"I know, Dehji." Gen then opened one of his backpacks, and pulled out a map from there, and then said, "Look here. I bought this map before I came here, it shows this whole region. I entered the ruins around this area. Can you tell me if we are close to here?", "Unfortunately not Gen, the maps I remember are nothing like this one", "Damn. Do you at least have a sense of where we left? If it was near where I entered or something like that?", " Not really, after all, even though I've taken people out of the challenge, I've never gone out to find out where they left", "Got it."

Gen then said, "Well, then we only have one option. This map shows the direction in which the sun moves, based on that we can figure out which way the nearest city is, but we have to wait a few minutes to see which way the sun is going to go, so we don't get it wrong.", "Got it. And do you already know which city we are going to?", "Yes, we are going to the city of Diton. It's close to this region, and it's the closest city to where I was living."

Dehji then said, "And this town where you lived Gen, what's it like there?", "It's a good place. I've been living there for about three years, and since I've been there I've been welcomed by a lot of people. During that time I made a lot of friends, it's like a second home to me", "I see. Your friends must be worried, after all you disappeared for a year. When you get there you'll probably have several exciting encounters, hahaha.", "Yeah ...", 'I hope so,' thought Gen.

Some time passed and Gen looked up at the sky and saw in which direction the sun was going. He then said, "The sun is setting in that direction, the city is in the opposite direction". He then started heading that way, and after a few hours of walking he saw something on the horizon, and thought, 'Is that the city?' He then headed in that direction for a few minutes and then thought, 'That's the city all right. Finally, I couldn't stand this sun anymore. I've had enough of the time I spent in the desert challenge. After I get home, I'll go at least a week without stepping foot in the desert.

Gen picked up his pace toward the city and soon arrived at the gate. When he arrived at the gate, a guard stopped him, and said, 'The entrance fee is ten bronze coins. "No problem.", Gen then reached for the bag in which he kept his money, and as he opened it he stared wide-eyed and said, "WHAT?! Where's my money?", 'Dehji, what happened? Why is there only a pile of sand inside my bag? Does that have something to do with the challenge?', 'Not that I know of Gen.'

Gen began to think, 'What happened to my money? Could the bag have opened at some point and the coins fell out? Impossible, I wouldn't have missed it. Think Gen, what could have happened .... ah! I remembered ... I put the money on Eli's scale. Damn, damn, now what? How am I supposed to get into town without any money?', The guard then asked, "Everything okay?", "Yeah, the problem is that I just realized I'm out of money. Is there any other way for me to get into the city?", "Yes there is. Just do some quests in the adventurers guild to pay the entrance fee."

Gen then said, "Sure. Which quest do you need help with? I am a platinum rank adventurer, if the quest isn't above that it's pretty easy to solve.", "You are a platinum rank adventurer?", "Yes, here is my ring as proof.", "Wow, you really are a platinum rank. I'm sorry for doubting, it's because you look so young to me, I thought you were lying. Well, you can come in, and don't worry about the money, gold adventurers upwards don't pay admission."

Gen then said, "That's great. Then I'll be going, ah, where is the adventurer's guild here?", "It's in the center of town.", "Ok, thanks.". Gen then started to walk towards the middle of the city, and on the way he noticed some restaurants around him, and thought, 'Which one should I eat at before I leave?', he then kept going towards the center, until he saw the adventurers guild building.

He then walked towards it and went inside. The building was crowded, and people were talking among themselves about something. One man asked, "When are we leaving?", "In about an hour.", another man in another corner of the building said, "I'll be able to go at least a month without working after this job.", a woman in another part asked, "Don't you think it's too dangerous for silver adventurers to go?", "It's their decision, and besides, most of them are weak enough for them to handle."

Seeing this Gen thought, 'Looks like some interesting work has turned up. Not that it has anything to do with me, I just want to go home.' He then reached in front of the counter and rang a bell on it. After a few moments a woman came and said, 'Good morning, my name is Lia, how can I help you? Have you also come for the Granurs' mission?", "No, but what is this mission about? It seems like everyone is talking about it."

Lia then said, "It's just that a herd of Granurs has been attacking many travelers leaving our city. This has caused fear in the people, and especially in the merchants, making them avoid coming here. That's why the guild has set up an expedition mission to exterminate this herd.", "Is there that many to need an expedition?", "Not so many, there are around fifty of them, but an expert we sent to observe them said that among those fifty, twenty are gold rank monsters, fifteen are platinum rank, ten are diamond rank, four are red diamond rank, and their leader is an awakened monster."

Gen then said, "An awakened monster?! And how do you plan to deal with them? I heard some people saying that silver adventurers are going on this expedition. Isn't it too far above their level?", "It's just that we don't have enough people to deal with the monsters, so we increased the reward, and allowed lower rank adventurers in.", "I'm also an adventurer, I can help if the situation is really that bad. How is the group so far?", "We have fifty silver rank, thirty gold rank, twenty platinum rank, ten diamond rank, two red diamond rank, and one awakened."

Gen then asked, "What level is the awakened one?", "Material.", "Hmm, you have fewer people at the highest level, I'll help you. What's the reward?", "It depends on your rank and contribution to the fight", Gen put his ring on the table, and asked, "I'm platinum rank currently, but I just became an awakened, what would be the reward of an awakened?", "I can't go into details without making sure you're an awakened",

Lia then reached out to take the ring from Gen, but when she was about to touch it for some reason she couldn't touch it with her hand. She frowned, and then tried to reach out again, but the same thing happened. It was as if she was stopping in front of him on purpose, but she knew she was trying to catch him and couldn't. Gen then asked, "Do you believe me now?"

Lia said, "Yes. The reward for awakening is ten silver coins. What is your essence level sir...", "Gen. My essence is at the outer level", "Ok, we will leave in an hour. The higher rank adventurers are all in a room discussing a strategy, would you like to go there?", "Sure.", "Ok, follow me please sir Gen.", Lia then opened a part of the table for Gen to pass.

After he passed she went with him to the third floor of the building, and after some time they arrived in front of a room with a double door, Lia then said, "This is the guild leader's office, he is one of the two red diamonds in this expedition. All the diamond ranks upwards are here.", Lia then knocked on the door, and soon after a male voice was heard saying, "Come in."

Lia then opened the door and entered along with Gen into the room. Upon entering the room, everyone looked in Gen's direction, and as he counted he noticed that there were thirteen people there. They were all sitting around a huge rectangular table. He then began to notice the people there. The ones that struck him most were a man sitting at the head of the table, and a woman sitting next to him.

Gen then thought, 'They must be the red diamond ranks.' He then looked over to the other side of the man at the end of the table, and saw a young man about his age who was talking to another adventurer next to him, and as he looked at him Gen's eyes widened and he thought, 'Is it really him? What is he doing here?'