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.
Several seconds of silence passed before he finally opened his mouth.
"I killed them," he said calmly, as if it were the most normal thing to say, shocking everyone in the room—except Scarlett, who maintained her expressionless face.
Vera and Darius both glanced at him, their thoughts unreadable. A part of them even assumed he was joking, but the cold, serious look in those blue eyes said otherwise.
Lilly frowned and glanced at Alice.
The white-haired beauty's face was pale, as if she had seen a ghost. Her mouth opened and closed wordlessly.
"What is it?" Scarlett inquired, her voice calm and sharp.
"H-he's telling the truth," Alice stuttered. "He's the one we've been looking for all this while."
After the confirmation, Lilly didn't need to be told what to do next. She led Vera and Darius outside, knowing they were innocent. She also didn't want word of what was about to happen to spread throughout the empire.
As they stepped through the door, Darius couldn't help but sneak another glance at Gabriel.
'He seems so relaxed, as if nothing will happen to him. Does he not know who Scarlett Voss is? She's a Hero-rank adventurer known for her extreme ruthlessness. Even I wouldn't remain so calm despite my background.' He frowned. Why did it feel like he had dodged a bullet?
Of course, Gabriel knew of Scarlett's status as a Hero-rank adventurer—an elite title given to those who had reached Level 100. He also knew about her ruthlessness.
In his past life, she had single-handedly slaughtered an enemy planet during the Convergence. Adults and children alike had been blown into oblivion.
She'd kill without blinking—and sleep just fine afterward, feeling no remorse whatsoever.
So, the question remained—why would he openly admit to the crime and remain so calm?
There were two reasons.
First, he knew about Alice—her relationship with Scarlett and her unique Talent, True Seer, which wasn't very useful in combat but invaluable in situations like this. There was no point in lying.
As for the second reason, though murder was a serious crime, it wasn't illegal in Valeria to kill criminals—especially ones the guild had been trying to track down and eliminate for ages.
Moreover, the Vice Guild Leader herself had a deep-seated disgust for criminals.
Gabriel hadn't expected things to escalate this quickly, but he was confident his punishment wouldn't be severe.
"Why did you do it?" Alice asked, staring him dead in the eyes. Scarlett didn't say anything, simply observing. It wasn't because she had nothing to say—rather, this was the first time her spoiled younger sister seemed interested in the family business.
"Isn't it obvious?" Gabriel replied calmly. "They were about to kill me. It was self-defense. It was either me or them."
"Y-you..." Alice tried to speak, struggling to find the words. She was momentarily lost in his deep, cold blue eyes.
"You've done enough, Alice," Scarlett suddenly said. "I'll take it from here."
"Uh... alright." Alice slumped back into her seat.
Lilly glanced at her and couldn't help but shake her head. Seems there's finally someone the young mistress is scared of.
Scarlett Voss, the Vice Guild Leader, held Gabriel's gaze and said in a serious voice, "Mister Gabriel, on behalf of the Adventurer's Guild, I'd like to thank you for dealing with the pests. They've been on our radar for quite some time now."
"It's a pleasure. I'm glad to have been of help." Gabriel gave a curt nod. Just when he thought the meeting was over and he could leave—
Scarlett suddenly said, her eyes narrowing slightly, "Still, I'm curious. How exactly did you kill them? According to reports, they were all higher level than you... and you were just Level 0 at the time of your registration."
"I didn't encounter them immediately. I only met them after leveling up a few times," he answered calmly. "Also, I'm quite good with the sword."
Scarlett narrowed her eyes. In this world, everyone was granted a Talent, and like others, she also possessed a powerful one—an S-rank Talent called Third Eye.
Thanks to her Talent, she could easily detect several anomalies within Gabriel.
Her lips curled into the faintest smirk. "If you don't mind, care to show me your swordsmanship?"
Alice's head jerked up. "Sis, are you seriously—?"
"Yes," Scarlett stated firmly, her gaze never leaving Gabriel's.
"Vice Leader..." Lilly blinked in surprise. "Y-your strength—"
"I'm not going to kill him," she said flatly. "I just want to know how he did it."
Gabriel didn't accept the challenge immediately. He took a moment to consider Scarlett's motive.
Scarlett was one of the strongest NPCs in the human continent and the Valerian Empire. She was incredibly popular among players due to her overwhelming strength—but despite her fame, she remained mysterious.
One of the biggest mysteries that was never solved—even after her death—was the nature of her Talent and what it truly did.
But one thing that always stood out, even in the past, was Scarlett's habit of recruiting talented players into her guild.
A sharp gleam passed through Gabriel eyes. 'Could it be... she saw something in me?'
Either way, there was no harm in accepting the challenge. Besides, he needed to build a good reputation with the powerhouses.
"Fine by me," Gabriel eventually nodded.
Without a word, Scarlett turned and led him upstairs toward the gym, which was already filled with a few sweaty adventurers sparring amongst themselves or lifting weights.
They stopped in an open space and locked gazes.
"Don't worry," Scarlett said casually. "I'll only use ten percent of my power—to make it fair."
"How kind of you," Gabriel said dryly as he summoned his Voidsting Blade and took a fighting stance.
Meanwhile, Lilly and Alice watched from the corner. The others in the gym had also stopped what they were doing, curious to see what would happen next.
* * *