"O-One million…?" Akeno stammered in disbelief.
"Ya heard me," Griffin replied casually.
The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere around them shifted instantly.
Every nearby Adventurer turned toward Boros.
"One million?"
"He's set for months."
"Hell, maybe even years depending on how he spends it."
Whispers immediately spread through the reception area.
And honestly, the reactions weren't exaggerated.
A luxurious mansion could usually be purchased for around one hundred and fifty to two hundred thousand Nex.
One million Nex was an absurd amount of money.
Suddenly, Kinuko raised her hand slightly.
"I have a question."
"Ask away," Adams replied.
"If the Guild Concord placed a bounty on the Chaos Twin Drakens…" she began slowly, "then why didn't another Guild defeat them earlier?"
Adams smiled slightly.
"That's actually a very good question."
He looked like he was about to answer himself, but Griffin suddenly raised a hand.
"Leave this one to me."
He pulled out a cigarette and lit it before taking a slow drag.
After exhaling smoke into the air, he finally began speaking.
"From the way yer asked that question, I'm guessin' ya don't fully understand what the Guild Concord actually is."
He leaned slightly against the counter.
"And to explain that properly…"
"We'd have to go all the way back to the beginning."
"To the birth of the modern Guild system."
The surrounding Adventurers nearby slowly quieted down.
Even Boros narrowed his eyes slightly.
"About forty-three years ago," Griffin continued, "the world was complete chaos."
"There were monsters, sure…"
"But there were no Guilds."
"No ranking systems."
"No licensed Adventurers."
"No Nexus regulations."
"No organized hunters."
"People simply survived however they could."
A brief silence followed before Griffin continued.
"Then, three years later…"
"Forty years ago…"
"The very first Guild was created."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"The Dark Barbarians."
The atmosphere around him subtly shifted.
"And the man who founded it…"
Griffin slowly exhaled another cloud of smoke.
"The Adventurer still feared even in death as the strongest in recorded history…"
"Vaden Tirak."
"Dark Barbarians?" Boros scoffed. "That sounds stupid."
"Well, maybe it does now," Griffin replied while exhaling smoke. "But back then… the name 'Dark Barbarians' struck fear into the entire world."
His expression slowly grew more serious.
"Most of the recent wars between humanity and the North were started by them…"
"And ended by them too."
"To this day, they remain the only Adventurers in history to have public bounties placed on their heads."
The reception area had gradually fallen silent as more Adventurers listened in.
"But it wasn't just their accomplishments that terrified people."
Griffin raised seven fingers.
"It was the fact that the Dark Barbarians only had… seven members."
"SEVEN?!" Kinuko shouted.
"Yeah," Griffin nodded. "And every single one of them held the Guildmaster Rank."
The room became even quieter.
Even though many of the surrounding Adventurers had heard the story countless times before, chills still ran down their spines whenever it was mentioned.
For Boros, Akeno, and Kinuko however—
This was their first time hearing any of it.
"Since the last war," Griffin continued with a laugh, "relations with the North have only gotten worse."
He blew another cloud of smoke into the air.
"Those damn Demi-Humans will never forgive us."
Laughter spread throughout the room almost immediately.
"Demi-Humans?" Akeno asked curiously.
"Yeah," Griffin replied casually. "Wolf-Kin, Fox-Kin, and the rest of 'em."
Kinuko's eyes widened slightly.
'I saw Fox-Kin in old drawings back at the village…'
'I thought they were just myths created by older generations…'
Her heartbeat quickened.
'So they actually exist?'
Another thought suddenly crossed her mind.
'Then does that mean… the Eraba Clan was once connected to the outside world?'
Her fingers tightened slightly.
'And if they were… what made them hide themselves away?'
'And why ally with the Demi-Humans?'
"The leaders of the North became far stricter after the last war," Griffin continued, pulling Kinuko from her thoughts.
"Stricter?" Boros asked.
"Yes," Adams answered this time. "The Northern Cardinal is forbidden territory for humans."
"And the rest of the world is forbidden territory for Demi-Humans."
"After centuries of conflict between both races, that became the agreement."
He adjusted his gloves slightly.
"But Tirak…"
A faint smile appeared on Adams' face.
"If I remember correctly, he violated that agreement four separate times."
"Yer absolutely correct," Griffin laughed while crushing the cigarette beneath his boot.
"Four times he marched into the North…"
"And four times he won."
His grin slowly faded.
"But eventually, the rulers of the North executed him after an absolutely brutal battle."
"An island near the Northern Cardinal later became known as Tirak's Rest because of it."
A brief silence followed.
"His death eventually sparked the creation of the modern Guild system we know today," Adams continued.
"In the early days, Guilds constantly fought amongst themselves. Power struggles, territory disputes, internal wars…"
"So the Guild Concord was eventually formed."
"One Guildmaster-Ranked representative was selected from every Guild."
"Together, they created an organization known as The Order."
"The symbol of peace between the Thirty Guilds."
"I see…" Kinuko muttered softly.
"Yeah, so now ya understan—"
"What are they like?"
Boros' sudden interruption stopped Griffin mid-sentence.
"The rulers of the North," Boros continued. "You said Tirak was the strongest Adventurer in history."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"And yet they were strong enough to kill him."
Griffin slowly inhaled.
"Researchers believe the Northern Cardinal is divided into nine separate regions."
"And each region is ruled by a single individual."
"They are known as…"
"The Nine Talons."
A subtle tension filled the room.
"It's said that a Guildmaster-Ranked Adventurer possesses enough power to destroy an entire continent," Adams suddenly said.
"What?!" Kinuko nearly shouted. "That's impossible—"
"Exactly," Adams replied calmly.
"It's an exaggeration born from the absurd strength of the Dark Barbarians."
Griffin smirked slightly.
"In other words…"
"The seven members of the Dark Barbarians possessed power terrifying enough that people genuinely believed they could destroy continents."
"If ya think that's insane," Griffin continued, "then here's something worse."
"It's been proven that a single Talon can fight…"
"Ten Guildmasters."
Silence.
"That's insane…" Akeno muttered.
"And those Dark Barbarian guys fought them multiple times and survived?" Boros grinned slightly. "They must've been monsters."
Then his grin sharpened.
"But the rulers still managed to kill Tirak."
"That's the frightening part," Adams said quietly.
"In the final war…"
"Tirak was the only member of the seven who died."
Everyone froze.
"The other six left the North alive."
"But nobody knows where they are now."
"Or whether they're even still alive at all."
"And Tirak was supposedly the strongest among them," Griffin added with a grin stretching nearly ear to ear.
"Some rumors even claim he had already completed his 'adventure' long before that final battle."
"He simply wanted to die fighting…"
"So he allowed himself to be killed."
"The previous generation really was filled with monsters…" Akeno muttered while swallowing nervously.
"Yes," Adams admitted with a smile. "Compared to them, modern Adventurers are weaker."
"But perhaps the Talons weakened over time as well."
"Even then…" Boros muttered.
"One Talon can defeat ten Guildmasters…"
His grin slowly disappeared.
"What kind of race are they?"
The atmosphere instantly shifted.
Griffin's expression darkened.
"The Talons are…"
A brief pause filled the room.
"…Humanoid Draken."