The notification system immediately confirmed the new recruit: "You recruited a new employee today. The employee's Professional and skills have been shared with you immediately, and no additional settlement will be made this time."
Vincent watched the stream of data on his panel.
Employee Thalia had killed 847 Instance monsters, gaining 56,473 experience points and leveling up to Level 2 (receiving 20 fixed and 20 free attribute points).
Employee Lyra had killed 764 monsters, gaining 50,134 experience points and leveling up to Level 3 (receiving 30 fixed and 30 free attribute points).
The company's fame was surging: "You and your employees, under the company name 'Paradise,' set 4 new Instance speedrun records yesterday, bringing fame to the company."
This included Normal Instance rewards (5×2), Hard Instance rewards (10×2), and Hell Instance rewards (20×3), totaling 90 Company Prestige.
The overall review was positive: "Profit Evaluation: C+." The comment praised the accelerating success: "Your company 'Paradise' continues to grow, gaining considerable fame within a certain range and achieving abundant results. Please continue to work hard, motivate your employees, and create more value for the company (and the boss)!"
The reward delivery was announced: "Settlement rewards have been issued. You gained 50 fixed attribute points and 50 free attribute points. Experience points +106,607."
The system then delivered the final, frustrating news: "You have leveled up! His level increased. However, he only reached Level 9, still 80,000 to 90,000 experience points short of Level 10."
After a moment of stunned silence, Vincent let out a soft sigh of both relief and impatience.
…Indeed, he still needed to recruit more workhorses.
He mentally noted that adding Lyra had almost doubled his profits overnight. His personal attribute points increased by a total of 100 points. The rules of his Epic Professional class were clear: all attributes increased the same way, just with different focuses based on his allocation of free points.
Vincent subconsciously looked at his data panel, a dizzying array of numbers that had skyrocketed in just two days.
Attribute Value NameVincentProfessionalBossTier / Level 0-Tier Level 9HP (Health) 300 → 6300MP (Mana) 300 → 18800Attack 115 → 7916 (394) Magic 130 → 1740Agility 20 → 221 (147) Free Attributes50Company Prestige130
Compared to the first day, Vincent's panel data was simply luxurious. A wave of surreal recognition washed over him. It had only been two days since his awakening, but he was completely on a different level.
To be frank, even a 1-Tier top-tier Normal Professional, or even an Excellent Professional, would find it difficult to achieve this level of stats in such a short amount of time.
And this was still with his most powerful passive skills not yet activated. The room was brightly lit, after all. If the Night Walker passive skill were to activate, his Agility would directly increase by 100%, and other attributes would also increase by 50%.
Even Vincent couldn't help but gasp at the thought of it. With two employees, his panel was already moving beyond the 'Epic' category. In pure numerical terms, he might not surpass a true Golden Legend just yet, but in terms of the sheer power of his abilities and skills, a Golden Legend would likely feel like an amateur.
Vincent watched his panel for a long while before letting out a long sigh and withdrawing his gaze.
It was a pity his tier was too low. Against 3-Tier Professionals, especially Excellent Professionals, the 60% damage reduction and damage increase were still a severe handicap.
He recalled the brutal negotiation earlier in the day and shivered. He had seen how Lulufu had cut off over 40,000 of Silas's health with one strike, and Silas's health bar had only dropped a small segment. Both of them were likely 3-Tier Excellent Professionals.
If the current Vincent were to face either of them in open combat, he would probably be critically wounded in one round. The Shadow Assassin and Frost Prison Mage were essentially squishy professions. While the Frost Prison Mage had an extremely powerful defensive skill, it would still be fragile against a 60% absolute damage increase.
After a soft sigh, Vincent looked at the sky through his window, feeling the time was right. He got up, quietly left his home, and entered stealth mode.
According to the agreement between Silas and the Centaur Clan, they would be negotiating tomorrow. There were some things Vincent needed to clarify with Silas and the others before that.
At first glance, it seemed that the chaos Vincent and Thalia had caused—killing many 0-Tier Centaur Clan Professionals—had recklessly angered the Centaurs and escalated the conflict. But upon closer thought, the truth was far more unsettling.
Even if he and Thalia had done nothing, yesterday's battle would still have very likely occurred. The Rabbit Instance incident was the best example. They had simply broken a few records on human territory, and the result? A large-scale siege that triggered the first major battle.
So it was clear that what he and Thalia did was not what was important. What was important was a far deeper truth: humanity was weak. And for a weak humanity to suddenly produce a genius was, in itself, the greatest original sin.
Of course, it was undeniable that the humans outside the secret realm had been implicated by his actions. If Fred and the others hadn't arrived in time, those humans would likely have been caught in the crossfire and killed.
In this situation, Vincent felt that the best approach was to have the officials formally sever ties with his 'Paradise.' A complete severance was impossible, but in negotiations, one must avoid being caught with a handle.
Vincent and Thalia did indeed kill a large number of innocent 0-Tier Centaur Clan Professionals today. If the Centaur Clan harped on this point, the human side would inevitably be put at a negotiating disadvantage. A nominal severance was to prevent humans from falling into such a trap.
More crucially, Vincent had to inform the officials not to confront the Centaur Clan again on his behalf. He was touched by the protective attitude shown by Silas, but he had to refuse this 'goodwill.' He was not as weak as the officials imagined.
During the previous Rabbit Instance incident, he hadn't been prepared for the Centaur Clan's immediate, massive mobilization. But now that he knew the danger, he naturally wouldn't fall into their encirclement so easily again.
The Centaur Clan was coming for him and Paradise. Then he and Paradise would just play with the Centaur Clan. There was really no need to involve the officials again and sacrifice more.
As his thoughts raced, the Municipal Building was already in sight. Vincent looked up; the Municipal Building was still brightly lit.
He let out a soft breath, and his figure disappeared into the shadows.