Chapter 268 269: The Overgrown Ruins(3)

To Evelyn Cross, Guild Master of the Hale Cross Guild.

Greetings.

I am the current head of the Seraville Clan, a hidden Awakened family that has yet to make its appearance before the world.

The reason for this letter is simple.

I wish for you to take two of my disciples into your Guild.

You may find this request suspicious, and I would hardly blame you.

After all, a family that has remained hidden for so long suddenly sending its disciples into your Guild is bound to raise a few questions.

However, allow me to reassure you that I have my reasons.

Your Guild's current standing makes it an ideal place for the two of them to remain unnoticed for a time. They will have the opportunity to grow stronger without attracting too much attention, while their presence should prove beneficial to your Guild's own advancement.

In other words, I believe this arrangement will be advantageous to both parties.

Of course, the two little ones may prove somewhat troublesome—particularly the boy. I would advise you to keep an eye on him.

That said, they are both exceptionally talented. If you wish to learn more about their abilities, you may contact the Awakened Association. They should be able to provide you with all the details you require.

I suspect you will find the information rather… interesting.

And should you still have doubts about accepting them, allow me to offer a little reassurance.

The fact that I can deliver these two precious weapons to your office without anyone noticing should give you some idea of what I am capable of.

After all, if I can send them to you so quietly, I could probably make your entire Guild disappear just as easily.

Just kidding.

Or perhaps not.

I shall leave that for you to decide.

I look forward to hearing of your decision.

— The Head of the Seraville Clan

***

"..."

Seraphina blankly stared at her son, who had just finished reciting the entire letter he had sent to… that man.

Lucian glanced at her from the corner of his eye, and then…

"Pft… hahahahaha!!!"

His laughter suddenly echoed throughout the grassy surroundings, the sound travelling far enough that several monsters lurking somewhere nearby became alert.

"...you really wrote that all?" Seraphina asked, genuine surprise present in her voice.

Of course, she was surprised by what her son had done, but she was more surprised by how elegant and carefully written his words sounded, which was completely different from the rather blunt message he had sent to the Association Director.

"Haa…"

Lucian wiped an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye before answering.

"I did take some help from my dear Kanna… but I was the one who wrote it."

Seraphina's expression remained unchanged.

She deliberately removed that 'dear' part, still not understanding his suddenly developed affection towards her… though she didn't like that.

'Too many women are surrounding my son…' she couldn't help but click her tongue inwardly.

The two continued walking through the dungeon, and the environment gradually became slightly wetter, greenery covering the ground, the structures, and the walls around them.

They still hadn't encountered a single monster, but even then, Seraphina's eyes continued scanning their surroundings—and unlike Lucian, who seemed relaxed, she didn't allow her guard to drop.

But despite being alert, she continued speaking quietly with her son, who was playing with a small fireball dancing over his fingertips.

He casually moved it from one finger to another, trying to create other shapes with it, though that took quite an effort.

Seraphina glanced at the small flame, then at him.

"What about the title…? You do know that he's the Guild Master, don't you…?

"His wife is the Vice Guild Master of that Guild," Seraphina asked softly.

Even though Damien had a new wife now, she didn't feel even a flicker of anything as she thought about it.

Just… a small, almost buried sense of dread whenever her thoughts drifted to him—something she never, ever wanted to show… especially not to her son.

Lucian, however, simply turned his head towards her.

"Hmm…?"

A small, almost playful smile appeared on his face.

"Of course it was to irk that fucker."

Seraphina blinked.

The orange glow of the small fireball floating over his fingers reflected against her icy-blue eyes.

For a moment, she simply stared at him.

Then—

"I see."

She muttered quietly, and, almost unconsciously, a similar smile appeared on her face.

That man wanted nothing more than fame and recognition, and wanted everyone to know his name and praise everything he had accomplished.

So having someone else suddenly recognised by his Guild—even if they were his wife—would undoubtedly irritate his pride.

"Ehe—"

Seraphina immediately shut her mouth, her eyes widening slightly as she realised a laugh had almost escaped her lips.

She shook her head at her childishness and tightened her grip around the hilts of the two daggers in her hands.

And after they had taken a few more steps—

Rustle…

Rustle…

Seraphina immediately stopped.

Her eyes sharpened.

Lucian, however, remained just as unbothered as something moved through the bushes ahead, slowly approaching them through the vegetation.

But the moment they laid their eyes upon it—

Lucian blinked.

"A plant man…?" He faintly tilted his head.

Standing before them was a small monster, its body looking as though it had been constructed from vines, roots, and pieces of tree bark, all twisted together into an eerie humanoid shape.

Several thin vines hung from its arms, while small thorns protruded from its body, and it would've looked very creepy… if it weren't roughly the height of a small child.

[STATUS WINDOW—Thornling]

Race – Plantkin

Rank – F

Titles – None

Bloodline – Thorn Bloodline

Affinity – None

[Attributes]

Strength: G

Agility: G+

Endurance: G

Charisma: G+

[Evaluation — A small plant creature that conceals itself among vegetation and attacks unsuspecting intruders with thorn-covered vines. Weak individually, but troublesome in groups.]

The monster suddenly raised both its arms, perhaps to do something… but then—

Its eyes landed on the small flame floating above Lucian's hand.

Its entire body stiffened, and before they could understand its intentions—

It suddenly turned around and ran, hiding itself back in the grass.

"...?"

Lucian tilted his head, and then—

He pointed his finger forward before shooting a small flame straight at the monster, immediately making it screech wildly before eventually… the scream died down.

"Wait… it died?"

Lucian walked towards where the monster was, but… it was no more.

Just his flames lingering around the patches of grass, and a small, marble-like monster core lying among the bushes.

Lucian crouched down and picked it up.

"Well, we got one, I guess."

He smiled, and Seraphina couldn't help but simply stare at him.

Was that monster too weak… or was it because of a C-Ranker entering an F-Rank dungeon?

The answer was obvious, and though she didn't want to get complacent, seeing her son acting so freely made some of the tension in her body loosen.

But Lucian couldn't let that happen, and eventually, he activated his Restriction skill, putting himself at the strength of an F-Ranker.

Only then did they continue forward, venturing further into the dungeon, with its grassy terrain and abandoned-looking, completely broken structures.

As for the men who had come along with them?

Well… Lucian had ordered them to remain near the dungeon portal the entire time, and they were not supposed to leave from there until both of them returned after clearing the dungeon.

A few more of the same monsters soon arrived before them, trying to attack them and take them by surprise.

Lucian, despite his lowered stats, had enough perception to not get caught off guard, and, taking care of most of the monsters himself, he let his mother fight as well… while making sure she didn't get seriously injured in any manner.

The Thornlings were supposedly monsters who fought using vines growing from their limbs, with sharp thorns covering them from end to end.

The vines were flexible and difficult to predict at first glance.

And for Seraphina, fighting against them proved to be somewhat troublesome, and she had to constantly move her body to avoid the vines snapping towards her.

And even if those vines struck, the clothes she was wearing absorbed most of the impact, while the mask protected her face.

"Rather than stopping or dodging all of their thorns coming at you one by one, look at the pattern.

If you still find that difficult, try to kill the monster as fast as you can."

Lucian advised as he watched the fight, and this time, with two of the Thornlings, Seraphina was considerably struggling, taking a couple of minutes to kill them.

It wasn't particularly long, but in an actual battle, even a few minutes could become exhausting depending on the opponent.

And if more monsters continued arriving during that time, the situation could quickly become much more dangerous.

"Hm."

Seraphina silently nodded.

After collecting the bodies of the Thornlings and storing their cores separately, Seraphina couldn't help but glance backwards, towards the direction of the dungeon entrance.

"What if a monster attacks them?" Seraphina asked, wondering if a group of creatures suddenly attacked those men.

"If they can't fight it, they die."

Lucian shrugged.

Seeing this, Seraphina nodded too.

As they progressed even further into the dungeon, they encountered a few different kinds of monsters.

One of them was a Ruin Crawler—a lizard-type pok—monster, with its body covered in rough, stone-like plates, making it resemble a stone sculpture.

Then there was even a plant-type monster, a large flower that suddenly opened its petals and lunged towards Seraphina, only to get its entire body burnt to ashes.

This entire dungeon seemed to be filled with monsters who had weaknesses against fire, and that made Lucian's work the easiest despite only using his flames ever so occasionally, trying to fight them with his sword rather than his affinities.

But then, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

"What if I just set the entire place on fire?"

A wide smile appeared on his face as his red eyes glowed faintly.

"..."

Seraphina watched his behaviour, though she knew he was just joking.

"You're not going to… are you…?"

"Hm? Maybe, maybe not… who knows~"

Lucian chuckled playfully.

…Sigh.

***

"Do you believe in this letter…?"

Evelyn asked as she saw Damien still staring intently at the letter in his hand, the one given by the mysterious masked maid.

After a few seconds, he finally nodded.

"It doesn't seem like something a nobody would try with us. Especially when they're willing to send such rare treasures."

"How can you be sure they're high-grade weapons?"

Evelyn still felt suspicious about the letter and the items they had suddenly gotten.

"I'm not, and that is why I'll check them with an Artifact Analyser."

Damien had already made his decision to accept the two people mentioned in the letter, though he would make sure they were as talented as claimed by the mysterious clan leader.

"Seems like we'll be getting new recruits… perhaps extremely talented ones."

The thought of it pleased him, especially knowing how much of a positive impact it might create on his Guild's reputation.

Yet, despite all those thoughts—

His expression remained filled with annoyance, and Evelyn didn't even need to ask why.

It was as clear as day to her.

Despite Damien being the Guild Master himself, they had given the letter to her, and even written her name as the Guild Master—which was either a mistake… or a deliberate mocking action.

"Can I see that again?"

Evelyn reached towards the letter, an amused smile appearing on her face.

"No."

Damien immediately pulled it away, but just as he did—

The shadow beneath Damien's feet suddenly trembled.

Both of them froze.

A dark tendril suddenly emerged before their eyes and snatched the letter from his hand, pulling it back into the darkness and vanishing entirely.