The euphoric atmosphere of victory enveloped the awakeners.
They laughed as they scavenged the scattered bodies of the drakes, picking up organs and monster cores tucked inside them. These awakeners were proud of themselves after winning the battle against the Drakes.
An F-Class-dominated party had just defeated a horde of middle-class monsters in the orange dungeon. It was a truly outstanding achievement.
It would be a big news story if the media knew about this.
Unfortunately, Their epic battle would only be a story between them. There were no eyewitnesses to their struggle. In the end, it would be nonsense if they told anyone else.
Still, they enjoyed the victory immensely.
"Aw! What are you doing!" A man spontaneously screamed in pain as a slap landed on his thigh. Wincing in pain, he looked annoyed at the blonde-haired girl treating him.
"Shut up! Don't move too much. I'm treating you, idiot!"
While the others celebrated the victory, Joanna and the two healers got to work. They were treating and caring for the wounded awakeners.
Most of them were fighters who fought on the front lines. Luckily, there were no severe injuries, only minor injuries such as bruises or cuts from Drake's bites. On top of that, everything was fine.
"Hey, take this water. Wash your face and butt. Make sure you wipe it properly. I can smell it if you don't get it clean."
"I know, right! I'll do it without you telling me!"
Akio brought Olivia a bucket of water. The woman needed to clean her body from the blood after killing dozens of drakes by herself.
She contributed significantly to the battle. It might have gone on longer if it wasn't for her, and the casualties wouldn't have stopped at minor injuries. No one thought she would turn into a beast overnight.
Without a doubt, Olivia Winston was the star of this battle.
"She fought well. She should have restrained herself more so she wouldn't have messed up like that."
Among the scattered dead drakes, a red-haired woman crossed her arms while looking at Olivia from a distance. Unlike the others smiling, she seemed to have a flat expression like the look in her eyes.
Standing next to her was Michael. While picking up monster cores, the big guy listened to Sylvia speak.
"Are you confiding in me?" asked Michael.
Sylvia furrowed her brows. "Confide in what?" She didn't have a clue about his question.
"About Olivia being the MVP. It's time for her to metamorphose. You don't have to be jealous."
Naturally, Sylvia raised her eyebrows. "Hey! What are you talking about! I never said I was jealous of her."
Michael sighed. "Come on. I'm not a fool. The useless Olivia suddenly became a butcher. We all know she was the man of the show. From the moment I saw you, you were pouting as you watched her get cheered on by the other members. You don't have to hide it."
Michael could see through her even though she denied it. He saw Sylvia could not keep her eyes off Olivia throughout the battle. It was as if she was trying to keep up with Olivia.
The big man may not have said much, but his observational skill exceeded that of anyone in Rays of Hope except Klaus.
It was easy for him to read someone's mind.
The red-haired woman snorted. "What nonsense." She looked away and left after saying so.
Seeing the reaction she gave, Michael shook his head.
All the members were busy with their respective tasks. Klaus was no exception.
He watched over his men with a keen eye. His instincts as the strongest man in the group made Klaus accustomed to separating himself after a battle, ensuring there were no threats around while they were busy doing their jobs.
Besides waiting for his men to finish scavenging, Klaus sent Justin and a few others to patrol the neighborhood. He wanted to get a sense of the terrain that awaited them ahead.
"Wyverns, Tritons, and then drakes. What kind of monsters rule this dungeon?
Klaus began to realize there were some oddities after successfully getting rid of the drakes. Each monster that inhabited the dungeon could vary, but they usually had one type of affinity in common.
If the dungeon is a forest, the inhabitants are usually elves, treants, or druids. They all have one type of element in common—wood.
However, this dungeon was exactly the opposite.
The first was a wyvern that attacked a fishing boat. According to the news, that flying monster struck during a storm. People would think this situation was just a coincidence, but Klaus didn't think so. He thought it was the wyvern that caused the storm.
In some cases, some monsters could cause weather damage or strange natural phenomena due to their strong elemental affinity.
In the world he lived in before, for someone to use weather magic, they had to have a strong air element affinity. So, he assumed that the wyvern had this element.
And the Tritons that attacked them on the ship were clearly water-affinity monsters, while the monsters they had just defeated were Earth drakes.
All three monsters had different elemental affinities. Plus, the terrain of this dungeon was very unusual.
"I can't wait to meet the alpha."
Justin and his men returned.
Klaus frowned as he saw their expressions. There was clearly tension and worry in them.
"What's wrong with your face?" Klaus asked.
Justin bit his lip. He wanted to say something but didn't know how to express it. "It's hard to explain. You'd better come with me."
Klaus raised one eyebrow.
He then followed Justin and his two men. They penetrated the white mist along the rocky ground.
They stopped walking when they arrived at a cliff. It was low, only about 10 meters. They could still clearly see the bottom.
"Look."
Klaus opened his eyes wide as he looked in the direction Justin was pointing.
The ground was devastated. Big scratches like huge monster claw marks were visible in several places. Red blood splashed and pooled on the gray stones. Above all, human corpses and stuck swords were scattered as far as the eye could see.
A big battle had just taken place in that place. More precisely, 200 meters from where they were standing now.
With just a glimpse, Klaus immediately knew the dead men were the main group led by Vincent. Bad luck befell them.
"Tell them to finish their work immediately and tell them to come here after that."
The two awakeners left after Klaus told them to. That left him and Justin at the location. The guild master looked uneasy standing next to him.
"Let's go over there."
Klaus and Justin scanned the scene of the battle. They carefully examined the details of the wounds on the scattered corpses.
These awakeners died horribly. Some parts of their bodies were destroyed. Organs, bones, and flesh were scattered about. It was as if they had been trampled to death by giant feet.
"Hooeeek!"
Justin could not bear the sight before his eyes. He threw up on his knees.
Meanwhile, Klaus still remained calm with his poker face.
"Damn it! Aren't you disgusted, Klaus?" Justin asked while wiping his mouth.
"I've seen worse than this."
Justin snorted. "I probably wouldn't believe it if an eighteen-year-old boy said that. But, if it was you, everything sounds plausible."
Justin shook his head in wonder. Klaus always managed to surprise him.
"Check around. If you find anything, let me know," Klaus said.
"Seriously?"
Klaus turned to Justin. "Yes, I'm serious, Justin."
The ex-celebrity raised an eyebrow for a moment before he sighed. "Aye, aye."
Klaus fell into deep thought.
Looking at the chaotic condition of the terrain and the dozens of awakeners corpses strewn about, he had a plausible explanation for what happened in this place.
It was likely that the creature that attacked them was a wyvern, judging by the damage it left behind, massive and deep. Or maybe it was two. But more importantly, it needed to be big enough to do so.
However, it was still a mystery how there could be so many dead in a group dominated by A-Class awakeners. They had Morning Star and Sunstrike, two of the strongest guilds in America. These two guilds were strong enough to withstand wyvern rampages.
Something stronger must have killed them.
"Klaus! Klaus! Come here!"
When Klaus was in deep thought, Justin hysterically shouted his name. He immediately came to his subordinate.
"Calm down a bit, Justin. We're in a dungeon. You can invite monsters to come. What is it?" asked Klaus in an annoyed tone.
"Look at that!"
Justin pointed to a large mountain with a castle standing majestically on top of it, obscured by a light mist that exuded a mysterious aura.
