Lee Han feels his knee give in after taking someone else's life for the first time. He can feel his hand tremble and grow cold.
He glances at Elara's body and feels his stomach churn again.
'La-Lara, I have just kil—' Before Lee Han can finish his words, he sees a series of orange notifications appear before his eyes.
[Congratulations, Adventurer Lee Han, on your success in your second mission.]
[Congratulations, Adventurer Lee Han, you have received 1000 Silver Coins.]
[Congratulations, Adventurer Lee Han, you have received 100 Gold Coins.]
[Congratulations, Adventurer Lee Han, you received a Mystery Gold Box.]
[You've leveled up!]
[You've leveled up!]
[You've leveled up!]
[You've leveled up!]
Lee Han could only read the notification in a daze for a while.
This quest is finally completed. He thought this quest would be completed if they successfully killed Victor, but he was wrong. He only needs to rescue Zoey's team from this traitor, Elara.
'Congrats, master, you finally leveled up!'
Hearing Lara's voice, Lee Han immediately checks his Adventurer status. He is now Copper Rank, Level 7.
'Thank you, Lara.' Even though he level up, he doesn't feel happy because his rank is still low compared to Levy or John.
He still needs a long way to go to match them.
'Lara, so my mission here is finished?'
'Yes. You can leave if you want,' Lara's voice is enough to leave Lee Han baffled.
How could he leave when these people would fight Victor's army? And their General was also dying.
...
Everyone was shocked to see that Elara's body no longer looked human. Her form resembled a charred wooden statue.
What surprised them even more was that Lee Han was the one who killed Elara.
How could an Adventurer of Copper Rank, Level 3, kill an Adventurer with a Silver Rank, Level 10?
This sounded ridiculous. No one could believe it. But just now, they all witnessed with their own eyes how Lee Han ended Elara's life. He moved so swiftly that no one could see how he stabbed Elara with his poison dagger.
They doubted that Lee Han was Copper Rank because he could perform magic to freeze Elara's movement. Since the first time they captured him, he didn't have a magic aura in his body. But how did he do that? This puzzled them.
Some Adventurers began to believe that Lee Han was not Copper Rank but was more powerful, maybe hiding his true strength. That's why he could quickly kill Elara.
"I don't believe he's only Copper Rank."
"Yes, me too. He must be Gold Rank or even on the same level as General Zoey, Gold Star Rank."
"True, true... If he had a magic aura, I definitely could sense it. But I can't... He's clean!"
"But why did he conceal his power?"
"Yeah, what's his motive?"
"Man, did you forget? He's Princess Seraphina's people."
"Aaah... You are right. That makes sense."
"I've been suspicious; this man is powerful. He hides it. Impossible that Princess Seraphina sends a weak person to assist us, right!?"
"Yes, you are right, man."
Lee Han, who heard all their words, almost spat out blood.
Earlier, he succeeded in stabbing Elara because he had the advantage of hiding his Karambit weapon in his space storage and waiting for the right moment to attack her while she was off guard.
And if Lara hadn't been there to help him freeze Elara's movements using her magical power, he wouldn't have succeeded.
Now,
Hearing all their words worried him because these people thought he was strong, even comparing him to Zoey.
'Lara, if they knew my real rank, they would probably die of shock,' Lee Han bitterly smiled.
'Or they'll hunt you down, Master. Well, from now on, never tell them your rank.'
'Yeah. I'll never let anyone strip me again to check my body,' he felt amused thinking about when Zoey forced him to undress to check his rank.
'Zo-Zoey!!' Lee Han snapped, remembering Zoey's condition.
"What are you guys doing?" Lee Han looked at the Adventurers, who still stood in their places, staring at him. When his gaze fixed on John, Lee Han was speechless. John was also frozen in place, lost in his own thoughts.
"John! This is not the time to relax, man. You and the others need to help Zoey. She's dying!"
Instantly, everyone gasped, recalling the condition of their General.
John vanished from his spot and appeared in front of Zoey. He carefully carried her tiny body to a shady spot under a giant tree. He gently laid her on the ground, covering her with a cloth he had retrieved from his space ring.
"General, please hang in there!" He whispered in a trembling voice, kneeling beside Zoey, his eyes brimming with tears as he looked at her.
She appeared so pale as if all the blood had drained from her body, her lips tinged with dark purple. Her usually bright eyes now seemed devoid of light. If not for the slight movement of her chest, one might have mistaken her for dead.
"Zoey, please fight! I know you're powerful enough to overcome this poison. I'll search for an antidote for you. You must stay alive," John said before retrieving his communication device and attempting to contact Levy.
"Levy, please respond. Over!"
"Levy, please respond. Over!"
John gritted his teeth when there was no response from Levy.
"Levy, please answer! I need an antidote. Over!"
"Levy, please answer! I need an antidote. Over!"
He repeated his words a few times. But still no answer.
"Damn it, Levy! If you don't answer, we'll lose the General for good. Answer me, damn it!"
John ran his fingers through his hair, feeling afraid. He had never felt this nameless fear before. This was the first time their formidable General was on the brink of death.
He stared silently at the communication device in his hand, racking his brain for another way to help Zoey. But at this moment, only Levy could assist Zoey, as he was the team's expert on poisons with a collection of antidotes.
However, it seemed impossible to reach him. Were Levy and his team also in trouble, or worse, had he met his death!?
'No! Impossible! Levy wouldn't die so easily!'