[Ding-dong! Congratulations, Host, for successfully living in the new world for a full week. You have received Newbie Gift Pack Three. With this, all Newbie Guidance Missions are complete. Junior Missions will now be unlocked. Please prepare yourself, Host!]
“Awoo… you’re such a noisy fellow. Can’t I just put you on silent mode? You’ve completely ruined my perfect dream.”
Leya, freshly woken, stretched languidly, yawning as she rubbed her eyes, which always seemed on the verge of closing again. Finally, she recalled the last part of her dream.
The ritual of divine reincarnation had indeed succeeded. However, to Leya’s utter exasperation, the divine body she now inhabited was female.
As a healthy, vibrant young man who had lived for twenty years, it was easy to imagine the profound dejection Leya felt upon first receiving this news.
Yet, ‘better to live a bad life than to die well,’ as the saying went. The thick-skinned Leya quickly accepted this reality.
The ‘grand gift’ the God King had mentioned at the end was none other than the incessantly chattering system in her mind.
Putting everything together, that was the gist of it. The only true surprise was probably Leya’s current state.
Although the God King had warned that a purely malevolent power of hatred would merge with her soul, the final outcome was entirely different!
What a joke! Leya, who had never feared anyone since childhood, sharing control of a body with some bizarre, intermingled emotion? Impossible!
When it was time to cut ties, Leya had simply employed a small trick during the ritual. Honestly, Leya herself had forgotten the specifics of what she did, but that inexplicable emotion was firmly locked away in the deepest recesses of her mind.
Thus, theoretically, the control over this body was now entirely in Leya’s hands!
Though that obnoxious emotion remained restless, constantly attempting to influence and assimilate Leya’s primary consciousness, its efforts were always severely limited. For now, Leya didn’t pay it much mind.
“Speaking of which, System, are there any good things in Newbie Gift Pack Three? Can it enhance my combat power?”
Leya’s eyes gleamed as she spoke, for this was incredibly important to her!
The first gift pack she received was Newbie Gift Pack One, awarded upon entering the world. It contained a one-time skill called “Divine Might Unleashed” and a pile of inexplicable bottles and jars.
She had used “Divine Might Unleashed” to save Roy when he was besieged by monsters, and she had also given him a red potion.
The second reward was triggered after she inexplicably subdued Roy. This time, besides more bottles and jars, Leya also received something called an “Intermediate Divine Power Storage Card.”
Confused, she asked the system, which simply replied that she would understand once she reached Junior Authority.
Twice in a row, and not a single decent divine cultivation manual or magic spell!
In such a dismal situation, frankly, if Roy hadn’t been protecting her, wouldn’t she, a person incapable of even tying a chicken, have struggled even to eat?
Though, truthfully, before meeting Roy again, Leya had indeed gone a whole day without food…
“Reporting, Host. Newbie Reward Pack Three contains the following: One Epic-grade King’s Sword, ten bottles of Purple-grade 100% efficacy healing potions, 100 bottles of Red-grade 80% efficacy healing potions, 100 bottles of Essence-grade Mana Extract, 100 bottles of Essence-grade Physique Enhancement Fluid, and one hundred classic magicology books.”
“Uh…”
It seemed there was yet another type of potion among the bottles and jars this time—a Purple-grade 100% efficacy healing potion. Well, whatever. Those things weren’t that important anyway!
The system always gave them out by the basketful, so they probably weren’t a big deal.
Yes, that had to be it!
What truly piqued Leya’s interest, however, were the hundred books touted as classic magicology texts and that so-called Epic-grade King’s Sword.
A King’s Sword, you say…
Shouldn’t a complementary system provide some secret sword-fighting manuals? What a waste of resources! What good was a King’s Sword to her then, you damn fool?!
“System, can you bring out the King’s Sword now? I want to see it!”
“As you command!”
Boom—!
“Uh… this is truly…”
Staring at the crater, several meters deep, created by the King’s Sword’s dramatic entrance, Leya unconsciously swallowed.
This… this sword is incredible!
The sword itself continued to emit an intensely sharp golden aura, accentuating its imposing and magnificent appearance to the fullest!
Beyond the myriad of eye-catching precious metals adorning its blade, the intricate patterns and characters etched upon it gave it an inexplicably grand and lofty air!
Such presence… it was probably far more than a mere cold weapon.
What Leya found even harder to accept was… this sword… this sword was so heavy!
It weighed at least a hundred catties, and even with all her might, she could only just barely lift it.
Simply holding it was an arduous task, let alone swinging it. For Leya in her current state, it was nothing short of a fantasy.
“It looks pretty good, I suppose. All right, System, put it away now!”
“Understood, Host.”
****
Immediately afterward, as expected, Roy, having heard the tremendous noise, rushed over. He glanced at the crater in the ground and asked, somewhat startled, “Miss Leya… what is this?”
“Hm… it’s nothing. Just a small explosion, nothing to worry about.”
“Explo… explosion!?” Roy stood frozen on the spot at her words!
Here!?
But how could that be?
He was confident that not even a fly could get in! How could some inexplicable explosive have snuck in?
“Yes, I was experimenting with a small spell just now, but it failed. A bit of a shame, really,” Leya said with a calm expression, spouting utter nonsense with a straight face.
“Is that so? Well, that is indeed quite regrettable…”
Roy was inadvertently led astray by Leya’s diversion, but he quickly recovered and spoke again.
“But! Uh, I mean, just to be safe! Please, Miss Leya, don’t do such dangerous things again in the future. Of course, this isn’t to question your strength. I’m just saying the cave might not be sturdy enough, so… that…”
Mid-sentence, Roy realized something was amiss and hastily added, though his tone sounded strange due to his constant consideration for Leya’s feelings, making it hard not to laugh.
Leya, in particular, who rarely smiled, displayed a rare, faint grin.
“Yes, all right, young man. I understand your intentions, and I appreciate your thoughtfulness and dedication. I believe you will surely become a loyal, dependable, and exceptionally outstanding knight!”
For some reason, Miss Leya always liked to call him “young man,” even though he was clearly older, wasn’t he?! Roy always felt a slight annoyance about this, but he never actually thought about changing it.
‘Well, as long as Miss Leya likes it!’
“Yes, of course! Even if just to live up to Miss Leya’s expectations, I, Roy, swear that from now on, I will become a true knight—one who stands tall and can protect everyone!”
‘And more importantly, to protect you… my princess!’
What Roy didn’t know, however, was that while he had guessed the beginning, he hadn’t foreseen the end. Little did he realize that years later, as a paragon of knighthood and a hero of humanity, the enemy he would face would not be his despicable and greedy kin, nor malevolent, overflowing magical beasts, nor even powerful, reclusive dragons…
But precisely the seemingly innocent Goddess before him, who appeared untouched by worldly affairs. A great demon lord, whose ultimate mission from birth was the destruction of the world!
Even more ironically… her identity was that of the rightful embodiment of justice, the world’s last true… deity, who should have been committed to maintaining global peace!