HI3: I Don't Want to Be a Valkyrie

"Hmm, it seems your sacrifice was indeed valuable, Rozaliya." Liliya leaned against Rozaliya's shoulder, watching the dragon crystal disappear from her hands, her expression serene.

"Liliya!" Rozaliya, hearing this, felt a twinge of unhappiness.

"All right, let's go back! The group may be worried about us now." Liliya calmly changed the subject, seemingly unperturbed by Rozaliya's mood.

"..."

-

This quest had been immensely profitable. Although they had encountered an abnormally powerful zombie dragon, the total reward was still incredibly valuable. Overall, it was a significant gain.

The dragon crystal alone yielded 1000 crystals, plus 60 crystals from the strong enemy, Seele's letter, and the quest completion rewards of 300 crystals, 400,000 gold coins, and a 3-level increase for each Twin.

It was an extremely bountiful haul.

However, the quest completion rewards would only be finalized after returning to the palace and handing in the mission.

As Rozaliya carried Liliya on her back, heading back to the Demon Realm, she opened her inventory while keeping one hand on Liliya.

Her gaze fell on a letter at the very back of her inventory.

"Liliya, do you think... what could Sister Seele have written in this message? Is she missing us? Or is she planning to eat us?" Rozaliya retrieved the letter and looked at it curiously.

"Don't know. Why don't you open it and find out?" Liliya, lounging on Rozaliya's back, squinted her eyes lazily, looking like a lazy cat.

"Hmph! A lazy bum named Liliya," Rozaliya grumbled, displeased by Liliya's response but not taking it further. She simply wrapped her tail around Liliya to secure her on her back, then freed her hands to open the letter.

Unexpectedly, inside wasn't a normal letter at all, but a postcard with a picture of Seele.

Seele's Superb Stowaway

Effect: The first time you unlock the Valkyrie character Seele, your crystal consumption will be halved. (0/1)

"It's not a letter, but rather an item..."

Rozaliya took out the postcard, gazing at Seele's beautiful likeness with slight surprise.

Without delay, she hurriedly opened her account's Valkyrie interface and searched... but found no trace of Seele.

She hasn't been released yet, it seems...

"I wonder if Seele is an A-rank or S-rank Valkyrie. If she's S-rank, we'd be set for life."

An S-rank Valkyrie would be equivalent to 5,000 crystals.

"Lily, do you think our first encounter with Miss Seele will be an A-rank or S-rank?" Rozaliya stored the postcard away, her curiosity piqued.

"..."

Lily didn't respond.

"Lily?"

Rozaliya tilted her head, puzzled, and looked at Lily. She discovered that Lily had fallen asleep, resting on her with her head pillowed against Rozaliya's chest.

"Looks like she's out..."

Rozaliya placed her hands on Lily's hips, hoisting her onto her back, and began walking home.

"Lady Liliya! Lady Rozaliya, are you alright?!" When Rozaliya emerged from the ruined graveyard, carrying Liliya on her back, Cellinia and the others immediately breathed sighs of relief upon recognizing them and hurried over.

"Oh, I'm so glad! Lady Rozaliya, you're unharmed..." Cellinia's face lit up with relief. But then she saw Liliya asleep on Rozaliya's back, and her expression changed once more as she asked anxiously, "What happened to Lady Liliya?"

The others also gazed worriedly at the sleeping girl, suddenly feeling a sense of foreboding.

"Actually, Liliya is fine," explained Rozaliya matter-of-factly, seeing their concerned faces. "She's just exhausted, that's all."

"Ah, just exhausted..." Cellinia relaxed again, realizing her worries had been unnecessary. "That's such a relief. Nothing serious, then!"

"Lady Rozaliya, what exactly happened? Why did that... destructive flame appear? It seems to have engulfed the entire undead graveyard, reducing it to ash overnight," Savage said, picking up her hammer curiously as she stared at Rozaliya.

"There was an incredibly powerful zombie dragon in there," Rozaliya explained briefly, leaving the rest for them to guess. "To deal with it... so..."

"A zombie dragon..."

"No wonder this place became an undead graveyard so quickly. That zombie dragon was the main cause, huh?"

Generally, after a dragon's death... over lengthy periods of time, there's a chance it might transform into a type of underworld creature—a skeleton dragon.

But a zombie dragon—an even rarer phenomenon. Wherever a zombie dragon resides, it's certain to bring an epidemic of undead plague.

Around its presence, hordes of skeletons, zombies, and other undead creatures are born as demonic entities.

"Alright, dwelling on this now serves no purpose. The undead graveyard is no more. Let's head back and report our mission accomplished," Rozaliya said, still mindful of the task at hand and Amiya's Originium.

"Yes, Lady Rozaliya."

-

The seven began their return journey. After exiting the demonic beast region, the elven maiden Esmirille had no intention of accompanying Rozaliya and the others to the Demi-human Kingdom.

Having experienced this adventure, she needed to return to the Elf Race first.

Rozaliya didn't try to detain her, parting ways directly. Before they separated, Rozaliya gifted Esmirille a bottle of highly valued healing potion.

Esmirille couldn't replicate these items. They were crafted using spirit medicines from the previous world, with no such herbs existing in this realm.

-

The next day, Rozaliya returned to the Demi-human Palace with her six companions. They selectively recounted their experiences to Amiya, who seemed not to harbor even the slightest doubt and trusted them immediately.

For two heroes to defeat a zombie dragon! These were undoubtedly the most powerful heroes in history, befitting of the title "Heroes of the Demi-humans".

Amiya was delighted and rewarded a piece of Originium in addition to previous ones.

Now, six pieces altogether.

"Are there any other tasks? If so, please entrust them all to us!" Rozaliya asked, holding her Originium, her face brimming with anticipation as she gazed at Amiya before her.

Completing Amiya's missions not only generated more quests from the System but also earned Originium rewards. Compared to the previous two worlds, this was immensely richer. Rozaliya could already feel the thrill of quest farming.

"My apologies, great Hero. Having proven your strength to slay dragons, simpler tasks no longer serve as suitable training for you."

"There are currently no suitable tasks around the Demi-human Kingdom for our Brave Hero," Amiya replied, shaking her head helplessly as she saw Rozaliya's expectant gaze.