Zane and Joss looked at Kellen with a mix of admiration and disbelief when he mentioned the Crimson Devil.

"I still can't believe it," Joss finally broke the silence, sighing as he spoke.

"Can't believe what?" Kellen asked, momentarily taken aback.

"Well, you know about the Crimson Devil. She shattered Gregor's record for the fastest Adventurer to reach Copper Rank, she did it in just two days!" Joss replied, his eyes wide with excitement.

"Yeah, it's mind-boggling," Zane chimed in. "But I guess it's not too surprising considering she's currently the strongest Adventurer in terms of raw power. If she had become a Copper Rank during a time when missions were plentiful, it wouldn't be as shocking. But she did it while only being allowed one mission per day. That's no small feat."

Both Joss and Kellen fell silent as they processed Zane's words. They were equally astonished by the news; after all, previous Adventurers who achieved Copper Rank didn't face such restrictions.

Those early Adventurers could take on as many missions as they wanted and typically took several days to qualify for Copper Rank status.

In contrast, the Crimson Devil was limited to just one mission daily yet still managed to achieve Copper Rank in two days. In two days, meaning she must have completed the maximum of one mission per day with perfect efficiency to qualify so fast to take on more missions.

"But if you think about it," Kellen interjected thoughtfully, "it's not that shocking at all. In fact, it's pretty normal. What would have been surprising is if she couldn't surpass Gregor's time."

Zane and Joss exchanged puzzled glances.

"What do you mean? Becoming a Copper Rank Adventurer in two days is an incredible achievement! Even third-rank Copper Adventurers took four days to reach that level, and that was considered impressive!" Joss exclaimed, rolling his eyes at Kellen.

Kellen raised both hands defensively with a grin. "Hey now! I never said it wasn't impressive; it really is! But if you dig deeper into her capabilities, it's almost expected."

He paused before continuing. "We all know that the Crimson Devil is incredibly powerful, a 5-Star High-Level Knight, second only to Barons in strength. According to Guildmaster rules, an Iron Rank Adventurer can only take on one 1-Star mission per day."

"What are you getting at?" Zane asked, rubbing his bald head in confusion.

"You guys are really missing the point here," Kellen sighed softly before elaborating. "For Warriors like us, completing even a single 1-Star mission can take an entire day, longer if it's far from Greyvale. But for her? A 1-Star mission is practically child's play! With her immense strength, those weak missions pose no challenge whatsoever."

Zane and Joss fell silent, reflecting on what Kellen had said. It suddenly made sense: becoming a Copper Rank Adventurer in just two days, with the strength of a 5-Star High-Level Knight, was entirely normal. In fact, it was so normal that no one would be surprised at all.

The only reason they had been shocked by this rapid advancement was that they were viewing it from their own perspectives, not from the viewpoint of someone with such impressive strength.

It would have been far more surprising if someone that powerful hadn't achieved Copper Rank status quickly.

As these thoughts settled in, they realized Kellen was right, there was nothing shocking about it at all.

Kellen noticed the contemplative expressions on his friends' faces and grinned widely as he took another gulp of beer, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I wasn't wrong, right?" Kellen's voice broke through their deep thoughts. They glanced at him and rolled their eyes in unison.

"Your point is valid; I can't argue with that," Joss replied with a snort. "But don't get too cocky just because you said it."

"Yeah, I bet you didn't come up with those assumptions yourself," Zane shot back, disdain evident in his eyes. "You probably heard them from someone else since you lack the brains to think for yourself."

"You're way too dim-witted to come up with those ideas! So stop shoving your pea-sized intellect in front of us," Joss chimed in.

Kellen nearly choked on his beer; his face turned red as tears threatened to spill from his eyes. He coughed loudly while patting his chest and pointed an unsteady finger at the two shameless friends before him.

"What do you mean I'm not intelligent? For the record, I'm smarter than both of you combined! Who do you think made those clever decisions when we were being chased by those abominable rabbits?"

Zane and Joss exchanged awkward glances, heat rising to their faces, they knew Kellen had a point but weren't about to admit it.

"What are you so proud of? You outsmarted a bunch of rabbits! That doesn't make you smarter than us; it just means you're smarter than rabbits," Joss retorted with a wicked smile.

"If I'm only smarter than rabbits but managed to lead two idiots like you to safety, then that means you're even dumber than rabbits!" Kellen shot back defiantly.

Some patrons in the tavern struggled not to burst out laughing at their banter; several faces flushed red as they held back their amusement.

Eventually, one person couldn't contain themselves and rushed outside, where uncontrollable laughter erupted moments later.

This sparked others around them into fits of giggles until soon enough, laughter filled the tavern as everyone looked at Kellen, Zane, and Joss with interest and amusement.

It wasn't that they were mocking Gregor; they were just enjoying the playful banter among the three of them, which was genuinely funny. Besides, they were all quite familiar with each other.

Kellen and his friends didn't mind at all. In fact, they joined in the laughter with everyone else in the tavern. The atmosphere was joyful and cheerful, filled with laughter echoing around the room.

Joss glanced at his two friends and couldn't help but shake his head.

After a few moments, the laughter began to die down, though occasional chuckles and giggles still floated through the tavern.

"As the laughter subsided, a more sober mood settled over their table.

Zane's expression grew serious. "You know... laughing about all this makes me think of Gregor. I'm really worried about him."

"What do you mean?" Kellen and Joss asked, looking confused.

"Well, think about it: among the top ten Copper Rank Adventurers, he's the only one who isn't particularly strong yet ranks first. That puts immense pressure on him. Remember what the Guildmaster said two months ago when the Crimson Devil became a Copper Rank?" Zane looked intently at Kellen and Joss.

"Yeah… I remember," Joss replied, his eyes lighting up as he nodded. "The Guildmaster mentioned that since Gregor is a Pioneer, he has to maintain his rank, if he loses it, his license will be revoked."

Kellen nodded in agreement. "Right… I heard that too." He looked at both of them seriously. "I think the Guildmaster is putting way too much pressure on him. After all, out of the top ten adventurers, he's the only 3-Star Expert Knight; everyone else is a 4-Star Master Knight, except for the Crimson Devil."

The three fell silent for a moment, unable to shake off their concern for Gregor. It felt like he was carrying an enormous weight on his shoulders.

"Well... what can you expect? That's what happens when you're known as the First Adventurer in history," Zane sighed as he shook his head.

"Nothing in this world comes free; everything has its price," Kellen added thoughtfully as he took a sip of his beer. "Being recognized as the First Adventurer brings glory and immense reputation, which are crucial for any adventurer, but it also means he must always stay ahead of everyone else or risk losing his identity."

The others nodded in agreement. Nothing truly comes without cost; even they had paid their own price to become adventurers by giving up other sources of income from dungeon explorations.

Yet for them, that sacrifice felt more like a blessing. While exploring dungeons could yield substantial rewards, even if most of their loot went elsewhere, the earnings from completing missions weren't bad either.

They had effectively traded one form of income for another, and it seemed like a good deal overall.

"I think he might lose his rank," Kellen said, leaning forward. "Consider this: the Crimson Devil is currently ranked second, just behind Gregor. The only reason Gregor holds the top spot is that he's the first Adventurer and has been in the Guild longer than any of us. But honestly, the Crimson Devil's strength is formidable enough that if Gregor doesn't step up his game quickly, he's going to lose his rank. If he can't grow stronger fast enough, it's goodbye to being an Adventurer."

Joss and Zane exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of disbelief and concern. They shook their heads; deep down, they knew Kellen was right. If Gregor didn't ramp up his strength soon, he would indeed be at risk.

"Plus," Joss added as he leaned back in his chair and stifled a yawn, "it's only been two months since the Crimson Devil joined the Adventurer Guild. She's already climbed to second place! The only thing holding her back from ranking up to Bronze is that the Guildmaster hasn't announced what those requirements are yet."

Kellen narrowed his eyes with a sly grin. "Well, it won't be long before those requirements are revealed. When that happens, chaos will surely ensue."

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