"Riezel Brynhart?"
Gagaran, surprised and even a little moved, had her eyes focused even more as she stared at Riezel.
"So it's you?"
Her surprised tone caused all the adventurers around them to glance over in their direction once again.
Perhaps it was because they had just heard Gazef's introduction of Riezel, but one by one, the adventurers began to focus on Riezel, and without exception, the expressions on their faces were filled with astonishment.
"What's wrong?"
Climb seemed unaware of why everyone was so surprised and reacted a little slowly.
Even though Gazef had mentioned that Riezel was his savior, which had surprised Climb a bit, he still felt that the reason everyone else was surprised wasn't quite the same as why he had been surprised.
As it turned out, that was indeed the case.
Seeing Climb's clueless expression, Gagaran asked with a speechless expression before immediately raising her voice.
"Riezel Brynhart! He's one of the three people who recently became an Adamantite Adventurer!"
When Gagaran's words hit, Climb's eyes widened in surprise.
"Adamantite Adventurer?"
Climb stared at Riezel in shock, noticing that the young man in front of him looked about the same age as him.
"What the heck, you really don't know?"
Seeing Climb's reaction, Gagaran realized he really had no clue about Riezel, so she slapped him on the shoulder.
"Seriously, this has been a huge deal in the kingdom recently, and you've never heard of it? You're really ignorant, kid."
Following this, Gagaran began talking about Riezel in front of everyone.
"Recently, the kingdom has seen the rise of two Adamantite Adventurer Groups in less than three months."
"One group consists of two people known as Dark Hero Momon and Beautiful Princess Nabe, who are currently active around E-Rantel. Because they became Adamantite Adventurers in a short time with just one warrior and one magic caster, their adventurer group has gained a huge reputation around E-Rantel."
"As for the other group, it's just one guy—no teammates, no companions, nothing. Basically, it's not even a group, yet he still managed to make a name for himself in E-Rantel and accomplished enough to become an Adamantite Adventurer in no time."
While speaking, Gagaran patted Climb's shoulder again before turning her gaze to Riezel.
"His most famous feat was when he fought right in front of the Adventurer's Guild in E-Rantel. He challenged adventurers who doubted his strength, defeated every challenger one by one, and built a legend of zero defeats."
"He's hardly ever taken a quest, never even completed a proper one, but the things he's done are far from fewer than those who steadily worked their way up to becoming Adamantite Adventurers."
"Can you believe someone survived over a month in the Azerlisia Mountains? Yet this guy actually did."
Upon hearing this, Climb was once again struck with shock.
Azerlisia Mountains were located at the northwestern tip of the continent, stretching vertically and acting as the border between the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Baharuth Empire.
On the left side was the Re-Estize Kingdom, the right side was the Baharuth Empire, and to the south lay the Great Forest of Tob, which bordered the Slane Theocracy.
It was undoubtedly a region of great geographical importance.
What made the Azerlisia Mountains so notable was not just their rich natural resources but also the large number of dangerous monsters that lived there. Most of these monsters were capable of easily hunting humans, and they could be found not only on the ground but also in the sky.
For example, Giant Eagles, Perytons, and Harpies were all well-known monsters in the Azerlisia Mountains. Besides them, there were also undead creatures like Freezing Zombies and Frost Bones, which were naturally born there.
Because their very existences posed a threat to any living being, despite the rich natural resources in the Azerlisia Mountains, they were known as a forbidden area for humans, and few would even think of traveling there.
Yet, for the young man sitting before him, who looked about the same age as him, to have survived there for over a month?
Climb couldn't hide his shock and disbelief as he looked at Riezel.
However, that was actually not all.
"According to the report from the Adventurer's Guild, during his travels in the Azerlisia Mountains, he took down a lot of famous monsters."
Gagaran kept explaining Riezel's feats.
"However, the most famous ones gotta be the region rulers living deep in the Azerlisia Mountains, each controlling one of the three major regions."
"The Phoenix Lord, who rules the skies."
"The Ancient Flame Dragon, who dominates the land."
"And the La-Angler Lava Lord, who controls the land of molten magma."
Gagaran's voice began to fill with awe.
"Do you know what the La-Angler Lava Lord is? It's a legendary monster, a giant fish-like creature over 50 meters long. If the Adventurer's Guild had a quest to hunt this monster, the difficulty level would be at least around 140."
What Gagaran meant by difficulty level was an indicator within the Adventurer's Guild given to monsters or quests.
A Copper or Iron Adventurer could handle a difficulty level from 1 to 20.
A Silver or Gold Adventurer could handle a difficulty level from 21 to 40.
A Platinum or Mithril Adventurer could handle a difficulty level from 41 to 60.
An Orichalcum or Adamantite Adventurer could handle a difficulty level from 61 to 80.
In other words, a difficulty level above 80 was already at a level that even an Adamantite Adventurer couldn't deal with.
"By the way, our young leader, who's already entered the Realm of Heroes, admitted that she couldn't handle a difficulty level of over 90."
Gagaran grinned as she revealed this fact.
"Now that you know, you can imagine just how terrifying a monster with a difficulty level of 140 would be."
Clearly, it was an existence that could easily crush even adventurers within the Realm of Heroes.
"Yet, this guy took down the three regional rulers in the Azerlisia Mountains all by himself."
Gagaran dropped a bombshell in Climb's heart.
"That's why, even though he's alone, he was granted permission by the Adventurer's Guild to officially raise his rank to Adamantite and be treated like an Adamantite Adventurer Group."
"Because... he alone is equivalent to an entire Adamantite Adventurer Group."
"He alone is the strongest."
As soon as these words came out of Gagaran's mouth, the entire hall was suddenly filled with nothing but her voice echoing through the air.
Everyone, including Climb, fell into silence, their gazes fixed on Riezel, filled with nervousness and awe—even those who had already heard the stories or rumors about Rieze couldn't stay calm.
Climb, needless to say, had stopped breathing entirely.
In this tense silence, Riezel finally spoke up.
"It's not that exaggerated."
Riezel spoke in such a casual tone that it seemed like he didn't think what he had done was a big deal at all as if he had just gone out to buy some vegetables for dinner.
"Actually, that fish isn't good at moving on land. As long as you stay away from the magma, it's basically a dead fish that won't even dare to come ashore. Just use flight magic to keep your distance and attack it with long-range, high-powered magic, and it won't be able to do anything to you."
Of course, even though Riezel said this, in actuality, he charged straight in and engaged the La-Angler Lava Lord in close combat.
Who could stop him when he suddenly got the urge to test if the high temperatures of the magma could break through the heat resistance provided by Pioneer of the Sun?
As it turned out, even though he jumped directly into the magma, he was able to endure for a while. It would have been difficult to sleep in there, but swimming in it wasn't as hard as he had imagined.
Ultimately, the so-called La-Angler Lava Lord, which was roughly equivalent to a Level 46 monster in YGGDRASIL, met its tragic end.
However, since the others didn't know any of this, Riezel's casual tone as he explained made them exchange speechless looks for quite some time.
"As expected of you, Sir Brynhart..."
Gazef openly expressed his admiration, impressed by the feat Riezel had pulled off.
Climb, on the other hand, was beginning to understand why Gazef treated Riezel with such respect.
"So, does that mean Lord Brynhart is stronger than...?"
Climb didn't finish his words since he still had a hard time believing it, but Gazef seemed to read his thoughts and bluntly confirmed it.
"Yes, Sir Brynhart is stronger than me, and by quite a lot."
When Climb heard this, he really couldn't describe the mix of emotions he felt.
Gazef Stronoff, the Re-Estize Kingdom's Warrior Captain, known by neighboring countries as the strongest warrior, was undoubtedly a figure that many people looked up to.
Countless warriors must have heard Gazef's name and worked hard day after day, year after year, dreaming of becoming like him. So many aspiring warriors must have taken him as their role model, dreaming that one day they would surpass him.
Even Climb himself had always seen Gazef as a role model.
Even though Climb knew it was a distant dream, he couldn't help but imagine that if he kept training hard enough, maybe someday he could become as strong as Gazef.
Yet, when Gazef admitted that he wasn't as strong as someone of a similar age to Climb, Climb's emotions became even more complicated than he could express.
'If only I could be as strong as Lord Brynhart...'
Climb couldn't help but have this thought.
"Kid."
Evileye, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.
"Dreams and delusions are two different things. If you work hard with the wrong mindset, not only will you not get stronger, but you'll also bring about your own destruction."
Such cold and stern words snapped Climb back to his senses.
"So-Sorry!"
Climb realized that everyone was looking at him, so he hurriedly bowed and apologized to them.
"Don't worry about it."
Gazef patted Climb on the shoulder, signaling that the matter was settled.
"By the way, what were you guys talking about just now?" Gagaran shifted the topic, bringing up the previous conversation.
Gazef thought for a while before finally deciding to explain.
"Actually..."