Arcane Heroes probably had over a hundred events during the five years that Artemis had played. The events are composed of random tournaments, festivals, groups of monsters, and many more. All of the events were just random things that could happen at any time.
Festivals and tournaments can be predicted, but monster attacks cannot. With this in mind, Artemis and the others could still make some preparations.
"Damn... whoever took down the queen probably got a lot of essences," Pjsplit commented.
"Yeah. Taking down the queen is the same as taking down the whole swarm," Gumdrop added.
Artemis agreed with what she was hearing. She remembered getting at least three essence spheres after completing the event. It wasn't much to her during that point in the game, but getting something like that here would have been huge.
There was a big chance that whoever took down the queen was a player. But there were only two or three possible suspects. The swarm, as a whole, was considered to be a high-rank threat. Even a level three like her could take down the Vilim queen with one hit. However, getting close to the queen was impossible with all the drones guarding it. That meant to achieve this. Someone would need to either sacrifice themselves to charge in the swarm, or a summoned creature would.
There were three pillars of light.
Three heroes with the power of mid-rank monsters.
Three mid-rank monsters guided by the knowledge of players and a class.
Artemis needed to find them.
------
[Lilith has been bested]
[Recovery time 24:00]
The message appeared as the drones fell lifeless on the ground. They were mere inches away from biting my head off, but they dropped just in time.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out Lilith had sacrificed herself to finish off the queen. Had she hesitated even for a moment, I'd be a headless corpse on the ground.
"I need to find a way to reward her."
I looked around and saw confused soldiers and adventurers. The monsters they were just facing had suddenly stopped moving. They didn't know if they needed to stay on guard or sigh in relief.
"Hmm?" It took me a while to notice the three spheres that appeared in front of me. "Well... I wasn't expecting this."
------
"How's the investigation going?" Nerisa asked.
A knight saluted at Nerisa. "We have discovered that the Vilim queen had set up a nest in the sewers before emerging."
"Who was in charge of the sewer system?"
"The dwarves, commander," the knight answered.
"Question them about this," Nerisa ordered. "What about the person that dealt with the queen?"
"After examining the queen's corpse, all we found was a single bullet hole on their head."
"Vilims can't be killed just by piercing their head," Nerisa stated.
"But it was the only thing we found that explains the queen's death."
Nerisa pinched the bridge of her nose. "Nothing seems to be making sense recently."
"Should we ask Zed?"
"Zed? Why?" Nerisa asked in confusion.
"One of the nights reported that the vampire acting as his bodyguard used guns."
"Ask him for a statement then."
"Yes, commander," the knight saluted before leaving.
As the knight left, Nerisa saw Artemis approaching her. "Why are you here?"
"I wanted to ask the situation."
"Because of some neglect on sewers, vilims made a nest. End of story," Nerisa told Artemis.
"Who finished it off?"
"That's still unknown, but I assumed you have an idea."
Artemis nodded. "Zed or Psysen."
"A bullet killed the queen."
"Then it should lean more toward Zed since Psysen had a melee Hero."
"Once we get his statement, we'll find out," Nerisa said.
"He won't admit it."
Nerisa raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"
"In terms of power, he was comparable to the high-rankers, but we only found out about him when he was already powerful enough to rival us."
"Sounds like those high-rankers were lacking," Nerisa commented.
"He avoided attention until he knew he was strong enough to handle us," Artemis stated.
Nerisa narrowed her eyes at Artemis. "Listen well. I commend your growth, Artemis, but the people of this world no longer play by your rules. We don’t operate just based on your words."
Nerisa walked away, leaving Artemis stunned.
------
"You're alive!" Michelle exclaimed as she grabbed me into a tight hug that threatened to crush my bones.
"How are you still stronger than me?" I managed to groan out.
"She has a B rating on her strength," Elise mentioned.
I turned to her.
"Thanks to you. I was given a skill to read people's stats."
"I envy you," I replied.
Michelle and the others had retreated to her farm. With the thunder bison and Aegis there, it was the safest place for them to be. Thankfully, nothing happened to them on the way there.
I glanced at Cecilia and Erina, who were resting in one corner of the living room.
"I offered them a room, but they refused," Michelle muttered.
"Let them adjust."
"Where's Lilith?" Michelle asked, realizing that I was the only one that returned.
"She's resting," it was technically true.
"I think we all need that."
It took a lot of effort, but Michelle managed to convince Cecilia and the others to stay in a guest room. Which also made me wonder just how many extra rooms this house had.
The next day, everyone woke up in the afternoon. Even Michelle, who usually woke up before the sun was out, got up later.
I was the one who woke up last. Lunch was left on the table, but nobody was in sight. Elise had probably returned to the guild while Michelle was somewhere on the farm. I have no idea where Cecilia and Erina were.
After eating, I went out to get some fresh air. It was during moments like this that made me miss mobile phones.
For a world that gave life to a game, there wasn't much to do. "I wonder if any of the players that got sent here knew how to make phones."
[Recovery time 5:38]
"I was asleep for a while..."
Seeing her recovery time made me consider what Lilith would like as a reward.
Blood?
"Does she even act like a real vampire?"
As I was wondering about her reward, I saw Aegis land near the house carrying a bunch of bison horns.
"Aegis, do you know what kind of reward Lilith would want?"
"There would be no better reward for us than to have greater power to serve you, master."
"..."
I was horrible with social interactions, so I might as well take his words literally.
"I'll go get the materials needed for her ascension."
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
"Where are you going?"
When I entered the house and got changed, Erina approached me as I was leaving.
"I'm heading back to the city."
"Is it safe?" she asked.
"I don't know yet."
"Oh..." she looked down.
"Would you like to go back there?"
She shook her head. "I don't know."
"Then we'll figure something out later," I patted her head.
When I arrived in the city, they were already in the middle of rebuilding. I went by the market, and it was in the worst state in the city. All the stalls were destroyed, and a lot of the buildings were reduced to rubble.
It made me wonder if the curse item shop was still standing, and to my surprise, it was.
"I guess the vilims didn't like cursed items."
I made my way to the alchemist association. Their building looked completely unharmed, which was impressive.
"How may I help you?" the person on the counter was a different guy this time.
"Do you have any high-grade monster cores?"
"We do, but we're low on stocks."
"Any vampires?"
"We have a vampire commander in stock," the clerk answered.
I nodded. "That should do."
"However, sir, I need to inform you that we don't accept coins as payment for high-grade cores or higher."
"Pardon?" I asked in confusion.
"Due to the events yesterday, the association is in dire need of Arcane Essence. Because of this, we could only accept Arcane spheres as payment."
"... how much would the high-grade core cost?"
"One sphere should get you two cores, sire," the clerk answered.
I nodded. "Do you have a core from gargoyles?"
"Yes, we do, sir."
"That's quite convenient."
"That would be because all the cores are obtained from the same dungeons, sir..."
"Oh..." I felt a bit embarrassed for not figuring that out.
"Shall I get the cores, sir?"
"Yes," I handed over one of the Arcane spheres I got as a reward from the swarm.
As this was happening, I didn't notice an old man watching the whole interaction from a balcony.
------
To say that she wasn't shaken was an understatement. In this world, she wasn't a player but just a random character. She was no longer a big part of the story.
There was no reason for Nerisa to take her advice on handling Zed.
"I think I got too used to interacting with them in the game."
To get her mind off of it, Artemis headed to the nearest hunting ground. That happened to be the Hallow ruins, a place filled with undead monsters—zombies, skeletons, ghouls, and much more.
In her frustrated state, she didn't notice how many monsters she had defeated. She panted as the bodies around her increased. She would have continued venting her frustration until she heard the sound of gunfire in the distance.
Remembering what Nerisa said about how the queen was killed, Artemis rushed towards the source of the gunfire. On top of a ruined watch tower were a man and a pale-skinned woman, who was the one firing.
She took cover in another ruined building and observed the scene before her. If the man was Zed, then the woman was most likely the Hero he created.
The gunshots stopped, and Artemis saw the woman turn into a glass card. The man kneeled and placed the card on the floor. When he started taking out materials from his subspace bag, Artemis figured out what was happening.
A pillar of light appeared, and she was hit with a wave of magic power. It was like an oppressing pressure weighing down on her.
Her hand reached down to the handle of her sword.
------
[Level up]
[Lilith
Level 3
Title: None
Job: Vampire gunslinger (Unique)
Stats:
Strength C-
Agility C-
Vitality C-
Dexterity C-
Sense C-
Magic C-
Charm C-
Luck C-
Lethality C-]
"Great. Now we can get started on your ascension."
"Thank you, master," Lilith bowed.
"This is your reward," I replied. "I wanted to give you a different reward since this was bound to happen at some point anyway."
"There is no better reward than greater power to serve you, master."
"Aegis said the same thing," I sighed. "Let's get started."
Lilith turned into a glass card with an image of her and her name. I placed the card on the ground with the materials, which were another block of pure mana steel, a high-grade core, and a fusion scroll.
"Time for an upgrade."
I tore the scroll and was immediately hit by the wave of magic power. I crashed into the wall, almost breaking through it. The ground beneath the pillar of light was collapsing, and all the undead attracted by the light were being crushed by the pressure from the wave of magic power.
"Am I going to die?" I muttered as the pressure threatened to suffocate me.
After a minute of enduring the wave of magic power, I heard the sound of footsteps. Considering the floor beneath the pillar of light was gone, I was confused about where the sound came from.
My confusion was resolved when Lilith was revealed to be stepping on a blood-red platform.
[Lilith
Level 3
Title: None
Job: Vampire bloodslinger (Unique-Legendary)
Stats:
Strength C+
Agility C+
Vitality C+
Dexterity C+
Sense C+
Magic C+
Charm C+
Luck C+
Lethality B]
[You have succeeded in ascending a hero]
[You have leveled up]
[You may choose a class]
My eyes widened as the messages kept popping up.
[Your achievements will be analyzed]
[You may select from the following
Warrior
Alchemist
Beast tamer
Mage
Bug exterminator
Hero maker]
"Hero maker?" I stared at the final option with confusion.
It was common knowledge for the players to know that when choosing a class, the options were arranged from the most common to the rarest. Considering I've never even heard of Hero Maker as a class, the same applies here.
I turned to Lilith. "Looking back at everything, it's not a hard decision."
[Zed
Level 3
Title: None
Job: Hero Maker
Stats:
Strength D+
Agility E+
Vitality D+
Dexterity D
Sense E
Magic D+
Charm D
Luck A+
Adaptability C]
[Novice weapon mastery (49%)]
[Barrier magic (7%)]
[Would you like to acquire the class-exclusive skill: Hero call]
[Hero call
Allows you to summon the Heroes you have created from anywhere.]
"I'd be stupid to refuse."
"Congratulations, master."
"Thank you."
------
With her ascension complete, it was time to return to the farm. A few undead monsters tried to get in our way, but Lilith easily popped their heads off.
When he left the hunting ground, a woman with black hair walked out of the tree line. She was wearing light leather armor and carried a short sword along with a round shield. The woman raised her sword towards me.
"Zed!"
"Do I know you?"
"..." the woman didn't respond.
"Did you want something?"
More silence.
This reminded me of my encounters with the other players back in the game. They always showed up when I was gathering materials and picked a fight with me.
"Look, I just want to go home-" I was interrupted by Lilith pulling me away as a shockwave went through where I was just standing. "The hell?!"
Me and the woman turned towards the direction where the shockwave came from.
"I knew I'd spot some familiar faces here," a giant of a man stomped out into the clearing.
His whole body was covered in armor except for his head. He carried a giant green axe on his shoulder and a wicked grin.
"Familiar face? Bro, I would remember a face that ugly if I've seen you before."
His grin vanished, and he growled at me.
"Who are you?" The woman spoke up.
The man's grin returned. "Macho, remember me, Artemis?"
"Another high-ranker," The woman named Artemis grumbled.
I just raised an eyebrow at the situation. "You're telling me. Two of the best players in the game are a young woman and a gym rat?"
Both of them stared at me.
"What? I expected the players of such a hardcore game to be more nerdy with nothing going on with their lives."
Macho lowered his axe, and Lilith responded by immediately firing bullets at the two other players. Artemis blocked the bullets with her shield, while Macho blocked it with his axe.
Macho swung his axe, and the sheer force of the swing caused a powerful gust of wind. I created a barrier to shield me and Lilith, but it was already starting to crack.
"I'll chop you like firewood!" Macho yelled as he charged.
Lilith fired bullets made of blood toward Macho. The projectiles collided with an invisible barrier that protected Macho as he charged.
"Unfortunately for you," I grinned as multiple layers of my barriers appeared in front of Macho's feet. "I don't play fair."
Macho tripped on the barrier, causing him to crash hard on the ground. "Bastard!" Macho yelled, but as he tried to get up, Artemis pointed a sword at the back of his neck.
"Stand down. Nobody needs to fight," Artemis stated.
"Didn't you come to fight too?" I asked.
This whole situation didn't make sense to me at all. I don't even recognize them, yet they somehow know me.
"You just don't want to fight me!" Macho exclaimed as a wave of magic power exploded from his body, blowing Artemis away from him.
"So be it," a blue aura wrapped around her sword as she used her shield to anchor herself to the ground.
Macho had already gotten up and raised his axe into the air and swung it down with all his might, creating another shockwave.
"What's with all the shockwaves?!" I yelled as I and Lilith created a barrier to protect ourselves from the shockwave.
When it was about to shatter, Lilith suddenly sprouted bat wings and carried me into the air.
From our position in the sky, we watched as Macho stood in the middle of a crater. Artemis shot out from the cloud of dust and tried to slash Macho but did nothing to his armor.
"Don't even try. The dwarves made all my equipment," Macho said with a smirk.
He swung his axe, making Artemis dodge it by ducking down. Another shockwave was launched from the force of the attack.
Artemis tried to stab his foot, but her sword couldn't pierce his armor. Macho swung for a backhand, but Artemis managed to block it with her shield. The force of the attack still sent her flying, but she still managed to regain her balance and stay on her feet.
"Who should we help?" I asked Lilith.
"Shall I dispose of them both?" Lilith responded.
Artemis and Macho clashed once again. Macho seemed to have focused on improving his strength, or his equipment and skills were just that good. On the other hand, Artemis seemed to be a more well-balanced fighter. She was fast enough to avoid attacks and strong enough to endure the shockwaves that came after.
"I'd die if I got hit even once," I muttered.
Macho attempted to bring his axe down on Artemis then she responded by redirecting the attack enough to just slide past her. She followed up by slamming down her sword on his arm, forcing him to let go of the axe.
"You bitch!" Macho shouted as he swung his arm in anger.
This time, Artemis didn't block it with her shield. Instead, she twisted her body downwards and met his arm with a slash.
I expected Macho's arm to get severed. To my surprise, Artemis's sword shattered upon impact.
Macho laughed as he grabbed Artemis by her neck. "Like I told you. This armor was made by the dwarves."
Macho's boasting was interrupted by a blood bullet going through the back of his head and coming out his forehead.
Artemis's eyes widened in shock as Macho's large body fell limp.
"Boasting about armor and yet failing to protect one of the vital parts of their body," Lilith stated as her gun turned towards Artemis. "Shall I end you as well?"