Chapter 18 Wilderness Mission (1) Let's set off for the Wilderness Hall...
The diner sang arias, stretched out his arms, and twirled intoxicated under the spotlight, the black fabric covering his body slowly blooming like waves.
"In the end, the dragon, redeemed by his past actions, and the succubus lived happily ever after..."
"0 points." Xia Ying coldly rejected the other party's heartfelt performance. "90 points were deducted because all the characters were seriously out of character, and 10 points were deducted because when you spun around, you really looked like a broken umbrella."
The devastated performer collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest and protesting, "You...you don't understand creation at all!"
Xia Ying crossed her arms and looked down at the tattered rag immersed in personal art: "By the way, why are you here again?"
"Because I haven't given up on cooperating with you." The tattered cloth suddenly glided towards Xia Ying, its thin and flat body resembling a manta ray with its pectoral fins spread.
Xia Ying took a step back, but could not dodge the oncoming attacker. The fluttering cloak wrapped around her, and the black strips of cloth protruding from it continued to extend until they tightly bound her limbs.
The hood tilted slowly downwards, as if a pair of eyes were approaching, but when Xia Ying looked up, the hood was shrouded in darkness, and she could not see anything.
Looking back now, this uninvited guest who barged into Xia Ying's dream has always referred to himself as "the one who eats" and has never revealed his true identity.
However, Xia Ying was now certain that he was smiling.
The unknown monster laughed and said to her, "To be honest, darling, I'd rather you wallow in despair, preferably powerless to struggle, sinking deeper and deeper..."
Xia Ying stared at the emptiness under the hood: "And then?"
The darkness that replaced the face grew thicker and more chaotic: "Then, you'll have no choice but to grab my hand."
Xia Ying suddenly grabbed his hood and reached her hand into the darkness.
She did not touch skin or facial features; there was no face, no head, no limbs belonging to anything that existed.
But this did not mean that there was nothing under the hood. A strange sensation tightly enveloped Xia Ying's hand. She tried to spread her fingers and then clenched them into a fist.
A thick, viscous substance squeezed through her fingers, while the rest throbbed slightly in her hand; the sensation was like…
It's like reaching into someone's chest and crushing their heart.
Xia Ying's touch continued to penetrate deeper, from her palm to her wrist, and then slowly spread upwards. By the time she realized it, she had almost stuffed her entire forearm into the hood.
No, that's not it. The hood is actively devouring her body!
Suddenly realizing this, Xia Ying tried to pull her hand away. Sensing her intention to leave, the "black substance" in the hood surged out wildly, rushing out and instantly filling the space where Xia Ying was.
In the darkness, Xia Ying heard a slight vibration.
It's like breathing, like a heartbeat, and like someone's footsteps.
"You want to know who I am, don't you?"
Someone is approaching her.
Xia Ying couldn't see his face clearly, but she knew that this was the real "diner".
Does this mean that you crave me as much as I crave you?
He was still closing in, his voice filled with a dreamlike ecstasy.
"I'm so happy, Miss Succubus."
Passing through the chaos and turbidity, Xia Ying met eyes that seemed to encompass billions of stars, incomparably beautiful and colorful.
####
Xia Ying lay on her back in the pile of gold coins, feeling a sharp pain in the back of her head.
A red dragon's head popped into her field of vision.
“You look like you’re having a nightmare,” he said. “It’s the necromantic cycle right now, which isn’t surprising.”
Detective Xia Ying glanced at the golden bed not far away, then at Fafnir's thick dragon tail swaying leisurely, and immediately understood the ins and outs of the matter.
"And then you just yanked me off the bed with your tail, right?"
The dragon said proudly, "That's why you were able to get rid of the nightmare. You're welcome."
"..." Xia Ying silently sat up, silently climbed back onto the golden bed, and stared blankly for a while.
The eyes she had seen in her dream resurfaced in her mind, sending a slight chill down her spine.
Xia Ying patted her cheeks to bring herself back to reality as quickly as possible from the dream, then stood up on the golden bed: "You're right, I want to thank you, Fafnir."
The dragon lowered its head and turned its golden eyes toward her, seemingly waiting for something, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Xia Ying thought for a moment, and then suddenly realized.
She walked up, stood on tiptoe, and kissed the dragon on the corner of its eye.
Ever since he did this to him before, Fafnir seemed to have taken to it. He would always act arrogantly and do strange things, then subtly hint to the succubus to repay him in this way.
For example, this time he mercifully used gold coins to build Xia Ying a golden bed that was even more suitable for sleeping than a pile of gold coins.
“Fafnir, you are the Eternal Evil Dragon, right?” Xia Ying looked at the wound inflicted by her [Ama-no-Murakumo Sword]. “Can’t such a small wound heal immediately?”
"Of course you can." He snorted, but didn't explain why he still had the wound.
Xia Ying didn't press the matter further. Instead, she stood in front of the dragon, raised her hands, and made a gesture as if summoning an alien: "Come on, today's one."
"How stupid," the dragon said disdainfully. "Help me clean my horns today."
Before the Sisyphus Collar could respond to the command, Xia Ying had already brought over a tool bucket containing gloves, various types of brushes, a small knife, and thick sandpaper.
These things were also obtained by Fafnir at Xia Ying's request... Although it cost the dragon a little bit to have the tools custom-made by the stingy dwarven craftsmen, Fafnir admitted that it was not a waste in terms of their usefulness.
Xia Ying put on gloves and first used a brush to clean the huge and hard horns, even the spiral part was carefully cleaned with a soft brush. Then she used a knife to scrape off the rough horn with cracks. Next, she picked up thick sandpaper and carefully and evenly sanded and polished the dragon horns along the texture.
After completing this full set of care services, the dragon horns were both majestic and sparkling like jewels. Fafnir looked at the crystal mirror, admiring the horns from various angles, becoming increasingly satisfied and pleased with himself.
Xia Ying wiped her sweat, put down her tool bucket, and felt like an inspirational student working part-time at a machine repair shop.
"Beep! Basic instruction is about to begin. Teleportation countdown starts... Three, two, one..."
Xia Ying was instantly teleported to her seat in the Instruction Tower.
The instructor, Jormungandr, would arrive a little while later. Flashes of white light occasionally appeared in the teaching tower, indicating that interns like Xia Ying were being teleported to their seats.
Xia Ying was bored, so she started counting the number of seats hanging on the tower wall from far to near.
“27, 28, 29…30.” The tip of her pen, which she used to count the numbers, finally landed on her desk. She muttered to herself, “There must have been several hundred abyssal creatures attending the opening ceremony, right? The number of crimson rings I received was a bit small.”
Xia Ying suddenly heard a loud sob beside her. She turned her head and saw a petite female abyssal creature covered in feathers sitting next to her in the seat that had been empty when she was counting. She was heartbroken and taking out her homework, with large tears falling onto the workbook.
She pulled out her encyclopedia and quickly checked the species classifications of her classmate sitting next to her:
Abyssal Species: Harpy
Name: Harpie
Hazard level: B
Special Note:
1. This creature is docile and can be safely approached in most situations.
2. Influenced by their bird-like nature, they are lively and noisy, but their weakness is that they are not good at thinking.
Synchronization rate (unlocked): 8%
It doesn't seem too dangerous; it should be okay to approach it.
Thinking this, Xia Ying took out her homework and handed it to the desk next to her: "Do you need this?"
The harpy immediately stopped crying, tears still on her face, and stared at Xia Ying in surprise, looking like a dazed little owl.
[Harpy synchronization rate updated to 10%]
Her hands were already firmly gripping the workbook, and she still hesitated before asking, "Is it okay...?"
“But I hope you can answer one question,” Xia Ying asked her, “Do you know what the requirements are for passing the [Circular Domain Internship]?”
Harpie paused, then nodded frantically as if afraid Xia Ying would regret it, and said quickly, "My mentor told me! In addition to passing the course assessment, you also need to complete a practical assessment to pass the [Ring Domain Internship]! Uh, what is a practical assessment again..."
She frantically pulled out her student handbook, shakily opened the task details, and after confirming...
After saying all this, Harpie looked at Xia Ying with anticipation, like a seagull eyeing a French fry.
Xia Ying noted down the keyword "Wilderness Mission No. 63" and said kindly to Harpie, "Thank you, you can copy this assignment."
[Harpy synchronization rate updated to 15%]
With tears welling up in her eyes, the harpy quickly grabbed her homework: "You're such a friendly creature from the abyss! From today onwards, we're friends! My name is Harpy, and what's yours?"
“I am Xia Ying,” she continued. “Harpie, actually, I want to collect all the practical assessment materials from the new Crimson Crown Ring interns, if you can help me do that…”
Xia Ying said to her very sincerely, "I will let you copy all the homework from now on. Not only that, I will also find a way to help you pass the course assessment."
Harpie suddenly leaned forward, like an excited spotted dove.
"Really?"
"Really, I promise."
[Harpy synchronization rate updated to 17%]
[Harpy synchronization rate updated to 19%]
The Harpy's synchronization rate has exceeded 20%!
Harpy took flight and hovered in the tower, its enchanting cry echoing between the tower walls.
"Listen up, everyone! As long as you tell this Miss Xia Ying what your practical assessment content is, you can copy her homework!"
The harpy's cry powerfully fueled the desires of the abyssal creatures, and a wave surged through the tower. One after another, the interns accepted Xia Ying's deal. As her homework was passed around rapidly, she also got the answers she wanted.
Wilderness Mission #63.
Wilderness Mission #63.
Wilderness Mission #63.
...
The repeated answers flew to Xia Ying like butterflies. She repeatedly made marks on the paper to count them, and finally collected all the answers after finishing the last stroke.
This is precisely the common condition faced by the new interns at the Corona Ring internship this year.
“But, Harpie,” Xia Ying asked, “what exactly is the Wilderness Mission?”
Didn't your mentor tell you?
The harpy flew toward her in surprise, its long, beautiful tail feathers tracing a graceful path before finally landing on Xia Ying's desk.
"During the [Circular Domain Internship], mentors will guide new students through their first wilderness mission; this is the mentors' responsibility."
Harpy's feathers shed from its neck to its chest, and its wings gradually returned to their arms, gazing at her with the gentle tenderness of a Java sparrow.
"That's what my mentor told me. Xia Ying, go ask your mentor too."
#####
That's why Xia Ying is standing in front of the dragon now, looking straight ahead, with her arms crossed.
"That's how it is. Are you going to continue pretending you know nothing?"
“Wilderness Mission #63,” Fafnir murmured, almost as a sigh. “You didn’t have to find out about this…”
“Since you know, there’s nothing we can do about it,” the dragon said. “Get ready, let’s go complete the first attempt at the Wilderness Mission.”
"Uh-huh?"
Things took an unexpected turn. Before she could react, Fafnir had transformed from a dragon into an incredibly handsome red-haired man.
Fafnir raised his hand, and a heavy, long cloak with flowing night and dark red fire patterns fell onto his shoulders, automatically fastening the belt.
"Isn't this what you wanted?" The dragon walked towards Xia Ying and put his arm around her shoulder. "Let's go to the Wilderness Hall."
A note from the author:
----------------------
Fafnir (easily): Okay, let's go.
Xia Ying: ? There must be something fishy going on here.
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