The three huddled together, whispering back and forth for quite a while.
In the end, Ningguang made the decision for March.
"Buy the Level Cap Break."
"…That one?"
March hesitated.
"But that doesn't really boost me right now…"
What she really wanted was the Sky-tier weapons.
With those, combined with her current level, her strength would skyrocket immediately.
Ningguang shook her head.
"No, Miss March."
"Weapons are ultimately external power."
"You must strengthen yourself."
Her tone softened, but her words were persuasive—almost hypnotic.
"As long as you grow stronger, even without equipment, the Demon King will never be your match."
She leaned closer, painting a grand future.
"Think about it."
"The game has only just begun."
"If you break your level cap now…"
"By the final battle—"
"The Demon King will be level 100."
"But you?"
"200? 300? Or even higher?"
"As long as your level is high enough, defeating the Demon King will be effortless."
March blinked.
That… actually made a lot of sense.
Black Swan immediately added fuel to the fire.
"Ningguang is right."
"Weapons can be taken away."
"But a level cap break cannot."
"If we buy this, we can simply grind endlessly."
"And when the final battle comes…"
"The Demon King's army won't stand a chance."
"Hmmmmm…"
March crossed her arms, thinking hard.
The more she thought about it—
The more reasonable it sounded.
Equipment was external.
True strength came from oneself.
Even if the Level Cap Break didn't help her right now…
It guaranteed her future.
Her eyes lit up.
At this moment—
She felt like she had grasped her own destiny.
As for dying before she could grow?
She didn't even consider it.
Come on.
She had two level 80 powerhouses backing her up.
What could possibly go wrong?
March nodded vigorously.
Yes.
This was the right choice.
Off to the side, Valerius turned his head away.
He was afraid he might laugh out loud.
You actually believe them?
They were playing you.
He would bet anything—
The moment March bought that item—
Those two would strike immediately.
Those women were not good people.
After a long moment of thought, March stepped forward.
"I'll buy the Level Cap Break."
"…Alright."
Valerius looked at her with something close to pity.
He handed her a small card.
"Keep it safe."
"No worries!"
[Notice: Hero March 7th has purchased Level Cap Break Card. 5 points consumed.]
A system notification echoed across all Hero players.
Instantly—
Everyone was shaken.
What just happened?!
Five points… gone?!
That was half of their total!
Across the map, one unified thought spread:
March 7th is selfish as hell.
She just spent everyone's points on herself?!
March, of course, had no idea.
She flipped the card over and over in her hands.
It looked completely ordinary.
After inspecting it, she prepared to use it—
"Wait."
Black Swan suddenly spoke.
Originally, they only planned to burn the Hero faction's points.
But now—
Seeing the item was a card—
Their thoughts shifted.
Could they… take it?
"Can I take a look?"
"I've never seen a point-purchased item before."
Ningguang leaned in as well.
"I'm curious too."
March had no guard against them.
"Sure."
She handed the card to Black Swan.
The moment it touched her hand—
Black Swan tried to activate it.
[Notice: This item is exclusive to the Hero faction. Demon faction cannot use it.]
"…Looks like we can't."
She shook her head at Ningguang.
"What a pity."
Ningguang sighed.
She had briefly hoped to steal a usable item.
No luck.
"…What are you doing?"
March suddenly felt something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Wait…
They weren't trying to use it themselves, right?!
A flicker of anger rose.
I'm the Hero!
"Give it back."
"I'm the one who can use it."
"…"
Ningguang smiled brightly.
Then—
She casually stored the card in her inventory.
"Wait—what are you doing?!"
March's heart sank.
This felt…
Exactly like getting your loot stolen in a dungeon.
Her chest tightened.
All those moments—
Fighting together.
Leveling together.
Surviving together.
Were they… all fake?
"…Our bond… meant nothing?"
"Mr. Valerius, what are you doing?!"
Suddenly, Ningguang's expression changed dramatically.
She stared behind March in shock.
"…Valerius?"
March spun around—
Only to see Valerius standing exactly where he had been.
Not moving at all.
"…?"
Pfft—
A blade pierced through her chest.
At the same time—
A spell exploded.
March's HP dropped to zero instantly.
[Notice: Hero March 7th has been eliminated.]
Across the entire continent—
The Hero faction erupted.
"What the hell?!"
"She just spent points and died immediately?!"
"What is she doing?!"
"This is trolling at its finest!"
"March 7th is a disaster!"
In an instant—
She became the target of universal outrage.
"…That was a bit much."
Valerius sighed.
"You could've just attacked."
"Dragging me into it was unnecessary."
Ningguang showed no embarrassment at all.
"I simply didn't want Miss March to realize the truth."
"…She'll realize after the game ends anyway."
Valerius shook his head.
At this point—
March had not only wasted points—
She got eliminated too.
When the game ended…
Those players would not be kind to her.
He returned to the fire and sat down.
"So?"
"Buying anything else?"
"What about Demon-side items?"
Ningguang asked calmly.
"If Hero items don't work for us…"
"Then ours must be different."
"Of course."
Valerius opened a new menu.
High-tier Elite Monsters ×600 — 3 points
Useless. Instantly discarded.
Demon General Level Break — 4 points
Only affects one person. Discarded.
Demon King Formation — 4 points
→ Absorb NPCs to increase Demon King's stats
"…Oh?"
Both their eyes lit up.
Simple description—
But extremely practical.
Phantylia could absorb Hero power to grow stronger—
But Heroes were few.
And hard to capture.
But NPCs?
They were everywhere.
Even if each gave only a small boost—
It added up.
Every bit of power mattered.
Fling Trainer — 10 points
The cheat engine appeared again.
Neither of them even considered it.
A move that ruined both sides?
Not worth it.
"What do you think?"
Ningguang asked quietly.
"If we don't buy anything…"
"What are our chances?"
Black Swan shook her head.
"Hard to say."
"Right now, we have the advantage…"
"But Klee is still out there."
"And that weapon…"
A level 20+ Klee—
Was already capable of damaging a level 80 Raiden Shogun.
That alone made her a massive variable.
So the question remained—
Buy?
Or not?
Either choice…
Could cost them everything.
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