Chapter 31 – The Legendary Stone

The central Guild Hall of Arvenor had rarely been this crowded. Since Zareen had dropped the sack of ten thousand dark cockroach cores on the registration desk, his name and face had spread through the Guild like wildfire. Adventurers swarmed the hall, whispering and pointing, while the staff worked frantically to maintain order.

But it wasn’t just the feat of clearing the infamous cockroach quest that shook the Guild—it was the card he had used to prove his identity: **pitch black, marked only with a dragon insignia and a single crossing line.**

“No way…” murmured a native adventurer. “That’s a hero’s card.”

“What do you mean?” asked one of the otherworlders.

“That card only appears in legends. The twenty-four heroes who once sealed away humanity’s evils… all of them had black cards.”

The whispers spread like a fire through dry grass, and soon every eye in the hall was fixed on Zareen, as though he were some resurrected figure from an ancient myth.

Zareen stood silently, unmoved by the stares boring into his back. *So that’s what this means…* He remembered Gino’s words from long ago, about heroes carrying a special mark. But Gifa had never explained the card’s true significance. To him, it had always been just an identity—never a sign that tied him to destiny itself.

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### Summoned to the Upper Chamber

A Guild staff member soon escorted him upstairs to a private chamber. Inside, a man in his fifties waited, wearing a dark blue Guild robe lined with gold. The crest on his chest marked him as one of the Guild’s highest overseers.

“Welcome, Zareen,” the man said with polite authority. “I am Orel, a senior mission supervisor. We have heard much about your achievement.”

Zareen gave a short nod. “It was just luck. I found a way to deal with the swarm efficiently.”

Orel’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Humility is a virtue, but in the Guild, results speak louder than words. And your results are exceptional. That’s why we wish to offer you something.”

He unrolled a massive map across the table. The parchment was covered in red markings and warnings.

“This is a mission that has been pending for years,” Orel explained. “**The Legendary Mana Stone**—an ancient source of energy said to empower any kingdom that possesses it. The stone lies within the ruins of a temple deep in the Zarlok Mountains.”

He traced the red route on the map with his finger. “The path is treacherous. Sheer cliffs, poisonous marshes, and ancient traps that no one has fully deciphered. Worse still, the temple is guarded by a beast-class guardian. Veteran parties have tried to retrieve the stone, but none have returned whole.”

Zareen stared at the map intently. “And you want me to be the one to retrieve it?”

“Precisely. Your feat with the cockroach swarm convinced the Guild that you are the most promising candidate. But make no mistake—this is not a normal quest. If you fail, even your black card won’t save you.”

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### Whispers in the Guild

News spread through the hall below like lightning. Veteran adventurers scoffed and laughed.

“They’re giving him the Legendary Stone mission?!”

“Unbelievable! We’ve been avoiding that suicide mission for years!”

“He’s just a glory hound. Mark my words—he’ll die before reaching the temple.”

But among the natives, hope glimmered in their eyes. “If he really is a hero, like in the old tales… perhaps he’s the only one who can succeed.”

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### Accepting the Mission

Zareen took the rolled map from Orel. “Very well. I’ll do it.”

Orel raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you don’t want to form a party? Even the most experienced adventurers go in with a full squad.”

“I’ve grown used to traveling alone,” Zareen said flatly. “I trust my own way.”

The Guild overseer sighed. “Then may fortune guide you. The Legendary Stone awaits.”

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### The Journey to Zarlok

The trek to the Zarlok Mountains began almost immediately, testing Zareen’s endurance and resolve from the very first step.

**Day One** – The dense forest was filled with ancient traps. Twice the ground gave way beneath his feet, revealing pits lined with sharpened stakes. Zareen had to use wind magic to vault across collapsing ground, each jump draining his energy.

**Day Two** – He encountered the Poison Marsh. Its surface was a black-green sludge that hissed and bubbled. When he tossed a stone onto it, it dissolved within seconds. Detouring would take days, so Zareen improvised, shaping a bridge of ice with his rudimentary water magic. He crossed quickly, the ice melting the moment the poisonous water touched it.

**Day Three** – The monsters came. Packs of shadow wolves with glowing red eyes emerged from the mist, their bodies cloaked in dark fog. Zareen fought them relentlessly, hurling fireballs that lit up the night. But the wolves kept coming, howling and circling.

In desperation, he set a trap—an encirclement of fire, drawing them inside before detonating the circle in a fiery blast. Dozens of monster cores rained onto the ground. Zareen nearly collapsed, gulping down recovery potions as the backlash from overusing magic made his body tremble.

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### The Ascent

On the fourth day, Zareen finally reached the mountain’s base. The air was frigid, biting through his cloak. The path grew steeper, the rocks loose and treacherous. Twice he nearly slipped off a narrow ridge as stones crumbled beneath his feet.

But then, through the swirling fog, he saw it: the faint silhouette of a temple at the mountain’s peak, bathed in a pale, eerie glow.

That sight rekindled his strength. Each step brought him closer—not just to the Legendary Stone, but to the next step in unraveling his destiny.

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### Night Before the Battle

That night, Zareen found shelter in a small cave. He lit a fire and sat staring into the flames, lost in thought.

*If this black card really marks me as a hero… does that mean I must bear their burden?*

His hand tightened around Gifa’s staff. *Whatever the answer, I can’t turn back. This stone might be the key to my next mission—and to understanding why I was brought here.*

Outside, the mountain wind howled. Somewhere in the distance, a deep, guttural roar echoed through the mist, reverberating off the cliffs.

The guardian was awake.

And it was waiting.