Chapter 126: Benevolent Deeds

On the island of Baal, inside the Heroes' Apartment, Zhao Tianhe downed a bottle of mana potion and devoured a large steak. He then slumped over his table like a dead dog, sipping a special stamina-replenishing concoction through a straw.

For a while now, his consumption of mana and physical energy had been increasing drastically.

"Are you holding up?" Zelos asked, looking concerned.

"I'm alright. My mana is fine, but my physical strength is struggling..." Zhao Tianhe sighed, feeling as though his back and waist were aching as if he had just run a dozen marathons.

This depletion of physical energy was a sign of his body undergoing structural reconstruction, a process far more grueling and painful than ordinary strenuous exercise.

"Shouldn't you find a professional healer?" Li Mei suggested, her brow furrowed.

"No, there are others who need healing more than I do. I’ll just eat and drink more; I can do without healing spells. I suppose a little suffering now will be good for me in the long run," Zhao Tianhe said with a smile, shaking his head. "Though, could you help me lie down while I eat?"

Hearing this, Li Mei immediately cast a spell to lift Zhao Tianhe and carry him into the room, though he would have preferred her to support him physically.

*No, better not. Li Mei is too… well endowed. I wouldn't be able to resist the temptation. Ugh! Never mind that now… my back hurts so much…* A muscle spasm in his lower back caused his facial muscles to twitch in agony.

However, the moment he entered the room, Pixie suddenly pounced onto Zhao Tianhe’s head!

"It’s bad, it’s really bad!" Pixie pulled on Zhao Tianhe’s hair, looking frantic.

"What’s so bad?" Li Mei asked curiously.

"Um… uh…" Pixie pursed her chubby lips and looked out the window. "Nothing, just stuck on a game level. Anyway, Zhao, let me see this…"

Although Pixie’s attempt to cover it up was obvious, Li Mei couldn't be bothered to pry into the affairs of such a scatterbrained fairy. She shook her head, closed the door, and left.

"Ah-He! It’s bad!" Only when Li Mei had left did Pixie stand on Zhao Tianhe’s chest with a grave expression. "The Heart of the Rainbow has appeared!"

At that moment, in the distant ruins of St. Ross Port, Abu Fang’er had just torn her way out of the dungeon.

"Oh," Zhao Tianhe replied, nodding.

"What do you mean 'oh'! Hurry up and go find the Heart of the Rainbow!" Pixie, a fairy as plump as a marshmallow, sat right on Zhao Tianhe’s face, slapping his eyelids as she shouted.

"Boss, look at me. I’m practically half-dead. How am I supposed to go find some Heart of the Rainbow?" Zhao Tianhe pleaded, wanting to cry. "Calm down, let me rest a bit first, it won't be too late to go later. Besides, it’s just a Summoning Ticket, what’s the big deal?"

"Hmph, hmph-hmph-hmph," Pixie sneered at Zhao Tianhe’s words. "You fool! Think about it—aside from those two Summoning Tickets from the Heart of the Rainbow, have you ever summoned a single Heroic Spirit?"

"Uh… well…" Zhao Tianhe paused, realizing Pixie was right. Aside from those two tickets, whether he used other tickets or Saint Quartz, he had never pulled a new Heroic Spirit!

"So, Heroic Spirits are truly special entities? Well, they certainly are rare…" Zhao Tianhe reflected on the pull rates in the game and suddenly felt enlightened.

However, if what Pixie said was true, it wasn't just a matter of pull rates; it was that the possibility simply didn't exist!

*Besides the tickets from the Heart of the Rainbow, all other summons only yield Craft Essences, Embers, or special enhancements, like Artoria’s 'King of Archers' class.* Zhao Tianhe’s expression turned serious. This was a major issue.

*But come to think of it, even with this unique charm attribute for Heroic Spirits, I could probably only manage to pursue one or two at most. Starting a harem is basically impossible. Even if I got a new Heroic Spirit, I wouldn't be able to handle it!* Zhao Tianhe thought to himself. *And what if I pull a male Heroic Spirit? What am I supposed to do, have him hanging around my wife all day? Forget it… summoning Heroic Spirits is a risky business!*

With that realization, Zhao Tianhe felt his motivation evaporate. No matter how much Pixie urged him, he remained motionless and unresponsive.

It was fortunate that he was currently unable to move and that St. Ross Port was far away, otherwise…

Meanwhile, along the coast of the old St. Ross Port, Death looked at the masked man and the woman, saying expressionlessly, "Now, surrender your memories and submit."

"As you wish." The strong man smiled and tapped his face, causing his mask to crack open.

He then went limp and fainted instantly. The woman beside him did the same.

Death carried the two of them and walked toward the dense forest ahead.

A while later, high in the canopy of a large tree, a lithe and athletic Elf Archer dispelled her concealment magic, shivering in terror.

She was an S-rank Hero who had survived the dungeon explosion, saved by the passive skill on her equipment, and had immediately activated concealment magic to hide. After all, the scene in the distance—filled with swarming bug-men—looked like the apocalypse. Who would dare to run around while injured?

"What happened? That was… that was the King of Virtue, wasn't it? How could he be involved with those villains? Is this tragedy related to him? And what was that thing he consumed?" The Elf Archer tried to find a logical explanation, but she couldn't.

The scene she had just witnessed was incredibly suspicious; there was definitely something wrong.

*I should report this to the Association. I am an S-rank, after all; my word…* The Elf Archer drank a potion and stood up, trembling.

"Where do you think you're going?" A gentle voice rang out, and the Elf Archer froze.

Death was already sitting behind her, the two limp, masked bodies hanging from the treetops.

"You… you killed my teammates! You’re the one behind all this, aren't you?! And so many innocent residents were…" The Elf Archer looked at the man with the gentle expression and shrieked hysterically. She knew she wouldn't survive this.

"Why go to such lengths?" Death stood up, still smiling gently. "Everything I do is for your own good. Even if it brings a curse, it doesn't matter; I only wish to protect you forever."

"You… but your ability is 'Virtuous Acts'?! How could you do something like this?! Perform such cruelty…" The Elf Archer clutched her head, crying out in confusion. "You’re the King of Virtue!"

"Virtuous acts? Well, that is merely a matter of perspective." Death chuckled. A few shockwaves hit, hacking the Elf Archer into a limbless torso.

"Ahhh! You! You devil!"

"How about this?"

"Ahhhhh~~~~"

"And this?"

"No! Don't, stop! Ahhhhhhh~~~"

"I can also do this…"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Just kill me! Ahhhhhhh~~~"

"You see," Death looked at the Elf Archer, now a bloody, unrecognizable mess, and shrugged. "Now, killing you has become a 'virtuous act.' I am truly sorry to use your flesh and pain to increase my power, but it is the only way."

A shockwave swept through, and the Elf Archer’s remains were pulverized into dust, vanishing into the wind.