A full thirty seconds passed in dead silence across the guild channel.

Then the reactions exploded all at once.

"Holy crap, boss… are you serious?"

"Did I hear that right? Boss, you want to hit three high tier fortresses at the same time?"

"Boss, didn't you just say even one high tier fortress would be hard?"

Voices overlapped, questions piling on top of one another as disbelief rippled through the guild. Before the chatter could spiral out of control, Leo cut in loudly.

"Alright, alright! Settle down!" he barked. "If the boss says it can be done, then it can be done! Reform your squads and get ready to move out!"

Earlier, Leo had nearly lost control of the channel under the weight of complaints and skepticism. Ethan's earlier explanation had barely stabilized things. Now, instead of anger, the sheer boldness of the plan had flipped the mood entirely. Doubt gave way to excitement, and anticipation spread fast. Leo still carried authority here, and when he spoke with confidence, people listened.

"Alright, Skyblade! We'll split however you say!"

The remaining grumbling vanished, replaced by eager agreement and a noticeable amount of flattery.

"Cut it out," Leo said with a laugh. "I'm not the one splitting you up. Remember this, Leafshade is your commander from now on. I'm heading off to follow the boss and enjoy the easy life."

He made sure to shove Leafshade into the spotlight without hesitation.

Ethan nodded in approval. Leafshade shot Leo a grateful look. Being suddenly dropped into a command role had put him under scrutiny, and not everyone had welcomed it. With Leo's open endorsement, though, the guild accepted the change quickly, even if they did so with teasing rather than reverence.

"Skyblade, sounds like the boss demoted you, huh?"

"Yeah, looks that way to me!"

"Hahaha, definitely!"

Those closest to Leo piled on, clearly enjoying themselves.

"Get lost, all of you…" Leo said, laughing as he waved them off.

Once the mood settled and assignments were clearly underway, Ethan spoke again.

"Alright. One more thing before you head out."

The channel quieted immediately.

"I'm looking for a young girl," Ethan said. "She was recently expelled from the Alchemist Guild. Supposedly she never followed recipes and kept throwing random ingredients into her pot, which led to constant explosions. She's said to be a member of our guild. Does anyone know who she is?"

After he finished speaking, Ethan waited.

The guild channel filled with low chatter, typed messages, and private whispers as people racked their memories. Names were searched, records checked, old incidents recalled.

A few minutes later, someone finally spoke up.

"I remember we did have someone who got kicked out of the Alchemist Guild. But it wasn't a young girl."

"Yeah, I remember them too. They were in my raid team once."

"What? You were on a team with them?"

"Are you insane? Didn't you want to die?"

"Don't remind me…"

More voices joined in, their tones filled with dread and lingering resentment. Whatever experience they had shared with this person clearly left an impression. Ethan listened, but his attention drifted. Every response ended the same way, none of them matched the description he was looking for.

At the same time, he opened a private conversation with Master Roger.

"Master, is there any way you could provide a sketch or something?" Ethan asked quietly. Time was slipping away. Nearly the entire guild had heard his request, and no one had identified her yet. Only a small portion of members were offline. If she was among them, his chances were shrinking fast.

He needed something more concrete, something visual.

"A sketch?" Master Roger murmured, tilting his head as he thought. "I can try."

The old man reached into his storage and pulled out a sheet of paper. Ethan recognized it immediately, high grade Inscription Paper, the kind that held mana cleanly. Master Roger then produced a Scribe's Pen and, without another word, began sketching with quick, confident strokes, his expression growing more focused by the second.

'Is it really necessary to use something this expensive for a simple sketch?' Ethan frowned as he watched. 'Is this old man actually poor or not?'

A single sheet of Inscription Paper at that quality was worth hundreds of gold. Ordinary Inscription Paper usually came in small scraps, barely enough for basic work. What Master Roger had pulled out was a full sheet, nearly the size of an exam paper.

'Well, not my money,' Ethan decided, leaning closer to watch.

Master Roger's pen moved rapidly across the surface. In just a few moments, the rough outline of a face emerged. The instant Ethan saw it, his thoughts went completely blank.

Master Roger's artistic ability was… difficult to describe.

The lines were tangled and wild, like they had been drawn by someone fighting the paper rather than sketching on it. The result looked abstract, almost chaotic. Ethan squinted at it.

Was that supposed to be a young girl?

"There," Master Roger said proudly, lifting his pen before picking up the Inscription Paper and handing it over. "That's her."

Ethan stared at the sheet, then slowly looked up. "Are you sure… this is what she looks like?"

He honestly could not believe his eyes. The face on the paper looked more like a middle-aged woman who had lived a hard life. Yet the body sketched beside it was small and slender, clearly that of a young girl. The proportions felt completely wrong, like two different people stitched together.

Ethan examined the drawing for a long moment, then asked again. And again.

Each time, Master Roger confirmed it with complete confidence.

As the quest timer continued ticking down, Ethan let out a tired sigh. I'll just have to try.

He scanned the drawing and posted it into the guild channel.

"Everyone, take a look. Has anyone seen this person?"

The moment the image appeared, several voices reacted at once.

"Whoa, isn't that ImOnlyThreeYearsOld we were just talking about?"

"You're sure? This is the girl?" Ethan's eyes widened. So the problem was not the drawing after all. People had recognized her instantly.

"Yeah, yeah, that's definitely ImOnlyThreeYearsOld!"

"Boss, no mistake. This looks just like her."

"Hells, I thought it was a photo!"

As the guild erupted into chatter, Ethan stared dumbly at the drawing in his hand, then slowly turned to look at Master Roger.

He had been wrong.

The old man's drawing skills were not bad.

They were… terrifyingly precise, just in a way that completely ignored conventional aesthetics.

With the target identified, Ethan immediately tried to contact Celia. Before he could even send a message, one arrived from her first.

[Tears of the Fallen]: Ethan, is this who you're looking for?

[NotADruid]: Should be, I think. Can you get in touch with her?

A second later, a system notification popped up.

[DING… System Prompt: Tears of the Fallen has sent you a video call request.]

Ethan accepted without hesitation.

"Ethan, see if it's her!" Celia said the instant the call connected, shifting her camera.

A massive face abruptly filled Ethan's screen.

"Whoa!" He flinched and cursed under his breath, nearly dropping the interface.

"Aiya! My dear apprentice!"

Before Ethan could recover, a sly, delighted voice sounded from directly behind him, so close it made him jump again.

Master Roger had leaned over his shoulder, his eyes glued to the holographic screen, practically vibrating with excitement.

On the screen, the oversized face squinted at Ethan, then waved a hand dismissively.

"Who the hell are you, you old geezer? And who's your apprentice?" the girl said bluntly. "I'm here to see what the so-called living Druid God looks like."

Her gaze swept over Ethan from head to toe.

"…Meh. Not much to look at," she concluded. "One nose, two eyes, all limbs attached. Pretty average."

She clicked her tongue.

"Tsk, tsk. I thought he'd be more impressive."

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.