I opened an adventurer's guild in another world.

Valkam!

As the first rays of dawn shone upon the earth, countless people rose to their feet.

"This is unbelievable! I've never seen so many people in the royal city!"

The lion-headed orc Khalifa glanced at the crowded people ahead and couldn't help but mutter, "It's just watching an execution, what's the rush!"

The weather was already getting warm in June.

Looking at the bustling crowd, Khalifa felt even hotter!

"But boss, the target of this execution is an eighth-tier sea creature. I heard he's even the king of a tribe. To put it in perspective, this execution is like the king of a small country!"

The one who took over the conversation was a catwoman dressed in the same type of clothing as Khalifa.

Behind the two were several tall orcs!

They were all orc adventurers from the Lion Adventurer Group.

Although the number of people is small, they are all the elite of the elite, handpicked by Khalifa.

The weakest among them are all at the fifth rank, and there are three sixth rank individuals including Khalifa.

Besides the alluring and fiery Catwoman, there was also a rhinoceros man standing at the back of the line who didn't talk much.

Catwoman turned around, winked at Khalifa, and said with a smile, "Besides, boss, you get up so early so you can get a good spot. You usually sleep until the sun is high in the sky."

"Go! Go! Go!"

Khalifa waved his hand and said to the crowd, "Everyone, stay close together, don't get separated by the crowd!"

As he spoke, he led his team into the crowd and followed the flow of people toward the central square.

There were quite a few sixth-tier powerhouses like Khalifa who came to watch the spectacle.

Even the seventh-rank officials from the royal city rushed over.

They had seen eighth-tier beings killed before; they had experienced it on the battlefield.

But they captured the king of one of the sea tribes and beheaded him as a warning to others.

They wanted to see such an inspiring scene.

"Holy crap, where did this lion-man come from? He's so big and he's blocking our way!"

Hearing the protests behind him, Khalifa, who had finally managed to squeeze to the front, turned around and glared at them.

His thick mane moved without wind, and the knife wound across his eyebrow made Khalifa look even more ferocious.

A sudden silence fell behind him.

"Tch!"

Khalifa clicked his tongue, turned to look at the wooden house in the central square, and continued to wait.

"Khalifa, don't be so arrogant here today, or you might get invited in for tea by the [Investigators]."

Hearing the familiar voice, Khalifa looked down at his side.

A handsome human dressed in casual clothes was looking at him with his arms crossed.

"Berkeley!"

Khalifa burst into laughter upon recognizing someone he knew.

Speaking of which, he, Berkeley, and the elf Grimm who won the World's Number One Professional Tournament had all met Anno before.

That was also a sea creature invasion, only this time the leaders were Ayra and Adelaide—Ocassi and Salom met Anno during that same event.

The mercenary groups they led at the time were also quite formidable.

Finally, when Anno allowed them to form an adventure team, the two made a decisive decision and immediately transformed their business.

Khalifa and Berkeley haven't seen each other for quite some time now.

"I'm just teasing those guys, I'm not going to actually do anything!"

Khalifa knew Berkeley was referring to his earlier intimidation of the adventurers behind him, and then he added, "I didn't expect you to be here too!"

Berkeley glanced at Khalifa's side and asked with a puzzled look, "Are you alone now?"

"No, everyone else just got lost as we walked!" Berkeley countered, "Are you alone now?"

Berkeley shook his head and said, "Like you, all my teammates are lost."

Then, the two looked past the city guards who were pulling up the cordon and towards the huge wooden house in the central square.

After a moment of silence, Khalifa asked, "How's business lately?"

Berkeley said calmly, "So-so. Large orders at the Platinum and Mithril levels only come occasionally, and they're quite risky. But smaller orders at the Gold level and below are constant."

Berkeley's Steel Rider Adventurer Group was also an elite mercenary group back then, with two at Tier 6.

They had just recently obtained the Mithril-class adventurer rank title.

The mithril-level missions that require Tier 6 to complete are mostly issued by Warrengal in the North and Valkam in the South.

They were either fighting demons or sea creatures.

It is quite dangerous.

In their quest to advance to the Mithril rank, many members of their adventure team were injured while undertaking missions in the North and are currently recuperating.

"It seems we're in similar situations!"

Khalifa complained, "The number of adventurers in the Kingdom of Nigar has basically stabilized, after all, the country currently only has so many professionals."

However, as these adventurers' strength increases, the guild's mid-level commissions are gradually becoming insufficient.

I've even started doing business overseas now.

Berkeley raised an eyebrow and said, "Abroad?"

"Escort some merchants to the Orcish Alliance!"

"Aren't you from the Orcish Alliance?"

"Don't even mention it. That country... if no orcs step up to change things, it feels like it'll only get worse."

Khalifa's expression turned somewhat displeased at the mention of the Orc Alliance.

Currently, the most frequent internal conflict is probably that of the Orcish Alliance.

While other countries were developing rapidly, those brainless orcs were still fighting amongst themselves!

Khalifa shook his head, as if trying to shake off these unpleasant thoughts.

"In my opinion, the Adventurers' Guild has also encountered a bottleneck in its development. Nowadays, powerful adventurers are actually not able to take on many commissions."

Moreover, with so many adventurers, the resources of the Kingdom of Nigar are already stretched thin.

If it wants to continue to develop, it must look to other countries.

However, this would inevitably make the Kingdom of Nigar and the Adventurers' Guild the target of public criticism.

Sigh, it's tough!

Upon hearing this, Berkeley smiled and shook his head: "Not necessarily!"

Khalifa looked at Berkeley with a puzzled expression.

"Although I don't know what the Adventurers' Guild is planning to do, I previously accepted a quest issued by the guild in the Western Regions."

The mission requires us to capture all types of magical beasts alive.

From level 0 slimes and goblins to the three legendary monsters, we want them all!

Khalifa frowned and asked, "Is there a problem with that?"

"They plan to keep magical beasts in captivity in the mountains not far from a small town!"

I sensed something was off, so I took a closer look and discovered they were preparing for the students of the Adventurers' Academy.

The Adventurers' Guild plans to build a monster training ground for future trainees!

"Adventurer's Academy?"

"My intuition tells me that the Adventurers' Guild is brewing something big, and the development of the Kingdom of Nigal and the adventurers will not be hindered!"

dong dong dong...

The two people who were talking were suddenly drawn to the sound of war drums.

Then they, along with the people in the central square and the windows and rooftops of nearby buildings, all looked up at the sky.

A bird-man with his tongue hanging out rode a flying monster and flew down, drumming with his wings.

Subsequently, more flying summons bearing the Adventurers' Guild insignia escorted a group of sea creatures from the distant sky and landed in the central square.

At that moment, the two noticed that many masked "Investigators" had appeared around them.

They, along with some scattered summoned creatures, were distributed throughout various areas of the plaza.

There is no doubt that they appeared to prevent riots.

When they saw a familiar black-haired youth riding a Silver Moon Blood Wolf along the pre-prepared path.

Khalifa and Berkeley simultaneously thought to themselves, "It's about to begin!"