The King looked up from the documents scattered across the table, his heavy gaze resting on the battered trio standing in the doorway.

He gave them a slow appreciative nod, "welcome back," he said, "we are very grateful for your hard work and the sacrifices made by your team to keep this kingdom safe."

The Captain kept his head lowered in a formal bow while Helen and Hajin quickly followed suit.

The King gestured toward a row of high-backed chairs sitting just a few feet away from the main table, "please," he continued. "Take a seat and rest yourselves, you have more than earned it."

Helen immediately walked over to the chairs, looking completely relieved to finally sit down. Hajin followed right behind her, dropping into the cushioned seat with a quiet sigh while letting his sore muscles finally relax.

The Captain did not join them, instead walking straight up to the table to stand before the royal council. He stood tall and rigid, ready to deliver his official report.

Hajin sat back in his chair, quietly observing the room while the Captain began pulling out his notes.

The royal council members were all older men and women dressed in incredibly expensive formal clothing. They sat around the table with their hands folded, listening to the King but keeping their eyes locked firmly on Hajin.

He could easily tell from the sharp judging looks they were giving him that they did not like him very much.

To them he was just a nameless rookie from a border city who had somehow elbowed his way into the King’s direct line of sight.

He had no political backing, no noble title, and absolutely no respect for court etiquette. He was a complete outsider sitting in the most exclusive room in the entire kingdom, and their glares made it very obvious they wanted him gone.

He just looked away from them, staring blankly at the far wall instead of acknowledging their hostility. He was way too tired to care about palace politics right now.

The Captain opened a leather-bound journal in his hands, "Your Majesty," he began. "The raid on the eastern forest anomaly was entirely successful, but the situation inside the Gate was far worse than what Kenny Flint reported when he returned."

The King leaned forward slightly and rested his chin on his hands, "go on," he said.

The Captain kept his voice completely serious, "the boss was not a standard seven-shard monster," he explained. "The Gate was ruled by a Beast King Anomaly, possessing power that far exceeded the seven-shard ranking."

Several council members visibly stiffened in their seats, letting out a sharp collective gasp around the table. A Beast King Anomaly appearing so close to the capital city was an absolute disaster waiting to happen.

An older man wearing the official robes of the royal council leaned forward and slammed his hand on the table, "that is completely impossible," he said. "The Flint boy never mentioned anything about a Beast King Anomaly in his report. If a monster like that was really inside the Gate, he would have warned us."

The Captain just stared at him with a perfectly flat expression.

"With all due respect," the Captain replied, his voice turning cold, "we strongly suspect that he never even made it to the boss area."

A heavy murmur broke out across the table, several council members exchanging confused looks.

"What exactly are you implying, Captain?" another council member asked, her voice full of disbelief.

Helen stood up from her chair, looking completely exhausted but still willing to speak her mind.

"We are not implying anything," she said, crossing her arms while staring directly at the council. "We found the remains of his vanguard squad scattered in the second zone. Based on the tracks and the state of the bodies, they were ambushed by mid-tier monsters."

She paused for a second, letting the weight of her words settle over the room.

"Kenny Flint didn’t lose his arm fighting a Beast King," she continued, her voice filled with absolute disgust. "He abandoned his entire squad to die and ran away before he ever even saw the boss."

The entire room erupted into chaos, council members shouting over each other in complete confusion while they tried to process the fact that a member of a Great Family had lied so blatantly to the crown.

Hajin sat back in his chair, quietly watching the political fallout unfold right in front of him. He didn’t really care about his cousin’s cowardice, he just wanted this meeting to end so he could finally go to sleep.

The King raised a single hand, instantly silencing the entire room with a heavy wave of his overwhelming mana pressure.

"Enough," the King commanded quietly, his eyes locked onto the Captain. "If the vanguard squad was wiped out, and the boss was a Beast King Anomaly that exceeded the seven-shard ranking, then how exactly did your raid team manage to clear the Gate?"

The Captain took a deep breath, turning his body slightly to gesture directly toward the high-backed chairs.

"We did not clear the Gate, Your Majesty," the Captain said, keeping his posture perfectly straight. "The rookie you personally sponsored was the one who engaged the Beast King Anomaly in single combat."

Every single head in the room instantly snapped toward Hajin.

He suddenly felt incredibly exposed under the weight of dozens of judging stares, but he just kept his expression completely blank while leaning back in his chair.

A councilwoman stood up from her seat, pointing an accusing finger at the Captain, "are you out of your mind?" she demanded. "You expect us to believe that a rookie with no formal training managed to solo a Beast King Anomaly? That is completely absurd!"

Helen stepped forward to stand beside the Captain, "it is the absolute truth," she said. "Our entire raid team engaged the Beast King directly and we lost. It overpowered everything we threw at it. We couldn’t even scratch the thing."

She paused, letting that sink in before continuing.

"He fought it alone after we went down," she said, nodding toward Hajin. "He killed the Beast King while the rest of us were just watching in awe."

The council members immediately started whispering to each other, shaking their heads in disbelief. A few of them were glaring at Hajin like he was some kind of elaborate prank being played on them.

It was simply impossible for a low-ranking nobody to achieve something that usually required an entire Guild of elite Rankers.

The Captain cut through the murmurs, "we brought proof," he said.

He reached into his leather pouch and pulled out the mutated Beast King core, placing it gently on the center of the massive table.

The moment the core touched the wood, a dense wave of heavy mana washed over the entire room. The sheer density of the dark energy radiating from the crystal made several council members physically lean back in their chairs, their faces turning pale.

The room went completely dead silent again. There was absolutely no denying the authenticity of a Beast King core.

They slowly turned their heads back to look at Hajin, but their expressions had completely changed. The sharp judging glares of superiority were gone, replaced entirely by a deep instinctual fear. They were finally realizing that the tired boy sitting in the corner was an absolute monster in human skin.

The King stared at the dark core for a long moment before letting out a low chuckle.

He looked up at Hajin, a dark smile spreading across his face, "you continue to exceed all of my expectations," he said.

Hajin felt another cold shiver run down his spine. The King’s smile looked warm and welcoming to the rest of the council, but to him, it felt exactly like a predator staring at its prey.