Chapter 28: Debt 28 - Will Karol Have Her Debut? A New Goal for the Party

After being summoned by the King of Lunar Veil,

Ryan and his group found themselves caught in a brief clash with the S-rank Hero, William.

Who was now being evaluated by Ryan.

[ CHARACTER STATUS ]

› Race: [Human]

› Level: 125 — Rank: S

› Class: Hero

› Title: Warlock

› Strength: 510 | Magic: 6933 | Agility: 1,590 | Psyche: 2270 | Stamina: 4,960 | Luck: 50 |

’In terms of power, if one of his attacks hit us, we’d be left severely injured... or dead; but in terms of durability, he’s on the same level as Helen or Mirian.’

Everyone in the room had their eyes fixed on Ryan.

Some whispered among themselves; the fact that William had used an attack on him, a B-rank support, and failed to bring him down seemed worthy of admiration.

"Maybe that group is more promising than we thought," they murmured.

’Even if they say that, my current power isn’t enough. Even on the demon continent I got into trouble; if I had been alone, I would have died. This isn’t a game, I need to take it more seriously... William, Helen, Mirian, even Karol, are all stronger than me right now...’

Ryan clenched his fists, but it wasn’t fear or anger. He was simply excited.

’My goal hasn’t changed. I’ll reach Rank A, and then I’ll go for S.’

"Ahem..."

Helen broke the silence and stepped forward.

"We’re here because the guild master asked us to come, but who invited this idiot?" she said, pointing at William.

"I asked him to come."

’That voice...’

From among the crowd, Duke August stepped forward and walked to the front; he bowed to the King and then stood beside the man acting as the royal announcer.

"That bastar—"

Thud.

Mirian kicked Helen’s leg, cutting her off.

"Shut up already, will you?"

"Hey, why does it suddenly feel more tense?" Karol whispered to Mirian.

"You’ll find out later."

"It’s been a while, dear Heroes. I must say, you’ve impressed me. Seeing a B-rank withstand William’s gravitational magic is certainly something worth praising. Even if William didn’t use his full power, the fact remains—you endured it. My impression of you has changed, Ryan."

Ryan and the Duke locked eyes.

"It’s not like I care what that Duke thinks of me," Ryan muttered.

"I must say, I personally informed His Majesty that you—the new S-rank party—defeated the black dragon in the elven lands. He was fascinated, which is why he had you brought here."

"I don’t understand what you’re getting at. Can you get to the point, Duke?"

"My, still as impatient as ever, Helen... The point is, I made sure to send someone to investigate the elven lands and confirm the report; and while it was true, it would have been a waste to leave that dragon there. So we retrieved it—or what was left of it."

The Duke paused.

’I still don’t get where this is going.’

"You see, His Majesty ordered a suit to be made from the dragon’s materials and given to the one who dealt the final blow. According to the investigators, based on testimony from an elven girl, that was Helen."

’That elf must be Irina.’

"A suit, huh... I see. But our equipment is already rare, aside from our weapons, which are epic..." Mirian muttered.

At a signal from the Duke, someone brought out the garment crafted from the dragon’s skin.

When it was handed to Helen, she put it on.

It was a black coat with blue edges; the Duke explained that those were remnants of the dragon’s core.

"But I don’t like it... I look like a man, and black doesn’t suit me..." Helen grumbled as she took it off.

Then she looked at Ryan.

"Take it. You’re the only one in the group without rare gear." As she finished speaking, she tossed the coat to him; he caught it.

"Analyze."

[Rare Darkness Coat: Agility +150 | Stamina +130 | Magic +200]

"Are you sure about this, Helen?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, it’ll look better on you, hehe."

Ryan accepted the coat. Even so, it felt strange that they had gone through the trouble of making a suit by bringing that dragon from so far away, so he asked the King directly if that was all, or if there was another reason.

The King stood up and approached them. Since he had remained seated on the throne the entire time, his appearance hadn’t been clear—but in reality, he was just as young as Ryan.

The King began to explain. A rare weapon or piece of equipment isn’t particularly special.

What they truly wanted was the dragon’s core. Dragons rarely appear in human territory, and if they do, it’s because they come to attack. Unlike wyverns, dragons can only be tamed by demons.

And when they do, they take on a humanoid form with far greater power. At that moment, Ryan recalled Solaris’s companion, and how its appearance shifted from a dragon into a humanoid with a horn in the middle of its forehead.

That was why it fascinated them; they had a dragon in this territory before it had been tamed. And that would allow them to study its core and try to understand why only demons have been able to do it.

Or at least, those were their plans.

The King also asked since when they had a new member, since she hadn’t appeared in the reports, and Ryan explained it happened during their trip to Ehres Valley.

The King commented that the Duke used to live in that village and had a massive house there, and jokingly added that the Duke never hesitates when it comes to spending money.

’Why did the Duke live in that area?’

Ryan found that strange; he tried to look into it further, and apparently, the Duke had left before the demon attack to seal the dungeon portal that had opened in Ehres Valley.

’Could it be that the Duke...? No, that doesn’t make sense.’

During that conversation, Ryan spoke about the dragon he had seen, the one Solaris called Irnina.

When William heard that, he stepped in to question Ryan and added that Solaris was the fourth son of the Demon King, and that the third son—whom he referred to as Igniel—was the one responsible for killing his entire party.

Because of that, he admitted he always travels alone, since his goal is to kill Igniel and he doesn’t want any of his party members to die.

The King stepped closer to them.

"I truly hoped you would get along, but after what happened today, I doubt the Duke’s plans will succeed. So tell me—are you really willing to become one group? Of course, Ryan would also be included in the S-rank party."

"Of course not!" they all shouted at once.

"Ha, ha, ha, I expected as much. I know many heroes have left; since there were no other S-ranks here, they went off in search of stronger parties. After all, in dungeons you can only grow up to Rank S." The King paused briefly before continuing.

"And beyond that limit, reaching Rank SS and SSS is something you can only achieve by eliminating demons." The King laughed and glanced at the Duke, who seemed somewhat distracted.

"But don’t worry, these Heroes won’t be leaving this nation."

"Your Majesty, and how can you be so sure of that?" Ryan asked.

"Isn’t it obvious? They’ve made it clear—they want to keep their autonomy and remain as a group. Other nations must submit to the laws established by SSS-rank heroes. Even if they accepted you, they would split you apart, especially given how problematic you are. Ha, ha, ha."

’How annoying. Still, if I really wanted to leave, it would be to the elven village.’

The conversation didn’t last much longer.

At the very least, it became clear that neither William nor Ryan’s group wanted to be reassigned to any other party, and they would remain as they were.

After the meeting ended, they headed straight to the adventurers’ guild.

Sophia was at the counter as always, and her face made it clear she still had no idea that, in the end, there had indeed been trouble at the palace.

"Hey, you didn’t tell me you saved the son of a viscount from the nation of Varvylon..."

Sophia said as she seemed to be playing with some kind of note on the table.

"Hah! And how were we supposed to tell you if you’re always sending us all over the place!" Helen grumbled.

"You guys really never have a dull moment, do you?" Karol said mockingly.

Ryan placed his hands on the counter and leaned forward.

"Anyway, is there a problem with that?"

"It’s not a problem—it’s a unique opportunity."

"Unique? What do you mean?"

"In the nation of Varvylon, an A-rank dungeon has appeared, and the viscount sent you an invitation to explore it. Since no one has entered yet, you’ll have the chance to obtain very good weapons; and you, Ryan, will be able to level up. Isn’t that what you wanted?"

Mirian stepped in.

"It’s very difficult to find A-rank dungeons, and even more so S-rank ones. But being among the first to enter an A-rank dungeon will bring us huge benefits."

"Hold on," Karol interjected.

"If it’s an A-rank dungeon, we won’t be alone. The adventurers from Varvylon will definitely be there."

"Of course. The letter says they will be, but this is payment for saving his son. Even if there are other adventurers, you still have a high chance of getting plenty of rewards."

"Looks like Karol will have her debut as a party member," Mirian commented.

"Yeah, I just hope she doesn’t get in my way," Helen muttered.

"Same goes for you, Helen."

Sophia smiled as she watched them argue like always.

"But for that same reason, you need to be careful; it’s possible the demons will try to seal that dungeon."

"I see... but even so, this time I’ll make sure to reach Rank A."