Chapter 21

The Coater brothers stood in shock as they saw Stormbird shatter into pieces.

They couldn't believe what they had just witnessed.

"That's ridiculous. An A-class Archer? I haven't heard anything about that."

"What do we do now? There's no way we can report this to the Guild Master."

"What can we do? This is just..."

They were at a loss, flustered by the sudden and unexpected turn of events.

Monica, seeing her arrow defeat Stormbird, plopped down on the spot.

The tension and solemnity from a moment ago vanished, and a wave of fatigue washed over her.

As she sat there, she saw something sparkling fall towards her.

It was a bundle of Stormbird's feathers, gathered together.

Propelled by the wind she herself had generated, the bundle of feathers landed on Monica's lap as if returning to its master.

Monica wrapped the bundle of Stormbird's feathers in her palm and held it close to her chest.

(Good. At least I won't be removed from the squad.)

Roland, after instructing Yufine to check the squad's damage, rushed to Monica's side.

"Monica, are you okay?"

"Roland. Yes, I'm fine."

Monica, relieved that Roland's voice had returned to its former gentleness, looked up at him.

"That's good. You did a great job. Now you're an A-class Archer too."

"Oh, right. Stormbird was an A-class quest, wasn't it?"

"Was? You forgot about that?"

"Yes. I just wanted to stay in the squad. I wanted to stay under Roland. I was so focused on that."

"You... really... Well, no matter what, the future is what counts. It's not easy to become an A-class, but it's even harder to maintain it."

"Yes."

"Are you okay? Do you want to rest a bit?"

Roland, worried about Monica who had been sitting there for a long time, asked her.

"No, I'm fine."

Monica immediately stood up.

(I finally got Roland to recognize me. If I act lazy here, I'll ruin the impression and it will all be for nothing.)

"Alright. Drink a potion. We're moving out soon."

"Roland, about the squad's damage..."

Just then, Yufine ran over to report.

"Alright. Everyone, you're allowed to use 'Earthcraft' and potions. Recover your equipment and stamina, then move out."

Roland's squad, after using 'Earthcraft' to repair their equipment and drinking potions to recover, left the area at full speed.

The Coater brothers were forced to hastily discuss what to do next.

"Hey, what do we do now?"

"There's nothing we can do. The Guild Master's order is to prevent their class upgrades. The Archer has already become an A-class, but we can still stop the Support Mage and Healer. We'll stop them at least."

The Coater brothers' squad, despite being in shambles from the battle with Stormbird and unable to fully recover, had to trail behind Roland and his team.

Around the time Roland and his team defeated Stormbird, the 'Golden Eagle' was holding another strategy meeting, with the squad leaders of the main force returning from the dungeon.

The squad leaders of the 'Golden Eagle' main force were tasked with reaching the 10th floor within two weeks of the dungeon's appearance.

The squad leaders had successfully reached the 10th floor within two weeks, but from there, the monsters became much more diverse and powerful, requiring a more powerful and appropriate formation.

This led to a typical budget and personnel battle within a large organization.

Each squad leader knew that even if they honestly declared the necessary budget, it would rarely be approved, so they exaggerated their needs.

If all the squad leaders' demands were met, it would exceed the guild's capacity, so Lucius reluctantly called a strategy meeting and summoned the squad leaders and team leaders to adjust the demands between squads.

Holding a dungeon strategy meeting to adjust the demands between squads had become a regular event for the 'Golden Eagle.'

And the arguments and deadlocks that followed had also become a regular event.

At the meeting, each squad leader exaggerated the difficulties their squad faced compared to others, the efforts and sacrifices they made, and the unfair treatment they received in terms of supplies and deployment.

First, there was a dispute over the placement of Jill and Dowin.

Although they were still B-class adventurers, they were very useful, and every squad wanted them.

After that, the placement of other B-class adventurers, the distribution of equipment, items, and budget were decided one by one, and just when the meeting seemed to be over, a squad leader said, "If that's the case, give Jill and Dowin to my squad," and the discussion was reset.

They even brought up past examples, arguing about which squad was favored before, and which squad had done them a favor, pushing and pulling over debts and credits, overturning decisions, and repeating the cycle.

The meeting was a chaotic mess, but it made no progress.

Aric attended the meeting with a bitter expression.

He was very bad at exaggerating his difficulties and playing the victim.

(Really. These guys waste so much time every time. If they just cooperated a little, we wouldn't need such a wasteful meeting.)

However, he needed the budget and personnel to progress in the dungeon, and it would affect his position in the guild and his adventurer class evaluation, so he had to take the meeting seriously despite knowing it was a waste of time.

Aric, despite having bought time to train C-class adventurers with Jill's help, had not been able to train B-class adventurers.

If he continued with this formation and competed with Lilianne's squad, he would struggle to challenge the floors beyond the 10th.

(But is there any way...? Wait, hold on.)

Aric had a brilliant idea.

"Right. Everyone, what about this? How about we use Appraiser Roland's skills?"

The participants looked puzzled at the new proposal.

Aric didn't notice Lucius's eyebrows twitch in displeasure for a moment.

"Appraiser Roland's skills? Why would we do that..."

Squad leader Sebast, suspiciously frowning, asked.

"He can see through an adventurer's current skills, stats, and even potential, and can appropriately assign quests and form teams. Don't you think it fits the purpose of this meeting?"

Aric, looking as if he had come up with a brilliant idea, made Dianna sigh and press her forehead.

"Aric, Appraiser Roland is no longer with the 'Golden Eagle.'"

"What!?"

Aric said, shocked.

"Roland... is gone? How...? Why?"

"He was expelled."

"Expelled!? Roland? How...?"

"I don't know. But his performance before the expulsion was terrible. He might have deliberately held back the 'Golden Eagle' for some reason."

"Is that so... That's... disappointing."

Aric looked dazed and disoriented.

He had received advice from Roland when he was struggling as a mage.

He was confident he would have become an A-class adventurer eventually, but it would have taken much longer without Roland.

For that reason, Aric was grateful to Roland and valued him.

"Well, what does it matter if one or two appraisers are gone. An adventurer who needs an appraiser is just second-rate."

Sebast, noticing Lucius's displeasure, quickly seized the opportunity to score points and take a jab at Aric.

In reality, he had benefited greatly from Roland's guidance, even more so than Aric, and he owed his A-class status almost entirely to Roland, but he firmly believed that he had achieved his current position through his own efforts.

Nonetheless, his comment pleased Lucius.

"Hmm. Sebast is right. Aric, as an A-class adventurer of the 'Golden Eagle,' you should stop relying on appraisers. A top-tier person can grasp their own abilities without being told. Or are you saying that you can't even progress in the dungeon without an appraiser's help?"

"… No, that's not what I'm saying... I just need to train more B-class Archers, Support Mages, and Healers... The shortage of personnel is because you removed B-class Archers and Support Mages from the main force. When will the special mission end?"

"… The special mission is none of your concern, and you have no right to interfere. Just focus on progressing in the dungeon."

"Even if you say that... No, never mind. You're right. Let's continue the meeting."

Aric swallowed his words and kept them in the back of his throat.

He realized that further excuses would only worsen his position.

In the end, the meeting ended in Sebast's favor.

The squad's formation, budget, and item distribution were adjusted to favor Sebast's demands, and Lucius made sure to give Aric's demands lower priority.

While the 'Golden Eagle' was holding the strategy meeting, Roland and his team were approaching the 10th floor.

They activated the teleportation array in the sanctuary of the 9th floor to open the door to the next floor.

The teleportation array displayed a clearly different and more complex pattern than usual.

The pattern indicated that there was a save point and a floor guardian ahead.

(So, there's a floor guardian waiting on the 10th floor again.)

Having a floor guardian on the 10th floor of a dungeon, waiting for adventurers at a resting point, had become a common occurrence in recent dungeons.

Even if they managed to reach this point without encountering any monsters, a formidable enemy awaited on the 10th floor.

Overcoming the 10th floor was often the turning point for becoming a B-class adventurer.

"Alright, everyone. We're about to face the Guardian. Let's stay focused."

When Roland said this, Monica, Shakma, and Yufine all looked down uncertainly.

"? What's wrong?"

"Well, we usually manage to get this far, but we can't defeat the Guardian no matter what."

Shakma started to explain, looking embarrassed.

"Our squad is exhausted, and it might be better if Monica and I complete a C-class quest first."

Yufine, who usually didn't show her emotions, also expressed her anxiety and suggested this.

Roland laughed.

For an A-class Archer, a B-class Support Mage, and a B-class Healer to be afraid of a 10th floor Guardian was surprising.

The melee squad had become much stronger since they entered the dungeon.

To Roland, there was no reason to lose.

Experience-based complexes are truly terrifying, Roland thought to himself.

"Don't worry. You can easily defeat the 10th floor Guardian now."

The three of them looked puzzled.

"Come on, actions speak louder than words. Let's go."

The squad members, puzzled by their commander's confidence, were pushed into the teleportation array leading to the 10th floor.

The Coater brothers, arriving late, were shocked to see Roland's squad heading to the 10th floor.

"That's ridiculous. According to the report, they shouldn't be able to reach the 10th floor."

"Idiot. They have an A-class Archer now. Going to the 10th floor is nothing to them."

The Coater brothers' squad had to anxiously watch as Roland's squad challenged the Guardian.

In the long, wide corridor of the 10th floor, Roland and his team were met by a war elephant.

With its spear-like tusks, powerful trunk, and massive body weighing several tons, the elephant was clad in armor and weapons, charging at the squad with a full run from the end of the long corridor.

Behind it were Armored Wolves and Armored Orcs.

Monica took down the war elephant with a single shot.

Her arrow easily pierced the thick armor and struck a vital point.

The war elephant's massive body and equipment fell in the middle of the corridor without even touching the squad.

The rest of the battle was routine.

Under Shakma's support magic, the melee squad methodically took down the Armored Wolves and Armored Orcs one by one.

Monica also rode the war elephant and rained arrows down on the monsters from a high vantage point.

The monsters made a final desperate charge but failed to break through Roland's shield squad and were defeated.

The three of them were taken aback by the anticlimactic battle.

"What's going on? This Guardian was much easier than usual."

Shakma said, looking unsatisfied.

"I didn't do anything."

Yufine, who hadn't used a single spell during the battle, sounded bored.

"That just means everyone has gotten stronger."

Roland laughed.

At the end of the corridor, there was a spring, two teleportation arrays, and a shelf with shortcut rings.

The group replenished their items and returned to town to prepare for the exploration of the floors beyond the 10th.