Meal boxes, Snacks, Money, and a few ies. Grey was giving Yuna a couple of things which could st her for a few days. He also gave her a few extras just in case of emergency.

  "Is that all you need?" ［Grey］

  "Un. This is more than enough." ［Yuna］

  For reasons unknown to Yuna, Grey suddenly decred that he will be traveling alone for a quest, saying things like it was something fidential to prevent her from inquiring further.

  Of course, Yuna was worried at first at Grey's sudden decision, but ter decided that it was best to put her trust in Grey. After all, to Yuna, Grey was someone who wouldn't do something without reason. He was her most trusted person in the world.

  "Alright, I'll be going now. Make sure to take care of yourself, drink lots of water, never eat te, andー" ［Grey］

  "Don't go with strangers." ［Yuna］

  Like bullets fired from a mae gun, Grey's reminders fired oer another, but before he could finish his sentence, Yuna pleted it for him.

  It wasn't the first time Grey had reminded Yuna to take care of herself. It was already the fourth time sihey started the m. It was to the point Yuna had memorized his eatement.

  While Grey only reminded Yuna of pure worry, it was just too much that they seemed like a parent sending off their child to a field trip. Grey was just too much of a worrywart that it might be annoying to other people.

  "Haah... Then, I'll be back as soon as possible. Bye～!" ［Grey］

  "Take care～!" ［Yuna］

  With a wave of her hand and a smile blooming on her face, Yu Grey off on his journey, wishing for him to return safely.

  The moment Grey disappeared from her view, Yu a sense of loneliness and gloom creep in her heart. She didn't expect she would be so saddened from being parted from Grey, eve was just for a couple of days.

  'No, no, no! I o get a grip of myself!' ［Yuna］

  Yuna shook her head as she realized she was feeling down, deg to enjoy the days she has for herself, and wait frey's return. She could already imagine all the things she could do and all the sweets she could eat.

  Skippieps enthusiastically as she hummed like a little child, Yu baside to the "Rabbit's Den". She went back to her room, ged outfits, and came back out. She was ready for her solo exploration!

  As Yuna started to explore the rge city, Grey oher hand was already treading at breakneck speed, c kilometers of distan a span of a couple of minutes.

  While Grey might look calm on the surface, his heart was as troubled as a stormy sea. Mind wavering in each passing moment, heart rag like the raging waves, and strong winds of ay shaking up his vessel of reason.

  The reason frey's solo journey all started a few ho...

  "Is it about the Fang Wolf ihis afternoon?" ［Gaston］

  The Guildmaster asked Grey as he put down his pen a aside his paperworks. His eyes scrutinized Grey as he awaited for the young man's response.

  But rather than words, Grey only nodded once as he approached the Guildmaster's table. Slow and silent, those two simple words described Grey's movements. It was so silent that one might think the Guildmaster was talking to himself.

  "Haah... Look, Grey, it's already te in the night. Why don't we talー" ［Gaston］

  Thuddd

  The Guildmaster tried to ge the topic, but before he could, Grey brought something out from his "Iory", creating a loud thud as it fell towards the table.

  Scarlet scales running alo bck liexture smoother than silk yet toughness surpassing that of iron. It was a small piece of the Magma Crawler's hide which Grey had defeated 3 years ago.

  Seeing the unfamiliar material before him, the Guildmaster frowned his forehead in fusion. All he could see was an excellently tough hide which could be processed into good armor. He didn't uand the need frey to take out su item.

  "Almost three years ago, a Magma Crawler arrived at the Haltea Great Forest. It burned down a whole vilge to the ground and snatched away more than a hundred lives. It was a tragedy which I could never fet even if I wao." ［Grey］

  "Grey, what are you talking aboutー" ［Gaston］

  "That vilge was Yuna's home, and... she was the only survivor." ［Grey］

  Silence swallowed the whole room in an instant. The Guildmaster who wao py i could no longer speak as he learned where Grey was ing from.

  Even with the Guild's extework of information and es, he never khat such a tragedy had occurred. His eyes were wide open from shock when he learned Yuna's circumstances, not knowing how to reply to such a heavy topic.

  "Guildmaster, I'll only ask you of this once, but if you know something about this, please, I beg of you... Please tell me about it. In exge, I'm willing to cooperate in every way I ." ［Grey］

  Silence.... Once again, the room was filled with silehe only difference was that the atmosphere was much heavier. It was to the point that one might suffocate from the room's tension.

  Although the Guildmaster felt guilty about the destru of Yuna's vilge and not being able to send aid, his rationality kept him from ag irresponsibly and spilling a national secret.

  The only thing that was troubling him was Grey's proposal. If they had Grey's, an S-ranker's, help, the case would undoubtedly progress much faster. There would also be less sequences if ever they were to duct a raid against the perpetrators of the beast-reted is.

  But the problem was, if it would be worth it. While a powerful ally would always be wele, the army of Alfrione isn't weak either. Would it really be worth it to tell Grey a national secret not even Galeria's lord is aware of?

  "'Judgement'..." ［Grey］

  "Hm?" ［Gaston］

  Gaston was thinking hard when suddenly, Grey mumbled a single word in a low voice. Grey's words carried a very serious and desperate tohat not even the Guildmaster could ignore.

  "That is the name of my ability. It allows me to know everything about anything I see. If you tell me everything you know, I will spare no effort and use everything at my disposal." ［Grey］

  Grey didn't eveo finish his words. The moment he described how his ability worked, he already got the Guildmaster's attention. It was the st push he o fulfill Grey's request.

  Of course, Grey was still hiding the full extent of his abilities, but "Judgement" alone was able to shake the Guildmaster. That's just how important information is when it es to national matters.

  Possessing su ability, not just strength, but even all types of information could be easily attained by Grey. It wouldn't matter how mue tries to hide something, they would always be revealed.

  "If you don't believe me, erform a magitract right here, right now." ［Grey］

  "No, I believe you... After all, you could have used force to get information out of me, yet you took a peaceful approach. That is all the proof I need." ［Gaston］

  The Guildmaster replied as he pced his full trust to the youth before him. He had never seen such starving eyes. Eyes starving for revenge and justice that has been long overdue.

  Careful as to not make a sound, the Guildmaster grabbed a key from his drawer and slowly walked towards a metal safe. With his mana flowing through the key, he opehe safe, produg a heavy meical sound as its locks were released.

  Ihe safe, there were only a few pieces of dots, a couple of crystals, and a few treasures. It arent that those crystals and treasures were to be used whehe guild would have financial troubles.

  As for the dot pieces, Grey easily uood that they were of great importance. Be it involving the guild's profile, affairs, or national secrets, eae of them were invaluable seeing how they were pced inside a heavily guarded safe. Even B-rankers would have a very difficult time destroying it.

  From those dots, the Guildmaster selected the leftmost one, on it the words "Case 0254" were imprinted in deep bck text. It was also very thipared to the other dots in the safe. Just one gnd one could tell that it tains at least a couple hundred pages.

  "Grey, what we're about to talk about is highly fidential. Not even high-ranking nobles know of it. I trust that you'll keep your mouth shut on this matter, right?" ［Gaston］

  "You t on me." ［Grey］

  "Haah... Then I'll brief you as fast as I . Listen closely..." ［Gaston］

  Carefully yet quickly, the Guildmaster expio Grey what the kingdom of Alfrione has been w on in the shadows for the past decade.

  From the repathered, all the beast is started about 12 years ago. Reports from vilges all over the kingdom of Alfrione and its neighb tries about strange beasts started to pop up oer another.

  From small te beasts, there has been a frequency of fs entering the kingdom. At first the beasts were of ranks lower than F, but as time passed, the beasts reported gradually became stronger, with a couple of B-ras beied a couple of times annually.

  In the past years, there have bees of hundreds of fs being spotted in the kingdom of Alfrione alone. 3 of which were B-ras which the kingdom had a hard time eliminating.

  Of course, not all beast subjugations came without a cost. During the past decade, over a dozen vilges have beeroyed and thousands of lives have been stolen. This is not even including the tragedy which occurred to Yuna's vilge.

  If Grey and Yuna hadn't entered the Fang Wolf by pure ce, the numbers would have surely risen. That's just how heavy the gravity of the situation was.

  The more the Guildmaster expihe me Grey felt towards the perpetrators of the is. A rage borne from the hatred of people toying with the lives of others.

  "And the perpetrators?" ［Grey］

  "That's... We have never found a trace of them. They were too with their jobs and made sure not to leave any clues behind." ［Gaston］

  The Guildmaster said with an ounce of shame a as he gritted his teeth and ched his fists from disappoi.

  Even with the efforts of the kingdom, they still haven't located the perpetrator's base of operations nor did they knoere the masterminds behind the is. For all they khey had been dang at the palm of their enemies' hands.

  While the kingdom has captured some people reted to the is, their anization has ways of making them silent. They have a way to kill them in a moment's notice if ever somethi awry.

  The situation was even mrave than Grey had imagined. He had initially thought that the kingdom had at least identified the masterminds but he was severely mistaken.

  The only thing Grey learnt was that there have been tless victims to these beast-reted is. If this is not to be stopped soon, there would surely be many more to be affected.

  "I'm srey. These are all the things we know. I am hoping that with your ability, we would be able to speed up this case... That's why, please lend us your help!" ［Gaston］

  The Guildmaster decred as he bowed his head with vi to the young man in front of him.

  The Guildmaster didn't care about his pride nor prestige. If it was for the safety of the kingdom and the people, he was willing to lower his head no matter how many times it takes him.

  While Grey erplexed by how the usually casual Guildmaster suddenly lowered his head, he was moved by his vi. It was not a mystery why he was entrusted with the case.

  "Guildmaster, please lift your head. I should be the ohankful for this opportunity. With this, I finally have a ce to fulfill my promise." ［Grey］

  Although the Guildmaster uzzled about romise Grey was talking about, he figured that it was something personal. heless, he was thankful to have gained another powerful ally.

  "Then, Guildmaster, I have some of the locations where these is occurred? I would like to duct my own iigation." ［Grey］

  "Y-You mean right now?" ［Gaston］

  "Yeah. I would like to solve this as soon as possible. Also, I won't be taking Yuna along with me. you take care of her while I iigate?" ［Grey］

  While the Guildmaster was surprised by how quick Grey wao take a, it also made him incredibly happy. An indescribable happiness which he had not felt in years.

  'Maybe, just maybe...' ［Gaston］

  Hope flowed in the Guildmaster's heart like an overflowing river, filling every er and space it occupy. He could finally see a sliver of light ing from the end of the tunnel.

  "Here, these are the locations you asked for... As for Yuna, you rest easy. I'll make sure that no harm es to her." ［Gaston］

  "... Thank you." ［Grey］

  A lonely smile fshed on Grey's face as he nodded a as silently as he came, leaving behind the Guildmaster to tih his work.

  In a single gnce, Grey memorized all the locations in the piece of paper the Guildmaster had given him. He then burnt the said into ashes as to not let et their hands on it.

  It has been a few hours since he had met with the Guildmaster, and he had also given his goodbyes to Yuna. All that's left was to iigate the given locations and hope he finds some clues the kingdom had missed.

  Using wind magi himself, Grey boosted his current speed even faster, easily surpassing that of the speed of sound. As he traveled across the pins, all one would see was a blur, followed by a strong burst of wind.

  In a few minutes, Grey arrived at the first location. The moment he arrived, he was greeted by a familiar sery. It was a sery he could never fet even if he wao. The sery of a ruined vilge.

  No matter where he looked, what greeted his eyes were broken houses, piles of rubble, or abandoned crop fields. It was a sery which was sure to give sado the eyes of the beholder.

  Deep in his heart, Grey wished this fate would never befall to another vilge once again. It also became a motivation for him to work even harder to prevent such tragedies from happening.

  "All right, let's do this." ［Grey］

  Oer anrey activated his abilities to the highest degree, overpping them with one another, and sc every siail he could find, leaving no stones unturned.

  "Heaven's Eye" viewed everything within a few hundred meters of distance from above, "Perfect Vision" engraved each objed every siail into his mind, and "Judgement" appraised all of which that could be seen, coupled with "Multitask" to process multiple information at the same time and "Perfect Record" which perfectly preserved all information he had gathered, he tinued for a couple of minutes.

  From simple stoo trees, to is which crawled slowly on the ground, every si of information fshed inside his mind. No matter how simple they were, everything was ated for.

  One could only imagihe amount of information being fed inside of Grey's mind. If it wasn't for his "Memory Bank", his brain would have bursted from the absurd amount of data going in. It was an amount even quantum superputers ba Earth would struggle with.

  But even with his profid effi gathering all sorts of information, he did not gather anything unusual. There was nothing hy in the first location, all he gathered was nature-reted or about ruined materials.

  "Looks like I'm done here..." ［Grey］

  Disappoi evident on his face, Grey relutly departed towards the location which was located a couple dozen kilometers away.

  Mountains, rivers, forests, and even steep cliffs. Grey had traversed all kinds of enviros and entered all kinds of monsters as as he iigated the locations the Guildmaster gave.

  Like the first vilge, all other vilges he had entered were all ruined, devoid from any signs of people. He even found a few skeletons buried uhe debris of the colpsed houses.

  Of course, Grey gave the corpses he found the very least service he could give to them. He gave them a proper burial eve was already far too te.

  Eve took more time and effort to give the skeletons of corpses he didn't even know a burial, he didn't regret his as. It was the very least thing he could do to appease their grieving souls.

  "This should be the sixth one." ［Grey］

  The color of the sky had turned amber as Grey tinued his iigation. He had already scoured 5 vilges yet failed to gather any useful information. He now uood why even the kingdom was having a hard time.

  Once again, Grey used his abilities oer another, stag them up more effitly than the first time. Now, he was able to use them secutively without much trouble.

  Stones... Weeds... Soil... Nuts... Earthworms... Burnt wood... Broken tiles...

  The same information fshed inside his mind oer another. It has been the same results ever sihe first vilge there wasn't anything hy to be seen...

  "Huh?" ［Grey］

  ... Or so Grey initially thought, but there was oem which caught his attention.

  While some would easily mistake it as a simple piece of obsidian, Grey's "Judgement" says otherwise. It wasn't a piece of obsidian or any mineral but a fragment of something man made.

  At breakneck speed, Grey hurriedly rushed towards the location of the said fragment. His heart beating furiously at the sign of something which might help out in the iigation.

  Slowly, Grey picked up the fragment into his grasp. It was even smaller than he had imagined, only a little bigger than the size of a rice grain. Something everyone would miss entirely.

  ??Appraisal?? ［Grey］

  As per Grey's and, a transparent s appeared in front of him, and seeing the s's information, his eyes widened in shock as his heart raced faster and faster with each passing moment.

  "This is…!" ［Grey］

  CHAPTER 22 END