Chapter 296 - The SS-Rank Dragon
"This is a rather serious matter, so if you're lying, I hope you're ready to reap what you sow.
" Said The Bright Sword with the same cold smile
"R-Right… W-Where do I start…
"
"Wait.
"
The voice resounded throughout the quiet room, alarming everyone of the man's presence. Tall, muscular and dressed lightly with only a top and trunks in the cold.
He was a strange man, who always seen in the same set of clothes. People would usually ask why only to be quickly answered after.
A slight glow came from the man's clothes before turning into a long fur robe with gloves and leather boots. Two magic circles were also formed out of thin air and the man stretched out both arms into them.
Nothing appeared on the other side of the magic circle but everyone could see that his arms were inside. Following that, he quickly pulled his arms back and out of the circle with gauntlets equipped.
The air around the gauntlets seemed denser, and the temperature in the room changed. It became both colder and hotter at the same time.
It was like standing in the middle of a sunny beach with a cold breeze. And as everyone saw that, one of the receptionists quickly spoke up.
"Welcome back, sir! Thank you for your work!
" She said as she bowed
The other receptionists also repeated the same motion as they watched as they simultaneously spoke
"Thank you for your work!!!
"
Once again, a tall muscular man with a bright smile, a trimmed beard and long dark hair which covered his eyes, making it harder to tell what he was thinking. He seemed like the socially awkward type despite being very social.
"Thank you all for working very hard to help maintain the peace.
" He said
His voice both deep and strong, nothing which one would expect from his looks.
"Thank you very much!
" The receptionists replied simultaneously
He then jumped down from the second floor, to the first. Making not a single sound as an air bubble was formed beneath him as he landed.
They were formed thanks to a special type of shoe which the man used. It was made of a rare special magical material which only those with power could afford or find.
The man's entire equipment was special, he wasn't your average guild master, but said to be one of the great warlords who helped during the First World War (La Bellum). They called him the Endless Armour. A name originated from his special magic and equipment.
"Now… About that dragon. I'd like to hear it, surely you wouldn't lie to a guild-master, right?
" The guild master asked
Now that the guild-master was present, the man who had seen the dragon seemed more nervous than ever, his arms and voice were trembling even more so than before. But now he was reassured that they would take him seriously, and that the thing that he saw could be stopped.
"Yes… Well then… I'll start from the beginning…
"
��———————————��——————————————
Within the cold, rampaging blizzard, a man could be seen chasing after an animal he was after. With his bow and arrows laced in a special poison, he ran as fast as he could while taking as many shortcuts as possible and cornering the animal before eventually reaching and catching it.
It only took one arrow in the head to knock it out, it was a wild boar. The hunt didn't take that long, but the blizzard began rampaging more and more while the man was on the run, so with no other choice. He took the dead animal and dragged it to a nearby cave, after carefully removing the poisoned arrow and the flesh around it.
He had run up the mountain a lot more than he had initially intended so he was rather far up on the latitude. He had gone way further up than usual, but at the point he didn't know.
The air denser and colder, the man hurried to find a place to protect himself from the weather so that he could properly skin the animal so the whole trip wouldn't have been a waste.
His arms trembling and shaking from the cold as he did so. Thankfully, his luck had yet to run out and he ended up encountering a cave.
At that time, he wasn't sure why, but even though he was desperately in the need to enter the cave, both his experience as a hunter and his instincts were screaming at him to stay away from it.
However, he had no choice. In the case that he'd encounter a bear or a monster, he'd just have to use his last resort which was a special magic scroll which could instantly cast a Lower-Ranking King-Class Ice spell.
So with no other choice, he entered. He calmly and carefully walked inside, while doing his best to mask his presence. He left the boar in the entrance and decided to explore the insides of the cave first.
It was dark, he could barely see a thing, but he continued to walk further and further inside. He then activated a light scroll which he had in his bag after he was a moderate distance inside. The air was warmer and he swore he could hear breathing.
The light scroll activated, and there what he saw, was a large chamber, however, what stood inside was what sent chills down his spine. Dread seeped into his bones as he ran as fast as he could, without turning back.
He even left the boar in hopes that it could slow down the monster, and right after he left, he heard it. A sounding roar, so loud it pierced his ears. The roar came from behind him, and echoed throughout the cave. But he didn't dare look back.
——————————————
"And that's how you got here?
" The guild master asked
The man nodded with tears flowing down his eyes.
"What did you see? Inside of the chamber.
" The Bright Sword asked.
"A Dara…Dragon… A white Dragon…
"
As soon as he muttered those words, the tension in the room was at it's peak.
"You're probably just imagining it, it could have just been a wyvern…
" One of the adventurers muttered
People began to neglect the danger and began making up excuses.
"Yeah… That's right. Besides, what makes you so sure it was a dragon?
"
"Exactly! He could have just been drinking! I see this guy at the pub every week!
"
"Not to mention he's not the only hunter who goes up the mountains, why was he the only one that saw it and only now?
"
"That's right!!
"
With each passing second, the amount of people who believed in him, lowered, but that was after all, due to how some humans were. They only believed in those with power and official facts. They had seen the cold truth about the world, after all.
The guild master raised his hand and there was quiet, he then stared at the man before giving him a head pat and asking
"Where was it that you saw it again?
"
The man nervously muttered out the words
"The snow mountains, the one just ahead of the village, beside the forest…
"
"I see… And how far up did you go? Do you remember?
" The guild master asked
"Yes… I went straight up, I don't remember the exact the location as my footprints were covered by the snow… And I ran back in a rush… straight down and reached the city.
"
Upon hearing this, the guild master slowly got up before looking around with a rather serious look.
"As many of you have heard, this man has spotted a dragon in the mountains. Now I too don't know how a dragon has resided there and we weren't the first to notice, but what I do know is that dragons are very intelligent creatures, powerful creatures standing at SS-Rank in the monster category.
"
Everyone listened in carefully, somewhat annoyed that the Guild-Master actually believed it.
"That's why, we'll be issuing an exploration quest-
"
"Hold on, you don't actually believe him, do you?
" One of the adventurers asked
"He's right, for all we know, this could be another fake quest.
"
"I mean, think about it, none of it makes sense, why go so far up in the mountains anyway, if he was an experienced hunter? And why would he lose his own track?
"
They were are all fair arguments, but in the end, a guild was a guild and the quest was a quest. And those with power, ran it.
"You're all right, his story is probably fake and there's a chance that it could just end up getting you killed, which is why it's voluntary and not mandatory that you accept. If you have anything against the quest, set up a report to the receptionist. Aside from that, I don't want to hear anymore complaining about the quest. Am I clear?
" He asked coldly
His final words, were bot Sharp and cold enough to send chills down everyone's spine, there was nothing they could say to retort.. Everything the guild master said was correct.