When the guild quest announcer shouted the mission level, the area around the mission tower quieted down. Every S-level mission was not easy, and the quantity was also very scarce. Even passersby who were just bystanders couldn't help but curiously glance over, let alone—

"Haha! What that information broker said was indeed true! The next S-level mission is destined for me!"

"Go back and gather the brothers. We're ready to depart!"

"Boss, are you really not considering it? After all, it's an S-level..."

...

Before Aya had a chance to get closer, many adventurers who had surrounded her were already quickly squeezing forward to register and accept the mission. The scene was as lively as a supermarket's limited-time sale.

"Ah... my shoes!" Aya, who was squeezed to the edge, helplessly looked at her boots that had been bumped several times. Tiran said they were worth a lot of money when he threw them to her.

What are these people doing? They seem like they're on drugs. This is an S-level mission, aren't there so many high-level adventurers here looking to rank up?

... Wait a minute.

"I heard that someone recently posted an extremely high-reward mission at the guild, which will be released soon. It attracted many adventurers, including many beauties. I think that kind of place is more likely to inspire..."

Suddenly remembering the conversation she had with that guy Roger when she ran into him in the mall before, could it be that he was talking about this mission?

Extremely high-reward? Digesting this term repeatedly, Aya nodded, took a deep breath, and cast her gaze beyond the crowd, landing on that mission board. She made up her mind.

Damn it, I'm taking this mission. Whoever dares to stop me, I'll step on them directly!

Fortunately, due to its high difficulty and low completion rate, the guild allowed multiple people to accept S-level missions at the same time. Otherwise, Aya would have had to resort to violence to grab the mission.

—If it really came to that, things would get bloody.

When the crowd finally dispersed, Aya slowly strolled to the front of the new mission board. What's the rush? It's not like a few minutes early would make a big difference. In the end, it's all about strength.

At a time like this, I should remain calm...

But then Aya lost her composure.

In terms of the bounty alone, this witch extermination mission was not as good as the previous few S-level missions, and the corresponding task difficulty was also slightly lower than the other S-level missions—after all, witches seemed easier to deal with compared to dragons and abyssal warlords. But the S-level evaluation was real, which meant it was a great opportunity for some high-ranking adventurers who were just a breath away from reaching the top but had the unfortunate luck of not making it.

Of course, Aya didn't care about all that. Her main focus was money.

That's the purpose of coming to the Adventurer's Guild! Money, money, money! Everything else is bullshit without money.

What Roger said about the "extremely high-reward" was not a lie because this mission had one additional condition at the end.

—High probability of obtaining the witch's treasure, estimated to be worth around five million gold coins.

After accepting the mission following the usual procedure, Aya received a copy of the information that every accepting adventurer received. The most prominent feature of these officially collected guild materials was that they were absolutely correct, but at the same time, they were useless.

Casually flipping through the thin booklet, eighty percent of its content was dedicated to introducing the dark marshes—the mission location—including the terrain, climate, main species, and common resources. It even thoughtfully included the route to reach the dark marshes... Someone who didn't know would think it was a travel guidebook from some company.

In Aya's opinion, the only useful things are probably the map on the title page and the monster guide.

Based on the task description, there are two ways to complete the task: one is to kill the witch, and the other is to drive her out of the dark swamp and bring back proof.

The strength of the witch is not detailed, but it is estimated to be below Holy Rank level nine. If it is below level nine, it is not worth an S-level evaluation. And if it is Holy Rank, the guild would never bother to assign the task to ordinary adventurers to collect bounties.

Since Aya can fight even if she is not at Holy Rank, she has a general understanding of her own combat power at this stage. With the inherent racial advantage of the Golden Dragon, she is relatively stable against opponents of the same level. Even if the witch has some special means, she should at least have a 50/50 chance.

"Wait, am I forgetting something... by the way, where does the witch live?"

Even if she can win, she needs to find her first. But she only knows that the dark swamp is a large area and it's impossible to find her.

After thinking it over, it seems that there is only one option left...

"Looking for a team - anyone interested in forming a party for a dungeon run?"

"Cough...whoa, who is this mighty fellow?" Aya, who was originally ready to shout at the top of her lungs, was interrupted by a sudden loud shout from someone nearby, nearly choking on her own saliva.

Not only her, but many adventurers in the hall were also attracted by the shout. They saw a guy with a blood-red spear slung over his shoulder, with a wolf tail braid and blue hair, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Where did this funny guy come from..." This was Aya's first reaction, and she immediately chose to selectively forget that she had just planned to do the same thing.

But even though he was funny, from his appearance and the pretty decent quality of the red spear, it could be seen that this guy's strength should be quite good. Most likely, he belonged to the type who went his own way.

After thinking it through, Aya calmed her anxious mood and decided to give it a try.

"Are you looking for someone to team up with earlier?" Aya greeted the man and suddenly felt that he looked familiar.

The man seemed very straightforward and immediately brightened up when he saw Aya. He excitedly said, "Yes, the strongest adventurer team in this session is recruiting people. You're welcome to join anytime!"

Yeah right... with your appearance, you're the strongest adventurer team... Aya glanced at the slightly faded banner picked by the tip of his red spear, on which were poorly written letters saying "Number One Under Heaven".

Out of courtesy and with an awkward but polite smile, Aya began to consider backing out and joining another team. She didn't want to be stuck with this funny guy.

Just at that moment...

"Ah ah ah, Ino, you idiot! How many times have I told you not to hang up this embarrassing thing! You're being reckless again while I'm in the bathroom! Do you believe I'll beat you to death!"

The man, who had just been smiling confidently, suddenly suffered an attack from behind. An arm silently locked around his throat and exerted a forceful pull backward!

Self-defense technique - Wrist Crosslock!

This attack was truly brutal - the man's eyes almost popped out, and his mouth opened wide as he desperately gasped for air and tried to pull away the attacking arm. Unfortunately, it had no effect, as the attacker's movements were as firm as a pair of pincers.

Even Aya was worried that this guy would be strangled to death, but luckily, at the last moment, the attacker released the man from behind, allowing him to fall to the ground and take in some air.

"Sis... You're too rough with your moves. Aren't you afraid of really strangling me to death?"

"If you deserve to be strangled to death, who told you to take out my stuff to show off?" The attacker behind snorted, snatching the flag and tossing it into their personal storage item before clapping their hands impolitely.

"Wasn't that something you drew yourself when you were little, Sis? Why can't I hang it up..." The man stood up from the ground, looking disgruntled.

"Anyway, you're not allowed to take it out!" The attacker blushed and replied stubbornly in an unreasonable manner.

"But it's useful! Look, I've recruited a teammate, haven't I?" The man proudly pointed at Aya who had been watching the scene.

"A teammate? Where... huh? Isn't that?" The attacker paused at the sight of Aya, then widened her eyes.

"Ayateras... is it?" Aya also recognized this elegant and heroic female adventurer.

...

"Indeed, after we separated in the ruins, I thought I would never see you again. I didn't expect to meet again, huh."

In a corner with fewer people, Ayateras warmly held onto Aya's hand.

Indeed, her little brother may have a few screws loose in his head, but his luck was quite good to meet such a powerful person.

"Well, the explanation is a bit complicated..." Aya touched her face and let a strand of hair hang. "In any case, I'm also desperate to complete this mission."

"Exterminate a witch? We were planning to take on this mission too, so why not join forces?"

Without waiting for Aya to ask, Ayateras proposed directly. Her silly little brother may not know, but she had personally witnessed Aya single-handedly take down a troublesome giant metal puppet. Even at Level 9, Aya's strength was top-notch.

Although Ayateras herself had the evaluation of an S-class adventurer, completing an S-class mission was not a sure thing. In terms of raw strength, there were some top-notch A-class adventurers who were no less capable than her, so having assistance from the outside was even better.

"Well, no problem. Let's go with that then."

Of course, Aya was also willing. Ayateras was an S-class adventurer, definitely a professional in her field. With her, there should be no need to worry about gathering information, making things much easier for her.

Only her little brother looked confused, as he did not participate in the treasuring hunting that happened in Dungeon and Warriors.

"By the way, let me introduce, my brother Ino, a newly promoted A-class adventurer, a front-line gunner."

Patting her brother's shoulder, Ayateras smiled and said.

"What kind of introduction is that, Sis! Please address me as 'Deep Crimson Demon Pike' Ino. I am the man who will become the guild's number one gunner by taking down the Death Gun of Darkness!"

A certain man who was still in the chuunibyou stage was displeased as he pushed away his sister's hand, wearing a particularly arrogant expression.

"Ransel from the Dragon Slaughter Brigade? Give it up, you can't even defeat me."

"That's different! Sis, every time you fight with me, you always insist on finishing your artillery barrage before declaring the start, so who can approach you with that kind of firepower covering you?"

Watching the quarrel between the siblings, Aya sighed, covering her face.

"I'm Aya... My full name is a bit long, so I won't say it... By the way, did you guys hear me talking?"