Chapter 11: Who are you?

If an ordinary person had said this, Anlis would have dismissed it as a joke or a conspiracy theory.

However, the person who spoke those words was Vylian.
A true Demon King.

If she said her father might encounter a minion of the Demon King, then he certainly would!

The Demon King was even able to camp the starting point of a newborn Hero.

There had been a long period between her fainting yesterday and waking up now; it was entirely possible for Vylian to have arranged something.

But why would she do this? Why even warn her now?

‘Is she testing me?’

‘That must be it!’

Anlis felt her palms go cold, and her entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.

As she looked at that cute and holy face now, it seemed just like a demon.

She wanted to scream at Vylian and ask what she was really planning.

But she was afraid that exposing the Demon King’s identity would cause her to kill all of Anlis’s relatives in a fit of rage.

If that happened, she would surely go insane.

Anlis felt so weak; she could do nothing.

She could only follow the woman’s plan and pretend she knew nothing, placing her hopes in the intangible Gods.

Anlis looked up slightly, her voice trembling with hesitation.

“Then let’s head out now.”

“We? No, no, no, Lady Hero, you should go by yourself. I am feeling unwell and my legs are weak. I think I need to… rest.”

Anlis’s heart shook again upon hearing those words.

She was actually going to stay in the village?

Anlis suddenly couldn’t understand the situation at all.

If she wanted to test her, shouldn’t she follow along to observe her closely?

Just as a brainstorm erupted in Anlis’s mind, she suddenly felt a soft warmth against her palm.

Her train of thought interrupted, Anlis looked up in confusion and met Vylian’s gentle smile on her fair, youthful face.

A sharp sting followed on the back of her hand as a mark was forcibly inscribed, emitting a holy aura.

“This is a Power Imprint I prayed to God to bestow upon you. You only have one chance to use it, but it is enough to help you deal with this crisis.”

Vylian recalled the original plot. After Anlis’s first experience, her Level had reached 15.

Though she didn’t know how much the level had increased this time, she was certain Anlis couldn’t defeat an enemy over Level 100.

In the original story, Anlis could only watch her father die before her eyes.

When she returned to the village, she found it in ruins.

When she rushed home in a panic, she only found her younger sister, heavily injured, unconscious, and partially affected by Corrosion.

That fatal double-blow had driven her hatred for Corrosion to its peak.

All of that happened because her foolish “subordinate” took it upon themselves to try and break the will of a commoner who had just awakened the Hero class.

The subordinate only tried to step in personally after realizing their plan had failed.

They were eventually wounded by a powerhouse from the Holy Order and fled, only to be killed later by the Hero once she grew stronger.

It was never hardship that crushed the will of a Hero.

The subordinate was simply too inexperienced.

Anlis felt the holy aura on the back of her hand.

If she didn’t know the truth, she might have truly believed the person before her was a nun of the Holy Order.

She understood less and less what Vylian was trying to achieve.

If it were just a test, why go through all this extra trouble?

“What are you standing there for? Lady Hero, the Great God just gave me a Divine Oracle. I think you should go to the Norman Street District to try your luck.”

“……Alright.”

Anlis nodded blankly.

Since she couldn’t make sense of it, she would just do it. Regardless, there were no other paths left to take.

As she turned and walked out under Vylian’s gaze, Anlis’s expression became increasingly grim.

Now that the Demon King wasn’t by her side, she could finally let her true emotions show on her face.

“Anlis, what is with that expression? You look so silly.”

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out near her ear, making her jump.

Perhaps because the Demon King had made her a bit neurotic, Anlis quickly tried to mask her face.

She realized the newcomer was actually her childhood best friend, and her expression finally relaxed.

“And now what is that face? You’re so funny~”

A chestnut-haired girl leaned in, giggling, causing Anlis’s face to flush red.

“Fula, you’re teasing me again.”

“Hmph~ Actually, I was worried about you. You didn’t come home at all last night, did you?”

“I was just going to your house to see if you were back. Seeing you now, I can finally relax.”

Fula leaned in close, acting very intimate, but her expression suddenly changed.

“Wait, why do you have the scent of another girl on you?”

“The scent of another girl? I stayed at someone else’s house last night.”

Anlis could smell the faint scent of roses on herself.

It was the unique fragrance that came from Vylian, and it was hard to get rid of.

But it was a trivial matter that didn’t require concern; it actually smelled quite nice.

“You stayed the night? Nothing happened between you two, right?”

“Ah… what else could happen? I just stayed over. We’re both girls; what else could we do besides sleep?”

Perhaps from pretending so much in front of Vylian, Anlis’s acting skills had improved.

Even though she was incredibly guilty, Fula didn’t notice any signs of it.

“Well, you’re terrifyingly straight, so I guess I can trust you.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means I trust you!”

Dismissing it casually, Fula walked side-by-side with Anlis and asked curiously.

“I saw you rushing out just now. Where are you going?”

“I… I’m going into the city to find my father.”

“Then I’ll go with you.”

“Huh? No, it’s better if you don’t.”

Anlis’s first instinct was to refuse.

Everything about this incident seemed linked to Vylian, and she didn’t want to drag her best friend into it.

“It might be dangerous. It’s better if I go alone.”

“Hmph, don’t look down on me. I’ve awakened the Mage class.”

Fula snapped her fingers, and a small flame ignited in her palm.

The heaven-sent Mage class allowed her to gain high elemental affinity immediately.

Such basic magic could be easily mastered the moment one awakened.

Looking at the miraculous flame, Anlis became curious about her friend’s Status Panel.

[Status Window]
Name: Fula Kachi
Level: 3
Class: Mage
Elemental Affinity: All elements of the world will remain close to you.
Mana Surge: Your Mana will increase as your Level rises.
Magic Infusion: Your Mana can be added to any object, granting it power and brilliance.

“How about that? Jealous? I awakened the Mage class!”

“It’s a very rare class. By the way, Anlis, what class did you awaken yesterday?”

“If you’re not as strong as me, I’ll protect you from now on.”

Fula played with the flame, her face filled with an irrepressible pride.

Anlis paused for a moment before speaking calmly.

“Hero.”

“Huh?”