Chapter 175
Chapter 175: You Dare Flirt With My Wife? Nobody Gets to Play!
Reserve the whole place?
The moment those words fell, every Adventurer present seemed somewhat...
Dumbstruck.
They had expended considerable effort to assemble their teams, gathered painstakingly for a full hour before the Magical Creature Rift opened, all for the sake of scraping some benefit from within the Rift.
And yet Viktor shows up, opens his mouth once, and just like that their entire day's work is wasted?
Who wouldn't be confused if something like this happened to them?
They were not people of gentle temperament either—they surged forward one after another, intending to demand an explanation from Viktor.
Angry expressions and a tense atmosphere permeated the air, weighing down on everyone like a lid.
But then, in the very next second.
A mysterious barrier suddenly surged up beneath Viktor's feet—dazzling as a stream of violet light—and expanded outward in an instant, sealing everyone outside.
The heavy violet radiance emanating from the barrier pressed down on those nearby with an inexplicable oppressive weight.
As though anyone who drew close would be eclipsed beneath its influence.
The Adventurers all felt this surge of powerful Magic Power and couldn't help but blank out, unable to move.
"Since explaining it kindly doesn't seem to be something you can accept, then."
Viktor slowly extended a single slender finger and pressed it gently downward through the air.
In his eyes, a streak of azure-blue spectral light surged forth—like a jewel glinting in a starlit sky.
In an instant, the space seemed to be compressed by an invisible force, and a transparent pressure seeped into every Adventurer's body.
The ground beneath their feet shattered in an instant under the sudden weight, and crack after crack spread outward like ripples across water.
【2nd-Tier Magic: Gravity】
Carried on a vast and boundless surge of Magic Power, a terrifyingly oppressive force bore down on the bodies of thousands of Adventurers, pressing them down hard against the fractured earth.
Their legs began to tremble uncontrollably. Their entire bodies were flattened against the ground.
It was as though their lungs had been pinned to the floor—the intense compression made even drawing a breath a struggle.
Only a handful of Adventurers managed to hold themselves up on one knee, barely keeping their bodies from collapsing entirely.
"It seems you all still prefer to speak through force."
Viktor said it plainly, his cold gaze sweeping across the tops of everyone's heads present.
The Health Bars and uneven Levels of those Adventurers slowly lit up one by one above them.
The majority were only 1st-Tier to 2nd-Tier in Level, with a small number possessing 3rd-Tier strength.
Like that blond man from just now.
LV39.
These were a group of freelance Adventurers.
In the game's storyline, the Adventurers' Capital was divided into 3 major factions.
The first was the supreme Imperial Army, responsible for defending the Magical Creature front line.
The second consisted of units formed by various freelance Adventurers—the most numerous in headcount, but not especially powerful on average.
They were essentially fixed groups of members who banded together to clear the Magical Creature Rift and skim whatever scraps they could from within it.
In a state of being leaderless.
The remainder were several Adventurer Guilds focused primarily on venturing deep into the Magical Creature Rift to conduct investigations.
Adventurer Guilds regularly recruited various powerful Adventurers and gathered them together.
Their mission was to continuously push deeper into the Rift—from which Magical Creatures endlessly regenerated—in ongoing exploration.
Attempting to reach the very deepest point of the Rift.
The balance struck between the Adventurer Guilds' explorations and the freelance units was quite regular.
In ordinary times, the Adventurer Guilds would venture deep within, sweeping away the powerful Magical Creatures that had respawned.
Ensuring that the Rift would not allow those powerful Magical Creatures to appear in the real world.
Once that was done, the Guild members would take a few days of rest.
During that window, the freelance Adventurers would go in, exterminate the simpler Magical Creatures, and scrounge up whatever meager pickings they could.
In other words, they had come at a rather inconvenient time.
Though it didn't matter much at this point.
Viktor's voice rang out, unhurried.
"I'll say it again."
"Today, we've reserved the whole place."
With that, Viktor withdrew his hand and tucked it into his Coat pocket.
Instantly, the Gravity pressing down on the Adventurers' bodies dissipated.
They stood back up, bodies still trembling uncontrollably, sweat and tears mingling together.
The man before them had not harmed them—he had simply used a single technique to make them understand the gap between them.
Powerful enough to crush every last one of them underfoot.
Yet they were filled with a bitterness they couldn't let go of.
Today, they hadn't earned a single coin, and now they were being sent away by the man before them.
Some of them even had family members who needed looking after.
And yet, they could only stand there clutching their fists, not daring to utter a word of protest.
In the Adventurers' Capital, rules had long since been worn away to nothing.
This place was true survival of the fittest.
The strong said everything.
But just as they stood there, crestfallen and at a loss—
From the sky above, it was as though a long-awaited rain had begun to fall.
But this was not real rain.
It was...
Coin after coin of hard, solid gold.
Those Adventurers let the gold coins rain down and strike them in the face.
The denomination printed on those coins left them struggling to believe their eyes.
100 Geo.
They couldn't help but blank out slightly, and slowly raised their heads to look through the sealed barrier at Viktor's retreating figure growing distant once more.
That indifferent voice gradually drifted to their ears.
"This is Her Highness the Princess's compassion and gift to you."
"Be grateful to her."
At that moment, many Adventurers caught sight of the Geo falling to the ground and immediately dropped to their knees, scrambling to pick them up in a frantic rush.
Some even swung their fists at the weaker ones around them, snatching coins away by force.
But the instant those gold coins landed in their hands, their whole bodies jolted—as though struck by lightning—and convulsed violently.
Their bodies turned to char, wisps of smoke rising from them, as they collapsed unconscious to the ground.
Seeing this scene, the other Adventurers couldn't help but recoil in fright.
"5 coins per person, maximum."
"Don't say I never gave you the chance."
Viktor's voice gradually faded. The Adventurers watched his silhouette recede deep into the Rift, and found themselves rooted to the spot in stunned silence.
Their minds drifted back, unbidden, to that magnificent girl surrounded by the crowd.
The Empire's... Princess.
Pia, the blond-haired Adventurer, watched Viktor depart and felt that terrifying hostility pressing against his entire body gradually dissipate.
Even now, he still couldn't quite comprehend it.
That person... why had he directed such intense hostility toward him?
Just then, an elderly Mage slowly walked over.
Pia recognized him—this Mage was likewise a 3rd-Tier Mage among the freelancers, and moreover, he had once visited the City of Mages.
"Quite a formidable figure has turned up."
Pia looked at the elderly Mage with some confusion.
"You know who he is?"
"Of course. I'd wager there isn't a Mage alive who doesn't know his name."
The elder stroked his white beard, narrowed his eyes, and spoke with quiet wonder.
"You know how Mages like us place the greatest value on talent and knowledge, yes?"
Talent and knowledge were the 2 most important things for a Mage.
Without either of the 2, one could never forge a truly powerful Mage.
All talent and no knowledge—such a Mage might advance to 2nd Tier swiftly, but without sufficient knowledge, reaching 3rd Tier would be extremely difficult.
To say nothing of that formidable 4th-Tier realm.
And all knowledge with no talent—such a person would likely spend their entire life achieving nothing of note in mediocrity.
This was also why powerful Mages were always fewer in number compared to Warriors of the same level.
And moreover, the more powerful the Mage, the older they tended to be in age.
The Warrior profession consumed Vital Energy—it fed on the physical advantages of youth.
By old age, the body's constitution would plummet at a rapid pace.
For Knights, what mattered was mastery of technique—the stronger the technique, the more formidable the individual's power would become.
Only for Mages were both talent and knowledge equally indispensable.
"And yet this person is younger than even you."
"His Magic, however, is powerful enough to crush every single one of us."
The elderly Mage's voice rang out, unhurried.
Pia jolted suddenly, and in that instant, a thought rushed back to him.
The Magic that person had just used—was that Magic?
He was that powerful. That young.
And he was... a Mage!?
In a daze, a name seemed to surface at the edge of his memory, but the recollection was blurred.
It felt as though this person's name had once spread across the entire Empire.
Who was it again?
The elderly Mage spoke on, unhurried, clarifying the other party's identity for him.
"Did you see the insignia on his chest?"
"That is the insignia belonging exclusively to those who have reached the highest tier of the City of Mages—Endymion."
Pia gave a sharp start.
"Let me tell you something that should be common knowledge—a Council Member's identity insignia can never be forged."
A thought that chilled him to the bone crept up his spine, accompanying the elderly Mage's words.
"The youngest Mage Council Member—Viktor Clavena."
"He's here."
***
The First Prince sat within his spacious chamber, clad in his golden armor, seated in his chair with imposing gravity.
One hand pressed against his forehead, both eyes shut tight.
Recalling the way Auréliane had appeared just now left him feeling a chill that seeped through both body and mind.
His little sister, once so gentle and obedient.
And now...
It was Viktor who guided her to this, wasn't it...
The First Prince let out a heavy exhale, narrowed his eyes, and let his thoughts gradually sharpen.
He had no way to stop Viktor and Auréliane from going deep into the Magical Creature Rift—they hadn't even given him time to prepare.
Hadn't even given him time to conceal his secrets.
But... I must keep them away from the lower layers.
So he took up the crystal orb from the table. Its light flickered, and a voice came through from within.
"Your Highness the First Prince? How rare—to think you'd actually reach out to me of your own accord."
"No need for small talk with me, Hera." The First Prince rubbed his brow, his voice unhurried and flat.
"I need you to lead your Guild to the Magical Creature Rift."
"It would be best if you can reach out to the other Guilds as well."
A brief moment passed. The voice from the other side of the crystal returned, carrying a faint note of amusement.
"My, that's no easy task, Your Highness."
"You know yourself—today is the freelancers' time. The Guild members are all resting."
The First Prince simply listened to the other party's words in silence, and then spoke, unhurried and flat.
"Then what if an exceptionally powerful creature were to appear within the Magical Creature Rift—one that required your people to deal with it?"
The other side of the crystal fell suddenly silent, accompanied by audibly quickened breathing.
"You truly cannot refuse me." The First Prince smiled faintly.
"Miss Hera."