Chapter 27: The City Lord’s Panic

The City Lord’s residence stood at the center of the city, its tall structure rising above the surrounding buildings.

Inside his office, a middle-aged man sat behind a large wooden desk, signing one report after another. He glanced at the latest request and sighed.

"More guards for the northern villages... another request from the merchants to lower their taxes..." He rubbed his forehead. "And the annual awakening has barely started."

He picked up the next report and skimmed through it.

"At least the new professionals are keeping themselves busy in the dungeons."

Just as he reached for his pen, the door suddenly burst open.

The City Lord’s hand stopped mid-air as he slowly raised his head, his expression darkening.

"Didn’t I tell you to knock before entering?"

A warrior hurried into the room and quickly bowed.

"I’m sorry, my lord. But this is urgent."

The City Lord put down his pen.

"If this isn’t important, you’ll be the one dealing with these documents for the rest of the day."

The warrior’s face paled slightly.

"It’s about the young miss."

The City Lord’s expression changed.

"Aria?"

"Yes, my lord."

The warrior swallowed.

"She entered a dungeon."

The City Lord stared at him in surprise before a smile spread across his face.

"She did?"

He leaned back in his chair.

"Good. Finally."

He looked genuinely pleased.

"That girl has been avoiding proper training since the day she awakened. I was beginning to wonder if she’d ever take her level seriously."

The warrior didn’t respond.

The City Lord’s smile slowly faded as he noticed the man’s pale face.

"...Why do you look like someone just died?"

The warrior hesitated.

"My lord, it’s..."

The warrior lowered his head. "My lord... the young miss didn’t enter the easy difficulty."

The City Lord frowned. "Then what did she choose?"

"Not normal either."

"Hard?"

The warrior shook his head, then lowered his voice. "The Hell difficulty."

The City Lord froze. He shot to his feet and slammed his hands onto the desk. Crack! The wooden desk split apart under his strength.

"What?!"

The warrior flinched and took a step back.

"Aria entered the Hell difficulty?"

"Yes, my lord!"

The City Lord’s expression darkened. "How did this happen? Who let her enter the Hell difficulty?"

The warrior swallowed. "My lord... She was pushed into the Hell portal."

"She was pushed?"

"Yes. A young man was with her. He pushed her into the Hell portal and entered right after her."

"Which dungeon?"

"The eastern dungeon."

The City Lord immediately turned toward the door.

"Get my guards ready. I’m going there myself."

The warrior hurried after him.

"My lord, the dungeon won’t let us enter once someone has chosen the Hell difficulty."

"I know." The City Lord’s voice was cold. "But what good will staying here do?"

Meanwhile, inside the Hell difficulty dungeon, Ethan and Aria appeared in a flash of light.

Aria stumbled backward and quickly caught herself. The moment she regained her balance, she spun around.

"Ethan!"

He stood there as if nothing had happened.

"You actually pushed me into the Hell portal!"

Her playful expression was gone. She stepped toward him and pointed at his chest, letting out an annoyed snort.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?"

"Yes."

"Yes?!"

Aria almost couldn’t believe him.

"Hell difficulty isn’t some place you can casually walk into! Even a strong party full of elites would need to prepare before entering!"

She clenched her fists.

"And you dragged me in here without even asking!"

Before Ethan could answer, several messages appeared in front of them.

[You have entered the First-Order Ironclaw Wolf Dungeon.]

[Difficulty: Hell]

[Trial Objective: Clear the dungeon.]

[Current Progress: 0%]

[Failure Condition: Death]

Aria glanced at the notifications, then immediately looked back at Ethan.

"See?! Failure condition: death!"

She pointed at the last line.

"Death, Ethan!"

Ethan glanced at the message.

"I can read."

"Then why aren’t you worried?!"

Aria stared at him, her mouth slightly open. She looked at the Hell difficulty notification again, then back at Ethan.

"You really intend to clear this?"

"Of course."

Her eyes widened.

"You actually mean it?"

Ethan turned toward the forest ahead.

"Let’s go."

Aria stood there, staring at his back.

"You’re insane..."

She quickly followed him, still unable to believe what he was planning. "You’re seriously the most unreasonable person I’ve ever met."

A sharp growl suddenly came from the trees. Aria barely had time to turn before a large Ironfang Wolf lunged straight at her.

"Ah!"

She stumbled backward and landed hard on the ground. The wolf was already above her, its jaws opening wide.

Aria’s face went pale. "Wait—!"

She threw up her arms and shut her eyes, expecting the worst.

But nothing happened.

When she slowly opened her eyes, the wolf was still there, its fangs only a few inches from her face. Its entire body had become completely immobile.

"What...?"

Aria’s heart was still pounding as she stared at the frozen wolf. Then she noticed Ethan standing behind it with one hand raised, looking as calm as ever.

"Get up."

Aria stared at him in disbelief. "How did you..."

Her eyes shifted back to the wolf. Only then did she notice the thin shadows wrapped around its body, covering its legs, neck, and jaws and holding it completely still.

"Shadows?"

Then, a dark line flashed across the wolf’s neck.

Its head dropped and rolled across the ground before the body collapsed beside Aria.

Aria stared at the wolf’s body, and a notification appeared in front of her.

[You have killed an Ironfang Wolf.]

[Total Experience: 120]

[Party Distribution: Equal]

[You received: 60 EXP.]

Aria blinked at the notification.

"I actually got experience? But you killed it."

"We entered together," Ethan said. "The dungeon treats us as a party, so the experience is shared."

Aria looked at the dead wolf.

"So I really get the experience even if you kill it?"

"Basically."

She looked toward the forest ahead. There was no shortage of wolves in a place like this.

"That’s useful..."

Her excitement quickly faded as she remembered where they were.

"Wait. We’re still in Hell."

"Yes."

Aria let out a long sigh.

"Right. I almost forgot."