My Bugged System Made Me Too OP!

Chapter 138: Leader

He soon found Yuan standing a few meters away, his familiar, grounded silhouette cutting a sharp figure against the wide-open horizon.

But Yuan wasn’t alone. Standing right beside the guild master was another man, his presence immediately introducing a new, uncalculated variable to the quiet landscape.

Noah’s gaze locked onto the stranger, his analytical subroutines instinctively mapping the man’s physical parameters.

The other man was tall, possessing a broad, heavily muscled frame that spoke of decades of rigorous physical conditioning and martial discipline, topped with a completely bald head that caught the bright afternoon sun like polished stone.

He wore the structured, armored leathers of a high-tier combatant, but despite his imposing stature, his composure completely fractured the moment Noah’s boots touched the earth.

The man shivered slightly when he saw Noah, a distinct, involuntary tremor rippling through his massive shoulders as the sheer, suffocating pressure of the residual arch magus mana washed over the grass.

It was the instinctual reaction of a seasoned predator suddenly realizing it was standing in the presence of an apex entity.

Without a single second of hesitation, the tall man bent at the waist, his upper body dipping forward as he even bowed in respect, lowering his bald head in a gesture of absolute submission that looked entirely unnatural for someone of his physical build.

"Mr. White..." the man said, his voice carrying a deep, reverent baritone that trembled slightly at the edges as he kept his gaze fixed firmly on the ground.

He remained in his deep bow, his hands pressed tightly against his seams. "...it’s such an honor to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you."

Noah nodded, his features remaining entirely flat and unreadable beneath the shadow of his collar.

He didn’t offer a polite greeting or move to ease the man’s obvious anxiety; instead, he focused his thoughts, drawing upon the cold, absolute mechanics of the system hidden within his soul.

’Eye of Truth.’

The air directly in front of his vision trembled slightly and a series of translucent, pale-blue windows materializing weightlessly to map the stranger’s core identity and combat metrics into absolute data.

Noah’s eyes scanned the glowing characters, and he thought to himself: Varis, master magus and B-rank adventurer.

The specification was impressive, confirming that the tall, bald man was quite a force to be reckoned with on any conventional battlefield.

To achieve the title of master magus required a lifetime of grueling elemental study and a massive, refined mana pool, while a B-rank designation within the guild network meant he was trusted to handle regional threats and hunt high-tier elite monsters without supervision.

Noah processed the data rapidly, running the organizational hierarchy through his mind to understand the exact dynamics of their newly formed party.

This meant he was the same rank with Yuan, matching the guild master unit for unit in terms of raw individual classification.

Except the latter was a guild master, so Yuan still had a higher rank in a way.

Yuan commanded the entire administrative authority of their local sector, possessing the bureaucratic power to mobilize armies, distribute resources, and dictate regional strategy, which effectively placed him a step above Varis in the grand architecture of the guild.

Varis, on the other hand, didn’t carry the localized scent or the specific regional insignias of their local branch.

Based on the pristine, high-grade alloy trim on his leather armor and the rigid, formal nature of his posture, he was probably sent from another adventurer guild branch or even the headquarters itself.

The central administration rarely deployed master magi of this caliber to peripheral sectors unless the underlying threat was severe enough to jeopardize the stability of the entire kingdom.

Noah nodded at him, his voice dropping into a low, detached register that perfectly matched the cold, eccentric persona of the fictitious Mr. White.

"Yeah..." Noah said, the single word cutting through the whistling wind of the field like a blunt blade.

Varis slowly straightened his spine, rising from his deep bow but keeping his shoulders slightly hunched and his head tilted downward, entirely unwilling to lock direct eyes with the terrifying entity standing before him.

He was terrified, and at the same time, he was quite excited at working with Mr white, whose name was rapidly gaining popularity around the continent.

He cleared his throat, his hand coming up to touch the heavy, brass medallion pinned to his chest—the official seal of the central authority.

"My name’s Varis..." the tall man introduced himself, his tone dropping into a deeply respectful, almost submissive pitch as he gestured toward the open path leading toward the horizon.

He kept his hands entirely visible, showcasing his lack of hostile intent. "...I was sent from the headquarters to assist with this investigation, Sir White. They wanted to ensure you had sufficient operational support for the investigation within Vale’s perimeter."

Noah nodded, his expression remaining locked in that serious, unyielding mask while his internal thoughts spun into a rapid, calculating sequence.

’Just as I expected, I’m still a little surprised they sent someone from the headquarters though.’ he thought.

To the two men standing before him, the legendary Mr. White appeared entirely unbothered by the gravity of the situation, a supreme entity operating on a level far above the anxieties of common men.

Yet beneath that cold, calculated exterior, Noah still felt a little nervous, though.

A quiet, persistent knot of tension tightened in the pit of his stomach as the reality of their logistical alignment settled completely into his mind.

He was the one in charge of this investigation. This wasn’t a standard academy exercise where a supervisor watched from the margins, ready to intervene the moment a spell misfired or a strategy collapsed.

Every tactical decision, every directional route, and every life-or-death call inside the corrupted perimeter of Vale city would rest entirely upon his shoulders.

As an arch magus, and also the most powerful among the three, they naturally placed him in charge of it.

In the world of adventurers, authority wasn’t granted by age, political lineage, or administrative seniority; it was determined solely by the depth of one’s mana pool and the destructive caliber of one’s elemental affinity.

To them, it was only natural, a fundamental law of nature, that the apex predator should lead the pack into the dark.