Chapter 1
The town of Albion was unusually quiet in the afternoon.
A young man named Veris walked slowly along the cobblestone path, pondering the celestial phenomena he had observed a few days earlier.
It is related to heroes.
The sky was full of stars, and the stars in several directions represented the identities of different people. A few days ago, the weather was unusually bad, so he went to look at the stars and was surprised to find that the star that belonged to the hero had a very strange trajectory.
Legends of heroes are nothing new on this continent. It seems that every now and then, a group of people will emerge, form a team, call themselves the Hero Squad, and go to conquer the Demon King.
Veris thought these people were probably blinded by the beautiful legends in the poem.
Warriors are not like wildflowers or weeds that sprout up by the roadside; they don't just appear out of nowhere.
It wasn't that he looked down on these people; they just didn't look like heroes at all, from head to toe.
They fear death, enjoy pleasure, and possess a resilience so profound that if thrown into the crowd, they could never be retrieved.
The story of the first generation of heroes takes place before the founding of Lortheran.
Despite this, Veris was a strong advocate of hero stories. Almost every month, he would recite his newly written hero stories in the tavern, most of which were impromptu. After reciting, he would jump off the stage, take a wine bowl and drink it all in one gulp. Then he would find a relatively clean table, take out his only quill pen, and begin to write furiously.
—One thing at a time.
As the saying goes, where there's a market, there's demand. Although the hero story is old-fashioned, it's still incredibly popular.
Who wouldn't yearn to become a hero who vanquishes the Demon King, befriends various races along the way, forms a powerful team, defeats the Demon King, and is then awarded the honorary title of the Empire's First Knight by the King?
From then on, their descendants, generation after generation, could stand tall and say – I am a descendant of the brave!
The descendants of heroes will likely also produce heroes.
Many people think so.
However, the hero closest to this era was born into nobility; to be precise, his status was many times more noble than that of the commoner heroes in the story.
Veris often recited this story, but people didn't seem to like it much. Soon, Veris changed his strategy. He stopped going into too much detail about the hero's impressive family background and instead focused on his experience of recruiting a hero's party. Everyone listened with great interest again.
Working a night at the tavern earns fifty silver coins, and with tips from customers, it's probably around sixty or seventy. Considering the cost of living in Albion, it would probably take Veris... ten years to save enough for a decent house.
This is based on the premise that he doesn't spend money recklessly.
Yes, he was a penniless fellow.
And he really enjoys taking time off.
In his words, he needs to rest at least two days a week—of course, he usually rests for three days. He needs to sleep 350 hours a month, eat big meals, and occasionally go to the nearby city for fun. He also needs to go out to collect inspiration every day to stimulate his creativity.
He is now a bard and must maintain his passion for creation.
Veris firmly believed this.
He wandered aimlessly through the town of Albion. Today wasn't his designated day off, but the tavern was closed for the next couple of days, leaving him without a job.
There were fewer people on the street than usual. He didn't have much money in his pocket, and as he walked, he sighed, thinking that if the tavern didn't open tomorrow, he would have to ask the owner for credit.
He's not one to like being in debt... of course, part of the reason is that the interest rate offered by his boss was truly staggering.
The tailor shop was still open, but the owner stayed inside, not coming out as usual to sell new clothes.
The bakery was similar; although it was open for business, both the owner and the staff chose to stay inside.
Passing by the mayor's house, it was quite lively inside, with people dressed in church robes appearing from time to time, their faces all serious, as if facing a formidable enemy.
The church's charity literacy class was not held today, the primary school was closed, and the area in front of it was deserted; even the skinny dog that was tied up had been taken away by its owner.
If it weren't for what happened a couple of days ago, Albion would still be a lively and peaceful place, with warm and friendly people, and merchants and travelers between the two counties would be happy to rest here.
Because of its proximity to the Demon Mountain Range, the Mercenary Guild's business is quite thriving.
Now, because of the murders that occurred two days ago, Albion is gripped by unprecedented fear.
Veris knew the dead, the tavern apprentice, a good-for-nothing young man.
He also went to see the young man's body. As an old man, Veris could tell at a glance that the unfortunate young man had died in a monster ambush, but for some reason, he had been discovered and his death had been staged as a murder.
This had nothing to do with him; he only cared about when the tavern opened.
The tavern owner felt guilty about the incident and stayed home every day praying for his apprentice who had died tragically.
"Sigh." He couldn't help but sigh again. Ahead was the entrance to the town of Albion. Usually, this place was crowded with horse-drawn carriages and oxcarts traveling between the two places, and young people loading and unloading goods could be seen everywhere. But now there were only a few vehicles there, and young people were squatting by the roadside, their heads down, dozing off.
"Veris!"
Suddenly someone called out to him.
Veris lazily looked up. Near the town entrance was a large house, three stories high. The person who had called him was standing on the second floor, looking down at him.
"It's getting dark soon, where are you going?"
The vice president of the Mercenary Association was a kind-hearted middle-aged man with a full beard and a burly build. Even though he was not as old as the younger mercenaries, his experience in dealing with magical beasts was unmatched by a hundred young mercenaries.
It was he who called out to Veris and urged him to go home quickly.
Veris, wearing a robe that was somewhere between loose and fitted, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, looked up and replied, "I'm going to gather material. Don't worry, in my shabby place, the murderer wouldn't even need to climb through the window to kill me."
The vice president was taken aback by his retort and said somewhat displeasedly, "Fine, I did warn you."
"Haha, thank you for your kindness."
Veris smiled at him and continued walking out of the town of Albion.
Outside the town is a field that blooms with flowers every spring, making it a beautiful sight.
While other seasons may not match the profusion of flowers in spring, they each have their own unique charm.
Veris walked slowly along the familiar path. The sun gradually set in the west, and its rays turned into a beautiful golden yellow, falling on the path.
Albion is situated at a high elevation. When traveling along this road towards Albion, the first thing that appears at the end of the road is the head, then the body, and finally the entire body.
Veris squinted at the boy at the end of the road.
The boy was holding a tattered map in his hand, muttering something under his breath. His clothes were neat, and he carried a long sword on his back. His golden hair was slightly curly, and his face still had a touch of childish baby fat.
"Keep going straight ahead... that's Albion... Ah! We're here!"
The boy looked up abruptly from the map and saw a wooden sign hanging high in front of him with the letters of Albion engraved on it. He excitedly rolled up the map, tucked it into his belt, and ran towards Albion.
With each sweeping movement, a black rope around his neck rose and fell.
He ran past Veris, the boy's breathing unusually heavy. Veris glanced at him sideways before looking away.
Ah, a living person.
Veris sighed silently.
He continued walking towards his usual spot, the setting sun casting a long, slanted shadow. He was usually unnoticed on the bustling path, but at this moment, there were only two people on the entire road: him and the boy from before.
That was rather unusual.
He carried a small satchel containing paper, pens, and a flute, which he had bought at great expense during the New Year.
Humming a little tune, Veris soon stepped into the field. The grass under his feet was as soft as ever, and the breeze of the setting sun carried the fragrance of grass and trees. He was very satisfied and continued to walk deeper into the field.
At the edge of the wilderness are rolling mountains, and at the foot of the mountains flows a river with clear, slightly cool water. It would be the perfect place to while away the lingering heat of the evening.
"Eh! -- Hmm?"
Veris tripped over something under his feet. He looked down at the stone on the grass. It was such a big stone; he was sure it wasn't there when he came yesterday.
He bent over and looked at it for a while, his shadow falling on the stone. He could see the faint texture on it when he looked closely.
"How could there be something like this in this place?" Veris murmured. He straightened up and looked around. The grassy area was flat, and besides him, many people usually came here to stroll, walk, or have picnics.
"If we leave it here unattended, it'll definitely run into the town, and things will get even worse. The shop owner will be even less likely to open for business, and then I'll be—"
Veris's expression changed drastically: "Unemployed?!"
He stared at the stone as if facing a formidable enemy.
His eyes were filled with rage, as if he were looking at a ruthless boss who could put him out of work at any moment. In that instant, the stone's numerous crimes were too many to count, and just tripping him was enough to get him beheaded!
Veris's lips moved, as if he wanted to chant a suitable spell to destroy the stone.
But he stared at the screen for a long time, unable to think of any suitable magic spells that were small in scope and just the right amount of power. He could only remember a pitifully small number of spells—he only remembered the ones he could use.
Without any potions to dissolve magical beasts on him, Veris shut his mouth, staring at the stone, somewhat perplexed.
What should we do?
Find a stick and stab this monster to death?
But this is a field, and there's not even a tree branch to be found, let alone a stick.
Veris sighed, tightened his small satchel, feeling that the strap was still a bit shaky, so he simply pulled the satchel tighter with one hand, and then kicked the stone away without hesitation.
"hiss--!"
As the stone flew through the air, it emitted a large cloud of light-colored smoke. Veris smirked as he watched the stone transform, growing limbs and a head with long, sharp fangs. It rolled twice as it landed on the grass before charging towards Veris.
It came running.
The pale smoke was dispersed by a gust of wind from who-knows-where. Veris looked at the bipedal monster charging towards him, his brows furrowed slightly, and he raised his right hand.
"Seventh-tier magical beast, Stone Rock Illusion Ape. I don't know how you got here from the Amberley Mountains, but running into me is your bad luck."
Veris smiled as he watched the Stone Rock Illusion Ape pounce, then clenched his right fist and threw it out.
The monster's figure, which was pouncing towards them, froze in mid-air.
Its chest, covered by layers of rock, what the mercenaries called impenetrable armor, was now pierced by a hand, with bluish-purple pus dripping out, exposing the young man's pale skin, the pus staining his dazzling white skin.
The Stone Rock Illusion Ape stared at Veris in disbelief.
It was as if it itself was under a spell.
But the excruciating pain in its chest and the instant loss of its life force told it that it was real. It, a dignified seventh-tier magical beast and a tyrant of the Amberley Mountains, had been killed by this thin, seemingly malnourished young man with a single punch.
The Stone Rock Illusion Ape's body fell to the ground. Veris withdrew his wrist, frowning as he looked at the filthy pus and blood on it.
Luckily, we're not far from the river, let's go wash up there.
Let's get rid of this thing first. We can sell it for a good price in the city another day, and then we can be lazy for a while longer.
With this thought in mind, Veris looked at the stone rock phantom ape with its eyes wide open in death, and his expression instantly softened considerably.
But a shocked young voice rang out from behind: "You...you...you...killed a monster with one punch?!"
Veris froze.
He turned his head and looked at the blond boy who had appeared behind him at some point. His eyes narrowed, and his gaze was immediately drawn to the black rope at the boy's collar.
A dark red gemstone was tied to one end of the black rope.
As the sun gradually disappeared, the surrounding light turned a deep blue, and Veris's right eye was obscured by the flying stray hairs.
The dark red color reflected the shocked face of the blond boy.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Let's begin!
Let me share a medley of Western fantasy elements, no system, no rebirth, no traitors, and Veris himself is the ultimate cheat code [kissing emoji].
[The following is a guide to avoiding potential pitfalls]
1. One of the main storylines is the adventure of the hero, so the hero's party has a significant role in the story.
2. No secondary romantic partners, but there is an ancient unrequited love.
3. As the strongest, Xiao Wei is completely outclassed unless banned.
4. The ratio is roughly 6:4 (or possibly 7:3) between plot and emotion.
5. Xiao Wei's arrow return is useful in the mid-to-late game [applause], but the double standards in the early game are already excessive.
6. All levels are divided into nine tiers.
7. The outline makes no special emphasis on female characters.
8. Please don't fatten me up, please! [Please]
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