The areas cleared by the Heroes, even those where the Bosses had been defeated, still harbored a multitude of low-level monsters. Without the Bosses to rally them, these creatures became prime targets for newly appointed Heroes to hone their skills and grow stronger.
At the same time, Ariana advised, "From now on, anyone reaching a certain level must start hunting different types of monsters, to avoid stalling their growth from repeatedly slaying the same foe."
Following Anyi's guidelines on “Reasonable Stats,” the League’s faithful began crafting recommendations on how best to allocate points for Heroes who had yet to assign theirs. For those who had already made their allocations but focused too narrowly, there were suggestions to help balance their growth in the future.
Under this system, the Heroes thrived with remarkable speed. Guided by a well-structured plan and shared monster intelligence, most Heroes found themselves reaching early accomplishments more swiftly than anticipated.
...
"Ah... Where am I even?"
Elza Gorete leaned back against a tree, gazing at the vast blue sky overhead.
It had been days since she’d first discovered her unusual abilities. She had been faring well, clearing out slimes near her village, when she noticed something strange: the slimes seemed to be migrating, not toward the village, but elsewhere. Thinking they might threaten other villages, she pursued them.
After half a day of chasing, however, while the slimes weren’t all gone… she was lost!
With mounting anxiety, she thought she’d better dispatch the slimes as fast as possible and head home. No sooner had she resolved this than her blood-red Slime Sword morphed into a spray of needles, shooting outward to skewer every slime around her.
In an instant, the once teeming slimes were all dead.
Now, surrounded by silence, Elza’s nerves only worsened. Without the slimes to occupy her, she had no way of avoiding the grim realization that she was, indeed, thoroughly lost.
After shedding a few tears, she rallied herself, deciding to press onward, hoping to stumble upon a way home.
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This continued… for four days.
On the first day, Elza had collapsed from hunger after her battle with the slimes and spent the whole day gathering food. As a child who had long lived near the forest, she had some skill in survival. Mostly, though, the villagers had shared food with her, but she’d occasionally foraged herself out of a sense of pride.
Once she’d eaten, she was struck by another realization—while searching for food, she’d wandered even deeper into the forest! A fresh wave of tears followed, but she pressed on, determined that all she needed was to find someone, anyone, to point her homeward.
And beyond that… she really needed to see a doctor. Her appetite was monstrous, and she never felt full no matter how much she ate. Stranger still, she never needed to, well, relieve herself.
Her hair had changed color entirely, now a bright red, and her skin had turned ghostly pale. Uneasy, Elza knew she needed answers.
So the second day passed. Then the third. And now… here she was, still wandering.
Elza, along her journey, had fought her way through countless slimes and Goblins, gradually realizing she’d stumbled into a perilous part of the forest. But regardless of the dangers, she pressed on—she had to find someone who could lead her out of this labyrinth of trees.
After each brutal encounter, her clothes had deteriorated further. One fierce battle with a Goblin horde had left her outfit in shreds, nearly exposing everything. Searching desperately through the Goblin camp afterward, she managed to piece together a crude outfit—hardly dignified, but enough to keep going.
Days passed, and Elza still hadn’t found a single soul. Exhausted, her spirit wavering, she sank to the ground, her gaze distant and tired.
"Just want to go home…" she murmured, biting her lip. Her eyes stung, but she shook her head, determined not to cry again. She’d shed enough tears already.
At some point, fatigue overcame her, and she slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep… until—
"Roar——!!!"
A guttural roar jolted Elza awake. She leapt to her feet, scanning the shadows.
Another roar split the air, closer this time. Elza’s eyes narrowed as she pinpointed its direction and, like a bolt of red lightning, she dashed forward. Her worn shoes threatened to fall apart with each powerful stride, but her body felt astonishingly light and strong.
In seconds, she was crouched on the branch of a towering tree, looking down on a grim scene: several Hobgoblins and a swarm of Goblins surrounded a group of… people. Four, living, breathing people!
Elza pressed a hand to her mouth as silent tears of relief spilled down her cheeks. She’d finally found someone! But the group below was in trouble.
The Heroes, prepared to fight, rallied their courage.
"Don’t worry! Even though it’s our first encounter with Hobgoblins, the League’s intel says they’re slow and have weak defenses. We can take them!"
"Then I’ll lead the charge!"
"I’ve got the rear!"
"For humanity! For justice! Charge!!"
"Ahhhhh——!!"
The four warriors roared as they rushed forward, ready for battle.
Poof!
Before they could even clash, a sharp, clean sound cut through the clearing—and every Goblin toppled to the ground in unison, lifeless.
The Hero Squad froze mid-charge, staring in bewilderment.
"????"