Chapter 534 - 532: Every Villain

Above the sky, the shadow of the Ascension God Stairs fully solidified, transforming into a luminous staircase.

Of course, only the topmost part solidified.

The part of the staircase hanging down gradually turned transparent as it descended, eventually vanishing into the air.

Vaguely, Hilia felt a connection between herself and the Ascension God Stairs.

She returned to Misa Town.

At this moment, the villagers in Misa Town were all attracted by the luminous Ascension God Stairs, gathering in the small square in the center of the village, pointing and discussing animatedly about the stairs.

Hilia’s appearance prompted many villagers to nod at her amicably.

She helped them collect various odds and ends and ran errands, earning the villagers’ goodwill.

Everyone knew her as the ’big fool’.

This expression made Hilia feel very uncomfortable.

The village chief was also among the crowd.

He looked excitedly at the Ascension God Stairs above the sky and expressed his gratitude to Hilia: "Thank you, traveler from afar, finally, we see the Ascension God Stairs shining brightly again, it’s still as enchanting as ever."

Hilia looked at the village chief, curiously asking: "Village chief, why are you so excited? Does the solidification of the Ascension God Stairs bring any benefit to the village?"

The village chief shook his head: "No benefit, but it looks beautiful."

"Really?"

Hilia pondered.

This village always gave her a peculiar feeling.

Hilia felt that the village chief must be hiding something.

If it had nothing to do with the village, why would he be so excited?

Excited by the scenic beauty?

Probably not.

After all, no matter how beautiful the scenery is, it shouldn’t evoke such a fervent excitement as if seeing the Gods.

Maybe the solidification of the Ascension God Stairs had some special significance for the village.

And this special significance might be the key to ascending.

From the sensation emanating from the Ascension God Stairs, Hilia could feel that the light would slowly dim after reaching a certain brightness.

The period from brightening to dimming seemed to be about ten hours.

Not urgent, yet urgent.

The scene here was quite fixed.

Hilia had been carrying out tasks for a while, yet the sun in the sky didn’t move at all, hanging motionless, fixed in one spot.

Considering that this was Subspace, Hilia wasn’t too concerned about it.

However...

Hilia raised her head to look at the sun.

"After the Ascension God Stairs lit up, the sun seemed to move."

Hilia looked at the village chief and asked: "Village chief, when the Ascension God Stairs lit up, would the village enter nighttime?"

The village chief paused and replied: "Even without the light, night always arrives, traveler from afar, what are you thinking, nowhere exists without nighttime."

This willful disregard for danger was too blatant.

Hilia silently mocked in her heart, her face expressionless, merely nodding, "I understand."

This village was very strange, previously Hilia hadn’t thought much about it, but now, with the Ascension God Stairs lit up, she sensed impatience and concealment from the village chief...

As for what exactly was being concealed and impatient about, Hilia wasn’t sure for now.

But soon she will understand.

Because the sun was moving rapidly, in less than two hours, it would set, welcoming the night.

Before that, Hilia planned to do one thing—

Go out to continue hunting the demons outside.

The sensation from the Ascension God Stairs told her this was the best time to harness external magic power.

The Ascension God Stairs would help her transform from novice to proficient, without being as troublesome as before.

Thus, Hilia no longer concerned herself with matters inside the village, heading outside, slowly fighting until the sun set.

After the sun set, she looked at the demon before her, at the brink of reaching the third level’s limit, raising her hand, prepared to finish off the opponent.

But suddenly, she heard the demon in front of her speak, "Traveler, spare me, do not kill me."

Hilia paused, surprised at the two-headed scorpion before her.

It seemed to have awakened something, trembling with fear.

"You can talk?"

"Yes, yes."

Seeing Hilia halt her attack, it quickly said:

"The people in Misa Town are all demons, traveler, please leave here quickly, they collect our tails to enhance their strength, and when night falls, they possess formidable power... you won’t defeat them, run away."

"Run?" Hilia’s lashes fluttered, "There’s no ’run’ word in my dictionary, and why should I believe your words?"

Just as she spoke, a voice came, "Dear traveler, whom are you talking to?"

Hilia looked up to see a muscular man guarding the village entrance, holding a long spear, along with another person approaching, smiling at Hilia.

Hilia frowned at them, sensing an indiscernible malice, and said coldly, "Stop immediately, or else I’ll attack."

"What are you saying, traveler from afar, we are very thankful to you, come, the village is hosting a banquet to thank you for making the Ascension God Stairs shine again, the village chief asked us to find you to join the feast."

As they spoke, the two moved closer.

The sense of danger quickly enveloped her, and Hilia unhesitatingly cast the Ice Shield Skill, layering it multiple times.

Then, she summoned the magic puppet for sustained combat support and healing.

In the next moment, the spear pierced through layers of ice shields, wedged between them, less than a meter from Hilia.

"Fourth-level strength?"

Hilia raised an eyebrow, lifting her magic staff, immediately conjuring a spell harnessing external magic power.

Since the opponent attacked, Hilia didn’t hold back.

Simultaneously, she discovered her spellcasting was smoother.

A subtle enlightenment prompted Hilia to quickly alter her approach, a huge ice cone emerged from the sky.

Fourth-level spell—

Ice Crystal Missile!

A spell once used by Rose against the Sea God’s mount, Blue-winged Seahorse, now wielded by Hilia.

The sensation was smooth, nothing like the struggle when using a third-level spell.

It felt as if she had stepped into the fourth level.

But Hilia knew she hadn’t advanced.

The reason for this was the enhancement from the Ascension God Stairs.

When the two guards retracted their spears and continued their assault, the enormous ice cone from the sky descended, striking the guards fiercely.

Boom!

A loud crash echoed.

Hilia pointed her magic staff.

"Explode!"

Bang!

The Ice Burst Skill triggered the impact of the Ice Crystal Missile to explode again.

A fog of ice and sandstorm erupted.

After a while, as the icy fog and sandstorm settled, the scene emerged before Hilia’s eyes.

"They survived?"

Seeing the two barely alive individuals, Hilia was somewhat surprised.

Their skin was ripped apart, not a single area uninjured, yet they endured.

As Hilia considered whether to directly eliminate them, she suddenly felt a violent fluctuation of magic power around, concentrating onto the two men.

As the magic power gathered, their wounds rapidly healed.

"They can still recover?"

Upon seeing this, Hilia didn’t hesitate any longer, directly controlling the magic puppet to advance, thrusting the Ten Thousand Lights Sword into their hearts.

The next second, they transformed into a ray of light, soaring upward, merging into the Ascension God Stairs.

Hilia felt it, the Ascension God Stairs grew brighter.

The section extending downward not only solidified but also stretched a bit toward the ground.

"Could it be..."