"Step aside!"

The wide street of the city of Kamar was bustling with people coming and going, and a group of individuals were racing through the crowd. The passersby turned around in surprise, watching them in astonishment.

"Agafon, this isn't the right way!"

Akane, clinging to Agafon's hair to avoid being thrown off, realized they were heading in the wrong direction and shouted in protest.

"No, it's the right way!"

Agafon's unique skill, Centripetal Path, pointed him in the direction of what he sought. And right now, that skill was guiding him in a direction away from the mansion.

"Babe, if you don’t run faster, you'll get left behind!"

"W-Wait for me!"

Despite sounding pathetic, Babe managed to pick up speed.

"Damn it! Why are you in such a hurry—what the hell is this!?"

When they burst into the adventurer's guild's first-floor lobby, Monique's eyes widened in shock at the scene before her.

"Damn it," Agafon cursed under his breath, scanning the room irritably. The usually crowded guild hall, filled with hundreds of adventurers, now held only a handful of people.

"This isn’t it. Wait… the training ground!"

Just as Agafon was about to head toward the passage to the training grounds—

"Hey! Beastmen over there, wait up."

"Huh?" Agafon turned back, visibly annoyed at being stopped. Standing near the entrance to the guild were five men. Judging by their armor, it was obvious they were either adventurers or mercenaries, though Agafon guessed they were likely adventurers based on their location. What puzzled him was why they had called out to him.

"We're with 'Gluttonous Zeromut'."

"You dumb beasts have at least heard of that name, haven’t you?"

The men smirked, looking at Agafon’s group with disdain.

"A stinking beastman and a dwarf? And that pig-faced guy over there isn’t an orc, is he? What kind of party is this? You’ve got to be kidding me!"

"Look, they’ve even got a pixie."

"No way, ha! Wait… are these guys...?"

The men exchanged suspicious glances, still keeping their eyes on Agafon and his companions.

"Are you guys from Nameless?"

"What if we are?" Agafon responded coldly.

"Heh... now this is rich! A party full of beastmen!"

From the start, the men had been hurling racial slurs at Agafon and his team, mocking them.

"We were at the brothel and ended up oversleeping. What’s your leader’s name again?"

"Yuva, or was it something like Yu? Weird name."

"Yeah, that’s the one. Everyone keeps talking about how strong he is, so we figured we’d come all the way from Hameln to Udon just to see what he’s made of."

"Though, by now, he’s probably been killed by Idio."

"Idio doesn’t even need to bother. I bet someone from Gluttonous Zeromut already took him out."

"Man, I wish I could have seen it. That brat Yu groveling and begging for his life."

A grinding sound came from Agafon’s body as his muscles swelled, and his armor strained against the force.

"Uh-oh, did we make him mad?"

"Oh, I’m so scared! I might just wet myself!"

The men burst into laughter, pointing at Agafon mockingly.

"What’s with that look?"

"Got a problem? How about a little contest of strength?"

"Yeah, let’s see if a beastman can beat a human in a show of strength."

"I’ll have you know, I’ve never lost a strength contest to a beastman in my life!"

The man wasn’t bluffing. He had honed his body over the years and continued to train, unlike many beastmen who relied solely on their natural strength. While there might be a natural advantage due to racial traits, those who don’t train become dull, and in a contest of raw strength, the result could go either way.

"Agafon, remember, no fighting inside the guild."

Monique, sensing the growing tension, grabbed Agafon’s arm and reminded him.

"I know."

Agafon spoke calmly, but Monique didn’t miss the sight of his fur standing on end. Agafon wasn’t angry because he was insulted; he was furious because they had insulted his leader, Yu, and his comrades. And he wasn’t the only one enraged—Akane, who had been quiet until now, was brimming with killing intent, ready to unleash her magic at any moment. Even Babe was watching anxiously.

"What’s the matter? You’re not just a big guy with nothing to back it up, are you?"

The man who had challenged Agafon lightly slapped his cheek in a provocative manner.

"Your mom’s probably crying somewhere, isn’t she? Oh, wait, with that thin beastman blood, she’s probably a whore, and you don’t even know who your father is, huh?"

This time, Monique lost her composure and lunged at the man, but Agafon stopped her with an outstretched hand.

"Are you done? Can we go now?"

The men, unsatisfied with Agafon’s lack of response, decided to take things a step further.

"Hold up!"

Before Agafon could turn away, a fist landed on his face.

"Hahaha! You can’t let your guard down, adventurer!"

"The fact that you didn’t get knocked out is impressive, but what’s wrong?"

The man who punched Agafon seemed confused, though his companions noticed something was off.

"Hey, what’s up?"

"It’s nothing," the man grumbled.

In that instant, Agafon had activated his skill Combat Mode, reinforcing his body. His already powerful beastman physique had been further enhanced, and as a result, the man’s punch had hurt only himself.

"Is that enough for you?"

Blood dripped from Agafon’s nose, but he remained calm, while the men who had provoked him began to lose their tempers.

"Don’t just walk away, damn it!"

Refusing to let Agafon leave, the man grabbed both of his hands, locking them in a test of strength.

"Heh, you’re finished now. No one’s ever beaten me like this!"

The man applied pressure, trying to break Agafon’s arms.

"Do it! Break both of his arms!"

"Make that beastman understand his place!"

The others from Gluttonous Zeromut cheered him on.

"Persistent, aren’t you?"

"Let’s see how long that calm attitude lasts."

The sound of bones creaking could be heard, though it wasn’t clear from whose side. The man, red-faced and breathing heavily, strained with all his might, but Agafon remained calm. In fact, Akane, who was sitting on Agafon’s shoulder, was more excited than he was, shouting, "Take him down!"

"Damn it! What’s going on!?"

No matter how hard the man tried, he couldn’t break Agafon’s arms. The man had underestimated Agafon, assuming all beastmen were lazy and relied solely on their natural strength. But Agafon was a different breed, one who trained diligently every day. Against such an opponent, this man didn’t stand a chance.

"I’ll kill you! I swear I’ll kill you!"

"You don’t have to keep repeating it; I got the message."

"After you, I’ll take care of that ugly woman and the orc guy! As for that annoying little pixie on your head, I’ll tear off her wings—"

Bam!

Agafon, who had remained calm until now, suddenly headbutted the man. With the strength of a beastman’s thick skull, the blow shattered the man’s nose and fractured his face.

"How about I tear off your arms?"

With a quick motion, Agafon grabbed both of the man’s arms. With a grunt, he exerted force, and with a dry crack, both of the man’s arms snapped and hung limply at his sides.

"You bastard! That was dirty!"

"Kill him!"

"You filthy beastman! You’re dead!"

The remaining men, shouting insults, charged at Agafon in unison.

"I told you not to fight!"

"Agafon, finish them off!"

Monique panicked as the situation escalated into a full-on brawl, while Akane, with her usual antics, encouraged Agafon in her strange way. Babe, however, remained as calm as ever, though internally she was relieved.

(Well… Agafon’s going to win, right?)

Using her skill Analyze, Babe quickly assessed the situation and confirmed that Agafon had the upper hand.

"Die!"

A sword swung down toward Agafon’s head, but he shifted his stance, deflecting the blade. Instead of hitting his head, the blade struck his trapezius muscle, which was covered in black obsidian-like armor. With ease, Agafon countered with another headbutt, sending the man flying, blood spraying from his nose.

"Shit!"

One of the remaining men, who appeared to be a scout, took advantage of the brief opening and lunged at Agafon from behind with a dagger. While he would have preferred to aim for the neck, sensing Agafon’s heightened awareness, he instead targeted the weak point between Agafon’s armor plates at his side.

(Got him!)

The man thought he had landed a killing blow, but the dagger’s blade only pierced halfway into Agafon's side. His thick layer of fat and muscle had stopped the blade from going any further.

Realizing that he was in trouble, the man tried to back away in panic. However, Agafon grabbed his wrist, not letting him escape, and yanked him forward with immense force.

"Wa—AARGH!!"

Agafon’s clenched fist came crashing down like a hammer onto the man’s face, showing no mercy. Just like the previous two men, this one collapsed to the ground, his face caving in from the sheer force. There wasn’t even a flicker of resistance left in him after the devastating blow.

"Damn it!"

"Let’s get out of here!"

Despite their arrogance, the remaining two men were still adventurers. As soon as they realized the situation was hopeless, they fled. After all, the most important rule for adventurers was survival, and they knew this well.

"Tch, worthless weaklings."

"Agafon! You just couldn’t hold back, could you?" Monique shouted.

"It wasn’t my fault."

"That's right, Agafon isn’t to blame," Akane chimed in.

"And those guys were saying all kinds of awful things about you all," Agafon added, still fuming.

"Agafon," Babe spoke up.

"What? You too? Are you gonna lecture me now?" he asked, expecting more scolding.

"N-No, it's just... Behind you."

"Huh?"

Following Babe’s fearful pointing, Agafon turned around to see—

"Agafon-kun," came the voice of Fi-Fi, the guild receptionist, standing imposingly.

"Gah! Fi-Fi!"

Agafon tried to explain, "No, you’ve got it all wrong! Come on, tell her, guys. They’re the ones who started it, not me!"

"That’s right! Agafon held back for as long as he could, but those jerks were the ones who started insulting us!" Monique backed him up.

"And if you don’t stop underestimating us, I’ll blast you with magic!" Akane added, though her words only made Fi-Fi sigh.

Under normal circumstances, such words might sway someone, but Fi-Fi was no ordinary woman. She had dealt with adventurers who tried to intimidate, threaten, or cajole her into giving them special treatment for years. Seeing people try to plead their case was nothing new to her.

"Regardless," Fi-Fi interrupted.

Agafon swallowed nervously, wondering if she would report this to Yu, or worse, strip him of his adventurer’s license. His massive body seemed to shrink in anticipation of what was coming next.

"Here, take this."

"Huh? Is this... a mop?" Agafon asked, staring at the object in Fi-Fi’s hand.

"Yes. You made a mess, so clean it up," she said, pointing at the bloodstains on the floor where Agafon had fought.

"And take out the trash while you’re at it," she added, nodding toward the unconscious members of Gluttonous Zeromut.

"Is... Is that all?"

"Do you want a harsher punishment?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No! I mean, are you sure this is enough?"

"I’ve been watching from the start. Those idiots picked the fight with you. If we kicked people out of the guild for incidents like this, there’d be no adventurers left. Besides, with all the trouble coming in from outside recently, Yu-chan’s been in a foul mood, and Colette is refusing to work, saying, 'I’m in charge!' It’s been one problem after another. I mean, I should really be handling Yu-chan, not her—"

As Fi-Fi started complaining, Agafon and the others began tuning out, but one part of her rant caught their attention.

"Wait, does that mean Colette’s not around?" Monique asked.

"Exactly! She’s left the counter unattended and gone to the training ground. And now, Agafon-kun!?"

Before Fi-Fi could finish, Agafon dropped the mop and took off running toward the training ground.

"I’m sorry! I’ll clean it up later!"

"Fi-Fi, I’m so sorry!" Monique apologized as they dashed off.

"Let’s go! Hurry!" Akane urged.

"W-Wait for me!" Babe cried as they followed Agafon.

Ignoring Fi-Fi’s protests, Agafon and the others quickly left the scene.

"Agafon-kun, you’re getting a scolding later," Fi-Fi muttered to herself before glancing at the unconscious bodies of Gluttonous Zeromut.

"Despite his behavior, he just took down five seasoned adventurers with his bare hands."

Fi-Fi couldn’t help but admire the strength Agafon had displayed. He didn’t seem like a rookie adventurer at all.

(What kind of training does Yu-chan give these people? If we could learn his methods, we’d be able to raise even more talented adventurers... but that’s easier said than done.)

Unlike the deserted guild hall, the training ground was packed with people—spectators, to be exact.

"Haaah!"

A dwarf warrior, wielding a massive battle axe and a shield large enough to cover his entire body, attacked ferociously. He was the leader of Great Earth, Barbary Earth.

"Guah!"

But each of his attacks was dodged, and in return, Yu’s fist connected with him, sending the dwarf rolling across the ground.

"That’s it?"

"At this rate, I won’t win my bet."

"Isn’t he the brother of that famous dwarf?"

"Yeah, but he’s no match for him."

The spectators, made up of adventurers and mercenaries alike, threw out casual, unhelpful remarks like, "Keep it up!" and "Show some guts! You’re both A-rank adventurers!"

(He’s not weak. Even I’m not sure if I could beat him one-on-one.)

Ato, watching the fight with a tense expression, analyzed the situation as best as he could, wondering how to handle the enormous gap in their strength. He glanced back at Pally, who was gagging behind him, and nodded to himself.

(I see... so we’re negotiating... in front of a crowd.)

Several bodies lay strewn across the ground. Most of them were from Gluttonous Zeromut. At first, they had been intimidated when Idio was defeated, but when Yu had challenged them to all come at him at once, they quickly called for reinforcements. Disregarding their pride, they charged at him—only to end up like this.

"D-Die... please... help us..." one of the barely conscious adventurers groaned.

"Spare me... please..."

"Even begging didn’t work..."

The ones still able to speak were the lucky ones. The majority of them couldn’t even groan in pain, their bodies too broken to move. Their limbs were twisted, their noses and ears mangled, and many had shattered teeth and bones.

(They’re barely alive.)

Azure Roar and The Gale Duke Raliolt, who were once confident in their chances against Yu, had long since fled after their humiliating defeat. Their guild members had quickly retrieved their injured comrades and disappeared, likely never to speak of their loss.

(There’s no winning. No matter what we do, we can’t beat him.)

Ato, raised in the Kingdom of Kara-Muu, had always been exceptional. From a young age, he had outshone others, and there was never anything he couldn’t do if he set his mind to it. He had been called a prodigy, and Ato had believed himself to be special.

At twenty, he had become a B-rank adventurer, and by twenty-eight, he had reached A-rank, thinking that S-rank wasn’t far off.

(I had considered forcing a duel if negotiations didn’t work.)

As Ato pondered his options, Yu had already finished his fight and was now looking in their direction.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. What will it be? One by one, or all at once?" Yu asked calmly.

"No... we choose neither."

The crowd erupted into murmurs.

"What do they mean?"

"Why’d they even come here if they aren’t going to fight?"

"Maybe they’re after something else."

Ato waited for the noise to die down before speaking again.

"We didn’t come here to fight or kill you. Please understand that first."

Ato’s throat felt dry as he corrected his speech, feeling the weight of the negotiation before him. It was a different kind of tension compared to battle.

"So, you have a different reason for being here?"

"Exactly."

Ato shifted his gaze from Yu to the crowd, where a certain girl, Lena, was standing.

"Our goal is to recruit Lena Forma."

"Lena!?" both Nina and Namari shouted in surprise.

Even Marifa, though her expression remained unchanged, turned her icy gaze toward Ato.

"What the hell!?"

"I won’t allow it!"

"Kill them! Kill them all!!"

The loudest outcry came from Lena’s unofficial fan club.

And then—

"I knew it. I knew you were after me," Lena said smugly, clearly enjoying the attention.