Chapter 153 – Hero Mission, Festival Concludes

Choosing to recruit Isloria as a hero was a decision Mu Yuan had carefully considered.

First, she excelled in spellcraft, mastering countless spells and numerous other skills. Of course, when comparing the depth of knowledge and theoretical understanding, Isloria fell far short of the librarian next door.

Both had their own strengths and weaknesses.

However, Isloria’s advantages extended far beyond that. Among the dozen or so top-tier heroes before him, she was the only one who had mastered a Domain.

A Domain!

Even though Mu Yuan felt that Domains didn’t seem particularly rare, a comparison with other heroes who hadn’t even touched the fringes of a Domain revealed Isloria’s extraordinary talent.

A glimpse of this could be seen in her profile.

In addition to orthodox spellcraft, she had also mastered many unorthodox and even obscure spells.

Of course, if that were all, in Mu Yuan’s estimation, the comparison between Isloria and the Grand Archmage would at most be a seven-to-three, eight-to-two, or even nine-to-one split.

Mu Yuan stepped forward, gazing into her deep, mysterious, star-bright eyes.

He extended his hand and asked with utmost seriousness, “Will you become my hero?”

In Isloria’s eyes, the Lord was enveloped in golden radiance, as if treading upon auspicious golden clouds as he approached.

Sacred and warm.

Isloria took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions welling up inside her. With the most elegant posture she had cultivated over a lifetime, she placed her hand upon the Lord’s warm palm and bowed slightly.

“I will.”

“My Lord.”

Ding!

Prompt: Recruit hero ‘Isloria’?

Prompt: Your recruitment has been accepted by hero ‘Isloria’. Under the witness of heaven and earth, the contract is being established…

Prompt: You may now view all information about hero ‘Isloria’.

——

Isloria (Hero)

Class: Daughter of Stars (Outstanding Three-Star)

Rank: Tier 2 Level 7 / Tier 2 Level 9

Talent: Starlight Body

Skills: <Star-Embracing Art>, Astrolabe Array, Starpath Gate, …

Concept: Thousand Spells Concept · Major Achievement

Domain: Myriad Forms Domain

Strategic Talent: Starlight Scholar

——

Isloria’s signature ability was the ‘Star-Embracing Art’. This ability transcended the category of ordinary skills, forming a unique spell system she had pioneered herself.

“The more theories Isloria learned, the more she understood the limits of human power. It was impossible to inscribe all spells into the body and Soul and wield them effortlessly. Thus… she used her own body as a foundation, channeling starlight to construct stellar forms and master various spells.”

“It was like a vast repository of knowledge—only a single point needed to be learned as a foundation to leverage an entire skill.”

“Through this shortcut, Isloria quickly learned and mastered hundreds, even thousands, of spells, and created multiple combined spells. Additionally, she delved into fields such as human modification, alchemy, potion-making, economics, and more.”

“When the stars shine, it is the myriad spells blossoming in brilliance across the cosmos.”

The strategic talent ‘Starlight Scholar’ was an ability similar to the ‘Nun Class Change’ talent.The ability to awaken this talent was likely related to Isloria’s experiences. She had once taught at the Royal Academy and nearly established a new arcane studies department.

The Starlight Scholar is a rare-tier profession that utilizes the Starlight Network to build a knowledge base for learning spells and techniques.

As for exclusive weapons and strategic skills?

Isloria possessed neither.

Nor was she alone in this regard—other top-tier heroes also lacked various capabilities.

After all, these heroes hadn’t advanced through formal trials. Even among those who underwent legitimate trials, not every challenger possessed Deadbone’s steadiness and intellect, let alone Dolai’s… luck?

“Strategic skills aren’t urgent—they’ll come eventually.”

“As for hero armaments?”

Mu Yuan had no leads whatsoever. When he recruited the Daughter of Stars, ‘Isloria’, it wasn’t for her combat prowess… though judging by her stats alone, she was likely quite formidable.

What he valued was Isloria’s pink hair… ahem, her remarkable versatility.

Not only did she master numerous arcane knowledge systems, but she also had exposure to alchemy and potion studies. While her skills might not be exceptionally refined, they were more than sufficient for Tianyuan Territory.

She was the kind of hero who could single-handedly establish multiple complete systems for Tianyuan Territory.

Moreover—

Ding!

Prompt: The Daughter of Stars ‘Isloria’ possesses an available hero mission. Trigger?

——

Hero Mission: Chrono Labyrinth

Description: The Eagle Kingdom, being a border nation, frequently suffers monster tide invasions. Powerful adventurers often venture deep into the Wilderness to hunt monsters, gradually giving rise to human hybrids with monster blood flowing through their veins. Females are more prone to igniting this monster blood and awakening talents—these individuals are called ‘Witches’ by Eagle Kingdom citizens and viewed as ill omens.

After Isloria’s witch identity was exposed, forcing her into exile, she encountered other witches during her wanderings. These women might have once been noble young ladies or commoners, but now shared the same identity—persecuted witches. Isloria joined them and planned to cross towering mountain ranges to reach the distant Holy Radiance Empire, where legend said witches could enjoy equal rights with ordinary citizens.

However, fate had other plans. Not only were Isloria’s group hunted and forced into desperate flight, they also strayed into an Eerie City where they fell victim to a mysterious curse. At death’s door, Isloria’s great talent, unwavering determination, and profound wish seemed to attract the pity of a mysterious Star Deity. The Wicked City fell through temporal rifts, frozen in time.

——

Prompt: This mission involves rescuing Isloria’s former companions. Accept?

Prompt: Upon acceptance, the city trapped in the rift will reappear. Recommended completion within three months.

Countdown…

This was the most unique aspect of the hero ‘Isloria’!

He could activate missions through her—information even Isloria herself wasn’t aware of, having died early and tragically in her original timeline. Yet Lord Mu, bearing golden radiance, had seen this information before recruitment.

On the surface, it appeared to be a major complication, but in reality…

Setting aside mission rewards for now, consider the mission process itself.

Rescuing companions? (×)

Recruiting advanced talents? (√)At the Festival Grounds, a Hero could indeed only be recruited once, but he had now recruited Isloria, which was equivalent to buying one and getting N free—directly recruiting an entire talent group!

Were the Witches considered talents? Mu Yuan could only say that those who could undergo Bloodline Awakening were inherently of superior caliber. Moreover, some Witches were of noble birth, erudite and versatile. Apart from lacking the status of Heroes, their talents and abilities were no worse than many Heroes present.

“Accept!”

In an instant, Mu Yuan seemed to glimpse a dilapidated Wicked City suspended in the crevices of time.

His vision, guided by some mysterious force, continuously zoomed in, delving deep into a certain part of the Wicked City.

He couldn’t help but reveal an expression of anticipation, his eyes widening.

Gradually, he saw…

Gray wolves, crows, elk, and foxes.

Huh, were these the legendary Witches? They were a bit different from what Mu Yuan had imagined.

But it didn’t matter—even a crow could work 996 shifts.

…

When Mu Yuan accepted the mission, Isloria, as the focal point of the mission, naturally received the prompt as well. Her eyes widened immediately, cycling through disbelief, delight, excitement, and anxiety like a rapid slideshow.

“Lord…”

“That’s right, rest assured. But we’ll discuss the details after we return.”

Now was not the time for lengthy explanations. The Hero Festival had reached its most fiercely competitive final stage.

Mu Yuan only made introductions to familiar Lords. However, as a citizen of the Xuan Nation and having received many benefits from the Alliance, Mu Yuan had already suggested to the Heroes present that they could consider the Lords of the Taixuan Alliance more favorably.

Godly Radiance Lord: “!!!”

Other Lords: “!!!”

Is this even playable anymore?!

In the previous session, the Cold Moon City Lord had swept through the competition with overwhelming dominance, recruiting Heroes at will. But at least, the Cold Moon City Lord still had to recruit Heroes herself, and after her selections, the remaining Heroes were free for others to compete over without hindrance.

But now?

With the Tianyuan Lord’s arrival, the competitive market had been completely disrupted!

They resented it.

The Taixuan Lords, however, were overjoyed and grateful.

With Tianyuan here, hope had arrived.

Beside the long table, Isloria, the Daughter of Stars, stood gracefully behind Mu Yuan, a slight smile curling at the corners of her lips—filled with joy and anticipation, yet tinged with a hint of nervousness and anxiety.

From this moment on, her life was entirely bound to her Lord. What would her future life be like?

Nearby, the Dragon Blood Valkyrie hung her head, feeling both dejected and disheartened.

Her iron rice bowl was gone.

“If we ever meet again, Dolai will treat you~!”

“Really?”

“Of course~!”

The Dragon Blood Valkyrie was not a heroic spirit and had no intention of accepting recruitment from any Lord. She planned to continue wandering.

The world was vast.

But the future held many possibilities.

The remaining Heroes gradually dispersed, and soon another group of Lords rushed over, engaging in fierce competition.

The Glory Lord caught up with Holy Light High Priestess Windsor and declared, “Form a contract with me! I’m your only choice left!”

Windsor stopped in her tracks and glanced back at him coldly.

“Have you misunderstood something?

“Just because Tianyuan didn’t want me doesn’t mean I’d settle for you.”

Perhaps before, Windsor had wavered, considering whether to lower her standards further. But after witnessing the Tianyuan Lord and then looking at the others, she was even more disappointed.In her eyes, Glory Lord couldn’t even rank among the top three. At the very least, the Filth on Limitless Lord in the distance was far less than his.

After speaking, she walked directly toward the mountain hall without further delay.

Time ticked relentlessly onward.

Dong—

The concluding bell finally tolled. Some Lords shed tears of joy, overwhelmed with emotion; others were disheartened, beating their chests in frustration.

Deep within the Secret Realm, a mysterious figure crunched away at the last of the delicacies.

“Another festival has ended, so quickly.”

“What a pity. If only this crane weren’t the spirit of the Secret Realm, this crane would also…”

…also wish to pledge allegiance to that Lord adorned with multiple golden halos, ahhh—!

Here, a plump white crane rolled about on the ground, heaving a melancholy sigh.

…

Ding!

Notification: The ‘Hero Festival’ has officially concluded. As you have gained the recognition of more than half of the Heroes during this festival (who have shown intentions to pledge allegiance), you are granted an additional blessing from heaven and earth.

(End of Chapter)