CHAPTER 140: THE COMPETITION BECOMES INTENSE!

Bunny’s chat instantly exploded with predictions.

[3 seconds max. Sir Broken’s gonna clap this guy]

[10 seconds tops]

[He’s gonna one-shot this clown]

[Nah, I’m giving Graves 15 seconds just because Sir Broken might toy with him]

[If Rynold’s smart, he’ll surrender before Gabriel even moves]

[Bro’s about to find out what a real monster is]

[5 seconds if he lets him swing first]

[I’m betting on 1 move, ez]

Bunny smirked at the scrolling flood of comments. "Alright, let’s see if you guys are right."

Of course, the Golden Dawn members weren’t aware of the chat, but they noticed how the Adventurer Guild squad was... relaxed. Not tense. Not worried. Just... waiting.

One of them, an otherworldler with a larger frame, was even casually chugging water with no care in the world.

Some of those who were more attentive frowned at this sight.

There was something off, but they couldn’t quite wrap their heads around it.

Gabriel calmly approached. He didn’t even bother to summon his greatsword.

"Cocky, huh," Reynold chuckled. He didn’t put his sword away though, as he was strictly a swordsman and greatly lacking in hand-to-hand combat.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Reynold grinned as he charged forward with a swift thrust aimed at Gabriel’s chest. His sword was fast—lightning quick, even—but not fast enough for Gabriel to miss.

Activating Iron Body, Gabriel’s left hand shot up and caught the blade mid-thrust. Metal screeched against his palm, sparks flying. Reynold’s eyes widened in shock.

"Wha—?!"

In that same moment, Gabriel’s right foot slid forward. With a single twist of his wrist, he yanked the sword off-balance. His palm slammed into Reynold’s chest with brutal force.

BAM!

The impact sent him flying back across the clearing, smashing into a tree so hard the bark exploded around him. He coughed violently, the sword clattering from his hand.

Silence.

Golden Dawn froze. The Adventurer Guild squad didn’t even look surprised—it was as if this was a normal day for them.

[Ding! You have defeated Rynold Graves. 200 Event Points transferred.]

[Current Guild Ranking]

1. Adventurer Guild — 1100 points

2. Olympus Guild — 999 points

3. Martial Palace — 970 points

Gabriel stepped forward, grabbed the fallen sword, and tossed it back. The blade landed point-first in the dirt beside Reynold’s head, as if expecting him to grab it and fight once more.

Guild members rushed to help him up, but his pride had taken a bigger hit than his body. His face was pale, his breath heavy. He opened his mouth to speak, but Gabriel’s cold electric eyes made the words die in his throat.

Due to how dangerously low his HP was from that single hit, he lost consciousness.

Bunny turned her camera back to herself, smirking. "Chat... one move. Pay up."

[HE DID IT IN ONE MOVE LOL]

[The disrespect is unreal]

[RIP Golden Dawn, you lived and died in the same day]

"Pathetic. We could’ve been hunting monsters instead of wasting time on these clowns," Ragnarok99 snorted.

The squad left the clearing moments later, leaving Golden Dawn behind in stunned silence.

"That... that was it?!" one of them blurted out, staring at their unconscious guild master.

"Graves didn’t even last three seconds..." another muttered in disbelief. "The rumours were right."

"Shut up. Reynold just slipped, that’s all," their tank growled, though it sounded more like an excuse than the truth.

"Come on, pick him up. Let’s camp somewhere for now," one of the top-ranking members suggested.

Golden Dawn was a relatively small guild, only recently created and funded by the Graves family. They didn’t have many powerful adventurers yet.

"If he wakes up, I’m sure Reynold won’t easily let this embarrassment go," the second-in-command muttered.

---

Meanwhile, Olympus Guild...

Far across the map, Olympus Guild was tearing through a massive monster zone.

Jack Arefield stood in the middle of an open field, golden armor shining under the sun. Around him, hundreds of monsters—ranging from large boar-beasts to armored trolls—charged in a frenzied wave.

"Clear the field," Jack ordered.

He raised his spear high once more.

Light gathered at the tip—brighter and brighter until it was almost blinding.

"Heaven’s Collapse!"

A deafening shockwave of golden energy erupted outward. The ground cracked and split as the blast consumed everything in a massive radius. Dust and light swallowed the monsters whole.

When the glow faded, the entire field was littered with corpses.

"Seems someone has stopped holding back," Aria smirked as she approached.

Jack smirked in return, lowering his spear as the last motes of golden light faded into the air.

"I couldn’t afford to hold back anymore," he replied, his gaze sweeping over the field, counting the heaps of dead monsters like numbers on a scoreboard. "The Adventurer Guild’s pulling too far ahead. If we don’t close the gap now, we can forget about first place."

"One more sweep like this, and we’ll be breathing down Scarlet’s neck," he added, eyes narrowing.

"Or you mean Gabriel Reyes?"

Jack didn’t respond immediately, but the faintest smile tugged at his lips. Gabriel’s name was well known by now—you couldn’t watch the rankings without hearing it. The so-called "dark horse" who soloed the Lake Serpent King...

"Both of them," he corrected, with a subtle smile that didn’t reach his golden eyes.

Meanwhile, in the main viewing plaza of Stellar City, spectators erupted at the ranking update. The projection above the square now displayed the top three guilds with large, glowing numbers:

1. Adventurer Guild — 1500 points

2. Olympus Guild — 1492 points

3. Martial Palace — 1400 points

In the broadcasting studio, Doodle and Noel were quick to jump on the momentum.

"Olympus is closing the gap!" Doodle announced. "Jack Arefield’s just unleashed another powerful skill, wiping an entire field of monsters in seconds! They’re not holding back anymore!"

Noel leaned forward, scanning both live feeds. "That means both top guilds are now in an all-out sprint. Whoever lands the next big score could decide today’s leader."

---

On the Martial Palace side...

The fight had grown fiercer, with Liang leading the charge alongside his childhood friend Evelyn.

Together, the duo were a force to be reckoned with, cutting through the horde like it was nothing.

"Push forward! Don’t give them room to regroup!" Liang shouted, his face set with complete focus—clearly going all out.

A massive armored rhino beast suddenly broke from the monster ranks and charged straight at him. Judging by its aura, it was well over level 50.

It had clearly sensed Liang was the biggest threat here.

The ground shook under its weight, tusks aimed straight for his chest. Liang didn’t even flinch. The moment it got close, he grabbed onto its horn with his bare hands.

The sheer force of the charge pushed him back a few steps, his boots digging furrows into the dirt, but his grip didn’t loosen. The beast roared and thrashed, but Liang’s eyes only narrowed.

"Too slow."

His muscles tensed, veins bulging along his forearms as he shifted his weight. With a twist, he used the beast’s own momentum to flip it over his shoulder.

BOOM!

The monster slammed into the ground so hard the earth cracked beneath it. Dust exploded upward.

Before it could recover, Liang stomped down on its neck, pinning it in place, and smashed a qi-coated fist into its face.

BANG!

The armored plating on its skull shattered instantly, blood spraying as its HP bar dropped to zero.

The players behind him erupted in cheers.

"Boss Liang is insane!"

"He just punched a level 50 to death!"

"Show-off," Evelyn smirked as she effortlessly cut down two wolf-type beasts.

"If I don’t move fast, Jack and that guy from the Adventurer Guild will take everything worth killing," Liang replied.

"Well, you don’t have to worry about finding monsters," Evelyn, the petite jade beauty, said.

"What do you mean?" Liang frowned.

"I guess you never paid attention to this event in the past, so you wouldn’t know," she explained. "From the second day onwards, the monster hordes not only increase in size but also in strength. Monsters rivaling Hero Ranks start to appear."

"You mean..." the vice leader’s eyes widened.

"Yes... monsters around level 100 or more," Evelyn concluded darkly.

---

Back in the forest...

The trees grew denser as Gabriel’s squad advanced. They encountered scattered monster packs—wolf-like beasts, trolls, even a couple of wandering goblins—but nothing that slowed them for more than five minutes.

"The monsters are increasing," Gabriel noted, seeing the numbers slowly tripling.

At first, they were still easy to deal with—quick takedowns, no serious injuries, and barely breaking a sweat. But the deeper they went, the more monsters poured from every direction.

Soon after, they encountered an army of goblins led by three red-skinned generals roughly the height of human men.

Gabriel didn’t need to use his Treasure on them to know they were trouble.

’From that aura alone, three of them should be at least level 100.’

***

AN: Thanks to all those who support Extraction Talent! I’m currently battling burn out hence the one Chapter.