Chapter 89: Who Taught You to Comfort People Like This? |
Mister Black escorted the two silent girls all the way to the dormitory before finally leaving.
Vivian and Lilith had been assigned to the same dorm room.
The academy dormitory was not very large. Two single beds were placed against the eastern and western walls, already prepared with thick cotton mattresses, rough wool blankets, and linen pillows.
One bed was near the window, and through the window they could see the plaza surrounding the Eternal Tower.
Inside the room was a square oak table, two wooden chairs with backrests, and an antique wall clock hanging behind them.
Brass support rods were suspended from the ceiling, carrying two floating magical light spheres.
Other than that, there was nothing else, making the room appear somewhat empty.
After entering the dormitory and closing the door—
Jiang Chen controlled Vivian and sat down beside the bed near the window.
The two simply sat there in silence.
After a long while....
Looking at Vivian, who still sat there without speaking, Lilith began feeling worried.
She knew very clearly that Vivian was probably just like herself.
“Um... Vivian.” Finally, Lilith could not help breaking the silence.
“Hm? What is it?”
Jiang Chen casually replied while still studying how to allocate his 50 attribute points, then continued calculating things.
“Vivian, if there’s really no other choice in the future, should we accept the old principal’s suggestion and choose a family to join?”
Lilith finally asked the question she most wanted answered.
Lilith felt conflicted.
Should she sell herself to a family in exchange for systemized magic, or preserve her freedom and abandon the chance to learn it?
Hearing Lilith’s question, Jiang Chen froze for a moment.
“What’s wrong with this NPC?”
Jiang Chen stared at Lilith strangely.
“W-What?” Being stared at so directly by Vivian made Lilith uncomfortable.
“How exactly did your brain arrive at asking that kind of question?” Vivian suddenly stood up.
“I’m just really conflicted...”
“Which is more important, freedom or becoming stronger...”
Hearing Lilith’s words, Jiang Chen almost burst out laughing.
By now, Jiang Chen was already accustomed to the NPCs in this game being capable of independent thought.
He gave this technology a huge thumbs-up.
But the problem was that the thought process was way too AI-like.
“This AI isn’t good enough. Clearly it hasn’t been properly trained. It’s giving off major ‘let them eat cake’ vibes.”
As he spoke, Jiang Chen decided to properly correct this AI’s mindset.
Vivian cleared her throat.
“First of all, Lilith, stop overthinking things.”
“But...”
Lilith had just opened her mouth when Vivian raised a hand and interrupted her.
“There’s no ‘but.’ Your entire premise doesn’t even hold up.”
“Whether freedom is more important or becoming stronger is not a question you should even be considering.”
“Because the premise of you considering that question is that these families would actually value you enough to give you a choice.”
“But the reality is these families don’t even look at you twice.”
“If you don’t even have the right to choose, then what exactly are you agonizing over?”
Hearing Vivian’s words, Lilith suddenly realized something.
The sadness she felt after learning the truth instantly disappeared.
“That’s right, Vivian! Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Yeah... I don’t even have the right to choose. So what exactly was I feeling sad abo—...” The further Lilith spoke, the quieter her voice became.
“Why do I somehow feel even sadder now...”
“Damn you, Vivian! Who taught you how to comfort people like this?!”
“I’m just telling the truth. People should first have a clear understanding of themselves.” Vivian continued speaking.
“Once you understand the reality that you’re weak trash, you’ll realize many of your worries are completely unnecessary, because the things you’re worrying about were never related to you in the first place.”
Taking a deep breath, Lilith forced herself to calm down first.
“Fine, Vivian, you win!”
“You figured it out? See, that’s more like it....”
As she spoke, Vivian sat back down on the bed. “Alright, go think through your own problems. Don’t bother me, I still have serious business to handle.”
Then, under Lilith’s curious gaze, Vivian took out a metal box.
“What’s that?” Lilith asked curiously after seeing the item Vivian had produced.
“No idea. We’ll only know once it’s opened.”
“Huh?” Lilith looked confused. She thought to herself: Your own item and you don’t even know what’s inside?
Still, Lilith did not interrupt Vivian and instead curiously watched as she tinkered with the box.
At first, Lilith had been curious about what Vivian was studying around the box.
But when she saw Vivian begin picking the lock, Lilith suddenly felt she understood everything.
“So Vivian... can you tell me where exactly this box came from?”
“I picked it up.” Vivian answered matter-of-factly while continuing to pick the lock.
“Picked it up?” Lilith’s mouth twitched.
Honestly, Lilith really wanted to ask: Do you even believe that yourself?
Thus, under Lilith’s watchful gaze, Vivian struggled for a long time before finally prying the lock open.
“Let me see what’s actually inside this thing.”
Jiang Chen’s eyes turned toward the contents of the box.
The moment he saw the items inside, even his breathing stopped briefly.
【Eternal Night Chapter: Ember Reversal】
【Eternal Night Chapter: Shadow Shackles Trio】
【Eternal Night Chapter: Slumber Fugue】
.......
“Holy shit.... a complete magic system, and it even includes everything from First Ring to Ninth Ring. Hm? Why’s there a map here too?”
As he spoke, Jiang Chen picked up the map and examined it.
On the map, nine locations had already been marked with red X symbols, while one remaining area was circled.
Based on Jiang Chen’s guess, the map should record the hidden locations of this magic set. Matthew had already explored the previous nine places.
Those nine places corresponded to the first nine-ring spells.
As for this final unexplored location....
That meant this magic system still contained a Legendary-Rank spell.
“Damn, Matthew’s loaded!”
“This guy’s got a ridiculous amount of good stuff!”
Jiang Chen could not help blurting out in excitement.
Because he became too excited, Jiang Chen forgot that his microphone was still on.
Thus—
After hearing the final two sentences, the way Lilith looked at Vivian completely changed.
At this moment, she finally understood why the previously normal Father Matthew suddenly came looking for trouble with them this morning, and why he had seemed determined not to stop until they were dead.
So this was the reason.
“So Vivian... you stole this box from Father Matthew?”
Hearing Lilith’s words, Jiang Chen also realized he had forgotten to mute the microphone.
“What do you mean stole? This is called temporary safekeeping. Don’t spout nonsense if you don’t understand.”
Lilith did not believe a single word Vivian said.
She truly never imagined Vivian would do something like this.
Vivian was way too much!
“Say whatever you want. I’m never trusting you again.”
As she spoke, Lilith glanced at the ancient wall clock.
“Wow... it’s already this late without realizing it....”
Lilith stretched lazily. “Don’t worry, Vivian. I’ll keep this matter secret for you.”
While speaking, Lilith began removing her clothes, preparing to bathe and sleep.
“Hey hey hey... what are you doing?!”
Jiang Chen nearly jumped in shock after seeing Lilith’s actions.
“Taking off my clothes to bathe and sleep. Didn’t I already say that?” Lilith blinked innocently, and at that moment, one of the ribbons on her clothing came undone, causing the garment to slip from her body.
“You fu—!”
......
【Due to behavior violating player regulations, your game login privileges have been suspended. Remaining suspension time: 4 minutes 59 seconds....】
Jiang Chen: ????
“No seriously? I hadn’t even finished studying the skills before kicking me offline?!”
........