Chapter 273: What to Do What to Do What to Do

Deliris desperately recalled what she had learned in school and began planning her next course of action.

The Exile Realm typically uses a mechanism similar to online games to encapsulate the setting, thereby introducing ordinary people from technological dimensions to fight against the Demon Lords.

It's not about eliminating the Demon Lords—in fact, if a Demon Lord truly died in the Exile Realm, it would cause a major catastrophe. This encapsulation exists first to keep the Demon Lords occupied so they won't spend every day plotting how to escape the Exile Realm, and second to give ordinary people opportunities for cultivation. Compared to pure newcomers with zero experience, these warriors with actual battlefield experience are far more likely to survive.

This exile system has been running for many years, with an accident rate of only about three in a thousand, and it has also supplied the Heavenly Realm with numerous D~B-class mid-tier warriors—quite an effective policy indeed.

"Based on the error code, this bug appeared no more than a year ago in this world. If that's the case, we could try asking those 'players' about it."

Once she'd thought this through, Delis immediately pulled out her mirror to check her attire, ensuring she looked beautiful while still avoiding excessive visibility. Although the school claimed these player-warriors were all creatures who groveled at the sight of beautiful NPC women, she still decided to play it safe—after all, if she stood out too much, someone might screenshot her and post it online, leaving behind irremovable evidence.

……

"Professor, is it really appropriate to buy this many items?" In the grinding zone, the research maniac was leading Professor Wang, who had stocked up on experience-boost items, around the mobs; thanks to this game's policy of encouraging alt accounts, leveling up Professor Wang wasn't much trouble, and with the help of the first-generation talismans, the most time-consuming parts were actually chugging potions to restore mana and waiting for monsters to respawn.

"It's fine. Setting everything else aside, the results from that Rasengan chip alone are enough to apply for funding; these expenses can all be put on the public account afterward. Speaking of which, don't all those web novel games have you power-leveling by fighting mobs above your level? Shouldn't we be looking for a higher-level grinding zone?"

Professor Wang carefully studied the screenshots of "Principles of Spellcraft" that the research maniac had taken, taking notes as he spoke without looking up.

Hearing this, the research maniac's expression turned slightly complicated as he said:

"Professor, novels write it that way to avoid reader fatigue from monotonous monster-slaying. In reality, the experience gained from fighting high-level monsters is not proportional to the mana expended. If it's for loot or quest rewards, fine—but if you're just grinding, the fastest way is to control it so a single AoE skill can instantly kill the group."

"Is that so?" Professor Wang always listened when it came to things he didn't understand. Hearing the research maniac say this, he said nothing more and turned his attention back to the spellbook.

The ritual of the spell is heavily influenced by consciousness, so his current weak alt character simply cannot meet the threshold for precise control. No matter how eager he was, he could only go out to grind monsters and level up.

Just after the surrounding monster nests had respawned and been cleared out once more, the research maniac also pulled out a mana potion; and it was at that very moment that Deliris, who had been watching from the sidelines for a while, immediately darted out from the trees.

"I am Deliris, knight of the kingdom. May I ask who you two are, and why you are here?"

With a textbook-standard opening line, Deliris, clad in plain knight's plate armor, asked with a solemn expression.

Yet neither of the two players reacted to her arrival. Professor Wang continued taking study notes, while the research maniac drank his blue potion with a loud "ton-ton-ton."

"What's going on? Didn't the tutorial say that when players see a beauty NPC like me, they'd rush over and call her 'wife'?" Deliris frowned, but still decided to stay in character and said:

"State your identities, or I will arrest you on charges of being 'suspicious persons'!"

"Sigh…" The research maniac sighed helplessly at this NPC who was useless except for her model. He had zero interest in tasks like this that clearly offered no rewards. If not for having to level up the professor, he'd have already returned to reality to study True Cultivation Techniques!

However, the professor probably didn't know how to talk to NPCs, so he could only set down his blue potion and reply:

"We are adventurers certified by the royal capital. Here is my adventurer card. Is there anything else?"

Deliris put on a show of glancing at the card the research maniac handed her before delivering the standard line:

"I have been ordered to investigate the Demon Lord who was recently unsealed. Do either of you have any relevant information?"

"That dragon demon? We don't really know the details either. Apparently it was some kind of monster sealed away by an Eastern cultivator using a special method. If you want to know more, go ask the residents of the Hermit Village up north."

Listening to the research maniac's utterly formulaic reply, Deliris even suspected she had run into an NPC villager.

But the Hermit Village up north... could it be that village from before?

But if it's the clue village, why would there be an aura of undeath?

Delis was deeply puzzled and was about to ask again when suddenly, a terrifying aura surged from the east.

Delis instantly entered combat readiness; her equipment activated immediately, unleashing a holy aura. Seeing Bi Gelei, who was racing toward the Hidden Village, immediately sensed this change.

"What's going on? Why is there such a repulsive aura?"

Bigret, already in a foul mood from rushing to get here, felt this aura and, without thinking, raised her arm.

Blue-bar mana, converted through Feng Xue's Talisman and Spell, transformed into elemental power. Vast swarms of blood-red bats erupted wildly from behind her, instantly darkening the bright sky. Beneath the piercing screeches and the thunder of flapping wings, an entire forest was devoured in moments.

Then, Deliris, standing on the ground with sword in hand and a barrier purifying the bats, locked eyes with Bigret, who hovered in the sky radiating an ominous aura.

"Impossible. Why is there a 'Holy Advent' here?"

"Impossible. How can someone in this exile land still cast a spell of this caliber?"

Delis and Seeing Bi Gelei both froze in shock, and an awkward atmosphere began to slowly brew.

"What do I do what do I do what do I do? I knew the Exile Realm's Demon Lord was at least A+ rank, but why can she break the world's restrictions and use her abilities?!" Delis forced a composed front, but inside she was panicking. Seeing Bi Gelei, though posing like a Demon Lord descending upon the world, felt just as hollow inside—

"What do I do, what do I do, what do I do? Why is there a Holy Advent in this dump of a place? That one earlier was already the strongest DPS around, and with the current setup we absolutely can't fight that!"

(End of chapter)