Chapter 15

Chapter 15

In the end, the trio decided against the cruel act of dismembering the poor insect carcass. Grace, believing a dead Insect-type wouldn't allow her to fully demonstrate her abilities, waved a hand dismissively and swiftly moved on to the next round.

This time, two Ironclad Beetles appeared simultaneously.

They employed the same tactics as the first round: Dick lured the enemies, while Grace flipped them over. However, this time, Eve and Grace each took responsibility for one Ironclad Beetle. Grace still hadn't quite mastered the technique of channeling her psychic energy into her weapon. After exerting force, she only managed to leave two shallow gashes on the thin membrane between the Ironclad Beetle's abdominal plates.

Just as Eve took down her own beetle and was about to go assist her, she saw Grace, in a moment of urgency, pull out a miniature Burst Wind Chime. Like a concentrated explosive, she thrust it into the beetle's abdomen with her light sword. A gush of insect guts burst forth, and the Ironclad Beetle twitched a few times before falling still.

Eve: "......"

Well, it worked.

In the third round, three Ironclad Beetles appeared. Although these Insect-types moved slowly, Dick struggled to handle luring all three at once. Seeing this, Eve sprang into action to help. She transformed her light sword into an energy whip and lashed at the eyes of two of the Ironclad Beetles.

This level of damage was, of course, nothing to Insect-types known for their high defense, but it infuriated them. Their cold, compound eyes turned silently as they actively began crawling toward Eve. Eve dashed around, channeling her psychic energy into her limbs to enhance her perception. Whenever she felt fatigued, the lunar phantom would amplify its buff for her.

"This really is like an endless energy loop," Eve mused, though the lunar phantom's boost had its limits—it had grown noticeably more transparent compared to the beginning.

Considering she needed to leave enough boost for Grace to flip all three Insect-types, Eve stopped circling aimlessly and quickly met up with Dick. Together, they lured the three beetles to a designated spot, with two of them almost crashing into each other along the way.

Seeing this, Eve immediately projected her voice psychically to Grace: "Now!"

Three Burst Wind Chimes were thrown, and amid the overpowering sweet scent, dirt and sand exploded into the air, sending the beetles flying onto their backs.

While retreating to avoid the blast, Eve grabbed Dick by the scruff of his neck with her right hand, building up momentum as she asked cryptically, "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Dick, still confused, looked bewildered.

Eve chuckled softly, hissing like a devil in his ear, "Ready to get your hands dirty yourself. You didn’t think you’d just spend the night playing decoy, did you?"

Then, before the boy could react, a combination of the boost, psychic energy, and a prepped stance came together. Eve put all her strength into it and tossed him right toward the flipped beetle, laughing as she sent him off: "Fly!"

"What—ahhhhhhh!!"

Screaming, Dick quickly adjusted his posture mid-air, narrowly avoiding being turned into human sushi by the Ironclad Beetle’s razor-sharp, powerful legs the moment he landed.

Before he could complain, the beetle beneath him shifted. Panicked, he channeled his energy into his light sword and plunged it down hard to steady himself. As the beetle shifted again, his feet slipped, and the psychic energy-infused light sword smoothly sliced through the nerve cluster in its abdomen.

Meanwhile, Grace had finally figured out how to channel her psychic energy and successfully finished one Insect-type. Just as she was happily turning to the next, she turned and saw Dick, like a lucky blind cat finding a dead rat, succeed on his first try. She couldn’t help but mutter a curse: "How did you learn so fast?"

Eve said, "His Mayfly has a Luck stat."

It was normal for evasive, aggro-focused builds to have some speed and luck bonuses; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to take many hits.

Everything had happened in a flash, a close call. Even though he knew the simulated battle wouldn’t actually kill him, Dick was still shaken when he jumped off the Insect-type he had just killed, his legs weak and unsteady.

Eve had been observing from outside the center of the battlefield, watching both of their combat postures. She had witnessed Dick’s hesitant approach when striking. If not for his Luck stat giving him a final push, Dick might not have been able to cut through the Insect-type’s neural muscle.

Eve frowned slightly, her slender eyebrows knitting together as she walked over and asked bluntly, "Dick, are you afraid of dying?"

Without even realizing it, her tone carried the authority of someone who had just commanded a battle.

Hearing this, Dick lowered his head guiltily and muttered, "Sorry, I know I shouldn’t be afraid of dying on the battlefield, but... I’ll try to overcome it..."

Seeing his expression, Eve couldn’t bring herself to criticize him further. She sighed and asked, "Do you still have energy left?"

"Yeah, yeah," Dick replied, unsure why she was asking.

Eve nodded and turned to Grace, who was catching her breath. "Find him a 1v1 match against a similar type."

Three minutes later, Dick collapsed on the spot. His eyes were unfocused, his face pale as paper, his breathing weak and erratic, and his body trembled lightly.

Noticing Dick’s visibly poor condition, Eve’s heart sank. She hurried over, crouched down, and gently patted his face. "Dick, Dick, you look really unwell. What’s wrong? What happened in there?"

Dick could only shake his head weakly, unable to speak.

Grace was also startled by his near-lifeless appearance. She leaned in, frowning, and said, "I matched him with a general famous for quick kills and evasive spiritual states. It shouldn’t have been painful. Why does he look so terrible?"

"Then I’m afraid he really can’t handle the death experience, even in a game."

Eve sighed, patting Dick’s back to help him calm down. "It’s okay if you can’t adapt. We won’t force you anymore. There’s no need to push yourself too hard. The evasive role in the team is important too—no need to put too much pressure on yourself."

"Just remember, preserving your life is the top priority. There’s no shame in that. Think of it as a battlefield—no matter what, survival isn’t something to be ashamed of," Grace added, also patting Dick a couple of times to comfort him.

It took a long while for Dick to gradually catch his breath.

He hung his head, his silver bangs covering his forehead and eyes. In a hoarse, low voice, he said, "But what kind of aggro-drawer thinks about saving their own life? That’s just pathetic... And aggro-drawing doesn’t necessarily require my skills. Eve can do it too. She isn’t afraid of dying, and she can stealth. Compared to her, don’t I seem useless?"

Grace thought for a moment and honestly replied, "Well, if you put it that way, yeah, a little."

"......"

Dick probably hadn’t expected Grace to be so blunt. His chest heaved with anger, and he turned his head away, refusing to speak.

But Grace continued leisurely, "But Eve has her own responsibilities. She’s our important support, strategist, and main attacker. If she had to take on the evasive role too, she’d be exhausted. Compared to that, since you have an A-rank spiritual state and decent synergy with us—"

Grace patted Dick’s head and winked mischievously. "There’s no way we’d let you go."

Dick was slightly stunned.

Eve, seizing the opportunity, chimed in, "And our Dick isn’t just useful on the battlefield—he’s great off it too. Look at you, you’re popular, socially skilled, and can totally help us gather intel. Up on the battlefield, you lure enemies; down among people, you gather information. You’re practically the gold standard for evasive roles! Honestly, with Dick joining us, the three of us are definitely going to be stronger."

"Wahhh," Dick lifted his head, tears welling in his eyes like a puppy. "You two are the best."

Eve helplessly pushed away the guy trying to lean on her. "Alright, enough fake crying. Everyone’s tired tonight. Let’s head back and rest, okay?"

She and Grace helped Dick up from the ground once he’d regained some strength, supporting him on either side without any sense of burden. They’d both done 1v1 matches themselves and knew how draining the mode could be.

As the three left the simulated battle room, Eve took an extra glance at the room usage record. It didn’t feel like they’d been there long, but the record showed they’d been inside for over three hours. The fatigue finally caught up to them. Grace yawned sleepily and said, "I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll head back and rest."

"My heart is tired too," Dick added, his eyelids drooping weakly.

In contrast, Eve was in the best condition of the three, likely due to her earlier training in the meditation room. After walking a few more steps, she suddenly remembered the alchemy scroll rumored to save the eldest young master of the Oliver Family, still gathering dust in a corner of the library.

A thought crossed her mind, and Eve paused at the corner.

"Actually, I’m not that sleepy yet," Eve said carefully. It felt a bit awkward to keep grinding while her friends headed back. "Um, I might, uh, go to the library to read for a bit."

Grace: "......"

Dick’s eyelids twitched violently. He turned to Grace and said, "See? I told you losing that hundred wasn’t a bad bet. How could you have missed how much of a grind maniac Eve is?"

"Don’t say anymore, Dick, don’t," Grace said painfully, tugging at her hair. "You know what? Just knowing Eve is still going to work hard makes half my sleepiness vanish. If someone better than me is still grinding, what right do I have to slack off? I really can’t sleep now. Let’s just pretend we don’t know anything and quietly go back to sleep."

"You’re right," Dick said, his expression equally pained. "Comparison is the thief of joy!"

The two turned away, leaning on each other weakly as they walked off, leaving Eve behind. She couldn’t help but find it amusing. Smoothing her hair, she suddenly called out to them, "Hey, Grace, Dick."

Grace and Dick turned toward the voice.

They saw the silver-haired girl standing in the brightly lit corridor behind them. Her usually dignified and composed face now wore a rare, almost childlike smile, her cheeks slightly flushed from the intense activity, adding three parts charm and vivacity to her usual demeanor.

Behind her, through the large, empty window at the end of the corridor, a crescent moon hung high. A gentle breeze drifted in, lightly tousling the loose strands of hair beside Eve’s face. The diamond hair accessory on her head cast scattered, glittering reflections.

With a smile, she called out to them, "We’ll be friends for life, right?"

Though phrased as a question, her tone left no room for doubt.

"......"

In the years to come, long after the three had risen to prominence as influential figures of the Medici family—wielding cloud-shifting influence—the memory of their early days at the main household would blur into the currents of time. The cautious, reserved attitudes they once held would eventually become a shared joke among them. But this night—the image of Eve’s hair blown by the wind and that bright, uplifted smile—seemed to have frozen all the accidentally passing particles of time, preserving it forever in Grace and Dick’s memories.

All the suppressed awkwardness and anxiety, the pressure that left no trace, their hopes for the future, their desire for strength and influence—along with every other tangled emotion—were soothed away by Eve’s uncharacteristically carefree smile.

It was as if, just for tonight, they were simply three good friends saying goodnight, no different from any other young people enjoying their youth without a care in the world.

It wasn’t often that Grace found herself at a loss for words. Affecting nonchalance, she waved a hand dismissively and turned away from Eve, grumbling, "Geez, calling out to us so suddenly like that—what did you want? You scared me. Why say something like that out of nowhere?"

Unfortunately, Dick, standing beside her, didn’t pick up on her rare shyness. He just grinned foolishly and answered Eve loudly, "Of course! Of course we’ll be friends forever!"

"Good night, Eve!"