In the end, all the royal knights who were sent to the labyrinth dungeon managed to escape safely and return to the city.

They were suddenly teleported to a new location, confused as to where they were, and then surrounded by trolls and cyclops, forced into a battle.

They finally realized they were in a dungeon and, while battling the monsters that attacked them, climbed the levels and escaped the dungeon.

They wandered around, not even knowing where they had emerged, when they came across an adventurer passing by.

They asked for directions to the city, paid a large sum to share the adventurer's food, and finally made it back, but it took several days.

Even so, considering the strange circumstances and the fact that none of them were injured, it could be said that the knights were exceptionally skilled. Their ragged appearance hinted at the difficulties they faced.

The knights returned to their inn and finally managed to rest.

But, as soon as they caught their breath, anger boiled over. It was clear that this was Ryujin's doing.

While teleportation magic had been lost long ago, teleportation traps did occasionally appear in dungeons, so although they didn't know the specifics, they deduced that Ryujin must have set up some kind of magic item as a trap. Fueled by anger, they went back to Ryujin's house the next morning.

Ryuu: "You made it back alive. As expected, you're skilled. But you want to go back? How strange. Oh, are you leveling up?"

Knight: "Ryujin! You sent us to the dungeon with your suspicious trap! You think you can get away with this...?"

But at that moment, a magic circle appeared under the knights' feet.

Before they could finish their sentence, they were back in the dungeon...

Without a word, Ryujin sent the knights back to the dungeon and went back to his bed for a second nap.

The knights were once again teleported to the dungeon.

They had assumed that a teleportation trap wouldn’t be able to be used multiple times easily, but they came to regret that judgment.

The knights were shocked, but unlike last time, they understood the situation and location, so they returned to the city within two days.

And then, their third visit.

The knights were reluctant to be teleported back to the dungeon again and protested, but the leader scolded them, saying that this was their job, and they reluctantly headed to Ryujin's place...

The moment Ryujin saw the knights' faces, a magic circle instantly appeared under their feet. Seeing this, the knights panicked and ran away. However, the magic circle moved along with them, sticking to their feet.

The leader of the knights shouted in a panic.

Leader: "Wait! No more!"

The magic circle disappeared from under their feet, and the knights breathed a sigh of relief.

The captain had stumbled over his words in his haste, but he managed to convey what he wanted to say to Ryujin.

Ryuu: "Chai… What?"

He didn’t understand.

But, he was successfully intrigued.

Leader: "We, we won't arrest you anymore!"

However, they couldn't fail their mission without an arrest. The knights whispered, "Are you sure?" to their captain, but he declared:

“... I’ve finished questioning adventurer Ryujin. I’ll investigate the matter further by asking the Princess about her side of the story.”

In this way, the royal knights gave up on arresting Ryujin and returned to the capital.

A while later, Catherine, the master of the Adventurers' Guild, visited Ryujin's house. She had urgent news.

Ryujin hadn't visited the Adventurers' Guild in a while, so she came to him personally.

His apartment was just a tiny room with only a bed, so he offered to talk outside, but Catherine insisted on talking inside because she didn't want to attract attention.

Apparently, a request to "capture an adventurer named Ryujin in Mimul" had been sent to the Adventurers' Guild in the capital. Catherine had worked at the Adventurers' Guild headquarters in the capital and knew someone there who informed her about the request.

The only thing Ryujin could think of was the Viscount Gitt incident. If so, the client was likely someone from the royal family or nobility. Gitt was the fourth son of a duke, so the Duke might be the one behind this.

It seemed that the royal knights had decided that they couldn’t capture him, so they were asking adventurers to catch him instead.

The capital's Adventurers' Guild accepted the request and tasked their high-ranking adventurers with this job.

Apparently, not just one, but several adventurers had already received the request and left for the capital. They might have already arrived in the city and were watching him. Catherine came to warn Ryujin in secret for this reason.

Catherine was so concerned because there was a rumor that an S-rank adventurer was among those who had received the request.

Catherine knew about Ryujin’s strength. If a single A-rank adventurer was his opponent, he would probably be fine.

Catherine herself was formerly an A-rank adventurer, but when she sparred with Ryujin, she couldn’t win.

However, it was unknown what would happen if there were multiple A-ranks. And if an S-rank adventurer was involved, it was a whole different story.

S-rank adventurers were only a dozen or so throughout the entire world. They were beings beyond human, stronger than a group of A-ranks. No matter how strong Ryujin was, what would happen if he faced an S-rank?

If an S-rank adventurer really was coming, then they might already know Ryujin's whereabouts…

That prediction soon came true.

That evening, as Ryujin was having dinner at a nearby diner, a man sat down in the seat across from him.

Man: "Ryujin, right? I'm Batt. An S-rank adventurer from the capital."

Ryuu: "You came so quickly."

Batt: "You’re not surprised, are you? You already had information, I see."

Ryuu: "I'm eating. Can you talk later? Why don't you eat first?"

Batt: "Alright."

Batt called for a waiter and ordered some food, then started eating.

Since Catherine had warned him, Ryujin had been constantly using his divine eyes. He naturally also appraised the man who called himself Batt.

Batt's level was 108.

He truly was an S-rank (God Level).

Rank and Level Chart

F: Beginner (Lv 3-15)
E: Apprentice (Lv 10-25)
D: Adept (Lv 20-40)
C: Veteran/Expert (Lv 30-60)
B: Master (Lv 60-80)
A: Beyond Human (Lv 80-100)
S: God Level (Lv 100- )

It must have cost a lot to hire an S-rank adventurer.

Ryujin thought it was quite bold of them to send an S-rank to capture an F-rank adventurer.

…

…

…

Next Time

Will Ryujin’s strength be enough for an S-rank?

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