Princess Recruitment

<Skilla>

[If it’s something Your Highness decides on her own, I won’t oppose it.]

[Rather, it’s amazing that you’ve caught her attention, isn’t it?]

[She’s very firm about what she wants and doesn’t change easily.]

[How did you do it?]

<Me>

[It just happened…]

Skilla had no intention of opposing.

There was no contact from Tang So-hye.

She must be busy.

Americano reluctantly replied.

“Are you really going to join my party?”

“Yes!”

“Haa.”

Her will was firm.

“No quitting halfway through because it’s too hard or difficult.”

“I’m not weak!”

“You might think so. Until you actually experience it.”

Hmm…

“I’ll let you experience the difficulty around the 30th floor firsthand. If you don’t like it after experiencing it, just tell me.”

“How will you do that? If I can become Americano’s companion, that’s all I’ve ever wanted!”

“Then… Ah, before that, friend request.”

She added her as a friend.

[Henya] appeared above the princess’s head.

“Henya.”

“Yes!”

“….”

“?”

Come to think of it, the [Duel Arena] is only unlocked after reaching level 30.

‘I was going to do it in the Duel Arena, but I can’t.’

Why is the unlocking condition level 30?

It would be nice if it unlocked when the [Community] unlocks.

Anyway,

Americano opened the door and asked the waiting maid how long the lord’s meeting would take.

“When the lord starts a meeting, it takes at least an hour.”

“An hour.”

That was enough.

“Then please make sure no one enters the room during that hour.”

“…Yes.”

“It’s the princess’s order.”

She asked Henya, who was standing blankly in the room, “Right?” and Henya replied, “Y-Yes.”

After receiving the answer from the maid, she closed the door.

Closed it,

And summoned the [Pet House].

She inserted her index finger.

The Dream Frog grabbed her index finger and was pulled out.

‘(Did you already arrive?)’

“No, not yet.”

She looks at the room and then at Henya.

‘(Who is it?)’

“It’s the princess. More importantly, I have a favor to ask, do you think you know what it is?”

‘(Okay.)’

Without asking what she wanted, it knew what Americano desired and carried out her request.

Without having to say it, the [Ring of Contract] conveyed her intentions telepathically.

Cappuccino chanted a magic spell.

The sound dies.

Soundproofing magic.

The door to the reception room is locked.

Locking magic.

Henya was amazed.

“You can use magic too?”

“It’s doing it.”

“Wow… pitch black.”

In Henya’s eyes, Cappuccino’s [Dream Frog] looked like ominous black letters.

“But what are you suddenly going to do? Am I supposed to fight it?”

“Not that. We’re going to go to dreamland from now on. Even if you feel strange, don’t be wary and accept it.”

“Yes.”

“….”

I should have told her to be wary.

I guess this is what they mean by a flower grown in a greenhouse.

She held out Cappuccino to Henya, and Cappuccino’s magic instantly put Henya to sleep. Americano also falls into a dream.

The world inside the dream.

Henya wanders around the surroundings, looking amazed.

She looks around at the scenery that became the background of the dream.

“Americano!”

“Yes.”

“Where is this?! The buildings are so tall! Wow! What is this place! What is this place?! There are so many things I’ve never seen before!”

This was the Hunter world.

It was reality.

There wasn’t a single person.

An uninhabited city.

She was standing in the middle of a wide road.

Tall buildings looked down.

“Tall.”

“….”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen a building taller than the royal palace.”

“Is that so.”

Henya tries to run down the road.

She called out to stop her.

“Stop.”

“Yes!”

“Do you remember what I said I would let you experience earlier?”

“You said you would let me experience how difficult Challenger difficulty is.”

“Yes, I want you to experience it directly rather than giving up because it’s too hard, and then decide again.”

Is it because she doesn’t believe her?

Henya becomes sulky.

She took out two swords from the inventory in the dream, pretending to be an inventory.

One sword for herself.

One sword for Henya.

She pointed the sword.

“I’ll let you experience it directly.”

“Ah…”

When the sword was pointed at her, Henya’s youthful face became haggard.

“H-Here is inside a dream, right.”

“So?”

“Then can’t you recreate the monsters you’ve faced directly?”

“….”

Come to think of it, this was a dream.

You can recreate what you experienced from memory.

“It’s not possible to recreate it 100 percent. But well, it wouldn’t be bad to see it once.”

What should I show her?

[Chief Ogre]

[Elder Treant]

Thump, thump, thump.

The glass windows of the buildings shattered and fragments fell like rain.

An ogre the size of a building appeared where she followed the road, smashing the asphalt with its heavy weight.

“Hiyak.”

“That’s the first one. Do you want to try to defeat it?”

“….”

“If it’s a weapon, you can imagine anything and use it as much as you want. Like the royal palace’s treasure.”

“….”

Henya points her sword at the [Chief Ogre], but the tip of the sword trembles.

The giant looks down at her.

Her body is soaked with a sense of defeat.

This won’t work.

“If you convert it to Hero level, it’s almost level 55.”

“Oh, level 55?”

“But that’s not the end.”

“What do you mean it’s not the end?”

“That wooden club that guy is holding? That’s an Elder Treant.”

According to Americano’s imagination, the [Chief Ogre] stuck the wooden club into the ground.

The [Elder Treant] took root in the ground, completely destroying the surrounding buildings.

The roadside trees withered, and an autumn wind blew through the nearby natural park. No, a wind of death blows and it becomes dry.

The rapidly growing [Elder Treant] grew to a size comparable to a building.

“Wow… wow… wow…”

“You have to catch that around the 30th floor.”

“Is that possible on the 30th floor?”

“It came out because it’s possible, right?”

“Did you catch it?”

“I caught it.”

She made a victory V.

She erased the [Chief Ogre] and [Elder Treant].

“Anyway, on the 30th floor, you have to catch the guys you just saw together on one floor.”

“H-Have to on one floor?”

“Do you want to give up?”

“No. If I challenge it as Challenger from the beginning. Then when I reach the 30th floor, I can catch it too, right?”

“…If you work hard.”

She couldn’t say she wouldn’t be able to catch it.

There’s already someone who caught it.

There was no reason why others couldn’t catch it.

If they can’t catch it?

They lack talent.

“More than that, take the sword. First, as a skill test, I’ll slash you once, so block it well.”

“Yes!”

Henya takes the sword.

She takes the sword, but,

She can’t block it.

She stabbed the sword into her neck.

“Cough…”

Henya coughed and collapsed.

“Hmm…”

I heard she was a genius, so I wondered how much, but even if that’s true, she’s just a rookie with no practical experience.

I even gave her a warning on purpose.

I didn’t see her as the same as myself.

In her case, she gained practical experience during her Unawakened Hunter days, so she didn’t build her skills from scratch.

“From now on, I’ll close my eyes, use only one hand, and use only one foot. I won’t use any Skills at all, so come at me anytime.”

“Kuh…”

She closed her eyes.

She also turned off her Awakened Ability.

Only the sword in her right hand is pointed at Henya.

Slash.

Slash.

Slash.

Slash.

Henya awkwardly swung her sword and was countered and slashed.

She held the sword to her neck.

She stabbed the sword into her chest.

She slashed her arm.

She slashed her leg.

She stabbed her between the eyebrows.

She slashed and stabbed all the places that seemed like they would be shocked.

If I did this much, she would take back her words about becoming a party member, right?

Henya, who was butchered.

She raised her tattered body.

‘Was I a little too harsh?’

She thought indifferently.

“Even though you’re going to have an even worse experience than this, do you still want to be my companion?”

“Yes..!”

A bloody face.

She didn’t lose her smile.

She’s a princess, but she has the guts.

“Since I’m not going to die anyway, why should I be afraid of dying?”

“….”

That’s a valid point.

“Haa…”

She put away the sword.

She raised both hands.

“Yes, I lost. Do whatever you want, whether you join the party or not.”

“Awesome!”

She jumped up with her fallen body.

“But what are you going to do about the preliminary competition if this happens? The people who gathered in the village are all Henya…nim?”

“Please call me Henya! And please don’t use honorifics!”

“Then Henya.”

“Yes!”

“The people who gathered in the village now all gathered to become companions with Henya, so what are you going to do?”

“….”

Henya thought hard.

“I’m going to win them all.”

“Can you do it?”

“You may think I’m very lacking, but even though I’m level 1, I have the skills to beat level 30! There’s no one who can beat me while fighting with a level restriction of 1!”

She was confident.

“Are you going to win them all and declare that you can’t party with people weaker than you?”

“Yes!”

“Will people accept it?”

“Who’s going to say anything if they don’t like me? Anyway, Father arbitrarily ordered the lord to do it. I just followed because there was no reason to persuade him. But now I have a reason to refuse!”

She will become Americano’s party member.

So she will refuse Lord Losfelt’s favor.

“I’ll take measures so that it doesn’t cause any trouble. Don’t worry and leave it to me!”

“Yeees, I hope so.”

She wakes up from the dream.

She met with Lord Losfelt.

There was nothing special to talk about.

He asked how she knew the young lady of Laptica, Skilla.

He also asked what she thought of the young man who fought in Henya’s companion selection competition.

He said he could create a loser’s bracket and take measures to advance to the finals, but she politely refused.

“But are you thinking of participating in the Hero Tournament?”

“The Hero Tournament, you say.”

It was a tournament that seemed fun.

Because of the purpose of replacing war, they fight in a way that only strength matters, with equality and fairness.

If you search for the rules in the [Community], it was very simple.

Fight on stage.

Kill the opponent.

That was all.

In other words, it meant that the strongest forces of the Heroes would be put in.

How strong would they be?

‘What level am I?’

She recognized that she was strong, and even though he was an empty can, she beat a level 79 Hunter Hero. She can’t help but expect it.

After that, she left Losfelt.

There was no reason to stay any longer.

She took Caramel from the accommodation and left the village immediately.

She thought as she left.

Hero Tournament.

“A month later, was it.”

By then, Lee Su-ju would have finished the armor.

Until then, she pondered whether to climb the [Tower of Trials] or go to the [Duel Arena].

She decided.

Let’s go to the [Duel Arena].