At the Instance Management Center,
the young receptionist took a sandwich out of her pocket—one she had prepared in advance for lunch.
Fragrant wheat bread, paired with rich sauce, and the soul of any sandwich—crispy grilled bacon.
When combined, it was simply the most perfect lunch in the world!
"Time to eat!"
She clasped her hands together and began her pre-meal prayer with great sincerity.
"Praise be to you, great Goddess of Life and Harvest, Leif!"
"Thank you for bestowing this food upon me. I shall—"
At that very moment, the points panel in front of her suddenly flashed with a dazzling red light!
At the same time, a line of bold text appeared on the screen.
[Instance: B-Rank Molten Inferno — Overall Rating: SSS…]
Clatter!
The sandwich slipped from her hands and fell to the floor.
In the next instant, the teleportation portal shimmered, and Caelan's figure emerged from the light.
"Could it be… him?!"
The receptionist froze, then immediately pulled up the Instance Management System.
[Name: Caelan]
[Clear Time: 2 minutes 15 seconds]
[Cleared Instance: B-Rank Molten Inferno]
[Overall Rating: SSS]
Seeing this information, her eyes widened uncontrollably.
"Clearing a B-Rank Instance in 2 minutes and 15 seconds and getting an SSS rating—
is that something a human can even do?!"
Caelan paid no attention to her shock.
Right now, his mind was focused on one thing only—making money.
So the moment he stepped away from the portal, he headed straight for the exit.
"Mr. Caelan, please wait a moment!"
Caelan frowned and turned to look at the panting receptionist.
"What is it?"
She pressed a hand to her chest, her voice still a little breathless.
"Because you've broken the record for the B-Rank Instance Molten Inferno, the Instance Management Center will grant you VIP status, and—"
"Not interested."
Caelan cut her off and prepared to leave again.
VIP status was nothing but empty prestige.
What mattered more than making money?
With money, he could keep upgrading his skills.
But just then, the receptionist hurried forward again and blocked his path.
"Mr. Caelan, VIP status is really useful to you! It gives you access to an Instance fast lane, one-click auction house sales, and—"
Instance fast lane?
Caelan raised an eyebrow and stopped walking.
He looked at her and raised three fingers.
"Three minutes. If you can't finish it by then, forget it."
Hearing this, the receptionist patted her chest in relief.
Thank goodness—
if she missed out on a powerhouse like this, she'd probably get fired!
"Please wait just a moment!"
In the next second, she practically turned into a happy little bunny, hopping toward the office area.
Instance Management Center — Director's Office
Marov stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, leisurely savoring a bottle of red wine sent from the Minsk Estate.
"Another wonderful day. Praise be—"
"Director Marov, something huge has happened!!!"
Bang!
The office door was slammed open.
Marov jumped in shock, spilling red wine all over his trousers.
"Elimont, have you lost your mind?!"
The receptionist gave an apologetic smile and then rattled off her report at lightning speed.
"Director Marov, Mr. Caelan broke the B-Rank Molten Inferno record and obtained an SSS rating. According to the center's regulations—"
Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly realized that Marov was gone.
Eh? Where did Director Marov go?!
"Greetings, greetings! You must be the esteemed Mr. Caelan, correct?"
Marov tipped his hat with one hand and bowed slightly toward Caelan.
Caelan nodded and went straight to the point.
"I'm in a hurry to farm Instances. I need your fast lane."
Marov froze for a moment.
"Mr. Caelan, please don't rush. The VIP fast lane requires prior application, and—"
"Hey—Mr. Caelan, don't go! We can still discuss this!"
...
As the head of the Instance Management Center in Mylanne City,
Marov possessed extremely keen judgment.
After just three seconds of thought, he gritted his teeth and made a decision.
"Mr. Caelan, please tell me your requirements. I will personally escort you to the Instance entrances."
Caelan was reasonably satisfied with Marov's service and nodded.
"I'm clearing all B-Rank Instances in the city. You plan the route—I'm short on time."
???
...
[Instance: B-Rank Frostwinter Castle — Cleared. Overall Rating: SSS. Clear Time: 3 minutes 28 seconds]
[Instance: B-Rank Land of Shadow — Cleared. Overall Rating: SSS. Clear Time: 5 minutes 13 seconds]
[Instance: B-Rank Calanted Treasure Vault — Cleared. Overall Rating: SSS. Clear Time: 2 minutes 54 seconds]
[Congratulations! Level increased to 26… 28… 30!]
...
In just one short hour,
Caelan cleared every B-Rank Instance in Mylanne City.
And every single one achieved an SSS rating—each record shattered.
What surprised Caelan, however, was that even after so many Instances, his level had only reached 30.
The experience required from levels 26 to 30 was easily fifty times more than before!
As expected, leveling became harder and harder the further one progressed.
Still, his leveling speed was a bit too slow—he needed to accelerate it.
Marov followed behind Caelan like a puppet on strings, his face blank as he mechanically headed toward the next Instance location.
By the great Miracle Goddess Rake above,
just where did this monster named Caelan come from?
Looking through the entire history of humanity,
there seemed to have never been a being this outrageous!
"Marov, where are you going?"
Hearing Caelan's voice, Marov came to an abrupt stop.
Only then did he realize that there were no more B-Rank Instances left in Mylanne City.
"C-Caelan sir, what can I do for you?"
Caelan casually tossed over a spatial ring.
"One-click auction sale. I remember you offer that service."
Marov's spirits instantly lifted.
Wasn't this exactly what he'd been waiting for?
"Esteemed Mr. Caelan, please wait just a moment."
"A total of 270 million gold coins, but we'll need to deduct a 10 million handling fee. If you think the fee is too high, we can discuss—"
Caelan shook his head directly.
"I'm in a hurry. Just give me the money."
Faced with such a generous client, Marov worked at maximum efficiency.
In just five minutes, all the gold coins were transferred to Caelan.
Looking at the mountain-like pile of gold coins in his storage space, Caelan wasted no time and opened his skill panel.
Active Skill [Blink Step]
[Current Level: Lv.1]
Originally, this skill was just a simple teleport.
Its range wasn't very far.
Even at Lv.100, the teleport distance was only within 1,000 meters.
"[Infinite Ascension], let's go!"
In the blink of an eye, a golden mountain worth one hundred million gold coins vanished.
The level of [Blink Step] shot straight up to Lv.99999, undergoing dimensional ascension into [Flashstep].
The next moment, Caelan's skill panel underwent earth-shattering changes.
When he saw the effects of [Flashstep], he couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
Strong—
it was absurdly strong!
The teleport range had expanded to 100 kilometers, a full hundredfold increase!
What shocked Caelan even more was that [Flashstep] could even perform group teleportation, and it also granted a damage buff!
After using [Flashstep], all subsequent attacks would deal AOE damage and ignore all defenses!
Wait… could this be used like that?
A bold idea suddenly formed in Caelan's mind.
If he lured a group of mobs and activated [Flashstep] at the instant they attacked him, bringing them along—
As long as he chose the angle correctly, all of their attacks would land on the BOSS instead,
and with defense-ignoring damage!
So this was the true way to use [Flashstep]!