The Heroes GATHERING

The next day, the heroes were woken up by the sound of a bell. Several maids made their way into their rooms to wake them up and prepare the heroes for the hero gathering event.

As they were coming out of their respective rooms, they witnessed the maids and butlers dashing around, trying to get everything ready for the heroes gathering. Other maids were leading them to the main hall where the hero gathering would be held.

As they reached the main hall, they saw the king in the same spot he was the other day, on his throne. He smiled and gave them a warm welcome. Elsa, standing beside her father, greeted them, "I hope you guys slept well.

Sorry for waking you guys so early," she said with a mesmerizing smile. She was donning a pure white gown with white roses on the side and matching white shoes, along with a white veil covering her face, which gave her beauty a hint of mystery. She was stunning. All the heroes just stood dumbfounded.

"But the other kingdoms are already on their way here, so we had to prepare everything before they arrive, and as you can see, we're clearly behind schedule," Elsa said.

Aiden was the first to speak up, "It's nothing, princess. We were already up by the time the maids entered to call us. Well, maybe not all of us," he said that while looking at Jay, who was still yawning while standing, a clear indication that he was forcefully woken up. His other classmates also stared at him with a displeased expression.

Jay just shrugged; after all the thinking he went through yesterday night, it would be a miracle if he wasn't still sleepy. He used a lot of mental strength for all that thinking yesterday night, he thought.

"Okay, let's talk about the hero gathering and how we will perform it all," she said with a smile, trying to ease the tension between the heroes. It worked, as Aiden started staring at the princess again, stunned by her beauty.

"First and foremost, all of you will have your seat at the side of the hall," she said, pointing to a spot filled with eight decorated chairs with a clean white mat underneath. "Then, as the king with their supervisors from each kingdom comes in, the hero gathering will begin.

There will be some small talks between the heroes and the kingdoms to form a good connection. Even if you were not chosen by them, it's good to form a good relationship as it might help in the future.

After some time, food will be served, and then we will all sit to eat while listening to some music. After the food, the hero gathering truly begins. Don't worry; you will be told what to do during the gathering. Once that has been finalized, you will be taken to your respective kingdoms."

"Okay, I think that's all you need to know about the hero gathering. So, the maids will take you to where you are all going to have your breakfast before starting," she said. As she finished, a maid came to them and said, "Sir, please this way." They started following her, and the other maids followed behind.

"I hope there will be some beautiful ladies during the gathering, maybe the elves. They do look pleasing to the eye from all the books I have read on Earth," Avalon said with a perverted smile.

"That's if you were chosen," Aiden said with a displeased expression.

"Who will pass on a handsome hunk like me? Even the goddess loved my delicate handsome face; why won't a mere elf be able to resist my charm?" he then turned to one of the maids and asked, "Am I not handsome?"

She said with a blush, "Of course you are, great hero."

He smiled at her and said, "Thank you," which made her blush harder.

"Hmm, Avalon, it's not all about charisma and handsomeness. It's all about how useful and powerful you are to the goddess and the kingdom," Aiden said, a little irritated.

"That doesn't say so on my status board. I was even given an extra gift thanks to my handsomeness," Avalon said mockingly, smiling at him.

"That was true though," everyone thought. Even Aiden started to doubt his words. As they reached the table filled with food, Jay, still yawning, jolted awake.

"Is all this food for us?" he questioned the maid.

She said unhurriedly, "Yes."

The other class didn't seem surprised by this, as if this was the way they ate back on Earth normally. Only Jay and Darion were still staring at the table in a daze, amazed by the amount of food on the table. Until the maid smiled and said with a bow, "Please sit down and eat." Both of them snapped out of their dazed expressions and immediately sat down and started wolfing down the food.

"Hmm, delicious," Jay thought. "I have never tasted food as good as this before in my life. Now I can die without regret," he said with a satisfied smile.

Then he looked up and saw the rest eating the food casually with a nonchalant expression. Even the twins and Orion ate the food without much expression. "Well, that's always his expression. I can't seem to tell if he's liking it or not," Jay thought, except he was wolfing down the food in ecstasy, almost choking on it.

After breakfast, the heroes were told to head to their rooms to rest, but Jay asked if he could go out to look around. He was told only if there would be a guards following him at all times.

Hearing that, he declined and decided to just walk around the castle, but he still had to be escorted by a maid. He agreed and then went out with the maid. As he was going out, he saw a lady holding a sword and swinging it in a horizontal direction. This intrigued him, so he asked the maid, "Who is that?"

She answered, "Oh, that's Mrs. Elara. She is the captain of the knights in Artenia."

When he heard this, he became more intrigued. "If she is the captain of the knights in Artenia, then she must be powerful. Let me check her status for any noteworthy skills; maybe I might see some that might be of use to me," Jay thought. Then he focused his eye on her for a little bit.

[Skill activated: God's Eye]

Name: [Lady Elara Valeris]

Level: 68

Experience Points: 85000/100000

Stats:

- Strength: 850

- Agility: 700

- Dexterity:650

- Intelligence: 580

- Wisdom: 600

- Charisma: 690

Title: Captain of the Guard of Artenia

Age: 32

Race: Human, half-descendant of the Hero Valtor, blessed by the Ancient Goddess Lysara

Skills:

1. Blade Song Dance: A unique sword-fighting style combining fluid movements and acrobatic agility, allowing her to deflect multiple attacks and strike with precise, devastating force. By channeling energy into the blade, it delivers a devastating blow strong enough to cleave a mountain in half. [can be copied]

2. Blessing of the Ancient Goddess: Grants her enhanced strength, speed, and reflexes far beyond that of ordinary humans. She can perform feats such as leaping great distances, lifting heavy objects with ease, and moving with superhuman agility. [can be copied]

3. Wielder of Valoria: Mastery of her ancestral sword, Valoria, unlocking its full potential and the ability to channel its hidden powers, such as summoning ethereal blades or unleashing energy waves. [can be copied]

4. Battlefield Command: An innate talent for battlefield tactics and leadership, able to inspire troops to fight with exceptional bravery and coordination, turning the tide of battles. [can't be copied]

"Wow, looks like she was born to command. No wonder they put her in that position. With these skills, I don't think there is another position that might be suitable for her.

Okay I think I'll choose the Blessing of the Ancient Goddess skill; it looks like a nice skill. While the other skills seem great, my skill quota for the God's Possession skill is so little.

I just pray it will increase as I level up, and I still want to check out the skills of the other powerful demigods when they come for the hero gathering," Jay thought. "Okay then, the Blessing of the Ancient Goddess skill it is."

[Copy (The Blessing of the Ancient Goddess) skill Yes/No]

He chose yes, then words appeared in his mind.

[Copying in progress, please stay focused on the target 10%...50%...75%...100%...] Skill copied.

"Status," Jay thought.

Name: [Jay]

Class: ???

Level: 1

Experience Points: 0/100

Stats:

- Strength: 20 (locked)

- Dexterity: 20 (locked)

- Agility: 20 (locked)

- Constitution: 26 (locked)

- Intelligence: 28 (locked)

- Charisma: 15 (locked)

- Mana: 24 (locked)

Skills:

1. Tamper: Ability to tamper with your stats by unlocking and temporarily and permanently adding to your stats. The more you level up, the more it's used, the more stress your body becomes at a longer period.

- Level 1: Tampering effect of 30.

- Level 2: Tampering effect of 60, and so on.

Note: As you level up, unlocked stats become permanent.

2. God's Eye: Able to copy ?????? [Skill slots [1/4] and see detailed information on anything or anyone:

Skills:

a. Solar Flare: A powerful burst of concentrated light that explodes upon impact, dealing immense damage to all enemies in a wide radius and causing temporary blindness. [copied]

b. Blessing of the Ancient Goddess: Grants enhanced strength, speed, and reflexes far beyond that of ordinary humans. The user can perform feats such as leaping great distances, lifting heavy objects with ease, and moving with superhuman agility. [copied]

c. [Not added].....

d. [Not added].....

e. [Not added].....

f. [Not added].....

3. God Possession: ?????

4. ????? Blessed by the ancient god of ???? (????). He ???? Total obliteration of ???? Ancient dea ???? Rule ????.

After copying the skill, he continued his leisurely walk.

"Can I ask you something? How has the relationship between the kingdoms been?" Jay asked the maid.

"I am not really in-depth on what you just asked, but if you're interested in my view on how I think it is, then I can certainly tell you, sir hero."

"Yes, I am very interested," Jay said. He wanted to know which kingdoms were hostile against one another and which kingdoms were relatively peaceful with one another, which might help him in his future endeavors.

"Okay, sir hero, in my view, I say the three strongest kingdoms are definitely peaceful on the surface. That is, normally, the three always battle internally to take the position of the strongest.

Especially the dwarf kingdom, albeit not part of the three strongest kingdoms, with their financial status still growing exponentially, they too might compete for the position of the strongest. That's why the heroes gathering is so important to them.

The stronger the class of the hero, the higher the hero's potential and his or her future achievements. Especially now that the attacks of the demons have increased a lot, the pressure on all the kingdoms is also increasing."

"Hmm, then if that's the case, doesn't that mean the stronger the kingdom, the better it is for the hero?" Jay asked.

"Not certainly. Just like I said about the dwarfs, it also depends on if the kingdom is financially able to raise the heroes because for the heroes to grow, they will need serious resources. It's also depending on their class; the stronger the class, the more resources it will need to nurture it, especially during their class upgrade."

"Whoa, well that's new," Jay said. "So the more we upgrade our class, the more powerful we become?"

The maid answered, "Yes." Then she added, "Haven't you noticed that no matter how strong the people of the world are without class, completely obliterating the demons is impossible? Especially the demon kings and some of their generals with classes of their own.

The only people that have chances of killing the generals of the demon army are descendants of the past heroes who inherited part of their classes' skills. But they can't even touch the demon kings, and even if the demon generals were killed, the demon kings can still make more. It might take some time and resources, but they can still make more."

Jay was surprised by the information. "This was my first time hearing of this. How did you know this?" he asked. "Isn't this supposed to be like a secret or something those of the higher-ups would purposely lock up?"

She smiled a bit and said, "This is common knowledge around here. And sure, if you go to any common bar around here and ask about it, they will tell you the same thing."

"That's a lot of information to take in."

"Don't worry, it's not really that much of a deal," she said while smiling. "And I know that sir hero will surely be chosen by one of the strongest kingdoms."

Jay just smiled awkwardly in response. "Oh, look at the time. I think we should head back," Jay suddenly said.

"Oh, you are right, sir hero. We have been talking for so long that I actually forgot about the time. Alright, I'll take you back, sir hero. Right this way," she gestured.

"Okay, let's go back," Jay responded with a smile as they walked back to the kingdom.