You promised to wreak havoc on the dungeon, but instead you've got Dragon Slime!

The light was so intense that it almost pierced through the dimness of the cabin, casting dancing shadows on the walls!

Lilith and Alyssa stared at each other, their eyes wide with disbelief and disbelief.

"Miss Lilith..."

Alyssa's voice trembled slightly with uncertainty as she pointed to the name shining on the crystal ball:

"I remember... the name of the dungeon on the crystal ball showing this platinum light meant... that the Adventurers' Guild had issued... a raiding order?"

She paused, as if it took immense courage to utter that sacred and distant word, before quickly negating herself:

"No, no, I must be remembering wrong? Could this light have some other meaning? Like... a dungeon malfunction? A database error?"

She racked her brains trying to find a reasonable explanation for this absurd scene that did not involve the land reclamation order.

Lilith's feelings at that moment were exactly the same as Alyssa's. She stared at the light, her heart overflowing with doubt:

“I…I’m not sure either…but it seems like this is the only one my father told me…”

This completely overturned their understanding of the dungeon world! How could an E-rank dungeon possibly trigger a raiding order?

This is even more bizarre than a dragon falling in love with a slime!

Unable to sit still any longer, Lilith stood up abruptly, her voice urgent:

"No, I have to ask Father! What exactly is going on!"

She walked quickly to the small room next door where her parents were temporarily staying.

Inside the room, Duke Cedric the Flame was frowning and rubbing his temples—

Moving back to this cramped old house was an ordeal for him, who was used to the life of a duke, but he had no choice but to endure it in order to play along with the act.

Hearing the knock, he got up and opened the door with a hint of impatience at being disturbed.

"Lilith? What's wrong?"

Cedric was slightly taken aback when he saw the unusually anxious expression on his daughter's face.

Lilith looked at her father as if grasping at a straw:

"Father! Are you... are you sure that the reason the dungeon's name suddenly lit up with that super bright platinum light in the crystal ball, besides the Adventurers' Guild issuing a raid order, is really that there's no other possible reason?"

Her eyes were filled with a last glimmer of hope, longing to hear the word "yes" from her father.

Upon hearing this, Duke Cedric frowned even more deeply, looking at his daughter with a questioning gaze that seemed to say, "Isn't this common sense?"

"Of course not! The crystal ball only displays that way when the Adventurers' Guild issues a raid order for that dungeon; it's confirmed by the rules. What happened? What's going on?"

Lilith seemed to have lost all her strength at her father's resolute answer. She blinked blankly for a moment, then her eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

She subconsciously scratched her gleaming red hair and murmured:

"No...nothing serious...it's just...it's just...my Black Language Cave...it...it suddenly...lit up..."

Chapter 41: The Challenge Begins!

Is the Black Language Grotto highlighted?

Lilith's excited voice echoed in the somewhat empty study:

"Father! The Black Language Cave has been highlighted! The Adventurers' Guild has issued a raiding order!"

Duke Cedric put down his quill, causing the heavy oak table to wobble slightly.

His aged but still sharp grey-blue eyes first flashed with a hint of confusion, then a helpless smile appeared, and his weathered, broad hands gently pressed on the table.

"My dear Lilith."

He sighed, his voice low but clearly filled with doting affection:

"Although Father went bankrupt, he can still handle it. There's no need to make up such shocking news to cheer me up."

He looked at his graceful daughter with satisfaction, thinking that she had really grown up and had learned to understand her father's feelings, even coming up with such a "fantastic" idea to comfort him.

Lilith was momentarily speechless, a few strands of her fiery red hair unconsciously sticking up, and a slight blush spreading across her fair cheeks.

"Uh...no, Father, I really wasn't kidding you!"

She pointed eagerly to the door:

"The crystal ball! It's in the living room! Alyssa is watching it; you'll see for yourself!"

Cedric frowned slightly, his suspicious gaze sweeping over his daughter's face; her eagerness seemed genuine.

He hesitated for a moment, then finally pushed away the heavy wooden chair and stood up.

His heavy robe swayed gently with his steps as he walked hesitantly through the carved archway into the brighter living room.

Before the fireplace, the maid Alyssa stared intently at the magic crystal floating in mid-air.

At this moment, deep within the crystal, which usually glows with a soft blue light, a name is suddenly enveloped by a blinding scarlet halo, like a burning brand—

Black Language Grotto!

"...Really?"

Cedric murmured, his world-weary eyes fixed on the crystal ball, his throat dry.

He almost thought his eyesight was failing.

Rank E dungeon? A raiding order?

This is as absurd as a joke told by goblins!

"crazy……"

The old duke murmured, his voice filled with disbelief:

"The Adventurers' Guild has gone completely mad!"

He could only come to this conclusion; otherwise, how could he explain issuing such a "pioneering order"—usually used for attacking lava cores or sky fortresses—for an E-level dungeon that even novice adventurers could handle?

Not only him, but Lilith and Alyssa exchanged a glance, their thoughts exactly the same.

However, after the initial shock, the taut string in Lilith's mind suddenly relaxed, and a startling thought exploded in her head:

"Then...doesn't that mean the completion rate of the Black Language Cave is about to...skyrocket?"

That's a land reclamation order!

Those who can respond to it are the elite of the elite!

Even in the legendary S-rank Nightmare Nest, the success rate of clearing it can be artificially inflated by these people when they encounter the pioneering order.

What about the small Black Language Cave, which only has some mushrooms and skulls?

So to say……

The tasks posted by her "slacking off and getting a rebate system"...

Wouldn't it be possible to complete this while lying down?

Overwhelmed with joy, she couldn't help but burst into laughter, the clear sound sounding somewhat abrupt in the somber living room.

Cedric and Alyssa both turned to look at her, their eyes filled with understanding.

After all, the opening of the E-level dungeon meant that Lilith would soon receive the title of nobility she had always dreamed of, and she had every reason to be overjoyed.

……

At this moment, far outside the town, the entrance to the Black Language Cave deep in the valley's folds was already filled with the clamor of voices and soaring fighting spirit.

The small open space at the cave entrance was packed with people, with the flags of more than eighty renowned adventurer teams fluttering in the wind.

Those standing at the very front were all adventurers who had reached level 10.

Their equipment shimmered with various enchanted lights; the mithril light armor was like a second skin, the adamantite blades gleamed coldly, and magical runes pulsed incessantly at the tips of their staves.

Everyone was conducting a final, meticulous check, their movements swift and powerful.

"Wow..."

The crystal-clear potion bottles clinked together, and a peculiar aroma of various exotic herbs and magical essences filled the air.

[Limited Invincibility Potion], [Titan Power Elixir], [High-Grade Fire/Frost/Poison/Mind Resistance Potion]...

Bottles of expensive medicine, enough to drive anyone crazy in the outside world, were distributed, confirmed, and neatly clipped to the most convenient spot in the waist pouch.

The shimmering light emanating from the medicine bottles reveals their astonishing value.

Those ordinary adventurers who were just taking on small tasks nearby and were standing in the outer circle had their eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

My saliva almost got swallowed but then welled up again.

Especially the [Limited Invincibility Potion] that shimmers with rainbow-like light—

A legendary treasure that can turn the tide in an instant!

A single bottle costs at least 1,000 gold coins!

For ordinary adventurers like them, it was an astronomical figure that could crush them, a luxury they might not be able to afford even once in their lifetime.

Now, members of those top teams can easily carry several bottles of water with them, just like drinking water!

"This...this isn't running a dungeon...this is burning money!"

One bystander clutched his chest, trembling with heartache:

"Even if we manage to get through, the cost of the potions alone will be hard to cover, right?"

"Fool! Do they lack gold coins?"

Immediately, someone nearby scoffed disdainfully, their eyes filled with longing for a higher level:

“What they want are the points! Black Language Cave is worth 10 points! That’s the lifeline that determines the position of top teams like ‘Eye of the Storm’ and ‘Iron Fist Brotherhood’ on the continent’s guild ranking board! The cost of 50 gold for the potion? Worth it!”

Just then, a five-person team that was at the front of the line and had obviously completed all the preparations moved.

A captain dressed in a purple robe and wielding a wand topped with a large mithril stone gave a low shout:

"The medicine's effectiveness is precious; we must act quickly!"

He took the lead and stepped into the cave entrance, which was as deep as the throat of a giant beast and shimmered with a faint phosphorescence.

The other four followed closely behind, their movements perfectly synchronized, and instantly disappeared into the light at the cave entrance.