Lionel reached for Kayden's head, but his hand froze midair when Colt caught his wrist.
Lionel frowned at him, his eyes asking, Who do you think you are?
But Colt, having a better idea, let go of his wrist.
Lionel took it as fear. He couldn't have been more wrong.
As his hand moved closer to the head, sweat began to bead on his forehead.
Kayden's head was still releasing an aura, one fitting for a level 120 existence.
Normally, the dead didn't emit any aura. But Kayden was different.
Maybe it was because of his race. His body held power even after death.
That was why Colt had made the rest of it vanish.
But the head remained, pulsing with a presence as if it were mid-spell.
And that was enough to make Lionel hesitate.
Just before his hand touched it, he pulled back.
Scowling, he tried again. But the same thing happened.
He looked at Colt, confused. "How did you hold it?"
He was probably expecting an explanation, something like, I used this magic tool.
But Colt shattered that hope with his next move.
"I just hold it like this."
He reached out and picked up the head.
"Don't lie to me. You must have some kind of magical tool. Just give it to me."
Colt only grinned.
He was beginning to understand why the old receptionist enjoyed watching overconfident newcomers.
This was actually fun.
And Colt would have plenty more of this kind of fun at the academy soon.
Well… he didn't even need to wait that long.
Lionel saw the grin and finally snapped. He threw a punch.
Miss.
Even though his aim was dead-on, the punch didn't land. It passed through empty air.
He swung again. Same result.
The spectators, watching from behind, saw the same thing:
Lionel's fist going right through Colt's head.
Of course, that wasn't the case.
Colt was a pure mage. He wasn't a magic swordsman or anything like that. But still, he was level 337.
He could pick up a sword and fight a level 200 swordsman without even enhancing his body.
And if he did enhance it, he could probably take on most swordsmen under level 300.
The reason was simple: an existence's body evolved along with their level.
But natural evolution alone wasn't enough.
Colt didn't rely on just that. He trained his body the hard way.
And now that his real body existed in Arte, it made a difference. He was fast and strong by mage standards.
So he wasn't letting the punches go through him—he was just dodging, really fast. Fast enough to make it look like Lionel's fists were phasing through him.
Frustrated, Lionel shouted, "What are you waiting for? Help me!"
The rest of his party exchanged glances, then stepped forward.
The fhrem took the front as the tank. Aside from him, there were two mages, a priest, and a warrior.
Lionel himself was the warrior and the captain.
They were about to strike together when a sharp voice rang out.
"Stop!"
A dog beastman emerged from behind the reception desk.
"What do you think you're doing? Fighting is prohibited in the guild!" the beastman barked.
"S-Sir Prolt!" Lionel stammered, his body trembling. "This guy's trying to complete a quest using a stolen monster piece."
He casually referred to Kayden's head as just a "monster piece," hoping the dog beastman would overlook it.
It was already too late. Lionel couldn't get the reward anymore, so he wanted at least to stop Colt from getting it, either.
So, he tried to play it safe, appealing to the dog beastman—Prolt, the guild master of the Harton Adventurers' Guild.
Prolt turned his head toward Colt, then glanced at the old receptionist.
"Is what he said true?"
The receptionist replied, "I don't know, sir. He brought the head, and I went straight to call you."
"What? This is the boy who brought the head?" Prolt turned back to Lionel. "Do you have any proof it was stolen?"
Lionel puffed up his chest as he answered, "Sir, there's no way a weakling like him could have killed the Kayden in just five minutes. That's my proof."
Prolt shook his head, disappointed. "Just kick them out. I don't want people like this in my guild."
He had been the guild master of Harton for a long time, and he instantly understood what Lionel was trying to pull.
And he didn't like people like that.
"What? Why are we being kicked out? He's the one who should be!" Lionel shouted, pointing at Colt.
But Prolt didn't even bother looking back.
Realizing their fate, the Wise Lions left on their own before they could suffer the embarrassment of being dragged out.
In the meantime, Prolt turned to Colt.
"You're the newcomer who killed Kayden?"
"Yes, sir. That's me."
Colt recognized him. Prolt was a good man.
They had met when Colt visited the Harton guild with his party in the previous timeline.
Back then, it was just a brief meeting, so Colt hadn't expected him to go so far as to kick out hunters trying to rob someone.
This man is better than I thought, Colt mused.
"This is real. Let's head inside," Prolt said, returning through the door he came from.
Naturally, a 1000 gold reward wouldn't be handed out in the middle of the guild, so Colt followed him in.
---
They entered Prolt's office after passing through the door.
Prolt sat in his own chair behind the desk, then gestured for Colt to sit on the couch.
"I believe you're the one who killed Kayden, and it seems you're much stronger than I am. But your registered level is written as 65."
He was clearly asking why Colt had lied during registration.
But Colt had no intention of revealing his secret.
"Sir, I thought it was possible to join the Adventurer's Guild after level 10."
That was the only requirement before one could officially join the guild.
"That's correct."
"And I also believe guild ranks have nothing to do with levels."
Officially, that was true. Advancement came through completed quests, not through one's level.
But the quests themselves typically required a certain level to accept, so ranks unofficially followed certain level ranges.
"That's also correct," Prolt replied.
"Then there's nothing wrong with my level."
Colt was making it clear that he intended to keep his real level hidden.
Normally, it wouldn't matter. But this time, the gap was too wide.
Prolt had once been a S-rank hunter, meaning he was over level 200, yet even he couldn't get a read on Colt's strength.
If possible, he wanted to put Colt's power to good use—not in a shady way, but as a member of the guild.
So he asked, "Will you be staying in Harton?"
"Unfortunately, no. I have things I need to take care of. I'm actually leaving the city once we're done here."
Prolt sighed, understanding that Colt had no intention of staying.
Colt also thought Prolt was a bit greedy—but understandably so. He was, after all, the guild master, so he needed to prioritize the guild.
If Colt stayed, he could help, but he'd end up doing more harm than good.
Other hunters wouldn't be able to grow if he kept clearing all the high-ranking quests.
And the guild couldn't exactly tell him to stop just so others had a chance.
Besides, Harton didn't even have many A or S rank quests. Kayden had been an exception.
"Mr. Colt, I hope you'll visit our city again in the future. Thank you for your service." He didn't press Colt further.
"Of course. Unfortunately, I don't have a way to contact you. But I'll come if Harton ever needs me."
Though in truth, it wouldn't.
With Kayden dead, the city wouldn't be attacked five years later and brought to ruin.
But Colt wasn't being insincere.
He wasn't a policeman. He had no obligation to save every person or town.
But he wouldn't ignore someone standing in front of him.
And since Harton's guildmaster wasn't a bad person, Colt would help if it ever came to that.
Having someone trustworthy in the Adenturer's Guild was also beneficial.