When Rick and his party made it back to the adventurers Guild Hall, they spoke to Noah about the remains of the village.

"Whose brats are these? This is a Guild Hall, not a daycare." One of the party members said with a joking tone.

"They are the only survivors of the village you just returned from. They're also aspiring adventurers as well." Noah smiled as he patted Fred's head softly.

"Yes... I want to be a great adventurer and kill all the bad monsters!" Christina half whispered as her face flushed in embarrassment.

After the adventurers claimed their rewards, they disbanded after bidding each other goodbyes. The sun had already set and darkness was slowly creeping in.

Isaac was unknowingly headed in this direction as well, and the darkness came quickly, as if heralding his arrival.

...

An hour after sunset, the guards stood in front of the gate with spears planted on the ground, their minds wandering slightly.

Isaac slowed to a crawl as he detected people, something that made him happy! If there were people, he could at least hope to find answers about this world.

With silent movements, he snuck up to the wall that protected the town and climbed up easily, his body moving as easily as if he were on flat ground.

Just as he reached the top, he felt something, like a minor tingling all over his body. Pulling himself on to the wall, his tail balanced himself as he sensed the town.

It wasn't large, but it wasn't small either. The population, though he couldn't be certain far exceeded that of a normal village.

Several strong auras could be detected, two at around the same level or slightly stronger than Isaac, and one that made Isaac feel a hint of dread.

'As long as I be careful, I shouldn't alert anyone, right? I just need to find a person who can tell me about this world... shouldn't be too hard right?'

The wooden houses and stone buildings made the town quite original to Isaac who hadn't ever set foot in a town in this world before.

With a nimble leap, Isaac leapt to the nearest roof as he slowly started to explore the town. His senses were in overdrive to ensure he could escape at a moment's notice.

...

Noah sat in his chair with a concentrated look on his face. The work he had never seemed to finish, and the papers he had to look through were all consuming.

"Haa, I need a break. Maybe even an adventure. After becoming the Guild Master, I'm kept in the Guild like it's my home!"

His door opened and Cilia walked in and plopped down on a padded chair, her eyes focused on Noah.

"What? What did I do this time?" Noah asked with exasperation. His daughter always seemed to find something to complain about, similar to him.

"Daddy, that village was so terrible! Why can't we just send out adventurers to search the forest?" Cilia asked with a pout on her cute face.

"Because the forest connects to the Grand Forest which we cannot intrude on unless we want to go to war with the elves." Noah also wished to find the beast, however he didn't have the authorization to do so.

"But daddy! Wh-" Just as Cilia was about to continue, Noah stood up and looked in a certain direction, his eyes a bit narrowed.

"What happened?" Cilia stood up, the pout on her face gone as she held a dagger in her hands, ready to fight.

"A monster intruded... It came from the direction of the Plains. I'll go kill it quickly." Noah pulled a sword from it's sheathe and rushed outside.

Cilia blinked a few times and then followed after her father, her knife held in her delicate hands as she raced after him.

As someone at the peak of Bronze Rank, she was quite active and was quick on her feet. Even so, her father who was Gold Ranked moved like a spectre, his leaps carrying him several meters into the air.

Soon he came to a stop, his eyes widened in shock. It was a black creature with an exoskeleton and long skull. The creature stood on the roof of a building, 'gazing' in his direction warily.

"That! It's you! You slaughtered that village!" Noah yelled as he compared the information he got the creature itself. All he got in response was a soft hiss.