A Pleasant Day

As the smoke cleared, the platform returned to its original state, and Mu Fengyu walked slowly toward Rebel.

At this moment, Rebel lay sprawled on the arena floor with vacant eyes. Mu Fengyu extended a hand to pull him up, wearing a bright, sunny smile as he spoke.

"Good fight. You are a worthy opponent."

Rebel stared at Mu Fengyu's smile for a moment, stunned, before swatting his hand away and struggling to his feet on his own.

"Hah, I don't need you to comfort me, you wretched rich guy."

After saying this, he turned and headed off the stage. Perhaps it was some sort of cosmic consciousness, but people always seem to remember what they wanted to say right before they disappear.

"You fought well too, but next time, I will be the one to win."

"Go on, go claim the honor that belongs to you."

He waved a hand over his shoulder as he walked away. Though he looked composed, Rebel's figure appeared inexplicably lonely.

"Tch, I didn't expect that guy to be such a closet tsundere."

Mu Fengyu watched his opponent leave the arena before turning to walk toward the place of honor reserved for the champion.

With his steady strides, the steps of the arena revealed themselves one by one, as if paving a path to glory just for him.

He walked calmly toward the summit. At that moment, the previously empty dome shattered instantly, revealing its true appearance.

A luxurious trophy stood in the center, starlight shimmering upon its surface while the radiance of the sun and moon flowed endlessly across it.

The name "Mu Fengyu" was engraved on the trophy, along with an image of his heroic struggle, as if narrating his glorious journey.

This was no ordinary trophy, but an artifact-grade accessory—the [Pendant of Glory].

The [Pendant of Glory] represents the splendor that belongs solely to you. As the lone king standing in the arena, the stars will pave a path for you, and the sun and moon will point the way forward. Only you can touch this supreme honor.

The [Pendant of Glory] not only possesses a magnificent appearance but also powerful abilities. It accelerates natural MP recovery, increases elemental resistance, boosts overall defense at night, and increases skill damage during the day.

Even more remarkably, it can summon the Guardians of the Sun and Moon to block damage for you (up to ten tenth-tier spells).

This description made Mu Fengyu want to give that programmer a raise to express his respect.

Next, Mu Fengyu turned his attention to the item on the left. A crystal emitting a faint fluorescent glow caught his eye; it was the [Star-Light Magic Stone].

Data flowed within this crystal, as if it contained endless magic power. It could create NPCs without the need for a guild base and possessed a massive 300 points for NPC creation.

It was something Mu Fengyu had prepared in advance for the yet-to-be-conquered Ainz Ooal Gown. When the time came, he could add a few more to strengthen Nazarick, so that if any guild alliance ever attacked Nazarick in the future, he could crush them all instantly.

The item on the right was equally eye-catching: a book with gold-trimmed edges—the [Proof of the World].

This book could display all known World-class items and detect nearby World-class items within a small range. Although Mu Fengyu felt it might not be the most practical item, among these many treasures, it was a decent backup.

After organizing the items, Mu Fengyu picked up the trophy and held it high.

At this moment, a mechanism on the platform below was triggered, and two ceremonial cannons roared in unison, cheering for his victory.

After the award ceremony, everyone returned to their respective territories. Mu Fengyu used a teleportation item to return to the base, but instead of a warm welcome, he was met with a vacant hall.

Looking at the empty surroundings, Mu Fengyu wondered where everyone had gone, when suddenly, the sound of an explosion rang in his ears. He turned his head to look.

A person dressed as a ninja deactivated their stealth, holding a party popper in their hand; the sound had come from that.

Bang, bang, bang.

The sound of party poppers firing came from all around. A bird-faced figure leaned in intimately and said in an awkward tone.

"Oh, my dear Yu-san, do you remember what day it is today? That's right, it's your birthday."

"And today you also happened to win the Duel King championship. Oh, my god, two surprises stacked together—what a happy thing this is."

"Ugh."

"Clean up that strange way of speaking; it's disgusting me."

Bukubukuchagama couldn't stand her brother's antics any longer and immediately administered "justice." The two of them bickering livened up the atmosphere in the hall.

Momonga, Touch Me, and the others also stepped forward to express their blessings.

"Yu-san, happy birthday."

"Congratulations to Yu-san for winning the championship."

"Congratulations, congratulations."...

Emerald Tablet, whose head was covered in octopus tentacles, walked up to Mu Fengyu and asked curiously.

"Yu-san, where is your trophy? Hurry up and take it out for everyone to see."

As soon as Emerald Tablet finished speaking, the surrounding companions joined in the clamor, urging Mu Fengyu to take out the trophy for them to admire.

Mu Fengyu didn't want to be a killjoy, so he immediately took out the [Pendant of Glory], enlarged it into a trophy, and placed it in the center of the hall.

Everyone touched it here and there, asking about the item's effects.

After Mu Fengyu finished explaining the effects, several companions who were low on mana immediately expressed their genuine envy.

"I want such a good item too. The [World Disaster] class consumes way too much MP. If only I had an item that could accelerate MP recovery."

"I want one too. Although my skills don't consume much, I can't handle the high frequency of use."

The two companions troubled by MP issues shed tears of envy. Ulbert's class was [World Disaster].

Because it was a firepower-specialized class, the MP consumption was enormous. A single signature spell of [World Disaster] required clearing sixty percent of the user's maximum MP, so he had to carefully calculate his MP during normal combat.

Whitebrim, however, was the exact opposite; his class required frequent use of various talismans to form combinations to deal damage, making it a class that relied heavily on operation.

"On such a happy day, I won't allow you two to stay here and ruin the atmosphere. Someone else, come and drag them out."

"Peroroncino, come here, let's carry him out."

While the two were still sighing, Herohero and Nishikienrai grabbed them by the left and right, dragging them aside to chat.

After they had some fun in the hall, Genjiro proposed, and with a unanimous vote from everyone, they decided to go on an adventure.

They first used a teleportation gate to head to a town and went directly to explore Vanaheim, the homeland of the Vanir and one of the continents with the most humans today.

The group of over twenty people acted just as they had in the beginning. As heteromorphic players, they went to adventure in the region with the most humans, and along the way, they even rescued a few other heteromorphic players.

That day, they raided the headquarters of an enemy group, explored dungeons they had never seen before, and even went to explore a dungeon that Peroroncino had found.

Although it felt a bit shameful, under the guidance of the two veterans, Peroroncino and Mu Fengyu, they still left a few succubi behind to watch.