I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 411 - 231: Middle-Tier Zone - Hero World No. 77981 Affiliate_2

Chapter 411: Chapter 231: Middle-Tier Zone - Hero World No. 77981 Affiliate_2

Because Hero World was a high-tier world that was released later, it produced the strong profession of heroes and a massive amount of experience. It also provided followers for players, special buildings required by lord players, and various corresponding equipment and skills.

It was one of the more popular high-tier worlds. However, it was not yet open and was still only a mid-tier area, probably due to unstable coordinates. The deployment of players was likely aimed at stabilizing those coordinates, and this surely wasn’t the first time players had been sent over.

"I am the King of the Holy Kingdom, and I welcome the arrival of the three heroes on behalf of the kingdom," a fat old man in splendid attire claimed to be the king as he spoke.

They were currently inside a palace, which was resplendent with gold and did not seem at all like it had been invaded by the Demon King.

Clearly, he had probably received more than one group of heroes before.

"Heroes, your task is to slay the Demon King and save our world. Once that is achieved, the Goddess will resurrect you and send you back to your original world."

The man continued to speak as if reading from a script.

Gu Shanhai was also aware of this setup. It was usually a trick to lure homebodies here, so putting on the guise of a Goddess was more effective. The Goddess’s image was not fixed and could range from a sexy mature woman to a cutesy little ghostly loli, all depending on the preferences of the reborn homebodies’ XP.

Normally, an auxiliary world would only have one hero, but Gu Shanhai and his companions were an exception, being players, after all.

Hualou Chun and Taohua Xiao felt nothing much, treating it as just a cutscene, while Gu Shanhai mocked it internally. He was a hero who had slain the Demon King; why would he want to go back? Staying here to wield power and influence would be far better.

"Now, please accept the blessings of the Goddess."

As the king finished speaking, three rays of light emerged from the statue of the Goddess behind him and fell upon the three of them.

Gu Shanhai reacted immediately to intercept, but he only managed to block ninety-nine percent of it. A trace still slipped through and landed on him. The energy in this world was too high, and he was just slightly lacking.

He took a moment to feel the effects and was somewhat annoyed. After checking, what he had failed to intercept was a small part of a collection measure, seemingly intended to form some kind of blessing. Naturally, to grant a blessing, the Goddess would need to collect information on one’s physical condition and experiences to accurately bestow it.

This tiny blessing turned into a panel that appeared before him; the other two also had panels, though Gu Shanhai’s was a bit strange.

[***]

[Profession: None LV1 (0/10)]

[Attributes]

[Strength: 0]

[Agility: 0]

[Constitution: 0]

[Spirit: 0]

[Perception: 0]

[Abilities]

[SSS-Class · Beloved of the Gods]

[SSS-Class · Harbinger of Kings]

[SSS-Class · One Who Rests with the Nation]

[SSS-Class · Giant Tree Among Mountains]

[SSS-Class · Shelter of the Ancient Immortal]

The king across from him was dumbfounded. What kind of panel was this, with attributes at zero, how was he even alive? Furthermore, how could a mere mortal possess five abilities, all of SSS-Class at that? The golden light was nearly blinding him.

Hualou Chun and Taohua Xiao next door appeared much more normal. Not only did their attributes come with proper values, but their abilities were also genuinely D-Class, C-Class.

"This Goddess doesn’t seem all that impressive," Gu Shanhai openly commented.

Though he said this, he knew in his heart that there was some merit to this. His profession and attributes hadn’t been identified because he had intercepted them, but the abilities were another matter entirely.

These five abilities were not his own abilities at all, but his experiences.

Divine friendship referred to the days he spent with He Lingyun; he is now a deity among men.

The guide of kings was naturally the Red Dragon King Atilis, who led Gu Shanhai to the position of Druid King.

The one who shares the kingdom’s fate was the status granted to Gu Shanhai by Huang Yanshan after he became Emperor Dashu.

The giant tree of the mountains came from him inheriting the mountain ghost’s afterlife, announcing causality to the entire world as the World Tree.

There’s no need to guess what the ancient immortals’ protection is; it came from the bigwigs of the Mahayana Xuanzhen Sect.

"It’s a pity that my time spent with the Shugges Lord didn’t yield much legend, or I could have gained an achievement of ’Ancient Communicator’ or something."

At that time, the Shugges Lord was seriously injured; if it wasn’t for his complete strength, I definitely could have mixed in another one.

As for what the five abilities are for, Gu Shanhai could only say they looked pretty and were absolutely useless.

Now used to show off, isn’t that cool.

After all, the blessing was intercepted by him, and what wasn’t intercepted ended up as such an attribute panel.

The King of the Holy Kingdom intended to reprimand Gu Shanhai for disrespecting the Goddess, only to hold his tongue after seeing Gu Shanhai’s abilities.

He was merely the Goddess’s proxy, whereas the man before him was a dear friend of a deity. How could he compare? Moreover, the other party was protected by the ancient immortals, indicating that five or even more powerful beings watched over him; how could he dare reprove, lest he face divine punishment first.

"The Goddess’s blessing has been completed, and I ask the three heroes to set out to vanquish the Demon King. Please prioritize leveling up and aim to reach Level 100 as soon as possible to be capable of confronting the Demon King," the King said with a smile.

The King might disregard Hualou Chun and Taohua Xiao, but he cannot ignore the profound impact of Gu Shanhai’s five shining abilities.

With that said, Hualou Chun and Taohua Xiao prepared to leave, following the usual procedure of monster hunting; they had levels, one at 99, and the other at 98, unlike Gu Shanhai, who was at Level 0. The difficulty was matched to their data-formulated capabilities.

"Ahem." Gu Shanhai coughed to signal the two to wait, and they stopped, puzzled, looking at Gu Shanhai.

"Your Majesty, you’re saying we’re here to help save the world for you, right?" asked Gu Shanhai.

"Of course, honored Hero Sir." The other party was also slightly confused, as previous heroes had never raised this issue.

"So this is not our obligation, but your need. It can’t be that you tell us to fight the Demon King to the death, and we just have to go."

"You’re not only refusing to pay us, but you’re also expecting us to pay out of pocket, which is against the rules."

Gu Shanhai narrowed his eyes, speaking in a dangerously serious tone.

At this moment, Hualou Chun and Taohua Xiao also realized Gu Shanhai’s logic seemed unproblematic.

The two were the rigid type, doing well, belonging to the by-the-book sort, though probably not even up to the second tier of players.

"This... the Goddess did not request it." The King said with some difficulty, had it been the other two players, he would have rebuffed them outright, but Gu Shanhai was different, he dared not offend.

"This has nothing to do with the Goddess. If you want us to fight the Demon King and save the world, then you should offer us corresponding benefits, such as items, equipment, and even various accompanying personnel and military support," demanded Gu Shanhai, opening his mouth wide to make extravagant demands. That would mean it wasn’t just heroes fighting the Demon King but the whole Holy Kingdom going with them.

You’d think the Demon King was just a Demon King; he leads a whole Demon Clan force. They need to fight one by one, like clearing a game, additionally facing profits and losses on their own. How could there be any benefit?

And looking at this Imperial Palace of the Holy Kingdom, gleaming with gold and jade, it clearly looks wealthy; a substantial knock is due.

Gu Shanhai’s sky-high asking price, of course, also allowed the other party to settle the bill later.

Hualou Chun and Taohua Xiao also brightened up; this was meeting a high-level player, possibly even a top-tier one. Perfect to ride on the coattails, so they silently moved back to Gu Shanhai’s side to indicate they felt the same.

The King was also in a difficult position at this time; of course, he could not agree to all of Gu Shanhai’s demands. The Hero Continent was not just their Holy Kingdom; there were elf, dwarf, giant dragon, and other powerful Transcendent race forces. If they really went to fight the Demon King following Gu Shanhai’s demands, the kingdom would likely be severely weakened.

Therefore, after some deliberation, it was fine to provide money and equipment, but no more, and they had to agree on a price first. They could not be controlled by the other party. If they didn’t offer anything, the other side had two heroes, one of Level 99 and the other of Level 98, who were not people he could confront.