"Fantastic! You did splendidly, ladies," Aron exclaimed, showering numerous head pats upon both Pethra and Freya.

Both young women endeavored to maintain composure, unaffected by what they think is the best headspace they have ever received.

However, the redness on their ears betrayed their emotions to Cila, who observed the interaction with a hint of displeasure, feeling a twinge of jealousy.

The reason for Aron's happiness was what Freya and Pethra brought. They brought one of the best things in his eyes. The Loot.

Two big boxes full of monster cores, slayed inside the dungeon. Originally, the dungeon was of goblins. When a dungeon-born creature met its demise, its body would be absorbed by the core to conserve energy for evolution and the creation of new monsters.

The adventurers or mercenaries would get only a short window of time to take anything from the slain monster before it completely dissolved.

Most veteran dungeon delvers have special bags made from the skin of a monster that has the ability to nullify magic. With the help of alchemists and mages, they were able to make special bags that could preserve anything you get from the dungeon monsters—like cores, materials, organs, etc.

And since the world basically runs on magic, fighting that monster is a pain in the ass. Making the bags ridiculously expensive.

The good news is there is a specific guild, which exists to assist delvers. They are simply called 'The Gatherers', each one equipped with the special bag that anyone could hire their services for a small cut of the profit.

However, that only applies to the organic things of the monster itself—just the body—, everything else would remain. Like the goblin club, for example; anyone could simply carry it outside the dungeon, or minerals mined inside or herbs. Which brings us to the cores Aron is looking at.

"Are these cores from the dungeon's monsters?" inquired Cila, holding one up for inspection.

"Yes," Freya replied, "I went to check on the dungeon again and found all this just lying near the entrance."

"Strange. Why didn't the dungeon absorb them?" Cila mused, genuinely puzzled. In her time with the guild, this was the first time she saw something like this.

"Any creature born in the dungeon would be absorbed by the dungeon core if not properly collected,"

That's right, there is the answer to your question," Aron took out the core from Cila's hand, carrying it in front of her face explaining, "Anything born inside these monsters, however, were brought from different species and experimented on by that crazy demon."

Cila's eyes widened in comprehension. "I see. That won't work. I've heard of mages experimenting on dungeons by throwing monster corpses from the outside trying to see how the dungeon would react to them; however, the bodies remain until they rot or are devoured by other monsters."

Nodding, Aron searched through the boxes, hoping to find a particular item. Fortunately, luck was on his side as he retrieved a fist-sized purple crystal—Xenodrake's core.

'System are you here?' he asked, hoping for a reply, yet the system remained silent. With the system out, Aron was unable to call for his status or see any notifications.

'I can't risk absorbing his core now.'

Without the system's aid in processing the information and the energy, Aron didn't have the confidence to absorb the demon's core. If something wrong happens inside him, the system isn't here to help.

"Here, Boss," Freya called from inside the Guild's provided wagon, revealing a long ebony trident. "I didn't see it before, but I think this one is yours."

Handing him the trident, Aron chuckled inwardly, giving the similarity of the trident's metal to Python and Nightfall, Freya mistook it for Aron's weapon. "Thank you."

Pethra, scanning the boxes, sighed deeply. "Sorry, Aron, The core of that Unwanted and the Bird-creature, the collector, was taken by that old Magus. Plus, some books from Darion's house, claiming it's for his research," Pethra explained.

Aron raised an eyebrow turning to Cila. "What's the meaning of this?" His tone clearly showed that he wasn't happy about it.

Cila, somewhat caught off guard, cleared her throat before explaining. "Magus Lorcan is a renowned scholar and researcher. He often seeks out rare and unusual items for his studies. While I understand your concern, Aron, he might be able to unravel the mysteries of those creatures and provide valuable insights to help us in the future."

Aron grunted in mild frustration but reluctantly accepted Cila's explanation. "Fine, but he must pay for them. We did all the work; we get all the loot."

Cila nodded, "I understand; the guild will make sure you receive proper compensation for your efforts and contributions."

"Good, make sure of that or…" A crackling of flames came from inside him as he gazed at Cila, "…Things would get a little hot."

Bowing, Cila replied, "Rest assured, I'll handle it."

With the matter somewhat settled, Aron ordered everyone to prepare for the journey back to Larton.

Not forgetting the two sleepy kids in the tent, he went back to get them. Wrapping the bed covers around Raum and Aurora, Aron headed for the carriage.

"Pfft…what's that?" Pethra raised a finger pointing at what Aron was carrying. Cila and Freya were barely able to hold their laugh.

"What?! It's for the cold," Aron defended, puzzled by their reaction.

The two cover beds were long, and the way Aron wrapped both of them was… well, they turned into an ice cream.

"HAHAHAH~" Freya and Pethra burst into laughter, while Cila chuckled quietly, covering her mouth.

Pethra approached still giggling "heheh…You really embraced the father role; it suits you well."

Wiping tears from her eyes, she added, "It's a good thing. This way, I don't have to worry about our kid—I mean, your kids."

Barely catching herself, Pethra's face flushed with embarrassment. She quickly turned around avoiding Aron, but when she glanced at Cila's and Freya's shocked faces.

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She turned back only to see something happening for the first time. Aron's face was red like a tomato.

"Damn! So you can get embarrassed; that's new" Pethra blew out what was on everyone's minds

"Ouch!"

Aron quickly snapped her forehead. "Well, I have feelings too, little witch."

Pethra rubbed her forehead, grinning. "I never thought I'd see the day Aron, the brutal and mighty warrior, would blush. It's cute, really."

"Shut up and get inside, we wasted so much time"

Ignoring the teasing grin on Pethra, Freya, and even Cila, Aron opened that carriage door and went inside with the girls following shortly after.

As the carriage rumbled to life, Aron took a moment to ask Cila about something that really bothered him; the group wasn't able to detect the existence of the dungeon until they went inside it.

Cila explained that dungeon quests were exclusive to silver-rank mercenaries and above due to their dangerous nature. The guild made sure to be as strict as possible when giving the quests.

This led the guild—driven by their low funding—to implement detectors on silver rank cards and above, as dungeon cores emitted a distinct mana different from regular mana. However, the catch is that you must enter the dungeon first.

Normally, that would be fine, and you could just leave, but that privilege was taken from Aron's group by that demon.

"Don't worry," Cila reassured. "The guild master ordered me to award you the silver rank and Pethra the gold rank. As for Freya, if she joins the guild, she will automatically receive the silver rank."

"She will register at the guild, along with the others," Aron spoke, making Cila raise her eyebrows at the word 'Others'

…

The rest of the ride back home was peaceful and enjoyable, with the comfortable seats of the carriage no one felt the need to stop and rest, since their butts weren't hurting like the last time.

Passing easily at the gates, Aron ordered the carriage driver to head directly to his mansion, giving him the location.

Stopping next to the lion statues, Pethra jumped out first, raising her arms and exclaiming, "Home sweet home!"

Her shout woke up Aurora and Raum from their slumber.

"What! Why am I all tied up?" Raum exclaimed, finding himself unable to move.

"For the cold; I was worried about you, buddy," Aron replied.

"Oh, thank you, Brother," Raum's earlier anger seemed to have dissipated. He closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth.

"Hmmm... Father... Home?" half-asleep Aurora smiled warmly, revealing her little fangs.

Aron chuckled, ruffling Aurora's hair gently. "Yes, sweetheart, this is your new home." The mention of 'Father' from Aurora brought a warm feeling to Aron's heart. He carefully untied her, allowing the little vampire to stretch after the long journey.

'Doting father, by the looks of it' all the girls thought the same.

Spreading the gates wide open, the moment Aron set foot inside, the mansion door burst wide open. All the women inside rushed to meet them.

"Master!"

"They're back!"

"Thank god they are okay"

They quickly circled around them, hugging both Freya and surprised by the appearance changes on Pethra.

Cila received a slight shock seeing too many beautiful women around Aron and calling him Master.

'He doesn't look like that type of man'

"Sob…Master…you're back" Kasumi approached with teary eyes grabbing Aron's arm.

"It's good to be back, little fox" gently stroking her smooth black hair.

"We received the news" Scarlett suddenly spoke, standing at the back of the gathering; she quickly glanced at the Aurora, Raum, and the new Pethra, and she even noticed the change of height on Aron.

"Glad all of you are okay. I assume a lot of things happened; we can talk, however …Boss, you have a special visitor"

Aron, Pethra, and Freya arched an eyebrow at the mention of a special visitor. The other girls, however, scowled, and their joyful, lighthearted mood entirely dissipated.

Entrusting Aurora to Freya's care and depositing Raum on the ground, he swiftly moved inside.

In the main hall, on the green couch, two figures reclined—a man and a woman.

Aron quickly recognized the man, yet the woman unconsciously drew his attention to her.

"!!!" The moment her piercing azure eyes fixed on him, Aron, for the first time since awakening, felt…

Fear.

There was something off about her; the woman's aura was dark and oppressive, and the pressure that it released was slipping inside Aron, tightening around his heart.

'Grrrr'

While most creatures should have fled in the face of this terrifying presence, Aron's fear transformed into rage.

Not directed at the woman, but at himself; he is a DRAGON!, the apex predator. Creatures should cower before him, not the other way around.

ROAAR!

Aron emitted a mighty roar, soaring into the air with a fist charged with mana.

"STOOOP!" Father Valarian attempted to intervene, but the platinum white-haired woman effortlessly pushed him aside.

BOOOM!

An explosive shockwave reverberated through the hall, plunging everything into chaos as Aron's mana-infused punch collided with the woman's cheek.

"Hmm… Not a bad punch," The woman remarked calmly.

Aron was bewildered hearing her voice; he widened his eyes in astonishment, realizing that his punch did indeed affect her.

The woman remained seated on the couch in the same posture, not budging an inch.

"My turn," she said casually, raising her hand and delivering a punch to Aron's face. However, her punch proved… well, more potent.

BOOOM!

Aron was hurled out of the mansion, obliterating the main wall and landing beyond the borders, creating a massive crater.

The impact sent shockwaves through the surroundings, demolishing the trees in the vicinity of the landing spot.

"WOW! I still got it," the woman exclaimed, proud of her accomplishment.

"ARON!" the girls shouted in unison, rushing outside to Aron. They found him unharmed but… Well, he had passed out from just one punch.

"DAMN! I'm going to kill that woman" Pethra angrily turned, heading back with Freya joining in. However, Scarlett and Kasumi swiftly restrained them from behind.

"You can't; calm down, you two," Scarlett said.

"WHY?" Pethra exclaimed.

"That woman is Thyra Sapphire."

"!!!" As if an ice-cold realization had dawned on them, the two froze, glancing at each other.

…

Thirty minutes later.

"My head, what happened?" Aron slowly opened his eyes, sensing a dull ache in his head. He found himself reclining on a soft surface and realized he was back inside the mansion. As his vision cleared, he saw concerned faces hovering over him.

"Aron/Boss!"

"Wow, that was unexpected. I thought you would be out for at least a day."

Aron slowly sat up on the couch, observing the woman and Father Valarian on the opposite couch.

He glanced around, trying to gather his bearings. The room was turned upside down as if a hurricane had torn through it, and the colossal hole in the wall refreshed his memory.

"Who the hell are you?"

"!!!" Everyone visibly flinched, hearing the tone in which Aron addressed the woman.

"A-Aron, she's—"

"My friend this is Lady–"

Everyone attempted to speak, introducing the woman before she could unleash something terrible. However, the woman raised her hand, silencing everyone.

"You don't know who I am?" she asked with genuine surprise.

"Am I supposed to know?"

"Wow! That's intriguing. I haven't met a person who didn't know me in a long time," she leaned forward, extending a hand. "I suppose introductions are in order. I am Thyra Sapphire."

Aron shook her hand "Aron is the name"

"I know. I came here for you," Thyra said with a smile on her face.

Everyone else in the room wondered what led the strongest and most terrifying warrior in the world to come here for Aron.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well…" she leaned back, resting her arms on the couch. "You did my sister a favor by exterminating a few pests, and she sent me to reward you."

"Pests?"

"Yeah, some nobles and a slave trader," Thyra explained, causing Cila to stare at Aron in shock. She instantly grasped who Thyra was referring to.

'Sorry, but I can't expose the princess' presence to anyone,' Thyra thought, her piercing blue eyes scrutinizing every movement Aron made.

Aron rubbed his chin, pondering. After a moment, he shook his head. "Thank you, but I don't need anything."

His response not only surprised Valarian and the girls but also Thyra. She had observed him from the moment he entered the mansion, and her little test successfully unveiled Aron's character.

"You sure? Ask anything from me," she asked again, seeking confirmation.

"Yes… Oh no, wait, I have something."

Everyone opened their ears, curious about his request.

"Just by your aura, I could tell that you're the strongest person I have ever encountered."

"Yes, you're not wrong. I'm one of the top five strongest in the world, but why are you asking?"

"Nice… my request is simple. Train me."

...

[A/N: Yo! Sup, guys? Doing well. I would like to inform you that we reached the end of Volume 1. It's been an interesting journey so far. I also would like to say that the chapters from 61 to 100 will be available on Kindle if you want to support my work or on Patreon.

With that out of the way, share in the comments your thoughts on the story, your favorite character or scene. Good luck, see you in the next Volume!]