The golden-haired monkey, ahem, that young woman, was standing with her friends before a cavern entrance. Their expressions were tense and hesitant.

​It was then that Neo made his move.

​Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...

​All six Spirit Blades crisscrossed through the air, quickly surrounding the fiery-haired girl. The group instantly went on high alert.

​"Zestia, watch out!"

​The young woman, now revealed as Zestia, looked a little surprised; she could sense the lethal sharpness of those Spirit-Iron blades. Then, a laugh echoed from behind them.

​"Why don’t you run now, witch?"

​She and her friends turned around only to see a black-haired guy accompanied by a slime. The guy was wearing nothing but a bright yellow raincoat with bold letters on the back that read: "Slime Sightseeing Tours."

​"Hahaha!" Everyone instantly burst out laughing.

​Even Zestia smiled, seeing the state he was in after she had stolen his clothes.

​"Nice outfit you’ve got there, Mr. Pervert," she teased, laughing heartily.

Neo stepped forward as if to slap her, but his hand paused in mid-air. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

​Zestia’s eyes narrowed into a mocking glare. "Why did you pause? Got soft because I’m a woman?"

​No sooner had she spoken than a resounding sound echoed.

​Paah!

​The slap was loud and clear. A distinct palm print appeared on the girl’s soft cheek. This sudden action caught everyone off guard; for a moment, no one spoke, they only stared in shock.

​Neo then said, "If I were a pervert, that slap would have landed on your ass. Now, give me back my clothes, or I’ll tell everyone how I saw you naked while you were showering in the open because of your secret fetish."

​Zestia’s lips trembled. She remained silent, terrified of her "secrets" being exposed.

As such, while one hand covered her reddened cheek, she reached out with the other and summoned his suit from her wristband, which was undeniably a high-end spatial gadget.

​Neo snatched his suit, noting the existence of such an expensive device. A spatial gadget like that didn’t belong to just anyone; he realized her family must be incredibly wealthy.

Nonetheless, this didn’t scare him, nor did her seductive beauty make him go soft. His goal was clear.

Woosh!

​He turned to leave, but suddenly, a movement behind him caught his senses.

When the bear had sneaked up on him, his [ Musical Blade-Storm ] physique hadn’t been active. This time, however, it was fully engaged. Because of that, he caught every vibration and every ripple in the air.

​

His blades moved out before he even turned.

​Clang! Clang! Clang!

​The noise was sharp and metallic.

​He had expected someone from her group, possibly a boyfriend, to strike him out of anger, but he was wrong.

The figure that had attacked wasn’t human at all. It looked like one of those creepy sloths, but its body was completely metallic.

Despite being made of metal, its movements weren’t robotic at all. They were fluid and effortless. It felt like a raw, metallic lifeform rather than a synthetic AI.

​From the looks of it, the creature hadn’t come from Zestia’s side. it had emerged from the cave entrance beside them. Even her friends became tense upon seeing it appear.

​"Here it is, crew! Attack!" Zestia suddenly shouted with mad fervor, completely forgetting the drama between her and Neo.

It seemed this Metallic Sloth was far more important than her humiliation.

​Her friends temporarily forgot about Neo as well. They immediately unleashed a barrage of magic attacks using their gadgets.

​Puff! Puff! Puff!

​The attacks landed on the metallic creature, but nothing happened. The strikes, which were powerful enough to kill a regular human a thousand times over, barely left a scratch on its surface.

​"Ku... Kuu... Kuuu..."

​The metallic sloth let out a strange, eerie shriek before disappearing back into the cave.

Zestia followed up with an elegant, massive leap, aiming a final strike with her radiant golden sword.

​"Die!"

​She unleashed a energy slash directly onto its back, hitting the creature with full cosmic force.

​But—

​CLANG!

​The impact rattled her very bones from the sheer backlash, and only a faint scratch appeared on the metallic surface.

After that, the sloth vanished, leaving behind a trembling Zestia.

Everyone turned quiet as if they had lost something valuable.

"What was that?" Neo suddenly asked, quietly terrified by the creature’s power.

Zestia first looked at her crew, exchanging a knowing glance.

Then she turned to Neo and said, "That is what we call a Pureblooded Titanium Sloth. It’s an incredibly rare species that we have been chasing through the Interstellar for months. It is said that those who acquire its core are guaranteed to gain a Unique Talent of their own. And as a Beyonder you should know how rare and powerful Unique Talents are. One could easily be sold for 1,000 UC."

​"1,000 UC?!" Neo muttered, shocked by the figure. That amount equaled to 100 billion in Federal Dollars.

​Zestia could feel the level of shock he was experiencing.

"Yes. That’s why we’ve been chasing it for months. However, this thing keeps slipping away again and again. If we don’t catch it before the other ’big fish’ arrive, everything we’ve done until now will be in vain."

​"So, why are you telling me this?" Neo asked, confused. "Don’t you think I can reveal it to others?"

​The other seven members of Zestia’s crew turned murderous when they thought Neo was threatening them, but surprisingly, Zestia remained calm.

Her emerald-green eyes bored into Neo’s dark pupils.

​"I don’t know who you are, but I am sure of one thing: you wouldn’t do that. You are self-centered, a pervert, and a hooligan, but there is a spark in you that no one else has. You want to know the mysteries of this boundless universe. So, I invite you: join us and become a part of the Valhalla Crew. You will get your share, I promise."

​After hearing the offer, Neo looked at the cavern entrance, which now felt like a gateway to a well of wealth and possibly more power.

Slowly, he walked to the spot where Zestia had struck the Titanium Sloth. He looked down at the scratched titanium powder, his heart hammering in his chest.

With careful hands, he gathered the rare powder and stored it inside the pocket of his suit.

​Seeing this, Zestia and her teammates felt as though Neo was being extremely valiant, performing some kind of solemn ritual before diving into the death battle.

Their respect for him increased significantly.

He is such a manly man, they thought.

​"So, when are we going in?" Zestia asked, stepping forward. "We are all willing to follow you, Mr. Pervert."

​Neo turned to her with a puzzled expression.

"Who said I’m going in? And why the fuck would I risk my life for a bunch of nobodies?"

​Neo’s words shocked the Valhalla Crew so much that their jaws nearly hit the ground.

Where was his integrity?

Where was his heroic soul?

What was that drama with picking up the "ashes" of his enemies and staring so intently into the cave as if ready to dive into a death battle?