Flying high in the sky, Keqing leaned against the railing of the ship, staring at the town that was slowly shrinking in the distance.
Her eyes were filled with amazement.
After waiting three days…
They had ended up with something like this.
A massive vessel flying through the air.
It was unbelievable.
Now the Demon King's army had no way of chasing them.
And in the future, they could fly around the world picking up teammates.
No more worrying about the Demon King's army destroying cities and eliminating players.
Inside the cockpit.
Belle looked at Wise with a playful smile.
"See? I told you it would be an airship."
"Classic RPG trope."
"…Sigh."
"I can't believe I guessed wrong."
When they first heard they had to wait three days, the two siblings had made their own guesses.
Belle guessed it would be an airship.
Wise thought it would be some kind of powerful weapon.
Now he had lost the bet.
Which meant he would be doing all the housework for a week.
On the other side of the map.
"Watch this!"
With a rising slash, March 7th launched a monster into the air.
She sheathed her sword and turned proudly toward the two people behind her.
"Well?"
"How's my swordsmanship?"
Clap clap clap.
Ningguang applauded.
"Hero March 7th's swordsmanship is sharp and elegant. Truly a delight to watch."
Black Swan immediately followed up.
"Indeed. Miss March's progress these days has been astonishing."
"Hehe…"
March 7th scratched her head, embarrassed by the praise.
"You're exaggerating."
"Anyway, I'm level 63 now."
"That should be enough to avenge Paimon, right?"
"Your level should be sufficient," Ningguang said after a moment of thought. "But we still need two powerful companions."
"Silver Wolf won't be easy to deal with."
"That's true," Black Swan added with lingering fear. "If Hero Paimon hadn't teleported us away at the last moment, we might have already been eliminated."
"Ah, don't worry about it!"
March waved her hand confidently.
"You two are level 80 now!"
"If we run into Silver Wolf, the three of us will just gang up on her!"
March was very optimistic.
After all, she felt incredibly lucky.
At the tavern, she had only managed to recruit two teammates—
Ningguang and Black Swan.
But their levels were ridiculously high.
With them helping her grind levels, leveling up had been ridiculously easy.
"Let's go."
"We'll head to the next town."
"Once we recruit two more teammates, we'll go hunt down Silver Wolf."
"Of course," Ningguang replied politely. "Then we'll rely on you, Hero March."
The two exchanged a glance.
Both of them smiled faintly.
March 7th was… surprisingly easy to fool.
They traveled for hours.
But they didn't find a single town.
Night fell.
The forest canopy blocked the moonlight, making the surroundings extremely dark.
"Let's stop here for tonight," March said.
"Agreed," Ningguang nodded. "Traveling further in darkness would be unwise."
"Alright."
March clapped her hands.
"You two rest. I'll go find something to start a fire."
She waved her hand like a true team leader.
Her teammates could rest.
She would handle the supplies.
Watching March disappear into the forest, Ningguang spoke quietly.
"Is she always like this?"
"…It's hard to bring myself to do it."
Black Swan nodded.
"Yes."
"She really treats us well."
"Even I feel bad about it."
"…Then when the time comes," Ningguang said softly, "we'll finish it quickly."
"Don't let her realize what happened."
"Agreed."
This was their final bit of mercy.
After walking a short distance through the forest, March suddenly noticed a faint glow ahead.
And the smell of roasted meat drifted through the air.
"Huh?"
"Someone's there?"
Her eyes lit up.
Anyone wandering in the wilderness must be a Hero.
She immediately hurried toward the light.
"Whoa—!"
When she reached the campfire, she immediately recognized the person roasting meat.
"Valerius?!"
"March 7th?" Valerius looked up in surprise. "Why are you out in the wilderness?"
"Grinding levels!"
"But what about you? Why are you here?"
"Moving between cities," Valerius said casually. "Did you forget? I wander across the continent."
"Oh right!"
March suddenly remembered.
Valerius traveled around the world.
And if you found him—
You could buy special items using points.
"Quick, let me see what you're selling!"
"Of course."
Valerius opened the item list.
March's eyes widened instantly.
Sky Series Full Equipment — 4 Points
Complete Set of Light Forbidden Magic — 4 Points
Level Cap Breakthrough — 5 Points
Hero's Blessing — 5 Points
Fling Trainer — 10 Points
"W-what is that?"
March pointed at the final item.
Ten points?!
"Oh, that?" Valerius said with a grin. "That's called Fling Trainer."
"With it, you can modify any data in the game."
"For example—"
"Unlimited HP."
"Maximum attack power."
"Even the Demon King would die in one hit."
Valerius raised an eyebrow.
"So?"
"Pretty good, right?"
"…That's literally a cheat engine."
"Correct."
Valerius nodded enthusiastically.
Then he leaned forward with a mischievous grin.
"So, young lady…"
"Would you like to join the Fling Trainer Sect?"
"…It's actually a cheat engine…"
March was excited.
She knew exactly what it meant if a game had cheats.
"Okay! I'll buy—"
She suddenly froze.
"…Wait."
"How many points do we even have?"
"All Hero players combined have ten points."
"…That's it?"
"So if I spend them, everyone else loses points too?"
"Correct."
March rolled her eyes.
Forget it.
Even if she became insanely powerful and won the game—
If no one got rewards, what was the point?
And if she bought this cheat engine, victory would be guaranteed.
Which meant the Demon King's side would also lose their rewards.
A lose-lose situation.
Not worth it.
Still…
Since she had already found Valerius, leaving without buying anything felt like a waste.
After thinking for a moment, she said,
"Wait here. I'll go ask Ningguang and Black Swan."
"…Who?"
Valerius blinked.
Ningguang was a Demon General.
How exactly did a Hero end up teaming up with a Demon General?
"My teammates—Ningguang and Black Swan."
"What's wrong?"
"…Nothing."
"Go ahead."
"I'll stay here tonight."
"Okay! Wait for me!"
As March ran off to find her teammates, Valerius covered his face.
These people were really ruthless.
He already knew every player's identity.
All he could do now…
Was silently mourn for March 7th.
Soon, three figures returned.
"Mr. Valerius, a pleasure to meet you."
Ningguang quickly sat beside him, her eyes full of curiosity.
"A pleasure."
Valerius gave her a subtle look.
Don't worry.
I didn't expose you.
He was just a merchant.
He had no intention of interfering with the players' schemes.
"Ningguang…"
March asked eagerly.
"Should we buy something?"
"Of course we should."
Ningguang nodded immediately.
Not only should they buy something—
They should buy something expensive.
Except for one thing.
That cheat engine.
Absolutely not.
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