novelraw #195 - Section 195
#195 - Section 195
Xia Na lived in a small house in the education district. It wasn't large, and the rent wasn't expensive. Anyway, she could earn several years' worth of rent by casually participating in a single commission at the Adventurers' Guild.
These rooms were all arranged for professionals who had failed but were unwilling to give up, preparing here to retake the exam next year. The environment was relatively clean and tidy, and most of the residents were young students, creating a very positive atmosphere.
Xia Na studied and taught herself at the Grand Library every day. Inheriting the wisdom of Nali Nair, she could actually instantly browse a large amount of information, but in the beginning, she abandoned that violent method of cramming and instead read in the manner of an ordinary genius, absorbing information at a glance.
She believed that this "slow" speed was also a way to enjoy life.
She would read until very late every day and then go home to rest. Occasionally, she would put effort into decorating her small room.
She bought many beautiful small decorations, planted three pots of flowers, and even made a swing—she loved the feeling of sitting on it and spacing out.
As time went on, her clothing and temperament became more and more similar to the students here.
Coupled with her excessively beautiful face, even though she was quite low-key and didn't interact with others, there were still some suitors trying to spark a youthful romance.
But Xia Na's response was a simple Oblivion Charm, easily shaking off this entanglement.
The first rule for the little angel's mate selection was that the suitor had to defeat her. How could she even consider dating someone who didn't have enough magic resistance?
Apart from the occasional flies buzzing around, she was quite satisfied with her current life.
Although her so-called efforts were completely mismatched with her strength and current situation.
With her strength, she could directly study the most profound magic theories and spatial conjectures and instantly understand them, let alone spend time reading those poems, essays, and novels?
So, reading was just a way to comfort herself, a posture to prove that she was still working hard and hadn't given up. Shirking work was the new normal that Xia Na had realized.
Back then, she was extremely angry and wanted to tear Roger into pieces, but now she suddenly felt that those emotions had become very vague.
As time went on, the more information she received, the more her bias naturally entered a state of decline:
"It's better to enjoy life than to be angry with that kind of bastard!"
The only eternal thing was the fear of the main body coming to her door, which was engraved in the depths of her soul.
As a projection of Nali Nair, she was one of the beings who best understood Nali Nair's various methods and knew very well that she was only eking out a living now. If she was exposed to the Seven Gods' camp, only death awaited her.
To prevent this day from coming, Xia Na secretly recorded a batch of information that she believed would greatly impact the Seven Gods in a ring she made and then hid it in a place where no one could find it.
If she died one day, that ring would be teleported to Maple Spirit Moon Shadow Palace.
"Of course, maybe the world will no longer exist at that time, but I have done my best!"
After completing this operation, Xia Na completely let go of herself and even considered going to the Imperial Magic Academy to become a top student and satisfy her vanity...
Heaven knows how long she struggled before finally giving up this easy opportunity to show off and not bully the children in her eyes.
Just like that, she aimlessly went back and forth between her residence and the Grand Library every day. Compared to the fulfilling life of an angel in the past, she was actually wasting time.
Even if she racked her brains to find Roger for revenge, that was also a kind of effort!
But at this moment in Xia Na's heart, enjoying this idle life before death was the greatest happiness!
This was very unambitious and different from what she originally wanted to do in this world.
But this was the life she wanted, the ordinary life she wanted to have.
She liked it, so what did it matter to others?
Xia Na didn't know in her heart whether she had grown up or become childish.
She tried to find the answer in books, but the books recorded hundreds of thousands of principles, each of which was very reasonable. After reading them, it was as if nothing had been said.
After reading books for ten years, it was as if she had read books for ten years. In the end, she still had no answer.
She walked in the bustling world, but in the end, she never stepped into it, observing the joys and sorrows of the world with a certain vigilance.
She muddled through like this until the New Year, and when her heartstrings were touched by the vast expanse of white snow, she picked up the black cat that Afu had transformed into and named it Xiaobai.
Because of the reliance of that weak life, Xia Na temporarily found the meaning of her existence and gained the motivation to raise it.
In that small house, she arranged a warm and comfortable little nest for Xiaobai, looked up all the precautions for raising cats, bought the best kitten food, and various toys.
She didn't have a childhood, so she especially hoped that Xiaobai would have a happy childhood.
Although Xiaobai was played by Afu, as an Eris Demon Insect, he could easily control the cat's soul and show the appearance that a kitten should have without any flaws.
Moreover, Xia Na had never raised a cat.
As long as the appearance was cute enough, even if Afu accidentally revealed some of the living habits of a cicada, she would not suspect it.
Also, because of Xia Na's wholehearted and attentive care, Afu also developed inexplicable emotions and became a little... obsessed with playing the role of the black cat.
Every Eris Demon Insect is lonely. The existence of the Mind Demon Domain allows them to have self-protection ability and territorial awareness from birth, go to the astral world alone to weave terrible traps, and patiently wait for prey.
It wasn't until he had experienced too many human emotions and understood the relationships between them, watching and yearning for their interactions, that Afu began to have emotions.
After watching too many joys and sorrows, he discovered his uniqueness and gradually understood that as a pioneer among the Eris Demon Insects, he was the only one of this era.
The only one who had opened his spiritual intelligence, possessed a self, and could no longer look up to those of his kind.
But correspondingly, he became a unique existence in the world and felt an unspeakable loneliness.
Roger arranged for Afu to find Xia Na, not only to find an opportunity to bring Xia Na closer to the Anti-Green Vine Alliance but also to see some of the same characteristics in Afu and Xia Na.
In terms of age, these were two new problem children, but they both possessed wisdom and knowledge beyond ordinary adults.
This made it impossible for them to have a normal growth period and childhood. As for how to cultivate and guide them, the Eternal Night Empress directly threw the job to Roger.
But Roger had never taken care of children, especially since Xia Na had entered her rebellious period early, making her very difficult to deal with.
This wave of arranging for Afu to come to Xia Na in the form of a kitten actually also wanted them to get in touch, perhaps to create some kind of chemical reaction and promote each other's growth.
Similar species are better at communicating. On the surface, an angel projection and an astral demon are vastly different, but thinking deeply, maybe they can understand each other?
After a period of interaction between people and cats, it was really as Roger expected, unexpectedly harmonious.
Xia Na needed Afu, stimulating the gentleness and maternal instinct in her heart; Afu also needed Xia Na, this feeling of being cared for was very wonderful.
They formed a state of dependence on each other, as master and pet, but also as "friends."
Xia Na was still a child, she had a willful and impulsive side, but she also had a simple and kind side.
Taking care of a fragile little life, from clumsy to skilled, watching Xiaobai grow up day by day, activated her positive side.
And Afu, in this process, absorbed unprecedented warmth.
The Eternal Night Empress was Afu's nominal master, but she didn't have a hobby of raising pets. In the beginning, she treated him as an experimental product, and now she treats him as a special subject.
The most ruthless is the imperial family, it's not an exaggeration, Afu had to face the squeezing of maximizing his value.
Roger usually treated Afu with an equal attitude of a friend, would joke with him, deliberately watch him blush, and also give him some life advice.
But there was no more care. He understood the amount of knowledge Afu possessed, and it would be ridiculous to treat him as a child.
These were the two people Afu could contact with a sentimental side on a daily basis. When contacting other people, he was forbidden to show humanization.
When contacting ordinary staff members of the Arcane Society, he had to pretend to be as ignorant as before to ensure the stable operation of the magician camp.
Of course, Afu wasn't just here for vacation, he also had to guide Xia Na onto the path that Roger hoped for.
"Xiaobai, do you want this?"
"Meow~"
On the still rather cold street, the black cat in Xia Na's pocket poked its head out and used its paw to attract its owner's attention. The large and small figures stopped.
They looked at a large billboard, the Eternal Night Empress was wearing a Soul-Simulating Bracelet with a two-inch crystal screen on her wrist, wearing a gorgeous robe, with a sentence next to it: "This is a brand new world you've never seen before."
In order to attract the most users, Roger finally let the Eternal Night Empress promote the "Playful Eternal Night" spirit and filmed relevant promotional materials.
After all, this was the most brainwashing.
There were several similar exaggerated flat advertisements, and at the same time, there were many versions of dynamic magic projections being placed in the more prosperous areas of the empire.
Xia Na was a little confused, and most of the other citizens who saw the promotion were also very confused.
Soul-Simulating Bracelets and Fearless Space were completely unfamiliar things to them. What exactly were they for?
There was a related introduction in the "Long Live the Queen" newspaper, but not everyone read the newspaper, and not everyone could understand it.
The literacy rate was too low, which always felt very troublesome.
However, Her Majesty the Queen personally took action, taking beautiful pictures in different styles, which indeed had the largest coverage in the empire.
Even if they didn't know the words, many people curiously walked into Amuti Chamber of Commerce stores to inquire about the details of the Soul-Simulating Bracelet.
Specially trained clerks would immediately and enthusiastically introduce their new products to all customers and invite them to try them out.
Xia Na also mingled in the dense crowd. She could afford the price of one gold coin per item, but she didn't know what this thing was for.
If it weren't for Xiaobai's curiosity, she definitely wouldn't have come to such a crowded store, but would have been reading a favorite book in a comfortable chair in the Grand Library.
Instead of listening to the clerks who were lured by high commission ratios chattering here:
"Our bracelet is a masterpiece personally designed by Frankenstein, a master of the Arcane Society, and uses an exclusively developed pseudo-life magic core. It has four large cores and two small cores, which can create an extremely realistic world in the brain and allow users around the world to enjoy life together."
"Enjoy free services such as sending and receiving letters and long-distance communication! Like the magicians' camp, this will be a product that changes life. People who don't play Soul-Simulating Bracelets will be outdated sooner or later!"
"We now have a launch event. As long as you check in for ninety consecutive days, the purchase price will be fully refunded, which is equivalent to getting such a beautiful magic item for free."
The clerks were eloquent, introducing the simply designed and fashionable Soul-Simulating Bracelet.
Without the big bangs that still exist in the thirteenth generation of a certain product, the Soul-Simulating Bracelet uses a complete flexible crystal to create a true full screen, with a thickness of only one imperial silver coin.
Even if Fearless Space is not turned on, this bracelet can also be used as a very beautiful watch to display the time, at least it looks much more fashionable than the pocket watches popular in the empire.
The rich custom dials are all designed by real art masters.
In addition, leather/metal/rubber/magic bone and other materials of watchbands can be freely matched, and there are rich custom functions. Each Soul-Simulating Bracelet can be infinitely personalized.
As long as you are willing to add money, you can be inlaid with gems on it. Every Amuti store has advanced craftsmen on site for processing.
From an aesthetic point of view, the Soul-Simulating Bracelet surpasses most commodities of this era. A magic item of this quality and workmanship can be bought for one gold coin, which is simply the lowest price in history.
This is the price advantage brought by magical industrialization. Mass production will make the cost of Soul-Simulating Bracelets cheaper and cheaper.
It is not complicated in the first place. It only needs to use very little magic power to connect to the transformed Mind Demon Domain and guide the user's soul into it.
Plus a very simple illusion magic to form the dial, this otherworld bracelet is completed, and a button-sized magic crystal can last for half a year.
Because the Mind Demon Domain is not a function of the Soul-Simulating Bracelet, it is just a locator and guidance device. Fearless Space is consuming the magic power of the Eris Demon Insect.
Xiaobai grabbed Xia Na's clothes with his small paws, his big eyes full of expectation.
There is also a beast version of the Soul-Simulating Bracelet, after all, many monsters also have entertainment needs.
Xia Na is now a cat slave, and doesn't care about money, so she bought one for herself and Xiaobai.
"I wish you have fun in Fearless Space and successfully earn back the purchase price." After making a business deal, the store manager personally gave Xia Na a beautifully packaged gift box.
Don't look at the fact that many people come to inquire, but very few actually buy it.
This is an era that has not yet accelerated. Everyone's acceptance of new things is not high, and they need someone to drive them before they will try.
As a result, Xia Na unintentionally became that "shill".
Buying two at a time strengthened the hearts of many hesitant people, anyway, the full amount can be refunded, right?
"That depends on my son." Xia Na rubbed Xiaobai's head dotingly, thinking that with this cat's patience, he would soon get tired of playing, right?
The idle toys at home were proof.
Because she bought a new toy, she didn't go to the Grand Library next, but went home, put on the Soul-Simulating Bracelet with Xiaobai, and logged into Fearless Space.
Chapter 172 New Identity Unlocked: Player
After a brief blur of vision.
Xia Na saw the sea of clouds in front of her, and at first thought she had appeared in a floating city.
But when she walked to the window and looked down, she realized that this was not a city in mid-air, but a high-rise building built from the ground all the way to mid-air.
The densely packed, seemingly identical windows, probably numbering in the hundreds of floors, gave Xana a dizzying sensation.
Adding to this, the air was filled with an abnormal smog, placing her high up in the clouds.
There was more than just one of these high-rise buildings; within the limited visibility of the fog, there were a dozen or so buildings of the same design.
Further into the fog, the shadows of even taller buildings could be seen, forming a magnificent skyline.
Given the productive capabilities of the Eternal Night World, this could be considered a spectacular architectural complex.
But considering this was a virtual mental space, she didn't find anything particularly surprising.
Anyway, the bolder one's imagination, the taller the buildings that could be created here, which at most proved that the designer had a pretty good imagination.