"Let's go," Vincent said to Thalia after letting out a long, deliberate breath on the blood-soaked ground of the Gloomy Jungle. The air, usually thick with damp forest smells, now carried a faint, metallic coppery scent, a grim reminder of the recent carnage.
"Huh?" Thalia snapped out of her daze, her eyes reflecting the residual tension of the conflict. "Where are we going?"
"To level up," Vincent answered, turning his masked face toward the Gloomy Jungle Instance Dungeon entrance. There was no one left here now; both the Human Professionals and the Centaur Clan had already departed. The coast was clear, and it was the perfect window of opportunity.
This entire operation had left him with a profound sense of powerlessness, a frustration that simmered beneath his mask. While his and Thalia's professions were indeed strong, their current low rank was a crippling liability. The rule was absolute: facing a Rank 3 opponent meant a direct 60% reduction in damage dealt and a 60% increase in damage taken. Even against a standard enemy Professional, he struggled to inflict decisive damage.
The reason he could instantly kill so many Centaur Clan members that other day was twofold: the powerful supporting buffs and the 50% attribute boost they received at nighttime. Combined with their Professional Ultimate Skills, they had achieved that impossible victory. In the previous major battle, however, they couldn't even risk engaging. The thirty-minute cooldown on their Ultimate Skills, coupled with the crushing rank-based damage reduction, rendered their advantages moot. Furthermore, if he and Thalia had truly revealed their power, the Centaur Clan would never have agreed to retreat, and the situation would have escalated beyond repair.
Therefore, Vincent was now desperately eager to rank up. Even reaching just Rank 1 would dramatically alter the battlefield. Facing Rank 3, the damage reduction would drop to 40%. Against Rank 2 Professionals, it would only be 20%. With the inherent combat coefficient of an Epic Professional, this shift in percentage meant the difference between being liabilities and being decisive factors. With the Gloomy Jungle deserted, it was the perfect time for them to grind levels and to break the speedrun records. Corporate reputation, after all, was still paramount. He needed to accumulate more reputation points, then find a third employee. At that point, his progress would accelerate exponentially.
"Level 10 shouldn't be far now. After another settlement tonight, it should be about right." Currently, Vincent's level had reached 6, while Thalia was only at 4. The higher the level, the more experience required. But Lyra should have also gained a few levels today, and with her and Thalia's combined experience contributions, it might just push him to Level 10. If not, it shouldn't be far off. Thinking these thoughts, Vincent let out a soft, determined breath: "Let's go." Thalia responded with a quiet nod, pulling her own mask tighter, and the two walked directly toward the Instance Dungeon entrance.
At the deserted entrance, the two vanished after a flash of white light, entering the Normal Instance. Less than seven minutes later, light pulsed on the Instance Dungeon, followed by the text proclaiming the Normal Instance record had been broken. Vincent and Thalia reappeared in a flash, both still masked. Seeing no one around, they immediately continued into the Hard Instance. Half an hour later, the Hard Instance was declared broken. Next, the two continuously entered the Hell Instance, starting the methodical grind for experience. Vincent had originally intended to leave some record-breaking space for future employees, which was why he had timed their previous Hell Instance run. But now, desperate to level up, he had to maximize efficiency. In this ruthless pursuit, he and Thalia once again shattered the Gloomy Jungle Hell Instance record, reducing the clear time from approximately an hour and a half to under thirty minutes.
Time passed in a relentless cycle of clear, exit, and re-entry, pushing their physical and mental stamina to the absolute limit.
Unbeknownst to them, the desperate grind was exhausting their last reserves.
"Brother, I leveled up." During the last Hell Instance run, Thalia finally reached Level 5.
Vincent, who had already hit Level 7, paused, his mind racing. "Check if you have any new skills?"
Thalia checked her panel, then shook her head, disappointed. "No."
Vincent frowned slightly under his mask. He had awakened 'Interview Invitation' at Level 5—a truly terrifying and unique skill. He had fully expected Thalia to awaken a new, equally potent ability upon reaching the same milestone. But now it seemed... Epic Professionals might only gain new skills after ranking up, or perhaps his 'Boss' profession was simply an anomaly—unreasonably strong in its early-stage utility.
Thinking of this, a sudden surge of anticipation coursed through him. At the latest, tomorrow, he might level up to Level 10, and then new skills would appear. If the Level 5 skill was already so powerful, what kind of amazing and world-shaking abilities would manifest at Level 10? The thought drove the exhaustion from his limbs.
After exiting the Hell Instance again, Vincent and Thalia froze. They were no longer alone. Several teams of Human Professionals stood on the ravaged Gloomy Jungle battlefield, their faces pale as they gazed at the ruined perimeter and the scattered bloodstains on the ground, clearly struggling to process the scene of devastation.
The bright white flash of light from Vincent and Thalia emerging from the Instance Dungeon made them instinctively look over. Seeing that both figures were masked with black cloths, the Professionals were instantly stunned. But before any of them could speak or move, Vincent pulled Thalia's hand, took a sudden, decisive step back, and vanished from the spot, utilizing a high-speed movement skill. They were ghosts, after all.
This abrupt disappearance left the professionals momentarily dumbfounded.
A moment later, a sharp voice suddenly exclaimed: "It must be them!"
"What?" Someone looked over in confusion, still reeling from the vanishing act.
"Who else could it be? Paradise's Boss and Hill!" The person speaking—a young man with wide eyes—shouted excitedly, adrenaline rushing through him.
"What? Boss and Hill?" The Professionals were instantly astonished, the names triggering a flurry of theories and rumors.
"How do you know it's them?" someone asked, puzzled.
"Boss and Hill are both Assassins, and one male and one female," the young man explained rapidly. "These two are both masked with black cloths, clearly not wanting people to know their identities, and they're one male and one female, and both are Assassins. How could there be such a coincidence?" Having made the logical leap, he suddenly ran toward the Instance Dungeon entrance. Under everyone's puzzled gazes, the young man arrived at the entrance, his eyes wide as he saw the display panel.
Then he shouted excitedly, his voice cracking: "I knew it was them! All the speed records for Gloomy Jungle have been broken! The clearers are both Paradise's Boss and Hill!"
At his words, everyone immediately rushed over to confirm the stunning discovery. After seeing the new clear times and names, each one gasped in cold awe.
"It really is them…"
"Two Epic Assassins grinding levels right here!"
"I heard that another Paradise member appeared today, codenamed 'Frost'… That person alone broke the Undead Mountain Hell Instance record…"
"Breaking a Hell Instance alone, they're most likely an Epic Professional as well. Hiss. Thinking about it, what exactly is Paradise's background? Why do they have so many Epic Professionals?"
"Could it be… the National Team?"
"Now that you mention it… it's very possible! Otherwise, Iron Fang City and Long Reach City haven't seen any Epic Professionals for so many years, so why are so many suddenly appearing at once?"
"But that doesn't make sense, does it? If they really are the National Team, why aren't they secretly leveling up in the south, running all the way here near the Centaurs?"
"Perhaps there's some compelling reason they had to come, which we just don't know about?" These Rank 0 young men and women began to let their imaginations run wild, trying desperately to guess the true identity and mysterious purpose of the Paradise collective.
Vincent and Thalia, of course, knew none of this; they had already left the city behind. With their stamina depleted, that was all the progress they could make for today. An hour later, the two returned to their small, discreet home base.
After eating a high-calorie Instance Dungeon meal to recover their stamina and energy, they each went back to their rooms. Vincent lay on his bed, the adrenaline finally fading, leaving a pleasant exhaustion. He closed his eyes, pondering the day's events—the terrifying fragility of the truce and the massive experience boost needed—while waiting for midnight.
Unconsciously, the clock chimed, marking the arrival of the new day.
[Now beginning yesterday's income settlement]
With a soft ding and a flash of green light, Vincent's eyes snapped open. Would he reach Level 10? He immediately pulled up his panel, heart pounding with anticipation.