Derivative World

"Oh, welcome, brave heroes. I am Priest Cross Marin. You may all call me Marin."

A middle-aged man with a gentle-looking smile stood outside the Summoning Array. Judging by the surroundings, this world had likely not yet entered the age of electricity.

At the center of the Summoning Array stood a group of boys and girls dressed completely out of place for this era.

Some wore casual clothes, while others wore school uniforms. Chen Yi, who had hidden the appearance of his equipment, did not stand out among them. After all, he was only sixteen.

Ding! Quest: Choice

Please choose a faction within 72 hours. Follow-up quests will unlock after choosing a faction.

Quest Reward: 500 EXP, 200 Copper Coins.

Ding! This event is a Derivative World and does not belong to the Game World. Mentioning the Game World during this event is forbidden. Violators will be eliminated!

Main Quest: Obtain the World Source

Recommended Level: LV15-LV30

Current Progress: 0%. Rewards will be calculated according to final progress.

Language loading complete. Player Yi begins the game.

He was actually the only player to enter the game this time, and a new term had appeared as well—Derivative World.

Based on the literal meaning of World Source, it should be something related to the world itself.

If Chen Yi's guess was correct, once enough World Sources were obtained, this world would become part of the Game World. In the future, it would probably become a world similar to Plants vs. Zombies.

"Why are there five of them?"

A delinquent with an earring and green permed hair was the first to make trouble. "Hey! Were you the one who summoned me here?"

Chen Yi gave him a strange look. A Japanese person?

That practiced tongue roll must have taken quite some time to master.

The other three cautiously distanced themselves from the delinquent.

Marin froze for a moment before bursting into laughter. "As expected of the brave heroes. You have already adapted to this world upon arriving. Please do not worry. The Empire summoned you here because it wishes to borrow your strength."

"Please rest for a moment, brave heroes. You will be going to meet the king shortly."

Several guards stepped forward and made a welcoming gesture.

Though the delinquent was displeased, he clicked his tongue when he saw the guards' sharp axes and full armor, then obediently followed them.

The five heroes were led into an empty room. There were only tables and chairs inside, with no other decorations.

Rather than a place to rest, it felt more like... house arrest?

After a brief exchange, they discovered that they were all from Japan. That gave them much more common ground.

Chen Yi, who had remained silent the entire time, was excluded from their little group.

Maki, who was fairly pretty and wore light makeup, tugged on Misa, who wore glasses and dressed rather unfashionably. "Misa, did you hear what that... that..."

Misa quietly reminded her, "Priest Marin."

"Right! He said we're heroes. Do you think we'll embark on a journey to defeat the Demon King? That sounds amazing."

Kenichi, dressed like a typical extrovert, hurriedly joined the conversation.

Just then, the delinquent Suzuki viciously kicked the table. The loud bang echoed through the room, but Chen Yi merely glanced at him without reacting.

Aida Suzuki

LV: 3

Class: None

Constitution: 7

Strength: 8

Intelligence: 4

Agility: 6

Spirit: 3

Skills: Beginner Close Combat, Intimidation.

Beginner Close Combat: Aida Suzuki had considerable experience in fighting and understood combat techniques better than ordinary people.

Intimidation: When holding the advantage, he had a certain chance of frightening enemies through words and actions.

The reason Chen Yi could see Suzuki's information was because of the high-tech item he had obtained from a Blue Quality box after bathing in incense.

Eye of Scrutiny

Quality: Blue (Special accessory; does not occupy an accessory slot)

Intelligence +10

Effect: Has a chance to detect the information of enemies no more than five levels above the user. Every 24 hours, a Nano Eye can be placed for two hours. (This effect is on Cooldown.)

Evaluation: Goblin cutting-edge technology.

Back to the matter at hand, seeing Chen Yi's indifferent expression only made Suzuki angrier.

If he had initially been trying to attract the others' attention, he was now furious because Chen Yi had ignored him.

Suzuki stood up and kicked his chair away. The chair slammed into the wall, leaving cracks behind. That strength had already surpassed that of an ordinary person.

"Bastard, what the hell do you mean by that?"

Suzuki looked down at Chen Yi, who remained seated.

Chen Yi's expression did not change. "I suggest you calm down."

"Huh?"

Suzuki reached out to grab Chen Yi by the collar, but in the next instant, he was slammed into the wall just like the chair before him.

"Pfft..."

Suzuki fell to the ground and could not stop himself from coughing up blood.

The other three remained silent, terrified that the two of them would turn their attention toward them.

Chen Yi still sat where he was without moving. "I told you, I suggest you calm down."

This was merely a warning. Chen Yi did not want trouble, but he was not afraid of it either.

If one of the "heroes" died before the quest began, it might create unforeseen variables. Otherwise, considering this guy's attitude and identity...

Despite the huge commotion in the room, the guards outside acted as though they had heard nothing.

After quite some time, the doors opened again.

Marin reappeared. When his smiling eyes saw Suzuki by the wall, they suddenly widened in shock. "Oh my, brave hero, what happened to you? Guards!"

The two guards standing at the door stepped forward.

"Take the brave hero to receive treatment."

"Ha!"

"The rest of you, brave heroes, please follow me to meet the king. His Majesty can hardly wait any longer."

The palace was lavishly decorated, and there were many guards. Their levels were generally around seventeen, so Chen Yi abandoned any thoughts of forcing his way through.

After walking for a full twenty minutes, the group finally arrived at the great hall under Marin's guidance.

At the very top of the hall sat a man so fat that even turning over would have been difficult. He wore a crown and was presumably the king of this country.

Standing beside him was a blonde girl. Her cute outfit made her look like a doll.

Below the steps stood the ministers. Upon seeing Marin bring in the heroes, they all began praising them.

Having never experienced anything like this before, the heroes became somewhat carried away.

The king seemed to have been dozing off. The noise below woke him. "Hm? They're here...? Didn't you say there were five people?"

Marin hurried forward and knelt. "Your Majesty, one of the heroes appears to be injured and is currently receiving treatment."

"All right. Marin, introduce the situation to the heroes."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After rising, Marin began explaining the situation.

There were two races on the Irvin Continent: humans and the Demon Race.

The Demon Race committed every evil imaginable. Under their attacks, the Empire had lost many cities, and its people had been massacred.

Chen Yi's simple summary was that the Empire could no longer hold out, so it had summoned heroes from another world for help. The heroes could wield blessed weapons and rapidly grow stronger. After killing the Demon King, they could return to their original world.

The other three were fired up by what they heard, eager to grab weapons and fight the Demon King right away.