"I shall introduce you to our new American heroes—Mr. James, Mr. Sanders, and Mr. Anderson. Together with their new comrade from afar, they have successfully freed our earth from dungeons. Not even a day has passed, and they are eager to embark on another dungeon. Together…”

  James rolled his eyes as Douglas spun a heroic story of his deeds, unaware that James was simply running away from some cops. James was also irritated when Douglas tried to raise Anderson and Sanders higher since they had a better background than him.

  “Are you Sir James? Could you tell me why you chose St. Memorial Hospital to free? Did you think that dungeon was easier?” A reporter thrust her mic at him. James almost instinctively retaliated with a punch. However, if that were to happen, she might get injured or die. So, James held himself back and continued walking.

  “Get lost! I am not talking to you!” James roared. His bulky body, towering over the female reporter by over a meter, was intimidating. The reporter took a step back at once.

  When the passage was clear, James strolled over the walkway, following Silas, who was smiling along the way. James thought he would get reprimanded by him for being impolite, but Silas didn't even bat an eye.

  “Well, here is the dungeon that we will ask you to clear. It is in Europe. The trip will take ten hours, so please get comfortable,” Silas said.

  James had never been on a private plane. He was expecting a first-class or VIP seat on an airplane. He never thought he would have the entire airplane to himself. The cabin was filled with a bar, beds, and even a huge TV.

  “The news about you will be broadcast shortly. Do you want to see it?”

  “No. Are you going to reprimand me for that scene?”

  “No. I hired you to clear dungeons. Your attitude is secondary. As long as you do not assault or kill innocent people, the PR department will handle things like this. It doesn't matter,” Silas said as he lounged on the sofa. James then brought his leather bag and laid it beside the bed, along with his axe, crossbow, and swords.

  “Aren't you going to at least put it beside the bed?” Silas asked as James sank into the soft mattress while hugging his weapons.

  “Habit. I can no longer sleep without weapons.”

  “I see. I would recommend seeing a psychiatrist, but I suppose that habit is beneficial for now. You look like a hardened veteran of war,” Silas said.

  “Well, well. I sure wish I had the intimidating face of Boss James in times like these. Those reporters sure are a hassle,” Sanders said as he stepped inside the cabin together with Kaina and Anderson thirty minutes later.

  “Welcome. Well, an hour or two hardly matters. Clearing a dungeon would take at least several months anyway, judging by your experience and others,” Silas said.

  “Greetings, Mr. Silas. I guess you are my boss now? Or am I still in the Marines?” Sanders asked.

  “You will be loaned to the guild. But I am not your boss—more like a manager. Shall we have a cup of tea in the other room? Mr. James seems exhausted.”

  The four people then walked to the dining room. Once they sat down, Silas began the debriefing.

  “First of all, congratulations on bringing James back and clearing the dungeon. Before we accept James into the guild, are there any concerns about his behavior that I should know of?”

  “James prefers to work alone. Even when battling a floor boss, he didn't ask for help,” Anderson began with his dissatisfaction.

  “Are you saying that he will abandon his comrades in a selfish manner?”

  “No. That's not true, Mr. Silas. We can hardly help him anyway. Just look at that boss monster—ten-meter snakes and a fucking giant octopus. I think he viewed us more as liabilities, too weak to help him. That's why he took everything on by himself,” Sanders replied. Anderson frowned, but he didn't refute him.

  “Did he sleep on the wrong side of the bed today, or was that his usual attitude?”

  “That was his usual attitude.”

  “What levels are you guys at now?”

  “We are about level 20.”

  “I see. That's about the same as Andrew’s comrades. Excellent,” Silas smiled. Of course, that wasn't true. These three stooges were at level 21, while Andrew’s team was at level 28 when they cleared the trial dungeon. The difference was seven levels.

  “Um… Mr. Silas. According to James, novice dungeons are much harder than trial dungeons. I think we should revise the criteria for entering the dungeons.”

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  “Hm? Really?”

  “Yes. Even after reaching level 20, we are not confident about facing a floor boss by ourselves.”

  “But James could do it even though he is level 38? Does this mean one level 38 is better than three people at level 20?”

  “I think it all depends on skills… James' unique skill is perfect for vanguard.”

  “I see. I knew about unique skills. What is his unique skill? Why do you think it is perfect for vanguard?” Silas asked, caressing his chin. He had files about the unique skills of guild members.

  “He can plunder monster parts and take their special abilities.”

  “I see. Then what about your unique skills?”

  “Mine is logistics. I can buy food and water from the shop function. But it needs coins.”

  “Mine is trap detection.”

  “I see. I have not seen coins before, but I suppose we shall meet with Reinhardt. He has the unique skill to transfer coins. Andrew told the guild to take care of him. The others have similar skills to you, Anderson. They can also buy something from the shop.”

  “Huh? Really?”

  “Yes. Well, I am not a survivor, so I couldn't confirm it myself, but guild members all said the same,” Silas said. “Hm... so, James could take monsters’ abilities. That is unique. But didn't he have to defeat the monster first? I fail to see how he could grow to be so powerful that he can solo a floor boss. Well, I guess he is similar to Kouki then—a strong but individual player?”

  “That should be about right.”

  “Anything of value we can buy from him? You said only weapons registered by the system were allowed inside the dungeon, right?”

  “To be precise, we couldn't bring any weapons not registered with the system inside the dungeon. Once we are inside, we may take or use any weapons. I had plundered a gun, but since it was not registered, it is gone now,” Anderson said.

  “I see. I can't help but notice that Mr. James has burdened himself with many weapons. Maybe we could relieve him of some of them? With remuneration, of course. Since he has brought them outside, that means the weapons were registered by the system, right? Could you politely persuade him to donate some of the weapons to the guild? Not all guild members have their original weapons when they come out of the trial dungeon. Some were lost, and some were broken,” Silas said. Now that he knew about registered weapons, those axes, swords, and bows were much more enticing to him.

  Anderson then looked at Sanders, and he nodded, bringing out James’ gun.

  “Mr. James lent… gave me this.”

  “He gave you a gun?”

  “He also gave Anderson a magical knife,” Sanders said.

  “Did he give you that bow too?”

  “Um… no. We found this in a chest. But he did give us flashbangs and also a grenade,” Kaina said and brought out James’ gifts to the guild.

  “Oh hohoho. He is much more generous than I thought. I assumed he was a selfish bastard! I was worried for nothing,” Silas chuckled as he looked at the grenades, flashbangs, and a bullet for the handgun. He then caressed the gun, bullet, and grenades. “These are all registered weapons?”

  The trio nodded.

  “Well. Hm… I am very tempted to take these from you. But considering that you must not fail in the next dungeon, I suppose we should lend them to you for the time being? Until you clear that dungeon? Does this gun do any good there?”

  “It is as powerful as an ordinary gun. However, the bullets are expensive in the shop. It would be hard to kill a monster in one shot unless you hit them in the eye or head,” Sanders said.

  “But some monsters could resist a bullet shot to the head. Mr. James is a prime example—he survived a machine gun volley head-on,” Anderson said.

  “I see. So the gun did not get weaker. It was you guys who got stronger. Did you know why he gave you the gun and not the crossbow?”

  “Because the crossbow has weapon skills while the gun doesn't. Moreover, I haven't given the gun or the knife to the guild yet. You must be satisfied with the grenades and one of my axes. They need that gun,” James answered. His sudden appearance sent Silas into shock.

  “Ah! Mr. James. Of course. If you listen to my earlier comments, that was exactly what I was planning to do.”

  “So, am I not invited to this secret meeting?”

  “This is no secret meeting, Mr. James. This is called a debriefing. Once a soldier has completed their mission, they are required to report to the higher-ups. Since you were neither a guild member nor military when you dived into the dungeon, you are exempted from this debriefing. But if you like, you may attend,” Silas answered. His response was smooth, which made James even more suspicious. Nevertheless, James decided to trust him for the time being.

  “Bullets can be recreated by anyone who has a shop. The grenades too. You should take them. Anderson or Sanders could just buy more. But guns and weapons couldn't be replicated using normal shops.”

  "Really?" Silas looked at them.

  "Well, we haven't gotten to that part."

  "Well, we shall gratefully accept your gift to the guild, Mr. James."

  "Good. I do not need money. Just remember, I contributed, alright?" James then went to the bar, asked the attendants for some snacks, and sat on the nearby couch. Before he sat, a smirk appeared on his face as he stepped back and handed Silas a mechanical ball. "I will also give you this. It’s called the Sphere of Fethusiane. I will tell you how to use it if I return. Be careful. It's dangerous."

  "Of course." Silas nodded while perspiring. Treating it like a bomb, he placed it carefully on the sofa beside him.

  "Alright. Anything else you guys would like to tell me?" Silas said while asking a staff member to put the dangerous ball inside a box.

  "Shall we tell him about system gems?" Kaina asked while pulling out blue pebbles and placing them on the table.

  "System gems? Oh, I knew about them already. Andrew managed to find five of them. They've all been converted, though. Did you find any? If you did, you should give them to the guild. Some people need more coins than others. These system gems will help them more."

  "They all need the coins to buy bullets and magic. Don't take them," James said. From the interaction before, James was sure the guild intended to rob them of their equipment, and he would not let that happen. He needed these three stooges to get stronger for his sake too.

  Dungeons were dangerous. Who knew what might happen? James still remembered that he owed them his life on the eighth floor. All they did was merely drag him into the building, but James wouldn't have survived if they hadn't, and he was thankful for that.

  "I suppose you are right. May I know what principle you will be taking?" Silas continued the interview.

  The answer didn't change. Sanders wanted fire magic. Anderson wanted ice magic, while Kaina wanted life magic.

  When it was James' turn, he shrugged while casting a floating ice ball around him and didn’t say anything else. Again, James lied by omission.

  Feeling bored, James returned to his bed. The ten hours felt like mere moments once he drifted back to sleep. Soon, they were all brought by a military jeep toward the dungeon.