Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Fine, Isn’t It Just Being a Pet?
Ling Xi’s heart pounded wildly.
She could feel the soft contours of the body behind her.
A vast and pure power of shadow flowed from that body behind her, passing through their interlocked hands and gently pouring into her body.
“Hurry up, I don’t have much patience.”
The urging voice carried a trace of laughter.
Ling Xi closed her eyes and forced herself to begin chanting.
【Floating heat…】
【Heed my call…】
【Become an arrow that scorches all things…】
Her mental energy, which had originally been like a trickling stream, instantly turned into a roaring torrent.
The air above her palm twisted violently.
A fireball far larger than before rapidly took shape and expanded in front of her.
From the size of a fist, to the size of a basketball, and finally becoming a massive fireball nearly half a meter in diameter.
Terrifying heat rushed toward her, even curling her bangs slightly from the scorching temperature.
Inside the fireball, dark-red magma churned, and sparks burst from its surface from time to time.
If this thing were to lose control…
Half of the entire tower would probably be blown away.
With all her strength, Ling Xi shouted the final syllable.
The enormous fireball before her seemed to receive its final command and suddenly shot forward.
The terrifying recoil pushed her backward, and Ling Xi’s entire body crashed into Scarlet Moon’s soft embrace.
But she had no mind to care about that. All her attention was drawn to the sphere of destruction whistling away before her eyes.
The fireball tore through the air, dragging a long flaming tail behind it like a falling meteor, instantly crossing the distance between the tower and the forest.
In the next second, a flash swallowed her vision.
A deafening explosion rang out.
Ling Xi could not keep her footing and nearly collapsed to the ground, but Scarlet Moon behind her held her steady.
She stared blankly into the distance.
At the edge of the forest, a mushroom cloud slowly rose.
The shockwave spread outward in a visible form, and wherever it passed, rows of trees were snapped in half.
The once dense forest had been forcibly cleared into a massive circular open space.
At the center of the clearing, within the lingering glow of the flames, dark-red light flickered.
This… was this my doing?
Ling Xi’s first reaction was shock, but what followed immediately after was a question that sent chills through her entire body.
Wait, in this game’s world setting, were spells really this powerful?
In the game, Fireball couldn’t even instantly kill a small mob. It was nothing more than a basic skill with a short cooldown and low cost.
But now, the effect of this basic skill was comparable to a tactical nuclear weapon!
If those bosses had been throwing things like this at her before, a hundred of her wouldn’t have been enough for them to kill!
Luo Long’s dragon breath, Yue Qi’s Divine Punishment, Karina’s Abyss of Desire, and Scarlet Moon’s endless shadow tentacles.
Those skills that had already made her die over and over again in the game—if they all possessed this level of power…
A terrifying thought surfaced clearly in Ling Xi’s mind.
So they were just toying with me?
“You only realized that now? My little toy.”
Scarlet Moon’s voice, tinged with lazy amusement, came from beside her ear.
She released her hold on Ling Xi and slowly walked toward the balcony.
In those blood-red eyes was reflected the distant glow of burning flames.
“If I truly wished it, that soulless shell of yours would have turned to dust the very second you stepped into this castle.”
“Whether it was Luo Long, Yue Qi, or Karina, the reason they accompanied you in that boring little game
was merely because that stubborn obsession of yours, transmitted across the barrier between worlds, was just slightly interesting.”
Scarlet Moon turned around. “It’s like watching an ant trying again and again to move a stone that, to it, is like a mountain.
The process is laughable, but if you watch long enough, it can count as a form of entertainment.”
She stopped in front of Ling Xi and reached out, gently brushing her fingers across Ling Xi’s slightly trembling cheek.
“And now, this ant has truly run right in front of me.”
“So, my little ant,”
“tell me, what are your thoughts now?”
Thoughts?
What thoughts could she possibly have?
Her only thought was that what she had been playing before wasn’t some high-difficulty action game at all, but a pet-raising simulator.
And she had been playing the pet.
Her only thought was that she wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into and never come out again.
Ling Xi’s lips moved, but not a single word came out.
Her brain, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information and excessive fear, had already stopped functioning.
【Scarlet Moon was pleased by your reaction, Fate Points +5】
【Current Fate Points: 13】
“Go back.”
Scarlet Moon withdrew her hand and turned to walk toward the stone door leading back into the tower.
The evening wind swept across the platform, carrying a faint burnt smell left behind by the explosion.
Ling Xi’s body was still frozen in place.
Scarlet Moon stopped at the doorway and turned her head back.
She lowered her gaze and glanced at her own shoes.
“My shoes are dirty.”
Her eyes fell on Ling Xi once more.
“Come back and wipe them for me.”
Ling Xi followed after her.
The sound of the explosion was still echoing in her mind.
A pet-raising simulator.
Fine, isn’t it just being a pet?
She followed Scarlet Moon down the spiral staircase and returned to the main hall.
Scarlet Moon walked to the sofa and sat down, casually crossing her legs.
There was still some dust from the tower platform clinging to the surface of her shoes.
“Go get a cloth.”
The command was perfectly clear.
Ling Xi turned around and found a clean white soft cloth in the storage room.
She returned to the front of the sofa and knelt on one knee upon the carpet.
This posture left her able to do nothing but look up at the foot suspended before her eyes.
She reached out, one hand gently supporting Scarlet Moon’s ankle from below for balance, while with the other she held the soft cloth and began wiping the surface of the shoe.
Her movements were light, wanting only to finish as quickly as possible.
Under her wiping, the foot wearing the little leather shoe regained its original shine.
The leather surface reflected the dim yellow light of the hall, and also reflected Ling Xi’s pale face.
“All done.”
Ling Xi released her hand, her voice very low.
Just as she was about to stand, Scarlet Moon switched the leg she had crossed.
She stretched out one hand, pinched the heel of her leather shoe, and gently pulled downward.
Tap.
A soft sound rang out.
The pair of black little leather shoes tied with red ribbon was removed just like that and dropped onto the soft carpet.
A bad premonition instantly gripped Ling Xi’s heart.
What remained before her eyes was only that foot clad in a pair of translucent black long stockings.
This scene.
This posture.
This top-down angle.
Not long ago, in the game called Era of the Divine Throne, she had seen it before.
Every time she was defeated, Scarlet Moon used this very foot to step on Ling Xi’s face.
Scarlet Moon’s voice lightly drifted down.
“The shoes are clean.”
“What about the inside?”