The Reincarnations of Veldanava

The Conqueror of Flame [Revised]

The disappearance of the Storm Dragon was deemed a national affair. Blumund, as the nation whose borders were shared with the Jura Forest, saw this development as a threat to their well-being, and rightfully so.

Guildmaster Fuze had sent adventurers to investigate, though the report didn't ease any tensions. If anything, it only worsened things.

"I want you three to get back in there."

Fuze was talking to the party he had sent in before. They had mismatched traits of competences and incompetences, but overall, they could be relied upon in dire situations such as this one.

"Are you crazy! We just got out of that place, and now you want us to go back in again! Haven't you read the part in the report that sa-"

"The doors were destroyed from the inside of the cave. I have read it, alright," Fuze interrupted, cutting down the blonde girl's rant before it got out of hand.

Those doors were meant to lock away the Storm Dragon, but it had been broken. The Kingdom of Blumund was at risk.

He wanted this to be a fragment of his paranoid imagination, but... "I have no evidence of it yet, but there is a chance the Storm Dragon is roaming the forest as we speak."

"The more you say, the less I want to go back to that forest! We will pass!" the girl yelled.

A man who sat beside her spoke, "Even if you said it's just a possibility, the risk is too great for our rank. Won't it be better to request help from rank A adventurers instead?"

This man, Kaval, was the party's leader, and he certainly acted like one most of the time.

He tried to point out a better solution, but he wasn't the first to come up with that.

Fuze sighed and shook his head. "You think those people are easy to find, to negotiate with?"

A-rankers were the most valuable assets a nation could have. These were powerful folks meant to be mobilized against terrifying threats.

By technicality, there were ranks higher than A. Individuals like Grandmaster Yuuki and Hinata the Saint were cut above the rest among A ranks, so they were officially ranked as A-plus.

Above them was S rank, the technically highest adventurer rank. This rank was by no means practical. It was said by the Grandmaster that he came up with this rank because of the story his mentor used to tell him.

The story of a person who represented the pinnacle of humanity, if not transcending said pinnacle altogether. This rank belonged to one person only and would immortalize them for generations to come.

This rank was given to the Masked Hero who sealed the Storm Dragon many moons ago. It was such a shame. If that outstanding woman was still around, Fuze wouldn't be this stressful.

That was beside the point, though.

Even a Guildmaster like him found it difficult to contact and hire A-rank adventurers, especially in this tumultuous time. Because of that, he had to rely on B-rank adventurers to do his biddings instead.

Kaval's Party, consisting of fighter Kaval, thief Gido, and sorcerer Ellen, might appear to be a group of good-for-nothing idiots, but they were reliable when push came to shove. Their party was B-plus rank with each member being B-rankers themselves.

"Consider it a service to the kingdom. I will pay extra."

"Even with extra cash, this is the Storm Dragon we are talking about. To be honest with you, no amount of cash is worth the risk," Kaval said.