64 Chapter 64: Catastrophic Monster

Located on the second floor of the Deosa guild hall. A massive corridor with wooden walls, a wooden floor, and seven doors contained the rooms of the guild hall's employees as well as the guild's main office, which was located right next to the marble staircase.

The office had a large room with four long white sofas surrounding the center. Just ahead was a smooth, brown office desk with piles of white papers on top, as well as a cup of half-emptied coffee that still had smoke coming out of it and a picture frame with a picture of a blonde-haired man with a big smile on his face and a ten-year-old girl—the man's daughter—carrying on his arms.

Seven gold medals and eight photographs of the same man and girl hung on the wall, each with slight differences in their appearance due to the time difference between the photographs, and finally, the girl was no longer with him in the seventh and eighth photographs.

The guild master of the Deosa, Guild Master Ildarf Lockwit, stood in front of a massive window with a white curtain dancing in the gentle sway of the wind. Ildarf had been a registrar and secretary for the Adventurers' Guild for decades before being promoted to guild master when the former guild master of Deosa retired four years ago.

Despite the fact that he was a new guild master, his leadership had earned the respect of the adventurers and even the association itself, as evidenced by the medals he had received over the years. The guild and the king, Garen Desmael, both had faith in Ildarf.

His once-blonde hair, which had turned white with age, flew slightly in the wind, revealing his wrinkled but gentle face. He wore a white long sleeve and brown robe with brown slacks and black shoes, and despite his gentle appearance, he exuded an aura that demanded respect from anyone who looked at him. He had brown eyes that were fixed on the scenery of the white fountain outside, as well as the people gathered to watch a blonde bard sing while strumming his guitar.

Two gentle knocks on the door interrupted Ildarf's thought. Ildarf exhaled, sat in his chair, and reached for his reading glasses, which were lying on the desk. "Come on in."

A face emerged from the door as it slowly opened. With vibrant brown eyes and a gleaming smile. "Guild Master," Mea said tenderly and joyfully.

Ildarf remained silent and placed his glasses over his eyes. Mea, Bren, Lian, Caserie, and Herold entered the room through the door. Bren, Lian, and Mea exchanged glances as they walked toward the sofas, their faces tinged with subtle smiles.

"You stubborn brats did it again, huh?" Ildarf began, his gaze shifting between the five. "How many times have you five taken the special quest from the other adventurers who got it first? I've lost count, and now you're not doing bribery after I forbade you... Arm wrestling, really?"

Bren, Lian, and Mea almost all jumped at the same time, taken aback by Ildarf's words. Except for Caserie, who simply bowed her head, all four of them scratched their heads.

Ildarf let out a sigh. "It doesn't matter anymore; we needed strong adventurers for this mission anyway, so the fact that you beat Aldo in arm wrestling only proves you're stronger than him... I suppose," he said as he stood and waved both of his hands. "Please take a seat."

"Thank you, guild master," they all said as they sat on the three sofas.

Bren and Herold sat on the sofas on each side, while Mea, Lian, and Caserie sat on the sofa in front of the door.

"However, prepare yourselves for your punishment when you return; I will personally prepare it for you," Ildarf said, shaking his head.

"But, Guild Master, you can't deny that we always complete those special quests superbly!" Mea argued.

"You will be the first to receive the punishment," Ildarf said.

Mea's mouth opened, which she quickly closed, but her enlarged eyes remained visible. Bren, Herold, and Lian, on the other hand, laughed.

Ildarf sat on the sofa in front of them, both elbows on his knees, and fixed his gaze on the five. "Let's talk about your quest now."

The expressions of the five people with him changed dramatically. There was no longer any levity in their demeanor; instead, they were focused, as professional adventurers should be.

"I know you already read the basic information about the quest in the poster, but allow me to elaborate," Ildarf said. "The person who requested this quest is the king's adviser, Sir Vonhel Killian, so you should realize how important this mission is."

"I understand, Guild Master," Herold said solemnly in his baritone voice.

"I don't want to say this because I don't want to boost your and your party's already inflated egos any further, but I would never give this mission to just anyone else—even if they did what you did to get this quest. I let you have this quest because I trust you, Herold, and your party." Ildarf paused for a second, then nodded twice.

"The king's adviser has received a report from the scouts who were sent to Kegali a few days ago to keep an eye on the movements of the monsters in the Red Island region, but..." Ildarf stood up. "They came back with nothing."

"Nothing?" Bren inquired, his eyes wide with interest.

"The Bakunawa, Huntowl Night Wraith, Thundursa, Inferwolf, Wolfhellmancer, the Three Sages, and even the region's most powerful monster... The Varraco Grande," Ildarf said, his eyes filled with concern. "They all vanished."

Herold looked at Ildarf with furrowed brows. "Wasn't the Bakunawa the one guarding the Hell's Gates and preventing the Soverant and its minions from wreaking havoc in the forest?"

"If the Soverant could escape that hellhole and conquer the forest, becoming far more powerful than it is now... It would be too much for even us adventurers to handle. It will devastate the forest's balance... It will severely damage our economy," Bren added.

Lian, Mea, and Caserie, on the other hand, alternated their gaze between Herold and Bren while attentively listening.

Ildarf turned away from them. "That's one. Sir Vonhel is already working on something about it..." He then faced the five again. "However, your party will be sent to scout that area of Kegali for another reason."

"Do you mean there's a bigger issue than the Soverant ruling the forest?" Herold inquired.

Ildarf nodded slowly. "Let's hope that's not the case... But—" sighed Ildarf. "The disappearance of the area's strongest monsters is not the only reason for your quest. It is the possibility that they were killed. To think that all of the most powerful monsters have been eliminated. Something did this in order to gain power. And with each passing day that we don't know what caused it, it becomes more dangerous. Do you know what would happen if a monster became extremely powerful without our knowledge?"

"The last time it happened, it was a disaster. Seven years ago, the Ciridia Cave's Centipede monster grew extremely powerful without the kingdom's knowledge. It was already too much to handle when it revealed itself, and it killed the majority of the unfortunate adventurers who were trapped inside. We paid the price for not anticipating it by losing many lives and one of our territory's largest caves." Herold nodded slowly, staring at the floor, reminiscing about the aforementioned tragedy. "Only if we had discovered it earlier and managed to keep it in check like the others, preventing it from becoming much stronger... It would never happen."

"Now, even attempting to reclaim the Ciridia Cave means risking losing an army we can't afford to lose," Ildarf added. "Monsters are important to our economy; they are one of our main sources of income; without them, this kingdom would suffer greatly... However, they are extremely dangerous if we fail to keep their levels under control."

Then there was a brief moment of silence between them...

Bren drew his arms across his chest. "Based on the information we have, we are dealing with an agile monster capable of outrunning the White Ghost. It eats a lot, which is why the massive bodies of those monsters vanished, and this monster is probably massive as well— and hits really hard to take down the infamous Varraco Grande. I'd say that says a lot, because even Herold couldn't make a dent in the skin of that massive mountain of a boar."

"It's safe to say that it's an agility-based monster—a big one," Mea observed.

Lian gradually raised her hand. "Umm... Guild Master, I'm just curious, can't Deosa's scouts find it? I think a week or two of scouting will be more than enough to track it down, after all, they have Hippogriffs as mounts."

"At the moment, the Five Pillars' gazes are locked on each other's throats. Scouts can't stay in the heart of Kegali for too long and risk encountering scouts from another kingdom. Unlike encountering adventurers from the independent association, encountering other kingdom's scouts roaming in the forest outside their schedule could lead to misunderstandings— and one misunderstanding is all it takes to spark a sudden war... And trust me when I say that's the last thing our kingdom wants to deal with right now."

Lian gave a nod. "Ah, I see."

"Killing this monster is the best action because it has already destroyed the balance of that region, so we must restore it, and eliminating the one who caused the imbalance is a must," Ildarf said. "However, this isn't a full-fledged extermination quest; if killing it isn't possible, I need you all to survive and report it to me; a dead adventurer has no voice to convey vital information."

Herold rose to his feet. "All right, so our mission is to find that little monster and identify its species— if possible, we must eliminate it to restore the forest's balance— but if it's proven to be a bigger threat and we fail, we will flee and report it to you, Guild Master."

"Yes, I expect you five to finish this quest superbly once more," Ildarf said.

Herold reached out his arms to Ildarf. "That's encouraging, Guild Master."

"And no matter what, I want you five to come back alive," Ildarf said, grabbing Herold's hand. "Because your punishment will be waiting for you," he said with an enigmatic smile.

Bren, Lian, Herold, and Mea then laughed, scratching the back of their heads.

"Guild Master, you really will never change," all five of them said as they walked out of the office, smiling.

Ildarf sighed and shifted his gaze to the picture frame on his table. As he grabbed it and stared at it, a sad expression appeared on his face. "A monster that grew in power without anyone noticing..." he said, gently rubbing his thumb on the picture frame. It was a photograph of him and his then-ten-year-old daughter, taken a few years before she became an official adventurer. "The last time it happened... It was a disaster, and I paid the price for not foreseeing it."