Malrik spoke, and Zhisse eagerly agreed—they seemed like old friends as if they had known each other for years.

    In the distance, Caleb watched the scene unfold, paralyzed with fear.

    He had no idea what that talking skeleton was.

    He had no idea what that giant spider was.

    But he knew one thing for certain—Noan had summoned those monsters.

    Their power was terrifying.

    The moment they appeared, they had completely subdued Austin.

    Killing Austin and his monster would have been one thing, but controlling them? That was far more difficult.

    And yet, the skeleton and the spider had done it effortlessly.

    What did that mean?

    It meant that Caleb was nothing more than a clown, dancing around like a fool.

    At this moment, Caleb no longer wondered why Noan was so powerful.

    He only felt regret.

    Yes—regret so overwhelming that he wanted to go back in time and slap himself.

    Why had he chosen to oppose Noan?

    Why had he done things that made others despise Noan, pushing Noan and himself to opposite sides?

    If only he had stayed silent.

    If only he had remained Noan''s friend.

    Perhaps he would be under Noan''s protection right now, enjoying safety and food.

    Perhaps he could have even used Noan''s power to become the ruler of this place.

    Even if he couldn''t be king, he wouldn''t have to fear being bullied or betrayed.

    But in this world, there was no medicine for regret.

    And now, it was too late.

    Caleb turned to leave—

    —but before he could take a step, a massive spider appeared before him, its presence unnoticed until this moment.

    Krit!

    Zhisse gazed at Caleb with an innocent expression.

    But to Caleb, that face was nothing short of a nightmare—a monster from a horror film.

    "Ack! You—AAA!!!"

    Caleb screamed.

    But his scream was swiftly silenced—

    —because he was wrapped in silk and transformed into a cocoon in the blink of an eye.

    ...

    Caleb hurriedly shook his head and said, "No! No! I just came to watch, I had no intention of doing anything."

    "I swear, I only came here to watch."

    Caleb was afraid that Noan would think he had come with the same purpose as Austin, so he immediately explained himself.

    Austin was startled when he saw Caleb so terrified. He never thought that someone who had once opposed him and stood against him would now act so cowardly in front of an F-rank lord like this.

    However, the flames of fury had already consumed his mind. Because of that, he didn''t think about the Skeleton and the giant spider from earlier—he only wanted to kill Noan.

    Noan looked at Caleb, then sighed and said, "I can let you go, but you must offer something of equal value to your life."

    "This..." Caleb furrowed his brows, anxious, unsure of what he could use to exchange for his life.

    He deeply regretted his decision. Why had he chosen to come here just to watch Austin being tormented by Noan?

    "I... I can be your subordinate and obey your every command. I swear... I will never betray you," Caleb quickly offered.

    "Hahahaha..." Austin, standing nearby, immediately laughed and said, "Caleb, you are such a coward. That bastard only relies on a few magical items to intimidate us."

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    "If we join forces, I''m certain we can easily kill that brat."

    Caleb broke into a cold sweat, feeling even more terrified, and immediately distanced himself from Austin.

    Austin ignored Caleb. He didn''t believe that Noan could truly possess those two terrifying monsters.

    One must know that the System''s rules cannot be broken.

    This area was meant for E-rank and F-rank lords only, which meant the highest-ranked monsters they could summon would be at most D-Peak rank.

    But a monster that could so easily defeat his Lava Lizard could not possibly be D-Peak rank—it had most likely reached rank C.

    He refused to believe that an F-rank lord like Noan could summon a C-rank monster.

    That had never happened before, neither in the past nor the foreseeable future.

    Austin assumed that Noan must have some magical item that temporarily allowed him to wield the power of higher-ranked monsters.

    Of course, such items were usually for one-time use only.

    That was why Austin remained confident.

    Noan, of course, could guess what Austin was thinking just by looking at his expression.

    "You have one chance to explain," Noan said softly, emotionlessly.

    "Explain?!" Austin spat on the ground and then shouted, "Goddammit! You think that—"

    BAM!

    Before Austin could finish his sentence, a shield-wielding Skeleton appeared, immediately grabbing his head and slamming it into the ground—right where he had just spat.

    It didn''t stop there. The Skeleton Shielder then rubbed Austin''s face against the spit-covered spot.

    "AA!! Let go of me! Damn it! AAA!!!" Austin screamed in agony.

    After a while, when the area was clean, the Skeleton Shielder finally released Austin.

    But by then, his face was covered in blood from the excessive friction against the ground. The fresh blood dripping from his face made him look even more miserable.

    "I don''t have time for your nonsense. You have one more chance."

    Austin shuddered. He looked at the Skeleton Shielder, then at Caleb, kneeling on the ground, and finally, at Noan.

    At that moment, his mind had cleared significantly, and he realized that from the very beginning, he had been wrong.