Sonya’s lips moved slightly, and she soon smiled and shrugged: “I was just passing by and thought the titles of these two books looked interesting, so I picked them up to take a look. There’s no particular purpose. I’ll put them back if they turn out to be not good.”
Sylvia nodded thoughtfully: “You don’t have to explain it to me in such detail…”
Seemingly aware that Sonya was feeling flustered, Sylvia changed the topic: “Actually I was quite surprised to run into you here in Mori Library. I thought you had joined the annihilation operation too.”
“Annihilation operation?”
“Yeah, didn’t Professor Trotzam mention it to you? Oh right, your growth has probably been so rapid that the professor would rather have you miss this opportunity than take the risk.”
“What is the annihilation operation?” The term completely stumped the country bumpkin.
Sylvia thought for a moment: “I don’t really know the details either, since it’s a covert mission for gifted students that the school privately commissions. Those without adequate skills won’t even get an invitation, and students who sign the contract are forbidden from divulging any information about the operation.”
“The only reason I know is because Lorein signed up for it too… I heard from him that Leone is participating as well, so I assumed you wouldn’t be absent either.”
She added after a pause: “I heard it’s a special event involving young sorcerers across Cailleach, with even the genius sorcerers from Trinity College taking part!”
Not only senior Leone, but even the top elites from Trinity College were willing to participate in this event!?
Sonya instantly felt she had missed out on a tremendous opportunity, but she understood it was only normal — the name alone indicated this was a dangerous ‘operation’ that would involve combat.
Even though she was now a sorcerer with the full Silver Wings, she had also only been a ‘novice sorcerer’ in the virtual world for less than a month. Whether to protect her or to prevent her from dragging the team down, Professor Trotzam would never have allowed her to participate prematurely in such perilous actions.
‘I still have to get the professor to recognize my abilities as soon as possible, or I won’t get a shot at many opportunities.’ Sonya thought to herself.
Bloodmoon Kingdom, outskirts of Caimon City, halfway up a hill.
“Shift change, everything normal.”
It was 10 a.m. The two adventurers responsible for observing the virtual gateway lightly tapped the back of their necks and reported softly. Soon, two other adventurers emerged from a tent halfway up the hillside camp, and the two teams switched shifts.
The younger adventurer had barely stood there for a while before he started grumbling: “Pops, how much longer do we have to stay here? The weather’s getting hotter, and it’s bad enough there’s no cold air, but the mosquitoes are crazy too. Even the heavy-duty repellent doesn’t work!”
“12 more hours. If the ‘bunny’ doesn’t come back in 72 hours, we can be sure it’s dead.”
The adventurer beside him wearing a cloak replied in a robotic, emotionless mechanical voice. On closer look, his arms, thighs, and even one eye were not organic but mechanical prosthetics.
“If not for the generous credit from this commission, I’d rather be in the war zone killing some sea ghosts.” The young adventurer muttered: “If you ask me, whoever caused this virtual fissure ought to just die already. It’s adding to our workload and poses a threat of foreign invasion…”
“Only sorcerers can trigger chaotic virtual flows. There are currently 86 unknown virtual gateways around Caimon City,” the older man said, “which means 86 sorcerers triggered the chaotic flows. One of them could be you. It’s reasonable coming from others, but you’re a sorcerer yourself.”
The young man’s voice shrank: “I was just saying… Can’t you complain a little too, Pops?”
“Just as I’ve accepted that I don’t have the aptitude to become a sorcerer, I accept these natural disasters caused by them,” the older adventurer shook his head slightly. “I grew tired of complaining by the time I was forty.”
The young man changed the subject: “Pops, what are you spending your credits on this time? I’ve saved up enough to exchange for the ‘Blade’ spirit. Now I can try taking on cognitive beings too.”
“Looks like you haven’t spent much and your gear is still an outdated old version. Are you saving up to exchange for the latest accessories? If I weren’t reluctant to modify my body, I’d like to get a ‘Silver Wolf Arm’ too.”
The older man glanced at him, the cold gaze of his mechanical eye giving the youth the creeps. But he quickly shifted his eyes to focus on the virtual fissure thirty meters below like a depression in space.
“I’m using the credits to purchase some intel.”
“What intel?”
“Intel on my child.”
“What child—isn’t that illegal?!”
“I know, that’s why I’ve been saving credits for so many years. Otherwise they wouldn’t take the risk.”
“You’re insane!” The youth was shocked. “Why go through all that fruitless trouble? If anyone finds out, you’ll both end up exploring the sewer abyss in a pig cage!”
The older man shook his head. “Of course not. The child should have been born 31 years ago. I don’t even remember what the woman looked like. I just want to see him once.”
The youth could not comprehend it. “What’s the point of seeing him once? With that many credits, you could improve your combat strength by two levels if you spent them on yourself. You could trip on moon sugar for a year, gamble it away, spend it on fun – why use it just to see a stranger once?”
“He’s not a stranger, he’s my child.”
“How’s that any different from a stranger? You have to pay just to find out what he looks like and what his name is.”
“But he’s my child. He exists because of me.”
“I don’t get it. You might as well give the credits to me.”
“You’re a sorcerer, and still young. You don’t understand. I was like you when I was younger, spending money on moon sugar and gambling it away at First Blood casino, going transform for mods. But as I grew older, those entertainments lost their thrill for me, and I lost interest in tomorrow.”
“Then one day I remembered – when I was young I had a child with a woman to earn the birthing subsidy. It was like the sky suddenly lit up. I found my purpose in life – to see that child once.”
“You’re a sorcerer. You can explore the virtual world, research spells. But I can’t. If not for 70% full cybernetic mods, I wouldn’t qualify to be an adventurer in the war zone. I can’t even cross the threshold of ‘magic’ for something as easy as gunmanship.”
“They say sorcerers pursue miracles. That child is my miracle.”
The older man pointed at his left eye. “I didn’t replace this eye so I can see my child with my real eye.”
The youth muttered softly: “Still don’t get it…”
The older man laughed mechanically: “Don’t try to understand. What I’m doing is illegal.”
Bang!
The young man was sent flying violently and swore in confusion: “What the hell, Pops—”
The words stuck in his throat the next second.
Because he saw an orange-haired girl in dark blue armor standing where he was a moment ago.
The girl stood on the older man’s body, her longsword dripping red and blue fluids. The older man’s head had been severed, his mechanical spine snapped open, spurting red blood and blue machine oil!
The youth’s pupils contracted as alerts popped up in his vision: “Threat detected—”
Snap!
By the time Lorein lopped off the young man’s head, the other two resting adventurers in the camp had also been dispatched by the other annihilation team members.
Soon, one hundred and sixty-three annihilation team members gathered at the campsite. They all wore dark blue armor, and their weapons were without exception specially forged alchemical items. Even the martial artists wore spiked gauntlets! But in the few seconds since their arrival, blood-red shackles of light had appeared around their necks, making them look like walking light pollution.
“There are four rules to the game.”
“First, kills must be landed with Starchild weapons to gain points.”
“Second, try to survive 48 hours without getting killed.”
“Third, try to kill as many targets as possible. Humanoid monsters take priority, rest are secondary. Sorcerer monsters take priority, rest are secondary.”
“Fourth, everyone must activate the armor’s Miracle Transfer when time’s up to return here. The Starchild will destroy this Level 2 virtual fissure 48 hours from now.”
“The sacred stars connect us all, the starlight will guide our path. Let the game begin!”
Their pupils all glowed with a faint purple-blue rim. At the command, everyone saluted in unison, then scattered simultaneously!
From above, one could see only a handful of blue dots moving north and south toward villages, while most of the blue dots advanced westward toward Caimon City!
Discord: https://discord.gg/pCWPSD3bWA
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/hoxionia
Sonya’s lips moved slightly, and she soon smiled and shrugged: “I was just passing by and thought the titles of these two books looked interesting, so I picked them up to take a look. There’s no particular purpose. I’ll put them back if they turn out to be not good.”
Sylvia nodded thoughtfully: “You don’t have to explain it to me in such detail…”
Seemingly aware that Sonya was feeling flustered, Sylvia changed the topic: “Actually I was quite surprised to run into you here in Mori Library. I thought you had joined the annihilation operation too.”
“Annihilation operation?”
“Yeah, didn’t Professor Trotzam mention it to you? Oh right, your growth has probably been so rapid that the professor would rather have you miss this opportunity than take the risk.”
“What is the annihilation operation?” The term completely stumped the country bumpkin.
Sylvia thought for a moment: “I don’t really know the details either, since it’s a covert mission for gifted students that the school privately commissions. Those without adequate skills won’t even get an invitation, and students who sign the contract are forbidden from divulging any information about the operation.”
“The only reason I know is because Lorein signed up for it too… I heard from him that Leone is participating as well, so I assumed you wouldn’t be absent either.”
She added after a pause: “I heard it’s a special event involving young sorcerers across Cailleach, with even the genius sorcerers from Trinity College taking part!”
Not only senior Leone, but even the top elites from Trinity College were willing to participate in this event!?
Sonya instantly felt she had missed out on a tremendous opportunity, but she understood it was only normal — the name alone indicated this was a dangerous ‘operation’ that would involve combat.
Even though she was now a sorcerer with the full Silver Wings, she had also only been a ‘novice sorcerer’ in the virtual world for less than a month. Whether to protect her or to prevent her from dragging the team down, Professor Trotzam would never have allowed her to participate prematurely in such perilous actions.
‘I still have to get the professor to recognize my abilities as soon as possible, or I won’t get a shot at many opportunities.’ Sonya thought to herself.
Bloodmoon Kingdom, outskirts of Caimon City, halfway up a hill.
“Shift change, everything normal.”
It was 10 a.m. The two adventurers responsible for observing the virtual gateway lightly tapped the back of their necks and reported softly. Soon, two other adventurers emerged from a tent halfway up the hillside camp, and the two teams switched shifts.
The younger adventurer had barely stood there for a while before he started grumbling: “Pops, how much longer do we have to stay here? The weather’s getting hotter, and it’s bad enough there’s no cold air, but the mosquitoes are crazy too. Even the heavy-duty repellent doesn’t work!”
“12 more hours. If the ‘bunny’ doesn’t come back in 72 hours, we can be sure it’s dead.”
The adventurer beside him wearing a cloak replied in a robotic, emotionless mechanical voice. On closer look, his arms, thighs, and even one eye were not organic but mechanical prosthetics.
“If not for the generous credit from this commission, I’d rather be in the war zone killing some sea ghosts.” The young adventurer muttered: “If you ask me, whoever caused this virtual fissure ought to just die already. It’s adding to our workload and poses a threat of foreign invasion…”
“Only sorcerers can trigger chaotic virtual flows. There are currently 86 unknown virtual gateways around Caimon City,” the older man said, “which means 86 sorcerers triggered the chaotic flows. One of them could be you. It’s reasonable coming from others, but you’re a sorcerer yourself.”
The young man’s voice shrank: “I was just saying… Can’t you complain a little too, Pops?”
“Just as I’ve accepted that I don’t have the aptitude to become a sorcerer, I accept these natural disasters caused by them,” the older adventurer shook his head slightly. “I grew tired of complaining by the time I was forty.”
The young man changed the subject: “Pops, what are you spending your credits on this time? I’ve saved up enough to exchange for the ‘Blade’ spirit. Now I can try taking on cognitive beings too.”
“Looks like you haven’t spent much and your gear is still an outdated old version. Are you saving up to exchange for the latest accessories? If I weren’t reluctant to modify my body, I’d like to get a ‘Silver Wolf Arm’ too.”
The older man glanced at him, the cold gaze of his mechanical eye giving the youth the creeps. But he quickly shifted his eyes to focus on the virtual fissure thirty meters below like a depression in space.
“I’m using the credits to purchase some intel.”
“What intel?”
“Intel on my child.”
“What child—isn’t that illegal?!”
“I know, that’s why I’ve been saving credits for so many years. Otherwise they wouldn’t take the risk.”
“You’re insane!” The youth was shocked. “Why go through all that fruitless trouble? If anyone finds out, you’ll both end up exploring the sewer abyss in a pig cage!”
The older man shook his head. “Of course not. The child should have been born 31 years ago. I don’t even remember what the woman looked like. I just want to see him once.”
The youth could not comprehend it. “What’s the point of seeing him once? With that many credits, you could improve your combat strength by two levels if you spent them on yourself. You could trip on moon sugar for a year, gamble it away, spend it on fun – why use it just to see a stranger once?”
“He’s not a stranger, he’s my child.”
“How’s that any different from a stranger? You have to pay just to find out what he looks like and what his name is.”
“But he’s my child. He exists because of me.”
“I don’t get it. You might as well give the credits to me.”
“You’re a sorcerer, and still young. You don’t understand. I was like you when I was younger, spending money on moon sugar and gambling it away at First Blood casino, going transform for mods. But as I grew older, those entertainments lost their thrill for me, and I lost interest in tomorrow.”
“Then one day I remembered – when I was young I had a child with a woman to earn the birthing subsidy. It was like the sky suddenly lit up. I found my purpose in life – to see that child once.”
“You’re a sorcerer. You can explore the virtual world, research spells. But I can’t. If not for 70% full cybernetic mods, I wouldn’t qualify to be an adventurer in the war zone. I can’t even cross the threshold of ‘magic’ for something as easy as gunmanship.”
“They say sorcerers pursue miracles. That child is my miracle.”
The older man pointed at his left eye. “I didn’t replace this eye so I can see my child with my real eye.”
The youth muttered softly: “Still don’t get it…”
The older man laughed mechanically: “Don’t try to understand. What I’m doing is illegal.”
Bang!
The young man was sent flying violently and swore in confusion: “What the hell, Pops—”
The words stuck in his throat the next second.
Because he saw an orange-haired girl in dark blue armor standing where he was a moment ago.
The girl stood on the older man’s body, her longsword dripping red and blue fluids. The older man’s head had been severed, his mechanical spine snapped open, spurting red blood and blue machine oil!
The youth’s pupils contracted as alerts popped up in his vision: “Threat detected—”
Snap!
By the time Lorein lopped off the young man’s head, the other two resting adventurers in the camp had also been dispatched by the other annihilation team members.
Soon, one hundred and sixty-three annihilation team members gathered at the campsite. They all wore dark blue armor, and their weapons were without exception specially forged alchemical items. Even the martial artists wore spiked gauntlets! But in the few seconds since their arrival, blood-red shackles of light had appeared around their necks, making them look like walking light pollution.
“There are four rules to the game.”
“First, kills must be landed with Starchild weapons to gain points.”
“Second, try to survive 48 hours without getting killed.”
“Third, try to kill as many targets as possible. Humanoid monsters take priority, rest are secondary. Sorcerer monsters take priority, rest are secondary.”
“Fourth, everyone must activate the armor’s Miracle Transfer when time’s up to return here. The Starchild will destroy this Level 2 virtual fissure 48 hours from now.”
“The sacred stars connect us all, the starlight will guide our path. Let the game begin!”
Their pupils all glowed with a faint purple-blue rim. At the command, everyone saluted in unison, then scattered simultaneously!
From above, one could see only a handful of blue dots moving north and south toward villages, while most of the blue dots advanced westward toward Caimon City!
Discord: https://discord.gg/pCWPSD3bWA
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/hoxionia
