The sky was black as midnight, clouds looking like they might drip blood at any moment. At the end of the desolate hills was a rugged valley, completely bare without a hint of green. Harsh cries of ravens pierced the sky, quickly swallowed by an even more shrill wind.
The scenery of the Demon City was always distinctive, making one weary after repeated views.
Nailey gazed at the landscape before her, feeling somewhat excited: being near the Demon City meant returning home was just around the corner. She had accidentally crossed into the game’s virtual world during a comic convention. The system administrator told her:
“Want to go home? First, guide one hundred heroes to defeat the Demon King who plagues the continent.”
Nailey had been a system fairy with a perfect satisfaction rate. As long as she helped the final 100th hero defeat the Demon King, she could return home.
This last hero was named Karl, a black-haired, red-eyed youth who was taciturn and expressionless.
Karl’s combat power was astonishingly strong. He effortlessly swung his great sword, quickly slaying dozens of blood-sucking bats, then hung the sword at his waist, nodding briefly: “Mission complete, return to city.”
Nailey was concerned about Karl’s condition and asked, “Won’t you rest a bit?”
The black-haired youth silently shook his head, his expression resolute.
Since the hero was so persistent, Nailey could only activate the return scroll.
Soft white light enveloped them, the desolate outdoor scenery gradually blurring.
Though it was a virtual world, for those within it, everything felt real. The journey had to be traversed step by step – walking from the Demon City’s wilderness back to the city walls would take most of a day. Only during returns could they cheat a little by using items.
Having traveled for half a day, Nailey was mentally exhausted and secretly yawned, turning her face away. Karl noticed, flashing a fleeting smile, yet remaining silent.
Holy light flashed, scenery transformed.
A sour, putrid smell hit them. Looking closely, dilapidated shacks stretched in rows, narrow and filthy alleys twisting and turning, rats swarming through, dirty puddles splashing slightly. Street women in tattered clothes paid no attention, clutching religious texts and black bread tightly.
This was the refugee area outside the Demon City, the miserable state of ordinary citizens oppressed by the Demon King.
Karl didn’t glance at Nailey, and finally said the first words: “The items and experience are all yours.”
Nailey was stunned for a long time and couldn’t come back to her senses. This hero… was really okay?
From then on, Karl never asked for any experience crystals or equipment, and hard-headedly killed his way through with only the initial broken white equipment.
Under his insistence, Naily leveled up all the way, and her only auxiliary skill was almost full. But her skill was really useless: a 0.01% chance to cause 150% damage to the target’s health.
Among the previous ninety-nine heroes, Naily had never enjoyed such treatment.
Compared to the initial spirits used for communication and guidance, heroes were more willing to share experience with subsequently collected high-level spirits to add a bit of certainty to defeating the Demon King. Mr. Karl, who didn’t need any assistance at all, didn’t complete any side quests to obtain high-level spirits along the way, as if deliberately avoiding them.
“The battle with the Demon King is coming soon. Won’t Karl level up to ensure safety?” Naily suppressed the urge to facepalm and reminded the hero to be careful.
Karl had already stridden forward, the hero’s red cape flying, without looking back: “I don’t need to.”
Naily could only resignedly follow, puffing her cheeks and asking, “Shall we continue to the next mission?”
“Mm.”
Naily swiped her finger, and the exclusive system spirit interface appeared. She pointed at the map, checking the route. But she wasn’t actually focused on that; she just wanted to look at Karl’s character profile again.
Ignoring those incredibly high basic ability parameters, the character favorability column at the bottom was spectacular – the favorability of all female characters was zero, with emotional storylines completely blank.
This hero was too ascetic.
The previous 99 heroes Naily led, even those who didn’t go all out with a harem, would at least initiate a romance with a female character, especially the Rose Princess from the last map, who was beautiful, pure, kind, and brave. Most heroes would be inspired by her.
Karl, who didn’t even glance at the Princess, was truly an outlier among outliers.
So worry-free that Naily instead became concerned about Karl’s mental state.
If he saved the world but remained alone, it would be quite desolate.
“Won’t Karl go to that temple and take a look? It seems like there’s a girl crying,” Naily asked worriedly, subtly pointing out the last emotional storyline clue.
Karl glanced at Naily, his voice flat: “No need.”
“But what if that girl is in danger? You’re the hero!”
Karl stopped. Naily thought he had finally gained a hero’s awareness and looked at him expectantly. The young man just calmly said:
“It has nothing to do with me.”
Karl’s delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed, as if displeased with Naily’s suggestion.
He lowered his feminine eyelashes, his voice still flat: “I won’t fall in love with other women.”
Naily was stunned.
“Okay, let’s continue to the next mission,” Naily felt inexplicably flustered, turning her gaze back to the map. Karl, however, waved away the system interface and stepped in front of her, unusually serious:
“Naily, I only like you.
It’s nothing, just thinking about the steps for the next task,” Naily awkwardly turned her face away, feeling inexplicably guilty.
Carl did not respond. Naily awkwardly looked around and suddenly realized: they had somehow arrived at the prelude stage of the Magic Forest before the decisive battle, even though they were not supposed to be here yet.
“Carl? Did we take a wrong turn? The mission was at the suburban spring…”
Naily’s words were once again interrupted by the boy’s cool voice: “No mistake.” The trees surrounding the demon’s lair were dense, forming the Magic Forest. The trees were so thick that no light could penetrate, and in the tangled root cavities, there was a faint glow, like eyes staring intently at the intruders. Absolute silence, broken only by the crisp rustling of footsteps on dry leaves. Naily felt something was off. Normally, upon entering the Magic Forest, tree monsters and goblins would immediately harass them.
After the hero defeated these troublesome enemies, they could find the underground holy spring ruins using the stone tablets from the monsters, pass through the maze where monsters appeared in the center of the ruins, retrieve the King’s Sword, and then climb the mountain to confront the Demon King.
But now, the Magic Forest seemed completely asleep. Not a single goblin was in sight, let alone any other creatures.
Naily looked uneasily at Carl. The boy stared back quietly, suddenly reaching out to hold her hand and lowering his head to say, “Don’t be afraid.” Coming from someone so sparing with words, this sudden comfort touched Naily. However, having just rejected his formal confession, she didn’t want to dwell on this. Therefore, she tried to pull her hand away, saying, “I’m not afraid.”
Carl stubbornly held her hand, quickening and strengthening his pace, heading towards the mountain. Naily had no choice but to follow closely, momentarily forgetting her awkwardness and letting him continue holding her hand. The boy’s fingers were long and somewhat cool, and the touch of their palms was calming. The deadly silent Magic Forest suddenly seemed less terrifying.
