Crowne was still confused about what had happened earlier. The incident kept replaying in his head. When he asked the others about it, none of them had seen the figure of white light.
The more he thought about it, the more confused and dizzy he became. In the end, Crowne decided to ignore it for now.
He would think about it later. He would find out what and who that glowing figure was. He was sure it was something important.
"Could it be the guardian of this world? Like a God?"
Crowne wasn't sure about that. The gods and goddesses he knew of were human-shaped beings, handsome and with ideal bodies. That creature earlier was nothing like the image of gods in Crowne's mind.
Crowne stood up. "Are you all ready?" he asked.
Sylvara, Velrisa, and Ronan nodded. "We're ready."
They prepared to head back to Stromhall. But before they could go far, the forest suddenly shook. Strong tremors spread beneath their feet, accompanied by a pressing aura coming from the heart of the forest.
They all turned their heads in the same direction.
"You want to tame a beast, don't you, my Lord?" Velrisa asked, her eyes sharp. "I think this beast suits you."
Crowne frowned. "What if I tame it now?"
Velrisa nodded firmly. "I think that's the right choice."
But Crowne still hesitated. The sky was already growing dark, and he wanted to return to Stromhall quickly. He wanted to finish the rank E mission he had taken today.
After thinking for a while, he finally made a decision.
"Will the beast still be here tomorrow?" Crowne asked again.
"Of course it will remain in this forest unless someone kills it," Velrisa replied confidently.
Crowne took a deep breath. "Then we'll do it tomorrow. I want to make more preparations first."
Velrisa nodded. "As you wish."
So they decided to return to Stromhall that night, postponing their encounter with the mysterious beast until the next day.
**
The usually lively adventurer guild fell into silence the moment Crowne placed ten Gorthaks on the receptionist's desk. It wasn't an enormous number, but killing them with just two people was shocking enough.
Especially when one of them was only a rank F adventurer—it was truly surprising.
"Y-You... killed these two alone?" the receptionist's voice trembled.
Ronan wanted to answer honestly, but Crowne immediately stepped on his foot.
Crowne spoke instead. "Yes, and I still have a few more. Is there a larger place? These ones are bigger."
"A-a few more? Bigger?"
Crowne nodded casually. "Five more."
The entire hall instantly erupted. Adventurers turned their heads, eyes wide in disbelief. Some even almost spat out their beer.
Fifteen Gorthaks had been slain by only two adventurers. That was extraordinary. It meant Ronan and Crowne had practically wiped out an entire Gorthak colony by themselves.
"Aren't they newcomers?"
"How could they possibly do that? And one of them is just rank F. Isn't that harder since he's just a burden?"
Of course, the one being praised was Ronan, since in their eyes, Ronan was the only possible reason those Gorthaks could be defeated.
A rank F like Crowne was only considered dead weight.
The receptionist hurriedly stood up. "P-please follow me... to the back."
Crowne and Ronan followed her into the back storage area of the guild, a large warehouse normally used to keep large hunting spoils.
"Put them here!" the receptionist said.
Crowne nodded and immediately opened his Inventory Ring.
With a heavy thud, another Gorthak fell to the ground. Then another. Then three more. Their massive bodies filled nearly half the warehouse.
"Ah, I guess this space is big enough," Crowne said.
Then he released the final Gorthak. When it emerged, the receptionist froze.
The last Gorthak's body was far larger, its horns much longer, its frame nearly three times that of a normal Gorthak.
"No way..." the receptionist's lips trembled. "T-That's... a King Gorthak!?" she shouted.
Her cry echoed, drawing in staff who passed by. They too were stunned, their jaws hanging as they saw the body of the King Gorthak lying on the ground.
It was a rank B monster. Something Ronan and Crowne shouldn't have been able to kill. Even Ronan, the stronger one, was only rank C-.
But what truly shocked the receptionist wasn't just that. It was the fact that the King Gorthak had appeared at all. The creature should only have been deep inside the forest.
This was a serious matter.
"Where exactly did you find this beast?" she asked.
"In the forest. About 800 meters from the forest's edge," Crowne replied.
The receptionist nodded, her expression grave. She grew more certain that the Gorthak Wave would come sooner than expected. And perhaps this time, the Gorthak Wave would be even stronger than in past years.
She knew she had to act quickly.
"Call the guild master at once!" the receptionist almost screamed. "Call Lord Dorian, right now!"
Crowne frowned. "Is there something strange about this? Did we make a mistake?"
The receptionist shook her head. "You did nothing wrong. In fact, you've helped us greatly. If you hadn't brought this King Gorthak here, we might never have realized how close the Gorthak Wave already is."
Crowne and Ronan frowned. "The Gorthak Wave?"
"I'll explain it later. For now, you must give a detailed account of what you experienced in the southern forest near Stromhall," the receptionist said.
Crowne and Ronan exchanged glances. Then they both nodded. "Alright."
**
Dorian soon arrived. He saw the King Gorthak's body lying in the outermost part of the forest on the map projection.
That meant the Gorthak Wave had already begun, though the attack itself hadn't started yet. But this was the strange part—normally, when the Gorthak Wave occurred, hundreds of Gorthaks would immediately attack the nearby villages. Yet so far, no reports had come from those villages.
"Could they be gathering a larger force?" the receptionist asked.
Dorian shook his head. "Gorthaks are not intelligent beasts. They aren't that cunning."
"Then why haven't they attacked the villages yet?"
"I don't know," Dorian admitted. "But something feels off. I'll send scouts into the forest to investigate."
The receptionist nodded.
Dorian turned to face Crowne and Ronan. A faint smile appeared on his lips. "Thank you."
"I've been waiting here all this time, and all I get is a thank you? Don't we get paid for this mission?" Crowne complained.
"Ah, my apologies." Dorian turned to the receptionist. "Reward them, and add twenty gold coins as a bonus."
"Yes, Guild Master."