"Wow, this is outstanding. King Red Orcs’ cores. Five of them. Look at this... it’s been a while since anyone has brought their cores," Lucan said.
"Is their core worth more than the Gollem core I brought?" Nolan asked.
Ella tilted her head. "Yes, they’re worth far more than the Gollem core I brought last time."
"Amazing. You are really amazing," Lucan said with awe. "To defeat just one King Red Orc, it usually takes a whole Rank B party."
"Oh," Nolan gasped. "Wow... is it really that big of a deal? I didn’t know."
"Yes, it is," Ella replied calmly.
"Wow, that’s amazing. I don’t really know... what about a Minotaur core? How much is it worth?" Nolan asked.
"Well, a Minotaur core is worth at least 300,000 gold coins," Ella replied.
"Wow... so now it’s done. With this much money, I’ll be able to buy a house," Nolan thought.
"Lyra, bring out the core," he said.
Lyra stood and stretched her hand forward. Three cores hit the ground with a heavy thud.
Lucan stepped closer, eyes widening. "What in the hell? These are ancient Minotaur cores. This is a King Minotaur core, even more powerful than the others. Look inside."
Lyra leaned over, examining the cores. She felt the weight, the density, and the sheer presence of them.
"This... this is a King Minotaur core. This is outstanding," Lyra said.
"How much does it go for?" Nolan asked.
"It goes for... price now... 1 million gold coins," Ella replied.
"Look inside," she added, gesturing at the glowing, massive cores.
"What floor did you defeat this on?" Lucan asked.
"I don’t really know. I was just moving," Nolan replied.
"Since I have enough money, that’s what I want to use it for," Nolan added.
"Your house won’t be a problem. You are really, really strong," Lucan said. "King Minotaur... I consider it an S-Rank monster. Do you know how many Rank A adventurers it takes to defeat one? Because of how huge they are, how smart, the large stick they carry, and how thick their skin is."
"Well, it doesn’t really matter to me. I can just squash them," Nolan said casually.
"I’ll be back. Let me take this skull into the room to appraise it and check its worth," Lucan said. He carried one of the cores into the room and returned shortly after.
Then Ella and Lucan went into the room as well. There was zero respite from the power emanating there. Even from the training hall, the presence of the cores was overwhelming.
"I remember," Ella said quietly.
"Linda... Celia I’m sorry. I want Lyra to stay with us. If you don’t agree, she won’t. But I just wanted to ask you guys first," Nolan said.
Linda and Celia looked at Lyra, hesitating for a moment.
"It’s fine," Linda said finally. "As long as you’re okay with it. She seems like a good person. I don’t really have a problem."
"Same here. It’s okay," Celia added.
"Master, I want to show you something," Celia said eagerly. "I want to show you what I’m capable of. Let me demonstrate."
"No need to demonstrate it to me. Fight me—come at me," Nolan said.
"No, I would never do that," Celia replied.
"It’s fine. I just want to know how strong you are, so next time I’m going into the dungeon, you can be with me," Nolan said.
Celia took her sword and took her stance.
"If you’re ready, move," Nolan said.
Instantly, Celia ran at Nolan with everything she had, swinging her sword. In a split second, Nolan dodged. She struck again, but suddenly, he was on her back. He tapped her on the shoulder.
Celia spun, pointing her sword at him. Nolan raised his hand, and the invincible magic shield he possessed covered just the part of his hand the sword would strike.
"Well, you’re good," Nolan said. "But you’re lacking something. It’s not strength—it’s speed."
"Why speed?" Celia asked.
"Speed is everything," Nolan explained. "To escape a powerful threat, you have to be faster than your opponent. Not faster than me. You’re not moving fast enough to react to an attack the way I move. If I attacked, you wouldn’t react in time. But I’m certain of your strength."
"Doesn’t mean I won’t be able to follow you to the dungeon next time if you’re leaving," Nolan added.
"No, no, no," Celia said firmly. "You’re going to follow me to the dungeon. You’re strong already. At least you’re capable of protecting yourself. I’m sure of that. And even if anything goes wrong, I will be there to protect you."
Nolan smiled as he stepped closer and grabbed her hand. Celia looked at his muscular body and blushed, noticing his shirtless chest.
"Master, I also want to show you how strong I am," Linda said.
"It’s fine, you can," Nolan replied. "What do you want to use?"
"No, I’m going to use the arrow," Linda said, taking her bow and arrow.
"Impressive. Okay, shoot at me," Nolan said.
Linda nocked an arrow and fired. Nolan cut it with his hand, but it was only a feint. The second arrow, the main one she intended to use, came next. Nolan realized it in time and cut it with his hand as well.
Then she began shooting nonstop at him. Nolan just stood, dodging with precision. His body moved fluidly left and right, as if he were in two places at once.
Suddenly, he ran directly at her, moving his hand forward as if to punch. Linda quickly nocked another arrow and tried to use wind magic to push him back. But he didn’t stop.
As he reached her, his punch was about to land. Linda closed her eyes and Nolan tapped her on the head.
"Good job. You’re also strong and able to follow me to the dungeon next time, because shortly I’m going back there," Nolan said.
Still tapping her head, Linda opened her eyes slowly and smiled. "Thank you," she said. "With your guidance, I’ll certainly get stronger."