Reincarnated Hero System - Chapter 1171 - 1171: Into the Lion's Den [Monthly Bonus 1]

Unlike his much uglier, obviously monstrous original form, the current Yetu was a tall, dark-skinned man with red eyes and short, messy black hair, looking just like any average adventurer.

He’d also grown stronger since Evan last saw him, now over Level 500, showing he’d been tackling dungeon after dungeon, trying to level up enough to rematch the one who had killed him.

“Exactly what I told you when I had Laurene call you. You’re getting your rematch today.”

Evan glanced at his watch, then out the window as he added, “Let’s eat for now. We can only handle our business once the sun goes down anyway.”

“And what’s that business?” Bianca asked.

“We’re taking down a Demonic Hand Base. The goal is to level you all up,” Evan said calmly, making everyone except Eliza visibly tense.

“Where’s this base, and what’s its significance?” David asked, raising an eyebrow.

Evan pointed west and replied, “It’s in Ekamery.”

The ‘base’ was in another city just south of this one, and beyond that city stretched nothing but a vast desert region—not just any desert, but the largest in Tarse, the West-Central ‘Wild Lands’.

“So the base is right before the place where they plan to open the rift?”

“Yep,” Evan answered, then pulled out his Earth V phone and snoozed the alarm that was about to ring.

“Huh? Where’d you get that phone? It looks different,” Laurene said, scanning the device with her Mystic Eyes before adding, “It IS different.”

“Earth V,” Evan said simply, continuing to scroll, prompting Kayla, resting on his shoulder in cat form, to ask, [You went already?]

‘Yeah. Couldn’t get my body, though. I need to fuse with it, and that would just make the Human side ‘Ancient’ again, repeating the same issue. So, I need to find an Ancient-Dragon to use.’

[I see. That makes sense,] the spirit replied, silently nodding as the waiter brought their drinks.

“We’ve got work to do tonight. But for now, we feast!”

Evan raised the wine bottle and poured himself some wine, downing the glass in one go with a bright smile, and the others, sighing and shaking their heads, ended up joining him.

◇　◇　◇

“I had a thought,” Evan said.

“We members of Aidos’ Seven Heroes are necessary to fight off the Invaders of this world.

Our increased damage against invaders and reduced damage from them are just part of our advantages. Because of our births, we all have immense influence, but what we don’t have is ‘time.'”

Evan scrolled through his calendar, marking several dates as he continued.

“Our enemies are already strong, and they’re not going to wait for us to catch up. They did try to assassinate Laurene and me before, after all.”

He locked his phone screen, looking up at the others as he spoke.

“During my time on Aramis, I met someone who said we over-rely on the Levelling System to increase our power. I kinda agree with him, since the lack of existences to kill to level up is why this World’s Transcendents have been stuck at the Inferior Stage for centuries, even though other methods exist to ascend in power.”

Evan shook his head with a sigh, thinking back to his interactions with Arthur before continuing.

“But he also said that if there’s enough fodder to kill to level up, then this system is one of the fastest ways there is.”

This was what Evan intended to take advantage of with his Transcendence Project.

“You’ve all grown stronger at an alarmingly fast rate, but it’s still not enough because our enemies have been doing the same for years.”

The train they were on slowly came to a stop, and Evan glanced out the window as he continued. “I’m ‘strong’ by this world’s standards, but it’s enough that I’m the only one since I can’t even properly enjoy our Hero titles’ Resonance benefits.

I’d also have far more work than I should, and I don’t want a situation where lower-level enemies distract me while I’m holding off a powerful opponent, but you guys can’t help because those enemies are stronger than you are.

So I decided to provide you all with a suitable amount of fodder to use to level up.”

With those words, he got up from his seat, looked at his fellow Heroes, and then pointed toward the far edge of the city through the train’s window as he said, “That’s where our fodder is. Let’s go.”

With Kuro’s help, they were warped to one of the luxurious estates in Ekamery, situated at the city’s edge atop a small hill that overlooked the city below.

It was several miles from the actual borders of Ekamery, where a walled fortress marked the end of habitable land and the start of the ‘Wild Lands’, guarded by soldiers of the Tarse Army who fended off any monsters coming from outside.

Among the higher-ups of that army division were Demonic Hand operatives, or rather, the real Generals had been killed, and members of the Demonic Hand Fifth Division were impersonating them using transformation magic.

Leading down to the estate’s main gate was a lonely road lined with artificial trees on both sides, stretching about a kilometre between the estate and the rest of the city.

The unnamed estate before them was impossibly luxurious, sprawling across the hilltop with manicured gardens, marble terraces, and ornate fountains sprinkling water across the grounds.

The houses were all at least two-storey duplexes, arranged in neat rows with clear roads between them, all leading toward the immense mansion at the centre.

Security guards patrolled the gates at the four cardinal points, and it was just around 8 pm, the time for a shift change.

Right as the group appeared from the shadow of a tree not far from the gate, Evan casually stepped into the open toward the guards who were swapping out, waving his hand as he spoke.

“Hello there, my good sirs.”

“? Who are…?”

“Halt! This is private property. State your name and purpose,” the leader of the guards demanded, stepping forward with his hand on the sword at his waist.

Evan stopped, complying, and responded.

“My name is Evan. I’m here to meet our dear enemies from the Sixth Division of the Demonic Hand.”

Hearing him casually reveal their real purpose made his companions’ eyes widen in shock, but what stunned them even more was how the guards immediately attacked without a word, only to all collapse flat on the ground as Evan used nothing but concentrated magic power to force them down.

“Goodnight, my good sirs.”

With those words, Evan activated Elemental Skewer, spears of flaming light erupting to pierce all their hearts, ending them instantly.

He stepped over their bodies, pushing the gates open as he summoned the Akashic Page, magic power rousing as the grimoire’s pages fluttered.

“World Magic: Spell Number 25: World Isolation Barrier.”

A magic circle appeared beneath his feet, and a similar one formed in the night sky above the dark clouds, its light blending with the moon’s light peering through the gaps.

From it, a semi-transparent, space-warping wave of energy radiated outward, stretching to the edges of the estate and silently creating a massive dome that encompassed the entire property.

When Kethyrilla had used it in Lacertilia, the spell had taken only a minute to cover the entire city and its thousands of square kilometres, so in the hands of the far more powerful Evan, and applied over a much smaller area, it was natural that it only took a few seconds and made no sound at all.

Those inside the estate were completely unaware that they’d just been trapped, and they couldn’t send out any sort of SOS.

The condition he’d set was as follows: Isolate within every existence with Demonic or Spirit Factors, every Hero Title, and specifically a human named ‘Eliza Lane’ and a Humanoid Troll named ‘Yetu’, while keeping out every existence that didn’t meet any of these conditions.

It was a bit tricky to apply both group and specific existence conditions, but Evan managed to figure it out after half a day of trial and error.

“Gathered within this estate is a third of the battle power of the Demonic Hand’s Sixth Division.

The original plan was to handle just a fifth, but when I had some wild spirits do recon, I found out there were far more of them here, mostly Epic and Legendary Level Senior Members.”

Evan snapped the Akashic Page shut and turned to face his fellow Heroes as he continued.

“The rest are spread across several other locations, tens of thousands in total, forming an army strong enough to pose a threat to an average nation. But despite their huge numbers, the ones in this estate, only a few thousand, make up a third of their overall combat power.”

This meant the tens of thousands elsewhere were all far lower levelled than the ones here, basically all below Level 500.

“We can handle Epic Levels just fine, but anything above that is out of reach,” David said, frowning lightly.

“I can take an Inferior Legend on my own. But one’s my limit. Any more would be suicide,” Bianca added.

Evan smiled and shook his head. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle all the heavy lifting. You just need to sit back and reap the fruits of the harvest when I tell you to.”

Then he focused on Bianca and Laurene and added, “Both of you help me put up a veil around the interior of the World Isolation Barrier so those outside don’t notice anything unusual.

Right before the fighting starts, use Illusion Magic combined with Bianca’s Light and Mirror Magic to make the estate appear unchanged.”

This was necessary because the World Isolation Barrier could restrict movement beyond its bounds and even block energy and magic signals from leaving, but it didn’t stop anyone from seeing in from outside.

“Right before the fighting starts, you say?” Laurene echoed, and Evan nodded.

“You’ll know when it’s about to start.”

His shadow expanded as he spoke, and he sent a mental command to Kuro to teleport them directly to the shadow of a fountain in the mansion’s courtyard at the estate’s centre, right in front of the main entrances.

When they appeared, Evan gestured to the fountain’s marble basin. “Have a seat, everyone. Try not to be nervous. This might take a while.”

He then pulled a gun from his inventory and fired a single bullet into the sky, which exploded in a burst of fireworks filled with immense magic power, instantly drawing the attention of everyone within the estate.

Those outside saw the fireworks and just assumed it was rich people celebrating, but everyone within the World Isolation Barrier reacted differently.

Within seconds, dozens of presences could be sensed rushing toward them at high speed, but most came from outside the mansion, with very few emerging from within.