Chapter 73

Just as Sain had shot down the 'Fire Dragon' and loudly declared victory,

(Now!)

A girl drew her sword and silently ran up to Sain.

"Sain! Watch out!"

"Huh?"

At the last moment.

Just as the sword was about to reach Sain's throat, Alru restrained the attacker.

The sudden commotion caused the adventurers to stir.

"Damn."

"That was close. What's with that guy?"

"Don't know. He suddenly tried to PK. Maybe the Thief Guild?"

"Damn, let me go!"

"Karla! What are you doing?"

The elderly leader of the guild Karla belonged to hurriedly came to her side.

"Is this one of your guild members?"

"Yes. She had run away a few days ago. I never thought she would do something like this."

"What do you want to do, Sain? Should we kill her?"

Alru pressed a blade to Karla's throat, who was in a headlock.

"Hey, girl. Why did you try to kill me? Who asked you to do this?"

"I wasn't asked by anyone. I came to kill you on my own accord to prevent you from slaying the 'Huge Fire Dragon'..."

"Prevent the slaying of the 'Huge Fire Dragon'? You did all this for that reason?"

"Sir, this girl is still naive and doesn't understand the ways of the world. I will scold her, so please forgive her."

"Damn, kill her!"

"Please forgive her!"

"Tch. Fine, let her go. But in return, you must take responsibility for escorting her back to the city."

"Thank you for your leniency."

Alru broke Karla's arm.

"Ugh, aah!"

"Sorry, but I have to take your fighting ability away as a precaution. Additionally..."

Alru stabbed a short sword into Karla's upper arm.

(What is this sword? I don't feel any pain. Not to mention, there's no blood?)

"This is a cursed sword made from a 'Curse Stone.' You won't bleed from this wound, but it will remain for a week, storing damage. You won't be able to heal for several days even with recovery magic."

Alru stepped back from Karla after saying this.

"Hey, Alru. Don't do unnecessary things."

"I just fulfilled my duty."

Karla endured the dull pain in her arm as she felt the two of them moving away.

The other adventurers also passed by her.

(Damn it.)

"Hey, Karla. Can you stand?"

"Don't touch me. I can, ugh, stand on my own."

"You idiot, do you know what you've done?"

"Exactly. Because of you, this exploration is ruined."

"You're holding us back."

Karla's guildmates cursed her one after another.

Karla stood up, savoring the bitter taste in her mouth.

(If only I were stronger...)

Sain and Alru watched as Karla was led away by her guildmates and down the mountain.

"Damn, what was that all about?"

"She was a hotheaded girl."

"Even though conflicts in the dungeon are allowed, infiltrating the Grand Alliance, slaying the 'Fire Dragon,' and then ambushing and assassinating us... Did she plan this from the start? And she's just a kid. What's wrong with this island?"

"More importantly, is it okay, Sain? If she recovers, she might come back to try and kill you again."

"It's fine. Kids being kids, doing things they don't understand is common. We can't kill them all."

Sain said bitterly.

(Tch. I'm reminded of unpleasant memories.)

Karla's immature but pure murderous intent in her eyes awakened Sain's bitter memories.

Back when he was still inexperienced and powerless, gnashing his teeth at his own weakness and struggling.

The Grand Alliance led by the 'Guardians of the Magic Academy' advanced through the dungeon without any obstacles, unstoppable.

Even after entering the Metal Line, it was no different.

'Fire Dragon,' 'Flying Dragon,' 'Winged Dragon,' 'Rock-skinned Giant,' 'Rock-skinned Wolf,' etc...

These powerful monsters banded together and stood in the way of the group, but the Grand Alliance defeated them one after another.

Eventually, they reached the first rare metal mining site.

High-purity rare metals were shining all over the mountain slopes.

With this, they wouldn't even need to use the 'Ore Mining' skill to extract the ore.

The group cheered.

"Rare metals!"

"Wow, there are so many."

The adventurers rushed to mine the rare metals.

However, a deafening roar echoed through the mining site, stopping the adventurers in their tracks.

Sain had released the 'Dragon Head Gauntlet.'

"Don't act on your own!"

Sain shouted sharply.

A murmur ran through the crowd.

"All the rare metals here will be obtained and managed by us. No one other than the 'Guardians of the Magic Academy' is allowed to mine rare metals!"

"What? What are you saying?"

"Are you saying we won't get any share?"

"The shares for each guild will be decided later. Each guild will receive a reward based on their performance. However, we will decide this. Any unauthorized actions will not be tolerated! Otherwise, you will be reduced to ashes by this 'Dragon Head Gauntlet.' Now, put down the rare metals you have and place them on the ground!"

Sain ordered, and they reluctantly placed the rare metals on the ground.

In the end, most of the ore at the site was taken by the 'Guardians of the Magic Academy,' and only a small amount was distributed to the allied guilds, and even then, only to the larger guilds closest to the 'Guardians of the Magic Academy.'

(Sain's bad habit is showing. He gets greedy when faced with treasure.)

However, it wouldn't do to show a conflict between the captain and vice-captain in public.

Alru, who internally opposed Sain's approach, decided to remain silent for now.

She would try to counsel him later when they were alone.

As Alru was thinking this, she heard the small guild members whispering to each other.

"Hey, a little..."

"I know, I know."

Everywhere, the members of the small guilds were whispering and having secret conversations.

Until just a moment ago, they had relied on the 'Guardians of the Magic Academy,' constantly seeking approval and trying to sell themselves, but now they were consulting with each other without Sain or Alru's knowledge.

(The situation is getting a bit... suspicious.)

The mining of rare metals was done exclusively by those close to the 'Guardians of the Magic Academy,' and the work continued until nightfall.

Reluctantly, the group set up camp on the spot.

The members of the 'Guardians of the Magic Academy' were able to set up tents on the flattest ground, but the members of the small guilds were forced to spend the night in poor conditions, such as on slopes or in dense woods.