Henry and the others quickly explained everything. How the gate had suddenly appeared in the middle of the road. How Leon had saved the little boy inside the restaurant. How he had walked out alone and fought the wolf-headed beasts by himself.

And finally...

How he had entered the gate.

"Is he stupid?" Jessica snapped. Her words stunned everyone. "This gate is radiating an extremely powerful aura. There are probably hundreds of monsters waiting for him inside." She looked toward the gate with a grim expression. "Walking in there alone is no different from committing suicide."

"What?" Henry’s face turned pale. He hurried forward. "Miss, please save my friend. He has already suffered enough in his life. He only awakened recently. I don’t want him to die like this." Tears streamed down his face.

Many others also felt sympathy for Leon. After all, if not for him, many of them would already be dead.

Jessica rubbed her forehead in helplessness. She quickly pulled out her phone. "Why isn’t the squad here yet?" she demanded.

After hearing the response, her expression darkened. "I don’t care what you have to do. You have one minute left. Get here immediately."

She ended the call and stuffed the phone back into her pocket.

Then she looked at Henry. "You said he awakened recently?"

"Y-Yes."

Jessica pointed toward the monster corpses scattered across the street.

"And he killed all six of those by himself?"

Henry nodded repeatedly. "Yes."

Jessica frowned. "Those were D-Class monsters. You do know that, right?"

"I do." Henry wiped away his tears. "But I don’t know any details, Miss. I only know he awakened recently."

Jessica stared at him for a few moments before asking, "What is your friend’s name?"

"Leon. Leon Bale."

Jessica froze. "What?"

Disbelief filled her face. ’Leon Bale?’

The name immediately reminded her of the young man who had visited the Hunter Association yesterday.

’This boy is his classmate. That means Leon really is from Delvan. Then he wasn’t from Summitas Valley after all? But if he truly awakened only recently... How is he already strong enough to kill multiple D-Class monsters?’ No matter how she looked at it, nothing made sense.

Jessica slowly turned her gaze toward the gate. A complicated expression appeared on her face. ’I just hope the squad arrives in time.’

Meanwhile, inside the gate...

Leon continued his relentless slaughter.

Suddenly, a massive ice ball materialized above his left palm. It split into five smaller ice balls next, and then...

Whoosh!

They shot toward different targets.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions erupted one after another. Chunks of flesh and ice scattered through the air.

’I almost forgot.’

Leon dodged a claw swipe and severed the attacker’s head in the same motion. ’I still need to comprehend my second spell.’

His body weaved effortlessly through the battlefield. His right hand wielded the Frost Blade with deadly precision. His left hand continuously launched explosive ice balls.

The horde that had seemed overwhelming at first was gradually turning into a training ground.

A training ground soaked in blood.

Out of more than three hundred monsters...

Over one hundred had already fallen.

Just two weeks ago, Leon wouldn’t have dared face even a single one of them.

But now...

He moved through the battlefield like a reaper harvesting souls.

Schlk!

A head flew into the air.

Schlk!

A body split in half.

Schlk!

Another corpse crashed to the ground.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The ice balls continued to explode among the horde.

And with every monster that fell...

Leon’s Qi continued to rise.

His understanding of magic deepened, his mastery over the spell advancing at an astonishing speed.

Meanwhile, the boss still hadn’t moved.

It stood there silently, watching from afar. As if the massacre of hundreds of wolf-headed beasts meant absolutely nothing to it. As if those monsters were nothing more than disposable pawns.

Outside the gate...

Five minutes later, a coaster screeched to a halt in front of the restaurant.

The doors opened, and more than eight hunters quickly stepped out.

The man leading them immediately approached Jessica. He wore crimson combat armor beneath a black cloak. A massive battle hammer rested across his back, making him look imposing even among the other hunters.

"Miss President, we’re here."

Jessica nodded. "What’s your rank?"

"A-Class, mam."

"And the others?"

The hunter quickly replied, "I have two B-Class hunters, two C-Class hunters, and the rest are D-Class."

Jessica’s expression eased slightly.

"Good. That should be enough." She pointed toward the gate.

"A student entered the gate alone a few minutes ago. He awakened recently. Your mission is to stop the monsters from coming out and bring him back alive."

The hunter frowned. ’A recently awakened student had entered a gate alone?’ But he didn’t question the order. "Understood, mam."

He immediately turned around and started assigning positions to his team. Within moments, the group was ready for battle.

The A-Class hunter stepped forward.

"Let’s move."

The team approached the gate.

But...

The moment the leader’s foot touched its surface...

Zap!

Violent lightning exploded across the barrier. A blinding bolt shot out. The entire team was struck simultaneously.

Boom!

All of them were hurled backward. Several hunters crashed into parked vehicles, while others rolled across the ground.

Jessica’s expression froze. "Don’t tell me..." She whispered. "That it’s a trap gate."

Back inside the gate...

Claws whistled through the air. Leon bent backward and flipped over the attack.

The next moment, his left palm slammed onto the monster’s face.

Boom!

The beast’s head exploded instantly. Blood, shattered bone, and frozen chunks of flesh scattered in every direction.

A point-blank explosive ice ball.

More than one-third of the monsters still remained. Leon’s breathing had gradually become uneven from the nonstop battle.

Although he was cutting through the horde with frightening efficiency, he wasn’t invincible. His stamina was steadily being drained.

Another wolf-headed beast seized the opportunity and attacked from behind.

Its kick landed squarely on Leon’s back.

Bang!

Leon was sent skidding across the ground.

But even while sliding forward, his left hand stretched backward. Several ice balls condensed almost instantly.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

They shot toward the pursuing monster.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Its corpse plummeted onto the ground.

Leon’s eyes immediately locked onto the next approaching monster. He tightened his grip on the Frost Blade.

Just as he was about to charge again...

The creature that had been standing idle this whole time moved.