the Cold

Date : Day 10 of Firstthaw 1024 Aethellgard Concord Year.

Fiona was breathing hard. Her wild red wolf cut, messy even on a calm day, was messier still, a few strands stuck to her forehead. Her finger stayed pointed at Hyoren and did not waver.

Behind them, Ina let out a long breath, as if she had only now remembered to breathe. The drop of ink had fallen from her pen and spread into a dark blot on the paper, and she hadn't noticed. Her cat ears were flat against her head. Her tail had gone completely still.

Meanwhile, Elise and Hyoren stayed calm. They had expected this reaction. They'd had a whole carriage ride to get used to the number, and Fiona had been given only a few seconds.

Hyoren raised his hand in a calming gesture toward the two of them.

"I meant every word, Guild Master. The Tenth Floor Guardian is a Level 60 Goblin Devastator. We retreated without probing it at all, because we judged it was impossible for us to defeat."

Fiona's eyes searched his face, looking for a joke, an exaggeration, anything. Hyoren held her gaze without flinching.

Slowly, she lowered her pointing hand.

"So you fuckers are telling the truth?"

Hyoren nodded once.

Fiona dropped back into her chair hard enough to make it groan. For a moment she just sat there. Then she slammed her fist onto the broken desk again. The crack running through the wood creaked, then split all the way through, and one half of the desk sagged toward the floor, spilling another stack of documents onto the floorboards.

"FUCK! What the fuck is wrong with that dungeon?! Fucking Gidol!"

Ina opened her mouth, probably to say "Language, Guildmas." out of habit. Then she closed it again.

Fiona dragged a hand down her face and stared at the wreck of her desk. She started muttering under her breath, some of it curses, some of it numbers, and some of it half-finished sentences that went nowhere.

"Bronze-tier… Tenth Floor… Copper ranks going in every damn day… Level fucking sixty…"

Hyoren didn't interrupt. He knew the look of someone trying to fit an impossible piece of information into a picture that had made sense an hour ago. He had worn the same look himself in front of that gate.

Ina used the moment to turn to Hyoren. She set her pen down on the paper, right beside the ink blot, and came closer. Her amber eyes were wide.

"Hyoren… is it really true?"

Hyoren looked up at her and nodded.

"Yes, Ina…"

She let out a small breath, and some of the tension drained from her shoulders.

"I'm glad you decided to retreat…"

Her hand rested on the back of his chair, her fingers gripping the wood a little tighter than necessary.

"Level 60. That isn't something you could defeat at your current level… Even if you used Berserker, it would only delay the inevitable…"

Her cat ears twitched.

"That's Gold-rank territory… Monsters of Level 50 and up."

Hyoren remembered the hulking mass of muscle, and how the air had felt the moment they saw it. He hadn't needed Ina to tell him. He had known the instant he read the Level.

Hyoren smiled up at her.

"We know, Ina. But thanks for worrying."

Ina puffed her cheeks slightly, as if she wanted to scold him for smiling about it, but her tail finally gave a slow swish. Beside him, Elise reached over and gave Ina's hand on the chair a brief squeeze. For once, the two of them didn't trade a single teasing word.

Hyoren turned back to Fiona.

She had stopped muttering. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. Her blue eyes fixed on Hyoren, sharp enough to pin him to his seat. The mother who had raised Arianna was gone from that gaze. What remained was the Guild Master of Akela and the wife of its Baron.

Fiona finally spoke.

"Now. Tell me everything. Don't you dare skip a fucking thing!"

Behind them, Ina hurried back to her paper and picked up her pen again.

***

Hyoren took a deep breath.

"First of all, I think I should explain from the beginning."

Fiona nodded, her arms still crossed.

"Yes. I want to hear everything."

Hyoren nodded back and folded his hands on his knee.

"To start with, you read our report on the First to Fourth Floors, right?"

Fiona clicked her tongue. Annoyance was written all over her face.

"Well, that fucking Ina told me to read it, so I read it. Reluctantly. And I already told her to just give me the important parts!"

Ina's cat ears perked up, and she shot a glare at Fiona from behind her paper.

"Because everything is important, Guildmas!"

Fiona clicked her tongue again and waved a hand at her without looking.

"Yeah, yeah. Now shut up."

She turned back to Hyoren.

"Continue."

Hyoren chuckled. Beside him, Elise hid a small smile behind her hand. Some things never changed, not even in a room with a broken desk and a Level 60 monster hanging over it.

"Okay. As you'll have read in the report, the difficulty rose properly from the First Floor to the Fourth. The floors also followed a pattern: horde, elite, horde."

He glanced briefly at Ina.

"Jackey pointed out that the pattern alone was already an anomaly. And Ina confirmed it when I reported it to her."

Fiona snorted.

"Yes. A normal dungeon doesn't follow a pattern like that. Across several floors in a row, it keeps the same kind of enemy, the same kind of Guardian, the same overall theme."

She held up one thick finger.

"You see normal goblins on the First Floor? Then all the way to the Fifth Floor, or even the Tenth, you'll find nothing but normal goblins. Only a slight increase in level, or in spawn rate."

Hyoren nodded.

"And Akela Dungeon got even stranger after the Fifth Floor."

Fiona's eyes narrowed. Behind them, Ina's pen began to move again, the scratching quick and steady.

"The Fifth Floor is the peak. Level 20 goblins, in rooms of about a hundred each. It's the hardest floor we've seen in terms of monster levels."

He paused, then went on.

"But the Fifth Floor Guardian was just a Goblin Lord. Level 21. Not a dungeon-exclusive variant like the Goblin Ruler on the Second Floor, or the Goblin Rider on the Third."

Fiona's brows drew together.

"A plain Goblin Lord? As a Guardian, right after a floor full of Level 20s?"

Elise nodded.

"It fell quickly, Guild Master. Too quickly, compared to the Guardians before it."

Hyoren picked up where she left off.

"After that, the difficulty went down, floor by floor. The Sixth Floor had solitary Goblin Lords at Level 21, but its Guardian was thirty normal goblins at Level 16. The Seventh Floor had Level 16 goblins. The Eighth had Level 16 Goblin Lords. And by the Ninth Floor, the goblins were down to Level 10."

Ina's pen stopped again.

"Down to Level 10…? On the Ninth Floor?"

Hyoren looked over his shoulder at her and nodded.

"The difficulty is inverted. And then the Tenth Floor is just a single corridor. No monsters. Only the Guardian gate at the end."

Fiona said nothing. Her fingers drummed once on what was left of her desk, then stopped.

Hyoren leaned forward slightly.

"Floor after floor, everything keeps getting easier. Weaker monsters, weaker Guardians, the same goblins over and over. After a while, the grind gets monotonous. We felt it ourselves."

Elise nodded quietly.

"By the Ninth Floor, even Jackey was yawning between fights."

Hyoren lowered his voice a little.

"That's the false sense of security. I think it's a trap set by Gidol. A party that has been walking through easier and easier floors gets complacent. They reach the Tenth Floor, see one more goblin-type Guardian, and assume it's just as easy as everything before it."

He met Fiona's eyes.

"I could see the Devastator's Level because of my Magic Eyes. But most adventurers don't have an appraisal skill. A party without one wouldn't know what they were looking at. They'd walk into that chamber and fight it."

He let a moment pass.

"And they'd be killed."

The room went still. Even Ina's pen had stopped.

Fiona's jaw clenched so tightly that her teeth ground together audibly.

"Fucking hell, Gidol. What a cunning fucking god!"

She took a long breath through her nose, and her shoulders rose and fell.

"And you're right about all of it. Most adventurers are idiots. They don't even read the guide the Guild provides unless it's shoved in their faces. They'll never see the trap unless we plaster huge posters everywhere and order every clerk to warn every single adventurer who walks through that door."

She slammed her fist down on the broken desk again. The half that was still standing gave a pitiful crack and sagged even lower.

"Fucking hell! Even more paperwork. Ugh."

Hyoren and Elise smiled wryly.

Ina, on the other hand, had recovered completely. Her tail swished, and her expression turned flat.

"Language, Guildmas."

She let out a sigh.

"And that was to be expected. Please learn to do your paperwork properly for once."

Fiona snorted again.

"Pah. I can leave it to you, Ina!"

Ina shook her head in exasperation, her ears drooping. Her pen, however, was already moving across a fresh sheet of paper. She had obviously known how this would go.

Hyoren and Elise glanced at each other and smiled again. Elise's emerald eyes said it plainly: Same as always.

Then Hyoren leaned forward a little.

"So, Guild Master, what are you going to do?"

Fiona leaned back in her chair. It creaked under the strain. She stared at the ceiling for a while, one hand rubbing her chin, her lips moving silently every now and then.

Hyoren, Elise and Ina waited. Nobody spoke. Through the small window, the faint noise of the street drifted up, carts and footsteps and someone calling out a price, all of it very far away.

At last, Fiona's eyes snapped down and fixed on her Vice Guild Master.

"Ina. Draft the new rules. Now."

Ina straightened up at once, pen ready.

Fiona continued, counting the points off on her fingers.

"First. I'm declaring Akela Dungeon a Special-tier dungeon. We'll send a report to the Central Guild for official approval. But until it's official, we make new rules ourselves. Same as before, the First to Ninth Floors stay open to Copper rank and above. But the Tenth Floor is forbidden to anyone below Gold rank."

She crossed her arms.

"Tell every clerk to warn every adventurer. Put a big poster in our branch, and one in the waiting room inside the tunnel. Make sure every adventurer reads the fucking announcement."

Ina's pen flew across the paper.

"Understood, Guildmas."

Fiona let out a heavy sigh. Some of the fire went out of her shoulders.

"As for the Tenth Floor… fuck."

She shook her head slowly.

"We don't have any Gold rankers… Hell. We don't even have a Silver ranker…"

Hyoren narrowed his eyes.

"There are no Silver ranks in Akela?"

Fiona glared at him.

"What the fuck do you think Akela is, fucker? This is frontier territory. We get periodic attacks from the Shadowden Collective out of the Forest of No Return. But the Goblin King's army isn't that strong compared to the other Shadowden Collective warlocks, like the Ogre King. So Copper and Bronze ranks are enough to defend our city."

She pushed her fingers through her messy wolf cut, parting it away from her face.

"More and more adventurers are coming here now, because of the dungeon. But it's known as a Bronze-tier. No Silver ranker is going to be tempted to come all the way out here for that."

Hyoren furrowed his eyebrows.

No Silver ranks… And Gold ranks are even further out of reach… Then who is supposed to deal with the Tenth Floor…?

Ina noticed his expression. She smiled, setting her pen down for a moment.

"Hyoren, we in Adventurer's Guild meant it when we said Freedom Party is currently the strongest party in Akela."

Hyoren blinked.

Ina's tail swayed gently behind her.

"Jigor’s party and Fits's party come close. Their average level is more or less the same as yours. But your progress is very fast. Jigor and Fits have been around for more than five years. You haven't even been at it for half a year."

She looked at Elise, then back at Hyoren, her amber eyes warm.

"And every one of your members is skilled in their own right."

Elise's pointed ears twitched. She didn't say anything, but the corner of her mouth lifted slightly.

Fiona snorted.

"Ina's fucking right. So if your party can't do anything to continue scouting, then we need to rack our brains over how to lure some Gold ranker into scouting Akela Dungeon. And it won't be fucking easy."

She dropped her head back against the chair and stared at the ceiling.

"FUCK!"

Her shout echoed off the walls of the small office. Ina didn't even bother saying "Language, Guildmas." this time.

Hyoren sat very still.

Only now did it sink in. Whenever Sherly or the other clerks had called Freedom Party the strongest in Akela, he had taken it as flattery. Something clerks said to keep a promising party happy. When the Guild entrusted them with pioneering the dungeon floor after floor, he had thought it was simply because they were the ones who happened to be going deeper.

But it was all true…

He looked down at his hands. Five levels gained in ten days. A new sword skill. Six skills grown.

The strongest party in Akela… and we're only Level 25…

He remembered the gate at the end of the Tenth Floor corridor, and the Level that had appeared in his Magic Eyes.

And the strongest party in Akela just retreated from the Tenth Floor without even drawing a weapon…

He felt a cold that had nothing to do with the early spring air.

Elise's hand found his on the armrest. When he looked up, her emerald eyes were already on him, steady and calm. She didn't have to say anything.

Across the ruined desk, Fiona was cursing at the ceiling. Behind them, Ina's pen had started scratching again, putting the new rules into words, one line at a time.

Hyoren let out a slow breath.

For the first time, he understood what Freedom Party carried. It wasn't only their own progress anymore. It was the whole of Akela Dungeon, and maybe all of Akela along with it.

***

Fiona finally lowered her gaze from the ceiling. She let out a long breath through her nose and dragged a hand through her wild red hair.

"Oh well. As for the scouting, I'll write to the Central Guild, and to a few other dungeon cities. Ask if they can spare a Gold ranker or two…"

She grimaced as if she had bitten into something sour.

"Fuck… The budget is going to be abysmal…"

Behind them, Ina's pen paused for half a second, then kept moving. Hyoren could almost hear her adding budget to an already long list.

Hyoren's interest was piqued. He leaned forward slightly.

"Dungeon cities like Harvengald?"

Fiona nodded.

"That's one of them. But as far as I know, there are only two Gold rankers in Harvengald, because its Gold-tier dungeon is abysmally hard."

She tapped one finger on the armrest of her chair, her eyes narrowing as if she were picturing someone.

"I'm not sure they'd want to move here, even temporarily… Those two Gold rankers are rather… unique."

Elise tilted her head slightly at the word, and Ina's ears twitched, but neither of them asked. Whatever Fiona meant by "unique", she clearly didn't intend to explain.

Fiona shook her head.

"But there are other dungeon cities too. So even if it takes time, I'll find someone."

Hyoren felt the chill again.

Something is not right…

He remembered standing in front of the pulsating Archway with Elise on the day the dungeon was scouted, and what she had told him then. Dungeons were like living things. If they weren't pruned, if adventurers didn't go in and cull the monsters, the dungeon would eventually spit the excess out all at once.

Just like a Monster Flood in games… An adventurer's job is pest control…

If finding a Gold ranker took months, then the deeper floors would stay untouched for months.

He looked at Fiona.

"Guild Master. Is it really fine to take that much time? I thought a dungeon needs to be pruned periodically, so the monsters don't get ejected outside."

Fiona snorted.

"Pah. You're half correct."

She raised one thick finger.

"Yes. We need to prune a dungeon to prevent an Overflow Event."

Hyoren blinked. Then a small smile tugged at his lips.

So it has an official name… Overflow Event…

"Monster Flood" was only what I called it in my head in the end…

He scratched his cheek. 

Fiona went on.

"But we are pruning the dungeon. Even if it's only the First to the Ninth Floor."

She spread her hand over what was left of her desk, as though the broken wood were the dungeon itself.

"A dungeon is like a living thing. We don't need to prune every part of it, only some of it. Every monster our adventurers kill on those early floors has to be replenished. The dungeon spends its Aethell doing that, over and over, so the Aethell never gets concentrated enough inside to cause an overflow."

Hyoren nodded slowly as the picture came together in his head.

So the dungeon keeps spending its Aethell on respawns… As long as adventurers keep killing on the upper floors, the pressure never builds up…

Like bleeding off pressure from a valve…

Fiona leaned back. The chair creaked again under her weight.

"Of course, we still need to scout the deeper floors to understand the overall danger. That part doesn't change. But an Overflow Event is unlikely to happen."

Hyoren let out a quiet breath. Some of the weight he had carried since the Tenth Floor eased from his shoulders.

"I see. That's good, then…"

Elise's hand, resting on her knee, relaxed slightly as well.

Fiona looked from Hyoren to Elise, then rose from her chair. Standing at her full height, she seemed to fill the small office even more than when she was sitting.

"You've got no more questions, right?"

She didn't wait for an answer. She jabbed a finger toward the door.

"Then scram. I've got a fucking mountain of things to do!"

Her finger swung toward Ina.

"And you. Your shift is fucking over. Why are you still here? Just hand the report to the others and let them deal with it."

Ina smiled, her tail swishing behind her.

"Language, Guildmas. But… thank you."

She tapped the sheets together, squaring their edges neatly against the shelf, and stood as well.

Hyoren rose from his chair and gave a slight bow. Beside him, Elise stood and did the same.

"Thank you for your time, Guild Master."

Fiona looked at him for a moment. Then her expression softened slightly. The sharpness in her blue eyes didn't disappear, but something warmer settled beneath it.

"It's us who should be thanking Freedom Party for this critical information."

She glanced at Ina again.

"Don't forget to reward them properly."

Ina's cat ears twitched. She straightened up and gave a crisp salute, the papers tucked under her other arm.

"Roger that, Guildmas!"

Fiona nodded once, apparently satisfied.

"Now scram!"

Hyoren chuckled, and Elise hid her smile behind her hand. The three of them crossed the room toward the exit, stepping carefully around the scattered documents and the overturned teacup on the floor.

Ina reached the door first and pulled it open. The hinges creaked softly.

"And Ina."

Fiona's voice stopped them. The three of them turned.

The Guild Master was standing beside the wreck of her desk with her arms crossed. Her gaze had drifted somewhere toward the corner of the room, and the tips of her ears had gone faintly red.

"Please… tell someone to replace my desk."

Ina burst into laughter.

"Nyahaha! I thought you wanted to keep using it, Guildmas."

Fiona's face turned even redder.

"Shut up!"

Hyoren and Elise both chuckled. Even Hyoren, who had seen Fiona's fury break a solid desk in two, found it hard to keep a straight face at the sight of the Guild Master of Akela looking embarrassed.

Ina smiled, her tail swaying lazily.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll tell someone. Bye, Guildmas."

Hyoren and Elise gave one more slight bow, then followed Ina out of the office. The door closed behind them with a soft click.

A moment later, muffled through the wood, came one last frustrated "FUCK!"

***

Before they left the guild, Ina stopped at the counter.

Behind it, Rinne was sorting the day's last stack of quest reports into neat piles. She looked up as Ina approached, and her eyebrows rose at the sight of the Vice Guild Master still in the building this late.

"Senior Ina? I thought your shift ended hours ago."

Ina sighed and set the stack of notes from the meeting on the counter.

"It did. Then Freedom Party came back from the dungeon."

Rinne glanced past her at Hyoren and Elise. Her expression shifted into something between sympathy and amusement.

"Ah. That explains it."

Ina tapped the papers with one finger.

"This is the report from the Guild Master's office. It's important, so please make sure it gets copied and passed on to the morning shift. Guildmas will want the draft of the new rules on her desk first thing tomorrow."

Rinne pulled the papers toward her and skimmed the first page. Her eyes widened. She read the same line again, then looked up at Ina.

"Level… sixty…?"

Ina nodded.

"You'll hear all about it tomorrow. Everyone will."

Rinne swallowed and held the papers a little more carefully.

"Understood, Senior Ina."

Ina turned to go, then paused and turned back.

"Oh, and one more thing. Please find someone to help replace Guildmas's desk."

Rinne blinked.

"Replace… her desk?"

Ina grinned.

"It's in two pieces."

Rinne's gaze slowly drifted up toward the ceiling, in the direction of the Guild Master's office. Then she looked back at Ina, and for a moment the two clerks simply shared a long, knowing look.

Rinne let out a small sigh.

"Again?"

Ina's tail swished.

"Again. Nyahaha."

Hyoren smiled wryly. Beside him, Elise covered her mouth with her hand.

Again…?

With that settled, the three of them left the Guild.

The heavy wooden door closed behind them with a solid thud, shutting in the warmth and the soft scratching of pens.

The night of Akela greeted them.

Like in Dungeon Town, most of the snow had already melted. The cobblestones glistened, still damp, under the magic lamps posted along the street, and small patches of grey slush lingered in the gutters and against the walls where the light didn't reach. Winter was fading, but it hadn't let go completely. The air that brushed Hyoren's face was cool enough to make him want to pull his cloak tighter.

Above the rooftops, the three moons hung in the dark sky. Azure, Crimson and Ebony shone together, their light mingling into a soft, mixed glow over the city.

Hyoren reached beneath his cloak and drew out the pocket watch hanging from his neck. He flicked the lid open.

20:54.

He chuckled inwardly.

It seems our report went on longer than intended…

He snapped the lid shut and tucked the watch back under his clothes.

He glanced at Elise on his left, then at Ina on his right. Elise was adjusting the clasp of her mantle against the chill. Ina was stretching both arms high above her head, her tail swaying freely behind her, as if it had finally been released after a long shift. Then he looked forward again.

"Elise, Ina. It's already late. I don't think Lena and Vina will still be up to make us dinner…"

Elise leaned forward slightly and turned her head toward him. Her silver hair slid off her shoulder and cascaded down one side.

"Hmm? You want to eat out? Where?"

Ina's cat ears twitched. She took a quick step ahead of them, then spun around to face them, walking backward.

"That would be great!"

She clasped her hands in front of her chest, her amber eyes shining under the lamplight.

"Please make it something warm! It's still a bit cold, especially this late at night."

Elise's emerald eyes narrowed playfully.

"Careful, Ina. If you walk backward like that, you'll trip over a cobblestone."

Ina stuck out her tongue.

"I'm a Cat-clan Beastkin, Elise. Cats don't trip."

Elise giggled.

"Fufu. That's what you said last time, right before you walked into a lamppost."

Ina's tail froze mid-swish. Her ears went flat.

"Th-that was one time! And the lamppost moved!"

Hyoren laughed.

"Lampposts don't move, Ina."

Ina puffed her cheeks and turned back around to walk properly beside him, muttering under her breath that it absolutely had.

Still smiling, Hyoren tapped his chin. There were a few options.

Bertho Dining has good soups… and ramen too…

He remembered one of the most famous places to eat in Akela. The restaurant where Elise had taken him on his first night in the city, where he had tasted ramen and karaage for the first time in Kresneger. Where Freedom Party had been toasted into existence.

But if it's ramen… Terry's is better…

The small ramen shop on a side street. Ina's regular haunt, and now Hyoren's as well.

He looked around at the familiar Adventurer's District. The vendors were slowly closing their stalls, folding cloth awnings and packing unsold goods into crates. A few late adventurers hurried past toward the Guild, still dusty from their quests. Further down the street, laughter and music spilled out of a tavern's open door, where people had gathered to drink and unwind after the day.

Then he smiled.

"What about Wanderer's Rest?"

Elise blinked. Ina tilted her head.

Hyoren scratched the back of his neck.

"I know we were just there about two weeks ago, during our last rest days… But I want my stew…"

Ever since they moved into the manor, it had quietly become a habit. Whenever Freedom Party had a few rest days between dives, Hyoren would find some excuse to walk back down that quiet side street, sit at the same corner table, and order a bowl of Martha's stew. Sometimes Elise came with him. Sometimes Ina did. Sometimes the whole party crowded around a table while Martha scolded Jackey for eating too fast. True to her word, Martha always welcomed them back as if they had never left.

Elise giggled.

"Right. Your stew. Fufufu."

Ina burst into laughter, her tail swishing again.

"Nyahaha! Well, you can't blame him. Martha's stew is the best in Akela. It's simple, but so homey."

Elise tapped her chin, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Though I wonder… Hyoren, if Martha and I were both drowning, which one would you save first? Me, or Martha's stew?"

Hyoren choked on the cold air.

"Elise…"

Ina immediately leaned in from his other side, her eyes sparkling.

"Ooh, that's a good question! And what about me? Me, Elise, or the stew?"

Hyoren shook his head.

"That's not even… The stew can't drown!"

Elise nodded gravely.

"He didn't say no."

Ina nodded just as gravely.

"He definitely didn't say no."

Hyoren scratched his cheek. His ears felt warm despite the cold.

"Please…"

The two women looked at each other across him, then laughed together. Elise hooked her arm through his left arm. A moment later, Ina claimed his right.

He tightened his cloak around himself with what little freedom his arms had left, partly against the chill and partly to hide his embarrassment. Then he looked at his two women again.

"Anyway… shall we go?"

Elise straightened her mantle with her free hand, a soft smile still on her lips.

"Let's go, Hyoren."

Ina pressed close against his right side. Her cat tail swished once and brushed against his leg.

"Un."

Then the three of them started walking.

They wove through the thinning crowd of the Adventurer's District, past shuttered stalls and glowing tavern windows, under the mixed light of the three moons and the lamplight below. 

Before long, they turned off the main street into the quieter side street. The noise of the district faded behind them. Ahead, between the stone houses with their candlelit windows, the soft glow of flower boxes came into view.

***

Not long after, Hyoren, Elise and Ina stepped through the polished wooden door of Wanderer's Rest.

Warmth greeted them at once. The fire crackled in the large stone hearth, and the smell of woodsmoke, herbs and something simmering in the kitchen drifted through the common room. 

Hyoren looked around.

The dinner crowd was gone. Only a few tables were still occupied, by adventurers relaxing over tankards and small bowls of roasted nuts, their voices a low, lazy murmur. Someone near the hearth laughed at a joke Hyoren didn't catch, then went back to his drink.

And behind the counter stood Martha, wiping plates with a cloth while talking to a broad-shouldered man seated on a stool in front of her. Someone Hyoren knew well and respected deeply.

The husband of the inn's proprietress. The best shield user in Akela. One of its most veteran adventurers—Ronald Powell.

A smile spread across Hyoren's face. He made his way toward the counter without a word.

Behind him, Elise and Ina glanced at each other and smiled. They didn't need to ask where he was going.

Martha noticed them before they were halfway across the room. Ronald turned around on his stool as well, still holding his tankard.

Martha's face lit up. She set the plate down on the stack beside her.

"Dear! It's been so long!"

Then her lips pushed out into a pout, and she planted one hand on the counter.

"Did you all forget about my humble little inn now that you have a huge manor with servants?"

Ronald chuckled into his tankard.

Hyoren smiled wryly.

"Martha, please…"

He sat down on the stool beside Ronald.

"Our whole party ate here just two weeks ago…"

Elise and Ina took the stools to Hyoren's right. Ina hopped up onto hers, her tail curling around one of its legs. Elise settled onto hers more gracefully and folded her arms on the counter.

Martha put both hands on her hips.

"Two weeks is too long! Back when you lived here, you ate here almost every day!"

Ronald finally laughed out loud, and Elise and Ina joined him.

Martha smiled as well, the pout gone as quickly as it had come. She was always like this. Hyoren had long since stopped being surprised by it.

Ina rested her chin in her palm, her amber eyes glinting with mischief.

"Well, Hyoren did say he wanted to come here the moment we left the Guild."

Elise nodded solemnly.

"He practically dragged us."

Martha's eyes softened, and she gave Hyoren a look that was half fond, half smug.

"Is that so?"

Hyoren scratched his cheek.

"Anyway, Martha… we'd like something to eat."

Martha picked up her cloth again, though her smile hadn't faded.

"And what would you like?"

Hyoren, Elise and Ina answered at the same time.

"My stew."

"His stew. Fufufu."

"His stew. Nyahaha."

For a moment, there was silence. Then the whole counter burst into laughter. Even a couple of adventurers at the nearby tables looked over and grinned.

Martha wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand.

"Three stews, then. Coming right up, dears."

She disappeared into the kitchen, humming.

Hyoren turned to Ronald. Up close, the veteran's weathered face looked a little more sunburned than Hyoren remembered, and there was a new nick on his chin that hadn't been there before.

"Ronald, you're back? When did you get in? If I remember right, you were gone for more than a month."

The veteran nodded and set his tankard down.

"Yeah. Just got back a few days ago. Vanzien territory's far. Took us about four weeks one way."

He rolled one shoulder, and it gave a quiet pop.

"But the merchant who hired us paid generously. So in the end, it was a good job."

Hyoren smiled.

Ronald was different from most of Akela's adventurers. When the dungeon opened, nearly everyone had turned into dungeon divers almost overnight, chasing magic stones, riches, and experiences. Ronald had stuck to his old ways. He had always been known as one of the best caravan guards in the region, and apparently he intended to stay that way.

Martha returned from the kitchen carrying a tray. She set down three tankards of beer and a small bowl of roasted peanuts in front of them.

"Here. Enjoy these for now while I warm up the stew, dears."

Elise smiled up at her.

"Thank you, Martha."

Ina was already reaching for the peanuts.

"Martha, you're the best."

Martha leaned on the counter on Elise and Ina's side, and before long the three of them were chatting about the manor, about Lena's cooking, about some rumor from the Merchants' District that made Martha's eyes go wide. Elise and Ina had shifted toward Martha without a word, leaving the two men to talk.

Ronald took a long sip of his beer.

"So. How's your party doing in Akela Dungeon, lad?"

Hyoren smiled wryly and turned his tankard slowly between his hands.

"Truth be told…"

He told him about the dive. The Fifth Floor, and the floors that grew easier one after another. The single corridor of the Tenth Floor. The gate at its end. And the Level that had appeared in his Magic Eyes when he looked at the Goblin Devastator.

Ronald listened without interrupting. When Hyoren finished, the veteran let out a slow breath through his nose.

"Level 60…"

He shook his head.

"That's a big hurdle. I'd wager not even one in ten adventurers ever makes Gold rank. Most get stuck at Bronze."

Then he smiled, his grizzled face creasing.

"But I know your party will climb higher and go back someday. Right?"

Hyoren nodded without hesitation.

"We will."

Ronald grunted in approval, put down his tankard and tossed a roasted peanut into his mouth.

"So what are you going to do now?"

Hyoren tapped his chin and looked up at the wooden beams of the ceiling. The similar beams he had stared at from his bed upstairs on countless nights.

On his right, Martha's story trailed off. Elise and Ina had both turned toward him, curious. Ina had stopped reaching for the peanuts. Elise leaned forward slightly. They wanted to hear what their party leader was planning.

Hyoren finally lowered his gaze.

"For now, I think we'll keep going to Akela Dungeon. There's one floor that's good for getting stronger. It's safe, and there are a lot of monsters."

He took a sip of his beer.

"I know it won't be enough to reach Level 60…"

He set the tankard down.

"Once we feel our leveling slow down… maybe we'll leave Akela for different dungeons."

Elise's pointed ears and Ina's cat ears twitched at the same time. But neither of them said anything. They only exchanged a quick glance.

Ronald smiled.

"I think that's a good decision."

He ate another peanut.

"If you want to get stronger, there's no avoiding dungeons."

Hyoren nodded.

"That's why I was thinking… if we can reach Silver rank, we'll move on to a neighboring territory."

Ronald nodded slowly.

"Harvengald. That dungeon city's a good pick. It has a famous Silver-tier dungeon. A good place to get stronger."

Then he tilted his head, his thick brows drawing together.

"But aren't you already qualified for Silver rank?"

Hyoren jolted on his stool.

"Huh? Really?"

Ronald nodded.

"What's your party's level now, lad?"

Hyoren thought back to the status cards they had compared in the carriage that afternoon.

"Our highest is Elise at 26. Jackey and I are 25. And Arianna's 24, but she's almost 25."

Ronald spread his hands, as if the answer were obvious.

"There you go. Three of you are already eligible for Silver rank, and the young lady can follow soon. The requirement for Silver rank is Level 25, lad."

Hyoren's eyes widened.

So we've already met the requirement… As long as Arianna kills a few more monsters…

He turned to Ina.

The Cat-clan Beastkin giggled, a peanut halfway to her mouth.

"Nyahaha. Ronald's right. But level alone isn't enough, Hyoren. You also need to pass a test issued by a Guild Master."

Ronald laughed, a deep rumble from his chest.

"Hahaha. That's why some people stay Bronze even after they pass Level 25."

Hyoren tilted his head.

"Is the test hard?"

Ina smiled and popped the peanut into her mouth.

"It depends on the Guild Master who issues it… But here in Akela, Guildmas is…"

She trailed off meaningfully.

Hyoren chuckled. He could already picture it: Fiona leaning back in her chair, a fresh desk in front of her, issuing some impossible quest with a string of curses.

"What kind of test would Fiona give?"

Ina chuckled.

"As far as I know, she's only ever issued once. And it traumatized the whole Adventurer's Guild. Nyahaha."

She wagged a finger.

"She told the party that wanted to rank up to kill a Goblin Chieftain in the Forest of No Return."

Hyoren furrowed his eyebrows.

"Is that hard?"

Elise giggled softly.

"Well, a Goblin Chieftain is usually around Level 25 to 30. So it's within Silver rank's range… but…"

Ronald finished for her, a grin spreading beneath his beard.

"But in the Forest of No Return, Goblin Chieftains are only found in the deepest part. Right around where the Goblin King is."

He spread his hands again.

"Basically, you'd have to attack the main base of the Shadowden Collective's goblins to finish the quest. Hahaha!"

Hyoren stared at him.

"…That's not a test. That's a war."

Elise laughed behind her hand.

"Fufufu. And I heard that party decided to move to Harvengald and take the test at that branch instead."

Ronald and Ina both nodded.

Martha, who had been listening from the kitchen, peeked her head.

"That woman. Even as a girl, she never did anything halfway."

Hyoren couldn't help laughing. The image of a young Fiona, already cursing and already breaking furniture, came to him far too easily.

Then we'll do the same… If we ever take the Silver rank test, we'll take it in Harvengald.

At that moment, the kitchen door swung open, and Martha emerged with three steaming bowls on a tray. 

She set a bowl in front of each of them.

"Here you go, dears. Enjoy."

The stew was exactly as Hyoren remembered. A thick, hearty broth. Chunks of meat that would fall apart at the slightest touch of a spoon. Tender vegetables. Steam curling up from the surface and carrying the smell of herbs straight to his nose.

Hyoren looked up at her and smiled.

"Thank you, Martha."

Elise smiled warmly.

"Thank you, Martha."

Ina was already holding her spoon, her tail swaying happily behind her.

"Thank you! It smells amazing!"

Martha laughed and patted Ina's head before going back to her plates.

Ronald turned back to his peanuts and his beer, leaving the three of them to their meal. The quiet that settled over the counter was comfortable, the kind that didn't need filling.

Hyoren took his first spoonful.

Warmth spread through him. It slid down his throat and settled in his chest, then spread outward to his fingers and toes. 

Only now did he realize how cold he had been. It wasn't the cold of the late-winter night outside. It was the chill that had crept into him in front of that gate on the Tenth Floor, the moment he read Level 60. 

It had stayed with him through the retreat, through the carriage ride, through Fiona's office, sitting quietly beneath everything else.

Now, spoonful by spoonful, Martha's stew was melting it away.

He looked to his right.

Elise was eating with her usual refined concentration. Ina blew on her spoon, her ears twitching each time the steam tickled her nose, then gave up and ate it too hot anyway, wincing and smiling at the same time.

He thought of Jackey and Arianna, probably asleep at the manor by now. Of the status cards in the carriage. Five levels in ten days. Of Ronald's words: Level 25, lad.

The Tenth Floor was closed to them for now. The Gold rankers Fiona would send for might take months to arrive. 

Hyoren took another spoonful of stew.

The Goblin Devastator had stopped Freedom Party. But it hadn't ended their journey. It had only shown them how far they still had to climb.

And for the first time since that floating platform, Hyoren knew exactly what to do next.