Hugh Rodrigo.

He was the Earthling in charge of managing and operating the VIP auction house. Currently, he was deep in sleep, hugging an unconscious Beastman.

When he fell asleep after beating a rebellious Wolfman half-dead, he didn’t think something would happen that night. In his mind, he would wake up refreshed, smile after seeing the Wolfman’s face dyed in tears, and thank God for letting him come to this goldmine of a world.

He had no doubt that tonight would be just like any other night.

That was until he was woken up from the ruckus downstairs.

Hearing the clamor, Rodrigo’s eyes shot open and he raised his body in a hurry. Because this wasn’t the first or second time something like this had happened, there was no need to panic.

The problem was that the clamor was quickly getting closer. This meant that the outside security had been broken through.

As it was a rare occurrence for anyone to break inside the building, Rodrigo didn’t dare to take the matter lightly.

“Lee! Min!”

He hopped off the bed and roared. The door shot open as if to respond to his call. But rather than two shadows, only one walked in.

“You’re a little late to notice, sir.”

A giggling voice was heard. The dazed Rodrigo asked.

“You’re…”

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I was sleeping until just now.”

The man shrugged and looked back at the door.

“Anyway, it looks like they’re on the second floor… They must be pretty decent.”

The man’s nonchalant attitude calmed Rodrigo down.

‘Should I consider myself lucky?’ Rodrigo pondered.

The carefree man in front of him came to visit every time there was an auction and demanded all sorts of nonsense in the name of ‘checking out the product’. But today, the situation was different.

Rodrigo cut to the chase.

“Will you help?”

“Of course. I still remember all the favors you’ve done for me.”

The man spoke well while sending Rodrigo a furtive look. Of course, Rodrigo wasn’t the one to not understand it.

“Great, then please help. I will reward you generously.”

“When you say reward…”

“I can’t give out a product for free, but it’ll be very cheap. I’ll even set aside the ones you’ve taken a liking to. Will the one you slept with tonight do?”

“I don’t expect any free lunch, but I’m the type of person who gets bored of eating the same meal twice.”

The man licked his lips.

“Come to think of it, in the basement…”

Rodrigo cursed inwardly but nodded his head nonetheless.

“It’s fine as long as it’s not the Foxman. Take your pick.”

“Great!”

The man burst into laughter.

“You’re truly magnanimous! Good, good, I’ll get to work right away. Please, relax and go back to sleep.”

Hearing the man’s answer, Rodrigo looked more relaxed. Although this man was usually a pain in the ass, he was Jirayu Matthew, the ace and the Level 5 Warrior of Royal Pattaya. Meaning, he was one of the strongest Earthlings in Eva.

Rodrigo breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately regained his senses. A High Ranker Warrior had come forward to help, but only a fool would blindly rely on just one man.

“No, I have work to do as well. Anyway, please take care of this situation urgently.”

With that, Rodrigo left the room with a communication crystal in hand.

Jirayu Matthew also turned around.

“I don’t know who the invader is, but I really gotta thank him~”

Thanks to the intruders, he would now get his hands on foreign race slaves for a cheap price. He had even received the right to choose a slave he wanted!

Thinking that he should send whoever it was without pain, Jirayu Matthew walked out of the room, whistling.

In the hallway, two long-haired women with identical faces were waiting.

Wang Lee and Wang Min.

These twin sisters were the personal guards of Rodrigo, and Jirayu Matthew was acquainted with them as well.

“You guys sure took your time. Whatever, leave this to me and go get yourself some tea, ladies.”

Jirayu Matthew cackled.

“But if you really want to show your appreciation, you can wait for me in bed naked.”

He spoke jokingly, but the sisters didn’t reply. One looked away with a coy expression, while the other ignored him altogether.

It was then. Clunk, clunk! A metallic clanging resounded in the silent hallway. Jirayu Matthew’s eyebrows rose up.

“Alright, then.”

Turning toward the staircase, he took out his one-handed axe and shield.

“Let’s see the face of this daring hero.”

Soon, the intruder reached the top of the stairs and revealed himself. Jirayu Matthew, who was watching intently, let out an empty chuckle.

He had expected the intruder to have some skill, especially considering that he made it to the third floor, but judging by the intruder’s shabby armor, he seemed to be a simple, courageous fool.

Of course, one’s armors didn’t necessarily reflect their abilities, but it was an undeniable truth that, in Paradise, better equipment meant greater strength.

With a hearty laugh, Jirayu Matthew stomped forward.

“Oi! Young friend!”

Raising the axe radiating a chilling light, he struck up a conversation in a friendly manner.

“Thank you! Thank you, truly! Thanks to you…?”

His eyes turned sharp before he could finish. It was because a blue spear appeared above the intruder’s left hand, hurling toward him.

Jirayu Matthew immediately held his shield out. Tong! After blocking the Mana Spear, Jirayu Matthew groaned.

He definitely had blocked it, yet his arm felt shockingly numb.

‘Fuck, the intruder is a Magician?’

But before the paralysis could wear off, Jirayu Matthew had to twist his shield up in a hurry.

That was because another Mana Spear came hurling his way.

“Keeeeeu!”

With a Tong, Jirayu Matthew took a step back, unable to bear the impact of the force. Even though he parried the attack to the best of his ability, a terrifying force had struck his hand.

Even his wrist was tingling.

‘Damn it, he’s not a Magician. Is he a Warrior who raised his mana stat?’

In that case, it made sense for his armor to be so trashy. Heavy armor must be too burdensome with his low strength stat.

‘Intermediate (Intermediate) at the lowest, maybe even Intermediate (High).’

Jirayu Matthew analyzed the enemy even as he grit his teeth and endured a numbing pain. The enemy’s physical level should be lower than his. He would be at a disadvantage at a distance and needed to push for close-range combat.

Jirayu Matthew dropped his weapon and fumbled around his waist. As soon as he grabbed the handle hanging on his belt, he hurled it forward with full force.

Woong, woong, woong. A small hand-axe flew toward the enemy in a spinning motion.

However, the enemy calmly turned his left arm. A tri-circular shield was created from his wrist, forcing the hand-axe to bounce off.

‘Fuck, he even has an artifact?’

Jirayu Matthew’s expression contorted. But he didn’t stop throwing the hand-axes.

Though it would be tricky, he firmly believed that killing the enemy would be a piece of cake as long as he could close the distance.

Two axes, three axes… Every hand-axe he threw was easily blocked, but he didn’t stop.

And the moment he threw his fourth hand-axe, he grabbed his weapon again and charged forward with his shield up.

Energy surged up from his shield. He planned to create an opening using the hand-axes, then charge forward after pouring mana into his shield, dealing great shock to the enemy.

But contrary to his expectations, the enemy didn’t prevent his charge with Mana Spears.

Whatever. He had already succeeded in entering a close range.

“Uriyaaa!”

Seeing the enemy standing still, Jirayu Matthew swung the weapon in his right hand. Then, the moment he struck down, the enemy’s spear moved.

Clang! The blade of the axe clashed with the spear’s shaft, causing a spark to scatter in all directions.

Jirayu Matthew immediately pulled his axe back and began to brandish his right hand madly. He planned to suppress the enemy with strength.

At first, Jirayu Matthew thought things were going according to his plan. He was attacking one-sidedly while the enemy could only worry about blocking his attacks.

But the situation took a sudden turn after the sixth hand-axe he threw was blocked.

That was when he first saw the enemy’s spear and also when he realized that the enemy had not moved a single step since the start of the fight.

Following the law of inertia, Jirayu Matthew initiated his seventh attack, immediately going ‘Ah’. But that was after the enemy’s spear had gone from defending to attacking.

As the point of his axe’s blade fell down, a white spear blade stabbed toward him.

Clang!

“Heuk!”

Jirayu Matthew’s mouth dropped open. With just one strike, the axe that he paid a huge sum to purchase shattered into pieces.

Suddenly, his enemy’s spear entered his sight. But he didn’t have any time to think as the spear shot toward his heart after breaking the axe.

Jirayu Matthew quickly twisted his upper body to dodge, but lost his balance in the process. He tried to steady his body by grabbing the shaft of the spear that grazed past him, but a kick smashed his stomach.

“Kuak—!”

He was sent flying, tumbling on the ground in an unsightly way.

He tried to fix his posture and stand up, but suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. Jirayu Matthew’s eyes widened.

He felt empty wind entering his stomach. When he subconsciously lowered his gaze, he saw that his thick armor had been crushed in.

His palm was torn, dripping with blood. He must have dropped his axe as it was nowhere in sight.

Only now did Jirayu Matthew’s eyes begin to tremble.

‘What mana…!’

Tap, tap. The sound of footsteps resounded in the hallway.

Jirayu Matthew’s gaze shot up. When he met the enemy’s indifferent gaze, a hiccup escaped his mouth.

“What the hell are you guys doing!?”

He criticized Wang Lee and Wang Min in a fit of anger.

‘Didn’t you say we could leave this to you?’ Wang Lee snorted. She wanted to curse the man out loud, but knew better than to start an argument in the middle of a battle.

Throwing a reserve longsword to Jirayu Matthew, Wang Lee muttered coldly.

“Get up. Quickly.”

Then, she gazed at the slowly walking enemy.

Sssrrng! The twin sisters drew their swords in sync. Then, they walked forward, splitting left and right.

Jirayu Matthew also stood up in a hurry and unsheathed the longsword he just received. Then, as he utilized his full power, activating Sword Qi, he suddenly became dazed.

“W-Wait!”

The twins were both Level 4s who were powerful in their own right, but that wasn’t important. Having fought the enemy directly, Jirayu Matthew had a good idea of his strength.

Mana, physical level, equipment. He was inferior in every single category.

The enemy had to be Level 5, perhaps even Level 6!

That was Jirayu Matthew’s genuine belief.

Even if all three of them joined hands, it might not be enough to defeat the intruder. Seeing the twins taking their positions, Jirayu Matthew yelled.

“Hey! You retards!”

In the next moment, Wang Lee and Wang Min simultaneously kicked off the ground, one flying up and one lowering her body and charging forward. At the same time, they stabbed with their longsword.

Although the two displayed splendid teamwork in attacking both sharply and quickly, the intruder— Seol Jihu— remained calm.

He had realized from the previous exchange with the axe-wielding Warrior as to why Jang Maldong distinguished between True High Rankers and False High Rankers.

He also realized why Phi Sora was able to subdue him so easily back then.

His enemies didn’t know how to fight. They only knew how to push forward with their strength and abilities, relying only on their Status Windows.

It was almost as if they were clicking only their left-mouse buttons and not controlling their game character in the slightest.

And that was true even now. Although this was the first time Seol Jihu was facing a coordinated attack, he could clearly read their movements. They would probably rush in, simultaneously aiming for his neck and waist.

Knowing the enemies’ movements, dealing with them was easy. Seol Jihu twisted his body, fazing their attacks, and directly struck at the longsword aiming for his neck.

The flustered Wang Min quickly slashed down in an attempt to counterattack, but Seol Jihu had already spread his mana all over his body and was stomping down.

Kwang! Wang Min reeled from shock, swept away by a current of qi exploding from the two weapon’s point of contact.

At the same time, a golden current of electricity detonating from the tip of Seol Jihu’s foot enveloped his body instantly.

‘Let’s end this.’

The moment he thought this, Seol Jihu shot out like a bolt of lightning, cutting through the two twins.

Jirayu Matthew, who was hastily preparing his next attack, widened his eyes in shock.

Leaving behind a golden afterimage, Seol Jihu flew into the air, pulling his spear back. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Jirayu Matthew’s body would be cut in half the moment that spear fell.

Not knowing that this terrifying monster would come for him first, Jirayu Matthew reflexively stabbed upward. Even as he was too shocked to think properly, he had attacked, betting his all on this last move.

But, he couldn’t feel anything from his sword. Not even a bit of resistance could be felt.

As his sword pierced up with nothing in its path, Jirayu Matthew could clearly see — a spear continuously being pulled back without coming down.

That was why he couldn’t see it — the back of the spear shooting up to his chin.

After having his chin hit, Jirayu Matthew’s mouth shut close and his feet floated up.

Jirayu Matthew landed on the ground just like that, and when he spread his arms out, the spear blade pierced the battered armor and penetrated his stomach.

“Kuhuk!”

Clunk. Jirayu Matthew’s arms dropped down. Clang. A metallic ringing was heard as his longsword fell down.

Seol Jihu turned his spear halfway before pushing up with all his strength. The spear cut through Jirayu Matthew’s chest plate, shot past his neck, cut his nose in half, and escaped through his head.

Cleanly bisected from head to stomach, the Level 5 Warrior’s corpse fell down.

That wasn’t the end. Seol Jihu felt his neck tingle.

Pulling his spear out in an instant, he swung it horizontally. Slash! A heavy yet satisfying sensation reached his hand.

And by the time he turned around to look, a severed head was flying in the air.

“Lee!”

Seol Jihu reached out with his left hand at the crying Wang Min. Struck by a Mana Spear, Wang Min was pushed into the wall as if to slip.

As she bounced back from recoil, Seol Jihu rushed in again with Flash Thunder, penetrating her chest crudely.

“Kkkkkeu!”

Skewered to the wall by the spear, Wang Min let out a bloodcurdling gargle.

While she glared at her enemy with a shaking gaze, Seol Jihu calmly asked.

“Where is the manager of this place?”

Rather than replying, Wang Min placed her trembling hand into her pocket. Then, the moment she pulled out her hand, splitting her eyes wide open—

Boom! Seol Jihu’s fist crashed into her face directly.

As the fist carried his terrifying mana, her head cracked backward, destroying the wall.

Blood splattered in all directions, and it also oozed out from the hole her head created.

Although Seol Jihu retracted his hand slowly, her body didn’t fall. Her larynx made a few popping noises before going silent.

Her body slumped down.

She had died instantly.

Seol Jihu collected his breath, the Spear of Purity still stabbing into the corpse. He looked back at each of the three corpses.

Three experts, including a Level 5 Warrior, had been destroyed at his hands.