Inside a luxurious inn, Noah sat at a table, sipping tea. Across from him sat Emily, a steaming cup placed in front of her as well. Yet her gaze wasn’t on the drink, it lingered instead on the two or three scrolls lying on the table before her.
Her brows furrowed as she spoke softly, her tone laced with frustration.
"In the past few years, we haven’t managed to clear a single A-rank dungeon. Even B-rank dungeons are becoming difficult."
Noah set his cup down after taking a sip, his voice calm yet grave.
"Yeah. I heard Leo managed to clear one B-rank last year, but even that was only during a joint raid. If I’m not mistaken, his party and Damian’s were working together."
Emily’s expression grew darker, her voice heavy with worry. "If this continues, we’ll be in serious trouble. There hasn’t been a higher-ranked dungeon break yet, but if an A-class dungeon were to collapse, or heaven forbid, an S-class dungeon break, two or three towns would be destroyed entirely before we could even react. And stopping the complete destruction of the continent... I doubt we’d even be able to manage that."
"Yeah, I know. Even for me, clearing a B-rank dungeon alone has become difficult while you are still by my side. What we really need are more strong hunters. Otherwise... the future ahead of us will be terrifying." Noah’s voice was grim as he spoke.
Where it took two large and powerful parties to clear a single B-rank dungeon, one S-rank hunter was enough to do the same... struggling perhaps, but capable nonetheless. That was the difference. That was the unfathomable gap between an S-rank hunter and an A-rank hunter.
Emily parted her lips, about to say something more, but just then.....
The door swung open. Lilith stormed inside with hurried steps, her expression alight with barely contained excitement. The rest of Gideon’s party was still at the guild, but she had rushed back immediately. Though it was technically an inn, some of its rooms had been made permanent residences for hunters... just one.
"You won’t believe what happened today." Lilith unfastened the strap of her cloak as she spoke, before dropping heavily into an empty chair with a thump. Her eyes glittered as she leaned forward.
"There was this hunter in our party... He’d been missing all this time, vanished without a trace. But today he finally showed up again. And guess what? He’s my age."
Excitement danced across her features.
Noah and Emily both turned toward her, their curiosity instantly piqued.
"And then? Did he join you in the dungeon raid?" Noah asked quickly.
Lilith let out a dramatic sigh, her expression a mixture of disbelief and thrill.
"Join us? Hah! You won’t believe the things he did in there. Even now, I can hardly believe my own eyes."
Emily leaned closer, her voice gentle but urging.
"Lilith, honey... tell us, quickly. What exactly happened?"
Lilith was so swept up in her own excitement that she completely missed the urgency hidden in Noah and Emily’s voices. Without pause, she began recounting everything that had happened, one detail at a time.
When she mentioned how the monsters had actually laid a trap, both Noah and Emily were momentarily stunned. But they weren’t overly shocked. It was becoming less and less unusual these days. What was once unheard of was slowly turning into a terrifying new reality.
Their expressions darkened, however, when Lilith revealed that she had nearly lost her life in the raid. Emily, especially, was shaken. Her eyes glistened, on the verge of tears, her heart tightening at the thought of what could have happened.
But then Lilith’s tone suddenly rose, her voice laced with awe and excitement, as if she were recounting a tale in which she herself was the main character.
She spoke of that moment when despair had swallowed everyone whole—
And how Logan had appeared. How he had carved through the battlefield like a storm, shredding monsters apart one after another. Not even the Orc Boss, a creature that usually left seasoned hunters trembling, had stood a chance before him.
Both Noah and Emily sat frozen in disbelief. "He’s that strong...?"
The same question arose in both their minds, echoing in unison.
Yet their shock deepened when Lilith mentioned something even stranger. She swore she had seen a monster whose face looked exactly like a human, and worse, it could talk like a human as well.
That revelation left them utterly stunned. Never before—never... had such a thing happened.
And so, they listened intently as Lilith continued her story, every word pulling them deeper into the storm.
Finally, she spoke the words Noah and Emily had been waiting for, the truth behind their greatest hope.
"You won’t believe it. Do you know how many affinities he has? Five. Five!"
She repeated the number twice, as if she herself couldn’t believe it.
The moment those words left her mouth, both Noah and Emily exchanged glances. Exactly what they had guessed... was true.
But Lilith, oblivious to their reactions, pressed on.
"At first, I thought it was Logan. But no—that’s impossible. There’s no way Logan could have become that strong so quickly. And besides, he only had three affinities back then. This one... has five."
Emily’s lips parted with the urge to reveal the truth. But she swallowed it back down, deciding against it. This was neither the time nor the place.
Even so, both she and Noah couldn’t help but feel a strange relief wash over them.
Back in Ali’s chamber.
Logan slowly returned from his momentary daze, his brows furrowing as unease settled in his chest. "Guild Master," he said quietly, his voice carrying a trace of suspicion, "why do I feel like you’re only trying to scare me? Aren’t there only three S-Class Hunters in all of Arcadia?"
Ali shook his head with a grave expression. "No, Aiden." His tone was firm, his eyes carrying a weight that pressed down on the room. "There are three registered S-Class Hunters, yes—because only three have taken the Trials, proven themselves, and officially earned the title. That’s why the world knows of them.
But there are others."
Logan’s eyes widened slightly as Ali continued.
"Hunters who never bothered with the Trial. Hunters who fight from the shadows. Some of them are just as strong as S-Class Hunters... and some are even stronger."
Ali leaned forward, his voice dropping, heavy with meaning.
"And as for the Third Eye Sect..."
A chill ran down Logan’s spine at the mention of that name.
"they have someone who reached the threshold of S-Class over a hundred years ago. And that’s not the worst part. Many believe he’s still alive."
Ali’s gaze sharpened, his words cutting like a blade.
"So just imagine... if he truly still walks this world, what kind of power would he hold now?"
The room fell silent. The weight of those words crushed down on Logan’s chest like a mountain.