Inside the third floor—now clearly Kayden's bedroom—were Kayden and nine other lizard women.
Everyone froze in place, stunned by Colt's sudden entrance.
The first to move was one of the lizard women. Like the one on the first floor, her nails shifted into claws.
This one also had a tail.
Colt ignored her. His eyes were fixed on Kayden.
He looked much younger.
Colt didn't know much about his species, but he could tell Kayden was definitely smaller.
Still, a tinge of anger stirred within him.
The lizard man in front of him was the reason his girlfriend had died.
Even though Colt had killed him once before, seeing him again made it feel like once wasn't enough.
Normally, he wanted to catch Kayden, question him about his reason for being here in Arte, and maybe even do more.
But his anger get through to him.
Colt swiped his hand horizontally.
A beam of energy shot out, slicing clean through everything in its path—including the third floor of the tower.
Only then did his anger begin to subside.
He hadn't even given Kayden the chance to speak.
The final boss was dead.
Ten corpses now lay on the floor, and the top of the tower was gone, likely collapsed from the force of the slash.
Hoping no one had been hurt by the falling debris, Colt stepped over and approached Kayden's body.
He severed the head, then searched for anything useful.
All he found was a piece of paper.
He tried to read it, but the writing was in a language he didn't understand.
Still, thinking he might decipher it later, he stored it in his inventory.
There were no living Arteans inside the tower.
So, he turned and flew back toward the guild, thinking why there were ten men and ten women except for Kayden.
---
It had already been five minutes since Colt left, but the receptionist was still smirking.
He didn't want anyone to die, but he couldn't help himself.
The guild hall remained crowded. The brawler and the Wise Lions still hadn't left.
Only the high-level quest line moved quickly, since the two most experienced staff members were handling that one desk.
High-level hunters were valuable.
Even though the hunting grounds were controlled, occasionally, some higher-level monsters appeared.
Of course, "occasionally" meant once or twice a week here.
And this was only in a smaller town like Harton.
Larger cities had faced much worse, with one even falling into ruins after a dragon-like monster appeared.
Still, the hunting grounds were necessary.
No one knew when a full-scale war might break out.
That's why high-level parties and hunters were treated with more respect.
But even they had no idea what was about to happen.
The double doors of the guild swung open, and the boy who had taken the Kayden quest walked back in.
Half the hunters, including the receptionist, burst into laughter again.
"Hahaha! Boy, you made the right choice coming back. Don't worry, I'll change the quest for you this time.
But next time, don't take something you can't handle. The guild won't be able to save you."
Another wave of laughter swept through the room.
But Colt didn't care.
"I am not here to change the quest," he said.
"What do you mean? Then, why are you here? It has only been five minutes since you left," the receptionist said with a straight face.
"I know. I have already completed the quest."
"Boy, stop mocking us." The receptionist frowned since he didn't believe Colt.
A fifteen-year-old newbie claiming to have killed the monster that not even the C-2 ranked hunter, the strongest in Harton, could even track down?
Who would believe that?
Certainly not the receptionist.
But before he could talk, Colt took out Kayden's head from under his cloak.
Space magic didn't exist in Arte. Even he hadn't learned any space magic.
So, he didn't want to show his inventory, causing a stir.
Instead, he pretended to take Kayden's head from under his cloak and placed it directly onto the receptionist's desk.
That alone was enough to silence the entire guild.
Everyone gasped in shock, seeing the head put on the newcomer's receptionist's desk.
At first, the hunters in the next line came over to check. Even the brawler stood in shock.
But when the high-level hunters, the ones who didn't believe it could be real before, stepped forward, the others made way for them.
The gasps didn't stop.
The receptionist ran to the back of the guild to find someone who could verify that this was truly Kayden's head.
But in truth, no one needed confirmation.
Everyone already knew it was him.
The reason was simple.
Even though Colt had killed him with a single swipe, Kayden hadn't been weak.
He was at least as strong as a B-1 ranked hunter, roughly level 130.
Even in death, his aura lingered.
Most of the lower-level crowd didn't understand what that meant, but the higher-level hunters did.
Since they could still feel Kayden's power just by looking, but they couldn't measure how strong Colt was, they understood that Colt was much stronger than Kayden.
Colt, on the other hand, wasn't trying to hide anything.
He wouldn't be in town for long. And since his ID was newly registered, the guild wouldn't be able to trace him for months, even if he joined the academy soon.
Unfortunately, only the higher-level hunters realized the truth. The others didn't understand how this was even possible.
That's what led to Lionel's next words:
"Who did you steal it from?"
Colt turned his head to look at him, smirked, and turned his head back.
As far as Lionel was concerned, Colt's level was so low he couldn't even sense any power from him.
Of course, that was nonsense.
Anyone at a higher level could easily gauge the level of someone weaker.
But, obviously, Lionel didn't know that. Or he didn't want to think about it.
In his mind, there was only one explanation: Colt must have stolen the head from someone else, then rushed to register and act like he had completed the quest.
"Even an A-3 ranked hunter couldn't finish this quest in five minutes, let alone a brat like you. Don't ignore me and tell me from whom you stole it!"
Well, he was wrong. A-3 ranked hunters could finish this quest in 5 minutes. He just hadn't seen any before.
But Colt kept ignoring him.
To Colt, Lionel was nothing more than a fly buzzing around his room—annoying, but not worth attention unless he got too close and bothered him.
Lionel, however, saw an opportunity.
1000 gold was enough for anyone to retire in a town like this.
Five silver coins were enough to feed a family of four for two months.
And now, some powerless newbie was standing in front of him with a "stolen" item.
"So, you won't tell me... Then, I will have to confiscate the stolen goods!" He said with a smug grin.
Everyone nearby understood exactly what Lionel was trying to do.
But his party was made up of D-1 and D-2 ranked hunters. No one wanted to get involved.
And the high-level hunters already knew the truth, so they didn't dare interfere.
That gave Lionel the confidence to act.
He walked toward Colt, emboldened by the silence.
Colt looked at him.
Lionel wasn't anyone special. Just a D-2, level 73.
His level was lower than his rank. His teammates were probably the ones doing all the work.
Lionel acted like he didn't care, didn't even look Colt's way.
He simply reached out toward the head on the desk.