[The Alpha is dead. Get out of the dungeon as soon as possible.]
[Estimated closed rift time: 7 hours.]
A notification appeared on the smartlink. But Klaus ignored it.
"Looks like I'm expending too much of my power," Klaus muttered.
When he turned around, Joanna ran over and hugged him. Her eyes sparkled as she looked into his eyes.
"What was that Klaus?! That was so cool. It was whuzzzzz, then wheezzz, and boom! That's amazing!" Joanna couldn't stop gushing. She was in complete awe, jumping up and down.
Meanwhile, Justin and Olvia were still dumbfounded. They had never seen such a powerful force. Not to mention, the pitch-black aura that enveloped Klaus. They were sure it wasn't long.
"Everyone! I need your help! They're dying!" Akio squealed, waving his arms in the air.
Michael was in critical condition. Most of the skin on his body was blistered from the hot vapor released by the wendigo. Lying on the ground, that burly man screamed in pain. The same thing happened to the other members, but their conditions seemed better.
"Joanna, heal them and give them all the potion supplies available."
The girl nodded, and she quickly ran over there. Meanwhile, Klaus rolled his eyes at Olivia and Justin. He approached them with an unpleasant face.
"Go, help the wounded." Klaus spoke to Olivia.
For the first time, the woman obeyed without replying or clucking her tongue as he carried out orders.
Klaus gave a deep look to Justin. "Why did you go on a suicide mission and ignore my orders?"
Justin lowered his head, not daring to look into him. "Sorry, Klaus."
Klaus clicked his tongue. "Goddamn it, Justin. Is that all you have to say?! You foiled all my carefully laid plans. Look," he pointed at his severely wounded awakeners, "They're suffering like that because of you. You were wounded and out of mana before we even started the fucking battle. What were you thinking, Justin!"
Justin could only clench his fists as Klaus snapped at him in the face. "I know, but I can't just let hundreds of lives pass before my eyes. We have to save them!"
"It's our job to kill monsters. Not help, not rescue. We're in battle. Our goal is to kill the alpha for fuck sake! If you want to be a savior be a fireman or a doctor!"
Justin snorted. "Then you're saying their lives aren't worth it! We have to sacrifice them to achieve victory, is that it?"
"Exactly! I don't fucking care about their lives, all I care about is my men! I'm responsible for your goddamn lives!"
"Then why don't you just kill the monster. Like you did just now. Then there wouldn't have been this many casualties!"
"You need experience, Justin! For fuck sake! You all need to fight! Did you think I'd stick with you guys forever?! What if I'm not here this time!? You think you can still breathe and whine like a middle aged woman? Why are you so stupid!"
Instantly, Justin fell silent. What Klaus said was true. They were weak, including himself. To become strong, they needed to go through many battles and fight stronger monsters.
In the end, Justin could only bow his head in shame.
Klaus left him to contemplate, and he went over to his men who were receiving treatment from Joanna. Thanks to his sister and dozens of [Potions], their condition improved quickly.
However, Michael was still in bad shape. Akio and Olivia looked worried sitting next to him.
"How is he?" asked Klaus.
Akio shook his head. "I don't know. He's gotten her treatment and taken a lot of potions. But he still hasn't woken up."
Klaus nodded. Suddenly, he remembered Noah.
"Have you seen my cousin?"
Furrowing her brow, Olivia tried to remember. "What do you mean the raid leader? I threw him but I don't know where he is now. It looks like he survived."
Of course, he didn't like hearing that news. Klaus had hoped that his cousin had died in battle, so at least the battle for the inheritance would be easier.
After the party members recovered, Klaus ordered them to pick up the monster cores and loot the spatial rings on the scattered corpses. They were on a time crunch, so they had to get as many as possible in thirty minutes.
While they were scavenging, Klaus and Sylvia kept an eye on the surrounding perimeter, in case any ghouls attacked, given that those monsters loved eating corpses. They patrolled separately around, and as they passed each other, Sylvia stopped him.
They stayed silent for a moment. There was something she wanted to tell, but was reluctant to say.
"Sorry, Klaus. If I hadn't dodged, I might have—"
"It's not your fault," Klaus said. "It's only natural to save yourself first before saving others."
She smiled, breathing a sigh of relief.
Klaus looked at her. Her condition seemed fine. It's just that her hands were bleeding. "Did Joanna not heal you?"
"Ah, this. She was busy treating the other members. It's okay, just a small wound."
He then held her wounded hand. For a moment, the red-haired woman blushed but it quickly disappeared when a green light emanated from his hand.
Sylvia opened her mouth wide. "It's [Cure]. I thought you were a caster." She never knew what talent Klaus possessed. But after seeing how Klaus defeated the red-eyed wendigo, she knew that Klaus had many secrets.
"This is one of my powers," Klaus said.
Sylvia nodded. "Take it easy. I'll keep this a secret."
"Eh—what?" Klaus frowned for a moment, and then he chuckled.
He was not worried if some of his men would leak his true power. In the database, he was an F-Class. As long as there was no proof, what came out of their mouths was nonsense. People would assume they were lying.
Over hundreds of years of life, Klaus learned that most humans were wishful thinkers. They believed what they wanted to believe even if they knew or saw the truth.
"Sorry to bother your romantic moment, but here's the trophy you asked for, Klaus."
Sylvia quickly withdrew her hand from Klaus as Justin approached them with the wendigo's head split in two in hand. "He's treating me."
"I didn't ask," Justin replied.
As Justin handed the alpha's head, that man bit his lip, a sign that something was bothering him, and Klaus knew it.
"Have you reflected on your actions?" Klaus asked.
Justin lowered his head, not daring to look at him. "Yeah, you're right. I regret it. I was really selfish. As a leader, I should have prioritized my men first but instead I abandoned them, and advanced alone. I made a careless decision. If you want to let me become guild leader, I—"
"Enough," Klaus interrupted. "I don't need your apology. What I need is for you to do better, and make amends."
Lifting his head, Justin looked at him expectantly. "Thank you. I won't repeat the same mistake again."
Klaus smiled, seeing his boy improving. He had thought that Justin wouldn't speak to him for a few days or would be awkward when they met, but he was wrong.
Because if Justin was still awkward, Klaus would have a hard time implementing his next plan.
"Ah, I need you to do something about you, but please don't take it personally."
Justin raised his eyebrows. "It's okay. Just tell me."
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah! I'm serious."
Right after Justin said so, Klaus punched him in the face. The guy fell down and looked shocked. Even Sylvia didn't expect this to happen.
"Why did you hit me? I thought we were cool!"
Klaus just smiled. "Like I said, don't take it personally. I want you to get beaten up for the good of the guild."
"What?! That doesn't make sense!"
"Just Trust me."
He continued beating Justin, and the poor guy dodged several times but the punches always landed on his face. In the end, Justin could not help but scream in pain. Only after bruises and blood filled his face did Klaus stop hitting him.
Seeing the guild master being beaten, Sylvia felt sorry but she didn't want to interfere in their business.
"You devil. Just say you want to vent your frustration!"
Klaus sighed. "I told you. Don't take it personally, it's for the sake of our guild."
He then told Sylvia to tell the other members to stop looting because they were about to leave the dungeon.
Meanwhile, Justin stroked his battered face, wondering why Klaus beat him up after his apology.