"What else could be the problem? It's a huge problem!"

Russell pointed his finger at Hulim's forehead.

"You did this on purpose! You definitely did it on purpose—Huh? This is..."

Russell suddenly saw the adventurer badge on Hulim's chest.

He held his chin with his right hand, his brows furrowed as he looked at the badge from side to side.

"...I feel like I've seen this badge somewhere before."

Boom——!

A heavy blow landed on his head, sinking him instantly.

"pain!"

Russell covered his head with his hands, rolled on the ground for a while, and then suddenly jumped up.

Glaring at Erin.

"Erin, what are you doing?!"

"Russell, are you really an idiot?" Irene said angrily, "That's an A-level badge, the badge of an A-level adventurer, you idiot!"

"Eh? A-rank..."

Russell looked back at Hulim, then at Irene.

Then he pointed a finger at Hulim.

"Just her?"

“… …”

Hulim's face suddenly darkened.

Russell, who had his back to her, didn't notice the dangerous change in Hulim's expression at all.

Two seconds later.

Snap!

There was a sound of someone's finger breaking.

Then, a miserable cry spread throughout the entire guild.

"ah--!!!"

... ...

A few minutes later.

Russell was still covering his fingers, lying on the ground as if dead, his body twitching from time to time.

"Really? You deserve it, Russell. Sometimes you really deserve a beating."

Irene scolded Russell rudely beside him.

"Woo woo, I know I was wrong,"

Russell raised his deformed fingers tremblingly.

"Can you save him first?"

"no--"

Irene ruthlessly rejected his request.

"Woo..."

The latter could only put his fingers down peacefully once again.

"Never mind that guy for now. Speaking of which, Hulim, you actually skipped B-rank and got the A-rank adventurer certificate. That's really impressive!"

"Of course."

Lucian explained,

"After passing Rank B, the adventurer's ability to handle affairs is no longer the most important requirement. Strength is the main factor in determining rank. Hulim's strength has long reached Rank A, so it's normal for her to receive the Rank A certificate directly."

"Really? I didn't know that before!"

Erin said in surprise.

“… …”

Hulim was silent because she didn't know that she could skip grades before.

"Well, because this is something you usually only learn from the guild after you officially obtain the B-level certificate... ...Beyond that, there's something else I'd like to know—"

Lucien looked at Hulim and said seriously,

"Hulim, tell us honestly what our chances of winning this time are."

Upon hearing this, except for Russell who was still lying on the ground wailing, the other two members of the Silver Team fell silent and looked at Hulim quietly.

"..." Hulim's eyes slowly swept over the three people and said, "If it were just the monsters from the collapsed maze, we could hold it, but--"

"If that Karimal really attacks, everything will become very difficult. Most importantly, many people will die, including me and you."

"..." Lucien slowly closed his eyes, "I understand."

"Thank you for telling us this, Hulim. However, we will not die easily. I will lead my companions and survive this battle."

"Wow, whether I live or not doesn't matter..."

Lying on the ground, Russell raised his right hand with broken fingers with a sad face.

"Erin, please, please save me."

"no!"

Once again, Irene refused.

He even said to Lucian and Flotz,

"Let's go first and leave him alone."

"Yeah, that's fine."

Lucien actually nodded.

Then he actually turned around and left.

"Wait, stop, you ungrateful guys!"

Russell extended his hand to the three people who were leaving with a look of grief and anger on his face.

"If you want treatment, just ask Hulim for help. She can heal you."

Erin said without turning around.

Flotz turned around.

Russell's eyes lit up.

"Flotz, I knew you wouldn't abandon me! You're truly the most loyal person!"

But he didn't expect Froz to give him a thumbs up.

"Come on, apologize, Russell."

“…” Russell froze completely, watching his companions disappear in the guild. “Damn it, you heartless guys—!”

"Hahaha, that Russell guy is really lame~!"

"That's right, he actually lay on the ground and said 'Save me, save me'."

"Haha~! You've learned it pretty well."

The laughter coming from all around immediately made Russell so angry that his face turned red.

"Hey! You bastards, I heard everything--!"

"Haha, this guy is so angry~!"

"Let's go, be careful he gets up and bites people~"

The onlookers dispersed.

"You damned fellows, I will remember you!"

Russell was very angry, but he couldn't do anything about these people for the time being.

I don't know how Hulim did it, but a simple fracture shouldn't be so painful that you can't move.

Thinking of this, Russell could only raise his head and meet the eyes of the girl standing not far away.

“… …”

“… …”

"Um... Wait, don't go, don't go, I apologize, I apologize! Please don't go, don't go--!"

... ...