As Expected, Going Out is a Hassle
Heroes. Saviors blessed with power by the goddess who watches over the world. Eternal foes of the Demon King. They strive to stop the Demon King and his minions from dyeing the world in darkness and conquering it. Naturally, heroes have no choice but to be strong—they must be strong. Otherwise, they couldn't defeat the Demon King's armies.
Even the weakest hero has to handle monster legions with ease and take on low-rank legion commanders one-on-one. But no matter how generously the goddess grants her power, it's impossible to produce talent at that level every time. Maybe that's why the number of heroes never exceeded double digits, but even the duds ended up at least at the 'knight captain' level...
"...Yongba is around the same level as the strongest hero in the modern era?"
"Well, not exactly the same, but the tier should be similar. Obviously the vanguard team's stronger, though."
"......"
"Oh, and I've gotten super strong too—top 0.1% for sure? Hehe. All thanks to Little Flame Dragon Lea."
"...You've lost your marbles good."
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
A guy who wasn't even knight material—let alone a hero—being nearly on par with the modern era's top hero? What kind of nonsense was this? My head was spinning just thinking about it.
Old hag. What the hell are you thinking?
I'd figured since she summoned hundreds of heroes, she'd at least cherry-picked a few standouts like the previous generation. Even if the rest were lacking, a couple of elites would make up for it.
But no.
They're all duds!
Duds. Total flops. Not even legion commander level—flies that'd get swept away by a single high-grade monster attack. That was the true nature of these apprentice heroes.
"Think that guy can handle it? He's retired by now, probably pretty old..."
"Who do you mean..."
"Haring."
"Yes!"
"Iruwa."
"Huh?"
"I said come here."
I beckoned to Haring, who was standing there blankly. She shuffled over hesitantly. I immediately poked and prodded her arms, legs, mana-flowing heart, dantian, and finally stared intently at her face.
"Eek!!"
Haring's face turned beet red for some reason, like it might explode, but I pulled my hands away without a fuss and flopped back down.
"Nah... totally average..."
"C-Can I get a hug too, just once..."
"Stay put."
"Yessir."
Still lying down, I crossed my arms and pondered. I'd wondered if the goddess had slapped some special mechanism on them since she spread hero power across so many, but nope. Just ordinary humans with a sliver of goddess power. Sure, their physiology was a bit off from local humans, but...
Heroes are all like that anyway.
Heroes' bodies gradually change the more they handle the goddess's power. Adapting to better accommodate it. These ones seemed like the goddess had fast-tracked the process.
Hmm.
I shot up.
"Little Flame Dragon Lea?"
"......"
I sat back down.
"......"
"?"
As expected, going out was such a hassle. No matter how messy things got, I wanted to hole up for at least five more years. Instead of trudging out tiredly myself, I rummaged through a junk box rolling around the nest and pulled out a small parchment.
Not the bird statue? Nah. Quill pen... here it is.
"Whatcha doing?"
"Wait."
Scribble scribble. After about three minutes of writing, I folded the parchment neatly, sealed it, and handed it to Haring.
"Wanna run an errand for me? I'll pay you handsomely."
"Is this for real?"
Haring stepped cautiously out of the nest and glanced at the letter tucked in her bosom. A fancy letter from her master—the adorable Little Flame Dragon Lea—just moments ago. She couldn't check the contents since it was sealed, but the text floating before her eyes was crystal clear.
You've caught the Little Flame Dragon's eye through training and received a letter delivery mission.
📍 Destination: Legion Kingdom capital.
📨 Recipient: Bahamut Legion, or someone who can deliver it to him directly.
⚠ Caution: Quest cancels if letter is damaged 10%+ or given to unauthorized person.
Reward: One pick from Little Flame Dragon's treasure, 20,000 EXP
"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!"
Jackpot. 20,000 EXP for one letter was insane already, but the real prize was the treasure pick. She could snag one of those god-tier items from the treasure vault. Even top rankers had unique weapons at best—no legendaries. If Haring got one, she'd be the first player with a legendary weapon.
"Hehehe... nice! Super nice!"
Of course, she couldn't flaunt it right away. Like Yongba warned, top guilds would swarm Red Mountain and lock it down. But man, it'd feel good.
Haring grinned ear-to-ear and checked the quest again. Let's see...
"Destination's Legion Kingdom capital...? Haven't cleared that yet."
Haring was a total newbie who'd only grinded mountains since launch. Stats were ranker-level thanks to Little Flame Dragon training, but quests were still beginner status.
Should she grind quests now? Nah, she shook her head.
"No need. I can just walk there."
Questing was for growth and NPC bonds—getting escorts for safe routes. But current Haring could bulldoze monster-packed paths. Maps were all in the gallery anyway; just slice through.
"Recipient: Bahamut Legion... who's that?"
Even gallery-devouring Haring had never heard the name. Legion surname screamed royalty...
"Time to ask."
"...Emperor?"
She'd figured prince or princess at most. Emperor? How was she supposed to meet him? Even ranker-strength Haring couldn't just waltz into a castle crawling with knights. No quest clear, no connections—an average joe demanding the ex-emperor? Instant boot.
Sure, drop Little Flame Dragon's name and hand over the letter? But the quest warned: 'Recipient: Bahamut Legion, or someone who can deliver directly to him.'
Anyone without direct ties to the ex-emperor, and it'd likely fail.
"...Sigh."
No wonder the reward was nuts—there was a reason. Haring sighed.
"Anyway. Just go see."
Something'd happen if she showed up. Worst case, hit up Evan or other vanguard in the gallery. If that flopped, beg that human guy.
Haring set off for the capital.
Back in the nest after Haring left. I crunched the cookies she'd abandoned, then remembered something.
The tiny bird statue buried with the quill. I picked it up, channeled mana—and it started pecking and flapping its beak.
Magic Kingdom's messenger golem pigeon. Thought it was busted, but it worked fine.
"Shouldn't have sent it~."
Should've used the messenger.