We all entered through the gate, heading toward that gloomy girl. Upon arrival,
she lunged at Luna with her bare hands, but Nevin formed a rock wall as planned.
Then Lynette came from behind and swung her spear to stab the girl,
but that dwarf yanked the spear and pulled it toward her to stab her hand into Lynette's head.
I seized the opportunity and dashed forward to slash her legs with my sword—
but that girl was lucky; she jumped just in time.
Now, she had only one foot left, and her filthy blood stained me.
She was now going to have trouble fighting.
The dwarf backed away, but Elithia jumped off Luna's scythe and hurled it at her.
Nevin supported Elithia with protection, speed, and stealth magic.
The girl couldn't detect Elithia's position due to her weak stealth perception,
so she punched the ground, sending dust flying to reveal Elithia's direction.
Damn it.
I crawled to reach the girl before Elithia could.
That little one was preparing to kill her.
Before her hand could touch Elithia, I had already cut off her hands.
She didn't sense me because I concealed my aura.
The girl's hands dropped, and Elithia finished her by driving her blade into her.
Blood splattered everywhere from what we had done.
It wasn't that easy—if we hadn't pulled ourselves together, we'd have been overwhelmed.
"Huff… Ah, Klo, where did you get this from?" Elithia asked.
I didn't answer. I just kept looking at the girl slowly dying.
But she woke up and tried to drag me down with her.
She aimed her remaining foot at my heart, but I grabbed it before she could move.
Then I grabbed her head and screamed:
"Didn't I tell you at the beginning that you'd regret it?"
I pulled her in, held her head, and slammed it hard into the ground.
A deep crater formed from the force of the impact.
The girl started vomiting blood.
As I panted, I knelt down and hugged my arms.
"Finally… this damn nightmare is over. I hope I don't suffer again."
The girls gathered around me, each reacting to what had happened.
"You looked amazing," said Luna.
"You've become so strong, Klo," Elithia added.
"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have won," Nevin chimed in.
"…," said Lynette.
I smiled at them while scratching my head.
"It's no big deal. Now let's get our reward."
I got up and was met with the system interface popping up in my face.
Ding~
[ Congratulations ]
"You've defeated a level S+ guardian spirit"
_ 4500 C
_ Mask
_ 10 Rewrite chances
[ Congratulations ]
"Your level has increased"
[ Rank: B ]
[ Level: 40 ]
Ordinary rewards after days of suffering.
Like a prisoner trapped in an hourglass, repeating the same action for a set time.
We all walked toward the location of the quest giver—
the mayor of this reversed city.
When we entered the city, it was nearly empty.
Only a handful of shops, some homes,
and the eye-catching place with the words "City Center."
That's where the mayor was.
We all stood before the door. I pushed it at first, but it didn't open,
so I knocked.
After waiting a moment, the door was opened by an old fox-eared woman.
"Are you looking for the mayor?"
"Yes."
"He's not in his office right now, but I can offer you some hospitality."
"No problem. We'll wait."
We all went in. Inside, the place felt like a worn-down wooden shack.
To our right were couches full of moths.
The fox granny led us there.
We all sat down, though the girls were visibly disgusted.
It didn't bother me—I had lived in worse places.
"Would you like some tea?"
"Yes, with a cockroach in it—" Nevin said.
I shut her mouth before she could finish.
She shot me an angry look, and I returned it with the same energy.
"Shut up or I'll terminate our contract, you foul-mouthed woman."
She rolled her eyes and looked at me with boredom as she shoved me back into my seat.
I looked at the old woman again.
"Thanks, but we've already eaten."
"We didn't actually," said Lynette.
Luna and I lowered our heads, biting our fingers in shame from what those two idiots had done.
The old woman left to bring the tea.
I looked at Lynette, who was completely unfazed.
"There are limits to truth-telling, got it?"
"But lying is bad."
I agree with you.
I stretched out on the old couch, waiting for that mayor to arrive.
Then the door opened. I sat up again—
a man with a visible belly hidden behind a brown suit walked in.
Could it be?
He climbed the stairs right in front of the door.
The old woman appeared behind him, told him about his guests,
and he came back down and walked toward us.
The mayor entered and started scanning our faces with his narrow eyes.
"Are these the kids who were looking for me?"
Nevin flared up and stood, pointing a finger in his face.
"I'll punch you, you fat—"
I grabbed her mouth again and pushed her back to the couch.
I introduced myself to distract the mayor from the mess.
"Hello sir, my name is—"
"Klo Yuthnir, the so-called upcoming villain or whatever.
Did you take care of the girl that drove my people away? Thanks, now get out."
Get out?
I froze in place, then looked at him in anger.
"Why should I leave? And what about the reward?"
"The reward was canceled because the people who died because of her are gone."
I slowly walked toward the man.
Luna tried to stop me.
"Klo, don't do this. We can talk things out."
I got close to the mayor until there were only centimeters between us.
"What are you babbling about, kid?"
I grabbed him by the tie and pulled his chubby face closer to mine,
his eyes widened at my red ones.
"I'm not here to play with you. Give me the reward.
I suffered to get here."
The mayor started sweating and waved his hands nervously.
"Alright, Klo. I'll give you the reward. Please, follow me to my office."
We all followed him down a medium-length hallway full of doors.
At the end was his office.
He opened it with a golden key that sparkled with every turn.
Inside was an ordinary office—cabinet, chair, wooden desk. Nothing fancy.
The mayor sat at his desk and searched one of the nearby cabinets for money.
He pulled out a money pouch.
"Here you go, 15,400 Ban."
"Double it."
"What?"
"You heard me."
The mayor slammed his desk and yelled in my face.
"You're such a greedy brat!"
I kicked his desk, splitting it in half to return the favor.
"I said double it."
He stared at his broken desk, then looked at me.
"I was just joking! Don't be so angry."
He pulled out another pouch—this time, 17,000.
"Double it."
"But—"
"Didn't you hear what he said?!" Nevin shouted at him.
She's a woman who loves money.
He brought out another pouch,
and this time, it satisfied both my greed and rage.
"Here, 30,000."
I grabbed the pouch tightly and turned to the door, waving my hand.
"Alright, girls. Let's head back to the palace."