Chapter 209: Minimalistic Levelling |
In the dark cave, a drop of filthy water fell, suspended in mid-air, before it touched the ground.
Gu Qianqian stared at the droplet that reflected her bat’s light, and she touched it lightly, only to see that the water droplets scattered from her finger’s push as if they were in a zero-G environment.
The next moment, everything returned to normal, and the droplets fell quickly.
The twisted monster in the darkness roared, and its powerful noise seemed to scream with the wails of countless tortured people.
The cumulation of thousands of years of sin is rippling out in waves.
Close by, the Witch’s body was suspended in mid-air, and her eyes were tightly shut, as if she had fallen into a deep sleep. On her delicate face, a lava-like liquid spread across her blood vessels, and her deep-red hair flowed despite the lack of wind.
The scorching heat and bloodlust spread out from her tiny body, sweeping through the cave like a tornado.
The tiny, deformed babies were caught in between these two terrifying waves of energy and immediately scattered into the safe crevices of the darkness.
“S-system? What’s happening?”
“Don’t do anything stupid; just step back.”
It didn’t know why the World Ender was trying to suppress the presence in the darkness with her own powers, but it knew that if Gu Qianqian were to intervene, it would be like a three-year-old prancing into a battlefield of warriors.
“Coach!”
As soon as her words fell and she opened her eyes, she could feel light and warmth on her face, and she found herself back on the rooftop of the tall building.
The moonlight above framed the night sky. The stars were dim, shining their light upon the devastated earth.
The fire rampaging through the city was extinguished at some point, leaving only scorch marks.
It was lifeless, and something wasn’t right.
Her hair hung upside-down, and she soon realised that the world was quite literally turned upside down.
“Back here again?”
A mysterious voice rang in her ears, and she looked around, seeing a strange figure approaching her.
She wore a long, black dress intertwined with gorgeous red lace. The low-cut design showcased her perfect figure, and with every step, her slender white legs would reveal themselves as her snow-white hair swayed gently behind her.
“Ta-da!” she stepped, stopping right in front of Yibei.
A literal goddess with an enchanting aura stood before her, and she was dangerously enchanting.
She took off her high heels, threw them aside, and laid down next to Yibei.
Turning her face sideways to look at her, the tip of her nose was less than a finger away from her own, and her eyelashes were like feathery fans.
You see, this could feel romantic, but given the circumstances…
“Who are you? And where is my, uh, trainer? Coach?”
The girl was stunned for a moment before smiling: “You don’t recognise me in this form, do you?”
“W-wait,” recognition flashed in her eyes. “It’s y-you! I haven’t seen you in a few days, so why are you… And why is your chest so big now? Are you taking hormones?”
The girl sneakily puffed out her chest and asked, “Isn’t my Witch form great? Do you want to touch it?”
Her eyes swept over the rather obscene ravine on her chest, and a strange feeling washed over her—as if she were looking at her own reflection, even though she looked completely different from her.
The girl laughed, conjuring a box of cigarettes and a silver lighter in her hands and lighting them.
“Need a hit?”
“No, thank you, and I don’t like sharing saliva.”
“Well, you called for me. What’s the issue?”
“Yes!” she suddenly remembered. “We are in big trouble right now, so train me right now! With anything!”
The girl simply sighed as she inhaled her cigarette and said, “I told you, you can’t rely on dream training like this, you know. At least, it won’t be able to help you forever, let alone…”
“Forget it,” the girl stopped. “Have you ever paid to level up in a video game?”
“No,” she said, gritting her teeth. “That’s pay-to-win, and I don’t like that.”
“It’s the same way here,” the girl said, smiling. “If you learn something powerful here, then use it in real life immediately; your body won’t be able to handle it. Your body will slowly deteriorate without you realising it, and one day, you might just drop dead on the streets. You might just lose ten years off your life by doing this.”
“Then, how many years do I have left? I need to see how many times I can use a trump card before dying.”
“Now, how would I know that?”
“Tsk, I thought somebody as powerful as you would know how many hairs are on my body.”
The girl sighed, patted Yibei’s shoulder, and asked, “Are you sure you want to take the risk?”
“Uh, preferably not, but is there any other way?”
I guess, the girl thought. “It’s a more minimalist version, but it’ll take up fewer years of your lifespan!”
“Okay… What are the differences?”
“No difference; it should help you win your battle regardless.”
She suddenly thought of Gu Qianqian facing the darkness alone and the baby in her arms. A look of determination flashed in her eyes.
“I accept it. I need the power now.”
“Oh, I already knew you were going to do so long ago, so it’s already pre-installed in your brain. Just start chanting, and it should work.”
Well, don’t help me make decisions, even though I would choose this now.
The girl flicked her cigarette away and looked at her with serious eyes: “Lu Yibei, while we still have some time left, let’s talk.”
“Okay, what do you want to talk about? Politics, video games, that doujin of Bai Xiaohua…”
“You’re a pervert!” the girl spat. “That’s not what I meant by talk; I was going to tell you to work hard and become stronger! Master the power in your body, so you don’t have to come back to me for help! I don’t want to see you ever again!”
“…why?”
“Because I have my own things to do,” she smiled. “One day, I might not be able to answer your call.”
As soon as her words fell, the surroundings shook violently, and a loud roar of a beast could be heard.
The world tilted, shifting back to its upright position.
Yibei couldn’t maintain her balance and slid towards the edge of the roof.
The sky was cloudy, and the lead-coloured clouds condensed into a funnel shape as if something was about to fall into it.
“Come on! You son of a bitch!” the girl yelled into the sky.
Her eyes were like a golden sea, submerging the red in her pupils. A long katana that seemed to be made of lava appeared in her hand, and she leapt into the sky.
With a single slash, the clouds seemed to be ignited into a fiery red, and dazzling light quickly shuttled through the clouds.
Watching the girl fight the unknown enemy, she fell deep into her thoughts.
Every time I come to her, she seems to be fighting something. What is it?
It seems dangerous.
Will she…
She could feel her consciousness waver in the dreamscape, and she yelled at the girl, “Hey, don’t die!”
The girl sneered as her voice boomed across the sky: “I will die on my own terms! Nothing—not even death—will come to claim me!”
Don’t be so confident like that!
She complained in her heart, and the surroundings morphed back into the deep, dark crevices of the cave.
In the pit.
Under the guidance of the system, Gu Qianqian ran through the endless cave until the Witch’s figure was only a black dot in her vision.
“We’re far enough; let’s rest here!” the system instructed. “We need to hide and watch carefully. This is a rare opportunity to pick up on her weaknesses.”
“Got it!”
However, the sound of Yibei chanting a spell in a low voice echoed through the cave.
“Golden palace; jade house; iron walls…”
“Golden palaces and jade houses; iron walls; dragon tails; phoenix wings…”
“Golden palaces and jade houses; iron walls and a dragon tail; phoenix wings and a tortoiseshell; spread thy radiance, and grant me power.”
Listening to the three successive chants, the system was frightened.
Three spells at once?
How did the World Ender get access to the Night Division’s array of forbidden spells and incantations?
Even if she devoured their Operators, she wouldn’t be able to obtain this information!
For a moment, the system felt as if the difficulty had risen from [Hell] to [No Survival].
“Gu Qianqian… You should go kiss her feet.”
“System, what did you say?” she said, cradling the baby. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Forget it.”
The system flinched in fear. It wanted to trust Gu Qianqian, but…
Suddenly, countless white lights like stars lit up in the dark cave, and a sky-piercing roar echoed through the cave, like the roars of dragons and phoenixes.
Thousands of rays of light like meteors scattered and flew in all directions, and the lights transformed themselves into legendary beasts that galloped around, filling this place that had never seen light with a dazzling blessing.
The twisted monster let out a horrified scream: To be stained with light is to have its body torn apart.
The terrifying screams became high-pitched, and the sinful screams of cursed souls spread in the air, causing the cave to vibrate violently.
“Gu Qianqian, brace yourself!”
“Wh-”
The cave began to shake as the cave system collapsed upon them. Ferocious cracks spread on the ground, and suddenly, it was weightless within the cave.
The ground seemed to open up, and in the chaos, the monster’s body was torn in half. Half of it was devoured by the light, while the other half quickly retreated into the darkest parts of the pit.
At the edge of the pit, the ceremony continued even after the Old Lady fell into the pit.
Weird and eerie prayers hovered over the pit, and scarlet lanterns swayed in the wind.
Roar!
As if it were an illusion, they heard what sounded like the screams of a dragon before it was killed.
Amidst the mournful screams, a pale light rose into the sky from the bottomless pit, staining the ever-grey sky with light as if it were a beacon signalling to the villagers that they could return to their homes.
Perhaps it was because they were used to the darkness, but when they saw the sky turning bright, fear rose in their hearts.
Soon, waves of foul-smelling smoke filled the air and exploded, spilling pus and blood all over the ground and staining the earth red.
Gu Qianqian fell into the darkness again before she hit the ground. The white light soon reached her, but she could also see countless golden stars in her vision.
It wasn’t until it was all dark again that she regained her consciousness. She rubbed her painful joints and got up.
As soon as she woke up, she heard the sound of soft footfalls coming from a cave not far away.
She supported herself on the walls and walked in the direction of the sound, and she could see the Witch with her head pressed against the stone wall, and she ran in place as if there were no stone wall in front of her.
“System, do you think she’s gone crazy?”
“I-I don’t know. Perhaps there’s a more sinister reason? Like something hiding behind that stone wall.”
“Really?” Gu Qianqian replied. “Why does it look like… she’s stuck in the wall trying to get out like an NPC?”
The system sighed. Does she really think that Witches are dumb AIs in a video game?
However, the Witch fell to the ground face first, but she still continued to run.
“Maybe she is stuck.”
