Threat to the Surface

Wilfred's face scrunched up and his eyes narrowed, if the Enforcers were here then that meant it was finally time for the labyrinth to be swept.

The Tremblebane guild's passage into the dungeon had been halted for a whole month now, stopping the recruits from gaining more experience within the dungeon, and decreasing the income Tremblebane usually amassed from the labyrinth.

He looked toward Roy. "Looks like they're already here, I have to get going".

Roy nodded. "Aye, we don't want another scrummage like last time, so try not to bump heads with the Commander again".

The Enforcer's commander was someone that Wilfred couldn't bring himself to like even if it killed him, and the previous time a dungeon sweep was scheduled for the Great Aeternus Labyrinth the two did not get along in the slightest.

Wilfred replied with a low grunt, halfheartedly agreeing to the blacksmith's words. With that said he turned around and moved toward the door where the guild's messenger was awaiting him.

"You, go inform the others of the Enforcers' arrival. I'll go and meet with the commander in the meantime." He commanded the messenger.

The man in question bowed his head slightly then rushed away in the opposite direction of where Wilfred was heading. Walking through the long hallways of the mansion Wilfred heard quick footsteps coming from the right hallway that connected with the one he was on. He frown slightly, preparing to lecture the imbecile that didn't know how to walk indoors.

Even if the Enforcers were here, rules were made for a reason, he couldn't let members of the guild run rampant as they pleased. Only certain people could run in the halls, but that was due to their positions within the guild.

For instance, the messenger, his job was to deliver messages as quickly as possible so it would only be right if he was able to deliver said message as fast as he physically could.

The first thing he saw was bright blonde hair flowing in the air. It was a beautiful woman, her emerald eyes sparkled as her sight landed on him. She ran closer and immediately performed a salute. It was the Vice-leader Melinda, Wilfred had previously tasked her with retrieving Blake's insignia.

"There you are, I've been looking all over for you. The Enforcers are here, it seems one of the Wisemen of the Council also accompanied them".

Wilfred nodded. He had already figured that a Wiseman would come to Veenvale, especially after the dungeon incident. It was only normal given the fact that abnormalities within the dungeon were extremely rare. Each time one occurred the Royal family and Council operated with the utmost seriousness to avoid any threats to the kingdom.

"Well, let's go and meet them. Since we still haven't watched the mana recording from Blake's insignia we should watch it with the commander and Wiseman".

Melinda saluted once again. "Yes sir".

The two then began moving, going to meet with the Enforcers. They quickly exited the guild's mansion, where Wilfred found a militia waiting at the front doors for them. Many knights were standing on guard outside around the large wooden doors.

They were wearing dark silver armor with a red cape that hung diagonally across the right shoulder, engraving ran up and down their chest-plates and helmets. The knights were neatly and strategically lined up in rows and columns of eight, each soldier not moving a muscle, resembling a group of statues.

In the center of it all was a tall man, he was armored in black abyssal armor from head to toe. Connected to his chest-plate was a jet-black hooded cape that hugged his helmet. The helmet itself resembled a black skull, and on his back was a large magic greatsword.

He stepped out of line into view and addressed both, the Guild master and Vice-guild master by name. "Wilfred, Melinda, it's nice to see you again".

His deep voice made Melinda flinch instantly, even the wind seemed to cease movement momentarily as though terrified, however, Wilfred just looked at the man with a face full of seriousness and boredom. With the irony of his facial expressions, he replied as respectfully as he could muster.

"Yeah".

After saying this an awkward silence ensued in the area. Wilfred and the commander just stared at one another. Melinda peeked at Wilfred only to see a small vein forming in the temple area of his head.

She could also feel a dense aura leaking from the commander. He openly released his aura, encompassing everyone in the vicinity. It felt as if a huge weight landed on everyone's shoulders.

Wilfred also released his aura, however, he directed it only toward the commander. This was a technique that only Rank 7 classes could do. The two stared at each other with obvious hate for one another, their auras were at friction with the others, causing the air to screech and tear.

These two bad blood ran deep, they had only exchanged a few words and seemed to have got annoyed with each other off that alone. However, she didn't say anything, it was moments like this that made it hard for even her, the Vice-guild leader, to confront Wilfred.

The tension was thick. As both Wilfred's and the commander's aura gradually grew even the Enforcer soldiers began to fidget a little. Both these two men were pillars of Asrich, if they fought what would happen to everyone else in the process?

Suddenly, a skinny hand landed on the commander's shoulder. It was an elderly man, he had a slim build and he wore silky garments, indicating that he was nobility or someone with equal wealth and status. He had a scholarly vibe.

"Dalton, now's not the time for your squandering, there is a monster that hasn't been identified yet, which means it clearly is a rare species that could pose a threat to the surface. You can have your petty disputes once we finish what we came here for, understand?".

Dalton immediately retracted his aura, obeying the command instructed by the old man. "Yes sir".

Melinda's face changed to confusion, who was this old geezer that could order the Enforcers commander so easily?

Wilfred simply chuckled a bit, then spoke. "Elton, it's been a while".

"That's Chronicler and Wiseman to you, I see you still haven't learned any manners over the years".

Melinda's eyes widened, she hadn't even recognized that the old man was one of the Wisemen, not to mention, Elton Dunne, he was the Wiseman famed for his in-depth research of the Apparatus and ways of the dungeons and labyrinths. His books were widespread across the continent earning him the title 'The All-knowing'.

Wilfred chuckled again, this time much louder than the last. "Haha! And I see you still haven't stopped with your lousy pestering."

"Anyway, we stopped by here to look into the dungeon issue. I'm sure you already know this but the Council takes these matters very seriously."

Wilfred's face straightened and he looked into Elton's gray eyes, "Of course, how could I not know. Let's go inside and talk about this in private".

***

Inside the strategy room, there was a total of four people. The Guild leader and Vice-guild leader, and the Enforcer's commander and Wiseman of the Council. Tremblebane guild members were guarded outside of the room.

Melinda reached in the pocket of her guild suit-jacket uniform pulled out the insignia that once belonged to Blake then placed it on the large round table.

The Tremblebane guild's insignias all had a feature built into them which allow the insignia to work as a camera that recorded the events of what transpires, it was specifically built for situations like this.

Reaching her hand over it, she injected some of her mana into the insignia, suddenly a blue screen popped up and hovered over the table, big enough for everyone to view it. Soon a video began to play.

It showed some sort of creature moving swiftly around, it moved so fast that within the mana recording the only thing everyone could see was a blur.

Hearing the screams of pain and terror coming from people that were once members of the same guild as her Melinda turned her head closing her eyes. The memories of the trio began resurfacing in her mind.

Wilfred continued to watch the video with a straight face, he had seen much worse.

Finally, a clear view of the monster was shown. It was a giant reptile, something that definitely didn't belong on the first stratum. It had stopped its movement and stared directly at Blake, however, for some odd reason, to everyone in the room it felt like the reptile was eyeing them instead of Blake.

Its eyes were filled with intelligence, something that shouldn't have even been possible on the first stratum. Although it wasn't clear, there were even signs of ice magic being used by the reptile.

Wilfred's forehead scrunched and his eyes narrowed, and Elton cupped his chin with his hands, in deep thought. Soon the video came to an end. The room was deathly silent, everyone was too busy trying to figure out what they had just watched.

*Thump*

Suddenly Elton slammed the massively thick brown book he had been carrying this whole time on top of the table, gaining everyone's attention.

He then began mumbling to himself out loud as he flipped through the pages. "Reptile....cyan colored scales….. six legs....."

Letting the anticipation overcome him, Wilfred spoke up. "You find anything that's similar to that thing?"

Elton just frowned, his wrinkled face becoming even more wrinkled. "No".

Then he continued. "I've never heard of nor encountered any lizard species which used magic, they usually mutate their bodies in a way where their poison or venom is at its peak. So this is most unusual.

Not to mention the additional limbs this specimen has. Nevertheless, the coloring of the reptile's scales is a very distinctive feature, I am fairly certain that this reptile is some species of Aeternus Lacerta.

As they evolve the green color that they are born with lightens evolution after evolution until they become pure white. And although it usually never happens, if we take into consideration the mutations monsters go through it's possible that the creature gained extra limbs in the process."

Although the situation was dire, Melinda couldn't help but marvel at the knowledge the Wiseman displayed. Even though the monster was like no other reptile in the labyrinth he still was able to deduce what was it's species.

Elton's frown soon grew and everyone in the room felt chills as he said his final words. "But knowing the species doesn't solve the biggest problem here. This monster looks to have had mutations done all over its body, and has clearly formed its core since it's able to cast magic.

Its size makes it evident that it has already evolved at least once now, and its high intelligence at such a young age… This, this is bad, very bad. I fear if we don't get rid of this monster now, it will definitely become a threat to the Kingdom of Asrich in the future".