The main hall of the Guild ran far louder than any normal morning. The usual low murmur of quest talk had become a chaotic overlap of rumor and speculation.
Since the notice board still carried yesterday's posting about the Mutated Gate clear, every table argued over the same name. A small crowd stood frozen in front of it, rereading the confirmed casualty list and the survivor column that held exactly one entry.
"I heard the vanguard squad got wiped out, and he fought the thing alone," an adventurer said near the quest board.
"That is nonsense. I heard he used forbidden dark magic to level the area," another adventurer replied as he shook his head slowly.
"My cousin works in the palace guard, and he swears the King personally stopped the council from investigating him," the first adventurer continued quietly.
A third table had already opened a betting pool on the rookie's true Shard count. The odds board shifted every few minutes as new gossip arrived through the front doors.
