HI3: I Don't Want to Be a Valkyrie

"Want to give it a try? If you perish, I can always revive you again," Liliya mused, handing the poisoned arrow to Rozaliya.

"Not me! Even if you could resurrect me, it'd be excruciating!" Rozaliya took the arrow, hesitated for a moment, and then decided to store it in her inventory.

"..."

-

"Lady Liliya, Lady Rozaliya, all the escaping goblins have been eliminated."

After clearing the goblins from the tribe, Liliya and Rozaliya found the five members of their party at the outskirts.

"Excellent! Liliya, we've completed the mission flawlessly once again!" Looking at the successful outcome, Rozaliya couldn't resist clapping, overjoyed.

"Idiot Rozaliya, don't celebrate too early. Our task has only just begun." Seeing the excited Rozaliya beside her, Liliya didn't hesitate to pour cold water on her enthusiasm.

"Liliya, you're such a buzzkill. Humph..." Rozaliya pouted, looking at Liliya with a pretend air of displeasure.

"..."

Liliya simply ignored Rozaliya's antics, calmly taking a sip from her water cup.

Cellinia, Platinum, and the others watched the bickering between Rozaliya and Liliya, smiling inwardly at their playful banter. Their relationship truly is as close as sisters!

"These are probably your teammates, huh...? You should go bury them."

The seven carefully avoided the traps and entered the goblin tribe, where they found Esmirille's teammates.

However, it was now impossible to recognize their shapes.

"Mm..." Esmirille carried herself with clear self-reproach, but still made an effort to maintain her composure as she began to retrieve the bodies. After a moment's consideration, Platinum, Cellinia, and the others also started helping.

At that moment, Rosalila opened her own account, clicked through to the Valkyries interface, and looked at the chips for ability experience under Valkyrie - Cherry Bomb. She directly used them all.

She immediately leveled up by one or two levels.

Now Rozaliya was level 43, and Liliya had reached level 44; this could still be considered pretty fast progress.

With these level-ups, Rozaliya felt her strength grow considerably once again.

-

After Esmirille and her companions had finished the simple burial of their fallen teammates, Liliya turned to look at Esmirille and said, "We're heading to the Necropolis for the next phase of our mission. You should go back by yourself now."

"You're going to the Necropolis?" Esmirille asked, her face full of concern. "It's swarming with skeleton monsters and ghosts right now! You won't be able to get very far."

"We've already accepted the quest, so we have to go," Liliya explained. "You can head back if you like."

"Um... I think I'll come with you, actually. Having just been there might be helpful to you," Esmirille decided after a moment of thoughtful silence. She gritted her teeth and looked at Liliya.

"You're sure?" Liliya leaned against Rozaliya's strong shoulders as she gazed at Esmirille.

"I'm sure."

"All right, then. Let's go..." Liliya no longer tried to stop her.

-

After leaving the goblin's small tribe, it took them approximately three hours to traverse through the woods. Finally, they arrived at a desolate graveyard.

Upon entering this place, the sky immediately began to darken.

An eerie, foreboding sensation radiated from the area, an unsettling silence pervading the air.

"This is the Necromantic Graveyard," Esmirille explained, following closely behind Rozaliya. "No one knows how it appeared; it just materialized out of nowhere ten years ago."

"It seems like many people are buried here..." Liliya observed, gazing upon numerous shattered gravestones and tombstones scattered across the landscape.

"As we venture further, we'll encounter many skeletons and some strange ghosts. Proceeding even deeper, zombies will start appearing. Beyond that, who knows? Our previous expeditions only went as far as the zombies before turning back," Esmirille continued with a sigh.

-

Important Note

Negative energy in this area has gone berserk; avoid inhaling it.

This is a forbidden area very likely to be full of traps. Proceed with caution at your own risk.

Ether is indispensable in this area. Take it with you at all times.

-

"Skeletons and zombies, I can handle those. But spirits..." Savage, Platinum, and Cellinia looked helpless. Physical damage was useless against such beings.

"Speaking of undead, I should be able to manage them!" Skyfire held her staff, appearing quite calm.

"I can't affect spirits either. Unless they're elves or druids..." Esmerille counted her collected arrows, sounding equally helpless.

"All of you, don't go inside. This includes you, Skyfire. Step back... 10 kilometers should do it. Leave this to Liliya and me," said Rozaliya, her face suddenly serious.

Liliya continued, her voice firm. "Indeed, this time we won't be able to look after all of you. Retreat to a distance of 10 kilometers. If something goes wrong, turn and run immediately. I'm not joking – even Liliya wouldn't make light of this situation."

"Great Lady Rozaliya, Lady Liliya, what's happening? Why must we retreat so far?" Savage asked, worry etched across her face.

"Are there some terrifying monsters in there? But then you, Lady Liliya..." Esmerille trailed off, helpless.

Hearing the gravity in Rozaliya and Liliya's voices, the five women couldn't help but feel growing concern.

"You should all withdraw. Leave this to me and Rosa for now. I'll explain everything after we've dealt with this threat."

Liliya and Rozaliya didn't waste time on explanations. In a flash, they disappeared from sight before reappearing a hundred meters away.

The remaining five girls exchanged hesitant glances. After a moment of uncertainty, they heeded Liliya and Rozaliya's warning and began to retreat.

-

[Dire Foe Quest: Undying Zombie Dragon (Reference Level: 60)

Quest Requirement: Please defeat the dragon within 3 hours. After 3 hours, the zombie dragon will enter Berserk Mode, increasing its strength by 100 times.]

[Quest Reward: 60 Crystals, Letter from Valkyrie Seele]

"Is this an open world? Why would such a strong enemy exist?! Level 60? We're barely over 40, okay? And we have no choice but to accept," Rozaliya and Liliya complained as they used spatial teleportation to race towards the objective.

"Don't grumble. It's only three hours. We need to hurry! Luckily, the quest gives us a target location; otherwise, we might not even find it." Liliya followed Rozaliya, flashing from one point to another. In less than three seconds, they could move nearly a kilometer—already impressive speed.

"The real issue is... such a powerful enemy only yields 60 crystals..."

"Aren't high-level enemies always 60 crystals? Besides, there's Seele sis's letter too. I bet it won't be long before Seele debuts as an idol—no, a Valkyrie—soon."

"Seele sis..." Rozaliya suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"What's wrong?" Liliya looked at Rozaliya , puzzled.

"We joined Seele's team. Do you think she might come after us once she debuts?"