The origins of the Crystal Invader were not simple; it was not just a magic beast, but an Abyss Core.
As long as it existed, No. 24 Pioneer Camp would never know peace. The magic beast’s intelligence would organize wave after wave of attacks until every adventurer in the camp was wiped out.
However, no one currently had a way to deal with it because its crystalline shell was indestructible, granting it immunity to both physical and magical attacks.
As mentioned before, this thing was a test of wits. If you could not outsmart it, you could not defeat it.
*Hum — buzz — buzz —*
The red gemstone eyeballs of the crystal flashed, emitting bursts of red light that swept over Samimi and Niubao.
“Niubao, don’t be afraid. I’m here,” Samimi said, grabbing Niubao’s hand.
“Afraid? Niubao doesn’t even know what fear is.”
In the blink of an eye, they were sucked into those crimson crystal eyes.
The sensation was very familiar to them — it was the feeling of a teleportation array activating, the sensation of being thrown into an Otherworld. Now, they were experiencing a similar phenomenon.
The two of them had been drawn into the interior of the Crystal Labyrinth, appearing instantly inside a massive, perfectly square crystal room.
From the outside, the Crystal Labyrinth appeared to be a four-by-four square cube, but the interior was a forty-by-forty square room. It had expanded ten times, or perhaps they had been shrunk ten times.
Not only that, but after entering the Crystal Labyrinth, Samimi discovered there were other people in this massive crystal room besides them.
This was beyond Samimi’s expectations. In the original plot, the Crystal Labyrinth did not have so many outsiders.
Three unlucky souls were waiting on the opposite side of the room. Seeing Samimi and her companion appear, they immediately hurried over with caution.
“Is it a person?”
“Are you humans?”
“Are you adventurers?”
“A Pastoralist? A Nun? People from the Holy See?”
The three strangely dressed individuals looked at Samimi and Niubao, quickly taking defensive stances. Their mental states seemed unstable.
“I am a Pastoralist. How did you get in here?” Samimi asked, looking the group up and down.
“Liar! They might be magic beasts in disguise!” a blonde-haired knight on the opposite side shouted.
**[Clear Mind Technique]**
Samimi snapped her fingers, increasing the sanity values of the opposing group.
The effect was significant. The three people, who had been staring like hungry wolves, calmed down considerably. Their brains were finally capable of a little rational thought.
“Identify your enemies, adventurers. We are personnel of the Holy See. We entered this Otherworld through the A-Rank Quest: Crystal Labyrinth. How exactly did you get here?” Samimi asked.
At the same time, her mind was racing. In the original plot, the Hero Party of five entered the dungeon. Now, only she and Niubao were here, so the numbers did not match. Had the dungeon suddenly snatched three strangers from somewhere else?
This was going to be difficult. This would greatly increase the difficulty of clearing the dungeon.
“Forgive our rudeness. We are the vanguard squad of the Dawn Light Guild. I am the guild’s Vice President, the Killer of a Thousand Ghosts — Godly Sword of Dawn Light. You can call me Duke. We were fighting the Magic Phoenix, but we fell into the enemy’s trap and were teleported away. Our companions are still fighting outside. We must go back!” a blonde young knight at the head of the group introduced himself, though his emotions fluctuated as he spoke.
“This is the interior of the Abyss Core, the Crystal Labyrinth. The magic beast you faced must have the ability to teleport you here just to waste your time,” Samimi analyzed.
Hearing this, the three froze. Duke’s emotional fluctuations were particularly intense, and he looked pained.
However, his two companions did not seem to care whether their other comrades lived or died. Their expressions remained cold and motionless as they scrutinized Samimi and Niubao.
The blonde Duke’s two teammates were a beautiful young girl and a beautiful mature woman.
On the left was a blonde girl roughly the same age as Samimi, wearing lightweight, high-grade silver armor.
The overall art style of this girl felt like a fusion of the Holy White Knight and the Hero. Her armor style was similar to Fabiana’s, but her equipment was light like Aigoas’s Lotus Geas. She followed an agile path, and her class was Knight.
However, the Hero Aigoas’s class was not exactly a Knight; she had her own unique path.
Generally speaking, only Fabiana in the Hero Party had a truly orthodox class.
On the right was a tall beauty in a traditional cheongsam, holding a zither in her arms. She was curvaceous with a slender waist and plump, long legs, making Samimi’s eyes go wide.
Her attire did not quite fit the style of this place. Why would such a beauty appear in an adventurer’s world? But on second thought, the essence of an Otherworld was its all-encompassing nature — a special worldview where any strange element could be fused together.
“This is my younger sister, Serina Duke. She is a top young adventurer in our Dawn Light Guild and holds the official title of Hero of the Shield and Axe, granted by the Adventurers’ Guild,” Vice President Duke introduced the blonde girl beside him with pride.
“And this is our guild’s counselor and strategist, Meihua Shisuan,” he added, introducing the woman in the cheongsam.
The introduction for the strategist was much shorter; one could not reveal too much information about their own strategist.
“Greetings, Mr. Duke. My name is Charlotte, and I am a Pastoralist of the Holy See. This is Niubao, my exclusive nun,” Samimi gave a brief introduction of her own.
“Charlotte? I’ve never heard of you,” Serina questioned, showing great hostility toward the blonde girl who was about her age.
“I’ve never heard of the Shield and Axe Hero either. I’ve only heard of the Hero of the Storm,” Samimi replied with a slight smile.
“A frog in a well from the Royal City like you would naturally only know that fake Hero’s title. She just killed a single flying dragon. One would think she had sealed the Abyss itself given how people talk,” Serina barked coldly, clearly provoked.
“But she did indeed kill a flying dragon,” Samimi said gently. “Have you killed one?”
“…” Serina’s face turned even redder as she glared at Samimi, but she was speechless.
“Mr. Vice President, I don’t understand. Why are there two Heroes? Is one of them a fake?” Samimi continued to press.
“The Hero of the Storm is a genuine Hero, and my sister is also a Hero recognized by the Adventurers’ Guild. The title of ‘Hero’ is something the Adventurers’ Guild bestows upon outstanding young adventurers for their great contributions. It is not a unique title,” Vice President Duke explained.
“I see. Thank you for the explanation. I’m from the Royal City and wasn’t clear on such details. I thought there was only one Hero,” Samimi said.
This sudden new lore made the prestige of the title “Hero” drop straight into the sewer.
In the end, it was just a title defined by a mundane organization according to its own standards.
A Hero, originally, was a legendary concept.
Only someone called a Hero could go and fight the Demon King, but how could someone be called a Hero so quickly before they had even defeated the Demon King?
It was as if the whole world knew in advance that this person would definitely defeat the Demon King, that they had the qualifications to be a Hero, and that the Demon King must die.
This was illogical; it was treating the result as the cause.
But hearing the explanation now made it much more reasonable.
So there were many Heroes. The Adventurers’ Guild selected several “chosen ones” from among the young adventurers and defined them all as Heroes.
It turned out the Adventurers’ Guild was using a brute-force method. As long as every chosen person was a Hero, if even one of them managed to defeat the Demon King, then the prophecy would be fulfilled, proving their judgment was correct.
“Mr. Vice President, let us work together to leave this place,” Samimi smiled.
She was observing the Hero of the Shield and Axe. Through a few sentences of conversation, she had already seen through the girl’s character.
Hot-tempered, arrogant, blonde — this was undoubtedly the setting of a villainess side character.
The final fate of this Hero of the Shield and Axe would likely be to lose to the Hero of the Storm, serving as a stepping stone to highlight Aigoas’s greatness.
After all, now that everyone knew the title of Hero lacked prestige, they just needed to send a few Heroes to their deaths or have Aigoas defeat them all. Wouldn’t her value rise then?
Heh, just a random Hero by the roadside, no one important.
However, in the original plot of *Lotus Rose Fantasy Battle*, there weren’t this many Heroes. Samimi felt this adaptation was quite interesting.
‘Hmph! Just wait until Aigoas defeats the other Heroes, and then I’ll trample Aigoas. Won’t that make my value even higher?’
“No problem. We should help each other,” Vice President Duke nodded in agreement.
“Brother, do you really believe these people of unknown origin?” Serina was shocked.
As a fellow blonde “villainess,” she could sense the hidden calculation and scheme behind Samimi’s smile. It was all fake pretense, without a hint of sincerity.
“Sister, how can you say that? We’ve met by chance, so we must help each other. We’re all in trouble; we can’t just abandon them,” Vice President Duke scolded.
“We aren’t people of unknown origin. We also have Adventurers’ Guild certificates,” Samimi said with a light laugh.
“Sister, did you hear that? We’re all adventurers. We’re all one family,” Vice President Duke said.
“…I think you’ve just been blinded by a pretty face,” Serina muttered under her breath.
“Ahem, don’t talk nonsense.” Vice President Duke cleared his throat twice and said seriously, “Let’s look for an exit together.”
With that, everyone began searching for a hidden exit within the large crystal block.
In reality, Samimi already knew where all the hidden doors were. She simply pretended to be a silly, obedient girl, tapping the crystal walls with her Runic Staff to look like she was helping.
“Everyone, come over here! I found a hidden door!” Vice President Duke shouted.
Everyone gathered around. They saw him tapping the crystal block wall with his scabbard, and a hollow, ethereal sound echoed from one of the crystal bricks.
“Vice President Duke, you’re amazing!” Samimi cheered, still playing the part.