"The little girl from the Church of Light…"
Kurose Akira sat between the two of them, quietly listening to their exchange.
Marei Rhein's way of addressing Lucia was admittedly unexpected—but then again, as a dragon who had lived for tens of thousands of years, calling Lucia a little girl was hardly inappropriate.
More importantly—
Akira's gaze shifted to Lucia.
When Marei Rhein mentioned that golden dragon, Akira clearly caught the flicker of complicated emotion that flashed through Lucia's eyes.
She definitely knew of that golden dragon's existence—but for some reason, she was unable to speak of it.
"Since you haven't seen it, then forget it."Marei Rhein merely cast Lucia a casual glance and dropped the subject entirely.
"Mm~"She stood up and stretched lazily."I'm full. Time to sleep."
"?""No sleeping!"
"We're clearing the remaining D-rank quests today!"
Akira grabbed Marei Rhein immediately. This dragon seriously wanted to sleep the moment she finished eating—what was she, a pig-dragon?
"What an annoying human!" Marei Rhein snapped.
Before long, Ivsha and the others arrived at the guild one after another. Once everyone had gathered, Akira began assigning tasks.
He divided them into two teams.
The first team was led by Lucia, with Loserine, Fuli, and Fulo as members.
The second team consisted of Ivsha, Alice, Marei Rhein, and their respected guildmaster himself.
The strength of both teams was well balanced. With Lucia and Loserine present, Akira didn't need to worry too much.
As the teleportation array flared with white light, Akira's team appeared at the edge of the Star Kingdom, in a remote village.
Their mission objective: eliminate a fugitive werewolf.
The moment they arrived, a horrifying scene greeted them.
Severed limbs littered the village. Blood-soaked organs lay scattered across the ground.
Among the corpses were not only villagers—but also the remains of enforcement knights.
Akira's expression darkened.
This werewolf was clearly far stronger than the quest description had suggested.
Fortunately, before departure, Akira had already raised Marei Rhein's level to 20.
And at level 20 alone, her stats already surpassed Loserine at level 45.
[Marei Rhein (Mythic)]Level: 20 (0/6000)Race: Red Dragon / ValkyrieStrength: 800Agility: 760Mana: 850Vitality: 990
Growth: 15 + 5(Gains 15 + 5 to all attributes per level)
Skills: (Expand)
Traits:[Immortal Flame][Valkyrie][Red Dragon][Dragon Egg of Destruction][XX! Combine!][Multiple Combat Forms]
A dragon's stats were truly terrifying.
"I can smell the werewolf."
At that moment, Marei Rhein suddenly transformed into her dragon form.
She spread her wings and soared into the sky above the village.
Her crimson eyes locked onto a wooden house—then she unleashed a torrent of blazing dragonfire.
BOOM!
Scarlet flames engulfed the area, reducing everything within to ash.
"AWOO—!"
Unable to endure the dragonfire, the werewolf fled from the inferno. Its body was already riddled with wounds, the aura of destruction clinging to it like a death sentence.
"Damn it! Damn it! Why is a dragon hunting me?!"
The werewolf howled in terror.
"The Duke promised me freedom! Why are you doing this to me?!"
"Hmm?"
Hearing the werewolf mutter to itself, Akira frowned.
He demanded,"What do you know?"
"Damn it! Damn it! AWOO—!"
Instead of answering, the werewolf entered a berserk state. Black mist coiled around its body as it rapidly expanded, its power surging explosively.
"That black aura…"
Akira's gaze sharpened.
Once a werewolf entered berserk mode, even controlling it wouldn't restore its sanity.
And that black mist was clearly someone else's handiwork—a restriction that suppressed its will, preventing it from revealing what it knew.
Since questioning it was pointless—
"There's no need to hold back."
"Kill it."
Before the transformation could complete, Marei Rhein unleashed another breath of dragonfire.
BOOM!
"AAAH—!"
With a single scream, the werewolf was incinerated into ash.
"…A Duke?"
Akira narrowed his eyes.
There were only a few dukes in the Star Kingdom. It wouldn't be impossible to determine whose scheme this was.
But what exactly had the werewolf done for that duke?
Perhaps he could ask Idis—as a countess of the Star Kingdom, her status was on par with a duke's.
She might know something.
"Hmph~ such a pathetic insect."
Marei Rhein reverted to human form and looked disdainfully at the ashes.
A level 52 werewolf—obliterated by a single breath.
At this point, only monsters above level 60 posed even minimal threat to her—unless they were Mythic-grade beings as well.
"Let's head back."
Akira turned to leave—when Alice suddenly noticed something.
"Master! Look over there!"
She pointed urgently.
Akira turned toward the werewolf's remains.
Several tiny black insects were crawling across the ground.
"These are…?"
Akira focused, imprinting their information into his mind.
[Mana-Devouring Insect (Rare)]A parasite that consumes mana. Extremely dangerous!Must be fed with the handler's mana to survive.
That familiar system prompt made Akira frown.
He recalled the insects that had crawled out of the Lord of Sunset City's brain—those had been white Soul-Devouring Insects.
Just as Akira prepared to bottle these insects—
Black flames erupted suddenly, incinerating them to ash.
"..."
Akira narrowed his eyes.
He was certain now.
Someone was watching everything.
Thousands of miles away—
Within a gloomy castle.
A pale man stared at the scene, blood-red eyes fixed on Akira and his guild.
"A dragon, hm?"
He lifted a goblet of blood and drained it in one gulp.
Chuckling softly, he said,"So the rumors are true—the Adventurer Guild disrupts the world's rules…"
"But if used properly…"
"They'd make a perfect blade."
"Isn't that right, Prince Laps?"
The man turned toward an orange-red–haired man bathing nearby.
"You're not wrong," Prince Laps replied coldly as he washed himself."But using something that exists outside the world's rules isn't easy. We still don't understand how the Adventurer Guild truly works."
"To achieve our goal, those adventurers alone are far from enough, Duke Kito."
"Don't worry, my prince."
Duke Kito stepped forward, stopping beside the bath. His eyes lingered on Laps's neck as saliva dripped from his lips.
"As long as you provide me with your Stellar Blood, I'll secure your father's throne for you."
"But your right-hand man, Count Frass, failed," Laps shot him a cold glance.
"That was an accident," Kito replied smoothly."I still don't know how he died. Someone blessed by your father's blood shouldn't have fallen to a group of weak adventurers."
As he spoke, his hand brushed along Laps's neck, his smile greedy.
"But rest assured—there won't be a next time. Just remember your promise."
"Once you take the throne… I want all of your sisters' blood."
"Relax," Laps replied calmly."They'll all be yours."
After completing their third quest, Akira returned to the guild.
Lucia's team had already arrived. Judging from their expressions, their mission had gone smoothly.
The moment they saw Akira, Fuli and Fulo rushed toward him.
"Guildmaster! Something really strange happened during our mission today!"
"Something strange?"Akira listened carefully.
"Yes, yes! After we killed the target, some bugs crawled out of the corpse! So gross~"Fulo shivered.
Akira's eyes narrowed.
Again… those insects.
"Here."
Suddenly, Lucia tossed something wrapped in golden mana toward him.
Akira caught it—it was a Mana-Devouring Insect.
"They didn't self-ignite?" he asked in surprise.
"They did," Lucia replied."But I protected one with my mana."
Akira froze.
He remembered clearly—the insects had ignited instantly.
The fact that Lucia had reacted fast enough to preserve one was astonishing.
That Perception Authority was truly absurd.
Akira examined the insect.
Some kind of mark existed within it—once it left the golden mana, it would combust immediately.
"…Fine. Let's store it for now."
He still couldn't trace the mastermind through it. He placed it in the player inventory, whose special space would prevent self-destruction.
"Hey…"
Akira suddenly heard Lucia sigh softly.
"What's wrong?" he asked gently.
"Lately, the Church of Light has been overwhelmed with affairs. It's… exhausting," she said, rubbing her temples.
"Is there anything I can help with?" Akira asked.
As guildmaster, it was his responsibility to share his members' burdens.
Lucia fell silent for a moment, then glanced at him.
"The purple-robed priest died within the Star Kingdom. The Sun Theocracy's overseers can't conduct a large-scale investigation there."
"Perhaps… you would be better suited to handle it."
The moment she finished speaking, a system prompt appeared before Akira.
[Lucia Character Quest – Prerequisite Acquired!][Complete this task to unlock Lucia's Character Quest!]
Akira was stunned.
He opened her status panel.
Favorability: 95
Since when?!
Before he could think further, the mission details appeared.
[Quest Description]A purple-robed priest was murdered within the Star Kingdom. Lucia hopes you can help her find the true culprit.
[Quest Objective]Uncover the real murderer!
[Quest Location]Black Rose Ancient City
[Quest Reward](?)Lucia Favorability +10
Black Rose Ancient City?