Gabriel looked around, realizing that he was back in the Monkey Paradise dungeon.
A group of adventurers was battling some Red-furred monkeys in the distance and didn’t notice when he appeared just behind them.
Gabriel didn’t make any effort to let them know either. It was better not to cause a commotion, considering he had just committed a murder.
Some time later, he left the Monkey Paradise undetected.
As soon as he stepped out, he found a familiar face patiently waiting for him.
"Anna," he called out, somewhat confused, as he didn’t expect to see her here.
"Master!" Anna’s eyes lit up the moment she saw Gabriel walk out of the dungeon gate.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I heard from the others that this was your last location, so I decided to wait," she said with a shy look on her face.
"Right." Gabriel simply nodded and didn’t say more. A strange glint that went undetected by Anna passed through his eyes as he walked past her.
He really didn’t have any more business here, so the two of them returned to the Adventurer Guild.
On their way, Gabriel noticed that the streets of Stellar City were noisier and busier than usual.
All the pedestrians were whispering excitedly among themselves, with eager looks on their faces.
According to his calculations, he had only been gone for roughly a day. What must’ve happened to get everyone so excited?
Just then, he saw a group of players walking around, trying to take quests from the locals in the capital.
There weren’t one or two—he saw at least ten players.
’Wasn’t this just the third day? Maybe it’s much easier for players to level up,’ he thought.
Curiously, he turned to Anna beside him and asked,
"Did anything happen while I was gone?"
"Yes," Anna nodded. "More Otherworlders arrived in the capital. Moreover, the first wave of beasts hit StoneHeart City, and hundreds of beasts have been spotted close to the walls."
"In other words, the event is just around the corner?" Gabriel’s eyes flashed sharply.
"Yes."
’But still...’ he narrowed his eyes.
’A beast tide doesn’t call for celebration, so why do these guys look excited?’
Anna had long known her master was slightly strange. It was as if he didn’t belong in this world, so she didn’t find it strange that he didn’t know about this.
"Well, the event is broadcast for viewers at home. They get to see everything happening in real-time."
"I see," Gabriel mumbled to himself as he walked past a group of players.
"Wait, isn’t that Sir Broken?" one player called out immediately, but Gabriel ignored them and boarded a cab, leaving the scene.
"Are you sure it was really him?"
"Of course I’m sure! That name and those looks—it’s exactly what was posted on the forum."
Some time later, the cab dropped them off at the Adventurer Guild.
As soon as they entered the hall, Lilly, who had been keeping an eye on the door, approached.
"Gabriel, I want to—"
"Not now. I need to rest." Gabriel waved his hand and went to his room.
She stared at his back and frowned. Moments later, she left to report to the vice leader.
"What did he say?" Scarlet asked. She was inside a private training room inside the guild.
"He didn’t say anything," Anna replied. "But from his reaction, it’s most likely him."
"He’s not the type to take the initiative," Scarlet said, swinging her sword. "Those two might’ve done something to piss him off."
She had been training non-stop for the past 35 hours without taking even a single break. Her entire body was drenched in sweat, making the tunic cling to her curves.
"So what do we do, Vice Leader?"
With a cold expression on her face, Scarlet stated, "Cover up his tracks. No matter what, he’s one of our current best assets and will be very instrumental in the coming event."
"Noted, Vice Leader." Lilly nodded and turned around to leave, her expression unreadable.
Back in his room, Gabriel freshened up and lay on the bed with his arm over his eyes.
He hadn’t slept well after his round trip to all the starting villages. While his body was fine, mentally, he felt drained.
---
Meanwhile, in one of the Graves’ numerous mansions, two individuals reported to a representative of the Graves family—Mister Mano.
"Bullshit! Are you trying to tell me one of those weak monsters killed Druid and Vera?" Mister Mano exclaimed in disbelief.
"According to the reports, it was done by a mini-boss with intelligence that didn’t pale compared to that of a human."
"I still don’t believe this." Mister Mano frowned and ordered his men, "Make an investigation yourselves. I have a feeling they’re hiding something!"
"Yes, boss."
---
A few hours earlier—before the other players had arrived...
The truck came to a halt near the outer district of the Royal Capital. It wasn’t as clean or fancy as the central plaza, but the sheer scale of the city was enough to make even Ragnarok99 whistle in awe.
"So this is the capital... Damn," BrawlerX muttered in a dazed voice.
After arriving, the first thing the group did was get a map, which cost about 500 Valerian dollars.
"It seems all the Associations are in one building," Bunny noted, raising her gaze from the map.
"That’s better. There won’t be any need for us to split up then," said Sniperbowlegend.
Ragnarok99 slammed his fist into his palm excitedly. "Let’s not wait then. I can’t wait to awaken my Warrior class!"
With that, the group pushed through the crowd, heading toward the Association building.
It was a single towering skyscraper that seemed to stretch into the clouds.
It was easily the tallest building they had ever seen in both worlds.
"I wonder just how many classes are in this game for the building to be so tall," BrawlerX wondered aloud, craning his neck to get a better view.
Before they could proceed inside, someone blocked their path.
"Hello, Otherworlders. Can I speak with you for a while?"