It was late into the night, but the Guildmaster’s office in Kagurem was still bathed in bright lamplight. Hagg Ironmane sat alone behind a massive desk carved from a single block of solid rock. There was no ale before him; instead, spread across the surface was a large regional map and over a dozen urgent reports from scouts in the field.

  He had remained in this position for hours. His eyes, battle-hardened and witnesses to countless monsters and battlefields, were now fixed like iron nails onto several locations circled in red ink on the map.

  The oldest report on the desk was dated six days ago, stating that a merchant caravan had vanished near the "Red Moon Tunnel" to the east. Five days ago, near the "Deeprock Crag Mine" in the south, herdsmen found unusually large footprints. Yet, the vast majority of the reports—the most frequent and eerie ones—all pointed toward the "Blackstone Mine" in the northwest.

  Based on his decades of experience dealing with monsters, Hagg’s intuition pricked at his temples like a needle. The incidents at the Red Moon Tunnel and Deeprock Crag were merely tremors—scraps of dust shaken off a Great Beast as it turned in its sleep. The true heart of the problem lay within the Blackstone Mine.

  Because of this, three days ago, he had made a decision. He had dispatched the Guild’s most elite and reliable Rank B squad: "Ironflame Battleaxe." He still remembered the captain, Glen, thumping his chest and promising that they would uncover the truth within a day at most.

  But three days had passed. The entire team—four experienced Rank B adventurers he had personally promoted—had vanished like a stone cast into a bottomless ocean. No word. No signal.

  In the last forty-eight hours, reports of monster anomalies around Kagurem had flooded the Guild like an avalanche. Packs of Steel-rock Lizards, Shadow Wolves migrating south, creatures never before seen on the plains... every trail, like a mass of twisting vipers, eventually led back to the same source: Blackstone Mine.

  "Is this... the precursor to a mass monster outbreak?" Hagg’s voice was raspy. He pressed a broad, thick palm heavily against his forehead, trying to suppress the long-forgotten shiver creeping up from the depths of his soul.

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  He knew the problem was far larger than he had imagined. He had to make a decision and organize a massive counter-strike before the situation spiraled completely out of control.

  Just as he prepared to draft a general summons, his gaze fell upon a report recently compiled by Lisa regarding a newly registered adventurer.

  The subject of the report had only one name: Yggdrasil.

  "A rookie who arrived only a few days ago..." Hagg’s thick knuckles tapped rhythmically against the stone table, producing a dull, heavy thud.

  The image of that stout and burly figure appeared in his mind. He recalled how the dwarf had soloed over five hundred goblins and their King; he remembered Lisa’s report describing how Yggdrasil had used a warm, golden light to pull a dying adventurer back from the brink; and finally, there was yesterday’s report—how he had effortlessly dispatched three high-level Shadow Wolves.

  Connecting these dots, Hagg had to admit: this fellow was no rookie. He was an unfathomable monster—a paradoxical existence that defied all common logic.

  Then, his thoughts turned to Balin.

  In the past two days, that stubborn lad whom Hagg had watched grow up had personally come to his office. He had announced his decision to reclaim his life as an adventurer. When Hagg asked for a reason, Balin hadn't offered a complex explanation. He simply said, with raw honesty, that he had found a "reason" worth spending the rest of his life protecting—a person for whom he was willing to abandon the safety of the city walls and step back into the unknown. Balin had then stated he was heading to see Lord Eric to officially resign from the Guard.

  Hagg looked at the names of Yggdrasil and Balin sitting side-by-side on the report. An involuntary, complex smile touched his lips—a mixture of relief that his old subordinate had found his place, and a sense of helplessness at the hands of fate.

  He pushed the reports aside. His hesitation and inner struggle vanished, hardening into a final decision.

  Conventional methods could no longer handle the current anomalies. If an elite Rank B squad went in and was swallowed whole by that silent darkness, would sending more B-rank or even A-rank teams truly help? Or would it just lead to more casualties?

  If that were the case, perhaps... it would take one "monster" that defied logic to fight another.

  Hagg stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the silent city shrouded in moonlight. This city, which he had protected for half his life, was currently teetering on the edge of an unprecedented crisis, yet its residents were still blissfully unaware.

  He didn't call for them immediately. The night was deep, and even warriors needed rest. But his mind was made up.

  "Tomorrow morning," he whispered to the night, as if giving himself a final command, "let those two go and see what foul things are lurking in the depths of that mine."

  "The shadows are closing in. While Kagurem sleeps, Guildmaster Hagg Ironmane is facing a nightmare. An elite Rank B team has gone missing in the 'Blackstone Mine,' and the signs of a monster outbreak are everywhere.

  Hagg has realized that traditional strength isn't enough to face this anomaly. He needs someone who breaks the rules—he needs Yggdrasil. And with Balin officially resigning to protect his 'reason,' the most powerful duo in the city is about to be sent on their first official mission together.