Chapter 32 Preparation Time (1) Am I to become your enemy? ...
Another day arrived as scheduled. Xia Ying opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by plush toys and above her head a pink and blue princess-style bed curtain with a girlish touch.
If you were to pull back the bed curtains and look outside, you would see a huge, off-white wardrobe, a full-length mirror, a dressing table, a feather-shaped chandelier, and lace and gauze everywhere.
Well, if you didn't see the gold coins scattered all over the floor, you probably would never guess that this stereotypical princess room was actually a terrifying dragon's lair.
Xia Ying, who had just woken up, looked at the scene in front of her and couldn't help but feel as if she had been in another world.
How exactly did things evolve into what they are now?
At first, Xia Ying did ask for some things, mainly to improve her living standards. The items she asked for were normal daily necessities such as comfortable mattresses or soft pillows.
Later, for some reason, the dragon became increasingly enthusiastic about interior design, and went all the way towards a princess style...
Xia Ying explained it this way: It's probably the dragon's instinct to snatch princesses that's ingrained in its DNA that kicked in. Even if there's no princess, there has to be at least a princess room!
In any case, at least Xia Ying got living conditions that were more suitable for human life, and the dragon seemed quite satisfied.
After spacing out for a while, Xia Ying felt she was almost awake. She picked up her phone from the bedside table to check the time, but a message from Ke Er popped up urgently.
Cerberus sent you a message: "Going to the Wilderness Hall today too?"
Xia Ying replied, "Go ahead, see you at the usual time."
Cerberus replied instantly: "Who's next?"
Xia Ying thought for a moment and typed: "The same as before, you, me, Miss Qiongqi, Fenrir. If the number is still not enough, we can also contact Tamamo and the others."
After the message was sent, there was no reply from the other party for a long time.
Xia Ying added a little guiltily: "There's no other way, it's better to have more people to challenge the wilderness missions."
Cerberus responded with an angry puppy tearing the world apart meme.
The conversation ended there. Xia Ying switched out of the chat interface and realized that she didn't have much time left to wash up and get ready.
What's more, today is a special day.
"Oops!"
She sprang to her feet and nudged the sleeping humanoid dragon beside her.
"Fafnir! Fafnir! Get up! You're going to be late!"
Xia Ying's strength was not enough to break the thick-skinned dragon's defenses, and the dragon remained soundly asleep.
Fafnir remained motionless, but at least he finally opened his eyes.
The golden dragon's eyes glanced lazily, but instead of getting up obediently, it pulled Xia Ying into its arms and turned over, saying, "What's the rush? Sleep a little longer."
Xia Ying completely exploded: "I said there's no time! Get up now!!"
That's why Fafnir is now sitting in front of the dressing table with two red scratches on his face and a pout.
Xia Ying quickly finished tending to the dragon's horns and then began braiding his hair with exceptional skill, all the while chattering on and on: "Can dragons just not have a sense of time? It's rare that you haven't been sleeping in the dragon's nest all the time lately... By the way, it seems like you've been going out every day since you received the invitation, is it because of that meeting?"
Fafnir looked in the mirror and absentmindedly replied, "Hmm."
"What exactly is the Ring Realm Kings' Conference?" Xia Ying asked, her hands still busy. "Will all the Ring Realm Kings attend?"
"Um."
"So, it seems I've only ever met you among the Kings of the Ring Realms," Xia Ying said. "What kind of abyssal creatures are the other three?"
When asked this question, Fafnir no longer adopted an indifferent attitude, but instead frowned genuinely, revealing an expression as if he had swallowed a fly.
"They're all really annoying guys."
Xia Ying was immediately filled with awe: a creature from the abyss that even the annoying Fafnir said he hated must be something not to be underestimated.
She then asked, "What about the King of Shadowscale?"
"A treacherous bastard."
"Where is the King of Feasters?"
"A complete madman."
"The King of the Tomb Keepers?"
"A paranoid psychopath."
Xia Ying smoothed the end of her braid one last time and muttered, "I'm really curious what they'll say about you... Hey?!"
Suddenly, the dragon lifted her onto its lap, and Xia Ying couldn't help but scream. But in the mirror, she saw Fafnir pick up a comb and start combing her hair.
Now, when Fafnir does these things, he is no longer as rude and clumsy as before. He has developed great patience in the process of raising succubi... From this perspective, it seems difficult to say whether the dragon tamed the succubi or the succubi tamed the dragon.
"Alright." The dragon put down the succubus, stood up, and walked towards the teleportation array. "I'll be back later."
"Okay, bye-bye, Fafnir!"
Xia Ying waved goodbye to him, and the dragon turned its head, curled the corner of its mouth, and disappeared into the teleportation magic.
This kind of schedule seems similar to going to work, but does the Crimson King also have to go to work? What are the Crimson King's job duties?
Xia Ying pondered deeply with her chin in her hand but to no avail, so she decided to head to the Teaching Tower first.
Let's ask Fafnir next time.
#####
For the interns of the Crimson Crown Ring, pre-class time has become a customary tutoring period. They are also used to the succubus girl barging into the teaching tower and explaining the course content in various strange but effective ways.
But the atmosphere seems a little different today.
Upon seeing Xia Ying enter the training tower, the abyssal creatures, instead of their usual boisterousness, became even more solemn.
Under the watchful eyes of the monsters, Xia Ying maintained a solemn expression and slowly sat down at her desk.
After this period of joint learning, the succubus, who had become the backbone of the abyssal creatures, finally spoke.
“No one knows better than me how hard everyone has worked during this time,” Xia Ying said in a deep voice. “So, no matter the outcome, let’s not blame ourselves or our teammates, okay?”
What a sincere and moving speech! Harpie, so full of emotion, was even about to sob!
At this tragic moment, the true instructor, Jormungandr, finally arrived at the Tower of Instruction, carrying a pile of graded exam papers.
His arrival drew the attention of all the interns, including Xia Ying, and the teaching tower fell silent.
Jormungandr slowly climbed to the top of the tower, looking around at the anxious monster students inside.
"I have taught the course 'Basic Principles of Magic' hundreds and thousands of times to different abyssal creatures, and very few students have been able to pass the exam."
As he spoke, the pile of papers flew from the snake demon's hand and floated above the teaching tower, but the results inside could not be seen, like answers waiting to be revealed.
"But what I want to say is that failing the assessment was actually a result that was expected. Our real purpose is to punish the failing students very severely so that they can learn the importance of 'learning' and 'order' itself... After all, we all know that blood and death are more likely to make abyssal creatures remember something than the classroom."
At this point, a slight commotion, a mixture of relief and apprehension, arose within the training tower.
Jormungandr raised his hand, and although he did not use magic, the intimidating aura of a powerful monster silenced the new students as if their throats had been squeezed.
"Waaah..." Harpie quickly covered her mouth, tears welling up in her clear eyes.
“But,” Jormungandr continued, “among all the examinees here, even the one with the worst result surpassed the vast majority of abyssal creatures in the past.”
He paused slightly, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"Based on this, I believe you have fully accomplished the purpose of this course, which is to recognize and accept a set of rules that are very different from those of the past."
The floating exam papers exploded into fireworks with a "bang," and before countless fragments scattered, the teaching tower was already in an uproar.
"Great, Xia Ying!!!" Overjoyed, Harpie pounced on the succubus, only to find that she wasn't the only abyssal creature rushing toward her.
Winged monsters like harpies were the first to arrive, followed by agile abyssal creatures such as leopardmen and lion-tailed scorpions, and then slightly clumsy monsters like bearmen arrived later.
At this point, Xia Ying, who was being hugged three or four times, was starting to feel a bit cramped. Then she saw the earth colossus slowly bend down, its enormous shadow looming over Xia Ying, who was surrounded by the abyssal creatures in the center...
Oh no! I'm going to be crushed!
Xia Ying closed her eyes, but what she feared did not happen.
The clay giant carefully leaned down, plucked a small flower from its palm, and gently, gently placed it in front of Xia Ying.
####
The course assessment, which had been in preparation for a long time, came to a successful conclusion. Xia Ying arrived at the Wilderness Hall in high spirits, waiting for her regular teammates to arrive.
Cerberus arrived quickly. He scanned the hall once and pinpointed Xia Ying standing in the corner with unerring accuracy, then rushed straight toward her.
"Ah, Cerberus!"
Cerberus looked at the various strange objects she was holding: "What are these?"
"These? These are gifts from everyone." Xia Ying said, listing them off as if they were precious treasures. "Flowers planted by the clay giant, the molted shell of the lion-tailed scorpion, the feathers of the harpy... Hehe, I'm quite popular."
The jealous demon dog's expression immediately darkened: "What's this! I'll give you something much better!"
"Hmm? Kerber has given me so many gifts already," Xia Ying said. "Like a puppy keychain made from Kerber's baby teeth, Kerber's tail hair, and..."
Cerberus, his face flushed, quickly interrupted loudly, "Alright, enough of that!"
See? You'll get shy if I tell you.
Xia Ying turned her face away with a teasing smile, but still kindly changed the subject: "By the way! I passed the course assessment!"
She then chattered on about the preparations she had made to pass the course assessment and the various things that had happened that day. Cerberus watched her vivid expressions as she narrated, gradually filling in the blank spaces in his mind caused by their separation, and couldn't help but lower his head and kiss her forehead.
"Kissing me doesn't violate any mandatory orders..." Xia Ying touched the spot where she had been kissed, not particularly surprised. "And you? How did your course assessment go?"
"I'm fine."
"Where are the others?"
The demon dog replied matter-of-factly, "What they do is none of my business."
That's how the Fiery Hellhound is; it's already incredibly kind of it not to kill its classmates.
"So, we're all one step closer to completing the [Ring Domain Internship] mission." Xia Ying smiled. "As long as I can successfully complete Wilderness Mission 63 next week..."
Cerberus suddenly asked, "What?"
"Next week?"
Which wilderness quest?
"Wilderness Mission #63." Xia Ying thought for a moment. "I think this is the first time I've mentioned it, but Kernel should also have its own practical assessment missions, right?"
Cerberus remained motionless, frozen in that moment of shock.
"Wilderness Mission #63"
Cerberus said with a ferocious expression.
On the bright side, perhaps this mission requires the interns of the Crimson Crown Ring and the Silent Tomb Ring to work together, aiming to cultivate tacit understanding and cooperation among abyssal creatures.
Xia Ying began to realize the seriousness of the situation.
She and Cerberus looked at each other simultaneously, the same thought popping into their minds.
Could it be... that we're going to become enemies with Ker/Xia Ying?
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Author's Note: The sky is about to fall for the little dog.
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