Meanwhile, Nolan was still taking a nap. Hours passed before he finally stirred and sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Wait… it's already late. Where's Lyra? I told her to come wake me up."

He stepped out of his room and went straight to hers. The door creaked open to reveal emptiness. The curtains moved gently with the wind. One window stood ajar.

"She must've gone through here…" Nolan whispered. Worry crept into his voice. "Lyra, where are you? I hope you're safe."

He checked the kitchen—nothing. He checked Linda's old room. Linda and Celia shook their heads; they'd been looking for Lyra too, but she'd vanished. "She didn't even wake me up…" Nolan sighed. "She's far. Beyond my range." His search skill could only cover three hundred kilometers. "Even if I tried, I wouldn't find her."

He straightened suddenly. His barrier—the invisible magical field wrapped around the entire mansion—had been breached. Seven presences now stood in his yard.

"So they finally came," Nolan murmured, rising from his chair. He went to his room, put on his battle suit, and stepped back to the hallway.

Someone outside lifted a boot to kick the door. Just before the blow landed, Nolan swung it open. The attacker's foot struck empty air, and he stumbled forward. Nolan's fist crashed into his head, dropping him unconscious at the threshold.

Nolan stepped out into the night air of the mansion's garden. Six more figures were waiting in the shadows.

An arrow hissed toward him from the dark. Without looking, Nolan raised two fingers and caught it midflight. Flames flickered over his palm and devoured the arrow to ash.

"Who is this guy?" one of the intruders hissed. "He wasn't even looking, and he caught it!"

"It doesn't matter," another spat. "He's outnumbered. He's finished."

Nolan's voice cut through the dark, calm and cold. "No need for speeches. Who sent you—and why?"

"How dare you talk like that!" one snapped. "You should be terrified. Don't you realize the situation you're in?"

Three of them drew swords and charged. The earth mage among them slammed his hand into the ground. Stone trembled and surged upward, forming a massive rock that hurled toward Nolan like a catapult shot.

Nolan didn't move. The boulder shattered against him, breaking into eight pieces and falling harmlessly around his feet.

"Is that the best you can do?" he asked quietly.

The three froze. "What… who is this guy? Not a scratch…"

The earth mage growled, pulling up even more stone. Two colossal boulders rose from the ground, each the size of a carriage. He guided one with his left hand, the other with his right.

Nolan still didn't move. He raised his own hands slowly and clapped them once. The mage hurled both boulders at him. Nolan caught them as if they were nothing but foam.

"Is that all?" he asked again.

The mage strained, trying to crush him, but the stones wouldn't budge. Nolan flicked his right hand, launching one boulder back at its caster, sending him flying. With his left, he shattered the second into dust with a single squeeze.

Inside the mansion, Celia and Linda woke to the noise. They rushed to the window, peering out into the night. "What was that sound?" Celia whispered.

Celia and Linda stepped out of their rooms, weapons in hand. Celia's sword gleamed faintly in the moonlight, while Linda notched an arrow on her bow. They moved quickly across the garden until they reached Nolan's side.

Nolan glanced at them, then turned his back on the intruders, fixing his eyes on the four who remained. The men shifted nervously, stepping back a little.

"Didn't you see what just happened?" one hissed. "How did he defeat our mage? That was one of the most powerful mages we had!"

Another added, his voice shaking, "Yeah, he shattered a boulder with brute strength."

A third snapped at them. "Hey! Don't lose your nerve. No matter how it looks, we are still in Numbahin. We shouldn't be afraid. He's the one who should be scared!"

The fourth barked back, panic rising in his tone. "Scared? You want us to die? When we took this job, the client told us he was only rank E. Rank E! But this—this is no rank E. He's rank S! He just destroyed our best mage and our best fighter. Do you really think the four of us can win?"

The others froze. One of them frowned nervously, but before he could speak, Nolan's voice cut through the air.

"Wait. What did you just say? Rank S? Are you all adventurers like I am?"

They hesitated, their silence heavy.

"There's no need for you to answer," one of them snapped, his confidence returning as he gripped two daggers in his hands. "Die!"

He lunged at Nolan with blinding speed, blades flashing. Both daggers slashed toward Nolan's throat, but Nolan didn't move. He let the steel strike—only for the man's eyes to widen in shock. The daggers scraped uselessly against his skin, leaving not even a mark.

"What… why isn't it cutting?!" the man stammered, hammering the blades again and again into Nolan's neck. Sparks flickered with every strike, but nothing pierced.

Nolan's eyes narrowed. "A thin, invisible barrier covers my body. That's why your blades can't leave a scratch."

The man staggered back a step, breathing hard, disbelief twisting his face. "Just… just who are you? You can't be human. No human can stand against this—"

"I don't have time for your questions," Nolan interrupted coldly. He raised his fist, but before the blow could land, the man leapt back and thrust out his hand.

A shimmering cube of mana snapped shut around Nolan, walls glowing as countless conjured blades materialized inside. Daggers, swords, and spears swirled like a storm, stabbing and slashing from every angle.

Nolan stood still inside the prison, letting the blades crash against his unseen barrier. None of them reached him. Not a single cut.

"What is this supposed to be?" Nolan muttered. He pressed one hand against the wall of the cube, then shoved. The construct shattered instantly, fragments of light exploding into the night.

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