"Even though I am an official B-Rank adventurer, I only have direct portal access to the lower levels of these dungeons," Lune continued, gesturing to the glowing gate. "To secure a direct teleportation coordinate to the ruined kingdom itself, you must be at least an A-Rank. To get direct access to the Eden Palace? That requires an S-Rank license."

She crossed her arms, her expression turning dead serious. "Since you are completely unregistered, your only physical path to the palace is a nightmare. You would have to enter the first floor of the dungeon, clear every single zone all the way down to floor ten, and use the specific transit gate located there just to enter the outer kingdom. From there, you would still have to navigate the ruins to reach the palace."

Lune stepped closer, her tone softening with genuine concern. "More importantly, you are in no condition to make that journey. The deeper you travel and the closer you get to the palace epicenter, the stronger the corrupted monsters become. You just survived a calamity. You need to go back."

The stream interface rapidly scrolled as the audience completely agreed with the Princess.

[LazyCat: listen to the royal, Solo Man. you literally have no armor.]

[BloodKnight: Clearing ten floors of an uncleared dungeon solo is insane even for a veteran. Take your win and go home.]

[User12: bro needs a nap, not another boss fight.]

[GoonLord: DO YOU HAVE A LITERAL DEATH WISH?! YOU ARE SHIRTLESS AND HOLDING A SWORD BIGGER THAN YOUR ENTIRE FUTURE! GO BACK TO THE ACADEMY BEFORE I HAVE A HEART ATTACK!] 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Solomon rested the heavy flat of Eden’s Penance against his shoulder and stared at the glowing gate. He pondered his next move in silence.

Lune was absolutely right, and her logic was flawless. Solomon was physically exhausted, his muscles aching from the intense strain of the fight. Worse yet, the immense mental toll of spending fifteen years inside the Paladin’s void was finally catching up to him.

A suffocating fatigue weighed on his mind. Marching into ten floors of increasingly deadly monsters in his current state was objectively a terrible choice.

However, the Paladin’s final secret burned brightly in the forefront of his mind. The crown is in the hidden chamber. Eat the jewel, and you will unlock your talent.

Solomon gritted his teeth. If he stepped through the gate and returned to the academy now, he would be completely safe. But the academy’s labyrinth transit system enforced a strict, mandatory thirty-day cooldown period for students returning from a dungeon run to prevent physical burnout, plus some rules and regulations Solomon didn’t bother to read.

If he left now, he would have to wait an entire month before he could even attempt to find the ruined kingdom of Eden again.

He gripped the hilt of the massive executioner’s sword. He had lived his life burdened by a supposedly useless SSS-rank talent. People had mocked him, pitied him, and labeled him the Strongest Loser.

Now, the key to unlocking Convergence was sitting in a vault just a few floors below him. He was completely dying to know what his true power actually did. Waiting thirty agonizing days to find out was simply not an option.

He had to weigh the immediate risks, but his priority was set in stone. He was going to that palace.

Solomon shifted the heavy executioner’s sword on his shoulder and looked at Lune. "Think about this logically. This entire sector is currently suffering from a massive dimensional malfunction. You said it yourself earlier that the regular portals are broken, and only the fixed gates are functioning as intended. We just fought a corrupted S-Rank guardian who was supposed to be stationed in the kingdom, but he ended up here in the labyrinth."

He pointed toward the shattered arena. "If the spatial boundaries are completely inverted, wouldn’t that mean the weak, low-level monsters from the upper labyrinth have been scattered down into the kingdom and the palace?"

The stream chat immediately caught onto his theory.

[LoreMaster: wait... he is actually cooking right now. spatial inversion implies a complete ecological swap.]

[LazyCat: big brain Solo Man strikes again.]

[GamerGuy: that actually makes a lot of sense.]

Lune shook her head firmly. "That is not a guarantee. It is merely a working assumption, and assumptions can be fatally wrong in a dungeon. Just look at what happened today! I assumed a corrupted undead couldn’t cast holy magic, and that single miscalculation nearly got you vaporized. We absolutely cannot bet our lives on unproven theories. Earlier, we were trapped and had no other option but to push forward. Now, the boss is dead, and we finally have the choice to return safely."

Solomon met her gaze without blinking. He wasn’t going to argue the logistics any further. He had already made his decision, and nothing was going to deter him from claiming that crown.

Lune stared back at him, her frustration visibly bubbling to the surface. She let out a harsh, aggravated breath, clearly wanting to drag him through the exit gate by his collar.

However, she knew she couldn’t forcefully impose her will on another hunter’s path, especially someone who had just proven their undeniable strength.

She turned away slightly, letting her frustration bleed out into the quiet cavern air. After a long moment of silence, she finally sighed.

"I would honestly like to join you and see this through to the end," Lune admitted quietly, looking down at her chipped silver rapier. "But you clearly do not need my help anymore. I have no armor, I am injured, and my weapon is badly damaged. If I follow you into the lower floors right now, I will just end up being a massive burden to you."

"It is absolutely not like that," Solomon said immediately, stepping closer to her. He shifted the massive sword to his other shoulder and looked her directly in the eyes. "If it wasn’t for you shoving me out of the way of that magic blast, I would be a pile of ashes right now. You are definitely not a burden, Lune. I literally owe my life to you."

Lune’s eyes widened slightly at his sudden, intense sincerity. She looked away quickly, a noticeable, soft blush creeping across her cheeks in the dim cavern light.

Solomon reached into his pocket out of habit, then realized he had absolutely nothing on him except his slightly ruined academy uniform.

Lune suddenly reached into a small, hidden pouch strapped to her belt. She pulled out a small object and pressed it firmly into his free hand.