Chapter 272 Step It Up
In the Artisan's Association Tower,
"Will you go there as well?" a middle-aged man asked,
"If they call for my assistance, then I have to move," Dexter replied, shifting the runes across the room.
In his quest for answers about the breached vault, he discovered several new things, currently engrossing him. However, if the SSS Rankers called him, he had no choice but to help them.
Unlike the Elite Families, the Association held more power and authority, but this came with the responsibility for the whole world.
Dexter couldn't ignore the summons like Nathan did as it contradicted the Oath he took when he became Chairman of the Artisan's Association.
"The request for weapons has increased a lot, we can raise the prices," the man began, but Dexter's glare silenced him.
"Making money isn't bad, but now isn't the time," Dexter said.
He had made considerable money crafting armor and weapons for various people, and many Elite Families were requesting him to produce more. Still, he denied them all.
The Artisan's Association was the largest trading hub for hunters' equipment.
The current situation had dramatically increased the demand for such items.
Right now, they could exploit many people, but it contradicted Dexter's morals.
"I apologize," the man apologized, understanding Dexter's orders.
Runic Art users weren't among the top hunters, so it was obvious that many in the Artisan's association disliked guild hunters.
Only a few could become Rune Experts capable of forging weapons and artifacts and were highly regarded, like Dexter Wright.
The man, not wishing to bother Dexter further, left the vast room filled with various machines and technology.
Dexter raised his hand, and a hologram appeared, full of news featuring the moment the explosion happened at the Kalvas Gala.
"These guys sure talk a lot," Dexter said, turning towards the new Runic formation he was creating.
The entire internet had gone mad with theories about Zephyr, and the reputation of Elite Families was plummeting.
But amidst this chaos, some people heard the speech of the Masked Man and considered opposing the rich and powerful.
Numerous small groups were forming worldwide, but they were not acting hastily.
The World Association had already warned that any criminal activity would result in severe punishments.
A Rank Hunters were called to patrol the cities and ensure nothing was going wrong, and various people trying to align with Zephyr were arrested. Those people were petty criminals trying to exploit the situation but failed.
As all the Seat Holders instantly agreed to provide support, the World Association was managing the cities, ensuring peace was maintained.
And all those powerful enough to cause significant disruption were laying low, unsure about joining this unknown organization.
In the Fashia Continent,
"Get away from this area," one of the Team Leaders shouted.
They were already informed that Joseph Kimir Cranston and Nathaniel Greville, the Sword God, were coming to the Fashia continent to deal with the awakened calamity.
The problem was that the result of a fight involving an SSS Rank could destroy cities, so they needed to retreat.
"So, are we going to avoid the monsters coming from this direction?" an A Rank Hunter asked.
He was a novice who had just joined his new Guild and was already participating in such a mission.
"Don't worry about them," the Team Leader replied.
"Those monsters will change their direction soon, just evacuate from here," he repeated as everyone started to leave.
In a few seconds, two individuals appeared in the sky, looking over towards the land beyond the border.
Various dots could be seen by them and they were the aerial monsters running away from the awakened calamity.
Some of them were S Rank Monsters that could wreak havoc in cities if they entered.
Even fighting a single Aerial S Rank Monster required multiple S Rank Hunters, and most of them were mages.
"Do you want to deal with it?" Joseph asked, looking at Nathan who was wearing his heavy black armor with his famous greatsword in his hand.
Nathan's eyes shone as he flared his mana, making his presence known.
Not to these monsters, but the SSS Rank entity far from them.
"Don't tempt that monster to come near here," Joseph said with a frown on his face.
He didn't want to lure the monster even a bit closer to the border.
"Sure," Nathan said as he raised his greatsword.
He slashed it downward, but nothing happened, confusing some of the SS Rank Hunters behind them.
But in the next instant, they felt the mana behind them rush forward as they saw a sleek red line travel forward, and in the next second, all the S Rank Monsters in the air were dead.
"Is that the power of SSS Rank Hunters?" one of them muttered in disbelief.
Although they were not weak themselves, some of them, despite being SS Rank, had never seen an SSS Rank Hunter fight.
They knew only an SSS Rank hunter could kill an SSS Rank, but seeing it with their own eyes, they understood the difference between them and the two monsters in front of them.
"Let's go," Joseph said as Nathan flared his mana and disappeared instantly.
Similarly, other SSS Rank Hunters were also moving towards the calamities.
"So, did you find out who this guy was?" one of the World Association officials asked.
"His name is Erwin," the man replied.
"According to our database, he was a Professor at the World Academy," the man said.
"World Academy?" The other officials appeared confused.
"He went missing according to the latest information we received about him," the man said as he removed his hand from Erwin's face.
"Report this news to the Seat Holders," one of the officials instructed.
It was decided that all the information about Zephyr would be shared among the Seat Holders without fail. This meant that the World Association also had to continuously report such matters to the Seat Holders or the Families they represented.
"Gather all the information about his background, and check the database to see if his face appeared anywhere in the past couple of months," the official instructed as he turned to leave.
They had already cleared all the dead bodies around the Operation Tower.
"Did you find the backup security footage?" he asked one of his assistants.
"None, everything has been destroyed, there are no traces left," the assistant replied.
"Dammit, find anything. We can't send an empty report," the official said with a frustrated look on his face.
There was not a single clue about the people who had thrown the whole world into chaos.