The blue team arrived at the center of the island following Kimchi-seung.

Of course, the red team was tailing them, but they were still unaware.

In the center altar, a purple orb was placed.

“There it is. If we take that purple orb back to the base camp, we win.”

“Then what’s the point of the scoreboard at the base camp? If the orb decides the winning team, isn’t the score useless?”

“I’m not sure about the score either, but I heard we can use it to buy stuff at a point store or something?”

The production team of [Birth of a Hero] had borrowed various items, including artifacts, from the Association and Guilds.

They planned to showcase a point store using the scores before the next mission.

Kimchi-seung only vaguely knew about it and didn’t have the full details.

“…It feels like the winning team will split again and compete, so the idea of buying stuff with points seems a bit weird.”

Shin Hyeon-joo thought that if the blue team won this mission, the red team would be eliminated, leaving only the blue team to compete among themselves.

If that happened, who would the points earned by the blue team go to?

No matter how they distributed it, fairness would become an issue.

“Take that up with the production team… I’m just a minor role here, and my part ends with this mission.”

They couldn’t just randomly pull heroes into the show.

Their absence could cause issues in South Korea’s public safety.

Only heroes who were on break or had some flexibility in their assigned areas were recruited.

Heroes like Kimchi-seung, who had important roles, had to finish one scenario and return to their duties.

This was only possible because of the support from the Guilds.

“…The production team will handle it. It’s not like anything will change if I complain. Anyway, I’m glad the points have some use. I was worried all this hero rescue and villain suppression stuff was pointless.”

“Well… if we don’t win, it might all be pointless, right?”

Kimchi-seung’s cryptic response made Shin Hyeon-joo uneasy.

“…What are you talking about? Is there something more going on?”

“Like I said earlier… I’m done here. From now on, it’s your problem to handle.”

“That’s so cheap… We fought together, risking our lives, and now you’re pulling this?”

“To be precise, I never risked my life, and I fought *against* you guys, not with you. We’re more like enemies than comrades. Anyway, I’m playing the villain here.”

“…”

“Anyway, good luck. I’m just a spectator now.”

Kimchi-seung climbed up a nearby tree.

Unlike the judges watching through monitors, he was observing the scene firsthand.

When he finished his role and left, even the judges let out sighs of disappointment.

Watching through monitors and seeing it live were different, so it was natural to envy Kimchi-seung.

“It feels like there’s more to this, so let’s stay alert and return carefully.”

“Yes!”

Just as Shin Hyeon-joo was about to pick up the glowing purple orb, a fluttering talisman flew toward her.

“Whoosh—”

“…Taoist Girl!”

“Don’t call me that, you Elf Girl!”

The two, who had bonded during the preliminaries, exchanged greetings.

As Shin Hyeon-joo drew an arrow to shoot at the talisman, it turned to ash mid-air.

A strong gust of wind blew in, sending Shin Hyeon-joo flying.

The orb, however, remained unmoved.

‘Seems like it can’t be controlled by wind.’

Cha Seo-rin of the red team, who had been waiting for an opportunity, was testing the orb’s properties.

“Ambush! Block them!”

“Break through! The orb is ours!”

The red team hadn’t expended much energy on hero rescues or villain suppression.

Though a few participants had fallen into traps or were out gathering information, about 40 participants remained.

The blue team, however, had sent many members back to the base camp, and it would take time for them to return.

Only about 20 members were left.

40 vs. 20.

The blue team had to overcome double the odds to win.

“Kuhahaha! The axe is coming out!”

Except for Ragna, who was thrilled by the number of enemies, the blue team’s morale was low.

Shin Hyeon-joo desperately fired arrows to hold back the red team, but Cha Seo-rin’s wind gusts sent the arrows flying in random directions, sometimes even hitting her own teammates.

Though the arrowheads weren’t lethal, Park Seol-hwa’s technology ensured that repeated hits or hits to vital areas would suppress magic power, similar to villain-restraint devices.

The same applied to swords, axes, and spears.

With the risk of death almost eliminated, both sides fought without hesitation.

After about 30 minutes, only four members of the blue team remained, while the red team still had around 20.

Most were rookies who had recently awakened, unable to fully utilize their abilities or magic power.

This meant no one could dominate the battlefield, and everyone was both a damage dealer and a tank.

In such a situation, quantity mattered more than quality.

The red team’s victory seemed inevitable.

“Give up yet?”

“That’s so cheap! Sneaking up from behind and betraying us is something only villains would do!”

“Uh… are you insulting heroes right now?”

“Since when?!”

Cha Seo-rin laughed triumphantly, while Shin Hyeon-joo was slightly flustered but maintained her composure.

“Didn’t you hear the interview with the hero who solved the 2019 Goseong bombing incident? They followed the suspect, a villain, and raided their base to capture the terrorist group.”

“…That’s… as a hero…”

Shin Hyeon-joo was at a loss for words, experiencing a phenomenon similar to Taruula.

“Elf Girl, you lost the argument, lost the fight… you lost everything. We’ll take this, okay?”

Hwang Bo-seung chimed in beside Cha Seo-rin.

The two, who had once been rivals for the team leader position, now made a perfect partnership against the enemy team.

As Hwang Bo-seung reached for the orb, Ragna, with bloodshot eyes, charged at him.

Ragna, the altar, and Hwang Bo-seung were in a straight line.

When Hwang Bo-seung dodged, Ragna’s body crashed into the altar.

***

“Is this finally the climax?”

“Shouldn’t we go and watch it live at this point?”

“Go ask PD Choi. Watching a fight live is more fun…”

The judges pressured the production team, not wanting to miss the live action.

“No. There are still participants moving around in other areas… If we go, it might introduce subjective bias…”

“What are you talking about? Except for this scenario, we’ve always gone to score in person.”

Jeong Gyeoul started arguing.

Though PD Choi and the other heroes were always intimidated by Jeong Gyeoul’s strong presence, he decided to stand firm for the program.

His hunched shoulders and bent back weren’t from Jeong Gyeoul’s pressure but just his natural posture.

“…That was unavoidable due to the circumstances…”

When Jeong Gyeoul’s intervention didn’t resolve the issue, Park Seol-hwa stepped in.

“If we’re talking about subjectivity, isn’t watching through monitors, which are influenced by the cameramen’s perspectives, worse? They’re not even industry professionals or involved in judging.”

“…If it were just the camera director and VJ’s footage, maybe, but we have drones, action cams, and fixed cameras…”

The PD, sweating nervously, tried to defend the setup.

“Are the drones controlled by ancestors? Action cams are on the participants, so they could deliberately capture only bad angles. And who set up the fixed cameras? The production team, right?”

True to her reputation of pushing through her proposals despite opposition in Guild meetings, Park Seol-hwa shut down the production team’s arguments.

She shrugged her shoulders, as if to say, “See my skills?”

“Wait… isn’t that a Dimensional Stone?”

Jeong Ha-yul, who had been watching the situation on the monitor, spoke up.

Only then did everyone stop pressuring the production team and turn their attention to the monitor.

“What? Why is that here?”

“That’s really hard to find, sis. If Dimensional Stones were that easy to spot, I’d have been traveling to the Demon Realm like it was a vacation home.”

Even in the Demon Realm, it took the combined efforts of all the Lord’s subordinates to find a Dimensional Stone.

The production team had created an Awakened One audition program, mobilizing all S-Class heroes as judges, which was already a massive undertaking.

They needed a gimmick for the scenario, and coincidentally, it turned out to be the Dimensional Stone.

The odds of that happening were like winning a cross-dimensional lottery.

But…

“…Yeah. It’s a Dimensional Stone.”

Jeong Gyeoul, who had turned to the monitor, nodded in confirmation.

“…Why is it here?”

“…Is something big about to happen?”

As everyone debated whether to stop the program or retrieve the orb-disguised Dimensional Stone, Ragna, who had charged at Hwang Bo-seung, destroyed the altar where the Dimensional Stone was placed.

“What the hell…”

Jeong Gyeoul’s wide-eyed, open-mouthed expression made everyone tremble with anxiety.