Chapter 70: End of the S-Rank Dungeon Raid
The enormous tower began to crumble.
Liam stood beside Lydia and the rest of the Ace of Spades Guild hunters, watching as the structure that had stood before them for so long slowly began to turn to dust.
Entire sections of the tower broke away and fell toward the ground.
But before they could touch it, they dissolved into tiny particles of light.
It was the same Dungeon where he and Lydia had accidentally fallen into some time ago.
The same one that had taken them to that strange final floor.
And now it was disappearing before their eyes.
Lydia, already back in her human form, stepped closer and hugged her husband.
"It’s strange..."
Liam wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Yeah. I never thought we’d come back to this place."
Lydia rested her head against his chest.
"But now we know there are still plenty of Dungeons left to explore."
Liam smiled.
"I guess so."
A voice appeared behind them.
"If you keep breaking the rules, you won’t have many Dungeons left to explore."
Liam and Lydia froze.
Slowly, they both turned their heads.
Wayne stood behind them, wearing his usual serious expression and holding a cigarette between his fingers.
Lydia swallowed.
"Sub-Captain Wayne..."
Before she could continue, Amber appeared behind the man.
"Wayne, leave them alone."
Wayne looked at her.
"They were a great help."
"I know."
"Then you also know that doesn’t change the rules."
Amber sighed.
Wayne looked back at Liam and Lydia.
"You already know how this works. If you break the rules several times, your licenses can be suspended."
Liam felt a chill.
"Suspended?"
Lydia also looked worried.
After everything they had been through...
They didn’t want to lose their licenses.
"But..."
Liam began to speak.
Don Rouch appeared before he could finish.
"Are you seriously going to suspend the two hunters who helped defeat an S-Rank boss?"
Wayne raised an eyebrow.
Don Rouch smiled, showing off his trademark gold dental cap.
"Don’t forget that Liam was the one who landed the final blow."
He pointed toward Lydia.
"And if it weren’t for his wife, we probably wouldn’t have even figured out how to attack those worms."
Wayne took the cigarette from his mouth, a smile appearing on his face.
"Maybe they don’t deserve a suspension just yet."
Liam let out a breath.
"Just yet?"
Wayne put the cigarette back in his mouth.
"But I’ll be keeping an eye on you two."
Liam and Lydia scratched the backs of their heads at the same time.
"Understood..."
"Yeah..."
Amber let out a small laugh.
◇◆◇
Millie approached Lydia.
"Seriously, you’re incredible."
Lydia blinked.
"Me?"
"Yeah. You never stop surprising me with everything you can do."
Millie looked at the Roc wings still spread behind Lydia.
"First that Slime body, then your splitting, then the lasers..."
Millie shook her head.
"I don’t even understand how any of that works."
Lydia smiled.
"Neither do I."
Millie laughed.
Lydia burst out laughing.
"But you were incredible, too. You managed to keep the boss’s attention for so long."
Millie gave her a thumbs-up.
"It’s my job."
The two smiled at each other.
Evan then approached Liam.
"Those bullets..."
Liam looked at him.
"Yeah?"
"That was really clever."
Evan raised one of his new arrowheads.
"I think I’m going to try something similar with these."
Liam looked at the gem.
"Not imbue them with energy?"
"Exactly."
Evan smiled.
"If I can make an arrow absorb the energy from an enemy’s attack and then release it when it hits..."
Liam nodded.
"Sounds good."
"Did you already know it would work?"
Liam laughed.
"No."
Evan’s eyes widened.
"No?"
"I just thought it might work."
Liam shrugged.
"And we got lucky."
Evan burst out laughing.
"Then you’ve got a pretty dangerous way of getting lucky."
Liam smiled.
"That’s what they tell me."
Wayne raised a hand.
"Squad."
The hunters around them straightened.
"We’re heading back to headquarters."
"Yes, sir."
The group began organizing themselves.
Liam watched as the hunters said goodbye to one another.
They had spent hours fighting together.
Some could barely stand, while others had wounds that would require treatment, but they all seemed satisfied.
Liam looked at Lydia.
"I think we should head home, too."
Lydia took his hand.
"Yeah."
She looked him up and down.
"You’re exhausted."
"A little."
"Then I’ll give you a massage."
Liam smiled.
"That sounds amazing."
"And while you rest, another me can make dinner."
Liam stared at his wife.
"That definitely sounds amazing."
Lydia laughed.
"Let’s go."
The two began walking alongside the rest of the hunters.
The Dungeon was over.
The boss had been defeated.
And although they would probably have to answer a few questions about infiltrating the Dungeon, they had made it out alive.
That was enough.
For now.
◇◆◇
Hours later...
In one of the upper offices of the Ace of Spades Guild headquarters, Captain Armstrong examined several documents projected in front of him.
James stood beside him.
"These are the records collected during the raid."
Armstrong crossed his arms.
James moved one of the windows.
A representation of the Dungeon appeared before them.
"Look at this."
An area of the diagram began to light up.
"For a few moments, there was an extremely high accumulation of energy."
Armstrong frowned.
James pointed toward the spot.
"According to the records, this energy appeared right before the boss disappeared."
Armstrong remained silent.
"The core..."
James nodded.
"That’s what we believe."
Armstrong began reviewing the reports from the three sub-captains.
"But none of them mention this."
"No."
"Amber doesn’t mention it."
"No."
"Neither does Don Rouch."
"Neither."
Armstrong continued reading.
"And Wayne claims they defeated the boss after several hours of fighting."
James smiled.
"Exactly."
The two looked at each other.
For a few seconds, they remained completely serious.
Then...
They both burst out laughing.
"Those two couldn’t control their curiosity."
James shook his head.
"It was only a matter of time."
Armstrong looked at the data again.
"But they managed to do it."
James nodded.
"And survived."
The captain placed a hand on the desk.
"I see a lot of potential in them."
James looked at him.
"Especially her."
Armstrong looked at the information related to Lydia.
"That woman has tremendous potential."
James remained silent.
"But..."
Armstrong narrowed his eyes.
"We also need to keep them in check."
"Why?"
"Because someone with that much potential can become a great asset. Or someone extremely dangerous."
James slowly nodded.
"You’re right."
He crossed his arms.
"She’s not the only one with the potential to become dangerous."
Armstrong looked at him.
"Him, too?"
"He has his own qualities."
James smiled.
"He may not be the strongest of the group, but he knows how to observe and think. And he managed to get other hunters to act on his ideas."
Armstrong let out a small laugh.
"I’m surprised he even managed to get Wayne to listen."
James laughed.
"That was impressive."
The two looked at the data again.
An image of Liam and Lydia appeared among the records.
Two hunters who had only just begun their journey.
Two rookies who had managed to enter an S-Rank Dungeon.
And had walked out after helping defeat its boss.
Armstrong sighed.
"Now all that’s left is to wait for squad selection."
James smiled.
"Let’s see who wants to deal with that duo."
Armstrong burst out laughing.
"Good luck to whoever picks them."