Leo slowly opened his eyes, finding himself in an unfamiliar room with a plain white ceiling.
"Doctor, he's awake!" a girl's voice exclaimed.
Leo groaned, his neck feeling stiff from the strain.
'It seems I survived,' Leo thought, his heart racing as he recalled the countless worms he had encountered during the fight, wondering about the state of his body.
'Somebody must have found me right after the battle. I guess I'm in a hospital,' he deduced while reflecting on the recent events.
As he was lost in thought, two individuals entered the room.
A man in a white coat checked the machines and used a stethoscope to check Leo's heartbeat and perform other tests.
After a thorough examination, the doctor's trembling hands finally steadied. "He's fine, Sir. We can discharge him anytime now."
With that, the doctor and the nurse left, leaving Leo alone with a stern-looking middle-aged man in a blue suit.
Leo removed all the medical attachments from his body.
"Mr. Leo, I see you're fine now," the man said with a slow and calm tone, though his face still exuded coldness.
Leo narrowed his eyes at the man. "I don't recall telling you my name."
"It seems you don't know me. I am the manager of Monster Domain 419. Checking the background of an injured person is natural for us," the man replied, his voice tinged with arrogance.
Leo smirked, playing along. "Oh, I see. So, Mr. Manager, why are you here?"
The Manager scoffed at Leo's act. "Well, for killing the G-Realm Monster in Monster Domain 419, you'll be rewarded with 25,000 AP. After deducting the hospital fees, you'll get 10,000 AR. The money has already been transferred. Now that I've informed you, I'll leave."
"Are you stupid or something?" Leo interrupted abruptly, surprising the Manager.
Leo didn't back down and continued, "Did you really think I wouldn't report that there was a [G Realm] monster in a Hunter domain where there should only be [H Realm] monsters?"
The Manager felt the weight of Leo's threat but quickly regained his composure. "Do you even have evidence? How dare you threaten us?"
Leo paused for a moment, then 'activated a recording,'
"Killing.... [G Realm].... Monster.. in... Hunter... Domain 419.... do you have... evidence..... how..l..dare...you.... threaten"
"Oh, it seems it got damaged, but I guess it was enough, right, Mr. Manager?"
The Manager's confidence wavered, and Leo capitalized on it,
"Also, don't forget I have seen the dead bodies of those people, so make your decision, Manager." Leo's words shook the Manager's heart and core, revealing that he had seen the dead bodies and further unsettling the Manager.
"You-what do you want?" the Manager asked, now sounding more respectful.
"500k AP," Leo replied without hesitation.
The Manager tried to protest, but Leo shut him down with a dominant voice. "Yes or no?"
"You-you-you. First destroy the audio." If he had the power to kill the person in front of him, he would have already done it a million times, but alas, he didn't have it.
"First give me the money.'' Leo didn't fall into the trap of the Manager.
The Manager was taken aback but he silently took his phone out.
Ding!!
Leo's phone on the table vibrated; Leo looked at the broken screen and saw that his balance had increased by 500k.
Leo was brimming with happiness but didn't show it outside.
"Fine.'' Leo said with a dejected look as he moved his hand under the bed and....
''G Realm... [kkrrr]... Monster.... in.... [kkkrrr]... Monster-"
Feigning dissatisfaction, Leo said, "Happy?" The Manager saw the broken device and left the room.
Later, in a dark room, the Manager made a call to someone named Beris, asking him to kill Leo. Beris agreed, hinting at an ominous power he possessed.
"For you to call me, I suppose you'll use....that favor…..Send me the information and location. I'll bring him dead tomorrow," Beris said, emitting an aura of dominance.
The Manager, now calculating and cunning again, said, "That guy, barely G Realm, made me use my favor. No way. You'll be able to kill him with just one punch. I'll give you 100k for the deal. How about that?"
"Deal."