Save Me... / Humans... Die!

Chapter 66: Save Me...

"Stop! Icarus! Stop! Don't get any closer to the sun! I'll be scorched into ashes by the sun! And you'll fall into the sea, never to rise again!"

"Huh? Who's Icarus? What nonsense are you talking about? It's almost time to leave, hurry up!" Julie tugged on Sera's wrist from outside the activity room, trying to drag her out.

"Icarus! You arrogant bastard! Have you forgotten Father's warning? Even so, you shouldn't drag me into this! I'm just an ordinary pair of wings! I can't carry your dreams! If you want to fly to even greater heights, then go by yourself!" One of Sera's hands clung to the wall while her legs pushed desperately backward. The two sides remained deadlocked until Hara Shichi, who had grown impatient waiting at the school gate, arrived with Yukikaze.

"What's wrong with her?" Hara Shichi asked.

"It seems she doesn't want to be in the sun," Julie said coldly. "She says she's Icarus's wings and will be burned to death by the sun."

"..."

Hara Shichi looked at the faint dark circles beneath Sera's pale face and understood that she had probably played some strange game again last night. He said, "Senior, games aren't real. Stop acting up. I don't want to travel under the blazing sun at noon."

"Ugh... no! I have a terrible disease that kills me when I touch sunlight. It's coal streak disease! Do you know coal streak disease? It's just..."

"How about... bringing an umbrella?" Yukikaze suggested.

"..."

Thus, Sera held up a large black umbrella and left the school gates with the others.

There was only one commercial street and a few small villages near the academy, but for students who had been confined to the academy for five days, that was already more than enough to tempt them.

Julie did not enter the commercial street. Instead, she stopped before a cluster of carriages at its entrance.

"Where would you like to go?" a middle-aged coachman asked.

"We'd like to go to Elkland Forest," Julie said blandly.

"Sorry, that place is very dangerous..." The middle-aged man had just raised his hand to refuse when his vision suddenly blurred. Two silver coins swayed between the girl's fingertips, seemingly about to fall.

"Clink."

The coachman hurriedly caught the fallen silver coins, and his eyes immediately curved into crescents. "Profit always comes with danger. Please, miss."

Julie climbed into the carriage without another word and said to the three behind her, "Get in."

Hara Shichi and Yukikaze sat on one side, while Julie and Sera sat on the other. When the carriage began to jolt, Hara Shichi knew they were already on the road.

"Say, shouldn't we have found a larger carriage?"

The girl's soft, warm body was pressed tightly against Hara Shichi's, leaving his mouth dry.

"I think it's fine." Perhaps because Sera was smaller, Julie did not find it very crowded.

"That's because you squeezed me into the corner, you fat woman!" Sera said, hugging her umbrella.

"Stop arguing. The road is bumpy, so be careful not to bite your tongues... mmph!" As soon as Yukikaze finished speaking, she shut her mouth with teary eyes.

She had bitten her tongue.

With Yukikaze's mishap as a warning, the carriage immediately fell silent. In that way, it swayed all the way to their destination—Elkland Forest.

It was still spring. The forest was lush and green, brimming with life everywhere. The moment Yukikaze stepped out and set foot on the soft earth, a weak voice rang out in her mind.

"Save me..."

"Huh?" Yukikaze turned around and looked behind her, but there was no one there.

"Don't space out." Hara Shichi, walking ahead of her, grabbed Yukikaze's wrist. "How about you walk in front of me?"

The group thus formed a straight line: Julie—Sera—Yukikaze—Hara Shichi.

Julie glanced back at everyone and reminded them, "Once we enter the forest, you must listen to my commands. No one is to act alone, understood?"

"No problem."

Before long, they found their first Duel Spirit—a squirrel napping beneath a tree.

"Let's use that one for practice first." Julie pointed at it. "Weak Duel Spirits don't have much attack power and can't harm humans, but that also means they're easily frightened. Who wants to try?"

Hara Shichi and Sera both looked at Yukikaze.

"Huh? Me?" Under everyone's nodding encouragement, Yukikaze could only walk over carefully.

"Squeak?" Seemingly noticing someone approach, the squirrel suddenly opened its eyes and stared at Yukikaze warily.

"Um... I don't mean any harm..." Yukikaze crouched down, spread her hands, and stayed where she was.

"Release your Duel Power," Julie whispered from behind the bushes. "Duel Spirits like Duel Power. If it likes yours, it'll come over on its own."

"Okay, okay." Yukikaze hurriedly released her Duel Power. The squirrel blinked, its tense expression relaxing as it slowly approached her and rubbed its little head against her palm.

"Good, now!"

Yukikaze hurriedly took out a Duel Card and gently pressed it against the squirrel's forehead. Immediately afterward, a flash of white light appeared, and an image of the monster Ai began to form on the white Duel Card.

"Success." Julie curled her lips into a smile and slowly walked closer.

"Let me see what monster it is!" Sera leaned over curiously, holding up her umbrella.

Yukikaze showed everyone: Acorn Squirrel, Level 1. Each time your opponent Special Summons a monster, place 1 Acorn Counter on this card. You can remove 1 Acorn Counter placed on this card; destroy 1 monster your opponent controls. ATK 100/DEF 100.

"It would've been better if its attack and defense were higher." Sera frowned, clearly dissatisfied.

"What are you thinking? It's just a little Duel Spirit from the outskirts." Julie knocked Sera on the head.

"Isn't it pretty good?" Hara Shichi smiled. "This is your first time sealing a Duel Spirit, right, Yukikaze?"

"Mm." Yukikaze smiled, then asked Julie, "Senior Julie, how do I release it?"

"Huh?" Julie looked at Yukikaze in confusion. "It is a little weak, but isn't it good to keep your first Duel Spirit as a memento?"

"But wouldn't that make it lonely?" Yukikaze shook her head. "I took it away from where it lived without asking. If I don't even fight alongside it, wouldn't that be too pitiful for it?"

"This was its choice too, Yukikaze." Julie patted Yukikaze's shoulder. "It wasn't just you choosing it. It chose you too. Even if you can't fight side by side, it can still become your companion."

As soon as she finished speaking, Acorn Squirrel popped out from the card face, affectionately leaped onto Yukikaze's head, and began chittering.

"Alright, since that's settled, let's keep moving." Sera raised her black umbrella high and walked at the very front of the group. Clearly, she was getting interested too.

"You can't even tell east from west. Stay in the back obediently."

"Yukikaze, why are you spacing out again? Let's go." Hara Shichi reminded Yukikaze, who was still standing there.

"Oh... coming."

Yukikaze shook her head. Just now, it seemed she had heard those cries for help again.

"Someone... save me..."

"I'm so scared..."

I received the notification about going premium from my editor yesterday.

After learning that it was going premium, I felt extremely anxious. I tossed and turned in bed that night, unable to sleep, thinking, With so few bookmarks, how am I going premium already?

What if, after it went premium, all of you readers decided my book wasn't worth the cat biscuits in your hands and ruthlessly removed it from your shelves? How would I ever face that?

So I thought that I had to find a way to keep my readers. Begging for sympathy, mass updates—whatever it took, as long as I showed enough sincerity! Then I would surely earn everyone's support!

But humans have limits. My limit is four thousand characters a day, and I have never had any saved chapters. Today, after finishing two chapters, I wanted to break through my limits. Then my head suddenly spun, and I saw a silver-haired little loli in flowing white robes appear before me, her eyes covered with black cloth.

The little loli looked down at me and gently tapped my forehead with her jade-like, warm and delicate index finger. In an ethereal voice, she said, "Young man, you may go this far, but no farther."

And so I realized.

This was a warning from the god of writing.

A brief burst could never compare to lasting consistency.

I had actually tried to break through my limits. How utterly foolish of me!

Alright.

The joke is over. There's really nothing to beg sympathy over. Just look at this book's comments and bookmarks, and you'll know I'm miserable enough already. Mass updates aren't realistic either. All I can say is that I'll do my best. I didn't prepare any saved chapters beforehand, and anything squeezed out in a hurry wouldn't be much good. The only thing I can promise is that I won't stop updating or abandon the story. I'll listen to readers' suggestions and do my best to improve.

Subscribing to a book really isn't expensive, but considering that everyone may read more than just my book, I can understand if you don't subscribe. I'll do my best to make this book worth spending money on.

Lastly, thank you to all the readers who have been voting and commenting on this book. Every day, seeing those familiar names in the backend gives me motivation to keep writing. Thank you to the friends who have always supported me. When I had barely any readers at the beginning, they were the ones comforting me—though it feels like I still don't have any now. Thank you to everyone who bookmarked this book. Whether you made it this far or not, you've still encouraged me—though I often wonder whether those are dead bookmarks. Thank you to the big shots who did mutual promotion with me. I hope everyone achieves good results. And thank you to my editor, who has given me many helpful suggestions.

Last but not least, first-day subscriptions are the number of subscriptions to the first chapter within twenty-four hours. I hope you can make my first-day subscription count look a little better. And while I'm at it, please send some votes my way...

Chapter 67: Humans... Die!

"You're the one! Go, Big Rock Man, use Reckless Charge!"

The hard stone man rammed into the monster wielding vine whips. Under the fierce impact, the monster let out a miserable cry and collapsed unconscious onto the ground.

"Great, I captured Nuclear Pregnant Rose!" A flash of white light passed by as Sera excitedly held up the card in her hand.

"Didn't you say your deck didn't need Monster Cards anymore?" Hara Shichi looked at the enthusiastic Sera. "And isn't your method wrong? Duel Spirits aren't captured like that."

"Forced capture is also a type of capture," Julie cut in from the side. That entire morning, she had not captured a single Duel Spirit. As expected, finding monsters suited to her Undead deck in the forest was simply too difficult.

"Hara Shichi, aren't you going to capture any Duel Spirits?" Yukikaze asked curiously.

"Hm? I... don't really need any for now. What about you?" Hara Shichi asked in return. "Most of the Rikka deck is Plant-Type, right? Since this is a forest, you should be able to find useful monsters."

"I don't recognize any of these Duel Spirits, so I can't tell what race they are," Yukikaze said embarrassedly.

"If one catches your eye, just go for it. Look, I've already gotten so many cards!" Sera proudly waved the monster cards fanned out in her hand.

"Can you really use all these monsters?" Julie walked over, looked at the cards in Sera's hand, and suddenly her eyes lit up. She pulled one card out. "I want this one."

"No, I caught it!" Sera refused.

"I'll trade you a Trap Card for it." Julie took out a Trap Card.

"Mind Collapse... alright, let's trade." Sera nodded. As Julie had said, she could not use most of these Monster Cards anyway.

"What monster did you take a liking to, Senior?" Yukikaze asked curiously.

"Nine-Tailed Fox." Julie showed it to Yukikaze.

"Fire attribute, Undead... There are Undead monsters here too?" Yukikaze asked in surprise. Shouldn't Undead monsters dislike a place so full of life?

"Where there is life, there is death. Still, it is a little strange to encounter one here." Julie frowned.

"Hey, let's play Spirit Duel!" Sera called out excitedly.

"What's that?"

"Summon our respective Duel Spirits, then have them beat each other up!"

"Boring."

"It's getting late. Shouldn't we eat first?" Yukikaze suggested.

"Has time passed that quickly?" Hara Shichi subconsciously looked overhead and found the blazing sun directly above. It was already noon.

The group thus came beneath the shade of a tree and began to eat.

"Hara Shichi, you didn't get anything all morning?" Julie asked as she watched Hara Shichi sit there and slowly chew his sandwich.

"No. Why?" Hara Shichi answered casually.

"We came here to find powerful Monster Cards, not to go sightseeing." Julie sighed. "Honestly, the most important thing now is improving your deck's strength. After all, your opponent is that woman Crimson Lotus."

Hara Shichi froze and gave Julie a complicated look. "I appreciate your concern, but actually..."

"Ugh!"

Before Hara Shichi could finish, Yukikaze suddenly groaned from beside him. She clutched her ears tightly with both hands and fell to her knees.

"It hurts! It hurts! Save me! Someone... Aaaaaah!"

"Yukikaze, what's wrong?" Hara Shichi hurriedly helped her up.

"I'm fine." Yukikaze forced a smile. "It just seems like... I'm hearing things?"

"Hearing things?" Hara Shichi frowned. "What did you hear?"

"Cries for help. Someone is asking me for help."

Hara Shichi stood up and scanned the surroundings. There was only the rustling of the breeze through the treetops, along with the calls of birds and beasts.