My eyes opened to a blinding white.

  “No way.” My heart sank. “Did I just die?” Had my and Sabrina’s intimacy gotten me killed? “I mean, it was a lot, especially for my first time.” I began to drool as I remembered her flexibility. If I died because of that, then I welcomed death's embrace.

  “I finally get to see you again.” I jumped at the woman’s voice that came from behind me. I turned to see a stunning woman whom I could only describe as a goddess.

  Her short pink hair shifted as she tilted her head, and her rose quart eyes stared lovingly into mine. She made no attempt to get closer, but she held her arms behind her back while her gaze stared off into the void of white.

  Her countenance left much to be desired, as it looked like she had a lot she wanted to say, but her eyes told that she couldn’t. Her soft pink lips opened briefly but shut not soon after. I decided to be the one to break the silence.

  “Again?” I asked in confusion. I've never met this woman before, so her statement left me in a state of confusion.

  She looked at me with a sad smile. “You’ve gotten stronger.”

  “I…guess I have.” I scratched the back of my head with a mumble.

  “Sooner than I anticipated.” She looked at the ground, that is, if there was one. “I’m glad.”

  “It’s not like I’m overpowered or anything,” I grunted. “It seems that my stats scale differently than everyone else's. It’s like me having one thousand strength is the equivalent of twenty-five, or less, for everyone else.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “When everyone else was level ten, they received their class. At first, that made me believe your class was assigned from your level, but I still didn’t have one after reaching level ten. That’s when I realized it was based on your stats. My stats just reached over one thousand, but no one else’s stats are that high. Normally, I would think I was OP, but seeing as I was just informed I met the minimum requirements for class assignment, it confirmed how weak I was. No matter what those numbers say, my stats are equivalent to a level ten.”

  “Is that so?” She giggled. The sound was similar to the flapping of an angel's wings. “You’re funny.”

  “And you’re weird,” I remarked. “Now, why am I here? How did I die?”

  “Die?” She queried. “You didn’t die; I brought you here for training.”

  “Training? Why the hell would you do that?” I scoffed. “It's far better to restart your run than it is to try and save it.”

  “You aren’t in need of saving,” she stepped forward. “You just need to realize.” Her hand rested softly on my cheek, and the sweet smell of roses filled my nostrils.

  “R-Realize?” I stuttered nervously.

  Could you blame me? She was gorgeous. A genuine goddess stood right in front of me. I couldn’t help but get tongue-tied. Add her beauty to her enticing smell, and I was bound to fumble the bag.

  “Y-Yes. R-Realize.” She giggled as she mocked my stutter.

  “Realize w-what?”

  Her hand caressed my cheek until it rested on my chest. “That you’re lying to yourself.”

  “Huh?”

  “I chose you for a reason, Sion.” She gently rested her head on my chest. I knew she heard my fast-beating heart, and she closed her eyes as she listened. “You’re nervous.”

  “Not nervous, anxious.”

  “Why?”

  “Have you seen yourself? You’re a literal goddess.”

  “I know I am.”

  “That’s a bit conceited.”

  “It’s true.” She pulled away to look into my eyes. “And you’re my hero.”

  “I’m no hero,” I scoffed. “Nor do I want to be.”

  “You saved that party.”

  “Out of pity,” I remarked. “I had no desire to save them, not genuinely. I only did it because dying in the first dungeon is pathetic as hell.”

  “Everybody gets one, right?”

  “Exactly. Everybody gets one.”

  “What about Nia? You saved her, didn’t you?”

  “Well, yeah. For one, she’s a cat girl. Two, I needed her to help me farm experience since I’m too weak to do it alone.”

  “Those were the only reasons you saved her?” She tilted her head.

  “Yep. You must think I’m rotten, don’t you?”

  I wouldn’t blame her if she did think that, because it was true. Those were the only reasons I had done what I did. I saved Nia for my own benefit, and the only reason I chose to save her was because she was a cat girl. Had she been Human, I would have left her there and found another way. I only saved the Hero and his party because I didn’t want to see a pathetic end to a pathetic party. Dying in the first dungeon was pitiful, and had I watched them die to such an easy boss encounter, I probably would have laughed.

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  It wasn’t because Rubellia and her cries. It wasn’t because they had begged for my help. It was because I pitied them. Not guilt, not obligation, and not a desire to appease to their pleas. It was pity. Nothing more, nothing less.

  “I don’t.” My eyes widened at her response. “And even if I did, it doesn’t change the fact that I still chose you.” Her smile was soft, not even exposing her teeth, yet it was still radiant.

  “What do you mean you chose me?” I inquired. “You’ve said that twice now.”

  “I told you, you’re my hero.” She pulled me into her soft, voluptuous chest. “And you promised to be mine.”

  My face flushed, and I welcomed her loving embrace as I closed my eyes. “I’ve never met you before. How could I have promised that?” She said nothing, but I felt a shift in her posture.

  “I’m not surprised you don’t remember.” She spoke softly. “You asked me to wipe your memories of me because if I didn’t, you’d never long for another woman again. And we couldn’t have that.” She pushed away gently. “You’re the Hero of Love, after all.”

  “Hero of Love? Wipe my memories of you?” I frowned, trying to remember.

  “You said you’d win for me. That you’d build a harem to grow stronger than all the other Heroes of Love in the past, who settled down after getting the one they love.”

  “Why would I need a harem,” I looked into her eyes. “If I could just have you?”

  She smiled and stroked my head as she pulled me back to her chest, smoothing out the ruffled parts of my hair. “That’s the second time you’ve said that.” Her cheeks had a soft blush. “I’m glad to know that, even with your memories wiped, your feelings never changed.” My hands clasped the back of her dress.

  I didn’t want to forget her. Why would I have ever chosen to forget her? Why would I ever offer to build a harem if she was already mine? She was the pinnacle of beauty, love, and kindness. Her eyes were filled with a light I’d never seen before, the kind that illuminated the darkest parts of me that I locked away. She didn’t recoil, judge, or hesitate to hold me. She embraced me for everything that I was. She was different.

  Sabrina, for whatever reason, saw something in me: potential. But what she saw wasn’t me. She had the wrong idea, believing I could grow into a worthy Successor. She made a mistake choosing me, so I did my best to meet her expectations.

  I soloed the dungeon, but only because of the cloak she had given me. Without it, I would have failed. I did my best to put on a show in front of her, going so far as to role-play as someone I wasn’t. I acted cocky like I was holding back and playing with them, but I wasn’t. I was trying my best, and it was only because of my luck that I got where I was.

  Nia saw me as weak. As someone she needed to protect because I was. Out in the real world, when I wasn’t using the cloak Sabrina had given me, she needed to protect me. Without her, I was a helpless rabbit. She pitied me; no matter what she said, I knew it was pity; the same pity I had felt for the trio. She didn’t want to leave me because I had saved her from slavery, and after finding out how weak I was, she devoted herself to protecting me.

  That was why I needed to grow

  stronger. I had to do whatever it took so that I no longer needed to rely on others. I wanted them to live their life, for Nia to live her life freely and without obligation. If she could see me grow, she would leave, realizing I no longer needed protection. If I gained unparalleled power, I could meet Sabrina’s expectations, and she would no longer worry about me the way she had.

  I made her cry. I made them both cry because they were scared of losing me. Because I could easily be lost, done in by a simple slime. I could only imagine the anxiety and turmoil they felt when I was out of their sight, constantly worrying and wondering if I was okay. If I was safe and still alive.