'This man… he's strong!'
As Conrad looked at the Adventurer known as Ralyks, he couldn't help but wonder why he had never heard of this man before.
His strength was too overwhelming.
'I can't believe he actually defeated a Dragon Commander all by himself. There doesn't even seem to be a scratch on him!'
Conrad already began to suspect that this man wasn't human.
As someone who was a leader of the humans, he knew fully well what their limits were.
Ralyks had long exceeded it.
But… did that really matter at all to Conrad?
NO!
'I don't care if he's an Elf or a Demon or whatever. What matters is if he's on our side.'
And that was what he intended to ensure.
"Sir Ralyks, perhaps we could meet at a much grander place and discuss the details of this Royal Dungeon Raid that you are suggesting."
Conrad needed more time to sort through his thoughts, and he also knew better than to disturb a man after he just slayed a Dragon.
The best thing to do was allow breathing space between each other, while ensuring they could maintain contact.
'The Otherworlders are still in their budding stages, so while they will inevitably reach—or maybe even surpass Sir Ralyks' strength—they're still not there yet.'
That meant, pending the time of their growth, humanity had to find a champion to rely on.
Conrad really hoped it would be this Dark Adventurer.
"We shall see about that. Perhaps we should meet in a week's time. You should have sorted through all of the issues at that point."
Conrad controlled his expression, but he was slightly taken aback that Ralyks had figured out the rationale behind him postponing their discourse on the Royal Dungeon.
'I already suspected this from our first encounter, but this man isn't just strong. He's smart too.'
He was an invaluable asset that humanity could not afford to lose!
"Y-yes! One week is perfect!"
"Great. Then, I shall take my leave."
~VWUSH~
A portal suddenly appeared right in front of Ralyks, causing Conrad and his few guards to take a few steps back in shock.
The few Otherworlders, who were watching from their distance, also looked at the masked entity with sheer wonder and intense intimidation.
"W-what about the Dragon you slayed? The carcass could sell for a lot. We are willing to buy it off of your—!"
"I already told you I didn't require compensation for this request." Ralyks interrupted the Grandmaster, his body already dipping into the portal.
"The Dragon carcass is yours. Do with it as you please."
Conrad could not believe what he was hearing.
'W-what in the world…?!'
A Dragon's corpse was the most expensive thing that existed in this world.
The Core within one had so much purity and concentrated Mana.
It also naturally recovered large amounts of Mana in a very short period of time.
'A Dragon's Core serves as both a high-quality Monster Core and a Mana Crystal of the same quality.'
Depending on the Dragon, the quality also exponentially increased.
If Conrad had to guess, this Dragon's Mana Core belonged to Grade 3, and that was extremely rare.
'He just gave that away like it was nothing. H-how…?'
As Conrad took one last look at the corpse, he could also see a lot of parts of the Dragon that had been kept intact.
'He sliced off the Dragon's arms and legs, so we can still use those. Then there's the main body…'
All the body parts of a Dragon were useful.
Conrad could only imagine all the possibilities that could ensue from the Alliance utilizing it.
"Thank you, Sir Ralyks…"
He knew the Adventurer most likely thought about the dire state of the entire Nation, but it was hard to believe that a single man could be so compassionate.
He freed the slaves, rescued Billy and Alicia, saved everyone from the Dungeon, protected the Capital from a Dragon, and now even gave them the corpse.
This man was beyond legendary.
He was ethereally magnificent—like the second coming of a god.
"… Please don't abandon us now."
********
'F-fuck…!'
Ray collapsed on the ground within a very spacious area—the 99th Floor to be exact.
He felt too dizzy to even move a muscle.
'I… I'm losing a grip.'
He forcefully began to close as he lay on the cold floor, powerless to stop what was about to happen.
'I… damnit…'
The reason he had left in such a hurry, and the reason he was in a hurry to dismiss the Dragon Corpse, was simply because he was about to collapse.
He couldn't afford to do so in the presence of Conrad and the other onlookers in the Royal Estate.
As Ralyks, he had a reputation to uphold.
He couldn't afford to show weakness.
'… I didn't expect… this much of a toll…'
Since this was the first time he had used so many Skills at once, this was a new experience for him.
In exchange for explosive power, his body felt like shit afterwards.
'D-did I ensure to… sell for the right price. The Dragon…?'
Rey didn't realize this yet, but he never sold anything to the Royal Estate.
Since everything was such a blur, he wasn't in his right mind when he ended up blurting out words that he thought were cool and within character.
Unfortunately, they contrasted with his true nature.
Rey knew just how valuable Dragon Corpses were. He wasn't just going to give the Royal Council without a proper price tag attached.
Unfortunately for him, he did exactly that.
His mind was too far gone to process all of that, so all the self reflection would have to wait until he woke up.
'I just hope… no one attacks… while I'm like this…'
As his mind finally plunged into the darkness of unconsciousness, one last thought echoed in his head.
'The Half-Elf…'
Rey remembered how he never got her back despite meaning to.
He could only hope she was safe.
"…."
And then, everything went blank.
*
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Thanks for reading!
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
A lot of stuff is gonna go down further down the story, especially the 3rd Arc.
Hope you're excited!
