Chapter 4

That day, "The Beast King's Fang" was receiving a visit from one of the continent's strongest guilds, "The Shield of the Star Emperor."

"Welcome, Master of the Guild 'The Shield of the Star Emperor,' it is an honor to have you here."

Varios, the guild master of "The Beast King's Fang," bowed respectfully.

Both were guild masters of the five strongest guilds on the continent—the "Big 5."

So, in a sense, they were equals, but the history of the other guild was much longer.

Naturally, Varios was in a more deferential position.

"Please forgive my sudden visit, Master Varios."

The guild master of the other side returned the bow.

Varios was a middle-aged man of forty-seven, while the other was an elderly man in his early seventies.

Behind him was a young girl in her late teens.

A knight in armor that resembled flames—

Lily Flamberg, the ace adventurer and Holy Knight of "The Shield of the Star Emperor."

"I heard that this guild has a skilled Enchanter. She wishes to meet him... What do you think?"

"Ah, about that..."

Varios hesitated at the other master's request.

He couldn't bring himself to say that he had fired the Enchanter because all the guild's weapons had been fully enchanted, and it would have been a waste of salary.

"He is on vacation. He is said to be returning to his hometown far away for a while."

"Then Lord Rain is not here. That's a shame."

Holy Knight Lily sighed.

"I was hoping that if we had the chance, he could enhance my sword."

"You, one of the top five knights on the continent, want to become even stronger."

"I still have much to learn. Of course, I continue to hone myself without relying on the strength of my weapon... but if I can have a powerful sword, I can reach a higher level."

She leaned forward and said to Varios.

"What do you say? Could you let me know when he returns? I will pay any reward to have my sword strengthened."

Her resolve seemed firm.

This made it difficult for Varios to say, "That was a lie. I actually fired him..."

"...Alright. I'll let him know when he returns."

Well, for now, he would just make a verbal promise and leave it at that.

Varios thought lightly.

—At that time, he still didn't know.

Later that afternoon.

"Master, something terrible has happened!"

One of the guild members ran up.

She was a female swordsman in her thirties.

"What is it?"

Varios furrowed his brow.

"About the guild's weapons and armor..."

She looked perplexed.

"They seem to have weakened..."

"...What?"

"During a quest, our attacks didn't work on the monsters at all... We had to run away because it was too dangerous."

The female swordsman explained.

"When we had someone with the 'Appraisal' skill check, it turned out that all the enhancement values on the weapons and armor were zero..."

"Are you saying that all your equipment has been de-enhanced?"

"More like... all the equipment of the guild's adventurers might have been de-enhanced."

Her voice was trembling.

"At least, in the range we could check... we examined the equipment of dozens of adventurers, and all the enhancement values were zero."

"Al-al-all of them!"

Varios shouted.

Could it be, Rain's face flashed in his mind.

"Could this be his doing...?"

A bad feeling welled up inside him.

The next chapter will be from Rain's perspective.