There was no doubt—the Hero was a good person.
Even though he wasn’t particularly clever, and often handled things less than perfectly, he possessed a pure, small-town sincerity and kindness.
He was granted divine power by the heavens, yet lacked the divine disposition befitting a god.
As a result, the Hero never harbored grand ambitions to change the world.
All he had was a common, even useless, hot-blooded passion and deep compassion.
Even without considering personal gain, Liya was more than willing to be friends with someone like that—in her previous life, and even more so now.
Especially after experiencing the betrayal of the demon race and those godlike beings, she craved such rare and pure friendships all the more.
She actually enjoyed being with the Hero.
That was why acting cute came so naturally.
Unfortunately…
Liya sighed softly, thinking of her secret identity as the “Demon King” and the alluring temptation of power at her fingertips.
There was no denying it—she was the one who spoke of the “Mirror-like Heart,” an ambitious soul determined to change the world.
Though in her case, it was mostly because the world annoyed her, and she simply wanted it to suit her own heart.
That was all.
In terms of race, character, and ambition, she and the Hero were opposites.
No matter how much she admired the Hero, it was difficult for them to open their hearts and become true “friends.”
“Since all banquets must end,”
“Then before we part ways, let’s be ‘friends’ for a short while.”
“Not as Demon King and Hero, but as ‘Lili’ and ‘Jon.'”
Liya sighed with quiet emotion.
Once she made up her mind, she quickly gathered herself and continued devouring magic crystals to evolve.
As a vast number of magic crystals poured into her body, her energy swelled.
Visibly, her female form became more detailed—her flesh and skin gained clear, pinkish folds, and even long, thick, distinct eyelashes grew, making her innocent almond eyes even more captivating.
Liya understood—this was the result of her growing magic, allowing her ever finer control over her fluid body.
She knew better than anyone what a “human” looked like, but before, she lacked the control to create such details.
Once her control reached a certain level, some details naturally filled themselves in.
If she could grow eyelashes, then of course she could also “grow” fine, delicate tendrils, suction cups, even flesh buds…
—Ahem, she was becoming more and more like that mimetic creature from .
After evolving to Tier 3, Liya didn’t continue devouring more magic crystals.
Because after some testing, she discovered a serious problem:
“No way! Why are all the powdery pu-pu skills support-type?!”
The newly acquired skill upon reaching Tier 2, [Link].
It could consume magic power to link the lives and souls of different pu-pu together, allowing shared life force and direct mental communication across pheromone barriers.
The new skill upon reaching Tier 3, [Remodel].
It could reshape pu-pu forms, molding them into various shapes—square, cylindrical, mortise and tenon…
The greatest benefit was being able to remodel weapons summoned by pu-pu [Summon], such as turning a spear into a sword, or a sword into a bow.
Liya: “……”
A bizarre scene popped into her mind:
Several pu-pu stacked together—
“I’ll form the head!”
“I’ll form the right leg!”
“I’ll form the left arm!”
And inside, she shouted:
“I’ll form the Gatling!”
The strange fantasy ended with a “Jelly Gundam” wielding a pink Gatling and spraying water arrows everywhere.
[So deranged! But it kinda works!]
Now, even if she didn’t want to feed the pu-pu meat, she had no choice but to share it.
Liya guessed that, under normal circumstances, pu-pu functioned like this:
The powdery pu-pu acted as the “queen” of the tribe, leading the pu-pu family to settle, thrive, and seek sources of magic, summoning the pu-pu guard only when danger arose.
Unfortunately, humans stumbled upon the miraculous↗function↘ of powdery pu-pu, and the defenseless pu-pu became the fragrant companion for women, and the cup for men.
Without the queen’s core, the pu-pu tribe withered, ending up as they were now.
“Fine, to restore pu-pu glory, this king cannot refuse!”
“This sudden sense of mission…tsk, truly, meeting this king is your blessing.”
Liya searched the pu-pu group and found the two most outstanding contributors from the previous human boss hunt.
One was entirely dark, its stone spear stained with blood—the first mighty general of the pu-pu tribe who had followed Liya for a long time—Blackie.
The other was deep yellow, with a round body sparking with electricity—it had dealt the fatal blow in the boss hunt and had risen as a new pu-pu powerhouse—Liya decided to name it Pika.
To successfully deal with the boss, Liya had temporarily fused Pika to two stars, even granting it a trace of Hero’s magic to strengthen its weak electric ability.
It had both merit and outstanding performance, and considering the practicality of electric abilities, Liya decided to cultivate it first.
Of course, the old veteran couldn’t be neglected either.
Liya fed the magic crystals suited for both of them, and soon, both Blackie and Pika evolved to Tier 3, their heights soaring to over forty centimeters, bodies rivaling hunting dogs.
[Remodel] activated—Pika was molded into the shape of a large electric mouse, complete with the standard tail.
Blackie remained round, but its interior was now hollow, making it a hidden pu-pu treasure chest.
A ring-like outer layer formed along the edge, making it look much like Saturn.
Liya stuffed the remaining magic crystals into Blackie’s body, then inserted Pika’s tail into Blackie’s outer ring’s hidden groove, fitting it perfectly and seamlessly.
The next moment, Liya slapped Pika’s butt.
Pika received the pheromone command and dashed ahead, dragging Blackie behind as it rolled into an energy-saving spherical tire.
“Pu-pu life hack +1.”
Liya was very satisfied.
With this “Pula Machine,” she no longer needed to consume all the magic crystals immediately.
She could haul them back and use them sparingly.
If she ever ran out of magic in the future and needed a supplement, she could always take out her reserve hidden energy.
After all preparations were complete, Liya climbed atop General Pika, dragging General Blackie, and set off to reunite with the Hero.
—
At that moment.
Outside the castle, the magic transport vehicles were packed full of the grain they had moved out.
Jon carefully inspected the waterproof tarps on each vehicle to ensure there was no risk of leaks.
The village chief’s two sons sat in one of the vehicles, guarding several large chests of jewels.
The third son, Roye, looked nervous, frequently glancing out the window in search of Jon’s figure, seeking comfort from the tall, busy silhouette.
The second son, Luo Qi, gripped handfuls of Gold and grinned foolishly, utterly dazed.
Gold aside, he’d never seen this much Copper Kulun in his life.
“Brother, brother, feel this—this is Gold, it’s so cold and soft…”
Roye glared.
“Hey, be serious! We’re on duty! What if an enemy shows up and robs us? Even if we sold our whole family, we couldn’t afford to lose this much Gold!”
“The Hero is here. Who’d dare rob him?”
Luo Qi replied nonchalantly, shoving Gold into his brother’s hand.
“Here, feel it, just feel it. Who knows when you’ll get another chance?”
Suddenly, Roye tensed and shouted:
“Enough! Brother, look! A magic beast! There’s a magic beast approaching!”
Luo Qi glanced outside and couldn’t help laughing.
“Brother, you’re too jumpy. Isn’t that just a yellow mouse and a black pu-pu?”
“Is it, brother?”
Roye calmed down, blushing in embarrassment.
“Of course…”
Luo Qi peeked again, but his expression suddenly turned serious.
“Wait, that’s not right! The yellow mouse is pulling the black pu-pu! And they’re both way too big! Brother, go get the Hero!”
Roye hurried off to find Jon.
Jon received the news and went to check, but even from a distance, he recognized Liya atop the “yellow mouse.”
“It’s fine. They’re my pets.”
Jon pressed down Roye’s trembling hand from the sword hilt.
Only then did Roye relax and breathe easily.
He couldn’t help but ask:
“Hero, what kind of magic beasts are those? Why would they let a pu-pu ride them?”
Jon: “……”
He didn’t know either.
But he had a feeling this was yet another new ability Liya had gained after evolving as “Lili.”
At this thought, even Jon couldn’t help his curiosity.
If the weakest of all monsters, the powdery pu-pu, evolved into a high-tier magic beast, would it shed its “weakest” title?
Or…would it remain the “disgrace of high-tier magic beasts”?