Outside the main building, two adventurers walked toward the entrance, both fully geared.
One of them wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
"Does the sun always have to be this damn hot?"
His friend shrugged.
"It's really not that bad."
"Not bad?!" the first man snapped, glaring at him.
"Well... I guess I've just gotten used to it," his friend replied, scratching the back of his head.
As they got closer, the first man squinted at the crowd gathered around the main building.
"It looks insanely packed today. What the hell is going on?"
His friend snorted.
"Well... you'd know if you didn't take that stupid break and actually showed up to work."
"Oh please."
"Well," his friend continued, "this month is the general recruitment period. All those people you're seeing are candidates."
"I see..." the man murmured, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"And for the record, it's not my fault I took that break. My whole party got injured during our last job."
"Well... that's your fault for taking a job above your party's rank."
"I wanted better money! The low-ranked jobs pay like garbage."
"Well," his friend replied dryly, "I'm guessing most of that money went straight into treatment for your team."
"NO IT DIDN'T!" the man shouted.
Then he pointed at him.
"And can you stop starting every sentence with 'well'? It's insanely anno-"
BANG!!!
A thunderous explosion ripped through the side of the main building.
Both men froze.
Adventurers scattered around the courtyard immediately fell into a controlled panic.
"Are we under attack?!"
"Right in the middle of recruitment season too!"
"Damn cowards!"
Weapons were drawn instantly.
Several adventurers rushed toward the newly shattered section of the building.
Outside, dust and debris slowly drifted down from the broken wall.
For a moment-
Nothing moved.
Then laughter echoed from the rubble.
Low.
Unhinged.
"HAHAHAHA...!"
Inside the hall, Akeno froze.
A figure slowly rose from the debris.
Boros wiped the corner of his mouth casually.
Then suddenly-
COUGH!
A violent cough tore through his chest.
Dark blood splattered onto the ground.
The entire hall fell silent.
Even the examiner's eyes narrowed slightly.
Boros stared at the blood pooling in his palm.
Then he grinned.
"Damn..." he muttered.
He cracked his neck slowly and lifted his head, locking eyes with the examiner.
"If you're trying to kill me..." he said, voice dripping with amusement,
"...you're gonna have to try a little harder than that."
Scarlet's eyes widened in disbelief.
"He's... not dead."
"Not yet," the examiner replied coldly.
He cracked his knuckles.
Then began walking toward Boros.
"Shiro's okay..." Kinuko whispered, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"I... I can't believe it," Scarlet muttered.
But it wasn't just her. The entire hall had fallen silent.
Adventurers. Candidates. Even the receptionists behind the counters.
No one spoke above a whisper.
"Unbelievable..."
"He survived a hit from him?"
"I knew the white-haired guy was strong but... this is insane."
Kinuko glanced around, noticing the tension hanging over the room.
Everyone looked stunned.
She turned and walked over to Scarlet.
"Why is everyone so quiet?"
Scarlet swallowed.
"Because..." she said slowly, still staring toward the hole in the wall, "...he just survived an attack from him."
Kinuko nodded slowly.
That explained the silence. But another question lingered in her mind.
Who exactly is that man?
So she asked.
"Who is he?"
The moment the words left her mouth-
Heads turned.
Dozens of them.
Every eye in the hall shifted toward her as if she had just said something outrageous.
Kinuko stiffened slightly.
'...Was I not supposed to ask that?'
Scarlet blinked at her in disbelief.
"You... don't know who he is?"
Kinuko hesitated.
Before she could answer-
Akeno suddenly stepped in.
"We're from the East," she said casually. "We lived there our whole lives. Our clan kept us pretty isolated, so we weren't allowed to learn much about things outside our region. Especially information about other Cardinals."
Kinuko glanced at her and silently mouthed,
Thanks.
Akeno gave a subtle thumbs-up.
Scarlet's expression softened slightly.
"I see... If that's the case, it makes sense you wouldn't know him."
She turned her gaze back toward the shattered wall.
"The man standing out there..."
Her voice lowered.
"...is someone every adventurer knows."
"He's the master examiner for the trials."
"But that's not why people fear him."
Scarlet paused.
Then continued.
"He is a master of countless martial arts. Some say there isn't a fighting style in the world he hasn't studied."
"His physical strength alone rivals that of most Guildmasters."
Murmurs rippled through the hall as she spoke.
Scarlet folded her arms.
"And despite all that..."
"...he doesn't use a weapon."
Kinuko blinked.
Scarlet's eyes narrowed slightly.
"He's the only adventurer in history to reach the highest rank relying on nothing but his own body."
She pointed toward the shattered wall. "The man you're looking at..."
"...is an S-Rank adventurer."
A brief pause followed.
Then she finished.
"His name is Rudeus Ford."
The room felt even heavier after the name was spoken.
Outside-
The sound of Boros laughing echoed again.
The sound of boots striking the stone floor echoed through the courtyard.
Every step Rudeus took was loud in the silence.
The adventurers who had gathered around Boros slowly began backing away the moment they saw him approaching.
"He's shirtless... it can't be." "He's the one who broke the wall?" "What are we supposed to do if the Guildmaster shows up?"
Low murmurs spread through the crowd.
But their whispers kept getting interrupted by Boros' echoing laughter.
"HAHAHAHA...!"
One of the adventurers stared at him in disbelief.
"How the hell is that guy still standing after taking a punch from Rudeus?"
"I don't know," another muttered, eyes narrowing. "But we should move. The last thing we want is to get caught in whatever this turns into."
That suggestion was all it took.
The crowd immediately began clearing out, giving the two men a wide circle.
One of the adventurers glanced back at Boros, his thoughts racing.
'If he survived a direct hit from Rudeus...He can't be far from S-Rank himself.'
'And I don't recognize him. There's no way a recruitment candidate should be that strong.'
His eyes narrowed.
'Which means he's either a rogue adventurer...or a bounty hunter stupid enough to attack the White Tigers.'
He exhaled slowly.
'Either way...he's about to regret it.'
'Today he'll learn why Rudeus is called the Unarmed King.'