[Attention: Hero Paimon has been eliminated.]
If the previous notifications only surprised people, this one truly terrified them.
A Hero had been eliminated?
Already?
Then they looked at the name.
Paimon.
…Oh. Never mind then.
"Pfft!"
Keqing nearly burst out laughing when she saw the message.
Luckily she hadn't teamed up with Paimon.
Otherwise she would have been eliminated by now.
Outside a small village.
Klee was wearing beautiful armor, with an extraordinary-looking sword hanging at her waist.
"Little Paimon got eliminated?"
Her big eyes were full of confusion.
How did Paimon lose such an easy game?
As expected, other Heroes just weren't reliable.
Saving the world still depended on Hero Klee.
"Yaoyao, Hook, Diona, Qiqi, let's go!"
"We're heading into the mountains to beat up some bandits!"
With a wave of her hand, she led her little companions toward the distant mountains.
She had already gathered the information.
There was a group of bandits hiding in the mountains, and they had kidnapped the village chief's sister—Robin.
Naturally, Hero Klee would teach those bandits what it meant to face a Hero.
Watching the tiny figures walk away, Sunday clasped his hands together and prayed.
Heroes…
My sister is counting on you.
Please rescue Robin.
And if possible, beat up that kidnapper Jing Yuan too.
Once they entered the mountains, monsters began appearing more frequently.
Klee wasn't afraid at all.
She swung her sword once—
Every monster instantly vanished into ashes.
Clink.
A small dagger dropped to the ground.
No one found it surprising anymore.
Every monster Klee killed dropped something.
Diona, whose class was Thief, picked up the dagger and examined it.
[Refined Dagger: Attack +175]
"Trash. We'll sell it later."
She tossed it casually into her backpack.
Compared to other players, this weapon would be considered top-tier.
But to her, it was garbage.
After all, she was currently equipped with weapons from the Sky Series, each with over +800 attack.
Even though her level was low, every monster died in a single hit.
As for where these weapons came from?
Klee had given them to everyone.
According to Klee, she had spawned in a castle full of labyrinths at the beginning of the game.
The monsters there were ridiculously strong, so she had mostly sneaked around.
Luckily, she had opened several treasure chests.
Inside were the Sky Series weapons she now carried.
Diona had a strange suspicion.
They might currently be wandering around the beginner area while holding endgame weapons.
After all, her own weapon was called Sky Dagger, which was already impressive.
But Klee's weapon…
Was called Sword of the Hero.
Just hearing the name made it obvious.
It was designed specifically for the Hero.
And it was absurdly powerful.
Immunity to dark magic control.
Bonus light magic effects.
The weapon was ridiculously overpowered.
Slash.
Klee casually cut down another monster blocking the path.
A pile of materials dropped.
She didn't even look at them.
She tossed them into her backpack and marched toward a cave while carrying her huge sword.
Inside the cave.
Jing Yuan handed a cup of warm water to Robin.
"So… which Hero do you think will come?"
Since the beginning of the game, Jing Yuan had been staying inside this cave.
Although his class could join the Hero's party, he was currently a Thief.
According to the storyline, he had to wait here.
Once the Hero defeated him, he could repent and join their team.
As for Robin—
She was the hostage kidnapped from the village.
"I'm not sure," Robin replied.
"I wonder who my brother assigned this mission to."
Like Jing Yuan, she was an NPC tied to the storyline.
But unlike Jing Yuan, she couldn't join the main party.
She could only wait to be rescued.
Afterward, she would reward the heroes with her family's heirloom treasure to strengthen their team.
"Sigh… hopefully this Hero is reliable."
Soon, cheerful voices echoed from outside the cave.
"Qiqi, come here! Water is dripping from the ceiling!"
"Wow! Klee, there's a treasure chest here!"
"Yaoyao, come look! There's so much gold!"
Jing Yuan and Robin exchanged confused looks.
Why did it sound like a group of children had arrived?
"…Miss Robin, I'll go check."
Jing Yuan stood up and walked toward the entrance.
Immediately, a small figure popped inside.
"Huh? Uncle Jing Yuan, are you the bandit?"
Hook widened her eyes.
Wow.
So you're the bad guy.
"…Hook?"
Jing Yuan blinked.
"You're the Hero?"
"Nope." Hook shook her head.
"Klee is the Hero. I'm the Martial Artist."
"I see…"
Jing Yuan nodded.
So Klee was the Hero this time.
That was good.
He could check how strong Klee had become.
Letting a group of children wander around outside was dangerous.
He might end up taking care of them later.
But when Klee walked in with her teammates—
Jing Yuan froze.
Why was the party already full?
Then what about him?
"Uncle Jing Yuan, are you the bad guy who kidnapped Sister Robin?" Klee asked.
"…I don't think I'm a bad guy."
Jing Yuan really didn't want to admit he was a kidnapper.
Especially in front of a group of children.
"I think you are," Diona interrupted.
"Brother Sunday already told us everything."
"You're very bad. You kidnapped Sister Robin to start a bad magic ritual."
Pfft.
Jing Yuan nearly coughed blood.
Inside, he cursed Sunday repeatedly.
What exactly had you been telling these kids?
And what the heck was a "bad magic ritual"?
Did you just run out of words?
"Ahem."
Suppressing his embarrassment, Jing Yuan said:
"Kids, since you've come here, you must defeat me before you can rescue Miss Robin."
Since Klee's party was already full, there was no way he could join them.
So he could only test these kids instead.
Robin nodded and stepped aside.
"Mr. Jing Yuan, please go easy on them."
"These children are very lovable."
She didn't want him to accidentally make one of them cry.
"Don't worry. I understand."
Jing Yuan gave her a reassuring look and drew his dagger.
As a Thief, this was the only weapon he could use.
"I'll go!"
Klee stepped forward confidently.
She carried her Hero's Sword and marched toward Jing Yuan on her little legs.
Then she swung her sword sideways.
"Heh."
To Jing Yuan, this kind of attack was child's play.
He raised his dagger to block while reaching for the back of Klee's neck with his other hand.
Clang!
A loud metallic sound rang out.
Jing Yuan was sent flying backward.
He smashed into the wall.
Pfft.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
His eyes rolled back as he collapsed.
"…Huh?"
Robin stared in shock.
What just happened?
She had asked him not to hurt the children.
But she didn't ask him to act this dramatically.
Wasn't this a little fake?
[Attention: Player Jing Yuan has been eliminated.]
Robin: "!!!!!!"
Now she understood.
Jing Yuan hadn't been acting.
He was genuinely weak.
He couldn't even block one strike.
And he wanted to join the main party?
"Yay! The bad guy is defeated!"
The kids didn't care whether Jing Yuan had followed the script or not.
All they knew was that Hero Klee had defeated another villain.
At this rate—
Defeating the Demon King wouldn't be far away.
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