"Ah!!!!!"
The bloodcurdling scream immediately drew the attention of all the Ganesha Familia guards.
No surprise there—this was the Grand Casino, after all, a place frequented by numerous deities. If the guards here failed in their duties, even the gods themselves could be at risk. That was why Ganesha Familia's guards arrived almost instantly.
"The Operator?"
Shakti's expression darkened as she stared at the grotesque creature before her. The thing had swollen to an unnatural size, and the aura it exuded was anything but human.
From the remnants of a face not yet fully distorted, Shakti managed to recognize its identity.
But it was precisely because she recognized who it was that her expression grew so grim. The aura emanating from this Operator was no longer that of a normal person.
"Raaaagh!!!"
The mutated Dwarf didn't utter a single human word, instead letting out a beastlike roar as it lunged straight for Shakti.
"Damn it!"
Its massive frame moved with astonishing speed—so fast that Shakti froze for an instant in disbelief. Then she realized something even more serious.
This mutated Operator was far stronger than she was.
Her gaze locked onto the enormous hand clawing toward her.
At this point, Shakti no longer believed the creature before her was the same Operator she had once investigated. No—this was no longer a person, but an artificially created monster. Its power had expanded wildly, fed by the burning of what little reason remained.
"Whoosh!"
A gust of wind, thick with the stench of blood, swept past her.
Shakti immediately ducked low and rolled back, retreating to put some distance between them.
"Evacuate everyone! Level 4 and below, stay back!"
Her boots barely found traction as she steadied herself, but her eyes never left the creature as she barked her orders.
"Yes, Captain!"
The gathered members of Ganesha Familia immediately began clearing civilians from the area, while the adventurers above Level 4 prepared to fight alongside her.
In a shadowed corner of the Grand Casino, a deity dressed in formal uniform quietly observed.
'The Grand Casino's Operator.'
'A Level 1 showing explosive growth like this? Ordinary methods could never achieve that.'
No adventurer could possibly experience such an abrupt, explosive increase in power—least of all a thief with no talent, one barely scraping by at Level 1.
'Reason? Losing something like that couldn't possibly raise a worthless man to this degree.'
'Could it be the Rune Stone?'
The deity's first thought went to the Rune Stones that had recently become popular throughout Orario.
But he quickly dismissed the idea.
'Those Rune Stones can enhance one's abilities to a certain extent, but not to the point of stripping reason and propelling someone up four entire Levels.'
He had studied Rune Stones extensively himself and knew that the inscriptions engraved upon them were the true source of their strength—magical script imbued with traces of divine Authority.
It was that inherent property that granted Rune Stones their ability to amplify an adventurer's power. These inscriptions were essentially degraded versions of Authority. Without possessing that trace of divine essence, they wouldn't yield such potent effects.
Though rare, such magical scripts weren't unheard of. Many ancient inscriptions left over from bygone eras had been known to bear traces of Authority and wield unique powers.
This particular inscription, however, was far stronger than any of those recorded in history.
Even so, leaping four Levels at once was impossible. Rune Stones merely bridged small gaps in Status—they couldn't shatter that kind of limitation.
Suppressing his doubts, the deity continued to ponder the cause.
'Could it truly be the Spirit?'
After considering every possibility, he found his suspicions returning to the Spirit. It seemed only the Spirit possessed such power.
'But the Spirit's past modifications were always rational. It's hard to imagine it suddenly resorting to something this reckless.'
Still, he couldn't rule out the possibility that the Spirit had chosen a different path.
'Maybe it abandoned rationality altogether to develop soldiers capable of rampaging through Orario.'
'If the Spirit relinquished control purely to unleash such berserk soldiers, Orario would fall into total chaos.'
From that perspective, reason would be the last thing those soldiers needed. All they required was an unending urge to destroy everything around them.
Everything else could be left unchecked.
This line of thought struck the deity as far more plausible.
'It seems this time, it's the Spirit's experiment.'
Even so, he wasn't ready to conclude that so easily.
If the Spirit truly was behind this, then naturally, this soldier's body should bear evidence of that origin.
With that thought, the deity didn't leave the casino's atrium. Instead, he remained in the corner, watching closely as Ganesha Familia began their counterattack against the rampaging soldier.
"Boom!"
Shakti braced her spear against the oncoming strike, but the impact still sent her flying. Her body slammed hard into the wall with a resounding crash.
"Cough!"
Even a Level 5 adventurer would cough up blood after taking such a direct hit. That single punch had already shown Shakti just how powerful this monster was.
Perhaps it wasn't merely at Level 5—it might even be nearing Level 6.
"Captain!"
"Don't come any closer!"
Shakti immediately steadied herself. Right now, she needed to give her full focus to the creature in front of her.
Devoid of reason, relying only on brute strength and speed—such a monster shouldn't have been her match.
Yet from the very beginning, she'd sensed that this thing was being controlled by someone.
'The controller must be nearby.'
'No… searching for the controller now would be unwise.'
Shakti knew she couldn't locate the mastermind immediately. If she lost here, this creature would go on a rampage, slaughtering indiscriminately—and with each kill, it might even grow stronger.
Her gaze fixed sharply on the monster before her.
"ROAR!!!"
With a guttural howl, the mutated Dwarf charged at her, launching another punch.
This time, Shakti was ready. She swiftly parried, deflected the blow, and countered with a precise spear thrust.
A sharp, rapid strike.
"!?"
In an instant, the mutated Dwarf raised its arm to block. Sparks burst where her spear tip scraped against its hardened skin—but the strike was stopped cold.
This time, however, Shakti reacted even faster. She kicked her right foot backward, sliding low across the ground to escape being cornered. Using the momentum, she twisted her body and delivered a fierce upward kick aimed straight at the Dwarf's groin.
'So hard!'
The creature didn't even flinch. That confirmed it for her.
'It's not human anymore.'
But as she slid out of its attack range, Shakti caught sight of something crucial.
'A Magic Stone!?'
...
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