Chapter Thirteen: Stepping Outside
Maria recalled her memories in a dream, revisiting a conversation she had with Sonya, the reincarnated one, while analyzing the magical factor sample of another traveler in the alchemy workshop.
“That very beautiful girl—is she the genius traveler you said could hunt down most of the red dragons even while confined to a wheelchair?”
Sonya sneered slightly, as if Maria’s question was as simple as “1+1=?”
But the next moment, with a mischievous tone, she said, “That’s definitely her. Very beautiful, right?”
Maria nodded. “Her magical factor exudes remarkable resilience, a beautiful magical aura, like the core of the earth itself.”
Sonya propped her face with one hand, grinning slyly. “Right? Right? Silver hair looks great, golden eyes too.”
“Hmm, her physical abilities and talents are astonishingly high...”
Sonya’s purple eyes gleamed with wicked delight. “And she’s got a big chest!”
“...” Maria closed her eyes briefly, then reopened them with a strange expression. “Why do you keep talking about her appearance?”
“Isn’t she adorable?” Sonya said, radiating the conviction of “the girl I support is just that cute.”
“Tch...” Maria had to recall the appearance of the traveler who shared the same name as ‘that wooden one’. “She is indeed very beautiful, probably the most beautiful I’ve seen. So?”
“Heh~ Don’t you feel something special?”
Maria shook her head coldly. “No.”
Sonya grinned devilishly. “Then that’s strange—you’re the champion of the Little Mei Cup in the first run, aren’t you?”
“...I have no issues in that regard.”
Sonya gave her a wicked look, clicking her tongue and wagging a finger. “Not yet.”
...
Maria tossed and turned alone on her bed for a long time, her mind filled with the phrase “not yet.”
What problem could there still be?
Yes, she admitted, Amy really was very beautiful, smelled nice, and when she raised her hands to grab something, one could see the side curves from behind. But that was mere aesthetics—frowning at ugliness, relaxing at beauty.
“This is the law of nature.”
Maria stared at the ceiling, firm in her resolve.
Being good-looking was immensely important in this society. If you were attractive enough, even if you were a serial killer, people would defend you; one’s values followed their appearance!
So...
“What other problem could there possibly be?”
After a sleepless night, Maria was ready to storm out, turn left at Sonya’s dorm, and put her in her place with one strike.
Stop playing the enigma!
What riddle?
Suddenly, a future person grabs you and points to an invincible beautiful young girl, telling you, “You will travel alongside her in the future.” How could one not be concerned?
The most infuriating thing was Sonya saying the riddle and then falling silent, acting as if nothing happened.
Damn it, a clear conscience fears no shadow!
I, Maria, will never fall into the seductive trap of softness—I will become a master geologist in another world!
...
Melina slept soundly, the warm bed reminding her of the girls’ dormitory at the academy. Because she and her roommates were petite and the dorm lacked heating, they would share the same bed in winter.
That warmth felt just like this bed.
...
She slipped quietly into dreamland.
In that deeper-than-silence sleep, she dreamed of climbing an invisible, endless ladder, slowly ascending through boundless darkness. Beyond her sight, faint threads seemed to shimmer in the distance.
Waking up, Melina felt her body had improved somewhat.
Banshees were creatures somewhat like soul-stealing demons; magical factors were resources derived from conceptual behavior and ecological outputs, also understood as a kind of soul energy.
They absorbed this magical factor to strengthen their bodies.
So despite Sonya’s comical appearance, if the red-feathered dragon from yesterday stood still, Sonya could have moved it...
Melina’s factor absorption efficiency was unmatched, nearly reaching that of armored banshees.
This was why she was confident in battles between banshees—even as a non-explorer, she could hold the upper hand in PvP. For PvE, she was currently in a sealed state, just waiting for the VAC ban announcement declaring “Mel is not cheating; it’s all talent,” and then she would destroy everything.
After getting up to wash, she encountered the sleepy Sonya (in a meek version).
Sonya kept yawning, scratching her head without an iota of ladylike grace, then gargled and washed her face noisily.
Melina felt like she was back in the girls’ dorm.
“小梅, are you going out with Old Ma later?”
Sonya wore a silk nightgown, but it was nothing spectacular to behold—nowhere near as alluring as Melina’s sweater dress that highlighted her restrained curves.
“Yes.” Melina was more awake now, able to distinguish cleanser from lotion. “Aren’t you coming?”
“Nope, no can do!” Sonya smiled softly, wagging a finger. “Not allowed.”
She yawned again. “Worked late last night, will take a nap soon. You and Old Ma remember to bring me takeout—one roasted calf head.”
“You’ll get fat,” Melina muttered.
“Eh?” Sonya lifted her nightgown, her smile both seductive and languid. “Won’t make me fat, no.”
Melina glanced quickly, then looked away.
She really had abs!
Yawning continuously, Sonya left, reminding them: “Old Ma’s got money. When you order, don’t pay with your own little treasury; let Old Ma handle it.”
...
After washing up, Melina saw Maria come in with dark circles under her eyes, startling her.
“Didn’t sleep well?”
Maria glanced at her, pouted, and yawned fiercely. “It’s all that damn Sonya’s fault. Don’t ever follow her example playing that game’s second installment.”
“What game?” Melina was still groggy, asking before realizing she might have revealed too much.
Fortunately, Maria was even more muddled, chuckling softly and mimicking a golf swing with her voluptuous figure, uttering a strange “woohoo~.”
“Wuh... wuhhoo?”
Melina still didn’t understand but raised her hands cutely.
“Bye-bye-bye,” Maria mumbled indistinctly.
After their cryptic exchange, Maria greeted her and went to wash up.
“I’ll come to your room after I change.”
“Oh.”
Melina returned to her room to change. After donning her dress, she curled up in a chair, resting her feet on its edge, head on her knees, painting her toenails.
Her silver hair spilled over her body like a smooth, soft brush, quietly spreading the black nail polish evenly over her thin, slightly moist nails. The brush whispered softly as it glided.
...
The silver-haired girl finished painting her nails, then took out black lipstick and applied it to her tender lips.
Maria realized she had been watching for a long while.
She shook her head vigorously to clear her thoughts and tapped the nearby notice board.
...
Thump, thump.
Melina looked up and back, seeing Maria fully dressed and ready.
The golden-haired woman wore the exact same armor as Senior Sonya—the Bright Silver Relic armor.
The silver plating was beautiful, with a segmented skirt design that was sexy yet modest thanks to the abdominal plating. The streamlined steel on the skirt maximized damage reduction.
Yet unfortunately, despite the armor’s exquisite appearance and cool name, it was starting gear.
At best, it was an expensive “going-out outfit” with no cost-performance value.
Armor made from dragon scales was tougher and offered special effects no starting gear could match, but such effects required a large amount of magical factor in the main material, and to guarantee those effects, the magical factor had to be “tamed.”
And the only way to tame the magical factor on monster materials was...
To kill the monster itself.
Auxiliary materials like dragon’s blood or common dragon scales could be bought, but precious items like strong dragon scales or dragon leather had to be hunted personally.
This made “rare and exotic treasure intelligence” one of the most valuable currencies in this world besides money and materials.
Sonya, too, held a great deal of such intelligence—one of the charms of being a reincarnated one.
Though Maria’s system cheat helped her achieve many incredible feats, to some extent, “Little Tou” still couldn’t compare to “Infinite Economy.”
“Not ready yet?” Maria smiled helplessly. “It’s been almost ten minutes?”
“...Just ten minutes.”
Melina took out spare stockings from her trunk, stretched them out, and skillfully rolled them on in circles. Then she started on the other foot...
“You remind me of my college dorm.”
“Why?” Melina glanced at her, seeing that look of a big dog lost in thought—not like Lu Tong—so she calmly lowered her head to put on her shoes.
See! I told you! Not everyone in this world has issues.
Maria said, “We agreed to leave on the same day, but spent at least an hour getting ready before going out.”
Her left hand rested on the sword sheath at her waist, fingers lightly tracing from the scabbard to the hilt.
“I didn’t make you wait an hour.”
As she spoke, Melina finished putting on her shoes, stepped on the floor, and grabbed a lace parasol.
“I’m ready. How about you?”
“Almost... done.” Maria looked a little dazed.
Melina teased, “Didn’t sleep well last night?”
“A bit.” Maria wouldn’t admit that Sonya’s words had unsettled her—she’d never say such embarrassing things. Instead, she said, “I’m a little worried about Hamlet Town. Sonya staying here must mean something big is going on, but there’s nothing I can do. I promised to help her.”
This made Melina feel a strange pang of jealousy. Her innate possessiveness often left her hungry for attention. She disliked when others discussed someone else in front of her, so she reached out and tapped her lips, deliberately asking:
“Senior Maria, do you think my lipstick is evenly applied?”
“Hm?”
Maria looked down, feeling a bit dizzy.
Noticing her gaze returned to herself, Melina happily blinked.
“Looks very even.”
A faint smile traced Melina’s lips, almost making Maria think it was a trick of the light. Then Melina left the room, walking down the curved corridor, leaving the residence behind.