Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!

After much contemplation, Yang Yu turned around and greeted Bai Jin and the others:

”Return along the original route. Bai Jin, try to contact Forget Me Leader.”

Their sudden decision to do this left Bai Jin and the others completely surprised, especially Qiuye, who was utterly confused:

”Are we giving up the Holy Sword?

But that’s the Holy Sword... isn’t it the weapon we must have if we wish to defeat the Demon King?

You told me yourself, you are not a Hero.

If, as the stele says, only those who possess the Holy Sword to defeat the Demon King are Heroes.

This is an unprecedented chance to become a true Hero.

Although I don’t understand what you’re really trying to do, in my eyes, your actions already resemble those of a true Hero.

Otherwise, you wouldn’t have traveled such a distance to defeat the [Count Blood]...

Nor could you be so unsure of your own strength, thinking you couldn’t conquer that Underground Maze.....”

Yang Yu looked calm, ”If we continue on this strategy, maybe we’ll really get the Holy Sword. But, we’re not ready yet.

Besides, even if we do the same things as the Hero, we are not Heroes.

We’re just coincidentally aligned with the Hero’s goal.

What do we gain from becoming a Hero?

Reputation? Money? Or something else? Or simply, to prove oneself?

You made your own decision to follow us.

If you return to your family, there must be many similar things waiting for you there.

Would you go back to your family for those things now?”

Facing Yang Yu’s question, Qiuye reaffirmed her resolve:

”I’m sorry...

Perhaps inside, I was treated the same as the Hero’s companions and forgot some things.

A Hero is just a title, merely a vain name.

Even if you’re not a Hero, as long as you sincerely help them, they’ll surely smile at us.

I understand this!

It means, as long as someone can achieve defeating the Demon King, anyone could be given the title of Hero.

If we’re not planning on pursuing the strategy, what should we do next?”

Yang Yu smiled, ”Of course, let’s see if this and the other Underground Maze left by Hero Lox are the same thing.

As of now, I’m the only Transcendent here; leaving it be, no one else will take on the strategy either.

Even if others attempt, they’ll probably just walk the path we’ve already trodden.

I’ve watched Hero Lox’s battles with the Demon King Army, which is why I traversed it so easily; others may not be so lucky.

Speaking of which... it’s still uncertain if the time flow inside the illusion is the same as the outside flow.”

Yang Yu raised his hand and looked at his wrist; there was no watch, and nothing had been used from his inventory, neither increasing nor decreasing in number.

To Yang Yu’s surprise, he and Bai Jin did gain some Experience Value from the illusion.

Unfortunately, those Experience Values were only enough for Yang Yu to level up once.

If the time flow in the illusion is different from reality, maybe we can train inside the illusion and test various limited Skills.

To prevent a surprise attack from powerful enemies, Yang Yu and his partners generally refrain from using Skills and items with strong restrictions, but a virtual space that doesn’t consume items is another story; experiments they previously didn’t dare to conduct could now be done.

However, mere imagination is very beautiful, but reality is starkly different.

Bai Jin quickly got in touch with Wang Wu Yidru, and Yang Yu was informed that the time flow in the illusion wasn’t significantly different from the one outside.

”Has it already been over half a month without us realizing it? Quite surprising.” Yang Yu couldn’t help but sigh, his plan was completely thwarted.

”How’s your strategy progress? Haven’t you already cleared it?” Wang Wu Yidru curiously asked.

Yang Yu honestly replied, ”Not yet, it seems it would take a lot of time to thoroughly complete the strategy. We’re also not fully prepared, more eager to see what the [Hall of History] is like, so we want to go out now.

Can we return through the passage?”

”Please wait a moment...” Wang Wu Yidru contacted the Spiritual Body overseeing the passage and responded, ”It should be possible; the Teleportation Magic is still active. Once you reach the designated location and coordinate with us, you should be able to come back.”

Receiving Wang Wu Yidru’s affirmative response, Yang Yu didn’t hesitate much and asked Wang Wu Yidru and Bai Jin to coordinate inside and out, reactivating the Teleportation Array around the purple cotton.

Before leaving, Yang Yu glanced at the stone stele deep in the darkness, which still emitted a faint glow, displaying their various records.

Without any hesitation, Yang Yu left the Underground Maze without looking back.

Was Lux really a Hero with the world’s concerns and ideals at heart?

Until now, some dissonances could be explained as ”Hero Lox laid certain groundwork for the world’s future, not fully understood yet, only it hasn’t reached his truly great intentions.”

However, without any evidence, basing conclusions solely on someone’s public persona... Yang Yu had suffered from this in many games.

Some people who appear to be amicable coworkers in their thirties can be sinister bomb-using murderers behind closed doors.

During his time as a Hero, perhaps Lux indeed lived as a true Hero.

But there’s no way to guarantee that some things won’t corrupt.

That’s why Yang Yu decided to hold back, get to know Lux a bit more first.

After all... ”discovering the life of this legendary Hero” was the information the Task System gave him.

This was the reason why Yang Yu started investigating Hero Lux.

Passing through the Teleportation Array and meeting Wang Wu Yidru again, Yang Yu warmly greeted him and gave a brief recount of the incidents encountered in the Underground Maze.

Wang Wu Yidru gave little evaluation, feeling that Yang Yu must have his own considerations, and casually offering advice would only disrupt his train of thought:

”In that case, I wish you smooth travels along your way.

We’re always here to welcome you once you’re prepared.

If we find other Transcendents, we’ll certainly let you know ahead of time.

While it’s our task to let Transcendents into the Underground Maze, the Hero never said we couldn’t tell one Transcendent about another Transcendent.”

”If you find other Transcendents, there’s no need to seek our opinion, just let them proceed.

However, I’d still appreciate it if you could tell me who that Transcendent is.

There aren’t many Transcendents in this world, so it wouldn’t hurt to get to know each other.” Yang Yu said with a smile.

”I’ll keep that in mind. Is there anything else?” Wang Wu Yidru kindly asked.

Yang Yu thought for a while; there was indeed one more thing left undone:

”Since you have the technology to let Spiritual Bodies speak, I’d like to bring out Hualan and ask the Octopus Lady Spiritual Body some things about the Sea Mother...”