“Where is Roland? I heard she’s been closely following Celia’s team, so why isn’t she here to watch their Hero Assessment today?”
“Who knows? Perhaps she’s busy with something else.”
Listening to the hushed murmurs about Roland behind her, Sharlene offered a faint smile, choosing not to comment.
Roland had originally intended to watch Celia’s team assessment. However, Sharlene had dispatched her to guard Vidona’s city gates, anticipating a potential beast tide.
She knew that even with her personally issuing the highest beast tide warning within the Guild, many Heroes would still not take the matter seriously.
After all, since its establishment, Vidona had never experienced a beast tide involving monsters above the Fourth Tier. This prolonged peace had stripped them of their reverence for such threats.
Sharlene, however, was different. After receiving a warning from the Silverbloom Sword Princess, she had committed her full attention to confronting this potentially unprecedented and terrifying beast tide.
Beyond Roland, many other Heroes had also received her orders, jointly undertaking the mission to monitor the Silent Forest.
It was truly a pity for them, as they would miss the spectacle of Celia’s team participating in the assessment.
Recalling Roland’s scowl when she accepted the task, Sharlene’s lip twitched. She knew she would have to exert considerable effort in the future to mend their already strained relationship.
“Look! Someone’s coming!”
Someone in the crowd shouted, and in an instant, all the Heroes’ gazes converged on the entrance to the training grounds.
An elderly man, clad in a black suit, emerged from the sunlight, his steps slow and graceful.
He wore white gloves, his right hand gripping a staff nearly half his height. His expression was impassive, yet imbued with considerable authority.
When his sharp eyes swept across the surroundings, noting that the spectators—Heroes eager for a show—had nearly filled the stands, a hint of displeasure creased his slightly wrinkled face.
“It’s Orl, the butler of the Fiona family. I heard it was his demand that Celia’s team assessment use a Fourth Tier monster.”
“Isn’t Celia the Fiona family’s young miss? Why would this fellow make such a demand? Isn’t he afraid of harming her?”
“Apparently, it’s a test for the team. If they fail the assessment, Celia must, as per their agreement, abandon her dream of being a Hero and return to the Fiona family’s estate.”
Upon seeing him, the Heroes couldn’t help but whisper among themselves. This behavior caused Orl to frown, his disdain undisguised in his eyes.
He let out a cold snort as he stepped out from the entrance. Behind him, a servant, also dressed in a black suit, led a monstrous beast into the training grounds, restrained by heavy iron chains.
When the Heroes caught sight of the beast’s appearance, the shock in their hearts made them gasp audibly.
It was a small, pitch-black wyvern, resembling a lizard, yet possessing terrifying wings, alongside incredibly sharp fangs and claws.
Of course, their terror wasn’t limited to its appearance alone.
Despite numerous magical chains binding its body, preventing it from fully unleashing its ferocity, its bloodthirsty eyes and fearsome, gaping maw could not be concealed.
Merely meeting its gaze caused many Heroes to feel their legs weaken, wanting to flee, fearing that the assessment might spiral out of control and allow the ferocious beast to break into the stands, tearing them to shreds.
“What is that? A dragon?!”
“Such a terrifying aura… Is it truly only Fourth Tier?”
“This… Can Celia and her team really pass the assessment?”
At the sight of the wyvern, the Heroes’ discussions shifted from Orl to the creature itself, and their confidence in Celia’s team crumbled instantly.
They acknowledged Celia’s team as formidable, the most exceptional provisional Hero squad Vidona had seen in over two decades. Yet, before this wyvern, they seemed utterly outmatched.
In their eyes, the wyvern’s strength was likely comparable to the Demon Scorpion that had nearly annihilated the city before.
‘To prevent his own young miss from passing the assessment, this butler is truly ruthless.’
Orl naturally knew what they were thinking, but he paid it no mind. He walked slowly to Sharlene’s side, settled down, and greeted her.
“Guild Master Sharlene, it’s been a long time.”
“Indeed, it has. I had thought Mr. Orl would have returned to your family’s estate by now, not still lingering in this small city of Vidona.”
With her arms crossed, Sharlene, who found him disagreeable, spoke with veiled sarcasm.
Orl had been much quieter these past six months, not interfering with Celia’s team’s training. However, this did not improve Sharlene’s opinion of him, as his quietude was merely due to an agreement with the Silverbloom Sword Princess.
And now, upon their reunion, he had brought her a significant surprise.
Sharlene’s gaze lifted to the black wyvern in the training grounds, her face etched with gravity.
Orl, unfazed by her sarcasm, chuckled softly and replied, “My young lady is still in this city; how could I, as her butler, abandon her?”
Sensing the tension between them, the Heroes who had been standing nearby quietly shuffled a few steps back, unwilling to get too close.
They feared being caught in the crossfire.
Sharlene habitually adjusted her glasses, then looked at the wyvern and asked, “Why bring a wyvern? The Guild’s own monsters are typically used for assessments.”
She understood Orl’s intentions perfectly. The man simply wanted this wyvern to be Celia’s team’s assessment target, thereby drastically reducing their chances of success.
She might have agreed if it were a regular Fourth Tier monster, but a wyvern was completely beyond the scope. Even she didn’t believe Celia’s team could defeat a monster of that caliber.
Dragons, in this world, were symbols of immense power. Even a wyvern, with only a trace of their bloodline, could easily defeat other monsters of its same tier.
She had wanted to refuse Orl, but he had left her no opportunity.
“Guild Master Sharlene, don’t forget, this is an agreement between myself and the instructor. You have no right to interfere.”
Her gaze darkening, Sharlene turned her head and stated, “If any safety issues arise, the Guild will not be held responsible.”
“It’s quite alright. Though I am advanced in years, subduing it before it harms the young lady would still be effortless for me.”
Orl offered a slight smile, the confidence in his words causing Sharlene to huff, saying nothing further.
She didn’t know the full extent of this noble butler’s strength, but to casually subdue a Fourth Tier wyvern, he was likely no weaker than herself.
Celia’s team this time… was probably doomed.
Amid her worries, the Heroes behind her once again erupted in chatter. Sharlene, sensing something, looked towards the entrance once more.
A figure cloaked in black was the first to emerge from the light of the entrance. She, too, scanned her surroundings, and upon noticing the multitude of Heroes, pulled down the brim of her hood, obscuring her expression.
Following closely behind her were the protagonists of today’s assessment—Celia’s team.