...…

Shin observed the newly arrived group, trying to assess their strengths out of habit. At the same time, he also activated the 'True Sight' ocular skill. And after seeing their basic information, he couldn't help but shake his head a little.

This group that just arrived was composed of 7 people: two female and 5 males. Their class composition was quite decent; they had a Master Berserker and Shield Warrior as their frontline members with a Dual Blader and Specter Assassin as their melee supports.

Their backline members were the Female Bishop and Master Shaman, which was obviously their support. And the Male Human Wizard was the one responsible for magic range assaults.

It was a decent class composition that could cover most of the roles needed for a team. The only one that made Shin shake his heads were their levels. It was not because their levels were too low or anything – In fact, their levels were already a little over a hundred. The problem was they all had the common races and basic classes.

It didn't mean that Shin was against the common races and classes. It was just after experiencing the advantages and battle capabilities of a player with a rare race and class, he couldn't put anyone with the basic ones in his eyes anymore.

Aside from this, Shin also felt the overwhelming arrogance coming from this group – which also made him shake his head even further.

"Let's just hope that they at least have some decent skills," muttered Shin to himself while smiling bitterly.

On the other hand, the Human Guardian who seemed to be the leader of the group suddenly said. "So, this is the VIP room reserved for the participants of the tournament, huh?" right after sweeping his gaze at the room.

And after a slight pause he immediately added. "There is nothing special in it; It is somewhat plain."

The swordsman standing beside him seemed to agree with him and said. "Yeah. There is nothing to see here except for the chairs."

Hearing that, the other members of the group started laughing out loud after hearing that. After that, the Master Shaman of the group suddenly said, "Maybe this is what the loser's VIP looks like."

The group started laughing again the moment they heard that. They only stopped when they were finally satisfied.

At that moment, the leader of the group suddenly saw Joyce frowning her eyebrows. So, he 'immediately scolded' his teammates. "Guys don't be rude. We are in someone else's room. We are the guests here so show some respect to the owner."

He then started walking towards Owen and patted his shoulder. "Sorry, bro. Please excuse their rudeness – They don't really mean what they said."

Owen looked at him with a calm face and replied. "Don't worry. It is no harm."

Hearing Owen's reply, the leader suddenly smirked inside before turning around. After that, they started taking their seats one by one. The group completely ignored Shin from start to finish. It was as if he was not there in the first place.

What's more, he was sitting on the furthest side of the room, so he really was hard to notice.

After taking their seats, the group started talking once again since they had nothing much to do while waiting for the battle to start.

Shin planned to ignore all of what they were saying while waiting with them. But no matter how hard he tried not to listen to their words; he just couldn't do it. Especially when they were saying a lot of ridiculous things.

He took a quick look at the other end of seats and saw Owen immersed in his own world while talking with Joyce. And the moment he saw that the b*st*rd was seemingly enjoying his time, Shin couldn't help but cursed a little. "D*mn this guy! Did he just invite me to suffer this torture?"

Owen seemed to feel the glaring eyes that were looking at him and look at Shin's direction. Feeling Shin's current mood, he suddenly started smirking while doing some eye signals.

Even if they were not close, Shin was still able to understand what Owen wanted to say since he already learned this kind of communication in the military. Usually, he was also communicating with Arthur and Leonard this way (Especially on exams).

Given that, Shin immediately picked up what Owen was saying. So, he started smiling bitterly behind his mask and said to himself. "So, that was it, huh?"

"You wanted me to play a little villain, huh? Well, I don't mind it if that was your real target. After all, these guys are really unpleasant to me."

After that, Shin sent a message saying. "Just make sure to give me suitable compensation after this."

Owen immediately received the message. So, he took a quick peek at it while secretly giving an OK sign at Shin.

After that, Shin started grinning evilly while waiting for the right time to strike. And it didn't take him too long before that opportunity presented itself.

"Tch! I am sure that the captain can easily enter the top ranks if he belongs to the invited," said by the Dual Blader.

The Specter Master Assassin sitting on the chair beside him, was about to nod his head when they suddenly heard Shin 'muttering' to himself. "Isn't it obvious why your captain is not invited?"

The two of them looked at Shin with unkind gazed and asked simultaneously. "What did you say?"

Shin didn't turn his head at them as he replied 'innocently'. "What are you talking about? Did I say something?"

"B*st*rd! You just said that our Captain is weak!" yelled by the Dual Blader while pointing at Shin.

Due to that, everyone inside the room was currently looking at them. Especially the members of the group, who were looking at Shin with unkind gazes.

Shin still refused to turn his head at them while replying. "Even if I ever said something. I am pretty sure that is not what I have said."

"But you mean it's the same!" said the Specter Master Assassin.

Hearing that, Shin immediately said. "If your captain is invited to the tournament, then that only means he is not strong enough to participate in it. I didn't say something wrong, did I?"

The moment those words left his mouth, the temperature in the inside room suddenly dropped drastically. The group was now glaring at Shin very fiercely.

Seeing that, Joyce wanted to stand up to prevent the worst case possible to happen. After all, she was the reason why Owen invited them, so she was guilty the moment these guys started talking some unkind things.

And if things happened between them and Owen's friend, then it was the same as not giving some face on Owen.

But before she could even stand up, Owen immediately prevented her from doing so. Due to that, she couldn't help but look at Owen with a puzzled expression on her face.

Seeing that, Owen smiled at her and whispered. "There is no need for that. He is capable enough to handle himself."

Joyce still didn't know whether to believe him or not.

She couldn't clearly see Shin's face earlier due to the hood hanging over his head. But even if that was the case, she could still guess that this friend of Owen might be a skilled player since she could feel the air of an expert surrounding him.

But even if her 'friends' were quite arrogant; they at least had some skills to back their words up. After all, they were not going to get past the level-100 mark if they were just an average player. And their team synergy was quite strong compared to ordinary teams.

She stared at Owen for a few seconds to see how confident he was on his friend. And after seeing that he was so sure that his friend could handle the situation on his own, she sat back on her seat and tried to observe for now. After all, she still could jump in if things went wrong.

At the same time, the group became even more enraged the moment they saw that Shin was not paying much attention to them. He didn't even turn his head in their direction since the start; he just sat on his seat and stared at the empty arena with his left hand supporting his cheek.

Due to that, the leader took a quick look at Owen and Joyce to see what their opinion on this situation was. And when he saw that the two of them seemed not to have any intention of interfering, he turned back to one of his teammates and signaled with a slight head gesture.

Seeing that, the Shield Warrior of the group nodded his head and started walking towards Shin. "Hey, kid. Isn't it rude not to look at the person talking to you?"

Hearing that, Shin released a smirking sound while sneering. "And isn't it rude not to respect the host of his room when you are the guests?" still not looking at them.

And after a slight pause, he suddenly added. "You guys are kept on talking sh*ts since the time you got in here. You don't even say a single 'Thanks' to Owen for being invited to this place. Instead, you criticize the room and its host right after entering."

The whole group suddenly turned quiet for a moment the moment they heard those words. But refusing to admit their mistakes, they instead looked at Shin with a solemn expression on their faces.

At the same time, the remaining members of the group started to stand one by one while planning to gang up at Shin.

Seeing that, Joyce started to get a little nervous. She took a look at Owen. But the moment she saw the confident expression on his face, she couldn't help but knit her eyebrows a little and wondered about the identity of Owen's friend.

The moment she turned her head back at the group, the leader of the group was already walking towards Shin while saying. "Kid, how about you look at us first and say it once again."

Shin started shaking his head while chuckling the moment he heard that. And when the leader saw that, he couldn't contain himself anymore and shouted. "Kid, you are pushing your luck too hard! Look at us or else-…"

He was still in the middle of talking when Shin suddenly turned his head at him with a slightly raised head – enough for them to see the [Nephilim's Gemini Mask] that he was wearing.

"If I don't, what then?" he said while releasing an overwhelming pressure from his body.

...…