novelraw Chapter 58 – Good night
Chapter 58 – Good night
Due to the involvement of Xia Ya, Lef, and Yveline, the personal quest suddenly turned into a team quest.
In a way, this diluted the difficulty, as when both the numerator and denominator increase proportionally, the value keeps decreasing.
Besides Yveline and the three players, the team also included Andrew and his two servants, as well as two members of the Dark Brotherhood disguised as Brusolo mercenaries. One of them had his head pecked off by a hawk and was already dead, leaving behind a lockpicking specialist named Corian, who occasionally cast suspicious glances at Xia Ya.
He was the locksmith of the village. Aside from Sennia and Sanya, the top combatants, and the Village Chief, who had no locks at home, keys obtained from others could be duplicated by him.
The legitimate rogue's "Shortcut Out of the Village" quest also began here, a long series of theft tasks requiring the picking of every lock except those of the aforementioned three to gain his approval.
Apart from having a lockpicking skill of level 5, Corian also taught an early-stage divine skill: "Combat Appraisal," akin to the Eye of Insight skill, which allowed players to gauge an opponent's strength at a glance, revealing levels and classes for players and providing even better effects for NPCs.
Xia Ya jokingly said he wouldn't help Apulu Pie, but he wasn't sure of her intentions yet. Directly stating it would undoubtedly ruin her gaming experience, so he hesitated over how to spoil it.
Not spoiling it was impossible, not in this lifetime. After all, having gone through 177 cycles, now that the game was in public test, spoiling was the only fun left.
But just as he hesitated, this one mysteriously approached him.
"Big guy! Let's talk outside!" she said earnestly.
If she hadn't licked her lips and her eyes weren't so excited, Xia Ya wouldn't have thought much of it.
But now, he was a bit worried... Could this one be interested in me?
However, when he looked up, he saw Yveline standing beside Apulu Pie, the two of them arm in arm like besties.
To be precise, the rogue nestled like a little bird in the arms of the Dark Elf, who was just a head taller than Yveline.
???
What was going on?
An official announcement right in my face?
Xia Ya frowned, "Are you two... seeking my opinion before eloping?"
"We'd take you with us if we eloped, big guy!"
Apulu Pie dragged Xia Ya out of the cave, bringing along Lef from the corner, the four of them huddling sneakily at the entrance.
"Thanks to your guidance, big guy, I carefully recalled what the round-faced uncle said to me and discovered a secret!" Apulu Pie said excitedly, "He seems to be more than just a merchant!"
Oh, she figured it out.
Xia Ya was just feeling emotional when she continued, "Just now, my employee Corian suddenly passed me a message saying the plan had changed, to halt actions, and warned me to be cautious of the round-faced uncle... That's when I realized our mission wasn't escorting but robbing! We might even have to kill! This is truly an illegal organization!"
I take back what I just said...
Figured... figured out what?
Xia Ya couldn't help but facepalm.
This situation was caused by his intervention, leading to a "choice branch," with the system practically plastering the answer on your face.
Choose a side, quickly!
Apulu Pie could choose to reveal the truth to Andrew or keep it hidden and work with Corian on the next stage of the robbery and murder plan.
Both quests had similar overall difficulty but different focuses—helping Andrew meant six against one, with Corian definitely dead. But then they would likely encounter a large force led by Drill Sergeant Doom from the Dark Brotherhood or get lost in the fog, requiring high-level lockpicking to escape.
If they chose to kill Andrew, the battle would be troublesome. Andrew himself was a level 22 Ice Summoner—a mage class unique to Allendale, capable of summoning two water elementals with high health and low attack, perfect for slowing down enemies and a nightmare in close combat. His two servants were level 15 monks, skilled in martial arts.
However, the subsequent tasks would be straightforward. If they didn't want to navigate through the fog, they could send a signal and wait for Drill Sergeant Doom's rescue, though this would greatly affect the final evaluation, it would still allow for a low-score clearance.
Xia Ya naturally leaned towards saving an old acquaintance, but this wasn't his quest, so he respected Apulu Pie's decision.
If she wanted to take the Dark Brotherhood route, he wouldn't stop her. He would withdraw and gradually fade from her social circle. After all, differing paths couldn't be reconciled, and he couldn't agree with a purely player mindset, but as long as it didn't cross his bottom line, he wouldn't interfere.
Of course, he wouldn't say any of this.
"So, what do you want to do?" he asked.
"Of course, I'll save the round-faced uncle!" Apulu Pie declared righteously, "I'm a law-abiding citizen, how could I collude with the Dark Brotherhood's criminals! Ah, sister, I wasn't talking about you!!"
Yveline gave the female rogue an amused glare, her gaze aggressive, causing the rogue to fall for her almost instantly, turning into a lovestruck fool.
"Ahem!"
Xia Ya cleared his throat, "Since you've decided, then—"
"What are you waiting for, big guy? Aren't you going to sleep? I'm logging off to sleep!" The female rogue grabbed Lef's hand and waved it at him, "Come on, little Lef, say goodbye to the big guy! We're going to sleep!"
Lef blushed and waved at Xia Ya, "Good, good night... Xia Ya..."
"Wait, you two—"
"Little Lef is staying at my place!" the female rogue said, "She's been all secretive, not mentioning anything about the game, I thought she was about to quit! But it turns out she secretly hooked up with the big guy behind my back! I'll make sure she understands the consequences of deceiving me tonight, hmph! By the way, big guy, aren't you going to sleep? It's almost 2 AM, every time I log on, you're here."
2 AM...
Such a distant term.
Xia Ya smiled faintly, lost in thought.
Suddenly, a strange fear swept over him, his gaze dropped, then wandered aimlessly...
Finally landing on Yveline's face.
The Dark Elf couldn't understand this conversation, nor did she have any thoughts of "what strange actions are these people doing," as if everything was normal.
But this normalcy seemed so ironic in Xia Ya's eyes.
He suddenly grabbed Yveline's hand, ignoring her complaining look, holding it tightly.
As if he suddenly found some confidence.
"By the way, Lef said she has a friend whose family makes bags, is that you?" he asked with a smile.
"What!?"
Apulu Pie jumped up in surprise, "Little Lef! You said you had no intentions towards the big guy! You even told him this!!"
"I-I-I just let it slip... Good, good night!"
Lef blushed, swayed a bit, then fell into Apulu Pie's arms, gradually fading away, leaving only a phantom standing silently, finding a clean spot in the corner to lie down.
"Good night, big guy!"
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Apulu Pie waved her hand, logging off as well.
The two phantom outlines lay in the corner, identical to their pre-logout positions, unable to interact. It was the first time Xia Ya had seen players log off normally.
"They're resting," Xia Ya said softly.
"I'm not blind," Yveline rolled her eyes at him, her gaze sweeping over the phantom positions, finding nothing amiss. It was as if she saw two normal girls sleeping soundly, embracing each other.
Xia Ya felt inexplicably flustered, his breathing uneven.
He stood up irritably, heading outside, forgetting that his hand was still tightly clasped with Yveline's, bringing the Dark Elf up with him.
"Hey, Xia Ya, you..."
"Sorry."
Xia Ya let go of her hand, but before he could take a step, Yveline suddenly grabbed him again.
She held Xia Ya's hand firmly, stepping up to his side, her purple eyes meeting his.
"You have something on your mind."
"A little."
"Can you tell me about it?"
Xia Ya was stunned, then shook his head with a wry smile.
"No need..."
"You're avoiding something, though I don't know what."
The elf's remaining hand touched his shoulder, then his cheek, bringing them back to eye level, her gaze calm as water.
"Though I don't like you, I dislike seeing you like this even more. As a companion in the Pact of Synergy, if you need rest, I won't stand by and do nothing."
She stood on tiptoe, gently kissed Xia Ya's forehead, then ruffled his hair, letting him lean on her shoulder.
Xia Ya's body was initially stiff, but gradually softened. He embraced the slightly cool body of the Dark Elf, yet felt a flame flickering in his chest.
Yes, what was he avoiding?