Arthur

Aria was stunned at Arthur's demand. She only came here to find people with good prospects at being a Hero, but when she thought she had finally found one, her entire hopes were shattered as he asked for money.

"U-Um... H-How about telling me your name first. I-I'm Aria. Aria Selvenia, third princess of the country. You are?"

"Oh great. Another Aria Selvenia. There's been an awful lots of you lately, huh?"

"H-Huh?..."

Aria was stunned at her saviours word. She was implying that she was fake! How rude!

"U-Um...I'm not sure what you mean, but I AM a princess..."

"Oh! Then that's good! How about you pay up then." Arthur spoke with a little glee in her voice.

Aria's mouth gaped at the shameless girl in front of her. Even though she introduce herself as a boy, she wasn't an idiot to believe her. After all...

'Her boobs are even bigger than mine...' Aria thought as she glanced over Arthur's faint bulges beneath her clothes.

It wasn't that Aria was flat, she just hadn't started developing yet. Yes, that was all there is to it. And that's what the person herself thinks.

As for Arthur, she knew that the girl in front of her may not be the real deal, but at least she looked rich. So she can just pay up, right?

"So? You paying up or not?" Arthur asked as she once again spread out her palms in front of Aria.

"Actually—"

I have no money. She was about to say it when she was suddenly cut off by a voice.

"There you are! You damn brats. You think I'd let my money bag go just like that, huh?"

"Yeah. It was sure damn tough searchin' for ya!"

It had seemed that the thugs had followed them, and had managed to find their location. Cold sweat streaked down Arthur's face as she clenched her fists, while Aria's eyes lit up and spoke to Arthur.

"See? You didn't manage to save me in the end. So I don't have to pay up now, right?" She said as she pointed a finger at the thugs' direction.

Arthur "..."

Lancell "..."

Arkenvalle "..."

The two thugs "..."

Lancell and Arkenvalle was speechless and wondered what was going on in her brain, Arthur was regretting she even saved this bird brain, and the two thugs, who wasn't actually stupid, figured out the situation from the young girl's words. They had known Arthur before, so they knew her modus operandi.

And it seems the young girl was almost pressured into paying up.

The thugs were a bit speechless by the happy-go-lucky princess, but they managed to recompose themselves and spoke.

"Ahem...Anyway...Leave all your belongings, brat!"

"Yeah! Yeah! My bruh here is scary when he's mad ya know!"

They then took out a knife as they approached the two. Arthur took involuntarily took a step back. The situation was a bit tight, and he was deliberating whether to scram or to extort the girl beside him.

'Shit! Just when I thought I got a big fish...Damn it!'

Arthur cursed inwardly as she decided it wasn't going to be worth getting injured just to save a complete stranger. And when she was thinking when to run...

"Oh, is that so? Should I be terrified then?"

A voice spoke from behind the thugs. All the parties present were surprised from the intrusion, but before anyone could react, a kick suddenly hit the burly thug's flank as it made a solid thud upon contact.

The thug was blown to the side as he them slammed into a wall, god knows if he would still survive.

Lancell didn't spare another glance at the thug he just kicked, and walked towards Arthur and Aria.

Aria's eyes was shining as she was wondering whether she finally found the 'star' she was looking for, so she asked.

"Did you come to save us?"

Lancell looked at her as if looking at an idiot, and denied. "Nope. I'm here to kidnap someone."

Silence.....

Lancell ignored the painful silence as he walked towards Arthur. Arthur panicked as he started making a run for it, but as a normal girl with no cultivation, how could she run from a Level 33 in the Second Step?

Lancell caught her instantly and carried her with her stomach on his shoulder. She flailed her legs as she tried to resist. "Let me go you asshole! I swear if you try anything funny I'll bite off your dick!"

Lancell ignored all her vulgar whining as he kept walking. Leaving behind a still stunned Aria. All that Aria could do was mutter.

"What just happened..."

◇◇◇

"Hey! I said let me go!"

Arthur was still resisting Lancell's hold, but Lancell was too strong and wouldn't even budge. Without glancing at her, Lancell spoke.

"Just shut up, will you? We want to make an experiment, and you're the perfect subject."

"Huh?! What do you mean experiment?! Urgh....! What is with this strength?! Are you a Warrior?!"

"Yes. So shut up and don't worry. If it's successful, you'll gain tremendous power, I assure."

Arthur suddenly went silent at the word 'power'. She was a resident of this Slum District, so she knew much having power would mean in this place. She wanted power, she was sick of her dangerous life here in the slums, and most of all, she hated being weak.

She clenched her fist in frustration and a tiny bit of anticipation. "Hey." She called out.

"Will it really make me stronger?" She asked.

"I'm not sure, we've never done this before."

"And the chances it'd work?"

"Not sure either. But I'm sure there's no side effects in failing."

Arthur furrowed her brows at Lancell's statement, as she asked. "Is there really such a sweet deal in the world?"

Arthur seriously doubted, but Lancell only explained in a vague manner.

"No. There isn't but thank your past self in your past life for taking a certain weakling as a disciple."

Arthur was the person who had taught Lancell how to cultivate. Right after the Fifth Wave, everyone despaired at the increasingly powerful monsters that appeared to no end. As such, many had resorted to giving everyone their Guidance Tomes as they asked to fight together.

And Arthur, a Hero at the Third Step, was the one who took Lancell as a disciple, and introduced him towards the path that he could Tread.

And that was how he started his path as a Hero.