CHAPTER 48: GLEAMING CRUCIAL INFORMATION (2)

Ray examined it.

It was made of some kind of special material, making it feel as sturdy as iron but as soft and weightless as a feather. Its black and gold colour was natural. A vertical pupil, like a dragon’s eye, was etched into its surface.

"What’s your guild’s name?" Ray asked curiously.

"Dragon’s Gaze," Lucy replied honestly.

Ray felt suprised.

Dragon’s Gaze was the second most powerful guild in the world, surpassed only by the Beast Hall.

Although not the best, it was massive, its influence spreading throughout the kingdom.

Because its entry requirements weren’t as strict, it had more members as compared to Beast Hall, but it still wasn’t a guild that just anyone could join.

Ray felt like he was being lied. Something just didn’t add up. These iron-rank tamers before him were weak, lacking in talent and strength. How did they get into Dragon’s Gaze?

Seeing his judgemental gaze, Lucy explained, "I’m not lying to you. We’re descendants of high-ranking members of Dragon’s Gaze, so... it was easier for us to join."

"Ah... I see."

Ray realized the truth, sighing inwardly.

This was a classic case of nepotism.

If you didn’t have any backing whatsoever, getting into a powerful guild was tough like scaling a mountain or crossing a river. It was simple to get in, however, if you had a powerful background.

’Despite their lack of talent, they got in through connections. Their relatives must hold considerable influence.’

Guilds like Dragon’s Gaze had a strict hierarchy.

In these guilds, at the very bottom were the New Members. Above them were Veterans, slightly more treasured, but still far from having any real say in the guild. Above Veterans were Guild Protectors, Core Members, Divine Guardians, and finally, the Guild Master.

In a guild, only Guild Protectors and higher-ranked members had the authority to bend certain rules, such as securing membership for their descendants regardless of talent or ability.

Thus, Ray believed the relatives of Mabo and his team were at least Protector-ranked members of the Dragon’s Gaze guild.

’Forming a connection with them won’t hurt me. With their nature, it can only benefit me in the future,’ he thought.

"I will accept your gratitude," Ray said aloud, pretending to tuck the token into his pocket while discreetly storing it inside his interspatial ring.

Other than Selena, the pure-blooded noble, he didn’t trust anyone enough to reveal he possessed such an extraordinary treasure.

"Do you mind answering a few of my questions?" Ray asked.

"No problem," Lucy answered with a warm smile.

"Please, ask us whatever you want to know. We’ll do our best to assist," Mabo added earnestly.

Ray posed his questions. "What brought you to the wilderness? And how did you end up with a RuneBear chasing after you?"

"It’s a long story," Mabo said.

"I’m all ears," Ray said.

Mabo sighed and explained, "As low-ranking members of the guild, if we don’t want to shamelessly leech off our relatives, the only way to earn resources to grow faster is by completing quests. So, we accepted a tough quest. That quest led us to the Slime Nest.

"But before we could finish it, we caught sight of fiends.

"To an ordinary tamer, fiends are nightmares given flesh. They possess the best traits of both demonic beasts and tamers. Not only do they have supernatural powers and strong bodies, but they can also tame demonic creatures, just like us. They’re horrifying. Fighting them is not an option for most iron and bronze rank tamers.

"Our team of five didn’t have the guts to confront them, so we ran away and abandoned our quest. Continuing would have been foolish... suicidal. We left the Slime Nest to return home. But on the way back, a RuneBear targeted us.

"And you know the rest."

Ray’s expression darkened slightly. ’So, there are fiends in the Slime Nest... this just makes things more troublesome.’

"Any idea how many there are?" He asked.

"No, but there should be a lot. Fiends rarely move alone so close to human territory," Lucy replied intelligently before a thought struck her

"You... are you planning to go to the Slime Nest?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah," Ray nodded plainly.

"Didn’t you hear us? It’s being overrun by fiends. It’s dangerous to head there," Lucy said.

"Why do you think fiends appeared in a place like the Slime Nest, where the resources are only useful for iron-rank beings?" Ray questioned.

Lucky blinked in confusion.

Mabo scratched his head. "I can’t think of a reason. Perhaps they heard we went there and came to eat us?"

"Boss, you’re so stupid," one of his teammates cut in. "It’s obviously because there’s something there that caught their attention."

"Correct." Ray said, "As far as I know, in the Slime Nest, only two things can warrant their attention."

"You are saying it’s either a heaven-and-earth treasure... or the birth of a king type demonic creature that drew them there?"

In response to Lucy’s question, Ray nodded.

"That’s indeed my spectualation. As a man, I can’t let such a chance slip into the hands of fiends. Not to mention, my main goal is to tame a king type demonic creature. So I must go to the slime nest no matter how dangerous it is."

"Should we come along?" Mabo asked.

"No. You’ll only be a burden," Ray shook his head and said bluntly.

"You’re so brutal with your words. It hurts my feelings," Mabo said.

"But he’s being honest," Lucy cut in with a sigh. "We can’t go back there or we’ll die."

"Before you leave, can you tell us where we are?"

While being chased by the RuneBear, Mabo and his team had run wildly, so now they were lost with no idea of where they were. Being lost in the wilderness was quite scary as it that had cost many lives, and they didn’t want to become one of the unfortunate casualties.

"We are in the territory of the Monstrous Mosquitoes." Ray had saved their lives, and he naturally didn’t want to see them end up dead, so he was happy to provide guidance.

Hearing his words, Mabo quickly calculated.

They had been driven far from their original route. If they retraced their steps, they would have to spend a day or two in the wild before they could return home. But if they crossed the Monstrous Mosquitoes’ territory, it would take far less time to reach the Labyrinth City.

Seemingly aware of what Mabo was thinking, Ray warned, "If you are planning to cross it to get to the Labyrinth City faster, I advise you against it. I have faced and killed three Earth Splitter Worms in this territory."

"Your timely warning saved us again." Mabo and the others were all smiles as they expressed their gratitude to Ray. "Thanks."

Ray nodded before waving his hand.

"Goodbye."

Immediately, he parted ways with Mabo and his team, heading towards the Slime Nest through the shortest route possible!