The Big Shots in the Royal City Were the Real Deal

Arnor Kingdom, Royal City Roer.

As they said, the big shots in the royal city were the real deal. Every day, they did nothing but eat and sleep. Nothing else!

Backwater places like Bede City did not even deserve a second glance!

Four hundred years had passed since Arnor I founded the kingdom amid the chaos of a troubled age.

War, civil unrest, meddling in-laws, premature deaths, sudden deaths... Under the influence of all these factors, the current king, Anzi III's bloodline had long since become muddled beyond recognition. Perhaps the legitimate royal bloodline had already been lost long ago. But bloodline was merely a title; only strength was what truly mattered.

Anzi III had been fortunate. His father had beaten the surrounding nations into submission and left him a powerful, orderly country with a strong army. The four border dukes were also paragons of loyalty and patriotism, so he had few worries and lived happily every day.

But the gods seemed determined to let this fortunate king experience what trouble truly was.

Four matters plagued Anzi III.

The first was the revival of the demon race.

A century ago, the demon race had been driven into the barren lands of the west by the combined forces of all peace-loving races. These sinister and cunning creatures had lurked there for nearly a hundred years before finally baring their fangs several years ago.

Anzi III still remembered that stormy night. The Court Magician had stumbled into the castle, staring at him with terrified eyes as he brought news that the demon race had massacred several border cities.

Damn it, those stinking backwater demons had come to Arnor Kingdom to beg for food!

Yet when the kingdom had prepared its punitive army, the demon race had already vanished without a trace, as though they had calculated the timing in advance.

Since then, scattered demon attacks had frequently harassed the border cities. Some people had even discovered traces of demons in the interior. The same was true in neighboring countries. No one knew just how deeply those creatures had infiltrated the continent.

People had considered launching a counterattack against the demons, but the terrifying miasma of the Western Continent deterred them.

Fortunately, the demon massacres had stirred the people's fighting spirit. Enlistment rates soared, and the number of adventurers exploded. Among them were quite a few demon slayers who specialized in hunting demons. Day by day, the demon race's momentum was being suppressed.

However, news had emerged from who knew where that the Demon King was about to revive.

The second matter was the mutations in the dungeons.

This had happened this year. A dungeon named Zane had undergone a mutation, and it was said that unprecedented monsters had appeared within it.

The dungeon's layout and everything else had also undergone earth-shaking changes. Its danger level had risen drastically, nearly reaching that of the top-tier dungeons.

The news spread quickly among adventurers and drew immense interest. Nearly half of all adventurers had originally planned to go take a look, but what happened next stopped them in their tracks.

Because more and more dungeons began to mutate!

On the third day after the Zane Dungeon mutated, Aomori Dungeon and Echo Dungeon also underwent mutations.

On the fifth day, White Blood Dungeon, Puppet Dungeon, Water Dragon Dungeon, and Onion Dungeon mutated.

The sixth day, the seventh day.

Even now, new reports of mutations continued without end, leaving the Adventurers' Guild frantically busy.

The adventurers rushed toward the nearest mutated dungeons as though they had been injected with stimulants. The flow of people originally planning to head for Zane Dungeon was instantly diverted by more than half.

No one knew whether these mutations were a good thing or a bad thing, or whether they were the precursor to some major event.

The third matter was Anzi III's own strange illness.

"Urgh... hiss..."

An inhuman, beastlike howl echoed through Anzi III's bedchamber. He seemed to be desperately suppressing his pain, yet the chaotic thoughts and murmurs in his mind forced him to roar aloud.

Despite the vast bedchamber, not a single servant remained to attend him. They had been dismissed by the king's order, and even without that order, no one would have dared stay.

Because the king had contracted a strange illness. When it flared up, he truly killed people. It was said that he even drank human blood raw.

Even the most learned Court Magician was helpless against the illness. The Holy Light Church was preparing a blessing ceremony, hoping to use holy light to dispel the king's disease.

But for now, Anzi III could only use one thing to ease his suffering.

Blood Therapy Potions!

From behind the thick curtains, a monstrous hand covered in tangled hair suddenly reached out and grabbed several vivid-red Blood Therapy Potions. Moments later, a relieved moan came from behind the curtains. More than a dozen empty bottles were casually tossed out, along with a syringe.

"Not enough. I need more."

The relief lasted only a little over ten minutes before Anzi III's voice was once again filled with agony.

"AAAAAH—"

The fourth matter was that Anzi III had no offspring.

Or rather, no offspring with an official status.

Which meant that, at a time like this, he did not have a single trustworthy person to care for him.

It was pitiful beyond measure.

Bede City was peaceful and tranquil.

The Adventurers' Guild was unusually quiet. Gone was its usual noisy atmosphere as everyone craned their necks and listened carefully to the sounds coming from upstairs.

The fireplace burned quietly. The crackling of firewood and the ticking of the hanging clock, sounds usually ignored, could now be heard with perfect clarity.

Every so often, someone unaware of the situation would enter and start shouting, only to immediately receive furious glares from the crowd before bewilderedly joining them.

They were acting this way because of one major matter—

Someone had discovered the hidden map of Zane Dungeon!

It was the area that produced special ingredients. No one had expected it to be discovered so quickly; most people were still completely in the dark.

Right now, the discoverers were upstairs speaking with the guild manager, selling the information to the guild for an appropriate price.

Once the guild verified the information, it would publicly sell it to adventurers for a fee. The price would not be expensive, only about the cost of a meal.

A considerable number of adventurers were willing to pay for it. It did not just mean learning the news as soon as possible—it also represented something else—

Paying respect to the discoverers.

Adventure had never been a journey for one person alone.

It was a story everyone began together.

Within that story, some people obtained information that others had yet to discover and used it to get ahead. These discoverers shared that information with everyone. No matter their purpose, whether they charged for it or gave it away freely, as long as it was accurate and allowed everyone to benefit from it—

Then they deserved respect!

Smart people knew that only a few days after information was made publicly available for sale, everyone would know it anyway. By then, they could enjoy it without spending a single coin.

But did that make those who bought information fools?

Absolutely not.

"Tap, tap, tap."

Footsteps sounded on the stairs. A slender man with half-elf features descended from upstairs, and someone recognized him.

"It's Geralt the 'Shadowless.' Legend says he possesses a one-in-ten-thousand Unique Talent and can run over a thousand meters in an instant!"

"Whenever the guild needs map-related intelligence verified, they ask him to handle it. Great, we'll have the result soon!"

"Sprint! Sprint! Go, go!"

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Geralt turned into an afterimage and vanished, speeding toward Zane Dungeon.

Time passed bit by bit. Everyone's eyes were glued to the hanging clock as they carefully counted every second.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes.

Half an hour, one hour.

"Bang!"

The guild's doors were violently kicked open. It was Geralt!

Everyone held their breath and looked at him, drenched in sweat. Yet this seasoned adventurer looked somewhat strange.

"Burp."

Geralt rubbed his bulging stomach with one hand while wiping food crumbs from the corner of his mouth with the other.

Then he gave a wickedly charming smile and raised his thumb.

"OOOOOOOOOH!!!"

The crowd erupted!