CHAPTER 91: CHANGE OF TARGET

In a wide hall inside the Hunter’s Guild, groups of hunters sat around different tables, chatting and laughing over plates of food and mugs of booze. The air smelled of grilled meat, steel, and sweat—typical for a place full of warriors waiting for their next mission.

At one of the center tables, a group of six hunters sat together.

"What a drag," a woman said, leaning back in her seat. "The dungeons are getting more and more difficult these days. No one even dares to go near the ones above B-rank."

Her voice was smooth, but sharp.

She was stunningly beautiful—her short, black hair tied up in a practical style. She wore a sleek, dark combat suit. It hugged her figure but allowed complete mobility. This was Jasmine.

Beside her sat a man with messy brown hair and a confident smirk. His outfit looked formal—dark brown tunic with silver trims and protective guards on his arms and legs. He looked more like a knight than a casual hunter.

"Yeah," he said with a shrug. "What else can they do? No one has returned after entering an A-rank dungeon. Forget about S-rank."

His name was Duke.

A large, muscular man sat across from them, arms crossed. His black uniform was clean and tight, with a golden emblem on the chest and a heavy cloak draped over his shoulders. He looked like a warrior born for command.

"It doesn’t matter if they’re getting harder or not," he said calmly. "We have to keep fighting. Because this isn’t just about money. It’s our duty. If we don’t fight, dungeon breaks will keep happening... and people will suffer."

He paused, looking at the floor for a moment.

"And one day, our families might be the ones caught in it."

That was Leo.

Next to him, a cheerful hunter picked up his mug and raised it high.

"Oh come on, guys!" he said. "Let’s not turn this into a funeral. We’ll find out how bad the dungeon is when we go in. Worrying now won’t make it easier, right? Just enjoy the food while it’s hot!"

He had a brown beard, a wide grin, and wore a sleeveless cloak over his armor. His name was Kyle.

Two more hunters sat with them—Lily, a quiet girl with sharp eyes and a small bow resting beside her, and Hervy, who wore a thick leather coat and had a large hammer strapped to his back. They were listening to the others, occasionally laughing and throwing in their own comments.

Around the guild, the other tables were just as lively. Some hunters talked about recent dungeon runs, some joked about their latest injuries, and others complained about the guild’s reward rates. It was a normal day.

Until—

BAM!

The front doors burst open.

All heads turned at once as a figure rushed inside, panting.

The newcomer ran straight to the front desk, where a young woman in a red uniform stood behind the counter.

"We need help!" the girl gasped. "There’s a dungeon break in the central market of Solvane! It’s a D-class!"

For a second, the entire guild went silent.

Then whispers spread like wildfire.

"Did she say dungeon break?"

"In the central market?"

"Wait... isn’t that...?"

People started to recognize the girl.

It was Princess Daliah of Arcadia.

The receptionist, Elizabeth, was startled but quickly stepped forward and asked, "If I am not mistaken, you are the princess, right? Your highness, could you please tell me exactly what happened?

Daliah elaborated everything quickly. And urged her to send backup. People were in real danger.

Elizabeth moved fast and rang the emergency bell behind the counter.

Her voice was loud and sharp.

"Everyone, there’s a dungeon break! We need immediate support. Who’s willing to go?"

Leo stood up without hesitation. His chair screeched back as he raised a hand.

"We’ll do it," he said.

Elizabeth nodded. "Then hurry. The civilians are already evacuating, but we don’t know how long the defenders can hold."

Leo turned to his team. "Let’s move."

Everyone at the table stood up—no more jokes, no more food.

The Hunter Guild’s calm was broken.

Leo’s group followed behind Daliah.

Back in the market.

Half of the goblin and dire wolf horde was already wiped out. The pouring out of monsters had stopped. That means all that was left in the market were the remaining ones. Once all of them and the Orc were defeated, this dungeon will be counted as cleared.

But the condition of the ones fighting against the monsters wasn’t looking good either.

Rowan’s group had started with a great morale but the continuous battle had drained them.

Logan’s condition wasn’t looking good either. Both he and the Orc were in a dead lock. Neither Logan nor the Orc had gained any advantage. Blood was dripping like sweat from Logan’s body.

The Orc was also in bad shape. Its left hand had been half severed by a deadly attack from Logan.

During a clash, Logan used his ice blade to slice it clean.

But even without its left hand it was still rampaging.

On both sides they kept fighting.

Rowan raised his hand and brought lightning upon three dire wolves. All burned like charcoal. Two goblins rushed toward him. But two fireballs flew from his left hand and burned them.

Gilbert was slashing nonstop. And air blades flew continuously slicing many goblins in half.

The tier 3 mage with water affinity was using ice blade to fight goblins.

And the tier 3 mage with fire and earth affinity was trapping the dire wolves with earth walls and burning them with fire blaze.

All four were fighting very hard. But still one fourth of the monsters still remained. And all four of them were near their end. Their mana was almost at the end. Any moment now and none of them would be able to cast any more attack spells.

On Logan’s side, he was in tatters, but he was far from reaching his limit. He was injured and tired. But his mana reserve was far from ending. Because he was mostly using his internal energy to fight.

The Orc was losing its patience. Suddenly it stopped attacking Logan. It looked towards the other four. Then back at Logan. Logan also stopped, not understanding what the Orc was doing.

"What the hell is it doing now!"

Then suddenly instead of attacking Logan....

It shot toward the other four.