Slimes. They were common monsters. Common in a way that it would not be strange to see one in every corner of the world. Every corner except where there were people, that is. The Goblin's eyes widened as Miu lunged for the person that looked like an Orc as he stood in a stunned and terrified stupor. Quick. He needed to be quick since everyone around him was already lunging towards his companion. His hands moved, and his feet closed the distance between him and Miu's head.

"Sit!"

He yelled out as he pulled out the Magic Core that held Miu's body together. In an instant, her body fell to the floor in a gooey mess while a small blob wrapped around his clenched fist.

The room felt chilly as he turned towards the female Knight glared at his hand as the liquid wrapped around him. Behind him, he could feel powerful arcane energies as they swirled around the Guildmaster's hand. The fat man screamed loudly, but he ignored him. His eyes were locked onto the three threats that raised their weapons at him. One wrong move and he could lose both his friend and his life. He looked over at the three people that stood with him, their weapons raised towards the person that oozed out bloodlust and danger like a raging river.

"Lord Terius... Calm down."

Stefan said as Lord Terius stared at the Slime with a blank yet terrifying expression. His hand held a dagger loosely in a grip meant for moving quickly and efficiently.

"In the north, the Demons threw Slimes at the walls of forts to corrode and weaken it. Once, I've seen a Slime land onto three people who tried to repair a wooden barricade. I could still remember the smell of their bodies as the Slime melted them into a puddle of blood..."

Lord Terius eyed him warily as he hid the Magical Core from his intense gaze.

As a Goblin, it was terrifying to see someone like Terius. It was as if Miu flipped a switch within his mind, a dangerous switch born from a genuine hatred of monsters. Reflexively, he took a step away from Terius. He didn't know why, but something within him screamed at him to do it. The young lord's eyes flared and like a bolt of lightning, he closed the distance between them. He ducked swiftly. Strands of his hair fell around him as Lord Terius slashed at where his neck used to be.

"T-Terius!"

"Damn it, Teri! Get a hold of yourself!"

The Watch Captain and Lord Arwin move quickly as he kicked Terius on the back of his legs.

He let out a sharp breath as he pushed himself off of the ground. Stefan covered for him as Terius swung down his dagger at his hand with a force strong enough to crack the wooden floorboards. Stefan stepped on Terius' dagger while Semilia and the Watch Captain pinned down his legs. Finally, Lord Arwin rushed towards Lord Terius and with a heavy blow from the hilt of his sword, knocked him out. Riel stood in front of the Goblin with her staff raised towards Aster as she stared at his hand.

"Before this could escalate any further, I would like to clarify one thing."

Heads turned towards the Guildmaster as he forced the fat man onto his chair with a tight vice on his shoulder.

"Sirius here is a Mage who is currently working as an adventurer to gain funding for his research regarding Slimes. That Slime there is one he captured to be studied since it seems to display signs of intelligence."

The Guildmaster said with a confident tone, despite the fact that all of that was a lie. Still, he didn't correct him.

"Bullshit! W-Where the hell do you know about such shit?"

The fat man–no, his name was Daru–yelled out with a quaky voice.

"It's my job. I need to deal with all these shady individuals going in and out of my city."

The Guildmaster let out a sigh as he glanced at Lord Arwin. He did as well and he was met by the Lord's suspicious gaze.

He clutched Miu tightly as Lord Arwin gestured to his Knight to back down. He let out a sigh as the girl sheathed her sword, the loud snap a warning for him to be careful. Lord Arwin let out a sigh as he sheathed his blade as well. His shoulders dropped and he straightened his back, his eyes still glued on the unconscious Terius with a narrow glare. He watched as Lord Arwin frowned and turned towards Daru.

"Your liege has been through much. The way he acted just now tells me that his experience in the frontlines was... "not pleasant". Do your job as his handpicked council and devote yourselves to your tasks. As per the agreement between the Great Cities, I shall offer you Toryehelm's aid in return for cooperation in Toryehelm's future endeavors. And..."

Lord Arwin glanced at the Watch Captain as Aster opened the door for him.

"Please, take care of my dear friend. That idiot has a tendency to bite off more than he could chew."

"L-Lord Arwin! Before you leave, may I ask where you would be staying?"

The Guildmaster asked as the Goblin and Riel sneaked away towards Stefan's side.

"I had my men set up camp just outside the city. We will be staying for a week or two, a month at most if the situation calls for it but we will not interfere with the city and its people. Now, I wish to talk to Lho'thrain to borrow some books regarding-"

"Strictly prohibited. No books will be lent for now since we will have to conduct some inspections regarding the integrity of the runes."

"Fair enough. How about nails for- Ah. I see that Sir Mosley has fainted."

They looked at the round shape at the side of the table. Lord Arwin let out a heavy sigh as they watched him exit the room with a slightly miffed expression.

"A council meant for times of peace is useless when faced with a sword."

The words lingered behind him as he left the room with his Knight.

He let out a sigh as he eased his vice on Miu's core. Liquid pooled on his palm as it wrapped around the pebble-like item while the two crystals that served as its eyes looked towards him. He smiled as he sat her down beside him. His eyes fell on the Daru as his lips remained contorted into a deep scowl as he watched him warily. The Guildmaster stepped between him and the man. His lips curled into a smile as Azalia picked up the fallen chair with hands made of shadows.

"With Lord Arwin out of the room, I can now speak my thoughts regarding the matter... I will send a small team of Trackers and Scouts down into the sewers. Azalia, provide us with maps of the sewers from the library while Iris will be in charge of posting men on the many possible exits of the sewers."

He noticed Azalia raise a brow at the Guildmaster's words.

"What's this? Withholding information-"

"A Demon is still lurking down there..."

The Guildmaster raised his hand and showed everyone a ring on his finger. It glowed a faint red as it throbbed slightly each second.

"This ring is connected to various wards and runes I've planted around the city. They are meant to detect threats like monsters and Demons, but the one I'm detecting is moving underground and setting off the wards above it."

"T-Then my nie-"

"The slaves are probably being transported to the deeper parts of the sewers."

Azalia stood up as the adventurers glanced at the Guildmaster nervously. Stefan himself didn't seem to happy, but he kept his mouth shut as he helped Miu pull herself back together.

"Daru, organize volunteers to help evacuate people to the nearby villages as well as to help with the rebuilding efforts. I was planning to have Mosley reorganize the shopping district but... Nevermind that. I was hoping to have Lord Arwin help with the reorganization efforts, but the man is clearly not interested. As for the strongest adventurers still in fighting shape... Please rest and stand by."

"No, I want to have Sir Eric here helping me with the temporary shelters. Too many people in a small place will just cause more trouble in the long run. We'll also need a lot of lumber for the reconstruction."

He looked at the Watch Captain as she lifted Lord Terius on her back.

"I'll have someone watch over Lord Terius. For now, I need to see gather the City Watch to help with rebuilding as well. "

The Watch Captain bowed respectfully and quickly left the room with Lord Terius on her back.

"[Path of Shadow]"

Azalia's Spell wrapped around the unconscious Dwarf while she leaned back on her chair with a glass of wine in the palm of her hands.

"I've sent Mosley to his family. I myself will take my leave shortly after I finish this glass of wine in my hands. Daru, perhaps I can-"

"I can walk fine on my own! Liam! Get your hands off me! We're not done here, I'll come back later to personally oversee this expedition!"

The fat man yelled as he quickly stormed out of the room. Perhaps it was due to Azalia's magic that he looked so scared as he slammed the door behind him.

"Merchants, am I right? Can't stand their pompous attitudes."

Ruric, his mouth contorted into a slight scowl, muttered under his breath.

"He acts like that, but he's good at what he does."

The Guildmaster sighed as he sat back down on his chair.

"You people are the highest-ranked adventurers still left standing. Like I said earlier, I want you all to rest while I ready the compensation and rewards for your quest and for the events of last night. After a few days or so, I want you to help me find possible groups that may investigate the sewers."

"Ehh?! Sorry 'bout that, but no can do."

He looked at Ruric. His weary eyes stared at the mountains that lay west of Arenhein.

"My mission was to escort one of the people on my list back to the Empire. Out of 9 people, I found that three of them were already dead. One kicked the bucket in their final years, two died on duty. The rest were either missin' or in vastly different continents altogether. I got lucky with this one over here."

His polite but refusing tone made the Guildmaster nod in defeat. Ruric handed the Guildmaster a piece of parchment with a strange seal on it.

"Told me to give this to Guildmasters that're making a fuss 'bout it."

"Don't worry. But to personally ask for Stefan, the Wyvern Slayer, to return to the Empire? This must be a mistake."

The Guildmaster spoke in a hushed tone, then looked at Stefan.

"If it's the Capital, then I don't see any problems with it. If it's in the Almarc region, I'll be crucified the moment I stepped foot there."

"Eh?! Crucified? What?!"

Everyone except for him, the Guildmaster, Ruric, and Azalia let out gasps of surprise.

"It's... It's a long story."

Stefan said as he waved it off with his hand.

"So it seems... Oh! Before I send you all off with things I need you all to do, Sirius!"

The Guildmaster smiled as he turned towards him.

He stared at the papers in the Guildmaster's hands. He wanted to reach for it but the Guildmaster handed him something else. It was a metal plate. It had some weird crest on it and it was similar to Stefan's silver plate but it was brown. But before he could ask the Guildmaster what it was, the man took a needle and pricked the tip of his finger with it. He let out a yelp as the blood dripped onto a piece of paper. He glared at the Guildmaster, who simply hid the paper in his pocket.

"Congratulations! For distinguishing yourself during the dungeon clearing quest and for your multiple acts of bravery last night, I award you with the honor of calling yourself an adventurer!"

"A-Adventurer? But-"

"Do not worry about it. Other than your friends and Azalia here, someone I cannot go against vouched for you."

The Guildmaster smiled as he patted the Goblin's head.

"Stefan, I'm putting "Sirius" here under your care. And for his first quest, I need you to accompany him to the Library since Azalia's patron wishes to speak with him."

"Eh?! Oh, sure... Hold on, I thought we-"

"It's not that taxing. Have Azalia and Lho'thrain take you there. In fact... Azalia! Why don't you bring them there right now?"

The Shadowmancer sighed as she looked at them.

"In an hour or so, have them come back here. We still need to do adjustments to the defenses of the Library."

Azalia clicked her tongue as the sound of a chair being scraped against the floor filled their ears.

"Breakfast! All of us here is pretty much standin' around in empty stomachs!"

All eyes turned towards Ruric, his hand already on the door handle.

"Ya' heard the lady! Let's-"

A ringing sound made the Goblin and the others cover their ears. His yellow eyes turned towards its source.

One of the rings in the Guildmaster's hand cracked as light spewed out of the magical crystal embedded into it. After a moment, it shattered into tiny, little fragments. He looked up at the Guildmaster, his mouth moved quickly as he cast a spell that he couldn't hear. His body was dragged down onto the floor by Riel, her body clung to him tightly as the two of them landed with an inaudible thud onto the hard floor of the Guildmaster's office.

"[Grand Protection], [Greater Barrier], [Leader's Domain], [Focus]!"

The Guildmaster's voice filled the room as a magic circle engulfed the entire building and the district itself.

A building outside exploded. No, that wasn't the right word for what he just saw. Its walls collapsed in on themselves as a huge hole opened up beneath it and the streets around it. A familiar scent filled his nose as gusts of wind whipped against the windows. From the hole rose a familiar shape, a bloody hand in its jaws as the sword in its arm throbbed hungrily at the presence of people. The Guildmaster scowled angrily as it spat out the gnawed finger that once belonged to a child.

"It seems that we didn't need those Scouts after all..."

Ruric said as he dusted himself off as he stood up from the floor.

"Yes... But we may need the help of everyone here."

The Guildmaster said in a low voice as the Demon stepped into the light of the sun.

"Oh... It seems that I've been taken to a troublesome place by my weapon..."

His familiar voice resonated across the area as his wings folded back into his body.

The Demon's body morphed into a smaller, more elegant form as it took its first steps into the light. If not for the sword that oozed with malevolent intent, one would mistake the abomination as nothing more but a pretty, young man that had eyes that screamed "seething hatred" at the world. But all of them knew the Demon's name and true nature. The brown hair and the Demon's voice was unmistakable. The Goblin knew it well, and he muttered its name under his breath.

"Ilfris..."