"Is there something you want to tell me? What is it about?" Anyi looked at her.

Miruku glanced toward the door, then ran over to check outside, darting back in at impressive speed before gingerly shutting it. She exhaled softly, turning back to face Anyi.

"Ah...!"

Seeing Anyi seated again startled her, as though she'd expected him to vanish.

"What’s wrong? Would you rather stand to talk?" Anyi tilted his head, moving as if to rise.

Miruku waved her hands frantically. "No, no, no! Please, stay seated!"

She slipped back into her chair, her eyes focused on the table. Silence settled over the room, thick and awkward.

Anyi: "...."

You’re the one with something to say, you know…

"Still haven’t decided what to tell me?" he asked.

"Ah… no." Miruku shook her head, then inhaled deeply, as if rallying her courage.

At last, she whispered, "...Mr. Anyi, my ability allows me, under specific conditions, to kill an enemy outright."

Anyi blinked, taking that in, then nodded thoughtfully. "I see… so, you need me to help create the right environment for it?"

Miruku stared, stunned, before looking down again.

"Something wrong?" Anyi asked.

"Ah, no… uh, Mr. Anyi, don't you think that's a really strong ability?" she stammered, confused.

"Certainly. With it, we could eliminate a Goblin Centurion, weakening their ranks," Anyi replied.

"...Mr. Anyi, you really don’t want this ability for yourself?" Miruku ventured, her gaze lifting to meet his.

"Why would you ask that?" Anyi raised an eyebrow. "Do I seem like the kind who’d seize another’s ability?"

Though he admitted he could come off a bit cold, he wasn’t without scruples. Do I look like a bad person?

"I thought you might say… ‘Well, since you’re so timid and useless, why not just give me your ability?’" Miruku said faintly.

Anyi: "...."

Well, that’s an assumption.

But he certainly wouldn’t do that.

"So, you hoped I'd take your ability, and that's why you told me, right?" Anyi realized.

"Yes…" Miruku nodded seriously.

"Then tell me—what conditions must be met to use it?"

Miruku let out a long sigh, relief washing over her. "The conditions are… the enemy must not see me, hear me, smell me, touch me, or sense me in any way."

Finally, she’d said it. This was Mr. Anyi—he would surely judge fairly.

Her mind drifted back to their battle with the Slime King. Though she'd held this powerful skill, she hadn’t been able to hurt it. Worse, she’d almost died. If Anyi hadn’t intervened, she and possibly Layton and Ariana would have perished.

Even with such a “great skill,” it had proven useless; she’d been left powerless, her hope crumbling into self-doubt.

"Ah… so, as long as the enemy doesn’t detect you, you can kill them?" Anyi echoed thoughtfully.

"Hm, yes, that’s the idea," Miruku murmured.

"But, it’s only effective in… certain conditions…"

"Then, this ability can’t be passed on to anyone else," Anyi interrupted.

"With your speed, it’s perfect. Not even Rod Hero could stay undetected by the enemy. Your base Agility is 4, and with upgrades, it reaches 40. You’re leagues above everyone else in that regard. This ability demands speed."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Miruku felt a pang, her eyes downcast. "Only speed… It’s still not enough to kill a Goblin Centurion. I could barely take on an enhanced Goblin, let alone a Hobgoblin."

"Speed alone may not be enough for Centurions, but if we can reduce the number from three to two, we’ll have a much easier time," Anyi explained. Though comfort wasn’t his strength, Miruku’s courage to share her ability had shifted this once-hopeless mission into one with a powerful trump card.

With 40 points in Agility, the Goblin Centurions wouldn’t keep up. Combined with her skill, and a little distraction from the others, she could strike effectively.

This ability wasn’t fit for anyone else—only Miruku.

"No… I’ll probably mess up, like with the Slime King…" Miruku muttered.

"You won’t."

Anyi’s steady gaze fell on her from a seat away.

"This time won’t be like the Slime King. That was a last-ditch choice, wasn’t it? Now, you can strike before the fight even begins. All you have to do is stay unseen."

"But…"

"You don’t trust me?"

"Uh…"

"Then trust in me," Anyi said, bowing slightly to meet her eye level.

"I believe in your ability. And if you can’t believe it, then believe in me, and believe what I see in you."

Miruku’s mind spun, her vision clouded as his words echoed.

‘Believe… I believe in you!’

His calm voice, a spark igniting a fierce resolve in her heart, filled her mind with warmth.

‘Believe! I believe you!!’

"Uh…" Miruku bit her lip, nodding as tears blurred her vision, emotion pooling in her eyes.

Mr. Anyi… he always has the best words!

From that moment on, she vowed silently, she would follow Anyi’s commands, no hesitation.

She’d no longer need self-confidence. No doubt would linger. She’d serve with complete loyalty, like an assassin who pledges everything to their master.

Anyi seemed unaware of her thoughts, only continuing gently, "Don’t worry. Even if you’re seen, the enemy won’t understand your ability. With 40 points in Agility, you could always evade. We just need another opportunity."

"Uhm…! Thanks!" Miruku knelt on her chair, a glimmer of newfound strength in her eyes.

Anyi: "..."

...

The second conference took place in the afternoon, and every invited Hero squad was present.

Each team has four members, with only six teams allowed, totaling twenty-four participants. Including Anyi’s group and Dus, who is attending alone, there are twenty-nine Heroes altogether.

Out of the twenty-four others, excluding Anyi’s group and Dus, only eight had reached level 5. The remaining sixteen were between levels 1 and 4. That’s right, at this stage, most Heroes haven't reached level 5 yet.

Not every squad has a leader like Anyi; not every Hero has experience hunting monsters. Without Anyi’s guidance, Ariana’s group would probably still be training in Theocracy Holy City right now...

After acquiring abilities, most Heroes don’t immediately engage in monster hunting. According to Anyi’s knowledge from previous lives, at least 70% of Heroes don’t allocate their attribute points right away. Among these, 35% still don't understand attributes and fall to monsters.

Within the 30% who did distribute points, 70% allocated them randomly. That means out of every ten Heroes, seven wouldn’t distribute any points, while two of the remaining three would distribute them haphazardly.

This leaves only one Hero who reads the descriptions and allocates points thoughtfully.

Among them, Dus is a talented system user but has also made mistakes. For example, beyond prioritizing core attributes, he distributed the others too evenly.

In short, only a slim fraction of the "First Generation Heroes" will survive to the end. These early Heroes aren’t necessarily powerful, but they’re certainly the ones who take the most wrong paths.

Once everyone was gathered, they introduced themselves briefly. Some hadn’t even allocated attribute points yet and were still at level 1.

Among this group, there were a few extreme cases, like:

Someone terrified of pain, putting all points into Durability.

Someone fixated on Strength, putting 50 points into it.

Another with 50 points in Agility.

Fortunately, Anyi hadn’t met someone who’d put all points into Endurance. If there were, he wouldn’t mind giving them a reality check.

What’s the point of maxing endurance? Planning to travel the world on foot? Become the world’s top walker?

Attributes like Prana, Intelligence, and Technique remain too abstract for most, while the physical attributes are easier to grasp.

At that moment, Ariana, Miruku, and Layton finally understood why Anyi had been exasperated over their attributes. Seeing such extreme distributions made things clear.

"Before we go hunt monsters, let's organize teams," Anyi declared.

"I know you want to stick with your usual squads, but—"

"No, no, no, I just met these guys today!"

"I was hauling supplies when suddenly, I was called up. What squad?!"

"Who wants to team up with three ugly men?!"

In an instant, noise erupted among the Heroes—clearly an untrained and disorganized bunch.

"Enough!" Dus tapped his rod on the ground, his face serious.

Secretly, he relished putting new recruits in line. He might lack dignity in front of Anyi's team, but not with these rookies. Here, he’d establish authority!

At last, the crowd calmed. To them, Dus seemed a capable, well-prepared figure.

Anyi continued, "So, there are eight Heroes here at level 5, correct? Reaching level 5 shows you’ve faced many monsters and gained valuable experience. For our upcoming monster hunt, I hope these eight can guide the remaining sixteen to reach level 5."

"I get the idea, but here’s the problem: why should we listen to you?" one level 5 Hero challenged.

"Right, what’s in it for us? Sharing monsters with others only means less experience for us," another agreed.

If they’re at level 5, it’s because they understand the stakes of defeating monsters. They’ve earned rewards for it. Why share? Besides, some of these Heroes were clueless.

Anyi nodded, unsurprised. "Seems I missed something in my introduction. Let me reintroduce myself.

I am Sword Hero, Anyi Carl. Level 7 Hero."

The room fell silent as the eight level 5 Heroes gaped. Even Dus was wide-eyed.

Level 7?! Even I didn’t know that!

Everyone understood how challenging it was to progress past level 5.

"And in our party, we also have Aldrich Sect’s Holy Maiden, the Holy Hero, the Thorn Hero, and the Shield Hero.

All four of us are level 7."

Anyi’s calm gaze swept the room.

"Our levels are beyond yours. According to your logic, we should have no reason to ‘share experience’ with lower-level Heroes either.

So if you’re unwilling, feel free to leave."