Chapter 1: The Hero
The sky was as black as midnight, the clouds looking as if they might drip blood at any moment. At the end of the desolate hills lay a rugged valley, barren and utterly devoid of green. The sharp, long caws of ravens echoed from the sky, only to be instantly swallowed by the more piercing sound of the wind.
The scenery of the Demon City was always so distinctive, a sight one never tired of detesting.
Nelly gazed at the miserable scenery before her, yet she felt a flicker of excitement: being near the Demon City meant that returning home was just around the corner. As an ordinary citizen of the global village, Nelly had only been trying out a new game at a convention when, by a stroke of luck, she was transported into the game’s virtual world. Afterward, she was informed by the goddamn system administrator:
“Want to go home? First, please guide one hundred heroes to defeat the Demon King who plagues the continent.”
Nelly had served as a system spirit ever since, diligently maintaining a one hundred percent approval rating. She just had to assist this one-hundredth hero by her side in defeating the Demon King. Once the world was thoroughly saved, she too could return home as she wished.
This final hero was named Karsus. He was a young man with black hair and red eyes, taciturn and perpetually expressionless.
And yet, Karsus’s combat power was astonishingly high—for instance, right now, he swung his greatsword without a change in expression, swiftly slaying dozens of ferocious blood-sucking bats. He then slung the sword to his waist, his breathing perfectly steady, and gave a brief nod. “Mission complete. Return to the city.”
Nelly was a little worried about Karsus’s physical condition and asked with concern, “Are you sure you don’t want to rest for a bit?”
The black-haired young man shook his head wordlessly, his expression quiet but firm.
Since the hero was so insistent, Nelly had no choice but to activate a return scroll.
A soft white light enveloped the two of them, and the bleak landscape of the outskirts gradually blurred.
Although it was a virtual world, for the people living within it, everything was real. Every journey through a scene had to be walked step by step. If they were to truly walk from the outskirts of the Demon City all the way back to the city walls, it would take the better part of a day. It was only when returning to the city that they could be a little lazy and use an item.
Having rushed about on the quest for half a day, Nelly was mentally fatigued and secretly turned her face away to stifle a yawn. Karsus noticed, and a fleeting smile touched his lips, but he remained silent.
A holy light shone, and the scenery changed.
A sour stench assaulted their senses. Looking around, they saw dilapidated shacks standing in clusters, and narrow, filthy alleys twisted and turned. Swarms of rats scurried across, splashing the grimy puddles of water. A woman in ragged clothes on the street paid them no mind, her attention focused solely on clutching the scripture and black bread in her arms.
This was the dilapidated refugee slum outside the Demon City, a testament to the miserable state of the common people tormented by the Demon King.
Karsus and Nelly stopped deep in an alley in front of the market. A crooked shop sign was covered in stains, the words “Oak Tree Inn” barely legible.
A pale-faced woman emerged from the dark doorway. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw Karsus. Wiping her hands on her greasy apron, she spoke with a tone of reverence and humility:
“Thank you so much, Lord Hero! Those damned bats…” Before the kind innkeeper could finish her words of gratitude, Karsus simply placed the bag full of bat fangs on the ground and turned to leave.
Nelly apologized awkwardly, “Please, don’t mind him. Karsus is just… not good with people.”
The innkeeper waved her hand magnanimously. “It’s alright. May the gods bless Lord Hero and grant him a swift victory over the evil Demon King. You’ve worked hard too, little Nelly!” As she spoke, she handed over an experience crystal and a heavy leather pouch. She glanced around, then carefully took out a small, leaf-wrapped triangle and pressed it into Nelly’s hand. “This is a gift for you, little Nelly.”
Nelly couldn’t resist raising it to her nose for a sniff. It was the scent of cheese, something she hadn’t smelled in a long time.
Never mind fresh cheese; even ordinary milk was a scarce commodity here. The gift was truly precious, and Nelly felt it was too much. Before she could politely decline, the innkeeper had already turned and gone back into the inn.
After calling out her thanks once more, Nelly turned around to see Karsus waiting for her in the center of the market.
The black-haired young man was tall and slender, and dressed in the attire of a hero, he was eye-catching just by standing there. Coupled with his chiseled features, his deep crimson eyes that surpassed the finest aged wine, and his skin like pure white marble, he truly fit the tastes of the people of Wildia. Before long, a young girl selling wildflowers was blushing, hesitantly hovering nearby with her basket.
Nelly hurried to catch up, but before she could speak, Karsus cut her off.
“You take the items and experience.”
Nelly felt a wave of helplessness.
She still remembered her first meeting with Karsus in the novice village. After she had introduced herself, the young man had merely given her an expressionless glance before silently heading off to find the village chief to accept a quest.
When they arrived at the chief’s house, he didn’t even wait for the chief to finish his plea for help before turning to leave, sword in hand. After swiftly dealing with the troublemaking foxes, he turned in the quest and departed without a word, leaving behind a coolly indifferent back.
At the time, Nelly had hastily grabbed the quest rewards and followed him. Karsus didn’t even spare her a glance and finally spoke his first words to Nelly: “You take the items and experience.”
Nelly was stunned for a long moment. Is this hero… really okay?
It wasn’t just in the novice village. Since then, Karsus had never accepted any experience crystals or equipment, and had forcibly carved a bloody path using nothing but his tattered initial white-grade equipment. Thanks to his insistence, Nelly had leveled up all the way, and her only support skill was nearly maxed out. But her skill was utterly useless: a 0.01% chance to deal 150% of the target’s health in damage. It was really… worse than nothing.
In her time with the previous ninety-nine heroes, Nelly had never received such treatment.
Compared to the initial spirit meant for communication and guidance, heroes were clearly more willing to share experience with the higher-level spirits they collected later on, to increase their chances of defeating the Demon King. Incidentally, Karsus, who needed no support whatsoever, had not completed any of the side quests to obtain high-level spirits along the way, almost as if he were deliberately avoiding them.
“We’ll be fighting the Demon King soon. Aren’t you going to level up to be safe, Karsus?” Nelly resisted the urge to facepalm, silently reciting the system spirit’s code of professional ethics as she dutifully reminded the hero to be careful.
But Karsus had already started walking, the red cape of his hero’s attire fluttering behind him. “I don’t need it,” he said without turning back.
This kid is so arrogant.
Nelly could only resign herself and follow, asking peevishly, “Should we move on to the next quest?”
“Mhm.”
Nelly swiped her finger through the air, and the interface exclusive to system spirits materialized. She tapped at the map as if checking the route, but her mind was elsewhere. She already knew the quest progression by heart; she just wanted to look at Karsus’s character profile again.
Ignoring the ridiculously high base ability stats, the character affinity section under his profile was spectacular—the affinity level for every single female character was a flat zero, and the romance side quests were a complete blank.
This hero is a bit too ascetic.
The ninety-nine heroes Nelly had guided before, not counting the ones who built massive harems, had at the very least started a romance with one female character. This was especially true for the Rose Princess from the previous map—beautiful, innocent, kind, and brave. Most heroes were inspired by her, their fighting spirit soaring, eager to prove their loyalty and love for the princess with their blood.
Karsus, who wouldn’t even spare the Princess a glance, was truly an anomaly among anomalies.
He was so low-maintenance that it looped back around to being a problem, and Nelly actually started to worry about Karsus’s mental state.
To save the world and still end up all alone… that’s just… a little too tragic.
“Karsus, shouldn’t we check out that temple over there? It sounds like a girl is crying.” Nelly’s worried tone was genuine as she subtly pointed out the clue to the final romance side quest.
Hearing this, Karsus glanced at Nelly, his voice flat. “No need.”
“But that girl might be in danger! You’re the great hero, Karsus!” Isn’t a hero supposed to make it his duty to protect the weak? Kid, could you at least try to get into character!
Karsus stopped walking. Nelly thought he had finally awakened to his duty as a hero and looked at him with hopeful expectation, but the young man only said coolly,
“It has nothing to do with me.”
Karsus’s delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if Nelly’s suggestion had displeased him. He lowered his long, almost feminine eyelashes, his voice still even. “I won’t fall in love with any other woman.”
Nelly froze.
It seemed he had seen right through her intentions. But why was he so resistant to the romance side quests?
“Okay, I get it. Let’s just move on to the next quest.” Nelly felt a strange panic and shifted her gaze back to the map in front of her. But Karsus swiped a hand to close the system interface, moved to stand in front of her, and said with unusual gravity,
“Nelly, I only love you.”