A message was passed to the main Adventure Guild in Stellar City, and about half an hour later, a group of adventurers arrived—led by a tall, raven-haired beauty with a cold expression on her face.
"Scarlet Voss!"
"I can't believe she came personally for the investigation!"
"Whoever did this is in deep trouble now."
Scarlet ignored the whispers and calmly walked forward. Meanwhile, one of the men who had accompanied her addressed the crowd.
"You can all return to your hunting. The Adventurer Guild will take it from here," the man in the black suit said, flashing a bright, professional smile.
The adventurers hesitated but eventually began to leave one after another, knowing that offending the Adventurer Guild was no different from seeking death.
"I've received some complaints about this particular group before," Lilly remarked. "Seems they finally ran out of luck."
Scarlet didn't respond immediately. She ran a gloved hand over the wounds, examining the corpse of the white-haired mage.
After a while, she finally stood upright and spoke softly.
"Yes, they're very notorious in this part of the wilderness. I remember assigning a small force to deal with them, but they proved to be extremely slippery." Her voice turned cold and ruthless. "Whoever did this... we should probably reward them for taking out this bunch of trash."
"Vice President, should I take note of that?" Lilly inquired.
Scarlet Voss wasn't just Lilly's superior—she was also her longtime friend; the formal tone was only due to the presence of the other adventurers.
"Not necessary," she replied, her cold blue eyes flashing sharply. "Instead, we need to bring them in for questioning."
"Yes, Vice President." Lilly nodded, her expression serious. Although the unknown culprit had indirectly helped the guild by eliminating one of the more tyrannical parties in the wildlands, someone capable of such action was a dangerous threat to leave unchecked.
"Also," Scarlet added, her eyes narrowing, "cross-check with all registered parties that were hunting in the wildlands within the last hour."
"Yes, Vice President."
Meanwhile, Gabriel finally reached the base of the Black Ridge Mountains, but he didn't climb immediately. He decided to assign his free 20 stat points.
[Strength: +10 → 32]
[Agility: +5 → 25]
[Perception: +5 → 15]
Satisfied with the distribution, Gabriel began searching for the Grizzlenaught. According to the map, it was located at the mountain's base—no hiking required.
Some time later, he stood before a cave carved deep into the side of the mountain.
"This must be the place," he muttered, checking the map again as a red dot pulsed faintly on its surface.
He folded the map and stored it in his inventory. Then, summoning his Voidsting Blade, he cautiously approached the cave.
As he drew closer, he finally saw it—a massive red-furred bear, over two meters tall, with glowing golden eyes and elongated claws.
It was resting, half asleep and half awake.
[Grizzlenaught Bear – Lv. 20]
Gabriel sucked in a sharp breath. His grip on the blade tightened instinctively. The beast was 13 levels higher than him, which meant that its stats far surpassed his own.
"If it attacks outright, I'm dead meat..." he muttered, beginning to formulate a plan in his head. He had to kill it fast. One swipe from those claws, and he'd be torn in half.
He summoned one [Venom Burst Sac], knocked the nozzle off, and hurled it into the cave.
Thud! Thud!
Growl!
The noise snapped the Grizzlenaught from its trance. It leapt to its feet, baring its fangs and scanning its surroundings with sharp vigilance.
So focused was it on locating the noise, it didn't notice the thick purple smoke slowly filling the cave.
ROAR!!
The Grizzlenaught howled in pain and thrashed about wildly. Its golden eyes twitched as the venom took effect.
Gabriel capitalized on the moment. He charged forward, blade slicing through the air and biting into the bear's thick fur.
[-20]
The damage was minimal, drawing a deep frown on Gabriel's face.
Before he could attempt a second strike, the bear whirled with shocking speed for its size.
WHAM!
A massive paw swept horizontally—Gabriel barely ducked, feeling the force of wind tear past his head.
'So fast... for something that big?!' His eyes widened in shock.
The beast roared and swiped its claw again, but this time a surge of red energy exploded forward—forming a translucent claw slash.
Swoosh—CRACK!
Gabriel didn't attempt to parry. Gritting his teeth, he pivoted off his left foot and rolled to the side—narrowly dodging the arc of energy that shattered a large boulder behind him.
'I underestimated it. How did it recover so fast from the grrenade?' Gritting his teeth, Gabriel summoned the second [Venom Burst Sac].
He tossed it at the Grizzlenaught, but Gabriel had greatly underestimated the beast's reflexes.
The beast reacted faster than expected, swiping its arm and slapping the grenade back toward Gabriel.
"You sneaky bastard!" Gabriel growled, kicking the bomb with all the strength in his legs. With 32 Strength, the kick sent it soaring and spirraling right into the bear's mouth as it roared again.
Cough! Cough!
The beast choked violently, slamming its paws into the air, fighting like a maddened berserker as the purple venom smoke engulfed its face.
Gabriel held his breath and dashed forward.
Though blinded, the beast roared and instinctively raised both arms—preparing to crush him in a single downward slam.
At the last moment, Gabriel slid between its legs.
SHING!
'Gotcha!'
With all his strength, he drove the Voidsting Blade into the beast's exposed inner thigh.
THUNK!
The bear froze—eyes bulging as the venom from both the sword and grenade surged through its bloodstream.
Its roar died mid-throat. It staggered, collapsed to its knees—then fully to the ground, its breathing ragged and slow.
Gabriel didn't waste the opportunity.
He channeled all remaining mana, charging his blade until it pulsed with energy—and stabbed it straight into the bear's gaping mouth.
SCHLUNK!
The blade sank deep—until the hilt clanged against the bear's teeth.
SLASH!
[Fatal Hit!]
[You have defeated a Level 20 Grizzlenaught Bear!]
[Ding! You've leveled up!]
[Ding! You've leveled up!]
[Ding! You've leveled up!]
[Ding! You've leveled up!]
[Ding! You've received +20 Stat Points!]
[Ding! You've received +10 EP!]
[Ding! Would you like to extract from target: Lv. 20 Grizzlenaught Bear | Cost: 8 EP]
"Yes."
[Please choose what to extract:]
[Rend]
[Strength +20]
[Agility +15]
[Grizzlenaught Fang Daggers]
[Feral armour pelt]
[Elite Grizzlenaught Spirit Soldier]
* * *
AN: Let's make this interactive in the comments section—If you were Gabriel, what would you choose and why?