After leaving the Kingdom of Zangrila, Lux took Gaap with him to his Guild Headquarters, located in the Dragon Kingdom of Karshvar Draconis.

“… This is the Outer Reaches?” Gaap asked as he looked at his surroundings. “Yes. Although it has been a while, I am certain that the floating island over there is where the City of Pygmalion is located.”

“Oh? You know about this place, Master?” Lux looked at the Old Halfling in surprise. “Have you been here before?”

“My Master brought me here in the past,” Gaap replied. “She made friends with… one of the High-Ranking Dragons of this place. I never thought that your Guild Headquarters would actually be located in Karshvar Draconis. But, I’m more surprised that the current Dragon King allowed you to stay here. That guy likes to go fishing with people he doesn’t like.”

Just as Lux was about to reply, some people came out of their Guild Headquarters to meet with them.

One is the Half-Orc, Flamma, who was currently wearing a very annoyed expression on his face.

The other one was Garret, whom Lux had made his Steward and assigned to watch over the Guild Headquarters.

“How long must you keep me waiting, Lux?!” Flamma asked. “You said that you would summon me as soon as you enter the Sacred Dungeon! It has already been two days since you left. Did you already conquer the Dungeon without me?!”

“Flamma, calm down for a bit,” Lux answered in an awkward manner. “Something happened while I was entering the Dungeon, and I was teleported somewhere else. I just got back, and I’m planning to get back to the Dungeon right away. I’m just here to drop my Master off here at our Guild Headquarters before I go.”

“Master? Isn’t your Master that Dwarf, Randolph?”

“Hmm? You have another Master, Lux? Why didn’t I hear anything about this?”

Gaap looked at his Disciple with squinted eyes, which made the Half-Elf laugh nervously.

“Master, I have become a Disciple to a Dwarf Blacksmith to learn the art of Smithing,” Lux replied. “He taught me a lot, and although I still haven’t fully put his teachings to practice, I still consider him as my first Master.”

Gaap scoffed. “A Necromancer doing Smithing? What a waste of time. Still, since he is your Master, then I guess I’ll try to get along with him for your sake. Is he here?”

Lux shook his head. “Right now, Master is with the Orc Blacksmiths of the Blackrock Clan to help him recreate a powerful weapon that we managed to take during a great war. You should have seen it, Master. It turned six million soldiers into crystal statues.”

“Oh? That is indeed amazing.” Gaap became interested after hearing about such a powerful weapon, and decided to ask more.

Garret, who was the Great General that commanded those six million soldiers, cleared his throat, stopping Lux from saying anything else.

Although he was now Lux’s subordinate, he was still the Great General who had once commanded those six million soldiers. Hearing this topic hit his sore spot.

“Lux, it will be best if you go and see Cai and the others in the Sacred Dungeon,” Garret said with a serious expression on his face. “It seems that they’ve encountered some trouble and were unable to proceed with the conquest of the Gate of Famine.”

The Half-Elf frowned after hearing Garret’s report. He then immediately opened his Guild Chat and contacted Cai, and the others to ask them of what was happening in the Gate of Famine.

————

Cai: Lux! You’re finally back! Where have you been?!

Lux: I was teleported to a different place when I entered the Gate of Famine. There was also something that prevented me from making contact with the outside world, so I was unable to tell you guys about my situation. What happened to the Gate of Famine? Garret said that you and the others are having trouble?

Gerhart: Having trouble is an understatement. The conquest of the Gate of Famine has failed. All of us were expelled from the Dungeon after we died and immediately brought back to the entrance of the Domain of the Fallen.

The adults are now brainstorming on how to deal with the situation. However, no matter how hard they thought about it, unless a miracle happens, succeeding in the conquest of the Gate of Famine is near impossible.

Cethus: Although I hate to admit it, even if you were here, the outcome would have still been the same. We are simply outmatched. This is not a battle that Initiates can fight—we were faced with a Monster Outbreak spearheaded by a Dreadnaught Rank World Boss.

Cethus: There are Argonaut and Deimos-Ranked Monsters as well. Even when we all worked together with the Crystal Palace, we were simply overwhelmed by the disparity in numbers and rank. It was a one-sided massacre.

Keane: I have a feeling that the expedition will be called off because this was already beyond what Initiates can handle. Going to the entrance of the Sacred Dungeon without you will endanger the lives of the candidates. Also, even if we are able to return to the Gate of Famine, the outcome will still be the same.

————

“I’ll come to you as fast as I can,” Lux stated. “I don’t care what the other Factions are thinking, but send word to Henrietta, Xander, Einar, and Val to wait for me. We will clear that dungeon ourselves.”

“Hahaha! That’s more like it!” Flamma, who was itching for a fight, commented on the Guild Chat as well. “Don’t worry. With Lux here, we can beat that Dungeon easily, or have you guys forgotten what he can do?”

Gerhart and Cethus, who had accompanied Lux to the Wanid Kingdom, immediately realized what the Half-Orc was thinking.

They had completely forgotten that their Guild Master had a cheat-like ability that could turn the tide of battle in their favor.

———-

Gate of the Domain of the Fallen…

The atmosphere inside the cavern was very gloomy after their failed attempt to conquer the Gate of Famine.

Even the members of the Crystal Palace couldn’t help but feel frustrated at the unfairness of the situation.

At that moment, a burst of loud laughter spread in the surroundings, catching everyone’s attention.

Cethus, who was feeling just as gloomy as everyone, was now in good spirits and wasn’t able to stop himself from laughing out loud.

“Now that I’ve finally seen what the Gate of Famine is like, I realized that it is easier to conquer than I thought,” Cethus said as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I only used a quarter of my power earlier to gauge the waters. Now that I know what I’m dealing with, conquering it this time will be a breeze.”

Cai, Gerhart, and Keane looked at the smug-faced Dragon Born in disdain. However, they didn’t stop the Dragon Born from spouting his nonsense and went to talk to their allies to tell them that they were going to enter the Gate of Famine a second time.

At first, Xander, Henrietta, Einar, and Val, thought that Cai and the others were still in denial about their current situation.

However, when they mentioned that Lux, who had gone missing, was on his way to lead them to conquer the Gate of Famine, something stirred inside their chests, rekindling the hope that they had lost.

Although they were still half in doubt whether Lux’s arrival would change anything, at least, they felt that it was worth giving it a shot.

After all, every time the Half-Elf was with them, they were able to overcome even the most dangerous situations.