Chapter 46 “The world won’t betray you.”

Chapter 46 "The world won't betray you."

Outside the academy, Lans sat atop a tall snow leopard, watching Jenny enter the gate without showing any emotion.

The cold wind wildly fluttered his white robe as he turned back to see the old man on another snow leopard, offering a mechanical smile as always.

"Lord Lans," the orphanage principal spoke softly, "We've known each other for so long. It's just a newly adult child, a little help for you, don't overthink it."

"If this is the principal's decision, I will take it seriously," Lans slightly bowed his head, concealing all emotions in his eyes.

"The battle yesterday must have been fierce," Marlen nudged his snow leopard forward, the large paws breaking twigs in the snow, "Lord Lans seems to be suffering from serious magical exhaustion. The legendary Snow Wolf King must have been tough to handle."

Lans's eyelashes trembled slightly. The events of yesterday, where the exact number of injuries hadn't even been tallied yet, Marlen already knew the details?

Recalling the recent frequent attacks by monsters on the Great Ice Plain, Marlen's occasional probing, and the strange girl he couldn't refuse today.

Lans's grip on the mane tightened unconsciously, the snow leopard beneath him stomping its feet.

"Yes," Lans’s ice-blue eyes dipped slightly, exhaling a white breath, "If it weren’t for a kind stranger’s intervention yesterday, the battle wouldn't have ended so easily."

The unfamiliar gray-haired girl from yesterday.

With the girl’s assistance, his and Eugene's battle ended quickly, the Wolf King being dealt with shortly after its appearance.

It wasn’t an opponent he and his brother could have easily handled alone.

Without that girl, he didn't know how the battle would have ended.

Initially, Lans suspected the girl might have been sent by the principal before him, but seeing Marlen's fleeting expression, he quickly dismissed the thought.

"A kind-hearted stranger?" Marlen smiled amicably, a fleeting image of the daring insect that infiltrated his office that morning in his mind, "Is there a girl in Lulubi City even stronger than Lord Lans? This is the first I've heard of it! Didn’t Lord Lans keep her to thank her in person?"

Lans: "The battle was intense yesterday. I asked her to wait for me at the academy, but perhaps she had other matters. I haven't seen her since."

"I see," Marlen paused, then slowly added, "Then, Lord Lans, please describe this benefactor’s appearance to me. I would also like to help in the search."

Monks hurried by with their heads down, and beneath Marlen's exceedingly benevolent expression was a smile laced with venom.

Just like the first time he revealed his terrifying fangs in front of Lans.

Standing on the shoulders of the demon god, he spoke gently to Lans, “We mean no harm, we just want to know something very minor.”

“I’m aware of the valiant knight, Eugene, your dear brother. I only wish to greet him up close, nothing more.”

“If you would be so kind as to give me a small clue, I would of course move the demon god a bit further away. The people of the North are such endearing folks, and I too wish to be one of you. Dear Lans, you wouldn’t refuse me, would you?”

Snowflakes fell to the ground, vanishing silently.

The cold turned the lips of the Ice Mage a pale, icy white.

“With the recent blizzards,” Lans stroked the snow leopard's head, and it obediently turned in the opposite direction, “you must take care of yourself. Leave such trivial matters as finding someone to me.”

His holy white robe left a fleeting trail in the air, and the wind kicked up by the leopard’s departure hit Marlen's face, slightly cracking his rigid expression.

In those always kind eyes, a chilling and unsettling coldness began to emerge.

He lowered his head to straighten his ruffled coat, patting his mount before turning towards the orphanage.

The main street had been mostly cleared of snow, and after lunchtime, there were few pedestrians.

Marlen deliberately chose a secluded alley to traverse, not wanting anyone to see his current expression.

However, just as he turned behind a low building into the shadows, a pitch-black vortex suddenly appeared above the snow leopard's massive head.

An indescribable chill swept over him instantly, causing all the hairs on Marlen's body to stand on end!

He suddenly lifted his hand, pulling out just a corner of a bizarre feather pen from thin air, only to have his wrist abruptly seized.

“Hi.”

The vortex vanished, revealing a handsome face before Marlen.

The man’s chain necklace slid around his neck as he greeted the old man expressionlessly, “Have you seen a girl with grey hair? Her eyes are a beautiful dark purple.”

"No, why ask me?" Marlen's forehead was dripping with cold sweat. Why was everyone suddenly looking for a girl with gray hair?!

He didn't know who the man before him was, but he knew he couldn't move even a finger in his presence.

Even the giant snow leopard beneath him was shivering uncontrollably, a natural reaction to fear.

"Because you seem to be the strongest here," the man said, abruptly turning his head towards the direction of the academy, yet still addressing Marlen, "No? Not you? Seems there's someone else then?"

At these words, Marlen's expression changed instantly.

"There was a battle outside Lulubi City yesterday," the old man, who usually spoke slowly, suddenly quickened his pace, "The gray-haired girl you're looking for seemed to have appeared on the battlefield. It was to the west of the city gates. Maybe you should look there."

Marlen dared not lie; he felt that this man could turn him to dust with just a flick of his finger... it eerily reminded him of being in the presence of his boss.

So in his urgency, he could only tell the truth, to divert the man's attention from the academy.

The man stared intently at him, his dark pupils swirling like thick fog.

"The west?"

*

The snowy owl circled the Northern skies until nightfall before finally landing atop a nondescript snow-capped mountain.

It was no surprise to Faye; in the "Gods and Demons Continent" game, the mini-map was always in the top left corner, complete with a yellow coordinate axis. One could navigate with closed eyes, completely ignoring the surroundings.

But in reality, it was a whole different story.

Surrounded by a vast expanse of snow, everything around her was a blanket of white.

The mountain that seemed tallest when facing it directly became impossible to locate once she changed direction.

Moreover, the Holy Snow Mountain mentioned in the quest appeared to be an inconspicuous little snow mountain from the outside.

Relying on her memory, she kept flying eastward. After mistakenly identifying two snow mountains, she finally selected this small snow mountain that matched the characteristics she remembered.

The shape and position of the mountain’s summit... this should be it, right?

The howling wind slapped her face like a hand, and she used her magic to create a barrier to ensure her head wouldn't be blown away while searching for the foundation of the Great Ice Plain.

"Let me think... the entrance should be... a bit to the left..."

Although the residents of the North were keen on hunting and exploring, they rarely reached the summit of snow mountains.

After all, even magically strong creatures like snow wolves didn’t favor the windy peaks and freezing temperatures that could split skin.

Apart from the perennial snow, there seemed to be nothing else here.

To avoid attracting attention, Faye chose not to blow away the heavy snow.

She circled the summit three times before finally spotting a lizard-like protrusion in the mountain.

Taking a deep breath and maintaining her body temperature with magic, she bit her lip and plunged her hand into the thick snow, feeling around the rocks.

She had to find the entrance, the weakest part in the lizard-shaped protrusion, unremarkable to the eye but distinct to the touch—

Found it!

Her spirits lifted as she pulled her arm, now turning blue-purple from the cold, out of the snow, lifted her heavy cloak, and kicked at the spot.

“Crack!”

Snow and brittle stone chips fell, finally revealing a familiar small tunnel entrance in front of Faye.

The entrance to Holy Snow Mountain had a restriction; magic couldn’t be used. Once attempted, the entrance would be permanently sealed for that individual.

This was key information Faye had obtained in the "Gods and Demons Continent" game, after completing a series of quests.

So, in the real world, she had foreseen everything.

Now, the girl wrapped in a cloak finally ended her wild trek, swiftly diving into the entrance.

It was a natural cave, warmer than the outside due to the mountain's structure.

Faye sighed in relief, leaning against the stone wall to rest.

After consuming a healing potion and an invigorating potion, the broken entrance, having completed its opening duration, was slowly self-repairing.

Faye looked down, pondering whether Holy Snow Mountain had developed its own consciousness from this point in time.

During her repair task, the only interaction in the game was with a dialog box representing Holy Snow Mountain, which communicated in a stuttering manner, like a child just learning to speak.

Moreover, no relevant information appeared in the task list during the mission, and she barely completed it through a mix of guessing and intuition.

She had thought such a laborious and intricate task would yield a significant reward, only to receive a seemingly useless recipe.

It was only later, after posting on forums, that she realized she was among the very few who had completed that task in the entire game.

Faye slapped her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She hadn't slept for nearly three days, and even with magic and stimulants, her thinking was inevitably sluggish.

Otherwise, why would she feel that Holy Snow Mountain then resembled her initial encounters with small worlds?

Both had similar dialog boxes, weak and unskilled communication. Even when completing tasks, the same ["Ding!"] sound appeared... Wait, hold on.

Faye froze in place as if struck by lightning.

Could the foundation of the Great Ice Plain be...?!!

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

[Faye, are you okay?]

A familiar dialog box conveniently lit up before her eyes, filled with worry in the text of the small world.

[You look pale. You need to rest.]

“I'm fine.” Faye gritted her teeth and got up, throwing a ball of faint light forward.

The cave was illuminated, revealing uneven walls sandwiching the girl in a damp and dark environment, making her feel like she was crawling into the gullet of a cold-blooded creature.

Fortunately, ahead was the same singular path as in her memory.

She walked cautiously forward, the silence around her unnerving.

The sound of her footsteps sliding over stones echoed like ghostly wails.

“Talk to me, small world,” Faye suddenly said.

[Of course, I’m always here.]

[What would you like to talk about?]

“Why did you choose me in the beginning?” Her cloak silently swept through the darkness, disturbing a nest of dormant insects in the crevices, “Just because I was number one on the leaderboard?”

The small world paused before slowly typing out a response.

[You have patience and perseverance. The first time I encountered 'players', I was perplexed by their peculiar enthusiasm. Until I gradually realized, they are only interested in what amuses them.]

[They throw themselves into the game with utmost dedication. But almost all of them lack the ability to complete tedious and prolonged tasks alone.]

[They habitually team up, following something called a 'strategy guide'.]

“Do you mean a walkthrough?” Faye expressionlessly hurled a ball of hellfire behind her, incinerating a mass of eight-legged threadworms that shrieked as they burned to ashes.

[...Okay, yes, a walkthrough. Any tedious beginning would quickly make them give up, leaving only a few to reach me.]

[At that time, I had only a faint wisp of consciousness left and instinctively chose the strongest among them.]

[Now, I'm immensely grateful for that instinct.]

Faye took a deep breath as the narrow passage finally expanded, becoming tall and spacious as if it had inflated with air.

However, taller still was a gigantic insect leg extending from around the corner.

The leg was about three stories tall, attached to a body writhing with countless metal wires.

Eight-legged Threadworm King, Level 70.

Fond of brains—be it from insects, beasts, or humans.

Capable of folding its long, thin legs to the size of a small arm, it particularly enjoys parasitizing living creatures.

As long as the host lives, it has a constant food source.

Under special conditions, it can survive on rocks alone.

Its weakness is light and heat, anything that can produce warmth or illumination.

“This thing looks even more disgusting than in the game,” Faye agilely leaped, dodging iron threads and insect legs coming through the darkness, summoning her familiar.

A golden wheel slowly emerged, unleashing a torrent of hellfire that furiously bombarded the Eight-legged Threadworm King!

Magic manifestation doesn't need to be overly elaborate, as long as it's effective.

The battle caused the cave to tremble continuously. Faye raised her hand to shield herself from the collapsing body parts of the threadworm with her cloak, asking, “So this is indeed the place? The place you hid in the game world?”

[Yes,] the small world straightforwardly admitted, [You came here directly, ignoring the chaos in the North, because you sensed this, didn’t you?]

[There's a part of me here, Faye.]

Well, that explains everything!

Now it all makes sense.

Why Black Moon was willing to pay such a high price to obtain something from here.

They are inherently cruel and care little for human life. Yet, they chose to play a real-life version of Werewolf in this remote area with all its inhabitants.

It turns out they were after the power of the world.

“Why here?” Is it because the small world likes snowy weather? Or…

[I like humans,] the small world suddenly began speaking seemingly unrelated things, [but I can't communicate with them. Until a long, long time ago, due to a fluctuation in space-time. I accidentally collided with the consciousness of another world.]

As Faye delved deeper into the dimly lit cave, the words of the small world made her increasingly apprehensive.

According to the small world, space-time is like a vast universe, with the roaring river of time like a golden musical score filling the entire space-time.

Different worlds drift along in this river, far apart and mutually repelling each other.

“It’s like embryos of different species in a petri dish,” Faye suddenly thought of a strange analogy.

This made the small world [haha] laugh for a few moments.

[Yes, Faye. But during that time, an unusual wave occurred in the river, and I collided with another blue... embryo.]

So the catastrophic historical event that Instructor Belona had mentioned was due to this.

Presumably, the blue embryo is the Blue Star.

A small fragment of Blue Star was shattered in the collision, turning into a burning meteorite that crashed into this world.

That incident nearly led to the extinction of humankind in this world but also introduced the concepts of "deities" and "faith."

[I harnessed the power of human faith. The newborn deity before me was radiant, a truly marvelous experience.]

[So, when I realized humans could sense this deity, I gave a part of my power to it.]

Thus, a god was born.

[But the first child wasn’t very obedient.]

Deities are not born knowing how to bestow blessings upon humanity.

The first deity was whimsical, seeing no difference between humans and insects.

During its existence, the opposite of the human realm—the Abyss—appeared, malice soared, dark creatures gained vitality, and humans, while unlocking the light, also embraced their inner darkness, developing dark professions.

The small world soon realized that if this continued, humans would not be exterminated by the meteorite but rather by their own darkness.

Therefore, the world erased the first deity.

However, having witnessed darkness, the power of faith grew stronger.

Soon, the experienced power of faith automatically coalesced, secretly absorbing the residual world-given power of the first deity, becoming the second god.

“The one who brought down divine punishment, the most failed one, you mean?” Faye asked.

This time, the small world was silent for a long time before responding, [Yes.]... These children, one after another, are really troublesome.

Faye internally scoffed, thinking the first deity merely played around, which was no big deal. But the second one played itself out of existence, dragging the whole world down with it.

It's mind-boggling what a deity has managed to do.

[The deity shattered, and the part carrying a fragment of my power fell here, becoming the foundation of the Great Ice Plain.]

No wonder the North, at this point in time, appears prosperous with a large and diverse human population.

Blessed by the world's grace, it's probably a place where even rain brings abundance, isn't it?

Faye shook the blood off her arm—the result of a sudden attack by a giant stone monster. About to leap into the last deep pit, she cautiously withdrew her foot and asked, "That thing... the foundation of the Great Ice Plain, your part, the predecessor of the former deity, it doesn't have some kind of self-locating feature like a light bulb, does it? I don’t want to go through all this only to be upstaged by someone else at the last moment."

Though she wasn’t particularly afraid of the Dark Archmage, given his obvious weaknesses in his profession, making him quite manageable. Even if he was level 90+, as long as she could find his frail true form, she could figure out a way to counterattack.

If direct confrontation is tough, can't she just outwit him from behind?

But within the depths of the snowy mountain lies the power of the world. If it carries some easily traceable beacon, not just Black Moon, but anyone slightly capable could target her, right?

Faye felt if she really got it, she might immediately become like a witch with the Four O's Jewel, hunted by the entire world.

[Haha, don't worry, Faye, that won’t happen.]

[You're not just acquiring a part of the world's power; you are embracing the entire world.]

[The world won’t betray you.]

Faye looked at the softly glowing text and blinked gently.

“What are we waiting for then?” She drank a healing potion, the faint light illuminating the seemingly bottomless cavern, and leaped forward.

Behind her, the giant stone monsters chasing her down plunged in after her like dumplings, one after another.

They weren’t strong, only around level 55, but incredibly annoying.

As long as she was inside the snow mountain, it was impossible to shake them off.

They would emerge from every corner to strike.

“Are these little things also influenced by your power?”

[...I'm sorry, yes.]

The sound of crunching accompanied by surges of magic echoed through the cave, "Your world really can produce anything!"

[…………]

Outside the snow mountain, a new blizzard descended without warning.

All the hunters and explorers outside rode their snow leopards back to the city, one white dot after another struggling against the storm to reach safety.

Lans stood atop the highest floor of the academy, his ice-blue pupils seemingly coated in a layer of frost.

He raised his staff, and countless ice crystals began to condense, forming an icy shield over Lulubi City.

The pressure in the city from the blizzard suddenly lessened.

However, the moment he lowered his staff, Lans abruptly turned, meeting the gaze of a pair of eyes at the door.

His heart skipped a beat, his grip tightening on the staff.

“Jenny, what are you doing here?”

The black-haired girl met Lans's gaze impassively, breaking the deathly silence only after a long pause.

“The snow mountain.” Jenny asked, “Have you been there, to the snow mountain?”

Lans tensed up, cautiously responding, “I’ve been to many snow mountains. Is there a problem?”

This time, however, the girl didn’t respond to his question, instead turning her head, gazing in a certain direction from the highest window of Lulubi City.

Following her gaze, Lans squinted into the distance.

What he saw made his scalp explode!

Amidst the howling blizzard, a massive, pitch-black figure suddenly emerged!

Those familiar horns on its head, still clearly visible even in the extremely low visibility!

It was Pemoris, the Demon God, who had appeared once before and then vanished rapidly!

Why would it appear in the midst of the snow mountains?!

Author's note:

Forgot to say because my hand hurts, but happy Mid-Autumn Festival, my dears! Updates will be at 8 PM starting from October 1st.