Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 140

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We are catching up with the correct chapter now, as this chapter is also chapter 140 in the raw, thanks for your patience, and hope you enjoy it more~

Chapter 140 – Sweet Temptation

“Is that it?”

When I forced my head to turn in response to Ril’s words, I saw an unusual sight in the almost entirely green landscape from above: a patch of reddish-brown earth and a black hole with an unfathomable bottom.

We both arrived at the hole, thinking there would be no hunters around at this time of day and found that the area around it was not really a forest but rather a patch of bushes with red and orange fruits.

In one part of the area, there was a gently sloping hill, and a large hole was at the bottom of that slope.

“Hmm, I don’t see any ants right now.”

“That’s right. There will probably be a lot of them inside, but if there aren’t any outside, the question is, what skills should I use?”

“Hmm…”

The two of us stood in front of the hole, arms crossed, and heads bowed in thought.

Well, I’ll pretend to think.

I’ve already made some decisions and have a good idea of what the answer should be, but I’m not sure if I should be honest about it.

There are three options I can think of right now.

One is to have Ril set up Provoke and do some baiting near the entrance.

I don’t know how much the range will increase as the level of Provoke increases or what the range will be, but since she’s a goddess, I’m pretty sure it will be high.

While I’m trying to defeat the ants that have been lured in, if it gets too dangerous, I’ll ask for help.

In a way, this is the most passive option.

The second option is to have Ril bring in Light Magic.

Yesterday, when I went to the guild to get some information, the talkative old lady there gave me some information about Deboa.

One of the things she told me was about the problem with the light sources.

If you’re only staying for a short time, you can get by with a lantern, torch, or some kind of magic tool that emits light, but it seems that hunters who come to Deboa usually bring a Light Magic user with them and use that magic to secure the light.

If something happens to the tool and it breaks, you don’t know where the exit is at that point, and you’re stuck, so it seems they rely on skilled people themselves to be the light source.

If I can set up Light Magic, then in addition to me, who has Night Vision, Ril’s field of vision will also be secured.

In other words, it means that we can also go inside, so it should be possible to defeat more enemies.

The downside is that even if I can defeat the ants, Ril will defeat most of them, so I won’t be able to get enough skill experience here.

This option is probably fine if you want to prioritize the results of the experiment I’m thinking of.

And the third and last option.

This is the option that is the hardest for me to say, which is to ask Ril to hold back.

I’ve brought a flashlight from Earth, and I also bought a magic light source tool in a hurry after the old lady told me about it last night.

It’s a portable version of the light I’m already familiar with, which emits light using the magic stone in the inn.

However, this magic tool alone doesn’t have that much light, and my own flashlight isn’t capable of illuminating a large area, so Ril has to lure the enemy into a rather dark situation inside and then swing her sword around while acting as a meat shield to defeat the monster.

And I also have to use the Night Vision to finish off the dying ant…

I would never have thought of this method if it weren’t for the apology, and it’s a rather brutal way to use Ril.

But since I can almost certainly get the last hit, I can gain a lot of monster skill experience points while still being able to carry out my experiments, so it’s a terrible situation, but it’s also an ideal pattern.

“(Hmm, is it okay to say that as an apology? But, but, how can I treat the goddess as a meat shield…?)”

Ril opened her mouth first, perhaps unable to bear to see me so lost in thought.

“This is an apology. So I’ll follow Loki’s instructions, but if it’s possible, I’d like to play a supporting role.”

“(…I see. Ril prefers the first option.)”

While thinking that, I still asked her the reason, and she couldn’t help but reply, “Oh, that reminds me, this person is a goddess.”

“The monsters are life that Felza-sama created to promote the growth of the races. It would not be good for me, as a goddess, to actively destroy them. If both the races and the monsters are life that Felza-sama created, then it would be wrong to direct my hostility only at the monsters.”

“That really sounds like something a goddess would say. They say that skill points are a measure of one’s contribution to the world, but that’s from a human perspective. The goddesses are neutral, but… Feeril was easily defeating monsters, right? All I could see was soot; I didn’t even know what she was defeating.”

“That’s probably because it was directing its hostility at Feeril, right? Even if it was the race, if it directed its hostility at us, the result would be the same.”

“Scary! That’s why I got skewered in the mock battle for showing hostility…”

“Ugh… No, that’s not it, Loki!”

The mood was a bit heavy.

It’s not a very funny self-deprecating joke, but if it lightened the mood, then it’s fine.

But, I see, I see…

The goddesses are reluctant to defeat monsters.

It’s good that I understood that much.

I understand that it’s just for this time, but knowing that the goddesses don’t like to defeat monsters on their own, I’ll be even more careful in the future.

But for today, I’ve received the goddess’ company as an apology in exchange for my life.

If possible, I’d like her to switch from a support role to an offensive role…

I don’t want to force her, but what will happen if I tell Ril?

With that in mind, I begin to bring up the information I’ve been holding back.

“Ril, do you ever feel like you want to get stronger?”

“Of course I do. After all, I am the goddess of war. I want to get stronger no matter what.”

“I see. By the way, do you know this?”

“What?”

“I think the goddess will level up as well, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“I told you before, right? That every stat increases as your level increases. The way it goes up is, as I explained on the way here. And you know, when I went hunting with Ria before, I noticed that Ria’s split body also absorbed experience points.”

“?”

“Do you know what that means? The fact that she is absorbing experience points means that there is a level that even the goddesses cannot see, and that level has the potential to rise, right?”

“I-is that true…?

“Of course it is. I wouldn’t lie to a goddess who can read my mind if it came down to it, right? The only thing I don’t understand is the level of goddesses. Ril has never fought before, so she’s never defeated a monster, right?”

“Ah, yes… so far, the number of monsters has not increased enough for us to intervene.”

“What does that mean? When Felza-sama created the goddesses, it’s possible that she gave them high levels, to begin with, but it’s also possible that she just gave them a lot of skills. Even so, if they have a lot of high-level skills, their stats will be incredibly high due to the bonus status.”

“…..”

“If the latter hypothesis is correct, then Ril, who has never defeated a monster, will remain at level 1. I was level 1 when I started out, and the people of this world also start at level 1, so Ril, who contributes to the world through prayer, should understand that, right?”

“Hmm…”

“If you work hard to defeat the monsters here, Ril’s level might go through the roof. Then all of your stats will increase.”

“(Gulp)”

“Besides, since the other goddesses don’t seem to be interested in getting stronger, this is the first time I’m telling you this information. And today is the only day that a goddess is allowed to defeat monsters under the pretense of accompanying me.”

“…..”

“So what are we going to do? There is at least one plan to defeat a large number of monsters.”

“…Loki. Just for today, I think I’ll try to actively defeat the monsters. This is my apology and atonement!”

“Fufu”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

It’s funny how she makes excuses at the end.

But the fact is, she’s motivated now.

Then all that’s left is for Ril to go hunting!

I couldn’t help but grin as I prepared the skills for Ril.

Then I quickly explained the moves and such, and we both rushed into the inside of the Great Hole of Deboa with a momentum that made it look like we were skipping.

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