Don't Wrong Yourself

Chapter 41: I Won't Wrong Myself

Mangal Mountain Range, campsite at the foot of the mountain.

When Shien returned, only Vivian remained at the campsite, sitting by the campfire.

"You're back?"

Seeing Shien return, Vivian stood up.

"Sorry, have you been waiting for me?" Shien looked at Vivian, whose expression had relaxed upon seeing him, and felt a touch of emotion. He walked over and asked apologetically, "Where is everyone else?"

"Lumya and Merika have gone to rest. I'm the only one on night watch, and we'll switch shifts later tonight," Vivian said with a slight smile. "As for Tier, she's probably patrolling nearby, checking if any monsters have come down from the mountain."

As she spoke, Vivian looked at Shien, her expression filled with concern. "How is it? Are you okay now?"

"Of course, I'm fine."

Shien answered immediately.

"Is that so?" Vivian finally relaxed. "It seems you've figured things out."

Shien scratched his head.

Figured things out?

That phrasing made it sound like he had been stuck on something.

"You really didn't need to worry so much," Shien said, feeling a little embarrassed. "I was indeed surprised by some things, but it wasn't to the point of being unable to figure it out."

This was the truth.

Just as Laisha had thought, while Shien was indeed pondering the Hero's summoning and the fact that the Demon Lord had already been defeated, he wasn't truly lost.

Shien had responded to the mission of defeating the Demon Lord purely for a transaction.

Nien had revived him after his death, giving him a second life, and in return, he had agreed to help her defeat the Demon Lord. It was as simple as that.

In such a scenario, even if the Demon Lord had already been defeated, Shien wouldn't have any problems.

What was truly troubling, given the current situation, was his identity as the Hero.

Once this identity was exposed, it would inevitably affect this world; that much was certain.

Regardless of what secrets lay behind this matter, it wasn't something Shien needed to concern himself with.

Of course, Shien also understood that he might have become the center of these secrets, and the possibility of being caught in some conspiracy was quite high.

However, this wasn't enough to make Shien feel lost.

After being bombarded with so many similar storylines in my past life, how could I not know what I should be doing at this point?

Right now, Shien had only one thing to do.

That was to improve his strength.

"No matter what kind of conspiracy I encounter, as long as I can increase my strength, I'll have enough ability to deal with and resolve things when the time comes."

Shien couldn't help but voice his inner thoughts.

"So, I will work hard to improve myself."

This was what Shien needed to do next, without any hesitation.

Shien planned to continuously improve his strength while slowly gathering information and learning about this world.

That way, the mysteries would eventually come to him, who was at the center of it all, and he would have sufficient strength to resolve them.

"First, I'll set my sights on becoming a formal adventurer."

With the identity of an adventurer and the Guild as a source of information and a way to understand this world, Shien could gradually unravel some of the mysteries in his heart.

Not to mention, the Adventurer's Guild had branches all over the world, allowing him to meet all sorts of people, which would also be beneficial for his own strength improvement.

Shien had two directions to improve his strength.

One was to increase his level.

The other was to learn skills.

As for the former, since it was easier to fight to the death against opponents of similar strength, while easily killing them made it difficult to achieve the objective, for Shien, who possessed the Sacred Sword and various max-level skills, it wasn't the most efficient method.

Therefore, Shien intended to focus on the latter, learning skills through various adventurous actions and interacting with different people, or having others teach him new skills.

With his Unique Skill, Heaven's Grace, Shien believed he could quickly learn various skills and max them out the moment he acquired them.

This was definitely a way to significantly improve his strength, and it was undoubtedly more efficient than painstakingly leveling up.

In any case, Shien didn't want to end up like some classic protagonists who treated themselves like ascetics to improve their strength, secluding themselves in forests filled with monsters and becoming a 'Tenri Slope Sword God'.

Not only was it arduous, but it also led to a loss of contact with the outside world and no sources of information, making it difficult to respond promptly when situations suddenly arose.

When he saw such plots in his past life, Shien had more than once wondered if those protagonists who secluded themselves for so long weren't afraid of becoming out of touch with the outside world, or even developing communication and social disorders, and falling behind the times and the group?

After all, reality wasn't as gentle and kind as a novel's setting. Only considering one's own affairs would lead to harsh societal repercussions!

Besides, he already had such a massive cheat. Even if he wasn't going to be reckless, he shouldn't wrong himself, should he?

Recalling the ten days he spent in the monster forest, Shien's complexion turned green.

"I'm definitely going to become an adventurer!"

Shien declared with firm resolve.

Vivian, completely unaware of Shien's inner thoughts, showed an expression of admiration.

"I'm very happy you feel that way," Vivian said with a gentle expression. "If you encounter any difficulties and need my help, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you," Shien said, genuinely grateful. "If the time comes when it's necessary, I will."

In reality, there were many ways Vivian could help Shien.

At the very least, Shien wanted Vivian to tell him more about this world, to help him understand its current state better.

Since that was the case, Shien wouldn't be overly modest.

"Do your best."

Vivian patted Shien's shoulder by way of encouragement.

A short while later, a small figure quietly returned from the direction Shien had come.

That, of course, was Tier.

"You've worked hard."

Vivian looked at Tier and smiled at her.

Tier nodded, glanced at Shien, and then headed toward the tent.

Shien blinked.

Whether it was his imagination or not, Shien thought he sensed a somewhat complex look in Tier's eyes as she looked at him just now.

"It must have been my imagination,"

Shien muttered to himself.

After that, Shien took watch with Vivian.

During this time, Shien also asked Vivian many questions. It wasn't until Lumya and Merika came to relieve them in the latter half of the night that Shien regretfully stopped and returned to his tent to sleep.

Incidentally, there were three tents in total. Vivian and Tier shared one, Lumya and Merika shared another, and Shien had one to himself. For some reason, his tent was located a rather awkwardly distant space away from the other two, which was quite disheartening.

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