'Book the whole place?'
The moment these words came out, all the adventurers present looked a little… Dumbfounded.
They had spent time and effort putting together teams, gathering an hour before the monster rift opened, waiting painstakingly, all just to scrape together a bit of profit inside the monster rift.
But the moment Viktor showed up, with just a single sentence, he wanted to make all of the adventurers' day of work go to waste?
If this happened to anyone, who wouldn't be confused?
They weren't exactly people with great tempers either. One by one, they crowded forward, wanting to demand an explanation from Viktor.
Angry expressions and a tense atmosphere filled the air, making it feel stifling.
However, in the very next second, a mysterious barrier suddenly surged up beneath Viktor's feet, brilliant like flowing purple light. In an instant, it spread outward, isolating everyone outside.
The heavy purple glow emitted by the barrier gave people an inexplicable sense of pressure.
As if anyone who drew close would be dimmed by its influence.
The adventurers all felt this powerful magic and involuntarily froze in place, unable to move.
"Since kindly explaining things doesn't seem to work for you, then…"
Viktor slowly extended a long, slender finger and gently pressed downward in the air.
In his eyes, a deep blue light surged forth, like a gemstone glittering in the starry sky.
In an instant, space seemed to be tightly compressed by an invisible force. Transparent power seeped into every adventurer's body.
The ground beneath their feet shattered under the sudden pressure, cracks spreading outward like ripples.
[Second-Tier Magic: Gravity]
Carrying vast and overwhelming magic power, an extremely terrifying pressure slammed down on the bodies of several thousand adventurers, forcing them violently toward the fractured ground.
Their legs began to tremble uncontrollably, and their entire bodies were pressed flat against the ground.
It felt as if their lungs were being crushed against the earth, the intense compression making even breathing difficult.
Only a small number of adventurers managed to kneel on one knee, barely supporting themselves.
"Looks like you still prefer using force to communicate."
Viktor spoke calmly, sweeping his cold gaze over everyone present.
Above the adventurers' heads, their health bars and uneven levels slowly lit up.
Most of them were only first- to second-tier, with a few possessing third-tier strength.
For example, that blond man just now.
[Lv39]
This was a group of solo adventurers.
In the game's story, Adventurer City was divided into three major factions.
The first was the supreme Imperial Army, responsible for defending the monster front lines.
Next were the teams formed by solo adventurers. They had the largest numbers, but their average strength wasn't particularly high.
They were basically fixed groups of members who gathered together to tackle monster rifts and scrape together some meager profits.
They were in a leaderless state.
The remaining faction consisted of several adventurer guilds that focused on entering deep into monster rifts for investigation.
Adventurer guilds frequently recruited powerful adventurers and gathered them together.
Their task was to continuously explore deeper into the ever-generating monster rifts.
Trying to reach the deepest part of the rift.
The balance between the guilds' exploration and the solo teams was also quite structured.
Normally, the adventurer guilds would go deep inside and wipe out all the powerful monsters that had respawned.
Ensuring that those powerful monsters wouldn't appear in the real world.
After that, the guild members would rest for a few days.
Then the solo adventurers would go in, clearing out weaker monsters and scraping together a pitiful amount of profit.
In other words, they had come at a rather bad time.
But it didn't really matter.
Viktor's voice rang out calmly, "I'll say it again."
"Today, we've booked the whole place."
After saying that, Viktor withdrew his hand and slipped it into his trench coat pocket.
Immediately, the adventurers felt the gravity pressing on their bodies dissipate.
They stood back up, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, sweat and tears mixing together.
The man in front of them hadn't harmed them. With just one method, he had made them understand the gap between them.
So strong that he could crush all of them.
But they were unwilling.
Today, they hadn't earned anything at all, yet they were being sent back by the man in front of them.
Some of them even had families to support.
But at this moment, they could only clench their fists helplessly, not daring to say a word in resistance.
In Adventurer City, rules had long since faded away.
This was true survival of the fittest.
The strong decided everything.
But just as they were feeling dejected, from the sky above, it seemed like a long-awaited rain had begun to fall.
But this wasn't real rain.
It was… one hard gold coin after another.
The adventurers let the gold coins smash into their faces.
The denominations stamped on those coins left them in disbelief.
One hundred Geo.
They couldn't help but freeze, slowly lifting their heads to look toward the back of Viktor as he moved away inside the isolated barrier.
That cold voice gradually sounded in their ears.
"This is Her Highness the Princess's mercy and gift to you."
"Thank her."
At that moment, many adventurers saw the Geo coins scattered on the ground and hurriedly knelt down, grabbing them frantically.
Some even swung their fists at the weak, forcibly snatching coins away.
But the instant the gold coins were clenched in their hands, their entire bodies shuddered violently, as if electrocuted.
Their bodies turned into charred black husks, smoking as they collapsed unconscious onto the ground.
Seeing this, the other adventurers couldn't help but be startled.
"One person, at most five coins."
"Don't say I didn't give you a chance."
Viktor's voice gradually faded away. The adventurers stared at his back as he went deep into the rift, standing there in a daze.
They suddenly recalled that luxurious girl who had been surrounded by the crowd.
The Empire's… princess.
The blond Pia watched Viktor leave, feeling the terrifying hostility around him gradually dissipate.
Even now, he still couldn't understand it.
That person… why did he have such intense hostility toward him?
At that moment, an old mage slowly walked over.
Pia recognized him. This mage was also a third-tier solo mage, and he had once been to the Mage City.
"Someone truly incredible has shown up."
Pia looked at the old mage with some confusion.
"You know him?"
"Of course. I think there's no mage who doesn't know his name."
The old man stroked his white beard, squinting his eyes as he spoke with emotion.
"You should know that mages like us value talent and knowledge above all else."
Talent and knowledge were the most important things for a mage.
Lacking either one, it was impossible to become a powerful mage.
With talent alone but insufficient knowledge, a mage might quickly reach second tier, but without enough knowledge, it would be difficult to reach third tier.
Not to mention the powerful fourth-tier realm.
And with knowledge alone but no talent, one would probably spend their entire life toiling away in mediocrity.
That was why powerful mages were always fewer in number compared to warriors of the same level.
And the stronger the mage, the older they usually were.
Professions like warriors consumed vitality, relying on the physical advantages of youth.
Once they reached old age, their physical condition would decline rapidly.
Knights, on the other hand, emphasized technique. The stronger the technique, the stronger the individual.
Only mages required both talent and knowledge, neither could be missing.
"But this person is even younger than you."
"Yet his magic is powerful enough to crush all of us."
The old mage's voice sounded calmly.
Pia was suddenly stunned. All at once, he recalled something.
'Just now, what that person used was… magic?'
'So powerful, so young.'
'He's actually a mage!?'
In his daze, he seemed to remember a name, though the memory was blurry.
It seemed that this name had once spread throughout the entire Empire.
'Who was it?'
The old mage spoke calmly, explaining the other party's identity.
"Did you see the insignia on his chest?"
"That's an insignia only possessed by the highest level of the Mage City, Endymion."
Pia's eyes widened in shock.
"Let me tell you a bit of common sense. A councilor's identity insignia can never be faked."
A chilling realization crept up his spine along with the old mage's words.
"The youngest Mage Councilor, Viktor Clavenna."
"He's here."
———
The First Prince sat in a spacious room, wearing golden armor, sitting solemnly in his chair.
One hand pressed against his forehead, his eyes closed.
Recalling Aurelia's appearance back then sent a chill through his body and mind.
His sister had once been so gentle and obedient.
But now…
"So it really was Viktor guiding her…"
The First Prince let out a heavy breath, narrowing his eyes as his thoughts gradually cleared.
He couldn't stop Viktor and Aurelia from going deep into the monster rift. They hadn't even given him time to prepare.
They hadn't even given him the chance to hide his secrets.
"But… I must keep them away from the lower layers."
So he picked up a crystal ball from the table. Light flickered, and a voice came from within it.
"Your Highness the First Prince? How rare. You're actually contacting me on your own."
"No need for small talk, Hera." The First Prince rubbed his brow and said calmly.
"I need you to lead your guild into the monster rift."
"Of course, it would be best if you could contact the other guilds as well."
After a moment, the voice from the crystal responded, carrying a hint of teasing.
"Oh? That's not an easy task, Your Highness."
"You know today is the solo adventurers' time. The guild members are all resting."
The First Prince silently listened to everything she said, then spoke calmly.
"Then what if an extremely powerful monster appears in the monster rift, one that requires you to deal with it?"
The other side of the crystal suddenly fell silent, accompanied by clearly quickened breathing.
"As expected, you can't refuse me." The First Prince smiled faintly.
"Miss Hera."