Darius and Vera's expressions turned ugly the moment they set their eyes on Gabriel.
Because of his change in appearance, it took them a while, but they eventually recognized him.
"Bastard," Vera cursed under her breath, seeming as if she would snap at any moment. But just before she could do anything, Darius held her arm in a firm grip.
"Don't do anything stupid," he whispered into her ear. "Let's just go with the flow for now."
Several seconds passed. Vera took a deep breath, and her distinct cold, aloof expression returned.
"Now that's more like it," Darius said with a faint smile. "For fooling us, I'll make sure he begs for death."
Gabriel saw through the smile. He knew they were up to no good, but he wasn't the slightest bit worried.
At that moment, the receptionist spoke again. "Okay, since everyone is here, may I see proof of the quest completion?"
Fortunately, the head of the Grizzlenaught was still intact. Gabriel hurriedly retrieved it from his inventory and placed it on the counter.
Though he didn't notice, a brief gleam of shock passed through Darius and Vera's eyes when they saw the head of the level 20 monster.
"How... how did he..." Darius was speechless.
They could've sworn on their lives that just a few hours ago, even a gust of wind could knock Gabriel over. So how...?
'Was he hiding his strength all this while?' Vera furrowed her brows in suspicion. 'How did he get so strong in such a short amount of time?'
After confirming the kill, the receptionist smiled brightly. "Please hold on. Your reward will be handed out shortly."
"Sur—"
"Sir, can I please have a moment with you?"
Just before he could answer, Gabriel heard a voice behind him. Turning around, he found himself face-to-face with Lilly—the guild official he had met earlier that day.
Like the others, she didn't recognize him at first. She had only realized who he was because of his thumbprint, which was registered in the Adventurers' Guild database.
'Such a glow-up. He even looks more refined now. I can sense it—he's no longer level 1.' Lilly narrowed her eyes. 'This presence... he's definitely level 10 or even higher.'
"Miss, how may I help you?"
Gabriel's voice snapped her out of her trance-like state.
"Your appearance..." Lilly began, then shook her head and adopted a serious expression, speaking in a professional tone. "Please follow me. The Vice Leader wants to have a word with you."
She turned sharply and looked at Darius and Vera.
"You two as well."
Gabriel had an idea why he was being summoned, but he remained calm and followed Lilly upstairs, feeling the intense death glare burning into his back.
Inside the spacious office, the Vice President was seated. Beside her sat a white-haired beauty, her legs casually resting on the table, arms crossed over her generous chest.
The white-haired girl yawned loudly from time to time, wiping away dramatic tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Sister, how long are we going to keep doing this?" she asked, lazily slouching further into her chair. "We've interviewed over a hundred adventurers already, and none of them seem to know what happened to those trash."
"I think we should just say it was done by a monster or something. I could be sleeping right now," she yawned again. "Or playing video games—literally anything but this."
Scarlett, without raising her head from the pile of paperwork, responded coldly, "You'll sit and watch quietly. Besides, there are only three adventurers left. Once we're done with them, you can go."
"Ugh!" the girl groaned, slumping further into her seat. "Seriously, Sis, your life is boring as hell." Then, with a mischievous smirk, she added provocatively, "Ever wonder if that's why you're still single?"
Scarlett paused mid-action, her cheeks reddening for a split second before her eyes flashed with anger.
Just then, before she could retort, the door opened and Lilly walked in with Gabriel, Darius, and Vera trailing behind.
As they entered, the white-haired girl's bored gaze flicked toward Gabriel. For a split second, something unreadable passed through her eyes.
Lilly summoned exactly three seats before moving to stand behind her boss.
"Sit," Scarlett, Vice Leader of the Adventurers' Guild, commanded without sparing the trio a glance. Meanwhile, the white-haired girl couldn't stop ogling Gabriel.
'Scarlett Voss. A level 100 adventurer,' Gabriel thought as he stared at the pale-skinned beauty.
She had long, flowing raven-black hair that cascaded well past her shoulders, and a pair of striking cold, light-blue eyes that stood out against her dark features.
She wore an intricately detailed dark steel armor with a light gray cloak draped behind her.
In Gabriel's past life, she was one of the few NPCs who fought alongside humans. Fortunately, she had died only a few weeks after the Convergence.
Once they were all seated, Scarlett cleared her throat and began.
"I'll get straight to the point. Which of you committed the murder in the wilderness?"
"I have no idea," Darius answered first, glancing sideways at Gabriel as he thought inwardly. 'Though, I wouldn't mind committing one.'
"Same here," Vera said, an irritated expression on her face, as if she didn't want to be there at all.
"They're telling the truth," the white-haired girl yawned.
At that moment, all eyes turned to Gabriel. He was the only one left.
The room suddenly felt colder. Gabriel hadn't moved, but the subtle ripple of mana leaking from his body made the white-haired girl sit up straight.
* * *