The Girl's Unsteady Killing Intent (Continued)

"What do you mean by this?" she continued, even taking a small step toward Mona.

She moved forward, and the astrologer retreated. After taking two steps forward, the Young Caster found her heels touching the large rock she had previously used for hiding.

He reaped what he sowed; a good ending indeed.

And only when Miss Surtr took her third step, the heat emanating from her torch already licking around the sorcerer, did this fool in the Witch Hat begin to vigorously shake his hand.

"Stop! Stop! That's fine! Don't come any closer!" The strangely dressed girl screamed as if she were being watched by something terrifying.

"Why?" However, Miss Surtr did not intend to stop there, for she had some experience in dealing with similar situations. She simply held up her torch, unhurriedly, like a cat on the hunt, and was about to take her fifth step forward—and if she took this step, then even with the Witch Hat obscuring her view, she would be able to look directly at Miss Mona's face from above.

"You're following me, your intentions are unclear, your words are ambiguous, your actions are suspicious—why are you afraid to let me get any closer?"

Then she saw Miss Mona shudder suddenly, and then angrily rip off her Witch Hat.

"Good evening! I said good evening! Is this okay now?" The girl tossed her hair, clenched her fists, closed her eyes, and opened her mouth, looking sullen.

—It seems this strategy is quite effective... Ah, I kind of miss Ms. Kashiwazaki Sena from the other dream world. It's rare to encounter a beautiful girl I can't help but tease. Hmm... I wonder if she got what she wanted?

The thought flashed through the Flame-haired Girl's mind. Although she felt that the two personalities seemed similar, their relationship didn't seem to be close enough for them to joke around repeatedly. Occasionally, it might be fine, but if they took it too far, it would probably be annoying.

So Miss Surtr did not take the fifth step, but remained at a psychologically safe distance.

She gave a slight bow to the embarrassed and angry astrologer as an apology. The powerful predatory aura she had previously exuded vanished without a trace.

"Well then, good night, Miss Astrologis Mona Megistus." — She had memorized Mona's full name precisely. "What can I do for you, since we've met by chance?"

Miss Surtr gave the other party a small way out.

As a result, the astrologer, who had been bursting with enthusiasm just a moment ago, suddenly lost her composure.

"Actually, it's nothing." The girl hugged her Witch Hat, hesitantly and tentatively asking, "You... would you mind if I did a fortune telling for you? It doesn't have to be complicated, just let me stay by your side. I... there's something strange about you."

"Hmm, what do you mean?" The Flame-haired maiden was somewhat puzzled—she didn't think she had that much charm to make this independent, academically beautiful girl, whom she had only met less than a day ago, fall head over heels for her. If this deduction was true, then this sorceress must have other intentions.

—I can't possibly inherit the affinity of all the characters in Genshin Impact, can I? That would be too outrageous... Wait, haven't I encountered something similar in the Kancolle World before... But that doesn't make sense either, Venti was quite wary of me not long ago.

—It can't be that I bullied its dragon too much, causing its affection level to drop to zero... No, affection levels are just my guess anyway. If there really was such a mechanism, would I have put up with so much of Kal'tsit's anger?

She stared at the sorcerer before her, noticing a fleeting struggle on Mona's face. Then, she saw the sorcerer take a soft breath.

"You..." the astrologer carefully chose his words. "Don't you feel... that you are actually... no longer alive?"

"..." Miss Surtr hesitated slightly. Instead of answering the astrologer's question, she followed up with her own question, "What did you see?"

"I saw your destiny...I saw you born from this land, but I cannot see your origins, your family, or your blood relatives. It's as if you were conceived from the earth, and then..."

"... You should have died this morning."

Mona looked at her with some caution—as a sufficiently skilled astrologer, Mona had encountered people like this before. Clearly dead, yet alive. And once their secrets were revealed, they would immediately mutate and twist in madness, transforming into terrifying undead or curses that roamed the earth.

It's terrifying, but necessary. The untreated dead will inevitably become a source of disaster. So, rather than letting them take countless lives without warning someday, it's better to choose a suitable place and deal with them in advance.

Mona was prepared; she could sense a tremendous power emanating from the woman before her. But it wasn't elemental, which further confirmed her suspicions.

"Do you... feel any discomfort?" she asked tentatively.

Miss Surtr just looked at her helplessly.

"Yeah, I died. But I'm still alive... so what?"

"Huh?" The young astrologer's expression froze. Perhaps what was unfolding before her eyes was not what she had expected. "But, but you're already dead. Couldn't you just..."

She abruptly shut her mouth.

The next moment, she saw the red-haired woman brush her fingers across the sword behind her back, accompanied by a sudden, faint scent of blood. A drop of still-warm blood trickled from Miss Surtr's fingertip, dripping onto the ground and splashing into the small puddle with a crisp sound.

"Do dead people bleed?" Miss Surtr tilted her head slightly—she didn't really mind revealing her ability to resurrect to the sorceress before her. But... it's always uncomfortable to speak too much with someone you don't know well. What's insignificant to you might be a very valuable secret to others; at least, there's no need to make too much noise before you're sure it won't cause too much trouble for others.

However, lying is still wrong, so Miss Surtr did not deny it, but instead asked a question.

But the effect of this rhetorical question was surprisingly significant.

"Some dead people will..." Miss Mona, her worldview shattered, said blankly, then took a few steps back and leaned against the large rock where she was hiding, and said nothing more.

So Surtr greeted her politely.

"Miss Astrologist?"

She saw the sorceress weakly raise her hand and shake it.

Okay, looks like this guy is alright for now.

Miss Surtr nodded, glanced around, and, confirming that there were no wolves or dark creatures appearing nearby, and that the village of Dawn Winery was close by, politely apologized again to the unresponsive fellow and said goodbye.

"Many things are not as simple as they seem, Miss Astrologist. The village is just a hundred meters ahead. If you need no help from me, then farewell—"

"--goodbye."

She turned and left.

The astrologer, who had failed twice in a single day, was left sitting on a rock, lost in thought.

A long time...

"My water divination..." the intelligent girl with her hair tied in two braids murmured to herself. "... Could it be that I really haven't mastered it?"

The girl's gaze wandered aimlessly.

Then, it landed on the crimson bloodstain on the ground—she intended to use it as a medium to try again.

Hopefully this won't affect her self-confidence.

With these thoughts in mind, Surtr stepped into the desolate wilderness far from any village or town, under the pale light of night.

"Hmm, probably not. After all, she is the chosen one who obtained the Eye of God through her own talent. Such a small situation should not be able to cause her any trouble."

"After all, she is Mona, the world's most outstanding Mona... Well, even if she has suffered a minor setback, the Traveler Lumine should be able to heal her well... Tsk, why should I care so much? Although we formed a bond in a previous life in Arknights, she can still be considered a paper elf..."

She shut her mouth. Even when alone, there were some things she shouldn't say—twenty-five minutes had passed since she left the village. And of the two areas with wild monsters that needed to be dealt with, she had already cleared one of them.

She wiped out a group of Frost Slime.

They come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from a stone roller to a truck cab. They do indeed construct elemental shields on their bodies to resist physical effects, just like in a game. They breathe out icy mist and project ice shards to fight hostile creatures at close or distant locations.

Clearly, these were not harmless creatures. They grew so fast that they posed a considerable threat to passersby. As a result, they ended up on the village's quest board.