Haru and Lynelle leave the grand halls of House Arven. Before departing, Lynelle frowns at the jagged bone sword strapped to Haru's side.
> "You should throw that thing away," she says. "It's creepy using a weapon made from bones."
She hands him a slender wooden blade that hums faintly with mana.
> "Here. It's a B-Rank sword — my brother's. He doesn't use it anymore, so take it."
Haru thanks her deeply, then asks, "Do you have a shield too? I'm more of a warrior type."
Lynelle narrows her eyes and scoffs.
> "I don't. But we can buy one over there."
As they walk through Aelora, the shining heart of the Silvergrove, dozens of elves turn to watch them — a human walking beside one of the highborn Arven heirs. Whispers spread like wildfire. Humans were rare here… outsiders, almost myths.
They stop at a craftsman's stall, and Haru buys a B-Rank Shield — its metal etched with ancient elven runes. Lynelle crosses her arms.
> "Do you even have money for that?"
Haru just smirks.
> "Hehehe."
Lynelle sighs, shaking her head.
> "Damn you."
They continue toward Elarron Woods, the place where Lynelle's patrol first found him.
When they arrived at Elarron Woods, chaos had already begun.
The ground trembled — monsters of every kind were fleeing from the depths of the Abyss, their eyes wide with fear. Wolves, lizards, and armored beasts rushed through the trees, desperate to escape.
Lynelle's expression darkened.
> "They're trying to get into the Silvergrove… this all started when that dragon woke up in the human lands," she said, drawing her bow. "We've heard about it — there were heavy casualties."
Haru froze. His pulse quickened as the memory hit him — the quest, the dragon, the burning kingdom.
> "Wait…" he muttered, gripping his sword. "That dragon… it took fifty-five days before it was killed. I think… it was A+ Rank. They should can kill it Easily"
Lynelle turned sharply to him.
> "No, Haru — you don't understand," she said, voice firm. "Monster rankings are different from humans."
She pointed toward the dark treeline, where something massive stirred.
> "If it's C Rank, it's dungeon-level — dangerous but manageable.
If it's B Rank, it's twice as strong.
If it's A Rank, it can destroy large territories.
But if it's A+ Rank..."
She looked at him grimly.
> "That's Empire Level destruction."
Haru's grip tightened on his wooden sword.
> "Then what about S Rank?"
Lynelle's eyes flickered — fear and reverence mixed in her tone.
> "S Rank monsters are Continental Level threats. Only demons or ancient beasts can reach that level… You can count them on one hand."
She drew her bow, her aura flaring green.
> "An A+ Rank dragon is at least twenty times stronger than a human of equal rank — but if it's a dragon species…"
Haru swallowed hard.
> "Then it's fifty times stronger."
The forest roared again — and the battle for the Silvergrove began.
---
Reminder Note:
Monsters from the Abyss invade Elarron Woods, fleeing deeper into the Silvergrove. Haru learns from Lynelle that monster ranking scales differ — C (Dungeon), B (Strong), A (Large Area), A+ (Empire), S (Continental). A+ dragons are 20–50× stronger than human rank equivalents.