Contrast

"By the way, Lu Yuan — I have a piece of news for you. Want to hear it?"

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. "What news?"

"A small ruin has been discovered in this area of the dungeon. Lots of people are already planning to go check it out — we're heading there ourselves. Do you want to come?"

"In the northern inner circle?"

"That's right. I heard it's near an ant nest somewhere, but I don't know the exact location — I picked it up from someone while I was manning my stall."

"Got it. Thanks for telling me."

Li Luo laughed. "Ha ha ha, Mr. Lu, you're far too polite. You're my biggest client right now... If you happen to find any treasures in that ruin, it'd be wonderful if you sold them to me."

Lu Yuan smiled. "If I come across anything, I'll consider it. I'll go take a look first."

He said his goodbyes to Li Luo and turned to leave — and immediately heard someone shouting his name from behind.

"Lu Yuan bro! Yuan-ge!!"

He turned in puzzlement and spotted Zhuo Ming sprinting toward him.

"Yuan-ge! You're here too? What a coincidence!"

"Is it? Did you just arrive?"

"We've been inside for two days already. Just came out to resupply — heading straight back in after this."

Behind Zhuo Ming was the Guardian type warrior Lu Yuan had run into last time, along with a few teammates. Compared to that earlier encounter, two new faces had been added to the group.

The Guardian type warrior stepped forward with his companions and extended a hand.

"Black Knight Lu Yuan — we meet again." He laughed. "No need for introductions on your end. Your name has been on everyone's lips at the market these past few days."

Lu Yuan reached out and shook the offered hand. "I'm Lu Yuan."

"Last time things moved too fast for proper introductions. I'm Gelin — Guardian type, as you can see." He let a touch of seriousness into his expression. "From our very first meeting, I could tell your strength was something else. I didn't expect you to carve out a name for yourself this quickly. I've been working this dungeon for years and never earned a title for myself."

The teammates beside him burst into laughter.

"Captain, if you could match the Black Knight, you'd have your own title by now."

Gelin pulled a rueful face. "I'm a Guardian type too. Somehow I get the feeling we're not actually the same kind of warrior at all."

"Captain, you'll just have to work harder — aim for something like White Knight, maybe. Or Gray Knight."

More laughter from the group. The comparison was difficult not to notice.

After all, a Gene Warrior who took down hundreds of beasts in a single day was extraordinarily rare.

Lu Yuan smiled it off. "I'm just making use of the Guardian type's advantages. Strong defense means I rarely run into situations I can't handle."

Gelin gave a dry smile. "I'm also a Guardian type, and yet somehow I really don't feel like we belong to the same class of warrior..."

Everyone chuckled. They were all secretly thinking the same thing.

*Our captain looks so outclassed.*

Gelin's teammates had been eyeing Lu Yuan with undisguised curiosity — especially the blonde young man among them. For days now, the Black Knight had been one of the main topics of conversation at the market. None of them had expected to run into him in person.

Zhuo Ming turned to Lu Yuan with wide eyes.

"Yuan-ge, you're absolutely wild. People at the market are saying you bring back hundreds of materials every single day — that means you're killing hundreds of beasts? That's insane! Sister Xiangxiang called you a genius before, but she definitely didn't see *this* coming."

Another round of laughter from the group. The comparison stung a little.

Hearing Gelin's earlier remarks, Zhuo Ming remembered something and looked at Lu Yuan.

"Oh right — Yuan-ge, we're heading to the ruin too. Want to come with us? More people means more backup."

"You're talking about the ruin?" Lu Yuan said. "I just heard about it myself — was already planning to head over."

Gelin grinned. "Perfect. Why not go together?"

Compared to strangers, Zhuo Ming and Gelin had already shared one past collaboration with him. And having company would take some of the pressure off.

Lu Yuan considered it briefly, then nodded. "Sure."

"With the Black Knight along, the journey will go a lot smoother," Gelin said, clearly pleased.

"Then let's move out."

The group fell in together and headed into the dungeon.

They advanced in formation through the corridor — Gelin at the front with his great shield, Zhuo Ming and the others filling the middle, Lu Yuan bringing up the rear. The inner circle was denser with beasts than the outer ring, and they were tougher as well. Even Lu Yuan kept his guard up.

They hadn't gone far when Gelin, walking point, suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. His expression snapped to alert.

"Heads up!"

Everyone looked. The floor and the corridor walls were thick with white webbing.

"Watch the ground — burn the webs first!"

A young man Lu Yuan hadn't seen before — delicate-featured and golden-haired — conjured a fireball in his palm and hurled it into the strands.

They ignited instantly.

The moment the webs caught fire, two enormous dungeon spiders — jet-black from crown to legs, roughly 1.8 meters tall — erupted from the ceiling of the tunnel ahead of Gelin and charged straight for the blonde young man.

*Clang!!*

Gelin threw himself sideways and raised his great shield, trying to block both. One spider's claws slammed into the shield with crushing force, driving him back two full steps.

*Boom!!*

He held the line — but only just.

The second spider broke past his guard entirely and bore down on the blonde young man.

The dungeon spider was too fast. The young man's Transcendent Gene was elemental-type — no speed enhancement whatsoever. There was no way to dodge.

Zhuo Ming and the others gripped their greatswords and longswords and stared in alarm. Their own strength wasn't enough to cut it off in time. All they could do was watch helplessly as it lunged.

"What are you all doing?! Get over here and help!"

Just then, Lu Yuan stepped forward, placing himself between the spider and the blonde young man.

"You're not getting through."

Expressionless, he planted his feet, gripped his greatsword in both hands, and activated Black Iron Body. His assault came in like a crashing tide — relentless, surging, strike chasing strike without pause or break.

*Clang!!*

The spider's claw met the Beetle Claw greatsword head-on. A web of hairline fractures spread across the claw at the point of impact.

The dungeon spider let out a shriek and stumbled backward.

On the other side of the corridor, Gelin was locked in a grinding war of attrition with his own opponent. The sharp claws stabbed down toward his head; he snapped his shield up and caught the blow, but the force still drove him back two full steps.

Gelin's strength was by no means negligible.

And yet the contrast was impossible to ignore.

Both dungeon spiders were shrieking and retreating continuously — one hammered back by Lu Yuan's relentless offense, the other barely contained behind Gelin's shield.

The rest of the group stood in stunned silence.

*"...Is this the Black Knight's actual strength?"*

*"He's... incredible."*

The side-by-side comparison settled over everyone quietly and uncomfortably.

*Our captain looks so outclassed.*

Gelin roared with laughter, his eyes blazing with undisguised admiration. "That dungeon spider is enormous — its tempering level must have hit 70% or higher. And the Black Knight just suppressed it in a straight head-on clash?!"

He looked at Lu Yuan with genuine respect. Even someone of Lu Yuan's caliber had to approach creatures like this with care. And yet he made it look effortless.

Gelin — also a Guardian type, someone who knew firsthand what these monsters were capable of — could only shake his head.

*We really don't feel like the same kind of warrior at all.*

Not long after Lu Yuan's group entered the dungeon, a new party drew near the market from outside.

At their head was a female gnoll with smooth white fur and black leather armor.

It was Bertha Wimi — the one who had fled the last encounter.

At her side walked a black-furred gnoll. Behind her trailed more than a dozen gnoll Gene Warriors.

Bertha Wimi's expression was dark and cold.

"A pack of useless trash!" Her voice cracked like a whip. "I sent you to find that human. You've been at it this long, and you have nothing to show for it — not a single lead?!"

The black-furred gnoll went rigid. His face creased into a helpless, pained grimace.

"Third Young Miss," he said carefully, "the Gray Rock Forest is simply too vast. The terrain is treacherous. Locating one specific human under those conditions is extraordinarily difficult. We truly did everything in our power—"

"Don't make excuses for your incompetence!"

"Yes, Third Young Miss. The failure is ours entirely."

Another gnoll at her side stepped forward with a smile.

"Third Young Miss, please set your mind at ease. Not only have all of our organization's finest warriors been mobilized for this, but I have personally arranged for 'Bloody Blade' Sali and 'Madman' Li Xiao to join us. Even if other factions receive word and come rushing over, they will not be nearly as prepared as we are. This time, we will absolutely come away with something exceptional."

Bertha Wimi allowed herself a thin smile. "I hope you don't disappoint me."

"As for the ruin that has been discovered," she added, her tone cooling, "if you can bring back something worthwhile from it, I will let the matter of the human go."

*Hmph. If I come away from this ruin with a solid gain, I'll have more standing with Father. My elder brother and second sister won't have anything to mock me about anymore.*

The black-furred gnoll broke into a broad smile. "Please trust us, Third Young Miss! We will absolutely not let you down this time!"