Raja then said, "It's just that I've decided that I'm going to travel with you for a while."
"What? Just like that?"
"Well, I leveled up because of you. Maybe if I keep following you, I'll level up again."
"You know it was just a coincidence, right?"
"I wouldn't say that, Gen."
"What if I say I don't want you to follow me?"
"I'm stronger than you. There's no way you can stop me, hahaha."
"... Okay, do what you want then.", Gen said while putting his hand on his head and thinking, 'One more problem for my life.'
And Dehji said, 'Well, he has a point, you really can't stop him, but he's not all bad. With his strength, we'll hardly have any problems, and besides, I like him. He seems very honest and straightforward.'
'Yeah, you got a point.'
Gerald then came back and said, "It's done. We've taken out the rest of the grunars. Now all that's left to do is to kill the ones Raja locked."
Raja then said, "Okay, let's get this over with and get back to town."
He then began to use his essence and made several swords appear in the air, and then said, "These are my execution swords."
Gen then asked, "What? Sword of what?"
"Follow my lead, Guys."
The swords began to glow very faintly, and then Raja said, "When these swords reach their maximum power, not even an awakened monster can take a hit from them."
Gerald then said, "Wow, I can feel the pressure from here. If I got hit by one of these swords, I'd probably die."
And Gen said, "It's-it's true, gee, it's so much pressure that I can barely stand up.", and then he heard Dehji's saying, 'Hahaha, Gen, you need to improve your acting.'
His face then turned red, and he thought, 'Shut up, Dehji!'
The swords then began to glow to a point where each one looked like a sun in the middle of the sky.
As they saw this, the trapped Grunars began to struggle inside their cages, and seeing this, Raja said, "Don't waste your energy. It's too late. Your mistake was crossing my path."
Gerald was wide-eyed looking at this scene, and Gen was thinking, 'Just kill them all at once. What's with the show.'
Raja then brought the swords down and then said, "Well, let's start with your leader."
The swords then went through the leader's body, and after three blows, the leader died.
Seeing the leader dying, the rest of the Grunars became extremely restless and started pounding on the cage non-stop.
Raja then said, "Now it's your turn.", and then swung one sword at each grunar and killed the rest of them.
...
Somewhere out in the desert, a hooded figure was sitting on a throne while surrounded by animals, when suddenly a noise of something breaking was heard, 'Crack'.
The figure then looked in a particular direction and said, "Someone killed the Grunar I left in the desert. Well, it was only a matter of time for what it was doing, but it still should have taken a little longer. It was at the material level, and it would be impossible for someone with a level less than influence to kill him, and I wasn't expecting them to find an influence-level person so quickly. Could it have been the Rose? She doesn't usually get involved in this kind of thing unless it has to do with her family. Well, whatever, I'll just send another monster there. Maybe I should send one on the level of influence next."
...
After Raja killed what was left of the Grunars, the whole group started to collect some body parts to take back.
Gerald then said, "Don't leave anything behind. Each of these materials is worth a lot of money and is part of the reward you will receive."
He then went towards Gen and Raja and said, "Here is your reward."
And Gen said, "Twenty silver coins?"
"Yes, that is the reward of an awakened one."
"Wow, I didn't know awakened ones made that much money."
"Well, this was a special case because the Grunars were causing a lot of trouble for the city, which led some merchants to help with the reward, but still, the base reward for an awakened one is five silver coins."
"Hm, got it."
"After we get to town, everyone is going to celebrate at a bar that the guild has reserved. Are you guys coming?"
And Raja said, "Sure, right, Gen?"
"Sure, I really need to relax a little."
Gerald then said, "Great. I'll hurry them up so we can celebrate as soon as possible."
Gerald then spoke to the rest of the group, and after a few minutes, they started back to the city.
When they arrived in town, they headed towards the guild, and in the middle of the way, some people asked, "How was the expedition, Mr. Gerald?"
"Did you kill those damn monsters?"
"Can I go back to doing my business without fear of being attacked?"
"Don't worry, the expedition was a success. From today on, no Grunar will bother you."
The people then said, "That's great."
"I knew we could count on you."
Gerald then said, "Haha, you're welcome, but the credit is not only to me but to everyone who participated."
Some people then said, "Good job, Guys."
"Thanks for ridding us of those monsters."
They kept hearing this until they reached the guild, and upon hearing the thanks, some adventurers got red-faced, and others got huge smiles on their faces. Still, none of them was comparable to Raja, who was interacting with the people, saying, "You're welcome, guys. It's an adventurer's duty to help the weaker ones."
"The fight was tough, but every time I thought of giving up, I remembered that I was there to protect the people of this city, and that's what gave me strength."
"Hey you, you with the short black hair, how about coming with me to celebrate? We can chat and have a few drinks."
Gen then thought, '... it will be so much fun to travel with him.'
And then Dehji said, 'I know, right? He's hilarious, hahaha.'
'...'
They then arrived at the guild, and Gerald spoke, "Lia, we're back."
"Mister Gerald. How did the expedition go?"
"Fine, we finished all the Grunars."
"That's great."
"We brought a lot of materials. Call the rest of the staff to collect them, give everyone their rewards, and then close the guild. We'll celebrate our victory, hahaha."
"I on it, sir Gerald."
"Great. Gen, Raja, Karin, come with me."
The three of them started to follow Gerald to his office, and as they entered, he closed the door and said, "Make yourselves at home. When Lia and the others finish the service, we will celebrate."
"Ok.", Gen said and sat down on a sofa.
Gen then took advantage of the moment and said, "Gerald, I wanted to ask you something."
"Go ahead, Gen."
"I was wondering if you know of any ruins in the desert region."
"What kind of ruins?"
"I'm looking for another ordeal."
"Another ordeal? But you already have your essence. Why are you looking for another one?"
"Well, I have my reasons ..."
"Okay, I'll look at it for you."
Gerald then walked over to a bookshelf and picked up a book. He then sat down at his desk and took out a map from a drawer.
After a few minutes of reading the book, he said, "Unfortunately, there is no record of another ruin, like the Ruins of the sand, in the desert, Gen."
"Hmm, I see.", Gen then thought, 'Damn, how am I going to find it.', but then Gerald said, "Well, to say the truth, there is a record of one."
Gen then asked, "Really, where is it?"
"Unfortunately, as I said, there is no record of any such ruins in the desert other than the Ruins of the sand."
"Door of understanding."
"What?"
"Sorry, force of habit, carry on."
"It's in a neighboring nation. Tolis."
Raja then said, "Tolis? Are you talking about the water nation?"
Gerald then said, "Yes. The name of the ruin is 'The flowing water ruins', and everyone who has come back from there says it's an ordeal."
Gen then thought, 'The flowing water ruins. What do you think, Dehji? Is it the ordeal of one of your siblings?'
'Of course. Only she could come up with a name like that, trying to sound as intellectual as ever.'
Gen then said, "Gerald, how do I get to these ruins?"
"I don't know exactly. I only have the record that it exists, and it was never completed. Are you planning to go there to see it?"
"Yes. Even if it is not the one I am looking for, it is better than nothing."
"I see. Well, I will write a letter explaining your situation to the guild leader there."
Gerald then started to write, and when he finished, he handed the letter to Gen, saying, "Here."
"Thank you very much, Gerald."
"You are welcome. When you get there, talk to the guild leader, and he will explain the ruin to you."
"Okay, that will help a lot."
Raja then said, "Does that mean that after Dekin, we are going to Tolis?"
"Yes."
"You really have good taste, Gen."
"What do you mean?"
"They say that the beaches of Tolis are as beautiful as their women."
And Gerald said, "That's true."
Gen then said, "I'm not going for the beaches. I'm going for the ruins."
"I know Gen.", said Raja with a wink.
"..."