As the plant beast began to die, Ryker cut off its flower. While the rest of its body is not too useful, the flower part of it could likely be used. As for how it can be used, it was something he had no idea about.
But nonetheless, it could gain him some money for the future. So there is that. He watched as the body of the creatures burned before creating a hand of water and grabbing the core. While it still had some fire on it, it remained relatively unscathed.
Smiling at the outcome, he put his spoils into his storage rings before heading towards the Mariz Barony, all of his mission had been completed and it took him just three days.
-x-
When he got back, he headed towards the Adventure Guild first, but not before telling his lovers of his current whereabouts. He won't want them to be worried after all. Definitely not because he didn't want them to be upset with him, definitely not that.
He entered the Adventure Guild before he headed towards the office of the Head of the Adventure Guild Branch. When he knocked on the door, he could feel some tension inside. Before he could wonder about it, the door opened, revealing the three higher-ups of the Mariz Barony branch, glaring at their counterpart from Esel.
He wondered if he arrived at a bad time when the former Vice-Leader he had bad blood with looked at him and snarled, "I challenge you to a fight!"
Surprised by the sudden declaration, Ryker agreed thoughtlessly, "Sure, when and where?" the former vice-leader smiled cruelly before telling him, "Today, in the evening, don't be late," the man then exited the room, followed by the rest of the Esel Barony Adventure Guild higher-ups.
"What was that for?" he asked the trio once the three people were out of sight.
The Head sighed heavily at his question, "They claimed you had been breaking the rules of the Adventure Guild. We denied all of it, but they insist you must pay for your crime. So, we decided to let you fight one of the vice-leaders. They quickly agreed to it. If you win, they will admit, they had been wrong."
Ryker raised his brows, "And if I lose?" the Head seemed to be surprised by the question.
"Are you going to lose to a petty 4th Stage Genesis Source expert?" he asked.
"You make a very good point,"
-x-
The news soon spread across the entire Adventure Guild. When the adventurers get to know of the fight, it soon spreads across the entire Barony, letting them know of the challenge.
Most people thought the Genesis Core would be easily defeated. Only a handful knew it would be otherwise.
-x-
"Those fools, we let them enter our territory and they do things like this. At least they would be a good show out of it,"
-x-
"Looks like the boy's fame would rise up,"
-x-
"A fight between those two huh, looks like we will make a lot of money,"
-x-
"I wonder if those newcomers want to cause trouble in the Barony,"
-x-
In the evening, a large group of spectators formed in one of the open spaces in the city. It was mostly used for drilling soldiers but now it would be used between the fight of two experts.
On the benches, there are a lot of people gossiping about the result,
"How long do you think the young man would last?"
"Maybe 10 seconds, 15 seconds if he is lucky,"
"Yeah, I don't want to be him, he definitely getting beaten up,"
"Getting beaten up would be too good for him, I heard he-"
As more and more people arrived, more gossip and rumors spread. All of it is the courtesy of the adventurers from the Esel Barony. With it, all of Ryker's reputation had fallen into tatters, not like he cared about it.
When the two experts arrived, most of the people were booing at Rykee, some even threw stones at him. He ignored them, instead focusing on his opponent. The vice leader had given him some cruel smile, indicating he planned to do something.
However, he decided to let him do as he planned, after all, he is not helpless against the man. When the referee, the Baron, arrived on the court, he gave the two a nod.
"I won't be making this get any longer, begin!"
When the match began, everyone watched as the former vice-leader charged towards Ryker. Most of them had expected the outcome, waiting for the Baron to announce the young man's defeat.
They watched as someone was sent flying to the wall. They looked at the figure at the center, expecting to see the vice leader. To their shock, they found the young man standing there, looking calm.
Not believing their eyes, they looked at the figure that was plastered on the wall. When the dust from the impact was cleared, it showed the former vice-leader was the one sent flying, seemingly unconscious.
As they watched in shock, the Baron began to make his announcement. "All of you had heard the rumors, most of them bad, regarding the young man. All of it was a lie,"
The announcement caused an uproar to spread among the crowd, those who spread the lies had their face twisted, not expecting the Baron to expose it.
However, he was not done, "Adventurers usually didn't take part in wars between nations. Of course, there is some exception. This young man is one of them. He had taken part in the war and if not for him, the Esal Fortress City would not have been taken so easily,"
This caused an even bigger uproar. After all, while most military exploits are usually confidential, some of the more important battles would get their details revealed. The battle to conquer the Fortress City is one of them.
"He is the one leading the elite group to conquer it, even beating the Genesis Source expert stationed there," the Baron continued before throwing a recording crystal to the ground. The entire Barony soon witnessed how the young man fought and defeated the experts in question.
Now, the entire Barony looked at him in awe, their previous disdain being replaced by it. As for the higher-ups of the Esel Barony, they looked at the situation with a twisted face. All of their plans had gone up to smoke due to the Baron's interference.
Before they could make their way out of the place, the head of the Mariz Barony Adventure Guild began to speak, "I received a message from Headquarters in the Birak Capital City," as he said it, he threw a token to the ground.
As it hit the ground, the figure of the leader of the Adventure Guild in the Birak Kingdom as well as its vassal nation appeared. "Former leaders of the Esel Barony branch, myself, and the head of the Holos Kingdom branch had announced you guilty of using your prestige to ruin an adventurer's reputation. Because of this, you will receive punishment,"
Hearing the verdict, the two people paled before they quickly tried to run away. But a powerful aura suppressed them, forcing them and bringing them to their knees.