Chapter 33 Shadow Element

"Spirit beast? Hmmm… what spirit beast are you referring to? There are a lot of things I'm aiming for right now." Bastien, the blonde-haired man, continued.

"Master Bas, according to the information we have collected, that young man once entered a dungeon containing the Night Wolf monster species. And after that, we discovered that he had gained a spirit beast. Night Wolves are of the shadow element, with dark as a base element. There is a possibility that the evolution of this spirit beast has dimensional related skills." The young man in the black suit ended his explanation.

Bastien silently watched the video on the screen.

"Are you saying that there is a possibility that this spirit beast can give me access to and open doors to new worlds? Or even access to Yunatea that I can personally manage?"

The youth nodded, "That's right, Master Bas."

Bastien then walked over to the sofa and plopped down on it. The man crossed his legs.

All the women in the room walked up to the man. They sat and stood around him.

"Then what you have to do is clear. Take the spirit beast from that young man. At all costs. I don't care how you do it."

The young man in a black suit walked over, and he nodded his head. "Yes, Master Bas. We have also sent spies to find out more details about the young man's strength. Our spies will go on a dungeon expedition with him soon."

"Why did you have to make such a complicated move just to face a kid as weak as him?"

"I'm sorry, Master Bas. But this young man's name is Nathan Gardner."

"Huh?" Bastien turned to the young man. "Gardner?" He turned back to the screen where Leon Gardner was.

"Is he the boy who was banished from the Gardner family? Why should we worry about that if even his own family has thrown him away?"

Bastien received a glass of wine from the woman beside him. "Just make sure no one knows what we're going to do. A weak young man like him shouldn't worry us too much. And one more thing." Bastien took a sip of the wine in his glass.

"Make sure you bring the girl to me as well. I want her."

"Yes, Master Bas. And, that girl is a resident of Yunatea and registered as a beastwoman."

Bastien looked at the young man with a faint smile. "I like beastwomen."

The man grabbed the arm of one woman beside him. He hugged the woman close to his body. A woman with several layers of silver scales on her body.

"I like beastwomen. They are tougher than normal humans."

***

Nathan sat in the driver's seat with Muramoto beside him. They were heading to the place where the next dungeon they would work on was.

"Woah… Nathan-San, I didn't expect you to learn to drive so quickly." Muramoto opened the conversation.

Nathan smiled in response to the young man. "I spent the last 10 years of my life sitting in a wheelchair, Muramoto-San. Of course, I'm used to this kind of thing. Although the way of driving this car is a little different from the way I control a wheelchair."

After traveling for some time, the caravan they were driving stopped close to a line of tall trees leading into the forest.

"The dungeon that we will work on this time is quite deep in the forest. And we can only use a car up to this point."

Nathan nodded. "Then we can continue on foot." Nathan looked back. "Would you mind waiting here alone, Edna?"

Edna immediately nodded at Nathan's question. "Ah, young master, I will go to the city for some time to prepare for our journey on the West Continent. And yes, I will wait for your arrival at this point."

"7 days." Muramoto interrupted the conversation. "This dungeon can be completed in 7 days on average, but of course, if it's done by an ordinary person." He chuckled, continuing.

They all then got out of the car.

Fang ran and jumped around Nathan.

"So, I'll finally get the chance to witness firsthand how this little wolf will act?" Muramoto responded to Fang, who was running around them.

"Woof, woof…"

"Young master, Muramoto-San, Mr. Marco, take care." Edna waved as the three of them started walking into the forest.

Muramoto led the way that morning. They ran to save time.

"Woo… To think, this little wolf can run at our pace." Muramoto turned his head to the side as little Fang ran after them.

"You'd be surprised to see how agile he is when he gets serious, Muramoto-San." Nathan answered.

After a few minutes of running among the trees, they finally arrived at a wide-open area before them. In the center, a large, circular portal could be seen. It was the portal from which they would conduct their expedition. There was also a rudimentary military tent guarding the place.

Muramoto approached the military man, who immediately greeted them.

After a while, he came back with a smile on his face. "Okay, everything is done. We can enter the portal whenever we are ready."

Nathan nodded slowly. "I don't think we need to delay any longer, Muramoto-San?"

"Sure, Nathan-San." Muramoto answered with a big smile.

The three youths then walked towards the circular portal, the entrance to the dungeon.

Muramoto walked in the front, then he turned around. "Okay, I have a support ability. I can help increase the fighting ability of my comrades at a party. And Marco-San has monitoring abilities. So even though Nathan-San will do this dungeon alone later, we will continue monitoring remotely to ensure nothing happens to you."

"Sure." Nathan nodded slowly.

Muramoto then strolled to the side. "Does Nathan-San want to enter this dungeon first?"

"Ah." Nathan then walked slowly. "Okay, no problem. I'll be waiting for you inside."

Marco immediately ran after him. "It's too dangerous to let him in first, Muramoto!"

Marco followed Nathan.

"Am I being too careless to think Nathan-San is too strong, even for a dungeon on this level?"

Muramoto then approached the dungeon portal. He stepped inside, but his footsteps suddenly stopped. There were several people who had grabbed his shoulders in powerful grips and forcefully held him back.

Before he could do or say anything, someone suddenly jumped into the dungeon door.

"What? No!"

[Number of people has been fulfilled]

[You may not enter]

"What's happening here!?" Muramoto looked back and shouted at the people grabbing him.

He saw several people with robes covering their heads gathered around the place.

The military man who was previously on guard was sprawled on the ground, unconscious. Or dead.

"Who are you?" Muramoto stepped back, instantly feeling something wrong was going on.

There were dozens of people surrounding him.

Someone suddenly jumped from the air and stood before Muramoto. It was a girl in a maid outfit.

"Muramoto-San, what happened? Why didn't you go with the young master into the dungeon?"

"Edna-San… I was about to enter the dungeon, and suddenly the dungeon door closed."

The man before them took off his robe and revealed a young man in his 20s with black hair.

"Sorry for our sudden arrival. I have a pretty interesting offer for both of you. An offer you can not refuse."

"Who are you?! Who told you to do this?" Edna gritted her teeth. Her face changed instantly from the friendly face she used to show to a face full of threats.

"You don't have to put up a fight. There are more of us than you. And we are all at level 100." The black-haired man walked over to her. "Give it up."

"Muramoto-san." Edna whispered softly. "I'll distract them. I want you to run away from this place immediately."

Muramoto looked worriedly at Edna, who was standing in front of him. "No, Edna-San. I will not run. I won't let you face them alone."

"It is my duty to protect young master Nathan. And this time, I have failed to ensure his safety." Edna answered in a trembling voice.

The man in front of Edna walked closer to her. "I hope there is no need for a fight between us. I don't want the boss to be upset if the good he ordered are damaged."

"I should be the one telling you that." Edna answered. "I'll give you guys some time to answer my questions. Who are you? Who ordered you? I'll give you 10 seconds. If I don't hear that answer. I will not hesitate."

"Phew…. Looks like I'll have to work a little harder this time."

The young man raised his right hand, signaling his comrades to surround the two of them.

"I warned you I don't like violence."

"One." Edna started counting slowly.

"Let's see. What will this beautiful girl do?" The man answered.

"…"

"Seven."

Everyone who surrounded Edna and Muramoto started showing their weapons.

"Nine."

The man in front of Edna took out his sword. "You should have appreciated our hospitality."

"Ten."

The ground beneath their feet suddenly shook as if an earthquake had occurred. Those surrounding Edna immediately jumped back to prepare for a sudden attack.

Edna clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. She was about to jump to attack them, but something else happened to the people surrounding her before she could do that.

Everyone seemed to have stopped moving.

Someone else jumped between them as if falling from the sky, a young man with blond hair whom Edna recognized as Leon.

"Young master Leon."

Leon moved swiftly and slammed his sword on the ground. In an instant, he made them all sprawl helplessly on the ground. "Tell your boss I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Leon Gardner?" The people who were lying on the ground winced very visibly when they realized who they were facing against, perhaps even more than when they were sent sprawling to the ground. They immediately got up and ran away from the place.

Leon turned to face Edna when only the three of them were left in the place. "Tell your dumbass master he owes me thanks."