The world was startled when a voice boomed from the sky, announcing that White Unicorns had sessfully cleared Thunder Cave. No one really expected that they would seed this early, and they were caught off guard by the news.


    The keyboard warriors naturally took this to the inte, starting a discussion about White Unicorns'' sessful clear. Some even downyed their win, justifying that it took them several failed attempts or that it only seeded because Eric and Erica personally joined the battle. They even said that if they hadn''t been able to clear the dungeon with their line-up, then White Unicorn didn''t deserve to be one of the top five guilds.


    "You tricked us," Eric said to Ren after everything settled.


    Ren''s brow rose. "Tricked you?"


    "In the first ce, you could have finished it. But in the end, you tricked us into believing that you can only dish out one higher-tier spell, followed by a couple of low-level spells."


    Ren shrugged. "I followed your orders to the letter, so don''t me yourck of information about my skills on me. A deal is a deal."


    Eric looked straight into Ren''s eyes, and when he noticed that Ren wasn''t pulling any punches, he sighed deeply. "You could have finished that Boss, without waiting for half of us to get wiped out."


    "Yes, I could. But then what would happen to my pay? I will get the books for you, but what will I get in return? I will not be satisfied leaving this dungeon empty-handed."


    Instead of getting angry, Ericughed. "And your strategy is to take on the boss by yourself, I presume?"


    "You should have asked me what my strategy is in the first ce," said Ren without care. "Then you wouldn''t had to expend so much effort and gil on this campaign."


    "Ah. My bad. My bad." Eric stifled augh.


    The moment they heard Ren said that they must follow his orders, they immediately thought that they''d all be under him, which didn''t sit well with their guild, and thus, they refused to hear the rest of what he was going to say.


    Who knew that his strategy was to take on the Boss alone and not get in his way? If they knew, they would have agreed to his strategy in the first ce. But Ren really had a way with words, and Eric couldn''t help but shake his head in admiration and frustration.


    Nevertheless, Eric was d that all of this was finished, and they managed to kill the Boss and get its rewards. The minor details didn''t matter anymore.


    "What happens now?" Eric asked.


    "Transfer my pay to the ount I sent you. Also, I want the down payment before proceeding to the next elemental dungeon."


    "Will do. And we will send another unit with you. You might not need them, but we need you to blend in. Plus, we need White Unicorns'' name on the announcement when you kill the Boss and get those rewards."


    "We won''t have you steal those items by going in there alone after all," Erica chimed in.


    Ren stepped closer to her, his face only a few inches from hers, and said, "Don''t worry, Princess. I won''t steal your items. I won''t tarnish World Conquerors'' name with something like that. Besides, a solo yer couldn''t enter those caves. They all have a minimum yer requirement."


    Erica red at Ren, but her face was flushed as she looked away. She could feel the heat on her cheeks as she saw his eyes steadied on her.


    Her gaze shifted to Eric, who looked at her with a knowing expression.


    Ren didn''t say anything else and walked away without another word. Erica watched him leave, feelingpletely confused. She couldn''t believe he was just going to leave!


    "Where are you going?" Erica asked, a slight panic in her voice.


    "Message me when you finish transferring the money and when and what time you want to attempt another elemental dungeon." Ren only waved his hand and burst into particles.


    "What was that about?" Erica asked Serine, who was standing next to her.


    Thetter only looked back at her with a nk expression. "He''s so hot and very powerful! I wonder if he is single."


    ". . ." Erica blinked and shook her head. She knew what she wanted to say, but she couldn''t bring herself to say it.


    ''It''s not like he''s my type anyway,'' was what she wanted to say. ''He might look good on the outside, but inside? He is a brute.''


    Erica was a woman with a strong sense of values. She didn''t believe in love at first sight. Instead, she believed that true love would bloom after years of hard work and sacrifice.


    ''But I don''t think he has any feelings for me, even if it was just like,'' thought Erica. ''He even tossed me to the ground!''


    At the thought, Erica grumbled.


    "Be careful."


    Erica shifted her attention at the sound of her brother''s voice.


    Eric was staring at her seriously and Erica replied with a stutter, "W-what is it?"


    "I know his type," said Eric.


    Serine chuckled. "And what type is that?"


    "The type of man that would do anything for their ambition or mission, even at the cost of a misunderstanding. He is the type that would do anything to protect you if he must, at the cost of his own life. Being protected by that type of handsome and capable man would surely make a maiden''s heart fall.


    "And after heid his life for you, and you to fall head over heels for him, at the end, when you expect him to confess his feelings after a rigorous journey, he would only look you in the eyes and say that it was all part of his job, which will leave your heart broken and confused, wondering what just happened."


    ". . ." Erica only looked at her brother dead in the eyes.


    Sometimes, he could really be very dramatic.


    Serine scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I guess you know since you''re the same type, huh?"


    ". . . Egh?" Eric had a flower sprouting over his head as the two women left him alone on his spot, wondering what had just happened.


    He was only speaking the truth! And he wasn''t like that!