Early February...

A month flew by since the monster invasion.

Apparently, that monsters army had gathered up outside of Berrystone. Like a dagger, they went right for the sanctuary.

In their march, they left a long trail behind. 5 blocks wide. Tens of miles long. It's like a tornado had passed by, leaving a path of debris and ruins.

This was certainly a tragedy. But thankfully, the sanctuary suffered barely any casualties.

Jeff attended the funeral of the security agents squad. Then, life was back to normal.

People who lost their homes relocated. There were plenty of empty buildings in this area anyways. Alice went back to running her restaurant. Jeff went back to hunting down monsters.

Ever since reaching Sage-tier, Jeff's attribute growth had slowed down. Just like normal MMORPG games, higher levels meant harder level-ups, especially in the case of killing low-level monsters.

Nowadays, even S-rank monsters could only contribute 0.2% to 0.3% to Jeff's attribute growth. But hey, Jeff was not complaining. He could still gain new abilities for slaying new monsters.

However, if Jeff wanted another power spike, he'd need to slay another high-rank monster, like Lord Trample.

Holding a big black umbrella over his head, Jeff walked down this path of ruins.

Little puddles and ponds had formed on this broken road. Streams of muddy rain water flowed down the street.

In this silent foggy world, only the sound of raindrops and wet footsteps could be heard.

Looking to the side, there were heaps of cement blocks and rusting steel rebar. Further out, there was only the fog. Also, perhaps some visitors.

Jeff fixed his crisp business suit a little. Jeff preferred comfort and casual. However, the sanctuary insisted on giving him this work uniform. 'Public image' they said. Bala bala. He's the face of the sanctuary now. A trump card hunter. Bala bala. Also a pay raise. Royalty fees. Equipment perks. Higher security clearance...

What could Jeff say. He did look pretty good in this outfit after all. And at his level, the weather condition didn't really bother him anymore.

Jeff huffed out a cloud of breath. "Still making up your mind?"

"My patience is limited." Jeff's voice echoed down the ruins.

One after another, fellas in battlesuits jumped out the debris. There were 7 of them. All S-ranks. As expected, it's the sanctuary smite squad.

There was an update on their outfits. Just a month ago, these guys were wearing medieval styled knight armors. Now, they were in futuristic-looking battlesuits. Kept the same colors as their old armors. Thickened plates of armor. Helmets with large visors at the front.

These guys surrounded Jeff with crossed arms.

Jeff looked around with a raised brow. He could sense some hostility from these fellas.

"Jeff Norman..." It's a girl holding a scepter.

"I'm Jeff Norman. What's up." Jeff nodded.

"Are you done considering? To be honest, it's not a hard choice. I don't get why it's taking so long for you." It's a tough-looking dude speaking.

"You guys are serious." Jeff raised his brows.

"Hand over your glow-tier dagger. Or we will have to grab it from you." A smaller dude put on a menacing smile.

"A tactical-level weapon cannot be in the hands of a mere hunter." Another dude raised his chin at Jeff.

Standing on a pile of debris, the dude looked down at Jeff. "The potential risks and dangers attached are too high."

"Huh." Jeff sighed. "Wait. Are you discriminating against my career?"

These guys chuckled maliciously. One after another, they began to slowly draw out their weapons.

This was to build mental pressure on Jeff? Maybe? Jeff couldn't be certain.

What could Jeff say...

'So weak. Yet so arrogant.'

Well. Arrogance. This was the general vibe given off by the entire Sanctuary task force.

Being top-notch S-ranks, in terms of battle prowess, these guys sat at the top 0.001% of the population.

As a result, these guys were even more arrogant than normal task force members.

Sure, they got into the most elite combat force in Berrystone. And sure, it's ok to be proud of themselves for this. And sure... Uh. Maybe sure. In this foggy no men's land, it's ok to bully low-rank hunters, maybe. Somewhat...

'Just because I'm a hunter, they think I'm weaker? Or inferior?' Jeff cracked his neck. "Let me guess, you guys have never seen me fight seriously before..."

The Smite squad froze in surprise for an instance.

"You want to fight us?" Someone chuckled.

"Just because he is an SS-rank, this man thinks he stands a chance." Another dude laughed.

"Wait." Jeff shook his head with a smile. "You think I'm just an ol' normal hunter? So you can just push me around, and I won't fight back? Seriously now."

"Do you understand the consequences Norman." The girl squinted.

"Know your place hunter."

"Are you sure you want to become an enemy of the sanctuary."

"Alright. I'm done wasting time here. It's clear to me now. You guys know nothing. And clearly, it's not Atlas sending you people here." Jeff sighed. "You know why? Because your boss knows the people he can mess with, and those who he cannot."

"That's some big words." One after another, these guys drew out their weapons.

"... Right." Jeff closed his umbrella. At the same time, Jeff stopped restraining his mana.

In an instance, the air surrounding Jeff felt thick and dense like a gel. The falling rain droplets came to a halt, becoming frozen in place.

"How..."

"Impossible..."

Gritting their teeth, these guys tried to move. Yet, it's as if there were tremendous weights pressed onto them now.

Yep. Half-way into sage-tier, as Jeff's mana interfered freely with the environment, this was the result.

Above here, the rain kept on falling. However, at about 10 meters up in air, the droplets slowed and came to a halt. Looking around, they were inside of a water dome now.

Staring at Jeff in disbelief, some smite members still wanted to point their weapons forward. Yet, they quickly gave up in the end. It's not that they had lost their strength. No.

They had lost the courage to do this. Fighting against the temptation to kneel was already a struggle. They couldn't. Just. Couldn't.

"What gave you people a sense that you could win? That you stood a chance? Your new armors?" Jeff looked around with a cold expression.

"You! Arrrgghh..." One guy kneeled down.

"Now. If I bring this matter to the keyholder, who do you think the keyholder will side with?"

"Weakness was never the primary roadblock to survival. Arrogance is." Jeff tapped the ground with his umbrella.

A blast wave bursted out from Jeff. It's like a silent artillery shell explosion.

The mud and debris under Jeff was blown into the air. In an instance, the ground near Jeff became dry.

The standstill rain droplets shot away like bullets, evaporating into the air. The smite squad shot into the surrounding debris like cannonballs.

The water dome exploded, making a splash noise as the water fell onto the ground.

Jeff opened his umbrella.

*Patta...* *Patta...*

After a brief moment, rain was falling down again.

[Mana Pulse]. An ability created by Jeff himself. Great for clearing out the small minions. However, this was basically useless against high-tier enemies.

As expected, one after another, the Smite members got up. They were drenched in mud now. Only lightly injured. But they had lost the will for battle.

Standing still in the rain, these guys looked like they were shell shocked.

"I know Atlas is not behind this. But you are his subordinates. Tell him, I need a satisfying answer."

Ignoring these guys, Jeff walked forward into the fog.