Chasing the Void Bubble

Chapter 35: Pursuit, Void Bubble

After Iris cleared the Gloomy Shadow's last sliver of health, Linton successfully used Gathering Skill to collect the Pure Spirit dropped by the boss.

However, just as the two were preparing to leave, an unexpected event occurred.

The black mist instantly condensed again, forming a blurry silhouette of a child.

Normally, a boss of leader rank would take 72 hours to respawn after being defeated. But not even seven minutes had passed, so how could it have revived so quickly?

While surprised, Linton noticed the blackness on the figure rapidly fading. It was then bathed in silver moonlight, gradually solidifying into a cute little girl.

The girl had two small braids, a tender face, and eyes full of spirit that darted between the two people before her, finally settling on Linton.

"Big brother, are you here to take me home?"

The girl's voice was soft and sweet, like a baby's. If Linton hadn't known what she was made of, he would have immediately given her a blood pack to help her recover.

Linton, who had just been planning how to toy with the monster, slowly bent down, looked into the girl's eyes, and spoke with a gentleness Iris could never have imagined.

"Little one, what's your name? Where do you live?"

"My name is Bella!" Bella said her name, then fell into distress. "I live in a village! But... I've forgotten the way!"

She reached out and tugged at Linton's clothes, saying softly, "Big brother, can you please take me home? I have many beautiful flowers at home, and I can give you the prettiest one!"

Iris leaned in, lowered her voice, and put on a frightening expression. "Aren't you afraid we're bad people? We'll sell you to a very far away place! Very, very far away!"

The doll's prank was completely unconvincing, but Bella was still startled, her eyes immediately becoming a little hazy.

She hopped behind Linton, peeking out a small face, and fearfully said, "Big brother, this big sister is a bad person! Let's go quickly, let's go home."

"?"

Iris's eyelid twitched.

"You're the one who looks like the bad guy! Look at him, dressed all in black, wielding strange magic..."

"No!" Bella exclaimed loudly, "Big brother is definitely a good person! Definitely, definitely!!"

"You're the bad guy!"

Iris clutched her chest, incredulous.

Miss Knight had been popular wherever she went since childhood. She rarely heard harsh words, let alone being disliked by a child and mistaken for a bad person.

She wanted to retort a few times, but just as she was about to speak, she realized something was amiss.

Normally, seeing her flustered, the Necromancer would at least offer some sarcastic remarks, or at the very least, not hide his laughter.

But why was he suddenly so quiet?

Looking at Linton, the doll saw him quietly looking down at the ground, a thoughtful expression on his face.

[In the eerie plaza, a mysterious girl makes a request of you...]
[World Quest: Pursuit, Void Bubble]
[Quest Objective 1: Take Bella home.]
[Quest Reward: 20000 EXP, 50000 Gold]
[Quest Objective 2: ???]
[Quest Reward: ???]

Linton stared at the suddenly appearing text, lost in thought.

World Quests, as the name suggested, were quests that players might trigger while exploring the world. Their difficulty varied, as did their rewards, and the ways to trigger them were also diverse.

Because each country in Kingdom of Heavenly Principles was so vast, their number was comparable to the stars in the sky. Before Linton's transmigration, no post dared claim that all World Quests had been discovered.

But the problem was, this place beneath his feet, being a boss's location, had been trodden by countless players. Yet, he couldn't recall anyone triggering this quest from his memories.

"Perhaps... due to the Necromancer's characteristics?"

He set aside the question for now and reread the quest description.

The rewards weren't much, indicating that this wasn't a very difficult or complex quest.

But why were there question marks later on?

"Hey!"

Linton's thoughts were interrupted by an external voice. He realized he had inexplicably become a dividing line, with the girl and the child facing off across him.

Bella tugged at his clothes and whispered, "Big brother, let's go, this big sister is so scary."

Iris was instantly infuriated. "How am I scary! I was kindly reminding you not to be deceived!!"

"You're a liar!"

"I am not!!"

"Alright, alright, stop arguing," Linton said, a wry smile on his face as he clapped his hands to stop them from continuing their kindergarten-level insults. "Iris, even if you win, I won't give you candy."

He never expected Iris to be dragged down to almost the same childish level as the child during their argument, and almost be defeated by the child's extensive experience.

She really was just a child, after all.

"Who wants your candy! Stop treating me like a kid, you jerk!"

Iris shot the Necromancer a glare, her already minor annoyance calming down.

She glanced at the little girl hiding behind Linton and asked, "You promised her? Do you know where her home is?"

"Are there any other inhabited places around here?"

"That village?"

Iris frowned in thought. "I understand."

"Bella," Linton said, looking down at the little girl and extending his hand. "Let's go, I'll take you home."

"Yay!"

Bella placed her hand in Linton's palm. The gentle warmth instantly made her squint her eyes, a look of feline pleasure spreading across her face.

"…"

Iris watched the pair, one big and one small, walking hand-in-hand, a strange feeling washing over her.

He really does like children.

She repeated her words from the village entrance in her mind. What she didn't realize was that the same words now carried a hint of jealousy.

"Big brother, what was that candy you mentioned? Is it a fruit that tastes as good as an apple?"

Linton lowered his head, meeting the girl's curious gaze.

He smiled gently, his hand closing and opening to reveal a sparkling candy in his palm.

"This is candy. Here, try it."

"Thank you, big brother!"

Bella's eyes curved as she took the not-so-high-quality candy and popped it into her mouth, savoring it.

"It's so much smaller than an apple… And it tastes like… nothing."

Linton blinked, then remembered that the girl was a spirit body without a physical form.

"Sorry, I got the wrong thing."

He patted his head, a glow in his eyes. When he opened his hand again, two candies, much duller in color than before, appeared.

The girl picked one up and put it in her mouth. Immediately, she squinted her eyes happily again. "So sweet! So, so sweet!"

She picked up the other candy and held it up to Linton's face. "Big brother, you eat too!"

"Mom said that when you have something delicious, you should share it with everyone!"

"I have plenty more. I'm glad you like it," Linton said with a gentle smile.

"How did you do that?" Iris leaned in, asking curiously. "Logically, spirit bodies shouldn't be able to feel things. How did you make her think the candy was sweet?"

"It's not difficult," Linton said dismissively. "It's true that spirit bodies can't feel, but before they became spirit bodies, they recorded those sensations through their physical bodies. I extracted the taste of what I consider candy from my own sensations and then used magic power as a medium to transmit it to Bella, activating her latent 'sweetness.'"

"…"

Iris looked at him as if he were a monster.

She didn't know about the other parts, but just the idea of backing up and extracting one's own sensations was already enough to make her think it was outrageous.

Although she didn't fully understand the rest, she was still greatly impressed.

She couldn't help but remark, "Such a complicated thing, and you make it sound as simple as moving a piece of wood."

"Maybe… I'm a genius?"

"Hmph, shameless."

Linton smiled but didn't reply.

The three chatted as they strolled along the mountain path. Before long, the only village in the mountains reappeared before them.

However, this time, under the cloak of night, the mountain village no longer looked simple. Instead, it exuded an eerie, intangible darkness.