Continue

The four of them reconvened at their training spot, and Anyi turned to Miruku, inquiring, "Miss Miruku, why do you think Mr. Layton didn't protect you well?"

"I ran too fast…" Miruku knelt smoothly on the ground, bowing her head toward Layton, her "Guilty" sign dangling perilously close to his shoulder.

"That's one aspect, and it's true—it was your fault," Anyi replied. "But Mr. Layton, where do you think the problem lies for you?"

"…"

Layton remained silent, shaking his head. Was there a problem with him? His agility was too low to keep up with Miruku's speed. As a midfielder, he needed to balance both offense and defense, and low agility seemed unavoidable. 

Was it his fault that his agility was low?

Anyi interrupted his thoughts. "You're unsure what to say, so I'll tell you. First, we're a team. Team battles aren't individual battles. In team battles, communication is key. When your teammate escapes your protection and you can't catch up, why don't you just tell them to stop?"

"This…!" Layton's eyes flickered as realization dawned on him. He nodded vigorously. "Okay! I understand!"

"Finally…" Anyi focused her gaze on Ariana. 

Ariana's expression was innocent. "I was just running in circles… I didn't do anything wrong?"

Anyi pointed at the invisible health bar above her head. "You can run in circles, but don't just stay in one place waiting to die. You must have seen the long red bar above everyone's head. It's our health points. As long as your health doesn't completely run out, you won't die. If you're not sure, just ask the system. In other words, you can run away while using Holy Healing instead of waiting around for your health to fully recover before taking action."

"Oh——!" Ariana's eyes brightened with understanding. 

So there was a way to operate under these conditions!

By normal reasoning, when injured, one would lie down to rest. But Heroes were different. As long as their health bar remained even a little, they could keep moving, opening their chests for surgery, breaking bones, or even dancing disco while bleeding. They could even jump off a building if they wanted!

Anyi's words not only guided Ariana but also enlightened Miruku. 

"Alright! Let's go again! Continue training!" Layton exclaimed with excitement. He now understood what he needed to do!

The three of them spread out again, with Ariana starting her circling routine, signaling the beginning of a new training round. 

As the training commenced, Layton turned to Miruku and bellowed, "Don't go! Wait behind me!"

"?!" 

Miruku's venomous armor trembled slightly as she curled into a ball, huddling in place. Fear washed over her, leaving her face pale.

"Wow——!! Mr. Layton scared Miruku to death!!" Ariana laughed as she ran.

Layton: "..."

Anyi: "..."

In the end, training concluded with Miruku trembling at the mere sight of Layton, hiding behind Anyi and Ariana to avoid his gaze. Layton felt the weight of her fear; he was truly hated. 

He recalled an important lesson: he could never yell at Miruku again…!

Anyi decided to let Layton take a break in the city to ease his sorrow, while he began communicating with Princess Karen. He intended to use Ariana and Miruku as training partners to gauge Karen's abilities.

"Princess Karen, have you allocated your attribute points yet?" Anyi asked.

"Not yet; I can't think of any attributes that would be useful for me," Karen replied, shaking her head.

"After becoming a Hero, you'll gain two initial skills. Do you know how to access them?" Anyi asked again.

"Of course," Karen nodded. 

Though she hadn't found teammates or engaged in battle since becoming a Hero, she had not been idle. She had dedicated plenty of time to researching her own abilities and understanding how to utilize the system.

"The first skill is [Far Pupils]. Its effect is to enhance my ability to see a wider range. The second skill is [Star Pupils]. As my level increases, it allows a certain number of teammates to share my abilities, meaning they can sense everything around them. Right now, I'm at level 1, so I can only share this with one teammate for now," Karen explained.

"Can I try it?" Anyi asked.

"Sure." Karen nodded lightly and closed her eyes.

Moments later, a buff named [Star Pupils] appeared in Anyi's status bar.

Suddenly, the world in his eyes transformed completely! To those watching from the outside, Anyi's eyes had turned gray and white. He shifted from his original first-person perspective to a third-person view, looking down upon the scene.

The entire world lost its color, reduced to stark black and white lines.

"What do you think? Sword Hero, this is the world through my eyes," Karen said.

As Anyi observed, subtitles automatically generated above her head, translating each word she spoke. 

"In this world, I can gather a wealth of information," Karen continued.

Immediately, in Anyi's downward view, data appeared above each of their heads.

At that moment, Anyi saw the information that Karen perceived.

[Name: Anyi · Carl

Gender: Male

Age: 18

Job: Sword Hero

Hero Level: 20

Strength: 27 Agility: 14 Endurance: 11

Durability: 11 Prana: 7 Intelligence: 10

Technique: Max]

Anyi concealed the data, though it remained glaringly visible in Karen's eyes. 

'So that's how it is…' 

He had often wondered why Karen was aware that he was the strongest among them, and now he understood. It also served as a reminder for Anyi.

'System, help me prevent all other Heroes from viewing my personal data.'

[Searching…

Search complete.

Closing data disclosure… Closed.

Hero-sama, you are great. From now on, other Heroes will not be able to view your data.]

As the voice faded, Anyi's personal data vanished from Karen's field of vision, including the shared ability that he himself could not see.

"Huh?" Karen frowned, perplexed. "Where's the Sword Hero's information? It was visible just now!"

After consulting the system, a line of words appeared above Anyi's head: 

[Hero has declined interview.]

Karen: "???"

"Sword Hero, what did you do?" she couldn't help but ask.

"I don't like being watched," Anyi replied coolly.

Karen was taken aback, then she smiled and nodded, "Okay."

A hint of mischief sparkled in her eyes. 

"Right, Sword Hero, let me show you something interesting." 

With that, Karen adjusted her vision, zooming in on Ariana's form. Gradually, the outer layer of her Holy Maiden robe began to fade away, followed by a layer of inner clothing, and finally…

As the view became translucent by one-third, revealing just the faintest outline, Karen suddenly chuckled, "Want to stop?"

In her eyes, Anyi appeared as a block of wood—serious, innocent, and undoubtedly conservative! She was eager to see Anyi's shy and embarrassed reaction.

Anyi replied, "No need, continue. I like to watch."

Karen: "?????"