Tsukasa was hunting.
Since she couldn't find the White-Eyed Tiger, the only thing she could do was continue gathering resources and leveling up her skills. Although her level couldn't improve much here anymore, she could still gain quite a few skill points. She wanted to learn some skills before venturing deeper into the mountains. For now, she wasn't in a hurry to enter the deeper parts.
As for the threat of the White-Eyed Tiger,
while it was indeed troublesome, she wasn't at the point where she couldn't fight or escape. The newly unlocked Heretical Magic and Evil Eye skills had given her a few trump cards. Even if she wasn't a match for the White-Eyed Tiger, she was confident she could escape from it. However, she was actually more afraid that deeper in the mountains, there might be monsters stronger than the White-Eyed Tiger. That was unknown, while the White-Eyed Tiger was a known threat. So, she'd rather face the White-Eyed Tiger than risk exploring new territory unprepared.
With a casual wave of her hand, three fireballs flew out, simultaneously killing three monsters in different locations. Through practice, she had learned the skill
This certainly showed her caution and timing, but she indeed had high talent in Perception and accuracy. Her
Then she saw a skill
The Hero Squad following behind saw this and exclaimed in amazement.
Harris whistled.
Uncle Giskan leaned against a tree, applauding and praising.
Yana, the priest, mage, and saint, looked at Tsukasa in surprise, seemingly shocked by Tsukasa's magic-casting method. That level of magic control required high-difficulty training to master; even she, a saint, couldn't do it. She knew only Hero Julius and Julius's teacher could manage it. But Julius's teacher was the continent's strongest archmage, and Julius was the Hero—it wasn't strange for them. But why could a little girl do it?
"Who's there?!"
Tsukasa was startled for a moment.
Without a word, she decisively gathered mana and threw out a Flash, then turned to flee from these people. But just as her magic caused chaos, Saint Fina calmly cast a spell, chanting, "This is a blinding magic. I'll use Purification to restore you immediately."
A holy light flashed over each member of the Hero Squad. Tsukasa was shocked to see them dispel her magic. Her mood turned sour, and she reproachfully asked the system goddess, "Why don't I have such a skill to learn? Isn't Purification just too overpowered?"
However, her thoughts didn't reach the goddess.
Even if they did, the goddess couldn't reply.
"Wait, we're not bad people; we mean no harm. I'm Hero Julius, and these are my companions. This is Harris; the one who dispelled your magic just now is Miss Yana. These two are Mr. Giskan and Mr. Hoken. Please stop attacking us with magic. We just saw you alone and followed. Why are you alone in such a dangerous place? Where are your family and teacher?"
Harris couldn't help but laugh. "Usually, only bad people say they're not bad, you know."
"..." Julius looked helplessly at his joking companion.
But after lightening the mood with a joke, Harris immediately added, "See, he's like this. You can tell he really means no harm, right? And if you want to verify our identities, just use this Appraisal Stone on Julius with the Appraisal skill. A Hero's skills can't be faked. Here, you know how to use an Appraisal Stone, right?"
He threw a black stone over.
Tsukasa didn't catch it, watching it fall to the ground. She cast Appraisal on it, confirmed it was a real Appraisal Stone with no danger, then hesitantly picked it up, still eyeing the group warily.
Julius reminded, "Just hold the stone and silently think 'Appraisal,' then target me."
I see.
Tsukasa nodded, then immediately froze.
Wait, what's with this guy?
This involuntary, relaxing affinity.
Terrifying!
Julius didn't know why.
The girl suddenly seemed more hostile toward him.
Then a feeling of being watched came over him.
He knew someone had used Appraisal on him.
Tsukasa looked at Julius's status screen, her expression stiff.
Wh-what... what kind of monster is this?
Attributes stronger than the White-Eyed Tiger.
Basic stats averaging over 6000.
And those skills are too exaggerated, right?
This guy is dual-wielding magic and sword.
Damn it!
Not just a genius, but an all-rounder.
This guy looks like he might not even be an adult, very young.
She had to cheat to level up this fast, but this Hero was even more absurd than her, a cheater. Could it be that the Hero is this world's favored son, the true protagonist?
"Now can you believe our identities?"
Julius felt the sense of being watched disappear.
Tsukasa nodded nervously.
No choice; she didn't dare do anything at a time like this.
Because the opponent was a monster.
"..." Julius opened his mouth.
Why did he feel even more guarded against?
He looked to Harris and Yana for help.
What to do? When people saw he was the Hero before, they either revered and flattered him or forcibly kidnapped him for help. Being treated like this was a first.
"Really, no choice."
Harris pushed the flustered Yana forward.
"Huh? Huh?"
"You're the only girl here. Go on, show Julius your feminine charm."
Hearing this, Yana perked up instantly.
She looked at Julius.
Although Julius knew Harris was teasing Yana,
he also thought it was better for Yana, as a girl, to handle this, so he nodded, showing support for Harris's suggestion.
Seeing him nod, Yana's eyes lit up.
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