Chapter 288: Small Horn
Trampling through thorns, transmigrating through the Golden Rain.
The sports car jubilantly roared across the Ti Continent. Ashe glanced at the new block appearing on the Virtual Realm Map. Whenever a “Worth a Visit” or “Ti for a Clan Annihilation” Battle block appeared ahead on the road, he imdiately steered clear, keeping the sports car firmly on the “Wasting Ti” route.
Only if a Sorcerer Projection, an easy target, appeared on the road would Ashe reluctantly run it over.
Tonight, it was just the two of them, not suited for Battle. Even if they fought, it would consu a lot of Soul Energy, better to broaden their exploration and see if they could encounter any special Virtual Realm structures.
Besides, they weren’t in the mood for Battle tonight.
The atmosphere in the car remained silent, but it wasn’t the awkward kind of silence. It was like soone who arrived hours late, only intending to pass by, but found their date still waiting for them—awkward, yes, but not uncomfortably so. Instead, there was an unspoken warmth in it.
“Small Horn,” Ashe suddenly blurted out after a long silence.
“What?” Sonya couldn’t believe her ears. “What did you say?”
“I said you’re a Small Horn.”
Having been through nurous heated debates on the School Forum, Sonya had elevated her Faction in arguing to a higher level: when soone insults you, never just deny it, hit back; and hitting back had three levels—the lowest is tit-for-tat, the middle is tailored coback, and the highest…
Act rather than talk!
Sonya imdiately grabbed Ashe’s ear, “Oh, so you dare to insult
today, what dare you do tomorrow, I can’t even imagine!”
“Hey, hey, I’m driving, there’s a Slaying Fish-Dragon crossing ahead!”
“Why are you insulting !”
“How’s calling you stupid a problem?”
“How am I stupid?”
“You’ve been waiting here for over two hours, isn’t that stupid enough?” Ashe raised his voice. “Lucky for you, the Ti Continent doesn’t have ‘Eviction Secret Poison’. If this were the Sea of Knowledge, you’d have been devoured by Knowledge Creatures by now!”
“I’m not stupid!” Sonya retorted, “Do you think I’m like you, jumping into the Virtual Realm without any common sense? Since the day we parted, I’ve been studying the knowledge of the Ti Continent every day, morizing the critical aspects of the Ti Continent, the chanisms of the Virtual Realm, and various strategies for dealing with Knowledge Creatures… Of course, I knew it was safe to wait for you!”
“How could it possibly be safe?” Ashe almost laughed in exasperation: “I was just looking at the Map, and the White Bull is already far from you, and the Static Domain will catch up with you in less than an hour!”
“I would definitely leave the Virtual Realm before the Static Domain arrives!”
“What if you didn’t notice it? You’ve said before that the Static Domain is silent; by the ti you realize it’s there, you won’t be able to escape!”
“I can still get away.”
“But you didn’t have to take such a risk!” Ashe complained. “I didn’t ask you to wait; you could have just continued Exploring the Virtual Realm normally. Why put yourself in danger? Am I wrong to call you foolish?”
Thump!
This ti Sonya really got angry and gave Ashe a solid thump, making him feel his Soul Energy scatter a bit—You’re a Swordswoman, not a boxer, why do you hit so hard!?
“You still have the nerve to criticize ,” Sonya said fiercely. “We agreed to et at 12:30, and I was the only one who showed up! You didn’t even leave
a car or a note!”
“I used to think you at least kept your word, but now I’ll never trust you again, you big liar!”
“This was an accident within the margin of error!” Ashe countered. “I suddenly had sothing co up tonight; it wasn’t intentional. It was two hours later by the ti I settled everything, and here I am, joining you right away, aren’t I?”
“So what happened? Tell
sothing that will make this Swordswoman happy?”
“I can’t say.”
Annan’s Contract sealed Ashe’s lips like a gag.
“Will there be a next ti?”
“Most likely,” Ashe thought about the current situation at the Funeral Firm. “I might even be unable to co to the Virtual Realm for several days in a row.”
“So you an,” Sonya squinted her eyes, “you can’t explain the reasons, but you need to keep taking leave?”
“…Yes.”
Ashe answered, feeling quite aggrieved—what a world this was! He was the financier of the team, after all. How had he co to be scolded by an Operator? As an investor, wasn’t it natural for him not to do the work, especially since he had a legitimate reason, albeit one he couldn’t disclose?
He quietly awaited the next round of scolding from the Swordswoman, but after a while, she remained silent.
“I’ll try to leave the car for you next ti…” Ashe said, “Though I can’t lend out the Map, having the car should help you maintain a rapid increase in arcane energy…”
Suddenly, Sonya asked, “Is it more dangerous than escaping from prison?”
Ashe paused for a mont: “A bit more dangerous, yes.”
“Huh.”
With Sonya’s indistinct chuckle, the atmosphere fell silent again.
After they finally defeated their first Sorcerer Projection of the night, Sonya comnted, “This is so boring.”
“Why don’t you sing a song?”
“Don’t you have any life experiences to share?”
“I do, but I can’t talk about them,” Ashe shrugged. “If I must, I can only speak in the manner of the Riddler.”
“Oh?” Sonya’s interest was piqued, “What’s the riddle thod?”
“Let’s say, for instance, I’ve beco sowhat famous,” Ashe pondered and then continued, “Not only do I have to deal with the risk of being sexually harassed by a boss, but there’s also soone new in my life who I need to protect with my life…”
“Who is this person?”
“Can’t say.”
“A woman?”
“…”
“A woman under 30?”
“…”
“A woman under 22?”
“…”
“A woman under 18?!” Sonya was shocked, “Observer, how old are you even? It’s disgraceful, and you even—”
“It’s not what you think!” Ashe was exasperated, “And why aren’t you asking about the boss harassing ? Don’t you care about that at all?”
“Because that’s definitely not the sa as you described,” Sonya was quite certain.
“In any case, although I really want to share with you the things I’ve been dealing with recently, I just can’t,” Ashe said. “Once all this is over, I’ll slowly tell you the stories from these past days.”
“Then I’ll look forward to it.”
Sonya, gazing at the Reverse Golden Rain outside, suddenly ntioned, “A couple of days ago, Wind Crane reached out to —you can think of them as a guild that produces songs for Songstresses—they want to tailor a battle song specifically for . If there’s enough ti, it might even beco the the song for this year’s Intercollegiate League!”
“And then there’s Senior Sister Sylvia—you might have forgotten who she is—thanks to her recomndation, I’ve successfully landed a role in a pri-ti drama. It’s not the lead role, and it’s a villain role, but it’s roughly equivalent to the second female lead!”
“Looks like your big break is coming!” Ashe exclaid. “If you play it well, a villain’s impact on the Audience can be just as morable as the hero’s!”
“I think so too!” Sonya nodded and scoffed, “Hmph, those Nobles really aren’t up to any good. My reputation has been rising, and while they want to capitalize on my fa, they look down on my background and are unwilling to offer
any good roles. So, they stick
with a villain role, hoping I’d embarrass myself and earn a bad na… But no matter, disappointing my enemies is sothing I never fail at!”
Ashe never doubted the Swordswoman’s capabilities—her rebellious spirit, born from humble beginnings, radiated an indomitable confidence, as if there was nothing in the world that could crush her spirit.
Perhaps that might have been the case in the past, since the Swordswoman was ultimately a lone Weakling. But now, her weaknesses had been compensated for by Ashe.
She would neither be weak nor alone.
Ashe suddenly remarked, “Feels like it’s been a long ti since we’ve had a mont alone like this, hasn’t it?”
“…Yes.” The rustic girl lowered her eyelids, “With the Witch around, there are so things I just don’t feel comfortable discussing with you. It’s not that I want to keep secrets from her, it’s just… it would be a bit embarrassing.”
“Ha!”
“What’s so funny?”
“No, I’m not laughing at you; I actually understand how you feel quite well,” Ashe said with a smile. “It’s like a delicate, blooming flower. The Witch only sees your beautiful petals, so you want to keep up your dignity around her. But I’ve seen your roots hidden in the soil before you blood, not beautiful, so you feel more relaxed around .”
In simpler terms, it’s like the label that fits everyone once you get to know them: ‘cold on the outside, chatterbox once you’re familiar’—most people are indeed like that, maintaining a good image when they first et soone until they know each other well enough to reveal their quirks.
“So you’re saying I’m just a pretty girl with no substance?”
“You make ‘pretty girl with no substance’ sound so worthless…” Ashe muttered. “But I don’t think you need to be so stiff around the Witch… First of all, the Witch isn’t the type to look down on you because of your background.”
“Secondly, those muddy roots you want to hide are actually quite cute.”
The Swordswoman looked at him without saying a word. Ashe shrugged and said, “Of course, I’m just making a suggestion. I’m already very satisfied with the atmosphere in our small team; it doesn’t matter if we don’t continue to strengthen our bond. If you prefer the ti we spent together in the Boat on the Sea of Knowledge, I can understand that—”
“Alright then.”
“Huh?”
“Thinking about it, talking about girly stuff with a slly man like you does seem a bit inappropriate,” Sonya said, resting her chin in her hands. “It’s about ti I found a new best friend.”
“First of all, I’m not slly, and second—”
“You’re not a man?” Sonya instinctively used debate tactics from the School Forum.
After a bit of Small horn-level bickering, the rustic girl erged victorious.
Watching the driver’s disgruntled face, Sonya suddenly said, “We’ve already left the Sea of Knowledge.”
“Huh?”
“So, the ti of just the two of us teaming up is over. Next, it’ll be teams of three, four, five… The team will grow bigger, and we’ll beco stronger.”
“…Yes,” Ashe replied, looking at her in the rearview mirror. “That’s exactly my plan.”
“I’ll help you,” Sonya said. “Although I might not be too keen on it, I will help because the stronger our team gets, the more efficient our explorations will be, and the more benefits I’ll gain.”
“And you’ll gain more benefits too.”
Ashe looked at Sonya, surprised, while the Swordswoman stared at the Reverse Golden Rain outside, her eyes sparkling.
“My life is full of color—singing, acting, competing. Don’t co to
for help with real-world problems; I’m neither free nor capable,” the rustic girl said softly. “However, if you really must, and you’re willing to kneel and beg, I guess I could help you out more in the Virtual Realm.”
“Kneeling is out of the question. In my world, we only kneel when Praying for a Miracle,” Ashe replied with a smile. “But I’ll reluctantly accept your grudging offer of help.”
“Hmph, now we’re really in cahoots.”
“Just rember not to do sothing foolish like waiting for others in the Virtual Realm again—it really lowers our average IQ.”
“Mind your own business, Small horn.”
Lise felt her cheek wet and wiped away the drool, turning over to continue sleeping. Through her haze, she saw the corners of Ashe’s mouth slightly turned up.
Lise mumbled to herself, “Dad’s smiling so happily. Is he having a good dream?”
“Maybe it’s the training before going to Prison,” Deya suggested. “He knows the Red Cap will catch him sooner or later, so he wants to keep a positive attitude…”
Reviews
All reviews (0)