The northern city of the Luo Ze Empire, Sailuoke.

Sailuoke is located near the Ghostly Cold Forest, where various ice monsters lurk.

Every winter, the various demons living deep within the Ghostly Cold Forest emerge as the ice expands, wreaking havoc on the surrounding areas.

To halt the advance of these monsters, Sailuoke naturally became a stronghold for the adventurer's guild.

Even before winter started, numerous experienced adventurers would arrive early, waiting to accept well-paying hunting missions.

Thanks to the adventurers and the stationed army, the Luo Ze Empire successfully suppressed the majority of wandering demons as winter began, ensuring the safety of towns near the Ghostly Cold Forest.

Originally, given the trend, this winter could have passed smoothly; however, a large number of powerful adventurers were attracted by a dragon task, eventually forming a larger group heading to the Bitter Cold Land of the empire's northernmost edge.

Inside the adventurer's guild, a scruffy man drinking alone raised his head and looked towards the task announcement board.

The scenes of past tasks being snatched up immediately were gone, and the board was filled with various dangerous subjugation missions.

The most prominent on the board was the task issued by a giant dragon at the top, offering rewards so considerable it was shocking.

But how could a task issued by a giant dragon be easy to complete?

"It's been almost two weeks; has the hundred-member adventure group that headed to the Bitter Cold Land been completely wiped out?"

"Wiped out? How is that possible? Many of them are powerful, how could they be easily eliminated?"

"But the scout team sent out was unable to contact any of them. For safety reasons, the scout team returned without daring to delve deeply."

"This doesn't confirm their deaths. Could they just be trapped inside that Cold Ice Palace?"

"That's possible, but no one can conclude for sure. Without anyone to rescue them, they're as good as dead."

"Now, we might have to let S-Class adventure groups handle it. And it can't be just one S-Class team."

"It seems the dragon has that in mind, but you remember what happened last year; many S-Class teams just went in vain.

It's still unknown what that mysterious creature hiding in the palace looks like.

With lack of intelligence, even S-Class teams hesitate to take risks.

Moreover, compared to that thing, S-Class teams are more concerned about the super large maze that's constantly emerging lately..."

Suddenly, the scruffy man sitting beside them slammed the table, instantly drawing all eyes in the guild towards him.

That scruffy man was once a dashing figure among adventurers, and now, with a disheveled appearance, sunken eyes, and dim gaze, he roared in impotent rage:

"I told you. It would definitely come to this.

That creature, that creature is definitely not something we can handle right now; we must gather more S-Class teams to wipe it out completely.

We absolutely cannot let that thing remain in the world.

I have a feeling, that guy is definitely ominous, definitely ominous.

From the first time I saw it, I should have realized, if I hadn't taken my companions into the ice cave then, not... not been blinded by greed to accept that task, they wouldn't have died..."

As he spoke, Bin Luo, once the leader of the "Forget Sorrow Stone," broke down and wept, slowly sitting back down.

The surrounding adventurers exchanged awkward smiles, seemingly accustomed to such scenes, and not long after, the adventurer's guild returned to its usual calm.

It took Bin Luo a long time to calm down, tirelessly pouring alcohol into his mouth until he slumped onto the drinking table, groggy.

His vacant eyes faced toward the guild's reception desk.

Originally, he hoped his adventure group could live carefree, thus naming it "Forget Sorrow Stone," but now it was utterly contrary.

In his hazy vision, Bin Luo saw a group of people entering the adventurer's guild.

Leading them was an extraordinarily ordinary man, followed by three youthful girls of varied postures, the most eye-catching being the white wolf speckled with fire-red.

To bring a demon along could only mean one profession—a Monster Tamer.

As his consciousness slightly cleared, Bin Luo resumed pouring alcohol into his mouth.

The group looked young; probably new adventurers from somewhere, having heard of the manpower shortage here, hoping to claim a share of the rewards.

Unfortunately, the demons dwelling in the Ghostly Cold Forest aren't something brats can handle.

Novice adventurers like them should obediently start training in areas with weak demons, only coming here when they are strong enough, or they would be throwing their lives away.

Risking one's life for money is the most unworthy thing in the world.

Don't think having a demon that looks strong by your side makes you invincible.

If you're new, start with goblins or slimes!

At the thought of goblins, Bin Luo's mind buzzed, the scenes of that day once again replaying before his eyes, dissipating the surge of drunkenness he had struggled to achieve.

Bin Luo remained silent, watching the group, curious about their intentions.

The ordinary-looking man exchanged words with the adventurer guild's front desk lady, who then procured a Crystal Ball.

The ordinary man and his companions lined up, coming into contact with each other.

Veteran adventurers could tell at a glance that this was an adventure group formation process.

Adventurers typically work in teams, which are rather loose organizational forms; teams can have members leave or join without any application, and personnel changes are commonplace.

But an adventure group is different; an adventure group is essentially an advanced form of a team, where all members' interests are bound together, and new members joining or existing members leaving must be reported to the adventurer's guild.

Once registered and passing the tests, becoming an adventure group allows them to take on certain group tasks.

For most, compared to temporarily assembled adventurer teams, it's the adventure groups with mutual cooperation and trust that are more reliable.

Thus, many well-rewarded tasks specifically require experienced adventure groups, not ad-hoc adventurer teams.

Many adventure groups, after finding teammates who work well together within an adventurer team, go on to establish such groups.

Sometimes, even after transitioning from a team to an adventure group, habits linger, and they continue to call their leader "Captain" instead of "Head."

This was the case with Bin Luo's team as well; his members always called him Captain, but now none of them are there to call him anymore.

The guild's front desk lady looked seriously into the Crystal Ball, suddenly, her body froze, her expression turning exceedingly astonished.

Bin Luo, too, couldn't help but widen his eyes; he had seen a similar expression on a guild lady's face before.

That time, he had witnessed with his own eyes the birth of an S-Class adventure group.

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