"Who’s that kid? He actually blocked Alton’s strike..."

"He probably wasn’t using much strength. Alton can be hot-headed, but he wouldn’t stoop to bullying a rookie."

"Even so, he’s a Professional! And that... that young Adventurer opposite him doesn’t look like he’s struggling at all. If anyone’s holding back, it seems to be him, not Alton."

"Could he be a Professional, too?"

"Are you crazy? A Professional that young is a rare sight even in the Royal City. You’d never find one in a small place like Roland Town..."

Lin Mo’s voice was drowned out by the surrounding chatter, so no one heard him.

Even so, Alton’s face flushed red with embarrassment.

It was true he hadn’t used his full strength in that last strike, but he hadn’t been holding back much, either. Aside from not using any Skills, that was his normal level of performance.

After all, he had entered this duel intending to teach Lin Mo a lesson.

But now, it was hard to say who would come out on top.

Alton slowly let out a long breath. ’No matter what, I have to win this duel. Otherwise, this will be a huge embarrassment.’

The next moment, he tightened his grip on the Wooden Sword and attacked again.

But this time, the feeling was completely different.

The Wooden Sword shot forward in a swift, powerful thrust, carrying a stunning force.

’A Skill!’

Lin Mo’s expression turned serious. He countered without holding back, executing a "Slashing" of his own. Under his precise control, the flat of his blade met the tip of Alton’s Sword perfectly.

CRACK—!

The next moment, both Wooden Swords shattered simultaneously. Alton stumbled back several steps, a look of horror on his face.

’Such incredible power! Such precise control!’

Looking at Lin Mo, who stood firm and unshaken, Alton knew he had undoubtedly been overpowered again in this head-on clash of Skills.

Moreover, in terms of speed, Alton felt as if his opponent was completely toying with him.

Lin Mo hadn’t rushed his last strike at all. He had waited until Alton was right in front of him before making a move, clearly acting with ease.

The fight wasn’t over. Lin Mo stepped forward and threw a punch at Alton’s face.

Alton raised a hand to Block, let out another muffled grunt, and stumbled back half a step.

"Wait, I lose!"

As Alton’s voice rang out, the uppercut Lin Mo had thrown paused for a split second before landing squarely on his face without hesitation.

"Sorry, it’s too noisy around here. I didn’t hear you..."

Lin Mo shrugged, an innocent look on his face.

Alton clutched his slightly numb face, his mouth twitching.

’It’s not that he didn’t hear me. That kid definitely did it on purpose!’

But a loss was a loss. He didn’t say anything more, just snorted and stepped off the sparring platform.

"Thanks for the match."

Lin Mo smiled. Although his words were polite, there was little humility behind them.

In just two short exchanges, he had already gotten a good read on Alton’s strength.

His Strength was a little lower than Lin Mo’s, around 13, and his Agility... 7 at most, a full 3 points lower.

Lin Mo felt like he could take on two Altons at once.

’If this is the level of an average Professional, does that mean I’m actually pretty strong among them?’

’Of course, that only applies to average Professionals. I’d be no match for someone who has mastered two or more Professional Skills, or whose Class Level has even reached Level 2.’

With Alton’s defeat, the crowd erupted. No one had expected the duel to end like this.

"So that young man really is a Professional after all!"

"A Professional that young... terrifying..."

...

’So strong!’

Standing to the side, Ali stared intently at Lin Mo, her eyes wide with astonishment.

She had never imagined that their squad leader would actually lose.

After a few moments, Alton composed himself and walked back over to Lin Mo, extending a hand. "Hey, sorry about earlier. You’re seriously strong. Welcome to the Bull Run Squad. I look forward to working with you."

Lin Mo smiled and shook his hand. "Of course. Ali mentioned we’re heading out on a mission tomorrow?"

"That’s right. We’re planning to take on three quests. Besides the Earth Bear quest Ali told you about, there are two smaller ones we can basically complete along the way. One is a quest posted by the Association to clear out a Giant Rat Nest, and the other is to collect Large Slime Condensate..."

At those last words, the color drained from Lin Mo’s face and his mouth began to twitch. ’So I couldn’t escape dealing with Slimes after all, huh?’

’Oh well. I’ll go find Edgar later and get another protective coating. Not just for the Wolf Bone Sword, but for my Leather Armor, too.’

"Is there a problem?"

Alton asked, noticing the change in Lin Mo’s expression. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

After that duel, he was naturally inclined to take this new member’s opinions very seriously.

"It’s nothing. It’s just... I have a thing about Slimes..."

Lin Mo shook his head. They had already made their plans; he couldn’t let his personal feelings disrupt the team.

"Haha—"

Alton laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "All rookies are like that. I hated Slimes too when I first started out as an Adventurer. You’ll get used to them."

"If you’re free tonight, how about we grab dinner? It’ll be a good chance to introduce you to the other members of the squad."

Lin Mo had no reason to refuse. He nodded, then glanced over at Lena in the distance. "About accepting the quests..."

Alton understood his meaning and gave him an odd look. "Actually, Ali used to ask us to help out her friends all the time, so we usually split up and accept our quests at different counters... To be honest, the girl over there is my daughter."

He pointed to a counter at the far end of the hall. A pretty young woman stood behind it and waved in their direction.

Alton’s daughter was pretty enough, but she paled in comparison to the women at the main counters. As a result, her station was nearly as deserted as Lena’s.

She probably only got the job as an Association receptionist thanks to her father’s connections.

It was only natural for a father to look out for his daughter, so in the end, they accepted the two smaller quests from Lena’s counter and the Earth Bear quest from Alton’s daughter’s counter.

"It’s still early, so I’m going to head back and rest a bit more. Let’s meet up tonight at the ’Hot Furnace Barbecue.’ How about around six?"

With that, Alton waved and left the Association.

"Rest?"

Lin Mo was confused. ’It’s still early morning, isn’t it?’

"Well, when I went to find the squad leader just now, he seemed to be... occupied with his wife," Ali said with an awkward smile.

’That explains it.’

Lin Mo instantly understood. ’No wonder he was so irritable earlier. Add to that losing the duel and taking a punch from me... he’s probably rushing home to blow off some steam...’

"Well, I’m heading out too. See you tonight."

After saying goodbye to Ali and Lena, Lin Mo headed back to Edgar’s forge and had a protective coating applied to his weapon and Leather Armor.

He spent the rest of the day relaxing in town. That evening, he met up with his new squad mates as planned. Since they had a quest the next day, they didn’t drink, just sharing a simple meal and making small talk before heading their separate ways.

「The night passed in a flash, and soon it was the next day.」

Lin Mo arrived at the Association’s entrance early in the morning and met up with his squad.

’Well then, after a two-day break, it’s time to set out on an adventure once more...’