Rayven remained seated in the Guildmaster's office, still processing Warren's words.

The crown prince's representative?

That wasn't just a step up from the Arcanum Circle… it was a leap.

Moments later, the door opened again.

This time, the man who entered wore a deep blue coat embroidered with silver thread… Of course, the crest of the royal family was stitched onto his shoulder.

The man's gaze was sharp, and even if he looked like he was scrutinizing Rayven's appearance, he was not hostile.

"Rayven," he said with a nod. "My name is Mark. I represent His Highness, Crown Prince Raphael."

Rayven stood briefly, then sat again. "I wasn't expecting royalty to be interested in mayonnaise."

Mark smiled faintly. "His Highness is interested in anything that can support the kingdom's logistics. Your product has already reached the prince through one of our supply scouts. It was tested by some mages on our side and it passed."

He placed a thick pouch on the table. The weight of it was unmistakable. There were gold coins, and a lot of them.

"We're prepared to offer you 2,500 gold coins upfront. If you're not aware of it, those gold plates inside are worth 100 gold coins each. They're mostly used in capital, but if you want them changed into coins, you can visit the nearest bank." Mark said.

"In exchange, you will grant exclusive rights to the recipe for one year. You may continue selling through your own shop, but you may not license, sell, or share the recipe with any other party during that time."

Rayven was surprised.

This sounded more plausible than what the Arcanum Circle had offered.

No royalties... No Spell Runes… Just gold coins and understandable restrictions.

Exactly what he needed.

He didn't care about Spell Runes. He had the Coinbound System. He had the Adept Mage title and the Adept Staff granted by the system during his Tier 2 advancement.

What he lacked was a mountain of gold, enough to unlock higher-tier spells, purchase augmentations, and prepare for future dungeon expeditions.

This offer was clean. No strings beyond the one-year exclusivity.

Rayven was, of course, curious about this generous offer.

"Why no royalties?"

Mark smiled at the question. "Because we don't want a long-term entanglement. We want to test the product in our own supply chains, refine it, and determine its strategic value. If it proves essential, we'll renegotiate next year. But for now, we pay upfront, and you walk away with full control after twelve months."

Rayven nodded slowly.

It was a better deal in many ways. No partial rights or shared ownership. Just a temporary lockout clause. Furthermore, it was only one year.

And 2,500 gold coins.

He could get better spells, expand his shop, hire more staff, and even begin preparing for his own dungeon expedition...

Guildmaster Warren watched silently, clearly impressed.

Rayven tapped the pouch, then looked up.

"I'll need the terms in writing. And I want confirmation that I can sell the recipe to others after one year."

Mark nodded. "Of course. The contract will be delivered by evening. You'll have time to review it."

Rayven didn't move. His fingers drummed lightly on the table.

"Also," he said, "I want three thousand gold."

Mark raised an eyebrow. "Three thousand?"

Rayven met his gaze without flinching. "You're asking for exclusivity. That's worth more than twenty-five hundred."

Mark didn't respond immediately. He glanced at Guildmaster Warren, who remained silent, then back at Rayven.

"You drive a hard bargain," Mark said. "But I understand your position."

He reached into his coat and pulled out a second pouch, slightly smaller than the first. The coins inside clinked as he placed it beside the original.

"Two thousand seven hundred," he said. "Final offer… You can take it now, and the contract will be made now…"

Rayven considered it for a moment before he nodded. "Deal."

In any case, the price of the recipe would probably be worthless once someone managed to reverse engineer it.

It was better to sell it now.

Mark didn't waste time. He opened a small case and withdrew a sealed scroll. It was already prepared, already signed, and they just need to change the amount of money…

It bore the royal crest and the official seal of the Logistics Division.

Rayven scanned the terms. One-year exclusivity. No sublicensing and no recipe sharing. But full rights were returned to him after the term.

He then asked Guildmaster to review the contract as well and after confirming that nothing was wrong, he finally signed.

After a few moments, Mark handed over both pouches.

Rayven felt the weight in his hands… 2,700 gold coins.

It was heavy… He then reached into his coat and retrieved a folded parchment. It was the perfected recipe, written in his own hand, annotated with measurements, process notes, and even the sources of his ingredients.

He slid it across the table, and Mark picked it up.

After reading it for a few moments, he gave a short nod, and tucked it into his case. Although he was surprised that the ingredients seemed so cheap, he didn't mind it at all. He liked the innovation and it was surely worth the price.

"His Highness appreciates your cooperation," he said. "We'll begin testing immediately."

Rayven nodded. "Let me know how it performs."

Mark left without another word.

Only then did Guildmaster Warren lean back in his chair…

"You just turned mayonnaise into a royal asset," he said. "Not bad for a young mage."

"Yeah… Not bad at all." Rayven muttered.

The two then discussed a few more things related to the mayonnaise since the Guildmaster had become interested after two large organizations offered a huge sum of money for its recipe.

After giving Warren a jar of mayonnaise as a gift, Rayven was just about to step out of the Adventurer's Guild when the front doors slammed open.

A messenger burst in, his cloak soaked with sweat and dust from the northern trails.

His boots slid slightly on the floor as he rushed toward the Guildmaster's office.

"Guildmaster Warren!" he called out.

Warren, who had just finished his conversation with Rayven, turned sharply. "What is it?"

The messenger didn't waste time. "An outbreak might happen soon. The true dungeon boss has been discovered at the 17th Outpost!"

Rayven paused mid-step and many others who heard it also froze.

Warren's expression darkened. "The true boss? Are you certain?"

"Yes, sir," the messenger said, panting. "The scouting team confirmed it. It's not a sub-boss or a mimic. It's the real one. And it's gathering a lot of Dungeon Beasts from deeper sectors!"

Warren stepped forward. "Then we need to seal the valley. If that thing escapes, the northern settlements won't stand a chance."

The messenger nodded. "We've already sent word to the border units, but we'll need reinforcements. The group from the capital mentioned that the valley pass must be blocked off within the next six hours."

Rayven frowned. That valley was massive with natural cliffs on one side, dense forest on the other. Blocking it off wouldn't be easy.

Warren rubbed his temple. "Who's already at the outpost?"

"The Arcanum Circle is there… So is the Alchemist Association. And the Crown Prince's forces were already returning…"

With the addition of the Adventurers Guild and the Mage Association, including the city guards, it shouldn't be that impossible to deal with this problem.

But the next words from the messenger made the room go cold.

"The Dungeon Boss… It's an Alpha-Rank Beast."

Warren froze.

Even all the other Adventurers who were listening, couldn't help but feel a chill.

Alpha-Rank.

That wasn't just rare… it was catastrophic.

"Are you sure?" Warren asked with a serious voice.

"Yes, sir. The scouts confirmed its aura. It's not in its full strength yet, but it is active enough to trigger beast migration. We estimate it would take at least a dozen Master Swordsmen and a dozen Exemplar Mages to bring it down. And that's assuming it's not at full strength."

Alpha-Rank Beasts may not be as strong as the Lord Beast that Rayven had seen before, but it was definitely at a level that only those Tier 4 or Exemplar Mages could handle if they worked together.

For an Adept like him who only has a single Rare-Spell, there was no way he'd be able to assist…

According to Thyruz, they were creatures that could level towns...

If this one woke up fully, it wouldn't be a battle, it would be a war.

Warren turned to his staff. "Send word to the capital. We need reinforcements. And alert the northern guild branches. No one enters the valley without clearance."

Rayven stepped forward. "Do you know what kind of beast it is?"

The messenger hesitated. "Not yet. The scouts didn't get close enough. But it's massive. Bigger than a wyvern. And it's surrounded by corrupted mana."

Rayven nodded slowly…

It means that it was different from the humanoid creature he had encountered within the Dungeon before.

For now, he decided to leave this matter in the hands of the professionals.

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