Hela.

This woman possessed an absolute beast-like mindset.

In the society of jungle beasts, the strong were naturally worshipped as objects of admiration. And Hela had twisted this psychology to the extreme.

Only males stronger than her would catch Hela's interest.

The reason for Hela's obsession with strength was quite simple - she wanted a child.

From very early on, Hela had developed this idea: she must find an extremely powerful being and fully unite with his seed. In fact, as long as they were strong enough, her potential mate didn't even need to be human.

Because she herself wasn't human.

All kinds of powerful adventurers frequently appeared in the Adventurers' Capital. The reason she established the Beast Guild here was to discover a male strong enough to surpass herself.

This included her ventures into the Monster Rift and explorations of the Abyss - all were attempts to find male creatures potentially stronger than herself and capable of communication.

This was why, when the Crown Prince informed her about particularly powerful monsters appearing in the Monster Rift, she immediately organized a team and rushed here without delay.

Indeed, she had encountered powerful monsters, but she also saw a man even more exceptional than those creatures - Viktor Kravina.

If she could obtain this man's seed, it would surely produce the most outstanding offspring.

However...

"You're not worthy."

That merciless, cold voice echoed across the land.

The surrounding adventurers all froze in place, their mouths agape as they stared at Viktor. Hela was among them.

The dark gray hearts in her eyes began to crack, and a flower bud burst through the fractured heart, remaining in the depths of her eyes.

She stared at Viktor with a blank expression, her voice trembling slightly. Perhaps it was because this first attempt at courtship had been instantly rejected, making it difficult for her to accept.

"What... do you mean?"

Viktor threw out just one sentence, shattering Hela's final illusion.

"Exactly what I said."

Hela wasn't human, and she constantly followed her beast-like behavioral patterns, her cognition no different from that of beasts.

Powerful beasts would watch their offspring fight to the death, preserving only the strongest survivor, using this method of cultivation. To ensure the excellence of their bloodline, they continuously bred superior next generations through selection.

She herself was born in such an environment.

As a member of the "beasts," Hela had killed all her siblings from a young age, just to prove that her bloodline was the most superior.

Under this constant ideological education, only one concept remained in her mind - no matter what, she must cultivate offspring that would surpass herself, and even surpass everyone else.

Pursue the strong, worship the strong, and finally... surpass the strong.

However, as Viktor had said, "You're still not worthy."

On one hand, Viktor would not allow his bloodline to survive in such an environment, and on the other hand, he spoke to Hela in an utterly casual tone:

"Do you think you're strong?"

As his words fell, those newly sprouted seedlings were gradually covered by a green color starting from their roots.

In the blink of an eye, they grew into several towering trees. That thick green color infused into the giant trees, and lush green leaves along with about-to-bloom flowers spread across the previously bare branches.

The raindrops falling from the clear sky gradually became peaceful, sliding past the leaves before hitting the ground, forming transparent puddles that reflected the thick green color.

Verdant grass sprouted across the earth, and as gentle breezes swept through the forest, waves of green rippled outward with rustling sounds.

Hela stood stunned again at the suddenly transformed environment around her. Anyone witnessing this miracle-like scene would be overwhelmed with awe.

Her mind went blank for a moment, but soon consciousness returned to her control.

At this moment, Hela fell into self-doubt.

Was she... really strong?

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Before meeting Viktor, she could indeed confidently declare that she was very, very strong.

From growing up and continuously becoming stronger, until entering the Empire's territory, Hela hadn't met anyone more powerful than herself.

Perhaps there were some who could match her in strength, but mere equals would never be candidates in Hela's mind.

Even when she heard about Viktor becoming a new member of the Mage Council, Hela's heart hadn't stirred in the slightest.

Just a mere council member - how powerful could he be?

Until she saw it with her own eyes.

That magic powerful enough to transform heaven and earth, capable of defeating a monster strong enough to destroy vast lands.

And the wielder of that magic was the man before her - Viktor.

Elegant and powerful.

He had only suffered a slight injury at the start of the battle. After that, despite fighting for nearly an entire day, he hadn't been wounded even once.

Viktor's voice continued to sound, still calm and indifferent.

"There's quite a gap between you and me - you should understand this better than I do."

"So what makes you think you're worthy of me?"

Hela listened to Viktor's words in silence, each syllable like needles slowly piercing her heart.

Viktor's words plunged her into distress.

She had countless followers, and even innumerable suitors. In her beast world, she preferred to call their behavior - courtship.

The weak follow the strong, and they likewise sought to pursue her because of her strength.

But Hela, just like Viktor now, had rejected them all.

Using the same reason.

"Are you worthy?"

Hela valued only the stronger ones; the weak held no value in her eyes.

Now, her own courtship attempt met the same rejection.

Because here, she was the weak one.

Viktor was the strong one.

The strong need not pretend courtesy to the weak, so when Viktor rejected her with the same reasoning, Hela couldn't say a word.

Because she was a beast, so she had to follow beast logic.

Survival of the fittest - the strong one's words were always right.

After speaking, Viktor turned away, never looking back.

He faced the sky, a hint of white light flickering in his eyes.

The white magic formation continuously rotating under his feet began to contract, and streams of wing-like magical stars started circling around the formation beneath Viktor's feet.

In the next second, that extremely vast white formation rose toward the sky, the gathered wings suddenly burst outward, and the formation completely dispersed.

With a swirling of air currents, Viktor vanished from the spot.

Only two lingering phrases echoed in the air:

"It seems this cooperation discussion wasn't very successful, but your ambition has earned my recognition."

"I'll continue waiting for your news. Until next time."

All the adventurers gathered together, worriedly watching Hela who stood motionless with her head lowered, her expression hidden.

"Boss..."

Soon after hearing the call, Hela raised her head again, recovering her initial composed and elegant demeanor.

Holding her fan to cover her mouth, she smiled faintly:

"It's fine, it's just being rejected once."

Being rejected on her first attempt at courtship had indeed hurt her feelings. But it also helped Hela understand certain principles.

She stepped forward, treading on shallow puddles, splashing crystal-clear droplets.

Hela felt the fresh air around her, her mood lightening.

She walked forward leisurely, taking quiet steps through the deep forest.

That lonely figure appeared even more solitary under the sunlight.

She continued walking quietly, while the adventurers remained silent.

Suddenly, Hela stopped, turned around, and solemnly looked at those fourth-tier adventurers, examining them up and down.

Hela's hand trembled slightly as she opened her fan, completely hiding her lightly smiling face.

Her eyes carried a hint of fanaticism.

"I think our Beast Guild should make some changes."

As her words gradually fell, those adventurers seemed to feel something rising from the depths of their hearts,

They appeared to understand something.

Not only did Hela think this way, but anyone who joined the Beast Guild naturally tended toward beast-like behavioral patterns.

These fourth-tier adventurers had all either been defeated by Hela in the past or were simply convinced by her strength, willingly becoming members of the guild.

Viktor's appearance had also shocked their hearts.

"Beasts" worship the strong and should follow the strong.

And now, Viktor was that strong one.

"The recruitment from the Kravina family will be an opportunity for our Beast Guild."

...

The thirtieth floor of the Monster Rift.

[Verdant Sky Path]

Passing through a huge gateway, they finally reached the end of the [Verdant Sky Path].

What appeared before everyone was an extremely vast open space.

The demi-human team entered in an orderly fashion, but their expressions became extremely grave.

Everywhere were decay-like green vines and dim lights.

As if sensing something.

A giant claw broke through the green earth from below, followed by an emaciated head.

Its eyes were blank as it struggled, pulling half its body out.

The entire team became alert - they could clearly feel the extremely powerful aura emanating from the monster about to appear.

Even Gwen drew her blade, her eyes sharp with vigilance, ready for battle.

However, Aurelianne watched the still-struggling blank-eyed monster, as if recognizing it, and slowly said:

"We've found it - the end of the thirtieth floor."

"The floor boss - Soul-Stealing Undead."