"Oh my, how could I accept this? Thank you, big brother, for the reward. Then little bro will take his leave first. See you around!"
Looking at the tens of thousands of credit points in his hand, old Sampo's eyes instantly lit up. What a worthwhile trip this had been.
After stashing the credits away, Sampo gave the man one more glance, deeply memorizing his appearance, before turning to leave.
Heh, old Sampo was someone who held grudges. Courtesy demands reciprocity. This bastard turtle had dared to humiliate him—wait until later when he could have some real fun with him.
"Stop right there."
Old Sampo had just lifted his foot, but before it could come down, Kafka's seductive voice suddenly rang out from behind him. In an instant, his body froze in place.
Spirit Whisper!
Our cold-legged uncle truly wanted to cry but had no tears. How could he have forgotten this big sister's strongest technique among the Stellaron Hunters?
The art of Spirit Whisper was essentially an extremely powerful form of domination. Anyone dominated by Spirit Whisper would become the other's puppet.
Seeing Sampo bound in place by her Spirit Whisper, Kafka gave a soft laugh. She picked up the red wine glass on the table and gently swirled it before speaking to the man who had been eagerly pursuing her all along.
"It's not impossible for me to accompany you for a drink, but..."
Hearing that the beautiful lady before him was actually willing to share a drink, the man was overjoyed. He patted his chest and declared,
"Please speak freely, madam. As long as it's something Nost can do, I will not hesitate in the slightest!"
"Hehe, it's actually nothing major." Kafka raised her wine glass and took a light sip. Her beautiful profile appeared incomparably enchanting and intoxicating under the slightly dim neon lights.
At this sight, aside from the man named Nost, the other guests who had wanted to approach but had been beaten to it by him quietly perked up their ears.
"As long as you can help me throw this guy out from here, I'll agree. How about it?"
Sampo: '?!?!'
Hearing this, our old Sampo was dumbfounded. Tears streamed in his heart as he thought, 'Big sis, I just wanted to slip away! You don't have to take my life over this?!'
Smack—!
Just as the cold-legged uncle was inwardly complaining, a powerful hand suddenly slammed down heavily onto his shoulder.
Thump!
His heart jolted. Sampo turned his head as stiffly as a rusted iron wheel. The "big brother" who had just generously tipped him was now staring at him with bloodshot eyes, as though he wanted to devour him alive.
"Uh, b-big brother... you're not really planning to... to throw me out from here, are you..."
Sampo's voice grew smaller and smaller. Looking into the other's eyes, he was now certain—this man genuinely intended to hurl him out the window.
Please, no! This was the thirty-fifth floor! Even as a Pathstrider, falling from such a height would definitely cause serious injury!
"Sorry about this, brother. Just sacrifice yourself for a bit." So saying, the man named Nost prepared to lift Sampo up using sheer physical strength.
Smack—!
But at that very moment, another hand suddenly reached out from Sampo's other side and pressed down on his shoulder as well.
This action caused the man who had been about to hoist Sampo up to pause.
"Hm? Kid, what do you mean by this?"
Nost furrowed his brows deeply. The one who had interrupted him was a young man with golden tousled hair, blue pupils, and a carefree, roguish expression on his face.
"Haha, please don't take offense, sir. Everyone has a love for beauty. It's not just you—I also wish to share a drink with this lady. Why don't you hand this person over to me instead?"
"Heh, this lady invited me. I advise you not to meddle! Otherwise..." Nost's tone paused as he issued a threat.
"Hehe, threaten me? I'm the type who fears threats the least. Besides, what this lady said was that she'd accompany you for a drink only after you throw this shabby bum out. So if someone else does it instead, that should be fine, right?"
The blond man smiled calmly and finally gave Kafka an elegant gentleman's bow.
"Wouldn't you agree, beautiful lady?"
Kafka did not deny the blond man's words. She raised her wine glass in a distant toast before parting her vermilion lips lightly.
"Of course there's no problem, elegant gentleman."
As Kafka's words fell, the crowd instantly ignited. In an instant, dozens of scorching gazes all landed on Sampo, so intense it seemed they would burn a hole right through him.
"Don't fight over him—that man's mine!"
"Damn it! I'm in too—let's go all out!"
"Don't let that guy escape—hurry!"
The blond man's words were like opening the floodgates of a dam filled to the brim. More and more guests joined this meaningless scramble.
Caught in the center of the storm, old Sampo was yanked and pulled in every direction. He truly felt as though his body was about to be torn apart. He really should have checked the almanac before leaving today—all the bad luck had come for him!
"Hm? What's going on here? Kafka, did you do something?"
Silver Wolf, who had just returned from the restroom, tilted her head slightly at the scene before her, a puzzled look on her face.
Hearing Silver Wolf's question, Kafka merely smiled faintly and drained the wine in her glass in one go.
"This wine tastes pretty good. If I remember correctly, it's the 'Obscure Moon Gleam' produced in Evernight Fortress, right? I didn't expect a place like this to carry such high-end liquor."
Seeing that Kafka kept staring at the wine glass in her hand and didn't answer her question, Silver Wolf rolled her eyes and simply didn't bother asking further.
She pulled out her handheld game console from her pocket, sat down beside Kafka, crossed her legs, and continued playing her video game.
While the two of them sat back to watch the tigers fight, the struggle among the guests had already reached a fever pitch.
Those who joined later were merely cannon fodder. The true center of the vortex consisted of only two people: Nost and the blond, blue-eyed young man.
"Kid, you've pissed me off! You ruined my good thing—today I'm definitely going to teach you a lesson!"
Nost roared furiously. Behind him, a massive beast-like phantom suddenly appeared, and with it, an aura of Destruction spread outward.
"A Pathstrider of the Path of Destruction? Hehe, no wonder you have such confidence... but this still isn't enough."
As he spoke, the blond man's body also erupted with Path aura—dim, profound, and representing the Path of Nihility.