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Chapter 296: S-Rank Dungeon (2)

Crack.

The weapon was completely crushed, unable to withstand the force, and flew away.

Like a crushed can, it rolled on the ground.

Dozens of monsters that collided with the weapon were flattened.

"...Huh, huh?"

Even the demons,

And the humans too,

None of them could comprehend what had just happened.

Ketal lifted his head, his gaze sweeping across the entire battlefield in an instant.

"Three in total."

There were three demons.

Ketal moved immediately.

He approached a demon that still hadn\'t realised what was happening.

Crunch.

The hilt of the Holy Sword smashed the demon\'s head.

The demon’s body staggered and collapsed.

"Wait!"

Something had gone wrong.

One of the other demons barely grasped the situation.

But that was as far as it got.

Before it could react, the broken hilt sliced through its neck.

Its head rolled onto the ground with a thud.

The demon\'s body fell.

"You bastard!"

The last remaining demon sensed that something was very wrong and tried to respond.

It raised its hand in alarm.

Smash.

The shattered sword blade pierced its chest.

"This... damn..."

The demon’s body slumped down.

Three demons, each capable of destroying a small nation, were thus banished.

Ketal approached the monsters, who still didn’t understand the situation.

Crush.

The monsters were pulverized and sent flying.

The monsters, realizing the danger too late, began to flee in panic.

The humans were watching this in stunned silence.

"Uh, uh..."

"No way... is this..."

Suddenly, the demons fell, and the monsters screamed as they ran.

It was hard to believe.

"Everyone! Charge! Help him and slay the monsters!"

Only the guild leader reacted quickly.

At his shout, the people responded.

They charged forward with a battle cry.

The monsters couldn\'t hold out without the demons to rally them and were swiftly wiped out.

The people shouted in triumph.

"Yaaaaaah!"

"We won!"

They had miraculously survived a desperate situation.

The people began to cheer in celebration.

Naturally, all attention turned to the one who had made this miracle possible.

They looked at Ketal.

"Ooooooh!"

And the guild leader came running with a beaming smile.

"Ketal! Welcome! I told you we would welcome you here as a mercenary, but I didn’t expect you to come so soon! And at such a critical time! Oh! Thank you so much!"

The guild leader’s voice was incredibly loud, as if to ensure everyone heard it.

The people’s eyes widened at his words.

"Wait a minute."

"Ketal, you say?"

There were quite a few among them who seemed to recognize Ketal’s name.

"Is... is it really him? Is he really a mercenary?"

"I thought the guild leader was just talking nonsense?"

Their murmurs reached Ketal’s ears.

Ketal smirked.

"How blatant."

The guild leader flinched.

"Haha... I apologize."

"It’s fine. I am indeed a mercenary."

"Thank you for understanding. Please, come this way!"

The guild leader led Ketal to the headquarters.

They entered the best reception room, a room used to entertain royalty or extraordinarily powerful individuals.

The guild leader sat down opposite Ketal and bowed deeply.

"Thank you again. If you hadn’t come, we would’ve been buried under that collapsed mountain and died."

"When I saw it from afar, it looked quite dangerous, so I rushed over. It seems things aren’t going well."

"...Not exactly, no."

The guild leader forced a bitter smile.

In the Eastern Continent,

The headquarters of the mercenary guild and the Magic Tower stood.

The mercenaries and mages were working together to fend off the demons\' attacks.

Since the quality of their defense forces was lower than in other regions, it wasn’t wrong to say that their situation was the worst.

Several times over the past two months, they had nearly been wiped out, but they had barely managed to hold on.

It was nothing short of miraculous.

The guild leader had played a large role in this.

He quickly relayed information from the headquarters and deployed mercenaries at just the right times, maintaining a precarious balance, like a seesaw on a pillar.

That had irritated the demons, and they had been ambushed because of it.

Ketal listened to the explanation and was impressed.

"You’ve been working hard."

"I haven’t even slept. It really feels like I’m burning through my lifespan."

Though the guild leader said this as a joke, there was truth in it.

The dark circles under his eyes reached down to his nose.

"Where’s the master of the Magic Tower?"

"I believe he’s defending the front lines. He’s doing tremendous work. If not for him, the Eastern Continent would have fallen long ago."

The master of the Magic Tower was a special figure, one of the top-tier heroes on the continent, and he alone was holding multiple fronts.

"I see."

It seemed the Eastern Continent was struggling, but somehow enduring.

The guild leader cautiously asked.

"Where have you been, Ketal?"

"I was in the north."

"Ah, I see."

The guild leader wasn’t particularly surprised.

Ketal was a barbarian, and he was expected to go to the north.

"Did things go well? How’s the situation there?"

"There are no more demons in the north. Once their internal issues are resolved, they will come out to help the rest of the world."

"...What?"

The guild leader’s eyes widened.

"You... you mean you stopped the demons?"

"Mm."

Though the situation was a bit ambiguous.

In the end, it had been the rat that had dealt with the demons.

But since he had driven out that rat, it wasn’t wrong to say so.

Ketal nodded.

"There are no demons left in the north."

"O-Ohhhhhh!"

It was incredible news.

The guild leader clenched his fist in excitement.

Though barbarians were considered uneducated, unable to even read, they still controlled the vast northern lands.

It was because they had such immense strength.

If the barbarians came out to help, it would be a huge boost, regardless of other issues.

It was great news for the continent.

"Their king has been through a lot."

"Well, it\'s only possible because of you, Ketal! As expected of you! You\'ve already taken care of the demons! That\'s amazing!"

"Thank you."

The exchange of pleasantries was over.

It was time to get to the main point.

The guild master’s eyes gleamed.

"So, Ketal, are you here to help the Eastern Continent?"

The situation on the Eastern Continent was dire.

If a powerful individual like Ketal were to help them, the tide of war could change dramatically.

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However, unfortunately, that was not Ketal\'s purpose.

"That would be nice, but I have something to do first."

"Something to do first...?"

"Yes. You\'re the guild master of the mercenaries. You must know about dungeons."

"Yes. There’s no one who knows more than I do."

"Good. That’s what I wanted to hear."

Ketal\'s eyes sparkled.

"Let me ask you something. The higher the dungeon\'s rank, the better the rewards, right?"

"That’s right."

Sometimes the reward was treasure, other times it was a catalyst.

"If it\'s an S-rank dungeon, do you know what kind of reward it would give?"

"Hmm... No S-rank dungeon has ever been cleared, so I can\'t say for sure, but considering the difficulty... Wouldn\'t it be something on the level of a dragon heart?"

S-rank dungeons hadn\'t been cleared even by the strongest superhumans.

You had to be a hero-class to even attempt it.

If that was the case, the reward would likely be something equally as extraordinary.

"As I thought."

Ketal smiled faintly.

The guild master realized Ketal\'s true objective.

"...Ketal, are you planning to clear a dungeon?"

"Yes."

Ketal nodded.

"Can you tell me where the nearest S-rank dungeon is?"

* * *

The enemies were formidable.

Even the creatures from the White Snowfield were starting to emerge, and demons like the Four Heavenly Kings were also present.

Their true forms would be difficult even for Ketal to deal with easily.

\'Though it\'s not impossible.\'

There were still uncertainties.

Ketal also needed to become stronger.

And to do that, he needed to raise his mystery to the level of a superhuman.

One catalyst would make that possible.

But finding such a catalyst wasn’t easy.

Even though his power was overflowing, it was impossible to reach the next level with an ordinary catalyst.

A dragon heart.

Something on that level was needed.

And an S-rank dungeon was where he could find such a catalyst.

That\'s why he\'d come to the mercenaries\' headquarters.

"...Understood."

The guild master was briefly flustered but quickly gathered his thoughts.

"As guild master, I grant you permission to enter the S-rank dungeon! If not you, then who could do it!"

For the guild master, this was also an opportunity.

The S-rank dungeon was like a Forbidden Land, never before cleared.

If Ketal were to clear it, the name of the mercenary guild would rise to new heights.

There was no reason to refuse.

The guild master spoke quickly.

"Coincidentally, there\'s an S-rank dungeon nearby. It\'s less than an hour away from here. I’ll guide you there!"

"Oh, that\'s good."

Ketal asked with a satisfied expression.

"What kind of dungeon is it?"

The guild master replied.

"An S-rank dungeon. The Beast Nest."

* * *

The Beast Nest.

Ketal had heard of it before.

"The one the Mercenary King challenged and failed to clear?"

"That\'s right. Many have tried, but the Mercenary King was the only one to return with any significant achievement. Shall I guide you?"

"That would be great. Please do."

"Understood!"

The guild master began explaining the dungeon to Ketal as they headed toward it.

"I will personally guide you! Please follow me!"

The mercenaries looked on with puzzled expressions as the guild master led Ketal away. Ketal spoke with a slightly awkward expression.

"You can just tell me the location. I can go by myself. Aren’t you busy?"

"No! It\'s fine! My assistant will handle things, so don’t worry!"

The guild master didn’t care about the mercenaries\' dissatisfaction.

Forming even a slight bond with Ketal was far more important.

Since he had an assistant, there were no real issues with him leaving.

Before long, they arrived at a small hole in the middle of a forest.

"This is the entrance to the Beast Nest."

At first glance, it seemed like nothing more than a strange hole in the ground.

But upon closer inspection, there was something unusual about it.

From the hole below, strange noises could be heard.

They were the sounds of monsters.

The hole was so deep and dark that the bottom couldn’t be seen.

"Hmm."

A look of interest crossed Ketal\'s face.

"How do I get in?"

"You just jump in. The hole is quite deep, but there’s a strange force that protects you when you first jump."

"And to get out?"

"You send a signal from the bottom, and we’ll lower a rope. We used to have a rope permanently in place, but the beasts started climbing up it."

"Got it. Then, I’ll be going."

"I’ll wait up here. Just shout if anything happens, and I’ll lower the rope immediately."

"No, there’s no need for that."

Without waiting for a response, Ketal leaped into the hole.

His eyes were filled with excitement.

An S-rank dungeon.

A dungeon said to only be cleared by hero-class individuals, the highest level of difficulty.

Ketal entered the hole.

His body began to descend.

[Kaaaaaaa!]

[Uwooo!]

The monsters\' roars echoed.

They welcomed the intruder, ready to kill.

The killing intent was enough to make anyone faint.

But Ketal smiled in response.

\'This is going to be fun.\'

Dungeons were the pinnacle of fantasy, after all.

Gaining power was nice, but that was just a secondary goal.

His experience in the North had been fine, but not great.

The appearance of the rat ruined it.

He hadn’t been able to enjoy the fantasy fully.

His primary goal had always been to enjoy the fantasy.

Since coming to this world, not once had he lost sight of that goal.

\'Let’s have some fun.\'

With a smile, Ketal cheerfully descended into the dungeon.

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