"Senior?"
Yu Yu was slacking off reading a book, about to head out for magic ink when Senior's Nightcrow summoned her. She patted her belt, realizing she hadn't prepped a gift for Senior these past days. If Senior asked about instant noodles, what would she say?
"You wrote for the Daily?"
Yu Yu, shocked, "How'd you know, Senior?"
Felix, expressionless, slid the newspaper forward.
Yu Yu scanned it—no pictures. "Senior, what's wrong?"
Felix's words circled twice in her mouth. "You seem free. No quests? Don't want to level?"
"Want, want! Got any good quests, Senior?" Yu Yu's eyes sparkled. "I found a great job—easy, low effort, good pay, and experience…"
She rambled about her discovery.
Felix stared.
Can't let Yu Yu idle.
Two days, and she's stirred city-wide chaos. Two more, she might get backstabbed and die.
"I have a better job…"
Yu Yu's eyes gleamed. "Senior, you're my god!"
Felix said indifferently, "You know the Silver Moon Mage Corps. Heard of the Silver Moon Duchess?"
"Huh?"
What's the connection?
Yu Yu hesitated, "Know… I guess?"
Felix: "Do you want to kill the Duchess of Silver Moon?"
Yu Yu jumped. "No way!"
Felix slammed the paper, sneering, "Dog-eared boy."
Yu Yu looked confused.
"If you're not plotting against the Duchess now, why spread 'dog-eared boy' city-wide? Do you want the Duchess of Silver Moon to get rid of you now?"
Yu Yu reacted instantly and said in disbelief, "The Duchess's…?" A dog too?
"Dog-eared boy," Felix scoffed. "That's Silver Moon's."
She fumed, "You know nothing and you dare to write nonsense?"
Yu Yu recalled Senior's surname, eyes flicking to Felix's head.
Felix narrowed her eyes.
Yu Yu looked away. "Senior's right, my bad!"
"I'll never write nonsense again!"
Felix was still very angry after thinking about it, with veins on her forehead throbbing with anger, and she gritted her teeth and said, "The blood of the Silver Moon family comes from the legendary god, the Silver Moon Skywolf."
Yu Yu looked confused.
Felix emphasized her words, "If you don't want to get rid of the Duchess of Silver Moon right now, then keep your words about the 'dog-eared boy' to yourself forever!"
Senior's fierce!
Yu Yu nodded meekly. "Got it."
Her eyes wandered to Felix's head again, under Felix's increasingly feral glare. "Senior, I deeply get my mistake. I'll write another Daily piece to clear this up, back to work!"
Perfect escape.jpg
Felix: "Get back here!"
Yu Yu was nabbed by the scruff like a pitiful chick, tossed onto the sofa.
Felix straightened her clothes, walked with elegant and indifferent steps, and opened the door.
"Here, now scram."
"Miss?!"
Yu Yu heard the sound of armor vibrating and secretly looked outside.
Through the gap, she saw a large number of silver-armored guards, whose armor was roughly the same as those at the inner city gate.
They actually entered the magic circle directly like this?
Felix said in a cold voice, "I said, scram."
Soon, Yu Yu heard orderly footsteps retreat.
She blinked belatedly.
She'd unknowingly insulted Silver Moon's top ruler?
And did it via newspaper?
If Senior hadn't summoned her, she'd be arrested on the street!
No way!
Wait, if she didn't know, how didn't the Daily?
Yu Yu couldn't help asking.
Felix said contemptuously, "If the Magic Circle wants to roast, the Duchess takes it. The Daily's ours—what's publishing gonna do?"
Besides, the Daily likely didn't know who the dog-eared boy was. Silver Moon, Allen Duchy's capital, had many races. Without a busybody delivering the Daily to her desk, Felix wouldn't have seen it or cared.
Same for the other side.
Yu Yu was stunned.
That works?
Whose side was she on?
"If I offended the Duchess, my sweet job's toast, right?"
Felix glanced. "Still hung up on that lousy job?"
Yu Yu whined, "Good pay, easy, close to home, nice colleagues—what's not to love?"
Felix sneered, "No ambition. You're in the Magic Circle—why join the Mage Corps?"
Yu Yu: "Is… is there a difference?"
Felix: "The Corps, though led by the Grand Archon, serves the Duchess. The Magic Circle's above it all—no Duchess's orders here."
Yu Yu mused, "Can the Duchess really command the Corps?"
"Nope."
Yu Yu: "…"
Listen to your own nonsense!
Felix, calm, "Until the Duchess become legendary, she's just a good little pup."
Yu Yu, thunderstruck, "Senior, wasn't it a wolf?"
Felix: "I can say it, you can't."
Yu Yu: "Got it, Senior, no problem."
Felix: "Don't cozy up to the Duchess—she's barely hanging on."
The black-robed woman's tone was cold, dripping with lofty arrogance.
"The Magic Circle's the right choice," she said. "Take her out eventually, I'll step up."
Yu Yu's eyes widened, shocked.
Felix tilted her chin.
Yu Yu bowed. "My lord Duchess, eternal reign!"
Felix: "…"
The office air froze.
The woman in black sat down with her hands covering her forehead, regretting her own stupidity.
Why quarrel with this fool? Now she looked foolish too.
Yu Yu scurried to massage her shoulders. "Senior, Senior, we rebelling against the Duchess together?"
Felix said weakly, "The Grand Archon's her mentor—she's not that helpless. Shut up."
"Huh? Then how do we rebel? Take out the Grand Archon first?"
Felix's head hit the desk and began to feel pain.
"Senior? Senior? Senior??"
Confirmed, no ears or tail on Senior.
Odd, human adopted daughter? Or distant kin?
Such a pity.
Yu Yu took the opportunity to observe and then felt disappointed.
Felix: "From now on."
"No talking unless I say."
"Oh, okay."
Felix took ages to regroup, recalling her point. "Since you're in the Corps, fine."
"Where's the noodles?"
Yu Yu: "???"
How'd Senior jump from Corps to noodles?
Yu Yu pondered, "Not here yet, might take a bit."
Under Senior's glare, Yu Yu grasped her laziness and logged off for noodles.
Good thing she'd stocked up. Yu Yu picked three flavors, stuffing the box. She knew the drill. Big enough batch, it'd work. Zi Shu and them had moved out, leaving Yu Yu alone at home.
Honestly, kinda lonely.
Probably no one'd notice her offline.
Because the ban has not been lifted yet, there is no sky to be seen in the house except for the cold light. The thick curtains blocked out any moonlight outside the house, but of course, it was probably just thick fog.
Stuffing noodles wasn't instant, but with Senior covering, it wasn't AWOL. Yu Yu opened her laptop, stuffing noodles while checking messages.
No player news—Moonbay's Archon killers were a small guild, [Blood Clan].
They treated the Archon as a boss, gleefully posting loot and recruiting on forums. Many newbies, impressed, joined their "guild."
Though guilds weren't a thing yet, everyone believed joining was smart.
Yu Yu still hasn't found a way to catch up with the pursuit team, which means she can't even act as a traitor now and is suffering from internal injuries. Eyeing their loot spam, Yu Yu marveled at spellcaster wealth while pitying their information.
Spellcasters had a spell, Item Locate.
They hadn't struck yet—not because they couldn't find them, but… unsure who was involved?
Yu Yu mused, switched to a smurf, and posted cryptic, grandiose hints, ending with, "NPCs haven't reacted—wait before going in."
Despite her cryptic buildup, her words were still noticed by the thread owner and then criticized.
[What trash dares stir? NPCs react? Pfft, you're just jealous of our guild's power!]
Yu Yu typed with a blank expression, [Boiling oil, brocaded flowers.]
[What edgy kid's gaming?! Go home, drink milk!]
Yu Yu, pissed, stormed out.
Her smurf made early and it is still healthy. Unlike now, you have to bind your ID card and mobile phone number to create an account.
She quickly calmed down and clicked on the statistics post on Zi Shu'.
It's shocking.
Over 30,000 active forum players, just Xia region. Nearly 5,000 low-tier class holders. Some might've lied, but even discounted, staggering.
Yu Yu instantly recalled the Grand Archon's selection. Was she still holding it?
After reading the forum for a while, Yu Yu suddenly felt a little depressed. She held the instant noodles and couldn't help but stand up and walk around for a while.
It still feels very uncomfortable.
What's wrong?
In order to save electricity, Yu Yu only turned on the air conditioner in his master bedroom. It was quite stuffy downstairs at this time. She put down the box of instant noodles for the time being and went into the kitchen to get a bucket of water.
Hauling it out, Yu Yu cast Frost Breath.
Frozen bucket.
Gust.
Ah, comfy.
Yu Yu sat down on the chair and became leisurely again.
But moments later, she sat bolt upright.
No pig grunts outside.
No chicken clucks.
All prior sounds—gone.
Yu Yu carefully felt the uneasiness and anxiety, and her heart gradually sank. High mental, high willpower sharpened her anomaly detection.
She'd felt this often.
Including the time with Wang Rui, she was lying on the bed playing games and was suddenly awakened by a headache.
This time?
Yu Yu swallowed.
Gust spread cool air through the living room, thick curtains still blocking the windows.
The dim light was only in a corner of the living room and couldn't even illuminate the entire sofa.
Yu Yu flipped on all living room lights.
She'd forgotten something critical.
The complex's defenses were up, but the house?
Cement walls, iron door, glass windows—blocked what?
Yu Yu thought of the enchantment she had just started learning today, and made a secret decision in her heart. This time, she must learn enchantment well. A lone spellcaster's security was too fragile.
Anxiety crept up, but Yu Yu could only wait. She scrolled forums to ease it. Chat apps pinged with local group messages—usually ignored, but she glanced.
Lots of exclamation marks?
Scrolling up, she found the cause.
[Look at the sky]
[What's in the]
[What's this, scaring us? I'm checking]
Older topics filled the gap.
[Huh? Where'd they go?]
@Shorty
@OldX
@ShiveringNewbie
Pings sank like stones, no replies.
[Weird, I DMed them, no response. Maybe they're pranking us.]
[Check their messages.]
[Ha… ha, not funny…]
[Why half-typed? Trying to scare us?]
[I know, I know, these things pop up online—they probably copied it, tch.]
[I've got OldX's number, I'll call.]
More off-topic chatter.
[…Weird, his wife answered.]
[Said he never left the house, but now he's gone.]
[His PC's on, cup's water still warm, curtains open, but she said nothing's outside.]
[Hold on, phone's ringing, picking up.]
Group fell silent.
[…Guys, OldX… vanished???]
[Got numbers for the other two? Should we check?]
[I'll try.]
[Me too.]
[…Newbie, no answer.]
[Shorty, same.]
Then, the exclamation flood Yu Yu saw.
Feeling the anxiety, Yu Yu instinctively looked at the ceiling.
The sky?
The no-look-sky rule, had it reached Rong City?
Good thing it's night—few stare at the sky.
Curtains drawn, should be… fine.
Big Cat was with Shu Tu, animals in sheds, should be okay.
Yu Yu felt a growing sense of anxiety, and could even vaguely hear the sound of wind, which made the windows creak faintly and the curtains seem to shake.
Wrong.
Why so loud?
Although the doors and windows were rattling due to the wind, Yu Yu still sat at the table with restraint and pretended to be looking at the computer. She'd already set Magic Alarms at them. Soon, three silver-white wolves appeared in the house and they lifted their feet and walked around.
Yu Yu relaxed slightly.
Good, only she was offline—Shu Tu and them were likely still on.
Checking the time, over ten minutes passed before the eerie wind stopped.
The feeling of anxiety also faded away, and Yu Yu touched the back of his neck, which was wet.
Such a ruckus, baiting enforcement?
Yu Yu lingered thirty minutes, stuffed three noodle packs, forced three more, then trudged upstairs. Tomorrow, nail the curtains shut. Let's see your creepy winds.
"Why so long?"
Online, Senior's cold voice greeted.
Yu Yu: "Stuffing items depends on luck, and…"
She recounted her experience.
Felix gave a knowing look. "High mental draws anomalies. You should be cautious."
Yu Yu: "???"
For real?!
Felix: "Allen Peninsula's shielded by stars and the Crowns—you wouldn't notice, but when…"
She stopped. "Never mind, you'll learn later."
She said coldly, "Weak cub, grow safely."
Yu Yu shivered. "I'll master enchantment, fortify my house."
Felix hummed, taking the noodles. "Six packs?"
Her eyes sparkled.
Yu Yu snapped back, "Yup, Senior can gift two each."
Felix's lips twitched, shooing, "Go."
"Senior, I'm off. Call if you need me."
"I won't get fired, right? Will the Duchess come for me? Senior, Senior, hey? I'll leave, I'll leave."
Yu Yu slunk out. Should've brought three packs, dangled the rest to tease her.
Grindstone discarded, hmph.
Enchantment wasn't hard to grasp.
Yu Yu closed Introduction to Enchantment, last page.
Beyond a spell's model, adding a 'storage module' and 'release module' to an item formed the simplest enchanted item.
For specific uses, add modules like 'transfer module,' 'energy conversion module,' 'secondary storage module,' etc.
A system where mastery hinged on ingenuity.
Success depended on design and skill.
Seemed simple now.
But basic enchantments were one thing—those needing multiple, even dozens, of spell models were another beast.
Linking different models in one enchantment required countless base modules. Carving them onto an item demanded mental energy…
Yu Yu could only sigh.
No need to worry yet.
Eat one bite at a time.
Since she'd started, she'd craft tomorrow.
No specific enchantment spells yet, but she had regular ones.
Start with those.
She wanted a magic fan.
Auto-condensing water, freezing it, then blowing cold air via Gust across the living room.
Sounds complex, needing three spell models, but Yu Yu didn't need instant activation. It could chug like an old machine, finishing one model before starting the next.
So…
First, a basic 'energy conversion module'—one enough?
Then 'transfer module.'
Then 'Water Sphere' module. Unsure how long to fill a bucket, Yu Yu didn't know how long to run it, so she drew three loop circles for now.
Next.
'Release module' for looping Water Sphere, nested in the loop module to repeat, else no water.
Done, auto-water storage module designed.
Yu Yu sketched the next module diagram.
Frost Breath, like Water Sphere, 1st-ring, so another 'energy conversion module' for now.
Ugh, how to make it sense a full bucket?
Lost in thought.
Whatever, skip that.
Post-'conversion module,' 'transfer module' feeds energy to 'Frost Breath' module—one cycle freezes the bucket.
One loop circle.
'Release module.'
Then, constant Gust.
Yu Yu drew five 'energy conversion modules,' dumping into 'Gust' module, 'release module,' done!
Turning, she saw a colleague watching like it was a comedy.
"What?"
"What're you drawing?"
"Enchantment diagram!"
Colleague 1, wavy-haired woman—call her Big Wave.
Big Wave chuckled, "Your diagram… no storage module?"
Yu Yu: "Need one? I don't!"
Big Wave: "Alright, good luck."
Colleague 2, stunning short black hair—call her Short Beauty.
Short Beauty: "Designed the blueprints on the first day of study. Yu has a strong personality."
Yu Yu eyed her diagram. "How do I test it?"
Short Beauty: "Buy magic ink, try on magic paper. If it runs on paper, find materials to craft."
"Got it!" Yu Yu, pumped, "I'll try."
Big Wave nearly laughed silly. Seeing Yu Yu start drawing, Big Wave winked at Short Beauty, both giggling under the desk. Yu Yu's diagram was nonsense, politely put. Big Wave tried hinting, but Yu Yu was confident.
Fine, let her crash—she'd ask seniors then.
Yu Yu's first hiccup: Is 3.5 'energy conversion modules' better for one 'Water Sphere' module, or one 'energy conversion module' activating 'Water Sphere' every 7 seconds?
Just her first hurdle.
All day, she was stuck, barely progressing.
Fortunately, Yu Yu found it enjoyable and was not depressed at all. Instead, she became more and more energetic. She didn't know when her colleagues would get off work and kept writing furiously.
"Let me go, I got it! I know how to make Water Sphere sense bucket size! Control its duration for water volume! Put me down!"
Red-eyed, Yu Yu was yanked by her collar for the nth time.
She was flying.
Yu Yu cooled instantly.
Not self-flying—she was kinda afraid of heights…
Timidly, she looked up. "You are…?"
The black-robed figure wore a familiar yet strange robe.
Familiar—Senior's daily wear. Strange…
A high-tier spellcaster was air-lifting her.
What now?
Her Duchess-dog-ears diss caught up, and the Duchess sent an assassin?
Yu Yu: "How much they pay? I… I…"
Black-robe: "Hm?"
Yu Yu: "Give me the cash, I'll off myself."
Black-robe: "…?"
Yu Yu hugged their waist. "Split it, boss, it's my hit money!"
Here's the deal.
Yu Yu's pricey (5 gold) magic ink and paper were two-thirds gone.
She was broke.
The black-robe froze, speechless.
The Grand Archon.
Where'd they find this weirdo?
She never seen such a thing in her life.
Yu Yu: "Oh no."
Black-robe: "?" Another stunt?
Yu Yu cried, "I'm getting kicked offline!"
Black-robe paused, "?"
Yu Yu: "Don't think I'm dead, see you tomorrow."
She vanished, like instant suicide.
Black-robe: "…"
"My lord, she's here."
"Fu Fu," the youthful, stunning Grand Archon sipped water, rubbing her stomach. "Your sister says she'll take us out, what now?"
Beside her, a poised silver-haired woman with calm silver-blue eyes, sword at waist, ate meticulously, coolly humming in reply.
"Think she'd poison the food?"
"Need I remind you, Teacher," the woman said coldly, "you finished the soup."
"Huh? No way?!"
Fu·Felix·Silvermoon: "Hm, Teacher's deeply poisoned."
The Grand Archon rolled over. "Bring her in, let's see who's egging my student to off me!"
Soon, the woman was dumped on the floor, limp as a puddle.
Grand Archon: "?"
Silver Moon Young Duchess: "?"
The black-robed spellcaster bowed. "She's here."
The Grand Archon stared at the heap. "I didn't say kill her… did I?"
Black-robe: "She said she's not dead."
The Grand Archon opened her mouth, lost for words.
The black-robe glided off, leaving master and pupil staring at the puddle, stunned.
Yu Yu sat at breakfast, eating.
Zi Shu: "You logged off frowning, what's up?"
Yu Yu worried, "My body. Hope I'm not on a gallows when I log in."
"What'd you do?"
Yu Yu: "Not much, does calling the Silver Moon Duchess a dog count?"
All four choked, Zi Shu and Fuyu grabbing water. Zi Shu won, gulping, "Spill."
Yu Yu frowned. "They'd have some honor, right? I'm offline, they wouldn't mess with my body…?"
Everyone knows offline players can't talk, right?
Right, right?
Right?!