The thugs burst into laughter.
One of them snorted, "This guy? Seriously? He looks like he just crawled out of a mud pool."
"Boss, he's dressed like a damn scarecrow. Let me handle him. I'll break him in half." Another one of them said while jabbing a finger toward the bearded man's tattered robe.
The leader grinned, showing crooked yellowed teeth. "Hmph! That filthy cloak, he has hair like a dead dog's fur, and he's shaking off dust like an old beggar." He turned to his men, chuckling. "This man thinks he can get in our way and become a charming prince! Haha."
His men laughed eagerly.
"Let me kill him up, boss."
"Yeah, this trash won't last a second."
"Shouldn't take more than one hit."
Despite their mockery, the man's expression didn't change. He simply stood there, still as a stone, tattered robe hanging loosely around him.
His build couldn't be seen beneath the dirty fabric of that robe. No armor, no visible weapons, and no stance that suggests that he has certain training in combat.
But his eyes were deep blue, cold, and focused.
A dangerous glint hid beneath them.
The leader waved a hand. "Fine. Go on. Cut him down so we can take the girl quickly."
One of his men stepped forward eagerly, drawing his sword with a scrape of metal. "With pleasure," he said.
He lunged.
It happened too fast for Aria to fully follow.
There was a shift of fabric. A single motion happened.
Then a dull thud resounded.
The attacking thug slammed into the wall and crumpled, unconscious or… maybe dead. His sword clattering out of his limp hand.
The man in the robe hadn't even changed posture. He simply stood where he was with his hand half-raised as if brushing dust from his sleeve.
Silence collapsed over the shed.
The thugs froze.
All their earlier arrogance evaporated as they stared at the bearded man with the icy glint in his dark blue eyes that now looked far more terrifying than before.
Their leader's expression twisted, disbelief creeping over him.
"You… have some skill after all," said the leader.
He rolled his shoulders, his smirk returning.
"Fine, then," he growled. "I'll get serious."
Mana surged from his body.
A sick, dark-green aura erupted around him, swirling like foul smoke, crawling over his arms and neck.
The other thugs stepped back, giving him space, their earlier bravado crumbling into wary anticipation.
The leader's voice deepened into harsher words.
"Let's see how long you last against this!"
The burly leader lunged with terrifying speed and unseathed his sword. His burly body cutting through the cramped space like a charging beast.
The dark-green mana around him snarled violently, cracking the rotten wood beneath his feet.
But the bearded man did not flinch.
He had been still a moment ago. Now, his stance shifted.
There was a subtle lowering of his shoulders and a slight turn of his foot.
And then his power erupted.
A dense, dark mist exploded from his body. It wasn't loud like the leader's mana. It didn't roar or thrash. It was just there and made the air around the man grow colder and dangerous.
Aria gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief.
Behind the man, the slime watched with quivering anticipation.
It could feel the mana. It was strong, thick, and refined. Far more potent than the leader's mana.
The slime's core pulsed with uncontrollable excitement.
This power… this was the kind of power the slime wanted to devour. A Radiant Core—Tier 3, but in the highest stage, barely a breath away from Tier 4.
The leader, by comparison, only possessed a mid-stage Tier 3 Core.
Even though they were in the same tier, the gap was enormous.
But the slime with its intelligence sharper and its instincts clearer now knew that this man was currently helping it and Aria.
Devouring him now would be foolish. Betrayal like this would only come if survival forced it.
For now, it would watch.
Then, the slime's gaze moved to the unconscious thug crumpled in the corner.
The slime made a decision instantly.
Silently, it slid from Aria's pocket and jumped toward that man unnoticed by her, who was too focused on the clash unfolding before her.
—
The leader struck first and became a blur of muscle and green mana. His sword gleaming with a crackling edge of hardened aura. His swing cut a fierce arc toward the bearded man's neck.
But the man moved with almost lazy grace. A simple tilt of his head.
The sword sliced through empty air, cutting wood behind him.
"You're too slow," the man murmured.
The leader snarled and spun, swinging again, faster this time, slashing from the hip with enormous force.
The bearded man slipped back a single step, robe fluttering.
Dark mist coiled around his foot as he pivoted.
Another swing missed. Then another also missed. And another.
Aria could barely follow the movements. All she saw was a storm of green aura slashing wildly and a calm figure drifting just out of reach like a shadow dancing through dark smoke.
"Hold still, you coward!" the leader roared, mana exploding around him as he thrust forward.
This time he was fast—very fast.
Fast enough that even Aria felt her breath stopped as his blade shot toward the man's chest.
But the man's hand lifted.
He stretched two fingers.
He caught the blade.
Metal shrieked as it stopped dead between his fingers.
The leader's eyes widened in shock.
"You rely too much on that flashy aura," the bearded man said softly, deep blue eyes gleaming with cold light. "You should polish your foundations."
Dark mist surged from his arm.
Then…
CRACK!
He snapped the sword in half. Just like that.
The leader stumbled back, horrified.
The shed trembled.
The other thugs stared in frozen disbelief.
The leader snarled in frustration and barked over his shoulder, "Move! All of you attack him! Now!"
His remaining men hesitated. But the leader's glare forced them forward.
One by one, they charged even though none of them were charged with true conviction.
The bearded man exhaled a long, weary sigh.
He shifted his stance just slightly—barely a change at all—and the world seemed to bend around his movements.
Every swing, stab, and desperate attempt to overwhelm him slipped past him as though he were made of drifting smoke.
He dodged with effortless precision, stepping aside with the smallest motion each time.
Then, he started to retaliate. Bodies hit the floor one after another.
Meanwhile, in the shadowed corner, the slime had already begun its work.
It wrapped around the unconscious thug with ravenous speed, consuming flesh and bone in greedy waves.
Metal and leather clattered onto the floor as armor and weapons were spat out.
By the time the last thug fell before the bearded man, the slime had finished its feast, its surface pulsing faintly with satisfaction. Its Evolution Bar was raised again.
The leader took in the scene in front of him. His men scattered across the ground. The bearded man standing untouched.
Panic twisted across his face.
"Damn this!" He spun on his heel and ran with tail between his legs to the broken doorway without a backward glance.
The bearded man watched him flee, then slowly shook his head.
"Coward," he murmured.
—