Hiro didn''t take the flying demon to the Valdmor Stronghold, but he abandoned it after crossing a certain distance.


    He was unsure if they had any aerial surveince around the stronghold, so he would rather synchronize with his Arcana Lord character and constantly teleport over.


    Taking his experience with Asmir as an example, Hiro didn''t sneak into the stronghold this time around.


    Instead, hended in the barren valley that wasn''t too far or too close from the stronghold.


    Then, he bought new cosmetics to change his appearance, even if by a little. As he wasn''t sure about the activities of traitors in the Demon Tower, he made slight yet obvious adjustments.


    He removed the crimson horns and exchanged them for a pair of ck wings, fluffy and full.


    His hair color was also changed to ck, the same with his eyes. Like this, even if information about his appearance were to spread back, no one would know of his infiltration.


    Anotheryer of safety was that Hiro didn''t n to move into the stronghold directly.


    Instead, he decided to spend a few days hunting around the stronghold, hoping to encounter the demons who were on hunting duty outside the stronghold.


    With that in mind, Hiro stopped concealing his aura, allowing it to radiate like a clear sun in the sky.


    His current standards were just a few points shy of reaching the peak of Tier-6, and he decided to take the opportunity presented to him and level up a few times.


    Summoning his great sword, Hiro walked through the vast and dry canyon.


    Hills that piled up from seemingly demolished mountains, a charredndscape, and a visible purplish-ck miasma entered Hiro''s vision.


    He wondered how vast the Demon Realm was since it was one level higher than a minor realm, but Hiro then realized that he didn''t even know how vast a minor realm was supposed to be.


    He didn''t know whether the human world could be considered a pocket dimension, a minor realm, or a great realm like this one.


    He only knew that while the Demon Realm could easily amodate an existence on the level of Tier-3 standards, as long as a Tier-2 being didn''t actively attack, the realm would also permit it.


    Thus, they could easily exist within the same space as their followers, believers, worshippers, or whatever one called them.


    The Pantheon of the Gods from the Holy Church was different. Once they achieve Tier-4 standards, they can no longer exist within the same space anymore.


    The bacsh from the world would immediately target them. However, the human world was simr to his pocket dimension in the aspect of growth.


    ording to current resources, the was ever evolving towards the direction of a minor realm.


    Maybe I should take some time off from my grinding in Draconia to ask around for information. If I found out the criteria for advancement for Tier-4, Tier-3, and Tier-2 from the game, I could better understand the overall picture.


    Information asymmetry was a scary thing, and Hiro understood this point very well.


    A living example would be Asmir''s knowledge of the ''hidden'' trap beingid out inside her territory, but her enemies remained clueless about it.


    Thus, their perspective remains limited to the stronghold, while Asmirm''s perspective has already elevated to epass three or four other strongholds, their respective lords, and more.


    How will the otherspare?


    As Hiro was walking aimlessly through the canyon, the sound of something tearing through the air whooshed past his face.


    "Eh?" Hiro was a little surprised, quickly activating his divine perception ability.


    Hiro''s consciousness was much stronger than those on his level after experiencing so many years in the simtion space.


    As his perception spread out, the load of information his mind proceeded at every moment was incredibly vast. Thus, he easily calcted the trajectory of the object, its speed, eleration, and starting point ofunch.


    With that data in mind, he quickly located a hidden cavity in the ground where shoots of purple bamboo sprouted out, among them were a few snapped ones.


    At first nce, no one would suspect anything, but Hiro trusted his judgment very much.


    Thus, he started walking in that direction while raising his great sword high. The aura around Hiro''s body congealed towards the sword''s massive edge.


    Thin red veins inscribed on the sword pulsated, and the pressure increased greatly.


    Hiro''s grip tightened, and without wasting his time bluffing or probing, he swung the sword down with great force.


    The heavy sword shed down, bringing down the pressure of a fallen meteor, sting the miasma in the surroundings away.


    As the sword descended, one of the bamboo shoots finally moved. It fell to the ground with a soft ''plop'' while a shadow rushed out from underground.


    Boom!


    Shreds of stone, dust, and nts exploded out from the impact, but Hiro''s eye caught on the pressure of a creature that looked like a mix between a snake and a lizard.


    It had a long, sleek body. It also had three rows of small wings on its back, hard scales, and a pair of intelligent yet viscous eyes.


    Using a nted rock surface as a springboard, the creature bounced back toward Hiro with greater speed and force.


    The momentum from Hiro''s attack had yet to dissipate, and the demon caught this window of opportunity and aimed to bite off a chunk of Hiro''s flesh.


    However, Hiro wasn''t so inflexible as to wholly rely on a weapon. He didn''t even lift his sword off the ground. Instead, he released his grip, a sphere of demonic energy concentrating in his right palm.


    As he clenched his fist, the sphere morphed into a short sword of concentrated energy.


    The flying snake demon sensed a great threat as its senses screamed DEATH! Six wings unfurled at once, making use of the sudden air resistance to slow down its movements.


    With a whoosh, Hiro''s short sword swung over in a beautiful arc, leaving a thin stream of blood on the snake''s triangr head.


    One moment toote and its skull would have been split in half. The snake''s momentum didn''t stop, but it made clever use of aerodynamics to circumvent Hiro''s body, shooting off into the purplish-ck miasma.


    A loud hissing sound filled with anger, humiliation, and unwillingness resounded.


    It was too fast, and Hiro couldn''t catch up just because he wanted to. Hiro was about to synchronize with a character out of impulse when he suddenly stopped himself.


    He can''t rely on external strength to handle each and every situation where his true capabilities prove inefficient.


    Hiro sat down on the shattered ground and leaned his back against the broad de of his great sword, frowning deeply.


    The system offered him great power, which made him verycent because he knew that there was a fallback option no matter what he did.


    However, at the roots of everything, the system wasn''t his. The same mysterious existence that gave him the system could take it back just as easily.


    Since that was the case, is it alright for him to feel so rxed?


    "System, are you permanently bound to me?" Hiro decided to ask directly.


    [Notice: No. Your life experience will bepiled and used as a reference point for the next host.]


    Hiro''s eyes twitched as he continued asking, "Do you mean that the 10,000 lifetimes of experience I witnessed on my first day werepiled from previous hosts?"


    [Notice: Correct.]


    Hiro took in a deep breath because if he remembered correctly, all of those experiences ended with a tragic death.


    [Notice: The system isn''t permanently bound to you, but the items earned through your efforts are yours. For example, the quantum watch.]


    "You mean to say that while the convenient features such as treasure-scanning, interpersonal missions, training space, and the simtion space are an extension of the system''s authority, this doesn''t extend to material possessions?"


    [Notice: Correct. As such, the system heavily advises the host to stop worrying about cost-effective measures. Host, remember your first high-priority mission.]


    Hiro recalled how he went about his first high-priority mission, and the one thing worthy of note was his reckless spending of points to buy potions back then.


    The system rated his actions as risky investments and great returns, rewarding his foresight for foregoing immediate benefits.


    Thinking about it, the system would always push him in the direction of foregoing immediate benefits and focusing on long-term development ns.


    After thinking about it, Hiro realized that his current mindset was very dangerous.


    He even dared to tease and y a Great Demon like Asmir, feeling invincible from his position as the carrier of a cheat like the system.


    The more he thought about it, the colder he felt.


    What was he thinking?


    Hiro felt conflicted.


    Now, he was torn between investing his time inpleting Draconia or using that time in the training space to max out his current Sorcerer stats.


    If he focused on condensing his spirituality instead of clearing the game, he could easily reach Tier-4 standards with his true body.


    However, he could use the same amount of time toplete the game and reach Tier-2 standards with his Void Dragon character.


    Furthermore, the rewards frompleting a purchased game for the first time are ought to be very generous.


    Having the foresight to forego immediate benefits was indeed a virtue, but these benefits were too tempting…