Chapter 298: What to Do What to Do What to Do

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

The Exile Lands are typically packaged like online games, bringing in ordinary people from technological planes to fight against the Demon King.

This is not meant to eliminate the Demon King; in fact, if the Demon King were truly to die in the Exile Lands, it would trigger a great catastrophe. This packaging serves two purposes: first, to keep the Demon Kings occupied so they don’t spend every day plotting how to escape the Exile Lands, and second, to provide ordinary people with opportunities for training—these warriors with real combat experience are far more likely to survive than inexperienced reincarnators.

This exile system has been operating for years with an accident rate of only about three in a thousand, while simultaneously supplying the Heavenly Realm with a large number of D-to-B-class mid-tier heroes—quite an effective policy indeed.

“According to the error code, this bug has existed for no more than a year in this world; you might try asking those ‘players.’”

Once she understood this, Darlis immediately pulled out her mirror to check her attire—she needed to be beautiful but not overly conspicuous; although school had taught her that these player heroes were all creatures who groveled at the sight of beautiful NPCs, she feared that being too eye-catching might lead to screenshots being posted online, leaving behind irremovable evidence, so she decided to play it safe.

……

“Professor, are you sure it’s appropriate to buy so many items?” In the monster-spawning zone, the research fanatic was herding monsters alongside Professor Wang, who was covered in experience-boosting gear; thanks to the game’s encouragement of alt accounts, Professor Wang’s leveling wasn’t difficult, and with the assistance of first-generation talismans, the most time-consuming part was simply drinking potions to restore mana and waiting for monsters to respawn.

「 Meiguanxi ， Danshinageluoxuanwanjingyuandechengguojiuzugoushenqingzijinbuzhule ， Zhexiekaixiaoshihoudounengzougongzhang ； Huashuowangyouxiaoshuolibudoushiyuejidaguaishengjima ？ Womenshibushigaiquzhaodengjigaodiandeguaiqu ？」

Professor Wang carefully studied the screenshots of “Principles of Magic” taken by the research fanatic, taking notes while not looking up.

Upon hearing this, the research fanatic’s expression grew complicated:

“Professor, novels write it that way to avoid making monster grinding too boring for readers, but in reality, the experience gained from fighting high-level monsters doesn’t proportionally match the mana consumed; it’s fine if you’re after drops or quests, but for pure grinding, the fastest method is to keep your area-of-effect skills just strong enough to one-shot them.”

“Is that so?” Professor Wang always listened when it came to things he didn’t understand; hearing this, he said nothing more and returned to focusing on the magic book.

Magical rituals are heavily influenced by consciousness, and his current frail alt account simply can’t reach the threshold for precise control—no matter how urgent he was, he could only come out to grind and level up.

Just after the monster nests around them had been cleared again, the research fanatic pulled out a mana potion; at that moment, Darlis, who had been watching for a while, immediately emerged from the woods.

“I am Darlis, a knight of the kingdom. Who are you two, and why are you here?”

With a textbook-perfect opening line, Darlis, clad in simple knight’s plate armor, spoke with an air of authority.

Yet the two players showed no reaction; Professor Wang kept his head down taking notes, while the research fanatic slurped his mana potion with a “ton-ton-ton.”

“What’s going on? Didn’t the textbooks say players would rush up and call me ‘wife’ when they saw a beautiful NPC like me?” Darlis frowned but decided to maintain her character:

“State your identities, or I’ll arrest you as suspicious persons!”

“Sigh…” The research fanatic sighed helplessly at this NPC who was nothing but a pretty model; he had zero interest in this clearly worthless quest—if not for having to level up the professor, he’d have long returned to reality to study cultivation techniques!

But the professor probably didn’t know how to talk to NPCs, so he put down his potion and replied:

“We’re certified adventurers from the capital. Here’s my adventurer card. Is there anything else?”

Darlis feigned a cursory glance at the card the research fanatic handed her before delivering the standard response:

“I’ve been assigned to investigate the recently escaped Demon King. Do either of you have any relevant information?”

“That dragon demon? We don’t know much. It’s said to have been sealed by Eastern cultivators using some special method; if you want to know more, ask the villagers in the secluded village up north.”

Listening to the research fanatic’s rigid reply, Darlis even wondered if she’d stumbled upon an NPC villager.

But the secluded village to the north… could it be that same village?

But if it’s a clue village, why does it carry the aura of the undead?

Darlis was filled with confusion and was about to ask more when suddenly a terrifying aura swept in from the east.

Darlis instantly went into combat mode, her equipment activating instantly as a holy aura erupted; Bigelei, racing toward the secluded village, immediately sensed this change.

“What’s going on? Why is there such an unpleasant aura?”

Already irritable from the journey, Bigelei, upon sensing this aura, didn’t even think—she raised her arm.

The mana bar, transformed by Feng Xue’s talismans into elemental energy, unleashed a torrent of blood-red bats that surged wildly from behind her, instantly darkening the sky; amidst piercing shrieks and the flapping of wings, vast stretches of forest were devoured.

Then, Darlis, standing sword in hand on the earth, shielding herself with a holy barrier to purify the bats, locked eyes with Bigelei, who hovered in the sky, radiating an ominous presence.

“How is this possible? Why is there a ‘Saint-Bearer’ here?”

“How is this possible? How can someone use a technique of this caliber in the Exile Lands?”

Darlis and Bigelei stared at each other, both stunned, as an awkward silence settled between them.

“What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? I knew the Exile Lands housed at least an A+ rank Demon King, but how could she break the world’s restrictions and use such power?!” Darlis clung to her composure, but internally she was panicking; Bigelei, though posing as a demon king descending upon the world, was equally terrified—

“What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? Why is there a Saint-Bearer here? The last one was already the strongest DPS in the current era—this setup is completely unwinnable!”

(End of Chapter)