He is indeed no ordinary person.

[This was a business negotiation of extreme courage and boldness! For the meager price of a mere five silver coins, you have tricked... oh no, hired a top-tier combatant capable of destroying an entire city to serve you! This is a carnival for capitalists! This is a victory for the exploiting class!]

[As a reward for the host's behavior of getting something for nothing, the system is specially issuing the strongest attack reward for the novice stage!]

[Reward: Beginner Attack Magic Skill Book - Magic Missile (Automatically learned and mutated into Arcane Blast - Modified)]

[Skill Description: Originally just a normal magic missile, but with the blessing of the Contrast System, it has gained a whole lot of extra power. Please use with caution to avoid friendly fire.]

Lynch: "..."

He looked at the long string of glowing golden system subtitles in front of him, his mouth twitching madly.

Here it goes again.

It was starting again.

This crazy system was acting up again!

Lynch looked at the little girl in front of him, who was wearing a satisfied, silly smile with her ears twitching.

A high-ranking Demon Race executive?

The Thirteenth Pillar of the Scorched Earth Guard?

Capable of destroying a city?

Just her?

Just this little postman who almost got mad at him for five silver coins, stood at one point two meters tall, and was useless aside from being a little strong?

"System, shouldn't you go see an eye doctor?"

Lynch complained weakly in his mind.

"If you told me she was a beast-eared strongwoman, I'd believe it. But a Demon Race executive... Come on, don't the demons care about their reputation? If high-ranking demon executives have fallen so low that they have to deliver packages and work as bodyguards in remote mountain villages just to earn a bit of hard-earned money, humanity would have counterattacked the Demon Realm and unified the continent long ago!"

Lynch shook his head, completely despairing at the judgment logic of this idiotic system.

It was just like those bug-filled games where any random NPC on the street could be identified as the final boss.

However...

Lynch glanced at the extra icon for Arcane Blast - Modified in his skill bar.

Although the system's descriptions were as exaggerated and unreliable as ever, a tangible reward wouldn't lie.

"My first attack magic..." Lynch felt a surge of joy in his heart.

For the past eighteen years, aside from conjuring a few light orbs to use as flashlights and casting a few healing spells to stop bleeding, he had absolutely no means of attack. When encountering danger, he could only rely on running away and using his physical fitness to endure it.

Now he finally had a ranged output method. Even if it was just a beginner skill, it was still magic!

"Forget it. No matter how crazy the system acts, as long as it gives rewards, it's fine."

Lynch was in a great mood, and even Kuma looked more pleasing to the eye. Not only could this little girl work, but she was also a lucky star who could trigger system rewards!

"Let's go, Guard Kuma."

Lynch stood up, put on the large medicine basket, adjusted his collar, and waved his hand in high spirits.

"Let's head into the mountains while the weather is good!"

"Alright, boss! No problem, boss!"

Kuma followed professionally. Although she called him boss with her mouth, in her heart she was thinking:

Hmph, foolish human. Once we get into the mountains, you'll know how well-spent these five silver coins are. This Pillar will show you what absolute defense really means!

The two walked out of the tavern one after the other.

The sunlight was just right, and the breeze was mild.

To Lynch, this was going to be a relaxing and pleasant trip to gather herbs and make some money.

After all, with the strength Kuma had shown, dealing with low-level magical beasts in the mountains would be as easy as flipping her hand.

Upon stepping into the deep mountains behind Buena Village, the light noticeably dimmed. Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of a mixture of humus and magical beast droppings.

For Lynch, this was a dangerous journey that required his utmost vigilance. He tightly gripped the short sword at his waist, carefully observing the surrounding bushes with every step, afraid that something deadly might jump out.

However, Kuma, who was following behind him, appeared exceptionally relaxed and carefree.

This beast-eared young girl disguised as a postman carried a giant medicine basket that looked somewhat comical on her. Her footsteps were as light and brisk as if she were strolling through her own backyard. Although her brown, slit-like pupils were scanning the surroundings, there was not a hint of tension in her eyes; instead, they revealed a sense of bored laziness.

Truth be told, Kuma's actual backyard was much more dangerous than the back mountain of Buena Village.

After all, that was the heartland of the Demon Continent.

Therefore, Kuma did not panic in the slightest. She leisurely observed Lynch with the composure of an old master.

Was this the man that Lady Witch was willing to suppress her magic, hide her identity, and lower herself to marry?

Kuma stared at Lynch's somewhat thin back, her heart filled with an exploratory desire known as gossip.

Along the way, she did not sense any powerful magical fluctuations from Lynch. His breathing rate, walking posture, and even his subtle muscle reactions to the rustling of the wind and grass were no different from a normal human—which is to say, pathetically weak.

A disguise?

Kuma speculated inwardly.

It must be a disguise. An existence capable of catching Lady Witch's eye could absolutely not be an ordinary mortal. Perhaps he cultivated some ancient secret art capable of completely concealing his aura? Or perhaps his strength lay in the mental realm?

Just as Kuma was letting her imagination run wild, the bushes ahead suddenly shook violently.

"Roar!!!"

Accompanied by a deafening roar, a foul-smelling wind blew against their faces.

A massive beast, as huge as a small hill, suddenly lunged out, snapping two trees that were thick enough to require a person's full embrace, and blocked the path of the two.

Its entire body was covered in brown fur as hard as rock, and its four limbs burned with eerie, pale-blue ghost fire. Its bloodshot beastly eyes stared fixedly at the two, and the saliva dripping from its mouth corroded the fallen leaves on the ground.

"Phosphorescent Brown Bear!"

Lynch's pupils shrank violently, and his heart instantly leaped into his throat.

This was no ordinary wild beast, but a genuine Tier 3 magical beast! In the ecological chain surrounding Buena Village, this thing was an absolute overlord. Even a fully armed adventurer party would have to take a detour if they encountered it.

He suddenly remembered that just this morning, the dwarf miners in the tavern had just mentioned that a Phosphorescent Brown Bear had attacked the miners' dormitories last night.

Could it be the same one?

It's over! How could we encounter a monster of this level as soon as we entered the mountain?

Lynch felt his hands and feet turn ice-cold. He subconsciously looked back at Kuma.

The little girl stood there motionless, seemingly scared silly.

It made sense. Even if she was of the beast-eared race and a bit stronger, she was still just a little girl who delivered packages. How could she have ever seen a situation like this? Expecting her to fight a Tier 3 magical beast in close combat would be sending her to her death!

Meanwhile, behind Lynch.

Kuma looked at the brown bear that was still striking a pose and roaring. There were no ripples in her heart; she even wanted to laugh a little.

This is it?

A mere Tier 3 magical beast wasn't even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth. If I just released a tiny bit of my aura, this stupid bear would die from its heart bursting out of pure terror.

However, since her current identity was merely a slightly stronger beast-eared guard, she would reluctantly step in and take care of it.

Kuma narrowed her eyes slightly, her small hands gently clenching beneath her cuffs. A wisp of a wind blade, sharp enough to slice through steel, had already gathered at her fingertips. She was ready to cleanly sever the stupid bear's throat the moment it pounced, planning to pass it off as a lucky strike to a vital spot.

However.

Just as Kuma was about to make her move, she saw Lynch, who was blocking her from the front, spring into action.

Lynch did not run away.

His face was pale and his calves were trembling slightly, yet he remained steadfast, shielding Kuma behind him.

Despite facing such a perilous situation for the first time since his transmigration, Lynch maintained a degree of composure. Recalling the skill the system had just granted him, he decided to test out this trump card.

"Arcane Blast, Modified!"

Triggered by a mere thought, Lynch felt the faint, tranquil mana within his body suddenly being forcefully drawn out and compressed by an external power, converging at his fingertip.

There was no obscure spell chanting.

There were no complex somatic gestures.

Relying purely on his survival instinct, Lynch simply raised his hand and pointed his index finger at the roaring Phosphor-fire Brown Bear charging toward them.

The next second.

[Arcane Blast, Modified, Activated.]

Hum—

There were no flashy, explosive flames in the air as one might have expected.

Kuma only sensed a brief, extremely sharp tremor ripple through the surrounding space. Immediately after, a deep purple orb of arcane light, no larger than a thumb, shot out from Lynch's fingertip.

The orb looked entirely unremarkable, perhaps even adorably miniature.

Yet its speed was pushed to the absolute limit, tearing a perfectly straight vacuum trail through the air.

Pfft.

A soft sound echoed.

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

The imposing giant bear, wreathed in blazing phosphor fire, came to an abrupt halt.

A bloody hole, about the thickness of a finger, appeared right between its eyes.

Immediately after, as if all the bones had been sucked out of its massive body, the beast crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. The phosphor fire extinguished in a flash, and its life force was completely snuffed out in an instant.

An instant kill.

Dead silence returned to the forest.

Lynch remained in his pointing stance, panting heavily as cold sweat rolled down his forehead.

Holy... holy crap?

It's... dead?

Lynch stared at the fallen behemoth in sheer disbelief, then looked down at his own finger.

That's it? I thought there would be a bitter struggle, or at least some explosive special effects. Why does this Arcane Blast feel just like firing a gun?

Still... that was way too close!

The immense relief of surviving a near-death experience washed over him.

If it hadn't been for this new skill from the system, I would definitely be a goner today! This was a Tier 3 magical beast, after all. With Kuma's frail little frame, a single hit would have shattered her to pieces. Thank god the system came through and saved our miserable lives!

Wiping away his cold sweat, Lynch turned around and forced a rather awkward smile at Kuma:

"Um... Kuma, don't be afraid. It's dealt with. I got lucky and must have hit its brain just now."

At this very moment.

Standing behind him, Kuma's brown, slit-like pupils contracted slightly as she stared intently at Lynch's back.

She had perfectly captured the fluctuation of mana from that brief moment.

Instantaneous casting.

No incantation.

A pinpoint strike of highly compressed mana.

An expert's true caliber is revealed the moment they strike.

In the study of magic, compressing violent arcane energy down to the size of a thumb while maintaining an incredibly stable structure for an ultra-high-speed projectile—that was something even a Royal Archmage would find extremely difficult to pull off!

It required an absolutely monstrous level of mana control.

Furthermore, what shocked Kuma the most was that right up until the second before casting, Lynch's aura had remained that of an ordinary mortal. It was only at the exact moment the attack was unleashed that a terrifying killing intent erupted from him.

Playing the pig to eat the tiger! He is absolutely playing the pig to eat the tiger!

Kuma took a deep breath, her previous languidness and contempt vanishing completely.

This country bumpkin... no, this Mr. Lynch, was actually a master of such profound arcane magic? And to brush off a terrifying skill capable of instantly killing a Tier 3 magical beast as mere luck?

Just as I thought!

A sharp glint flashed in Kuma's eyes, and the corners of her lips curled up into an "I see right through you" smirk.

This man was definitely no ordinary figure! No wonder Lady Witch had chosen him. Beneath his seemingly panicked exterior lay the unshakeable, composed heart of an absolute powerhouse!

I knew it. A man who caught the eye of Lady Witch could never be a nobody.

Lynch Graywhite, you have successfully caught the attention of the Thirteenth Pillar of the Scorched Earth Guard!