Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Just Tell Me If I Advanced or Not
Alice was setting fire in the Dawn Continent, while Shen Sui was already racking his brains frantically.
The giant tree that appeared before Alice was clearly unusual just from its description. However, with thousands upon thousands of monsters in "Dawn Link," even a seasoned player like Shen Sui couldn’t immediately figure out the origin of such a tree just by its description.
Unfortunately, the dueling device could only output text, and Alice, lacking any systematic magical education, had no way to relay the tree’s signature features to Shen Sui.
But thankfully, watching Alice burn it so joyously, this tree probably wasn’t a high-combat-power monster; otherwise, it wouldn’t be something Alice could play around with by burning.
[The giant tree before her became increasingly frenzied in the flames, its branches, trunk, and roots all becoming its weapons, like an octopus waving its tentacles, trying to drive away Alice, who had intruded into its territory.]
[The tree’s attack threatened the Little Horse’s safety, as it was merely a nag without any strength.]
[The tree rolled and its vines interwove, surging towards them like tides.]
Upon seeing this passage, Shen Sui wanted to intervene, but then thought, if he always stepped in to protect her at these times, Alice would never grow.
Wait....
Wait a little longer.
Shen Sui hesitated and put his hand down.
Alice, accompanied by Anna, fought while retreating, yet this wise and mysterious giant tree seemed to possess endless magic power. Although its attack methods were lacking and even failed to pose much threat to Alice, it nevertheless exhausted Alice’s magic power with its robust vitality.
Flame indeed was the bane of plants, but against the infinitely proliferating giant tree, fourth-tier flame magic seemed somewhat inadequate.
[Alice used all her knowledge, but still failed to stop the spread of the vines. The interwoven branches had already formed a massive wave before them, ready to engulf them all in the next second.]
Starting to feel overwhelmed?
Shen Sui instantly adjusted the time ratio to 1:1 and placed his finger on the input box, needing to resolve the predicament Alice and the others faced before Anna could make a move.
[Alice used the frenzied multi-fireball technique.]
[Fireballs flew recklessly, forming a beautiful and violent curtain of flame.]
[Alice was hit by three fireball techniques.]
Shen Sui’s heart tightened, knowing that the last time Alice was hit by her own fireball technique, her life was immediately in danger.
[In the raging fire, Alice comprehended the meaning of flame.]
[Flame not only symbolizes destruction.]
[It can also, like a campfire, guard others in the vast night.]
[Alice released her control over her magic power, allowing the force of the flame to permeate her body.]
[She longed for power; she needed more strength to protect her companions.]
[Her magic power surged violently with the burning flames, and the red magic power enveloped her entire body with the flames.]
[The raging fire bloomed with her at its center, the red lotus fire born from the flames ignited all the malicious branches and leaves around, the tree’s magic power being wildly seized by the flame, becoming nourishment for Alice.]
[The tree withered, the flame seemed to have opened a perpetually unhealable wound on its body, its life and magic power flowed away like water through a breach, never to return.]
[Alice advanced to the fifth tier.]
[Ding! Your Soul Card follower has acquired a new form: Red Lotus Fire Alice.]
Phew.
Seeing this line, Shen Sui exhaled lightly.
There was a moment when he really almost took action.
But he held back after all.
It seems the outcome was good. Sometimes, if you don’t give a child a bit of pressure, you wouldn’t know what kind of potential she might unleash.
In just ten days without any progress, Alice suddenly advanced two tiers from a little escapade, becoming a fifth-tier mage.
Such advancement speed certainly couldn’t compare with players, yet on the Dawn Continent, it was still one of the top existences. But...how come no magic power grows no matter how she cultivates, could it really be necessary to stir things up to work?
Shen Sui felt speechless.
Alice had a strong ability to stir things up, but she always only cared about the beginning. Once things were initiated by her, the trajectory instantly spun out of everyone’s control.
And a fifth-tier mage...not enough, not enough!
Thinking about how Alice was going to the War God Temple next, Shen Sui was really afraid this little girl would stir up trouble again.
Fifth-tier strength, still not enough.
[Alice collapsed exhaustedly into Anna’s arms.]
["Yah! Anna, that hurts." Alice tilted her head and said to Anna, "You should’ve listened to me and put two cushions there."]
[Anna gave Alice a punch.]
[Alice rolled on the ground clutching her face.]
[The giant tree wasn’t entirely dead. It stood despairingly in place, its life had come to an end.]
Although the tree had been burned by Alice, Shen Sui was still very curious about what kind of magical beast this tree really was.
Moreover...
Shen Sui revealed a mischievous smile; he also wanted to see how Alice would react if he suddenly appeared.
["What are you doing here?"]
[You called out to Alice in her mind.]
[Alice immediately jumped up.]
["Eh? I clearly stuffed the ring under Qishala’s butt." Alice said reflexively.]
???
Darn, no wonder this little girl thought she could skip class, thinking I was attached to the ring, right?
Shen Sui recalled carefully. It seemed like he did contact Alice through the ring, but didn’t I ever say I only existed within the ring?
Also, what kind of move is putting the ring under someone’s butt? Do you think a dragon’s butt is heavy enough to suppress me?
["I told you to cultivate, and you actually ran out to play?!"]
["But I’m already fifth-tier." Alice argued.]
["The issue isn’t whether you’ve advanced..."]
["Then just say I’m fifth-tier, right!" Alice argued unreasonably.]
Shen Sui was speechless.
A rather unpleasant memory flashed in his mind.
His niece, just starting middle school, already involved in early romance, fighting, and obsessed with games, always distracted from studying, but every time her parents tried to discipline her, she would always pull out her test papers, all with full marks.
I got full marks on the exam, so why are you nagging about this and that?
Yes, yes, exactly that feeling.
Sigh, sigh, sigh, don’t want to think about it, every time he thought of this troublemaker, he remembered the time his save file got deleted.
This damn thing was the only save in the world that completed the Twilight of the Gods storyline!
And not to mention, in "Dawn Link," every time a brand-new save was started, the same position NPCs players encountered in the game always had different appearances and names. AI automatically generated random artwork, models, and names, with the production team’s slogan being: even the wife in your game is unique to you.
(Multiple routing saves didn’t count as brand-new saves, more akin to starting a new line in the same document)
For example, the Twilight Saintess in Shen Sui’s game was the red-haired and voluptuous Vivian, but in other players’ games, perhaps she was the black, long-straight-haired Sornia.
Though players later found that in fact, the personalities, preferences, and background stories of these characters were similar, achieving this much was already a sincere gesture.
So, when the save got deleted and he found he couldn’t randomly generate the same Vivian again, Shen Sui became very glum and went out shopping, which led to the whole transmigrating incident.
Forget it, it’s all in the past.
Moreover, now he still had a chance to find the real Vivian, didn’t he?
Thinking this way, Shen Sui used identification magic on the giant tree.
[Ancient Tree of Ankedo.]
Wait a minute? Ancient Tree of Ankedo? Isn’t this a twelfth-tier magical beast?
A twelfth-tier magical beast burned to death by a fifth-tier mage? Are you kidding me?
["Let go of me! Let go of me!" At this moment, a young girl’s shout came from afar.]
[Alice’s Little Horse raised its head in confusion, originally gnawing vengefully at the leaves of the Ancient Tree of Ankedo to avenge being scared, but it bit into something extraordinary.]
[A little fairy in a green dress braced against the mouth of the Little Horse, shouting angrily and discontentedly:]
["I am the great Elemental Empress!"]
[Ding! You obtained a Follower Card: Wood Element Empress Andori]