"Wait, Lord Vale!" Lora shouted, her voice cutting through the tense air as she rushed toward the group. "Please, dont kill them!"
Before Alice could strike, Lora had already reached the group, her eyes locking onto the middle-aged man in front of her.
"Alex… is that you?" Loras voice cracked with emotion as she recognized him.
The mans eyes widened in disbelief. "Lora! Youre alive!" His voice was thick with relief. "What happened to the city guard?"
Lora shook her head, her expression grim. She immediately turned and kneelt before Vale, her voice filled with reverence and urgency.
"Its a long story, Lord Vale." She looked up at him, her eyes pleading. "Alex… he was the guild master of Iron Wolf during the beta test. Im sure you remember the Iron Wolf Guild. The one that held off an 80-level boss for thirty minutes with their sheer physical power."
Vales expression shifted as he processed her words. His eyes narrowed, and then—a flicker of recognition sparked in his mind.
"Ah…" He muttered, his brow furrowing. "Youre that guy. The one with the unbreakable body. The one who made a name for himself in the beta."
Loras face relaxed slightly. She saw the hope in his eyes and quickly seized the moment.
"If we have the foundation of Iron Wolf, we can rely on Alexs power to take down that 80-level boss again." She bowed deeply, her voice filled with conviction. "You know what that means, Lord Vale."
Vales eyes widened. His voice trembled slightly. "It means… well have access to the entrance of the Divine Palace for thirty days."
He took a deep breath, his tone growing more intense. "Only our guild will be allowed in. And the boss inside… its drops are all top-tier gear."
The air around them seemed to thicken with the weight of those words.
"Yes, Lord Vale!" Loras voice rose, trembling with urgency and desperation. "I know they may seem suspicious to you now. But if you still believe in me, I swear on my life that they are completely trustworthy!"
Her voice grew louder, shaking with emotion. Vale thought for a moment, then finally spoke.
"Fine. If its Alex, Ill believe you. But I want you to hand over all your equipment. Ill keep them for ten days. If Im still alive by then, Ill return them to you."
The words hit like a hammer.
Lora, the purple-haired player, clenched her fists. Her eyes narrowed as she pointed at Vale, her voice dripping with contempt.
"What the hell? Why should I hand over my gear to you? You guys are a bunch of trash! Who the hell do you think you are?"
She spat on the ground.
"I used to be one of the top ten elites of the Iron Wolf Guild! My main character was 70th level! If I hadnt been forced into this game and had to start over from scratch, I couldve killed you with one finger!"
Alexs face turned red with fury. He slapped Louise across the face, his voice sharp and full of anger.
"You ungrateful brat! Who gave you the right to speak to Lord Vale like that?"
He turned to Alice, his expression one of fear and pleading, his eyes darting to Louise, silently begging her to calm down.
But Louise was young. She had never been treated this way before. She pushed Alex to the ground, her eyes burning with rage.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Ive never been hit by my father! You dare to slap me? This place is trash, Im not staying! Anna, come with me! Ill take you to a real guild!"
Without waiting for a response, she grabbed Anna by the arm and pulled her toward the forest.
Alice stepped forward, ready to follow, but Vale stopped her with a single glance.
"Let them go." His voice was cold, almost indifferent. "At their current level, any monster here could kill them in a heartbeat."
The forest swallowed them whole.
Alex let out a heavy sigh, his heart filled with unease. He had already noticed that Vale's guardian was at level 99. Not to mention the terrifying millions of stats on her body—just the level gap alone was enough to wipe them all out in an instant.
At this moment, the wisest choice was to follow Vale. Not only would they be under his protection, but they could also use his divine guardian to deal with those scum from the city guard.
At that moment, Alex turned to the two warriors behind him and said, "Give all your steel-grade equipment to the gentleman."
The two warriors looked at each other in confusion. "But if we give him our gear, what will we do? Our stats are already too low."
Alex clenched his fists and said, "No more nonsense. Take off your gear now. We are now fully devoted to this man!"
Vale raised a hand and said, "Alex, you don't need to call me 'Lord Vale.' You're older than me, just call me Vale."
Alex quickly shook his head and bowed, saying, "No, no, Lord Vale. I can't address you by your full name. It wouldn't show your dignity."
After saying that, Alex took off all his gear and gathered the remaining equipment, then traded it to Vale.
Vale opened his backpack and started counting. He found that the gear was just enough for Lora, Victoria, and himself.
"Good. These are all top-tier gear from before level 10. Wearing them should make fighting higher-level monsters much easier."
Then Vale said, "You two, put on these steel-grade sets and check your stats again."
Alex let out a heavy sigh, his heart filled with unease. He had already noticed that Vale's guardian was at level 99.
Not to mention the terrifying millions of stats on her body—just the level gap alone was enough to wipe them all out in an instant.
At this moment, the wisest choice was to follow Vale. Not only would they be under his protection, but they could also use his divine guardian to deal with those scum from the city guard.
At that moment, Alex turned to the two warriors behind him and said, "Give all your steel-grade equipment to the gentleman."
The two warriors looked at each other in confusion. "But if we give him our gear, what will we do? Our stats are already too low."
Alex clenched his fists and said, "No more nonsense. Take off your gear now. We are now fully devoted to this man!"
Vale raised a hand and said, "Alex, you don't need to call me 'Lord Vale.' You're older than me, just call me Vale."
Alex quickly shook his head and bowed, saying, "No, no, Lord Vale. I can't address you by your full name. It wouldn't show your dignity."
After saying that, Alex took off all his gear and gathered the remaining equipment, then traded it to Vale.
Vale opened his backpack and started counting. He found that the gear was just enough for Lora, Victoria, and himself.
"Good. These are all top-tier gear from before level 10. Wearing them should make fighting higher-level monsters much easier."
Then Vale said, "You two, put on these steel-grade sets and check your stats again."
"I didn't expect we could collect the steel-grade set so quickly. If it were back then, just me going out to farm bosses would've taken at least half a month to barely gather one set."
"Now, in just a few hours, we've already got them all. That's pretty good."
Vale put on the steel-grade set and once again checked his stats:
Game Nickname:Vale
Level:10
Strength:20
Constitution:15
Magic:7
Agility:155
Defense:30
Advanced Attribute: Dodge value: 1%
Identity:Honorable Chaotic Game Administrator
Special Attribute:Power of the Game Administrator([7]points).
Tips:Active skill. Each use requires consuming 10 Game Administrator Points. Due to your level limitation, you can claim a maximum of 20 Game Administrator Points per day.
"After seeing these stats, Vale's smile couldn't be hidden anymore." He said, his eyes shining with excitement. "155 points of agility? "
"That means I can reach 80 meters per second! That's terrifying. If this were the real world, it would be 179 miles per hour—like the top speed of a luxury car! In the game, with this speed, even a 40-level boss would be left far behind."
As he said that, Vale's gaze shifted again to Alice's pink, delicate lips. "Does that mean... doing that kind of thing can increase my agility? I wonder how much more agility I'll gain next time we fuse."
Alice, seeing the intense look in Vale's eyes, immediately turned red. "What are you staring at, master? It's embarrassing!"
Vale, upon hearing that, broke out in a cold sweat. Inside his mind, he muttered: "You're the one who's supposed to be shy? You're the wild one, not me."
"Next, let's test the power of this set. I think even without using curse magic, I can take on monsters in direct combat." Vale's eyes sparkled with confidence.