"you are telling me, that you alone survived a monster encounter because you did not attack it?, is that correct".
Ricus found it hard to believe. The natural scenario of a monster and a human meeting, is the death of one race and survival of another, that is how it has always been.
Telling him he survived because he did not attack, gave Ricus the feeling that Shakir was lying to him, but why?...
"old man Shakir. I find your answer very hard to believe, I am sure even you know how absurd it sounds as an adventurer who has spent most of his life killing monsters".
"i know, but it is the truth, that is really how I managed to survive".
"I was paralyzed after seeing the red cocoon the monster was in, but the rest of the party were not. They were still capable of movement, and made their way closer to it".
"they did not go too far to the red cocoon before they were burnt alive right on the spot".
When Ricus had the word burnt alive, memories of what he had witnessed earlier flashed through his mind. He felt himself starting to get on the same page with Shakir's story.
"I stood still helpless as I watch the group I came with, get burned until there was nothing left of them".
Shakir said sounding regretful for what had happened to his friends.
"after that, I got over the fear emanating from the red cocoon and climbed my way up to freedom".
"Ever since then, my life itself changed. I found myself stronger, my growth getting accelerated. It was a miracle that could only be linked to me being exposed to the monster's Aura".
"the effect was clearly visible as I felt my body had undergone a drastic change when I woke up the next morning, and my mana level also went up really high".
"I didn't know why it happened until much later when I found out that it was possible for one to overcome their limit when exposed to an higher level of power".
"the monster in the red cocoon was of a higher level of power capable of elevating my position from an E rank to becoming the retired S Rank that I am today".
"listen to me Ricus, the monster is not something any of us can win against. We have to get Dana out of there as fast as possible and get far away from this city. This is its territory, and we are intruding on it".
"old man Shakir, why isn't there a record of this even in the guild's archive".
"because I did not tell them. What was I supposed to say?....., that there is a monster below, one that could kill a D rank adventurer without so much as moving?, or one that could raise an F rank adventurer to an S Rank?..."
"I was overwhelmed by its presence and decided to reveal it later on. As time passed by, I could not bring myself to tell anyone".
"The monsters effect on me was too positive, allowing I who was a failure to easily surpass my peers. I was afraid that if I were to tell anyone else, the others would also get the advantage I did, and I would no longer be special among the many. I was afraid of being left behind again, and so I hid the truth from everyone".
"Ricus, you have to send a team of adventurers into the Dungeon to bring back Dana and her classmates, and whatever they do, they should never show ill will towards it".
"old man Shakir, I think you and I can agree that it is too late for that now. The so called monster you talked about, is killing people down there already without them offending it. Not fighting back, is not the way we do things, especially when it is against a monster".
"did you get all that or do you still need more out of him".
Ricus brought his left hand he had folded at his back, holding the glowing orb, he spoke to it affirming their decision on the matter.
"is that enough evidence for you?. This man here is a retired S Rank adventurer which I am sure you all already know about".
"He has given his testimony of coming across a monster, and the effect of it is in line with what is currently happening to Edevin. The city is clouded in red, humans are burning alive without being touched".
"It is only a matter of time before everyone dies, and we have to take action before that happens. Old man Shakir has affirmed that the monster is defenseless, trapped in a cocoon. We can take advantage of that and kill it before it escapes its cocoon".
<it is as you say Master Ricus, and the council has made another decision of its own after listening to his testimony>
<we are hereby rescinding our earlier orders. You are to mobilize every adventurers at your disposal, team up with the city's troops and march your way down the Dungeon, the council will send words to all guilds to dispatch high ranking adventurers to serve as your reinforcement for whatever you face down there>
<as for the case of the retired S Rank adventurer Kemies Shakir, you will be stripped of your S Rank title, and your punishment for ignoring a monster, allowing it to continue to grow until it becomes a plausible threat to humanity will be decided later on after the crisis is over>
"no, no you all don't understand. You must not show hostility towards it, everybody will die. Please, Dana will be in danger if we move like this".
Shakir said falling to the ground while holding unto Ricus's hand, begging for them not to put Dana's life at further risk.
<The council's orders are final, and nothing will change that>
The orb that had been glowing, turned off when the council made their final remarks.
"i am highly disappointed in you old man Shakir. You were an adventurer I looked up to while growing up, but you turned out to be a disappointment who only cared for himself and no one else, a fraud".
Ricus walked out on Shakir and made his way down to the lower building to round up the adventurers and set out on their exploration.
Ricus hurried himself down the stairs, the adventurers noticing his presence all silenced themselves waiting for Ricus to address them.
Just about to begin his speech, his attention was taken to the kids who were standing in line with the rest of thep adventurers.
"whose kids are those".
He asked while pointing to the direction the kids were in, with his voice echoing to the ears of all present.
"they are my students".
Miss Aletta came out amidst the crowd of adventurers to claim ownership of the children.
"you are the teacher who came to collect the temporary passes in the morning, correct".
"yes I am".
"what about the Dire Hammer members?, I thought they escorted you all here, but why am I not seeing them".
Ricus asked, stretching his head around to see if he would spot a member of the Dire Hammer.
"they had to stay behind in the Dungeon to take care of some issues".
"what issues?..., when they are urgently needed here".
"some kids got lost during the exploration, so they went ahead to find them, after asking us to take our leave first".
"damn kids, do they not know to stay still when told to?".
Rubbing his hand aggressively on his forehead with his face looking irritated.
"what about Dana, is there a kid named Dana among the kids you have with you".
"no, actually, she is among the kids that got lost in the Dungeon".
"great..., that is just great. You know what, that is your problem to take care of. Her grandfather is upstairs in my office, you can go there to explain yourself to him the disappearance and possibly the death of his granddaughter. Also, take the kids with you, they are not needed here".
On Ricus's orders, Miss Aletta arranged the kids in an organized row and led them from the midst of the adventurers to walking up the stairs.
Ricus waited for Miss Aletta to finish taking the kids upstairs before he started his speech.
He walked to the center of the crowd, and climbed on the table that was standing there, so that all could see him.
"I understand that you all are on high alert due to the unfortunate events happening in our city. But fear not, for we have found the cause of it after thorough investigation were carried out".
"the root of the misfortune happening to our city is caused by a monster".
When the word monster was mentioned, the air surrounding the adventurers changed. They are a group dedicated to killing monsters, to find out that a monster had the effontary to launch an attack on them in their turf, does not sit well with the adventurers gathered here.
Their anger riling up, intoxicated their surroundings in a negative way. If the kids were present here, they would be exposed to malice and bloodlust, and that is why Ricus ordered them to be moved away before he gave his speech.
"now I understand how angry you all are, because I also am. It's a mockery to our profession for a monster to have the boldness to cause destruction in our city especially with all of us present".
"that monster will not go scotfree. It's location have been found, and the guild council has given us the go ahead".
"we will team up with the city's guards, and march our way down to the Dungeon where the monster lives".
"let us set this monster as an example to what happens to any other monster that tries to attack a city filled with adventurers in it".
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