God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World! Chapter 18: A Quest and Bountiful Reward

"Do you think she used it on him?" Alice asked quietly, arms folded, her narrowed gaze fixed on the fight that was about to happen.

Lilly didn't respond imdiately. She studied Scarlett's expression, and as usual, her face was unreadable and indifferent.

"It's hard to tell," she replied softly. "But most likely."

"Who do you think he is?" one adventurer asked. "I've never seen him before."

" neither," another responded. "For him to spar with the Vice Guild Leader herself, he must be powerful or have quite the background."

All around the gym, whispers like these echoed. Every adventurer present had gathered around, forming a large circle—eager to watch the fight unfold. After all, it was rather rare to witness a Hero-Rank adventurer in action.

Despite the heavy scrutiny, Gabriel remained unfazed—calm and collected as he stared at Scarlett with a steady gaze.

"What level are you?" Scarlett asked, retrieving a wooden sword to match Gabriel, despite being a mage.

"I'm level 14," he replied.

"Then I won't even use ten percent of my power. At your level, I doubt you'd be able to withstand that either," she said flatly. "So to make it fair, I'll try to match your strength."

"Fine by ," Gabriel shrugged. He felt irritated by how she underestimated him—but unfortunately, it was the truth.

He wasn't delusional. Though it sounded arrogant, he knew deep down that what Scarlett said was brutally accurate.

Even using just ten percent of her strength, the legendary Hero-Rank would break through his defense and leave him near death.

At that mont, Lilly suddenly stepped forward.

"At the count of three, the spar will begin," she declared. "Are both of you ready?"

No words were spoken.

Lilly took that as confirmation.

"Three... two... one... begin!"

Both combatants moved at the sa ti, generating a gust of wind that exploded outward, slamming into the faces of the spectators.

Clang!

Voidsting and the wooden sword clashed in the center. Gabriel was the first to break the stalemate. Without hesitation, his sword flashed, slicing through the air toward Scarlett's chest.

However, just before the strike landed, Scarlett's wooden sword appeared in its trajectory. It had moved so fast that most of the veteran adventurers didn't even see a blur.

It was as if the sword had disappeared and reappeared.

Gabriel clicked his tongue. The attack had only been a feint.

Whoosh!

Just as fast, Voidsting changed trajectory—this ti aid at her head, with the clear intent to sever it.

FWISH!

CLANG!

Once again, the wooden sword appeared—Scarlett had parried it cleanly. A gleam of astonishnt briefly flashed in her calm eyes.

"For his level, he's really fast," soone whispered.

"If it had been anyone else—and not the Vice Leader—their head would've rolled."

"That attack... was he planning to kill her?" Alice frowned. For a mont, she'd felt fear seeing Voidsting so close to her sister's neck.

"I doubt it," Lilly replied with a thoughtful look. "I think he knew she could block it. Which is... frightening."

'In other words, he was predicting her movents,' Lilly thought, now observing Gabriel with growing interest.

The adventurers were right—if not for Scarlett's experience, this fight would have already ended.

After parrying the attack, she countered with a powerful strike containing the might of a high-level superhuman.

Crack!

Gabriel's ribs groaned loudly as her crushing kick sent him staggering back. Before he could regain balance, she was upon him again—her wooden blade flashing downward, cutting the air itself.

The sword was moving too fast. Gabriel's fight-or-flight reflex kicked in. He dived to the side, thanks to his 40 points Agility stat—far higher than what a level 14 should possess.

It was only because of this advantage that he dodged the life-threatening strike.

"He dodged it... impressive. I'm level 20, and I'm pretty sure that attack would've hit ," one adventurer muttered with a cold shiver.

Did that an if they clashed, he'd lose?

Of course, pride kept the adventurer from saying that out loud.

anwhile, like a whirlwind aiming to destroy, Scarlett surged forward—her blade a blur. Gabriel t her head-on, unfazed, and their weapons clashed repeatedly.

Suddenly, he made a fatal oversight.

"Oh, he's cooked," soone laughed.

Naturally, Scarlett saw the opening and struck—but instead of recoiling in pain, Gabriel countered with a seismic punch that ca out of nowhere.

A gleam of surprise flashed in Scarlett's eyes as she spotted the incoming attack, inches from her abdon. It was virtually impossible for soone of his level to resist, and with Gabriel's unbalanced stats, it would have caused serious damage.

'Did he sacrifice himself just to get a hit?'

Suddenly—a blur of movent—and Gabriel felt his fist slam into sothing solid.

Scarlett had caught the punch mid-air.

A frown appeared on his face.

"You won," she declared.

"Huh? How?! She clearly caught his fist!" Alice was confused. She had secretly been rooting for her sister to beat Gabriel up. Although he was handso, there was a quiet confidence in his face that made it very punchable.

The other adventurers were just as puzzled.

"Yes, she did," Lilly replied, unable to take her eyes off Gabriel. Then, in a sowhat shocked voice, she added, "But she had to use her full strength."

"Damn. Forcing the Vice Leader to use her full strength? Does this an he's the strongest level 14 out there?"

"Definitely!" another nodded vigorously. "The Vice Leader clearly matched his strength. That ans... if they were at the sa level, that kid would've beaten her easily."

"Who is he?"

"Is he from a noble family?"

"I have no idea."

" neither."

"I hope I was able to clear your doubts," Gabriel said as he unsummoned his weapon.

"Yes, you did." Scarlett's eyes glinted as a rare, small smile appeared on her face.

"Also, I have a proposal."

Gabriel's ears perked. "What proposal?"

"A week from now, I—along with a few others—will be heading into the Wildlands to explore a recently discovered ruin. If you can reach level 20 before then, you have an open invitation to join us. What do you say?"

"..."

A ruin?

What was a ruin? They were places of imnse treasure, left behind by powerful adventurers or ancient factions. Ruins were usually populated with skill scrolls, weapons, and rare items.

They were extrely rare—far less common than dungeons, which popped up randomly from ti to ti.

While pondering her offer, a screen flashed in Gabriel's retina.

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[Ding! Quest Received]

[Title: Ruin Exploration]

[Difficulty: MID]

[Description: Reach level 20 and join Scarlett and a select group to explore an ancient ruin left behind by one of the strongest superhumans in the Velerina Kingdoms.]

[Reward: 100 EP]

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Gabriel's eyes widened.

'How is this possible? I thought only players could receive quests,' he thought, confused.

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