"For colluding to poison their own blood… I want you to confiscate their assets. Revoke their trade rights. Reduce them to paupers overnight. Strip them of the Ackerman name. Strike them from the baronial registry and remove their nobility."

Upon hearing Bruce, Valyria inhaled sharply.

As he finished speaking, his smile widened, slow, effortless, and terrifyingly serene.

A wave of killing intent rolled across the office like a silent blade. The air changed.

Not violently. Not outwardly.

Just… heavier. Valyria felt his thick killing intent, everyone in the Order of Knight felt it. But she remained mute. No one took action.

Bruce's killing intent was so thick that it felt like the world itself would shatter if he dared put more pressure.

"As for deadlines…" Bruce's smile widened a fraction. "You have one week. If I don't see results."

Valyria's throat tightened as dense killing intent brushed her skin, cold enough to burn.

"—I'll kill them myself."

She froze.

Bruce didn't raise his voice. He didn't move. He didn't release his full aura.

He didn't need to.

"And trust me," he added gently, "there's nothing the Order of Knights can do about it."

Ash stared at Valyria with glowing golden eyes, as if agreeing.

Bruce rose from the chair.

"The last thing you want," he said quietly, "is to be my enemy. Don't take me for a fool, Valyria. Drop the hypocrisy and act."

He paused at the door.

"If not… then you and the Order will be my enemies for a lifetime."

He didn't look back. He simply walked out, calm, composed, deadly.

Valyria sat frozen in place.

The pouches of gold still lay on her desk, untouched.

Her fingers trembled as she exhaled, slow, deliberate, trying to steady herself.

He hadn't threatened her.

He stated a fact.

And the frightening part was simple:

He could do it.

She watched the S-Rank anomaly walk away, her heart shaken in a way it hadn't been in years.

...

The instant Bruce stepped out of the Order, the weight on his family lifted, so subtly, yet so completely it felt like the world itself had shifted.

Lucy would be safe. Lily would grow without fear. No more threats, no more humiliation, no more chains disguised as "family duty."

He wasn't their blood. He wasn't born into their home. But somewhere along the way, Lucy's gentle warmth and Lily's blinding innocence had carved themselves into him.

They were family.

Their safety steadied him more than he cared to admit. It quieted the part of him that never stopped bracing for betrayal.

Bruce inhaled the sharp morning air and exhaled slowly, letting the cold clarity settle into his bones.

The debts were gone. A small smile pulled at his lips, not warm, not soft.

Cold. Precise.

Four faces surfaced in his memory. His mind replayed them flawlessly, photographic and cruel, every smug curl of their mouths, every glint of greed in their eyes.

'Helena, Rowan, Cedric, and Maris.' His smile thinned, chilled enough to frost the air.

From this day onward, he thought, the lives of you and your families will be a living hell.

Not rage. Not madness. Just a decision.

A simple, quiet promise carved into his spine.

He let the thought go, taking in one more steadying breath.

Then he raised his wrist.

"AI," he said calmly, "give me the rules of dungeon exploring."

A soft chime responded immediately, followed by the holographic interface floating above the smart bracelet.

Bruce's eyes narrowed slightly. He remembered Bale mentioning dungeon permissions once, but without elaboration. Now… he felt the urge to confirm things with his own eyes.

Lines of regulation text unfolded in clean, official formatting:

───────────────────────────

GUILD–CERTIFIED DUNGEON EXPLORATION PROTOCOLS

───────────────────────────

[1. Rank Restriction: Adventurers may only enter Dungeons of their rank or below.]

[2. Equal-Rank Entry Rule: Entering a Dungeon equal to one's rank requires a registered party of 3–6 members.]

[3. Higher-Rank Entry Prohibition: Entry into a Dungeon above one's rank is strictly forbidden by law and enforced by the Order.]

[4. Labyrinth Claim Rights: If the dungeon turns out to be a labyrinth, core ownership of the labyrinth is granted based on contribution records, party standing, or Guild arbitration.]

[5. Emergency Locks: NS-Rank Dungeon breaches automatically trigger regional lockdowns and compulsory Guild intervention.]

[6. Consumption and Harvesting: All beast remains, cores, herbs, or minerals within a Dungeon obey standard trade law, must be registered before sale. If the dungeon is located outside the kingdom and found by a scouter. 1% of earning from the dungeon must be given to the Dungeon Scouter Association.]

───────────────────────────

END OF REGULATIONS

───────────────────────────

Bruce scoffed under his breath. Of course these rules didn't apply to him.

He wasn't about to stand in line, negotiate with parties, or politely wait for 'guild-approved access.' He wasn't about to compete with adventurers for scraps either.

Not when he could clear entire ecosystems by himself.

Not when he had Ash, who chirped proudly from his shoulder, sensing the shift in Bruce's mood.

Rules were for people who needed protection.

Not for anomalies. Not for him.

He lowered his wrist and began walking.

Dungeon exploration… If Bale mentioned it, then there was something worth checking.

And Bruce was in the mood to see exactly what this world thought it could restrict him with.

He raised his wrist again.

"Bracelet," he said calmly, "give me the list of current scouted S-Ranked Dungeons."

A soft pulse ran through the device.

Bruce had never cleared a dungeon in real life before. Not a true one. The simulations, trials, and illusions he'd experienced were nothing like an actual, living Dungeon. And despite the overwhelming strength of his class and its broken skill set, he wasn't arrogant enough to jump straight into an SS-Ranked one.

SS-Rank meant apex predators. Not one. Not two. But multiple SS-Ranked beasts lurking under the same roof.

Even with his abilities, rushing in blindly would be stupidity disguised as bravery.

If he could solo an S-Rank Dungeon first, really solo it, then he'd consider testing himself on an SS-Rank.

A soft chime followed his request.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.