"Congratulations! Take care of your monster very well, alright?" Josh congratulated a kid and his family, who were clearly overjoyed that their son had successfully completed the monster ritual.

As he escorted them out, he suddenly saw Arnulf waiting for him. Arnulf’s expression was far from pleasant.

"Arnulf? What brings you here?" Josh asked.

"We need to talk." Arnulf grabbed Josh in the hallway and pushed him against the wall.

"Why did you tell everyone about my son? I thought I could trust you to keep our secret. But it seems I was wrong."

"What are you talking about?" Josh looked confused.

"Don’t play innocent, Josh! You told everyone that my son failed the tamer ritual. Everyone is talking about it now."

"No! No! I never told anyone. Trust me, Arnulf. We’ve been friends since we were kids, why would I betray you?"

"Then who spread this story?" Arnulf clenched his teeth.

"There are others who might have spread the story. Josh is not the only one working in this guild." Suddenly, a voice was heard at the end of the hallway. Both of them turned and saw a middle-aged man with white hair and a beard walking toward them. His posture was still straight, even though he was past 50 years old.

"Guildmaster Nolan." Arnulf stepped back from Josh and turned to him.

Nolan was the guildmaster of the Ashville Tamer Guild. He was a veteran tamer who had already retired from dungeon hunting after becoming guildmaster, focusing solely on administration. His stern appearance made him respected and even idolized by younger tamers.

"Before anything else, I want to apologize for all the trouble that has happened. This occurred because I did not properly guide my staff. It is our policy to keep the results of the taming ritual confidential. I promise to find the real culprit as soon as possible." Nolan bowed to Arnulf.

"Guildmaster... you don’t need to bow to someone like me. I am just upset because this has put a lot of stress on my family. I... afraid this will make my son depressed and affect his future." Arnulf said slowly.

"Do not worry, Arnulf. I will speak to them and put an end to these rumors about your family. I promise."

"Thank you very much, Guildmaster."

Suddenly, a commotion was heard in the main hall of the guild. The three of them immediately looked down from the balcony. They saw a group of hunters surrounding a man in the middle, each of them wearing shocked expressions.

"What happened down there?" Nolan shouted.

"Guildmaster! Garret and Arnold! Both of them are severely injured. We found them near the road leading to this town!" the man shouted back.

"What? Where are they now?"

"They are at old man Muden’s house right now. He has already started treating them."

Without wasting another second, Nolan and the other guild members rushed toward Muden’s house.

When they arrived, there were already many people gathered outside the house. Muden’s daughter, Maisara, was trying her best to tell them to leave. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Please, everyone! Leave this place. My dad is trying to treat patients. Please give cooperation." Maisara shouted, but it seemed no one wanted to listen.

"Everyone! Leave at once!" Nolan shouted, making all of them shocked. Immediately, all the townspeople lowered their heads and quickly left the area.

"Huuu... thank you, Guildmaster," Maisara let out a long breath.

"How are the two of them?"

"My dad is treating them. Please come in." Maisara entered the house, and Nolan followed along with some of the hunters, including Arnulf.

Muden was the only tamer in the town who specialized in healing abilities. He had turned his house into an infirmary and had served the town for nearly half a century.

"Guildmaster, you are here," Muden said as he saw Nolan enter. He was currently treating Arnold, who lay on the bed. Maisara quickly ran to his side to assist him.

On the floor, several snail-like monsters crawled slowly, with one staying close to Muden. They were Lumishells, Rank B monsters known for their powerful healing abilities.

<Lumishell>

"Both of them have sustained serious injuries, but thankfully they were brought here quickly. I managed to stabilize them and pull them out of a life-threatening condition," Muden said. He then walked slowly with his cane and moved to attend to Garret on the next bed. His daughter supported him as they walked, while the Lumishells followed closely behind.

"Soothing Pulse." Both of Muden’s hands released a pulsating blue light, illuminating the parts of the body he touched.

"Arnold, what happened? How did the two of you get injured like this? Who did this?" Josh asked.

"There... is a monster attacking us," Arnold said weakly.

"A monster? From which dungeon?"

"No... not from a dungeon. It’s... a rogue boss," Arnold said.

"What?!" Everyone in the room gasped in shock. A rogue boss was the thing they feared the most. The last time one attacked this town, many lives were lost.

And right now, one was threatening the peace of the town, and it was getting closer.

Arnold then described the monster’s rough appearance and its abilities.

"Everyone! Tell the others to stay in their houses for the time being. Don’t mention the boss, I don’t want any unnecessary panic. After that, I will form a group to face this monster." Nolan said calmly as he gave his orders.

All the hunters quickly moved out.

---

In the forest behind his family’s house, Oliver was swinging his dagger as he was training while Husk was sleeping not far from there.

Suddenly, Husk became alert and looked around. Something had caught his senses.

’What is this feeling? I don’t like the new smell entering this region,’ he thought. He quickly stood on all fours.

"Someone’s coming!"

Oliver immediately recalled him and stored his weapon. The one approaching was his father.

"Oliver, what are you doing back here alone? Come on, let’s get inside the house,quick!" Arnulf looked anxious.

"What is happening, Father?" Oliver asked as they entered the house. Tamera and Irmine were also about to ask the same question.

Arnulf had no choice but to tell them.

"There is a monster attacking the nearby area of the town. Two hunters are injured. And based on their information, it is likely a rogue boss."

"Rogue boss?!" Irmine and Tamera were shocked.

"What is a rogue boss, Mom?" Oliver tugged on his mother’s skirt and asked.

"Rogue bosses... are boss monsters that escape during a Dungeon Break. After some time, they absorb the mana in the air and grow even stronger than they were inside the dungeon," Irmine explained.

"This rogue boss... is very dangerous. They said it can fly, and it can release blasts from its hands," Arnulf added.

If normal children heard about such a monster, they would surely be terrified. But the opposite was happening to Oliver. Right now, he was holding himself back from grinning in excitement.

’This boss... I want it! I really want it!’