After Leaving the A-Rank Party, I Aim for the Deep Part of the Labyrinth With My Former Students

A few days had passed since we returned from the Ordarn Lakeside Forest.

We had been summoned to the Adventurer’s Guild.

It was almost certainly about the C-rank request we had completed.

After all, that request should have originally been classified as a B-rank mission. The fact that a D-rank party managed to complete it had, for better or worse, caused quite a stir.

Not to mention, we had live-streamed the whole thing.

The Guild must be in a bind.

Typically, requests are assigned based on the adventurers’ experience score, determining whether they’re qualified to accept them.

This system serves two purposes: to prevent harm to the client caused by failed missions and to stop adventurers from recklessly attempting missions beyond their ability, leading to their untimely retirement.

In particular, subjugation requests are inherently dangerous, as they always involve combat. Adventurers dispatched for such missions are evaluated for their trustworthiness score and achievement logs beforehand.

In this case, the request was framed on paper as a simple gathering mission.

However, seasoned adventurers could easily deduce that the Guild was aware of the issues in the Ordarn Lakeside Forest and intended the mission to involve investigating and potentially subjugating the problematic magical beast.

From an outsider's perspective, it might appear as though the Adventurer’s Guild deliberately sent a D-rank party to face a B-rank subjugation target.

Even the Guild probably didn’t anticipate the appearance of a Zarnag.

I certainly hadn’t until we encountered it.

However, after seeing our live stream, rookie adventurers might start imitating such reckless behavior under the guise of coincidence.

Everyone craves the prestige of glorious victories and the high trust scores that come with successful subjugations.

Especially rookies.

Our defeat of the Zarnag deserved recognition.

While I wasn’t particularly concerned about my record, it was crucial that the three others received credit for their trust scores and achievement logs.

Still, figuring out how to frame the situation must be a headache for the Guild leadership.

“Do you think we’ll get in trouble?” Marina asked nervously, looking at me as we walked toward the Adventurer’s Guild.

“I doubt it’ll come to that, but we might hear some complaints,” I replied.

I had no idea what the Guild would say.

Our payment for the request hadn’t been processed yet, either.

Most likely, they’d claim the request never officially existed.

It hadn’t even been posted on the request board, and we were the only ones who had seen it.

In other words, the Guild could preserve its reputation by saying we’d entered the Ordarn Lakeside Forest for personal reasons and happened to encounter the Zarnag there.

“This way, please,” Mamal said, guiding us to the third floor of the Adventurer’s Guild—a place we rarely visited—and into the innermost room.

The room was furnished with plush sofas and large windows.

Being brought to the reception room likely meant this wasn’t an interrogation.

That alone was a relief.

“What should we do? I’m starting to feel nervous. Couldn’t you have come alone, Yuke?” Marina asked, her voice trembling.

“They specifically requested the entire party,” I replied.

“I’ll leave it to Yuke,” Rain said, calm as ever.

Despite her seemingly nonchalant attitude, she was unshaken once a course of action was decided.

“You kept us waiting,” a deep voice boomed as the door opened.

A burly, middle-aged man stepped in, his tailored suit straining against his muscular frame. I couldn’t help but think he should invest in a larger size.

“You’ve really done it this time, Yuke,” he said with a grin.

“It’s not my fault,” I replied.

This mountain of a man was Benwood, the Guild Master, and someone I was somewhat acquainted with.

“Give me the full details,” he demanded.

“As I wrote in my report,” I replied curtly.

“I don’t want a summary of the objective facts. I want your opinion.”

Benwood’s sharp gaze bore down on me, exuding a predatory aura that made Marina and the others shrink back.

“Knock it off, Benwood. You’re scaring my party members. If you wanted to talk, you could’ve just summoned me alone,” I said, dropping the formal tone.

“That’s better,” he said with a smirk.@@novelbin@@

As always, Benwood’s approach was rough and troublesome.

“You want to know about the Zarnag, right? The report is accurate, but I suspect it had been in the forest for two or three months,” I said.

“Oh? What makes you think that?”

“Marina mentioned she hadn’t encountered any monsters or animals before the fight. That’s unusual for this season, isn’t it?”

“Indeed. So, what’s your take?”

I knew what he wanted me to say.

Even so, it was purely speculation, and saying it aloud carried risks. But unless I spoke up, this conversation would never end.

“…It could be an ‘Overflow.’ The area should be investigated.”

“I see,” Benwood replied.

He signaled to Mamal, who promptly left the room.

He was likely issuing an emergency investigation request.

An Overflow occurs when, for some reason, monsters spill out of a dungeon. Typically, dungeon monsters cannot leave their confines due to the magical power binding them to the labyrinth.

But when that binding breaks, monsters escape, signaling a dungeon disturbance—and often, the onset of a large-scale stampede.

If a monster as powerful as the Zarnag had emerged, the situation was highly dangerous.

“Now then, this is for all of you,” Benwood said, addressing the entire party. “We deeply apologize for putting you in harm’s way during this incident.”

Benwood bowed deeply.

Marina and the others were visibly startled by the gesture.

“Um, we’re fine! Yuke was with us,” Marina stammered.

“Yes, exactly! Yuke handled everything,” Silk added.

“With Yuke’s magic, we defeated it,” Rain said flatly.

Stop pinning it all on me! I could barely manage to hold it off on my own!

“Setting Yuke aside, after watching the stream, I believe your team has demonstrated sufficient ability,” Benwood continued. “With this achievement, I propose promoting you to C-rank. What do you say?”

“Is that… alright?” I asked, genuinely surprised.

I had expected them to sweep the incident under the rug.

“We discussed it with the other Guilds. We’ll frame it as a success achieved with the help of an A-rank adventurer—namely, you—to discourage reckless imitators.”

“I’m a B-ranker,” I corrected.

Benwood smirked, wagging his finger.

“Don’t be ridiculous. That new magic you used during the stream? That’s being recognized as an undiscovered spell. Congratulations, Yuke. From today, you’re officially an A-ranker.”

Benwood’s triumphant expression left me chuckling dryly.