CHAPTER 131: AFTERSHOCK

The members of the Holy Church, Crimson Star, Martial Palace, and the Adventurer Guild were frozen in shock, watching Gabriel casually sitting on the head of the Serpent King while scrolling through his notifications.

Of course, he noticed their presence, but he couldn’t care less.

"What... what just happened here?!" Felix, the vice leader of the White Flame Guild, roared, his voice cracking with disbelief.

"Sir, s-sir! It seems... someone from the Adventurer Guild already killed the boss," one of his subordinates stammered, eyes still glued to the distant figure of Gabriel.

Indeed, Felix had an idea of what happened.

But now that he realized his eyes weren’t deceiving him, he was completely shocked and at a loss for words.

In this world, although inhabitants couldn’t see each other’s levels, they could still gauge strength based on the aura their tech gave off.

Felix could swear on his life that the red-haired youth hadn’t even completed his first advancement quest—and yet somehow, he defeated a monster over 40 levels higher than him!

How was that possible?

The aftermath of the Lake Serpent King’s death sent ripples across the entire Realm of Ascendency—both in-game and in the real world.

In the kingdom’s viewing center, everyone was on their feet, screaming and laughing.

The commentator finally recovered her voice from the shock.

"Th-That was... that was unbelievable! Sir Broken has defeated a Level 95 Boss Monster by himself! This is history in the making—the Adventurer Guild is now in first position!"

"Hahahaha, I told you my sword is durable!" Korran laughed and took advantage of the opportunity to advertise his business.

He puffed out his chest and smacked the table. "If you want a weapon like that, come see me at my smithy! Discounts for today only!"

"How much for that sword?!"

"I’LL PAY 10,000 Valerian dollars—NO, TWENTY!"

"NAME YOUR PRICE, BLACKSMITH!"

"I’ll pay a fortune for it!"

Seeing the flood of people wanting to patronize him, Korran’s grin widened.

Gabriel had indirectly advertised his craft to the entire kingdom, and Korran swore to reward him later.

Meanwhile, in the distance, Damian smiled while stroking his chin.

"It seems I need to make a few changes to that deal of ours." He smirked. "Someone like him needs all the resources he can get."

After the fall of the Serpent King, the rankings were once again updated.

---

[BOSS: Lake Serpent King has been defeated]

[Awarding 80 Event Points to the Adventurer Guild]

[Updated Event Rankings..]

1. Adventurer Guild – 400 Points

2. Olympus Guild – 349 Points

3. Martial Palace – 300 Points

4. Holy Church – 250 Points

---

Back in the studio, the commentators were just as shocked.

Noel gasped, at a loss for words. "That was the most intense fight I’ve seen!" she admitted, wiping a droplet of sweat from her temple.

Doodle slammed his hands on the table, his entire chubby body trembling with excitement. "It’s official! The Adventurer Guild has just overtaken Olympus for the top spot!"

"Sir Broken did it again!! That man soloed a boss and flipped the entire rankings!! He soloed a boss two freaking times while being under-leveled!"

"This still doesn’t make sense. The only way for something like this to happen is if Sir Broken has base stats of at least 500—equivalent to a Hero Rank. If not, there should be virtually no way for him to defeat a monster of that caliber," Noel mumbled to herself.

"Never try to comprehend him, just believe whatever you see!" Doodle laughed, taking the opportunity to gloat in Noel’s face. "There’s a reason he included ’Broken’ in his name! Deal with it—the Adventurer Guild will win this competition!"

---

Meanwhile, stream chats across the world exploded.

Of course, the most heated place was the game’s official forum:

HypeMachine77: OMGGGG HE CLUTCHED!!

Mithrash: THIS IS WHY HE’S THE GOAT!!

Thejadebooty: I don’t care what guild I’m in—put me under Broken!

JosephDick: Olympus just got dethroned LIVE!!!

Chels1797: SOMEONE CHECK ON THE MARTIAL PALACE GUY LMAO

MathewOliver: He solo’d a Level 95 boss... how do you beat that?

Darkbow74: My grandma watched the fight and cried! She thought he was real LMAO.

DomJag: I still don’t believe what I saw

Even Bunny’s livestream was overrun. She blinked as her viewer count tripled in seconds, with thousands commenting at once—so fast that she could barely read them.

---

Back on the battlefield, guild members began to descend cautiously, stepping around the crater with awe and a tinge of jealousy.

Fortunately, Alice, Sophie, and a few members of the Adventurer Guild had arrived at the scene as well.

They quickly approached Gabriel and stood around him to make sure no one tried anything funny now that he was weak.

"Alright, you lots can get the hell out of here!" Alice snapped at the group of players inching close to the monster. They all flinched back, frightened.

Suddenly, an announcement echoed through the skies:

---

"The first day of the Inter-Guild Display Event has officially come to an end! All participating guilds are advised to rest, as the second phase of the event will begin soon."

---

Upon hearing the announcement, one after the other, everyone began to leave the scene—until only the Adventurer Guild was left.

Some time later, Scarlet, Anna, Old Man Khrome, and the rest of the adventurers came to the lakeside.

Unlike the others, when Scarlet saw the carcass of the Lake Serpent King at the edge of the lake, she wasn’t shocked.

It only proved to her that Gabriel hadn’t been lucky when he killed the Ant Queen.

Shifting her gaze to her subordinate, Scarlet ordered, "Set up the tents. We’ll camp here for the night!"

"Yes, Vice Leader!" the members echoed and immediately went to work.

---

Meanwhile, the air distorted, and Lilith Valentine appeared—her eyes locked on Gabriel’s distant figure, then shifted toward Scarlet.

A cruel smile appeared on her face. Now that the event was temporarily halted and everyone was weakened...

It was the right time to strike!

***

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