CLINK!

Heavy glass mugs slammed together, sending a shower of amber froth spilling over the scarred wooden table.

The sound was immediately swallowed by the deafening roar of the tavern.

It was a sweltering, dimly lit establishment packed shoulder-to-shoulder with adventurers burning off the adrenaline of the World Dungeon.

Right in the thick of it sat Ren. He was crammed into a corner booth surrounded by the core members of the Twilight Guild, holding his own heavy mug.

Beside him, Astrid leaned in close, shouting over the din to be heard.

She pointed at the bubbly heavily carbonated liquid in his cup, excitedly explaining that it was a local brew fermented from the nectar of a Floor 20 flora-type monster.

Ren offered a polite nod, clinking his glass against hers, watching the strange bubbles pop against the rim.

Before he could even bring the drink to his lips, a shadow fell over the table as several female guild members had abandoned their own booths, clustering around him.

Their eyes dragged up and down his features, devoid of the usual caution adventurers held for strangers.

"Okay, you have to tell us..." one of the mages demanded, bracing her hands on the table and leaning in close enough for Ren to smell the cheap wine on her breath. "What kind of skincare routine do you use?"

"I was wondering the same thing!" a rogue chimed in from the back with her eyes fixed on his head. "You just fought a Boss. How is your hair still so incredibly glossy? It doesn’t make any sense."

Ren paused with his mug hovering inches from his mouth as he looked at the expectant faces staring back at him.

’What am I supposed to say to that?’ Ren thought, maintaining a perfectly neutral, slightly bewildered expression. ’I can’t exactly tell them the truth. Oh, this? It’s just superior genetics, daily mana-infused baths, and a lifetime of consuming elixirs worth more than this entire building... Yeah, that would go over brilliantly.’

He was currently operating under his Commoner Disguise but there were limits to what a disguise could hide. The underlying bone structure, the unnatural clarity of his skin from advanced mana refinement... those things bled through.

Before he was forced to invent a lie about washing his face with river water and basic soap, a massive hand slammed down on the wood beside him.

"Alright, alright. Girls, give our Savior some room to breathe," Marcus boomed. The Guild Leader’s voice easily cut through the tavern noise.

The women groaned, a collective chorus of annoyed mutters rippling through the small group, but they backed off. They shuffled back toward their own drinks, casting lingering glances over their shoulders.

With the distraction gone, Marcus shifted his bulk.

The massive halberd strapped to his back scraped against the wooden wall. He rested his thick forearms on the table, fixing Ren with a stare.

"I saw you..." Marcus started, dropping the casual tone from earlier. "You moved like a ghost down there. You intervened, and executed a flawless series of strikes without breaking a sweat. So, I’ll get straight to the point. Would you like to join the Twilight Guild?"

Ren let a small, self-deprecating smile touch his lips as he set his mug down. "I appreciate the offer, Guild Leader Marcus. Truly but I’m really not qualified enough to join a guild of your standing."

Marcus sputtered. He had just taken a massive gulp of ale, and he nearly choked on it, coughing violently into his fist.

"Not qualified?" Marcus rasped, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Are you insane? You just soloed the heavy lifting against the Boss of Floor 53! Most of our seasoned veterans would have been chewed up in that crossfire. How could you possibly not be qualified?"

"Well..." Ren trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck as if embarrassed.

He channeled a fraction of his mana into his palm.

A blue light pulsed, and a rectangular piece of hardened magical card materialized between his fingers as he tossed it onto the sticky wood of the table.

[ ASTELVERN ADVENTURER GUILD ]

Name: Ren

Age: 18

Current Rank: E

Affiliation: None

Status: Active

The reaction was instantaneous as a dead silence descended over their section of the booth.

Jaws literally dropped.

The mage who had been asking about his skin stared at the piece of parchment as if it were a high-grade explosive about to detonate. Even Astrid blinked with her brow furrowing in deep confusion.

An E-Rank?

It defied basic logic. E-Ranks were the bottomfeeders of the adventuring world. They were the ones taking commissions to clear out sewer rats or hunt low-level slimes on the edges of the city.

An E-Rank stepping foot onto Floor 50, let alone fighting a boss there, was a guaranteed death sentence. It was physically impossible for an E-rank Adventurer to output the speed and lethality Ren had just demonstrated.

Marcus stared at the card for a long time then, his eyes narrowed, shifting from the card to Ren’s calm, smiling face.

"It doesn’t really matter whether you’re an E-Rank on a piece of paper," Marcus said. "The Guild system is flawed anyway. It doesn’t measure real-world combat instincts... You can join our Guild right now. I’ll personally sponsor you. We’ll bypass the lower ranks entirely and fast-track you."

Ren maintained his polite demeanor, shaking his head slowly.

"You’re too generous, but I have to decline. I really want to advance properly. I need to understand the foundations of being an adventurer, and I have no plans to lock myself into a Guild right now. I work best alone."

Marcus held his gaze for a moment longer, searching for any hesitation, but found none. The massive man sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly in defeat as he picked up his mug.

"Alright. I won’t force it," Marcus conceded, nodding slowly. "But remember this. If you ever want to stop flying solo and decide to join a Guild, the Twilight Guild has an open spot for you."

"Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind," Ren replied, smoothly swiping his registration card off the table and letting it vanish back into his spatial storage.

"Well," Astrid interrupted, her voice a little softer than usual.

She leaned closer with the warmth of her body radiating against his arm. The blush from the dungeon was still dusted across her cheeks, highlighting the sharp mature features that made her so famous. "Even if you’re not joining the Guild officially... how about you come for another raid with us? As a freelance contractor."

Ren tilted his head, feigning mild interest. "A raid?"

Astrid nodded eagerly. "Yes. We’re preparing to raid Floor 60 next. It’s a major milestone, and the monsters there are a massive step up in difficulty. If you wanted to, you could come with us. I’d really... I’d really like to get to know you more out in the field."

Floor 60, huh?

"Sure," Ren agreed without missing a beat.

Astrid’s face lit up. She quickly leaned in, rattling off the date, the time, and the specific supply list they would need for the expedition.

As she spoke, one of the women across the table leaned over to her friend with a teasing singsong voice.

"Ah~ Look at that. Our stone-cold Vice Guild Leader Astrid is finally falling in love~"

Astrid froze as the tips of her ears burned a violent crimson.

Without breaking eye contact with Ren, she reached out, grabbed her heavy, half-full wooden mug, downed the rest of the bitter ale in a single, throat-burning gulp, and whipped her arm around.

She brought the heavy base of the mug down squarely on top of the teasing woman’s head.

Thwack!

The sharp crack of wood against skull echoed loudly.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow!" the woman wailed, immediately dropping out of her chair and clutching her head on the dirty tavern floor.

Astrid cleared her throat, adjusting her posture. She looked back at Ren and he glanced over the edge of the table at the groaning woman. "Will she be okay?"

"Yes," Astrid replied flatly.

Without asking, she reached out and snatched a freshly poured mug of ale right out of the hands of the mage sitting next to her. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Hey! I just bought that!" the mage protested.

Astrid ignored her, thrusting the stolen mug into the center of the table. "Let’s drink to our heart’s content!"

Ren let out a genuine chuckle, raising his own glass to meet hers. The mugs collided and the sound lost once more to another massive roar of cheers that ripped through the tavern.

...

The air was crisp as Ren navigated the winding cobblestone streets of Astelvern. The noise of the tavern had long since faded and being replaced with the noise of the Adventurer Town.

He ran a hand through his hair, rolling his neck until the joints popped.

"Alcohol doesn’t even make me dizzy anymore," he muttered to the empty street with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Back on Earth, he had a notoriously pathetic tolerance. Two beers would leave him sluggish; three would have him stumbling but this body? This genetic monstrosity of a noble vessel? His accelerated metabolism and dense mana channels burned through the alcohol toxins before they could even hit his bloodstream.

He could drink enough dwarven spirits to kill a horse and still thread a needle.

"However, one good thing came out of tonight..." he noted quietly.

With a mere flick of intent, a holographic interface snapped into existence in front of his face.

『 Name: Astrid 』

『 Age: 34 』

『 Race: Human 』

『 Relationship: Romantic Interest』

『 Affection Points: 30 / 100 』

『 Hearts: 0 』

『 Emotional State: Tipsy, Intrigued, Guarded but Hopeful. 』

『 Likes: Strong swordsmanship, fine wines, well-mannered men who don’t brag, deep-level dungeon diving, taking charge of a battlefield. 』

『 Dislikes: Cowards, overly arrogant nobles, messy armor, and Old geezers who constantly try to hit on her just because she’s single. 』

『 Note: Oh my! We’re finally on the right track, let’s get to cucking that Hero human!』

Ren scanned the data with his eyes lingering on the affection points.

Thirty was a solid baseline... It meant she viewed him favorably, past the point of basic gratitude for saving her life. The next time they met on Floor 60, he would have ample opportunity to push that number higher.

And the note... Ren suppressed a smirk. Maybe he could get some more rewards...

He soon arrived in front of a quiet upscale inn near the edge of the adventurer district.

He bypassed the main entrance, walking around the side of the building toward the private, enclosed backyard he had specifically rented.

The moment his fingers brushed the rusted iron latch of the heavy wooden gate, the atmosphere inside the yard shifted.

Beneath the shadow of a large, gnarled oak tree, Eternia’s golden slit-pupil eyes snapped open. She had been meditating, perfectly still.

Without making a single sound, she uncoiled her leg and delivered a vicious sharp kick directly to the shin of Mandy, who was sprawled out in the dirt beside her, snoring loudly.

Mandy bolted upright with a gasp with his hands flying to his weapon. "I’m awake! I’m completely awake!"

"Master is coming," Eternia hissed.

Mandy immediately scrambled to his feet, frantically brushing the dirt off his clothes and snapping into a rigid terrified posture of attention.

A second later, the heavy gate creaked open. Ren stepped into the moonlit yard, taking in the sight of his two subordinates.

"I’m home~" Ren announced.

Mandy bowed so deeply his back nearly cracked. "Welcome back, my Lord."

Eternia dropped to one knee with her head bowed in deep reverence. "Welcome Home, Master."

Ren nodded slowly.

"Uh-huh."

Eternia had changed so much within these days, apparently making her work for things and rewarding her for them made the future Demon King pretty hardworking

He pushed the gate shut with the heavy wood clicking into place. He walked toward the center of the yard as his boots crushed the dewy grass.

"I hope you two have mastered the Sword Art I taught you before I left," Ren said.

Mandy flinched with cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead as he gripped his wooden practice blade.

"Y-Yes, my Lord..." he stammered out.

Eternia, however, rose to her feet with fluid grace. Her eyes locked onto Ren, burning with a desperate need to prove herself. "Of course, Master. Shall I demonstrate it?"

Ren stopped, crossing his arms over his chest. "Go first."

Eternia didn’t hesitate. She stepped into the clearing, gripping the heavy wooden practice sword with both hands.

She widened her stance, sinking her center of gravity low and for a brief second, she closed her eyes to regulate her breathing.

Then, she exploded.

She lunged forward, executing a flawless rapid-fire sequence of thrusts. The wooden blade tore through the air with violent hisses.

Her footwork was a masterclass in shifting momentum with her body flowing like water around invisible enemies.

Suddenly, she drove her lead foot into the dirt and launched herself backward into a high aerial flip.

Mid-rotation, the human illusion of her legs shattered as muscle, bone, and scale rapidly expanded. In less than a heartbeat, her lower half transmuted into the heavily armored tail of a colossal serpent.

She used the sheer, crushing weight of her true form to accelerate her descent and the massive tail slammed into the earth.

CRACK!

The ground buckled. Deep fissures spiderwebbed through the dirt and grass from the point of impact. Using the force of the landing, she coiled her tail, pivoting her torso with terrifying speed and she whipped the sword around in a blinding backhand strike, channeling the rotational force straight into the tip of the blade.

The wooden sword stopped exactly an inch away from the throat of an imaginary target.

The sheer wind pressure from the strike rustled Ren’s hair.

Slowly, Eternia exhaled.

The massive serpent coils retracted, shifting seamlessly back into a pair of slender human legs. She lowered the blade and turned to look at him with her chest heaving slightly.

"Master," She breathed as her voice was tight with anticipation. "Is there anything I need to improve?"

Ren remained silent. He reached into his pocket and his thumb flicked upward.

Eternia’s predatory eyes tracked the arc effortlessly. She shot her free hand out, catching the object with a sharp smack against her palm.

She opened her fingers and sitting in her hand was a pure gold coin.

"That was executed beautifully," Ren said with his voice entirely sincere. "Your transition into the strike was flawless. You deserved it. I especially like the fact you added your own things to it..."

Eternia’s entire body trembled. The cold, reptilian killer vanished, replaced by an overwhelming look of joy.

She bowed her head deeply. "Thank you, Master!"

Ren smiled, turning his attention to the sweating terrified form of his other subordinate.

"Your tu—"

He was cut off.

Deep inside his pocket, his communication mirror began vibrating violently and Ren frowned, reaching into his coat and pulling the sleek obsidian mirror out.

He tapped the surface, and a holographic projection flared to life in the air between them.

"Hello, sugarbun~" Ren greeted smoothly, a teasing lilt in his voice. "Wha—"

"Big brother! Did you hear?!" Alina screamed, completely bypassing his greeting. "The Hero.... The Hero was discovered slashed entirely in half at the Castle! Right on the dining table! He almost died!"

Silence hit the backyard like a physical weight as Mandy let out a strangled pathetic gasp, dropping his wooden sword into the dirt.

Slowly, a grin began to pull at the corners of his mouth as he grinned as though he was a devil making mnady flinch but when Ren opened his mouth, the voice that came out was the absolute picture of a devastated deeply concerned citizen.

"Is that so?" Ren gasped, infusing his tone with the perfect amount of shock and horror. "Ah... what a tragedy. We better pray to the Goddess for the Hero’s safety."

As he spoke the lie, a crystalline chime echoed perfectly within the confines of his own mind, accompanied by a glowing blue screen that only he could see.

『 System Alert: You have received 20,000 SP for subjecting the Protagonist ’Jace’ to a near-death experience. 』