"We did it," Asher said, a mixture of relief and pride in his voice as he and his team walked inside the cave.
Riya and Ivan exchanged smiles, their swords still in hand but their guard lowered. Dona lowered her bow, and Kabali holstered his revolver, the tension in his shoulders visibly easing.
"Yes, we did," Dona replied, her voice filled with a sense of accomplishment.
Kabali cracked a weary smile, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. "That was one tough fairy."
Asher nodded in agreement. "It was a formidable opponent, but we prevailed as a team."
"Let's search the cave," Asher said. "The artifact should be here somewhere."
The team fanned out, their exhaustion momentarily forgotten as they began to explore the cavern. The bioluminescent mushrooms cast an eerie glow over their surroundings, illuminating the chamber in shifting hues of green and blue.
It didn't take long for Dona to make the discovery. She noticed a faint shimmer coming from a crevice in the cave wall. Curiosity piqued, she approached and carefully reached inside. Her fingers brushed against something cold and smooth.
"I think I found it," Dona called out, her voice echoing in the cavern.
The rest of the team gathered around as Dona extracted the object from the crevice. It was a vial, filled with a sparkling liquid that seemed to glow with an inner light.
"A vial of elixir," Riya said, her eyes widening in realization.
Kabali nodded, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten. "This is what Alfred Melton wanted. An elixir that can heal anything."
Asher took the vial from Dona, examining it closely. "This is incredibly valuable. It can cure any ailment, any injury. It's a priceless treasure."
Dona smiled, a sense of satisfaction washing over her. "All the risks, all the battles we faced – it was worth it for this."
With the artifact in their possession, the team knew their mission was nearing its end. "We should head back to the guild," Ivan suggested. "Alfred Melton will want this elixir as soon as possible."
Asher nodded in agreement. "Let's not keep him waiting. We've done what we came here to do."
With the elixir safely stored, the team retraced their steps through the winding passages of the Fairies Cave. The eerie beauty of the cavern began to fade as they ventured closer to the entrance.
As they emerged from the cave into the outside world, the team was met with the warmth of the sun and the gentle rustle of leaves. The transition from the surreal underground world to the natural beauty of the forest was a stark contrast.
Soon, some people from the guild who were outside of the dungeon came in front of the team and greeted them.
"Congratulations on your success, sir. My name is Mathue, and I am from the defense unit. This is Martha, and she is from the Melton Corporation. I believe you have already met her once."
Asher nodded and looked at the woman in the black suit in front of him and said, "How are you, Miss Martha?"
"I am fine, and also congratulations on your team's success on this mission. We, the Melton Corporation, will make sure the world knows about the incredible result of your team in this raid."
"Does that also include the information about the so-called Artifact that we found inside?"
As soon as Asher mentioned the name of the Artifact, Martha's face changed to seriousness as she looked at Asher and said, "Mister Asher Gray, my master wants to meet you as soon as possible."
A smirk came to Asher's mouth as his guess became correct. Inside the cave, two questions came to Asher's mind as soon as he saw the vial of Elixir inside the cave.
First, "Why does Alfred Melton need the elixir?" and the answer could be as simple as "Why not?" Who doesn't want a medicine that can cure any disease? But then the second question that came to Asher's mind completely changed the answer to the first question.
"Why my team?"
After all, for Alfred Melton, who was one of the SS-ranked superhumans and the head of the mighty Melton family, to clear an A-rank dungeon was like buying a headache medicine from the drugstore. And not to mention revealing information about such an item to a guild, no matter what business relation they have, is not something the Business Tycoon Alfred Melton would normally do.
So that led Asher to a new answer: "Alfred is trying to hide the information about the Elixir from someone who has access to the Melton Family's secrets."
Seeing Martha's reaction further confirmed Asher's theory. With a smirk, he replied to Martha,
"With pleasure."
Then, Asher was taken to a Rolls-Royce and driven to the Melton Corporation, while his team took the guild team bus and left for the guild.
About two hours later the car reached the Melton Corporation Headquarters. In front of Asher, a magnificent mansion emerged. Unlike other families, the Melton family followed their tradition strictly, and the design of their HQ further confirmed that.
Soon, the Rolls-Royce came in front of the lavish mansion that could easily enchant anyone. Asher came out of the car, and the first thing he saw was a guy standing in front of the entrance.
As soon as that person saw Asher, he came near him and introduced himself,
"Hello! My name is Karman, and I am Sir Melton's personal Assistant. And I will be guiding you inside the HQ."
"Hello!" Asher gave a short greeting.
Hearing Asher's short greeting, Karman became a little flustered, but then he composed himself and said,
"Shall we?"
As Karman gestured towards the entrance
Asher entered the mansion, and Karman followed behind. As soon as Asher entered, a magnificent interior came into Asher's view. The hall was filled with priceless artifacts and paintings.
As Asher was looking at the painting of Alfred Melton that was unlike other paintings had a golden frame around it, Karman said,
"This one was painted by none other than our young miss, and the master liked it so much that he hung it in front of the entrance."
"Did I ask?" Asher said as he looked back at Karman, stopping him from further explanation about the painting.
"S-sorry," Karman apologized with a flustered look.
"No wonder it looked like an amateur drew it," Asher mumbled as he climbed the stairs. But it was easily heard by Karman, making veins pop out on his forehead out of anger.
But Karman wasn't the only one who heard Asher, as two other people were hearing Asher's conversation from Alfred Melton's office.
"Ha haha haha, where did you get this guy from, grandfather?" Sabrina Melton said to Alfred Melton as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
She looked at Asher inside the monitor and mumbled,
"How interesting."