She opened the chest with anticipation, and there it was — her long awaited jade dragon orb. She reached out for it, still not believing that they had completed this dungeon together.
But suddenly Allen coldly ordered her to stop.
He pointed a gun at the back of her head and said that as soon as she took it, the run would be considered complete, and they would automatically be teleported outside the dungeon.
She asked wearily, "And then what?"
He reminded her of the terms of their collaboration. She was going to tell him who had sent those assassins after him.
She closed her eyes and said carefully, "That's right. That was the deal." She would tell him. So let him put away that dangerous thing.
He lowered the gun. She sighed heavily and stood up, finally getting ready to tell him everything.
She calmly and honestly admitted to him that she didn't know who it was.
This made him very angry. He immediately pointed the gun at her head, and she nervously asked him to calm down. She had a rough idea which organization was behind this. She had reliable information, so let him take his time.
He took a deep breath, pulled himself together, and put the gun away, saying that he would listen to her. If the information turned out to be useful, he would turn a blind eye to the rest. So, which organization had ordered his assassination? And for starters, what did she mean by organization? Was it a clan?
She told him it was something much larger. An organization he was very familiar with. The Adventurers Guild.
He frowned and asked why they were doing that. Their goal was to defeat the demon lord, and he'd already said he was willing to contribute, hadn't he?
She told him that if he were just an ordinary adventurer, there wouldn't be a problem. But he was too strong.
Allen remembered that the assassin who had attacked him had said the same thing. There was one person who didn't like it.
Melissa added that he was much stronger than other adventurers of his level. At this rate, he could really defeat the demon lord. And there were people within the guild who didn't want that to happen.
If the demon lord died, the world would be peaceful. If the world was peaceful, adventurers would no longer be needed. If adventurers were no longer needed, the Adventurers Guild would be disbanded. And the guild wanted to avoid that.
He rephrased it. They were eliminating talented adventurers just to protect their own positions.
She confirmed this, but said that not all guild leaders thought so. Only a few people didn't want the demon lord to be defeated. This group was known as the Demon Lord's Legacy faction.
Allen asked who the leader of this faction was. Even if she didn't know who had ordered the attack, the problem would be solved by eliminating the leader. Right?
She spread her hands. The problem was, they didn't know who it was. The Legacy faction simply didn't want the demon lord's defeat. They hadn't actually colluded with the demon lord's army, so they didn't engage in open sabotage. Furthermore, the Legacy faction wasn't necessarily limited to guild leaders. Weapon and item dealers, clerics, undertakers, tavern owners, the owners of adventurers' entertainment establishments, and so on — anyone whose position would be threatened by the demon lord's defeat could be a member of it.
He scratched his head in confusion and remarked that if you thought about it that far, there would be no end to it.
She said that, however, given the methods used this time, it was most likely someone from the Legacy faction within the guild.
Allen said he didn't care who the culprit was, but he wasn't going to turn a blind eye to those who hindered his leveling. How did the other adventurers who were targeted cope?
She wanted to tell him about herself, but he immediately said that her case didn't fit. He wanted to hear about other promising adventurers who, like him, were being hunted.
She said with offense that technically, she was also one of those promising ones. He looked away, and she cleared her throat and finally told him about the assassination attempts.
Meanwhile, all the adventurers in the dungeon were teleported outside. They immediately realized that someone had defeated the dragon, and the names of the victors were finally announced. Allen and Melissa.
They were initially shocked that there were only two people on the team. But since it was Melissa's group, they realized that with her powers, it was possible. After all, she was a high class sorceress. But who was this other one, Allen? No one had ever heard of him. Still, everyone thought he was probably high level, too.
Finally, the two exited the dungeon, and Allen immediately decided to return to the city. Melissa asked how he would get down from there, to which he replied that there was no problem. He would just create a parachute. She of course didn't know what that was, and he was about to explain it to her when all the adventurers turned to her and said that she had finally gotten out. So the guy next to her was Allen.
They all started congratulating her on clearing the dungeon. Reaching the top floor was already impressive, but it had been just the two of them.
Allen pointed out that she was a real celebrity, and she asked, hadn't she told him so? She was a rising star hunted by the Demon Lord's Legacy faction.
The adventurers pounced on her with questions about how she had conquered this castle, and she, with an awkward smile, asked them all to calm down. The truly incredible one wasn't her, but Allen.
They saw his level and were very surprised. He was an Artisan. That was a trash class. How had someone below level 40 even gotten here?
Allen looked around. There were plenty of adventurers of the right level here. Everyone's attention was focused on them. This was the perfect chance to advertise the weapon he had created.
Melissa said that they had been able to clear the dungeon thanks to him. Honestly, the versatility and power of his creations was insane. She offered to show them his weapon, and he silently praised her — but then he sensed something. He realized it would be a mistake.
He asked her to stop. There was no need to go that far. He was only a level 27 craftsman.
She didn't understand what was going on, and he addressed the crowd and said that Melissa had defeated the crystal dragon single-handedly. He had only been brought in because he was needed for the mechanisms. Without her, he would have been instantly killed.
Melissa smiled awkwardly, asking what was wrong, and he simply shook his head in response. If he stood out too much, it would only make leveling more difficult. This was a good chance to spread the weapon, but for now, he would hold off.
Melissa frowned. She understood. He didn't want the Demon Lord's Legacy faction to notice him, so he was deliberately giving her all the credit.
The adventurers believed him without a doubt. After all, no craftsman could kill a dragon. They all began praising her, which made her feel uneasy, since she had essentially just been walking next to him.