Chapter 113 - The One Who Sits On The Throne

"It's the mission which trapped Steven in the dungeon for 10 whole years," Ozel said to Julius.

…

"How is that even possible? Isn't the dungeon supposed to have disappeared once Steven had been let out of it?" Julius asked.

"I know, that's what makes this dungeon so troublesome," Ozel replied.

"Where do these mission come from? Aren't you the ones who place them on the board?" Julius asked with a  confused face.

"That's actually not true anymore. Each guild master would have to use a secret art which keeps track of the missions in their area and place them on their guild boards. That used to be the case until a few years ago when the mission I assigned sent Steven to a dungeon which he couldn't get out of. That caused the grand master to take over all missions and assign them to whichever guild can take  them on respectively. After that had happened, nothing like Steven's case took place until this day. It seems like even now with the guild master taking over, this mission seems to have reappeared," said Ozel.

"How odd. How do you even know it's the same mission?" Julius asked wanting to make sure if there was even the slightest bit of a chance that Ozel was mistaken.

"No, it's the same mission. We could never forget. It's an E- ranked dungeon with the title 'The One Who Sits On The Throne'. Steven originally took it as a joke because of how stupid it sounded. However it has been engraved on our minds and we can never forget it," said Ozel.

"I thought most of the members here weren't here when Steven had disappeared," Julius said as he was confused.

"Of course I was the one to notice it and told everyone its tale which is why they're all standing here," Ozel explained.

"So where's Jun?" Julius asked as he couldn't see his master anywhere.

"Seeing as you've become quite accustomed to this place, he said that he'll be going back to his mountain. He also said to return to the mountain in 3 years which is when your 18th birthday is," Ozel replied.

"I see…" Julius said before running back up to the 4th floor of the guild building and grabbing the sheathed blade on his nightstand before once again running back down.

"Guild master Ozel, I want to take that mission!" Julius announced with a yell.

"No! I want to take it! I want to gain the same power which Steven has! Plus it's not like it's dangerous, I can leave at anytime by simply giving up! It's a free ride towards unmatchable strength!" another person in the guild replied.

"Hold on now, are you saying you're willing to battle dangerous monsters every single day without a break?" Ozel asked the one who argued with Julius.

"Never mind, it's not like even with 10 years I'll be stronger than the current Julius. I take back what I said," the one who had protested replied before returning to drinking his booze.

"As for you Julius, you can go," said Ozel.

"Wait actually? You're going to let me take the mission?" Julius asked in a surprised voice.

"It's not like you're going to listen to me if I were to refuse to let you go on it. So do whatever you like. However don't you dare die, you're a proud member of the battling barbarians! You have a duty to return to us in 3 years. Until then, not a single person will speak of this cursed mission," said Ozel which almost brought Julius to tears.

"Thank you!" Julius said out loud before bowing from respect to his guild master. Once taking the mission from the board, Julius headed out of the guild building and headed towards the caravan district of the kingdom to meet with Alex who happened to be Julius' favourite caravan driver.

"J-Julius?" Alex asked as his soul almost left his body.

"Hi there Alex! Why do you look so shocked?" Julius asked in a nonchalant tone.

"How are you still alive? You've got to get away from here! King Wilson is probably still after you!" Alex warned his saviour.

"Don't worry about him, I won out fight and I can assure you that he'll never challenge me," said Julius. Hearing those words, Alex became lightheaded and almost fainted from the shock.

"Wait, you're saying that you took on a great king in battle and you not only survived but also managed to defeat him?!" Alex yelled out.

"Yup, that's exactly what I'm saying. Anyway, can you take me to this place?" Julius asked he passed the paper which the mission was written on to Alex. After looking at the coordinates which were written on the mission paper, Alex gave a quick nod and told Julius to get inside the caravan.

"How much gold will it cost?" Julius asked as he reached into his left pocket to get some gold coins he still had on him.

"What?! No way! I can't let you pay. You already saved my life, my pride and gave me enough gold to last me several lifetimes. I could've stopped working and enjoyed my life in the large which I bought with the money you gave me. However I will continue to drive this caravan everyday and allow you free tips as it is the only way I could ever reply you," said Alex with with much more resolve than he had ever showed.

"Thank you I guess," Julius replied as it was new for Alex to act this way which caught Julius off guard.

After a long trip which lasted several days with lots of breaks, the two had finally arrived at the location where the mission had told Julius to arrive at.

"I shall wait for you to finish the mission," Alex announced.

"Actually, please go back home. Trust me, this will take quite a while. Just believe me," said Julius to which Alex agreed as he knew that he could believe in Julius.

Once Alex had left the area, Julius opened the doors of the dungeon.

"Let's see what this place is made of," said Julius with a grin.