Chapter 10 : Chapter 10
Chapter 10. We Go Our Separate Ways and Find Our Own Mothers!
“Hey, glutton, wake up. Work is done.”
Vivian did not respond.
Helpless, Wu You bent down, intending to haul her up.
Just then...
【Ding! Battle settlement complete. Host level has increased to Level 2! All attributes have been slightly enhanced!】
A warm current flowed through his limbs and bones.
His fatigue eased considerably, and his senses seemed to sharpen a little as well.
Wu You’s spirits lifted slightly.
He had finally leveled up.
Even though it was only Level 2, it was still a good start.
He hoisted the still-unconscious little girl onto his shoulder and picked up the heavy, shabby staff from the ground as well.
He could not help muttering inwardly.
That thing actually had not been blown apart?
After glancing at the Slime area, which had been mostly cleared out, he turned and started walking back toward town.
Inside his mind, the skills had not finished arguing yet.
There were even faint signs that their verbal sparring was about to escalate into a full-on mental brawl.
Wu You sighed and muttered to himself as he walked.
“Sigh, having to drag around one useless glutton is already enough of a headache...”
“And at home I have five demanding ancestors constantly trying to outdo each other, bicker, and ask for this and that...”
“When is this kind of life ever going to end...?”
The setting sun stretched his shadow long across the ground.
With a little girl slung over his shoulder, a shabby staff hanging at his waist, and a marketplace-like quarrel echoing through his mind, he walked toward the smoke-rising town.
Life was not easy.
Wu You could only sigh.
And yet, compared to when he had come, his steps were noticeably lighter.
On the road back to town, the sky gradually darkened.
Wu You carried Vivian on his shoulder, walking unsteadily along the path.
Inside his head, the skills were still fiercely arguing over who had looked cooler while killing monsters and who had been the true main damage dealer, making him even more irritated.
“Mmm...”
A faint groan came from his shoulder.
Wu You paused and said irritably, “Awake? If you are awake, then get down and walk by yourself! You are heavy as hell!”
Vivian shifted weakly on his back.
She seemed to want to struggle down, but her limbs were limp and completely without strength.
She muttered softly, “How rude... to say I am heavy... I merely... overused my magic power...”
Wu You ignored her and kept walking, but inwardly he became more alert.
Overused her magic power?
He recalled that terrifyingly powerful Great Fireball from earlier, along with its outrageously long casting time, and Vivian’s heroic feat of collapsing face-first the moment she finished casting.
That... did not seem right.
In his previous life, he had been a shut-in, but he had read plenty of games and novels.
A normal mage, even a low-level one, should not collapse into unconsciousness just from casting a spell of their own level.
Unless they were casting above their level, or...
He tilted his head slightly and glanced at Vivian out of the corner of his eye.
Her little face, resting against his shoulder, was still pale.
This little girl had earlier claimed in the middle of her dramatic episode that she was a half-demon descendant and that her magic was tremendously powerful...
Now that he thought about it, the power was indeed tremendous.
But the cost and side effects were just as absurdly tremendous!
This was not a mage at all.
This was clearly a human-shaped, self-propelled, disposable magic cannon!
And the kind that took forever to charge, fired one shot, and immediately went silent afterward!
Moreover, judging from how weak she looked, she probably would not recover anytime soon.
The dry rations she had eaten earlier had probably all been converted into magic power and burned up.
No wonder she had eaten like a starving ghost.
Wu You’s mental abacus immediately began clicking.
Take her back with him?
What kind of joke was that!
He himself was already dirt poor, living meal to meal, and he still had to support five picky, demanding skill ancestors.
And now he was supposed to add this extra burden?
A “charge for two hours, talk for five minutes” type, who could eat him into poverty with a single meal and then collapse into a corpse-like heap after using one skill?
No.
Absolutely not.
He could not afford this kind of losing deal.
Having made up his mind, Wu You quickened his pace.
Vivian seemed to sense something.
Her small hand tightened on the fabric at his shoulder as she asked softly, “Hey... are we going back to town?”
“What else? Was I supposed to escort you back to your demon realm homeland?” Wu You replied irritably.
“Then... what happens after we get back?” Vivian asked, her voice carrying a faint trace of tension and expectation.
Wu You sneered inwardly, but his face remained calm.
He even deliberately used an easygoing tone.
“After we get back? Obviously, we each go our separate ways and find our own mothers. I will head to the guild, turn in the mission, collect the reward money, then find the cheapest inn I can, eat a full meal, and sleep until the world turns upside down.”
He paused, then added, “As for you, the great Lady Vivian Shadowmoon, of course you will continue your ‘harsh training’ and keep experiencing the ‘hardships of the common people.’ We only met by chance, and now our fate together is over. Let us part here. I wish you an early rise to become the Great Mage whose name resounds across the continent.”
The moment he finished speaking, he felt the small body on his shoulder stiffen noticeably.
“Y-You are going to abandon me?” Vivian’s voice was filled with disbelief and a trace of panic.
“What do you mean, abandon you?” Wu You replied righteously.
“We were only temporary partners doing a mission together in the first place. Now that the mission is finished, naturally we part ways. That is the rule of the Jianghu, understand?”
“But... but I...”
Vivian panicked and wanted to say something, but she could not seem to find a suitable reason.
In the end, she could only force out one sentence.
“I have not eaten yet!”
“What does that have to do with me?!” Wu You shot back mercilessly.
“All my dry rations went into your stomach! I am hungry too right now! Besides, you are such an amazing Great Mage. Just go somewhere and put on a little Great Fireball performance. Surely someone will feed you!”
“I... I...” Vivian fell speechless.
Her little face flushed red, half from anger and half from panic.
She could hear the distance and firmness in Wu You’s tone.
He truly intended to throw her aside the moment they reached town.
She bit her lip.
A trace of grievance and stubbornness flashed through her emerald-green eyes.
But in the end, she said nothing more.
She only buried her face against Wu You’s shoulder, while her little hand gripped him even tighter.
Wu You felt it.
But he steeled his heart and pretended not to notice.
He silently told himself, Sorry, brat. It is not that I am heartless. I really cannot afford to feed you. You said it yourself—you are experiencing hardship. So... keep experiencing it! I am getting out of here first!
He had already planned everything out.
Once they got into the city, he would turn in the mission, collect the money, and immediately head for a crowded area.
Before the little girl recovered, he would find a chance to set her down.
Then he would activate Swift Step, make a clean escape, and vanish without a trace!
Perfect!
As for whether his conscience would hurt?
Wu You touched the bag of Slime Cores in his clothing, felt the slightly stronger body he had gained after leveling up, and then thought about the five starving skills in his mind.
Mm.
What even was conscience?
Could it be exchanged for Magic Cores?
Could it feed his skills?
Could it help him defeat the goddess???
No?
Then what use was it!!!
Wu You’s steps grew even firmer as he walked toward the distant lights of the town.
It was as if he could already see his bright future—shaking off the burden, eating a hot meal, and then being hounded for debt by his skills all over again.
Meanwhile, Vivian buried her face even deeper into his shoulder.
Her small body trembled faintly.
Whether from fear or some other emotion, it was impossible to tell.