For a moment, all five thugs were stunned.

Then the one who appeared to be their leader reacted first. "Get him!"

One of the thugs gritted his teeth. His skin rapidly darkened, turning pitch-black like iron. With a roar, he charged at Leon and threw a powerful punch.

Leon casually raised his left hand.

Thwack!

The fist slammed into his palm with a dull thud. And then it became motionless as if it had hit a brick wall.

The thug’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Leon slowly curled his fingers around the man’s fist.

"Arghhhhhh." The thug quivered in pain.

Crack!

Leon twisted it to the side. "You came at me without holding back." Leon’s voice was calm. "I don’t know why. But if you’re prepared to kill someone... You should be ready for the opposite as well."

The next moment, Leon drove his fist into the thug’s stomach.

Bam!

The man’s body bent like a bow. Then he was blasted backward like a cannonball, crashing through a table before slamming into the far wall.

The other four reacted instantly. One of them pulled out a gun and fired three shots at Leon. Another raised his hand and unleashed a barrage of fireballs.

The remaining two quickly spread out, positioning themselves at opposite corners to cut off any route of escape.

Leon remained calm. He dodged the bullets, weaved through the incoming fireballs, and closed the distance to one of the thugs in the corner. His right arm drew back. An explosive Ice Ball condensed in his palm.

Without slowing down, Leon slammed it directly into the thug’s face.

Boom!

The man’s body was hurled across the room like a rag doll, blood spraying from his mouth as he crashed into the wall.

Leon was already moving again. The Frost Blade emerged from the system panel as he shot forward like a shadow. He passed by the fire mage. A split second later, the man’s head rolled across the floor.

The gunman panicked and fired two more rounds.

Bang! Bang!

But Leon effortlessly avoided both bullets and crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. The Frost Blade thrust upward through the thug’s chin and burst out from the top of his skull.

The man’s body went limp instantly.

Only one thug remained.

The last goon staggered backward, terror filling his eyes. His pants were already soaked, and a foul stench spread through the room.

Leon slowly walked toward him, the blood-stained Frost Blade dragging lightly across the floor.

"Who sent you?"

"I-I..." the thug stammered.

A cold flash appeared.

Slash!

The man’s scream echoed through the room as one of his legs was severed cleanly.

Leon pointed the blade at his throat. "Next, it’ll be your head."

"N-No! Please!" the thug cried. "It was Sean! Sean Bowen sent us!

"Why does he want to kill me?" Leon asked.

"He didn’t originally want to kill you," the thug replied hurriedly. "We were only ordered to break a few of your limbs. But when we realized you were awakened, we didn’t want to risk leaving loose ends. The boss reacted instinctively."

"I see. But what exactly did I do to make someone want to break my limbs?"

The thug swallowed nervously. "You... you were seen with the girl Sean Bowen likes. He paid us to teach you a lesson. He said you were just some rich kid."

"A rich kid?" Leon frowned. "And what girl are you talking about?"

"The girl you went to school with today?"

Leon stared at him for a moment before realization dawned. "You mean Jenny? My sister?"

The thug froze. "Your sister?" His eyes widened in disbelief, as if his entire world had just collapsed. ’His sister? His fucking sister? Four of us died because that brain-dead couldn’t tell the difference between a sister and a girlfriend? If I survive this, I’m killing that idiot myself.’

Tears streamed down the thug’s face as he looked up at Leon. "Please... forgive me," he begged. "It was all a misunderstanding. A stupid big misunderstanding. Please..."

Leon fell silent. ’So it was all just a misunderstanding. Four of them are already dead. Should I let him go?’ For a brief moment, Leon considered it. But then another thought surfaced. ’What if I really had been an innocent guy pursuing Jenny? What if I wasn’t strong enough to defend myself? Wouldn’t I have ended up crippled? Stuck in a hospital bed for the rest of my life? Or worse... dead? These scumbags are a plague on society. If I let him go today, someone else might end up in my position tomorrow.’

Without another word, Leon swung his blade.

Schlk!

For a second, the thug froze. Disbelief filled his eyes. He couldn’t believe Leon had actually killed him.

"Y-You..." He slowly raised a trembling finger. "You’re... ruthless..." His body collapsed onto the floor.

Thud!

The Frost Blade vanished back into the system storage. "Ruthless, huh?" Leon muttered. A mocking smile appeared on his face. "You wanted to kill me, and that was fine. But when the tables turn, suddenly I’m the ruthless one?"

He shook his head. "What a load of crap." Turning around, Leon walked out of the abandoned building. ’Sean Bowen... I need to deal with him sooner or later. But not now. Let’s wait until after today’s mission. He seems to come from a powerful family. Dealing with him is bound to bring trouble.’

Soon, Leon arrived at college. The classes passed uneventfully. He focused entirely on his studies, as if the incident from a few hours ago had never happened.

After returning home, he enjoyed a hearty dinner with Jenny. He never mentioned Sean. Nor did he mention the five corpses lying in an abandoned building somewhere across the city.

Once dinner was over, Leon returned to his room and waited. The countdown on the system panel slowly ticked down.

[Mission Unlock countdown: 00:48:21]

[Mission Unlock countdown: 00:17:05]

[Mission Unlock countdown: 00:00:10]

[Mission Unlock countdown: 00:00:00]

The moment the timer reached zero, a new map appeared on the panel. Leon immediately left the house and followed the route shown by the system. After running for nearly two hours, he finally arrived at a quiet alleyway. Most of the surrounding buildings were abandoned.

Leon looked around. ’The map is definitely pointing here. But where’s the gate?’

Just then...

The space in front of him rippled. Like a stone dropped into still water, invisible waves spread through the air. Crimson mist began to emerge from nowhere. It swirled and gathered together, gradually forming a massive gate.

Even from several meters away, Leon could feel an intense wave of heat washing over him.

Leon took a deep breath. "Here I come. Rewards, be something good."

He stepped forward and entered.

The moment he appeared on the other side, a series of notifications flashed before his eyes.

[Host is being exposed to extreme heat.]

[Fire Resistance has increased slightly.]

[Fire Resistance: 0.19%]