Sunlight poured through the gaps in the room's windows, hitting Albrecht's eyes directly and causing him to stir awake. He flinched as he turned to the side, trying to avoid the direct sunlight so he could get a couple of minutes more of much-needed sleep. Yesterday was as eventful as it could get, that's why he badly wanted to take a break.
Poin~
Half-awake, Albrecht felt something soft hit him as he turned, and he immediately felt something soft all over his body. He inched closer and hugged whatever it was since he thought that it was a pillow. He couldn't remember whether there was an extra pillow on the bed or not last night, but he didn't think that hard about it.
Muu~
A girly moan was heard as Yukina sleepily buried her face on Albrecht's face. It had been a cold evening, and as someone from the Medusa Tribe, she couldn't deal well with coldness. Her body instinctively found the warmest place in the room—
This time, it was Yukina who woke up, and she immediately noticed that her arms were wrapped around Albrecht. She had no idea how she got here, but it was so comfortable that she didn't bother getting up. Instead, she inched in closer to Albrecht and hugged him tighter.
For some odd reason, Albrecht's scent was sweet, and Yukina felt as if she was lying down on a cloud— or a marshmallow.
After thirty minutes, she knew that she had to wake Albrecht up, otherwise they'd be late for the scheduled meeting by the guild. Also, she vaguely remembered that Albrecht needed to write a letter to a certain Yulie Rosethorn (his girlfriend, probably) so he really need to wake up.
However, just when Yukina was about to shake Albrecht awake, his eyes opened in an instant, bloodshot, and he got up without speaking another word. He didn't even notice that Yukina was lying on the same bed as him. "We have to go." Albrecht said in a hurry.
Before Yukina could say anything, Albrecht was already out of the door, and she sleepily followed him out of the tavern. The receptionist lady greeted them as they exited, and Albrecht waved at her in response.
"Where are we going?" Yukina asked.
"The Shadow Realm Dungeon," Albrecht responded a matter of factly as if that was a normal thing to do first thing in the morning.
"Why?" Yukina was confused. The Shadow Realm Dungeon, a dungeon in the First Outerlayer, was known as an ever-changing labyrinth. No one had cleared it, and no one attempted to ever since they discovered its randomness. There were many instances where adventurers tried to clear it but to no avail.
"The Beast Horn of Obedience, I need to get it from there. If we're going to win against the army of the Whitelock Siblings, then we have to get this item no matter what." Albrecht pointed out. "We have to hurry, though, we don't have much time."
Albrecht's response left Yukina even more perplexed. For one, she knew about the existence of the Beast Horn of Obedience, but no one knows where it is. As for the Whitelock Siblings, she never told Albrecht anything about the Whitelock Siblings... and yet it appeared as if Albrecht knew everything about them."
"Albrecht... are you all right?" Yukina couldn't help but ask. His behavior was different compared to yesterday, and it bothered her a little bit. Even then, she still found the courage to approach him, grabbing him by the hem of his shirt as she gently tugged on it.
"I'm perfectly fine. I'll explain everything later. For now, we have to go. We can't waste another minute."
Since Albrecht wasn't budging, Yukina decided to follow along.
— — —
Meanwhile, at the Lomenschwaal Guild.
The entire Heroes of Lomenschwaal party and other high-ranking adventurers all gathered by the main area of the guild. A heavy atmosphere descended upon the group while they discussed their plan of action for the upcoming guild quest.
"If you don't want to join us, then you're free to go. This is a matter of life and death. We might not return after this guild quest." The guild master was not present so Cainsz took the position to announce to the group.
Creak~
As he was speaking, the doors to the guild suddenly opened. Everyone thought that the guild master had arrived. An unfamiliar face entered.
"Albrecht, are you going to join us?" Cainsz felt a sliver of hope as Albrecht walked towards him. If he was going to join the subjugation, then there was a good chance that they would be able to drive off the beasts from the Kingdom of Pantheos.
"Yes, I'm joining. But before that, I need to go somewhere." Albrecht didn't dilly-dally anymore. "The contract said I get to have the first pick for a dungeon, right? Then let me use my raid pass right now. I'm going to the Shadow Realm Dungeon."
A series of gasps erupted amongst the group of adventurers. The first thing they noticed about Albrecht was the Bronze Tag fastened around his neck. Only the high-ranking adventurers were invited to this meeting, that's why they found it weird that a Bronze-Rank Adventurer had the nerve to come here.
Adding to that, he even had the audacity to ask for a raid pass. Not only that, he also wanted to access the Shadow Realm Dungeon which had never been cleared in the past.
"Who's this kid?" One of the adventurers called Grimlock (his name was actually Grimlock) pushed past the other adventurers so he could stare down at Albrecht. The Bronze-Rank Adventurer had the nerve to disrupt a very important meeting. Surely, Cainsz won't mind if he sent him flying outside.
"If that's the case, then please feel free to access the Shadow Realm Dungeon. I hope you find what you're looking for there, Albrecht, we'll be waiting for you." Cainsz responded, totally ignoring Grimlock who was speaking beside him.
"Thanks, I'll be back in less than an hour." Albrecht then turned around and headed out of the guild. He couldn't waste a single second, that's why he couldn't be bothered by the Diamond-Rank Adventurer who called him a kid.
"Where do you think you're going, kid?" Grimlock growled at him. "You dared distract our meeting, and now you're leaving?"
Honestly, Albrecht didn't want to address him. However, Grimlock grabbed him by the shoulder and activated his skill 'Gorilla Iron Grip'. If Albrecht let him be, then his shoulder joint would be crushed into powder. He couldn't allow such an injury right when he had a dungeon to conquer.
[You have activated the skill 'Medeon's Gravity Control]
[You have activated the skill 'Causality Slash']
[You have activated the skill 'Chronos Reversion']
Before Grimlock could crush Albrecht's shoulder, gravity pulled him to the ground, causing him to slam face-first on the ground as blood spluttered out of his mouth due to the impact. His arm was also cleanly cut by an unknown force. After all, Albrecht barely moved an inch.
Grimacing, Grimlock noticed his arm plop to the ground, and the pain he felt was incomparable to his shattered pride.
"I'll be back in an hour," Albrecht repeated, waving his hand as his third and final skill activated. Just like that, Grimlock's hand floated towards him and reattached itself. It's as if nothing happened.
Albrecht walked out of the guild, leaving all the high-ranking adventurers confused at the overwhelming power he displayed.