After unlocking the Spiritual Apprentice profession, Bai Fu could clearly feel her mind becoming much sharper. For a moment, she even felt as if she'd seen through the mortal world.
Was this what an increase in Spirit and Inspiration felt like?
The Spiritual Apprentice profession had a level cap of 10, and each level granted twice as many attribute points as the Jobless Wanderer profession.
Satisfied, Bai Fu opened her status panel.
[Main Profession]: Jobless Wanderer Lv3 (0/1000), Spiritual Apprentice Lv1 (0/300)
[Sub-Profession]: None
[Health]: 70/70
[Psychic Energy]: 25/25
[Attributes]: Strength 5, Agility 3, Constitution 7, Intelligence 3, Spirit 5, Inspiration 5
[Skills]:
Frenzy Lv1—Puts a target's body part into a [Frenzy] state. While active, it consumes 1 point of Psychic Energy per minute. Cooldown: 2 seconds.
Hardening Lv1—Puts a small area of a target's skin into a [Hardened] state. While active, it consumes (1–3) points of Psychic Energy every 5 seconds. Cooldown: 1 second.
Spiritual Vision—Uses psychic energy to probe a target's information. The level of detail depends on the difference in levels.
[Talents]: None
[Attribute Points]: 2
The newly added Psychic Energy was the source of power for the Spiritual Energy School. It recovered slowly over time, and its maximum could be increased by raising Inspiration, or through items, equipment, skills, talents, and the like.
Of the three newly acquired skills, Frenzy could boost offense, Hardening could boost defense, and Spiritual Vision could even probe an opponent's strength. They were all quite useful.
In fact, <Three Minutes to Get You Started with Spiritual Prayer> had given Bai Fu more than just a new profession. It had also taught her what to keep in mind while practicing spiritual arts.
[Warning! Never use Spiritual Prayer on others carelessly, or you may cause extremely serious consequences!]
She'd already been getting ready to head home.
But when her eyes happened to land on the word "never" in the warning, her gaze sharpened.
That word had a peculiar allure, much like an "FBI Warning."
If they hadn't mentioned it, she'd have been fine. But now that they had, she had no choice but to thoroughly investigate this forbidden power!
Bai Fu sat down on the floor and began reading through the case studies.
[A male student at a certain academy jokingly tried to use Hardening on his roommate's wrist. Due to a miscalculation, he targeted his roommate's crotch instead. The next morning, the dorm supervisor found him and rushed him to a nearby proctology clinic. Do not try this at home!]
How did he manage to miss his roommate's wrist and hit his crotch instead?
Was it on purpose, or an accident?
Bai Fu felt there was something fishy about the whole thing.
She continued reading the cases that followed.
The later cases were even more disturbing.
For example, someone deliberately wore thick shoes before a duel and went three whole days without washing their feet. Then, as soon as they stepped onto the stage, they used a prayer to enhance their opponent's sense of smell and took off their shoes, making the opponent pass out from the stench.
Bai Fu kept nodding as she read.
What a scumbag!
She'd been wondering how a harmless little lamb like her could survive after wandering into a den of scumbags like the Abandoned Cooling Plant.
Simply focusing on getting stronger wasn't enough. Even martial arts masters could be killed by despicable villains using underhanded tricks.
Putting all her hopes in the players wasn't an option either. In the end, Bai Fu concluded that the only way to beat a scumbag was with an even bigger scumbag.
Only by learning every trick her opponents had up their sleeves could she protect herself.
To put it bluntly, if some scumbag ever latched onto her and she had no way to avoid him, she could still bring enough leverage to the negotiating table—
You don't want us to both go out with a bang, do you?
A mop smeared with shit was as fearsome as Lü Bu himself. But if I pull out a shit-smeared mop too, what will you do then?
A strategic weapon might never need to be used, but you still had to have one!
Still not quite satisfied, Bai Fu closed the book.
She'd actually wanted to find more cases to study.
Unfortunately, this little library was too small. Most of its books were the kind that could be bundled up and sold as part of a "X Books That Will Benefit You for a Lifetime" series.
She had to try another approach.
Since she couldn't learn anything useful from books, she'd have to figure it out through practice.
After greeting the library's gatekeeper, Bai Fu returned home.
While she'd been away, An Ya had cleaned the house until it was spotless.
She was young, but very sensible.
"Boss, are we really going to ask that old bastard for the money again?"
An Ya came out of the kitchen wearing an apron made from scraps of cloth, looking worried.
Bai Fu nodded. "Of course. Where else are we supposed to get money if we don't ask him? Do you remember the Outsider we rescued today? It's time for you to see what Outsiders are really worth!"
As an NPC, could she really call herself a proper NPC if she didn't make players fight monsters and gather materials for her?
Bai Fu called An Ya over and explained the plan to her in detail.
"Tomorrow, go and seduce those Outsiders like this..."
"Will that really work?"
An Ya didn't believe it, but since Boss had told her to do it, she could only give it her best shot.
There was only one sun in the sky, and Boss was the only sun in her heart!
The next day, a little after ten in the morning.
In a livestream room called [Mysterious Girl X, I'm Fucking Coming!], Digging Princess was working with a group of viewers to search for the missing Mysterious Girl X.
[Can you marry NPCs in this game if you raise their Favorability high enough?]
[The official site doesn't say. Probably not.]
[Bad review. It's not as good as Azur Lane. I want a harem! I want a love lab!]
[Speaking of Azur Lane, have you noticed that all the female NPCs in this game are so small?]
[What a weird thing to say. They're normal proportions.]
[I'm going to die if I can't see Mysterious Girl X.]
[Digging Treasure, my treasure, look behind you!]
"Behind me? Are people smashing each other in the crotch with bricks again?"
Digging Princess was looking at the map. She turned around without thinking and immediately spotted a little girl peeking around the corner.
That smooth white hair, that petite figure...
Wasn't this the little girl who'd been with Mysterious Girl X yesterday? If she'd found the girl, did that mean she'd found Mysterious Girl X too?
Digging Princess hurried after her. She chased An Ya for several streets before finally catching up to her.
"Why have you been following me?" An Ya huffed. "Wait, are you the Outsider Boss rescued yesterday?!"
Digging Princess nodded with a grin. "That's right, it's me. Why are you out here alone? It's dangerous. Where's your Boss?"
An Ya shot her an annoyed look. "You tell me! Boss went to find the boss of the big guy who tried to grab you yesterday. Do you know how dangerous that is? That person's really strong, and you... This is all your fault!"
As she spoke, she pointed toward the end of the road.
Digging Princess followed her finger.
At a three-way intersection, beside a concrete post, a young woman stood in quiet elegance.
White clothes, white hair, a neck as graceful as a silkworm, slender wrists, fair ankles...
A morning breeze suddenly blew, sending her silky hair dancing in the wind.
It was her, it was her, it really was her!
Digging Princess was thrilled.
It hadn't been easy!
She'd been playing games for so many years, and how often hadn't she been cursed with terrible Luck?
Other people played games of chance. She might as well have been playing the lotteries run by Tencent and Pinduoduo. Whenever she pulled for a character, she had to hit hard pity before getting anything. Sometimes she even failed multiple times on upgrades with a 99% success rate.
But this time, she'd found Mysterious Girl X after searching for only half a day. Could Mysterious Girl X be the goddess of Luck she'd been waiting for all this time?
There was no time to marvel.
Meeting An Ya's mournful gaze, Digging Princess smiled confidently. "Don't worry. I'll take care of everything!"
So what if it was a bunch of monsters with health bars? If she couldn't beat them, couldn't she just call in her Sun-bro allies for backup?
An Ya wanted to say something else, but Digging Princess had already said goodbye and was striding toward Bai Fu in the distance.
Hey!
An Ya stopped herself before she could say anything.
Boss had said that Outsiders had unlimited potential, but from what An Ya had seen herself and heard from others, none of them seemed particularly bright.
What kind of normal person picked up a stick on the road and declared it an invincible divine sword?
An Ya thought Boss might have misjudged this one.
Just as she sighed, Digging Princess posted a new message in her livestream.
[It's raid time, everyone! Someone's bullying Mysterious Girl X! Coordinates are (xxx, xxx, xxx). Anyone nearby, hurry over and charge in with me!]
In an instant, the livestream chat went wild.
[What the hell, someone's doing that? Beat the shit out of them!]
[Who dares provoke my wife? I'll end their life!]
[This plot smells like a hidden quest. Brothers, I'm in!]
One player, then another... Soon, a whole bunch of players started heading for the coordinates.
When Digging Princess had walked halfway down the street, only a few people had gathered around her;
When she'd walked three-quarters of the way down the street, there were already ten people around her;
By the time she finally reached Bai Fu, the cheering, laughing players had surrounded her, placing her right in the middle. There were too many to count at a glance.
But they weren't done yet. Players were still rushing in from every direction.
+1, +1, +1...
Take a good look! This is the friendship and camaraderie of us players! Aaaaaah!
An Ya was so stunned by the incredible sight that her mouth fell open.
"Boss, was this part of your plan too?"
The commotion caught Bai Fu's attention.
She turned around, fixed her gaze on Digging Princess, and put on a surprised, bewildered expression.
"Hmm? Why are you here? And who are all these people with you..."
Bai Fu didn't have a mirror, but she was sure her confused expression was spot-on. After all, she'd spent a whole hour practicing it in front of the mirror last night.
Digging Princess explained, "I ran into the little girl who was with you earlier. She said you came here to find the boss of the thug from yesterday. I was worried you'd be in danger, so I came over."
The players beside her chimed in.
"Yeah, yeah, white-haired big sister, they're just a bunch of ordinary mobs. You don't have to handle them. We can take care of it."
"Don't worry, ba—"
"Shut up, you shameless old pervert! You've got a green afro and you're calling her your wife. Aren't you afraid of scaring her?"
"Damn, this character model looks even more realistic than in the livestream. I really want to touch her hair. I wonder if it'll clip through."
"Touch mine."
"Get lost, you homo!"
Bai Fu's eyelid twitched.
Good. They had the proper player spirit!
Digging Princess had been watching Bai Fu closely. Thinking Bai Fu was angry, she hurried to smooth things over.
"Everyone, knock it off. Let's talk business. We..."
Bai Fu interrupted her. "I think I understand why you came here. I appreciate the thought, but this isn't an opponent you can handle right now. One wrong move and you could die. Go back."
As soon as she said that, the players burst into laughter.
"We're not afraid to die."
"Exactly. So what if we die once? It's no big deal."
"As a fan of Soulslikes, I love dancing on the edge of a knife!"
An Ya had quietly followed from behind. When she heard them say that, she was startled.
So what if they died once?
Could you really describe dying as "no big deal"?
Bai Fu shook her head. "It's not that I don't believe in your courage. Death doesn't affect just one person. You wouldn't want your friends and family to grieve over your passing, would you?"
If anything, her words only brought out the players' defiant streak.
Damn it, Mysterious Girl X had looked down on them! They had to prove themselves with an awesome performance this time!
A player pushed his way out of the crowd. His name, [Black Tiger Afu], floated above his upright red hair.
"I don't know where I am, and I don't care how the story goes. I just want to ask one thing: when can we start killing?"
As he spoke, he ran a hand along the edge of his axe.
An Ya turned deathly pale at the sight.
What kind of maniac was this?
Another player named [Patrick Star] stepped forward too. "Yeah, we're already here."
The players around him began to chant. "We've come all this way! Let's just get started. We can't go back for nothing."
Facing the fired-up players, Bai Fu could only smile helplessly. "I really can't do anything with you people."
You're the ones who insisted on doing this. I didn't force you! I have video proof, so don't blame me if something happens!
"How about this? I'll go in first and draw their attention. Then you can sneak up and attack them while they're distracted. That'll reduce the chance of casualties."
Digging Princess hurried to stop her. "No, that's too dangerous! What if you get hurt? Leave everything to us."
"Do as I say!"
Bai Fu glared and spoke in a tone that brooked no argument.
As if!
If I let you rush in while I stay outside, do you think I'd get any of that old geezer's money?
By the time I get inside, you'll probably have stripped several layers off the place already.
Bai Fu wasn't worried about getting hurt. After all, she and that old geezer were still technically on the same side, and she'd put all her stat points into Constitution.
All points into Constitution plus the Hardening Prayer—who could stand against that?
"Wait for my signal."
With that, Bai Fu turned and headed for the place where the indebted old geezer lived.
Watching Bai Fu's retreating figure, all the players present—and even some of the onlookers there for the fun of it—were deeply moved.
When other NPCs treated them like tools, only Mysterious Girl X would risk putting herself in danger for their safety!
[She really... I'm crying!]
[Holy crap, it's been years since I've seen a game character in a gacha game care this much about the players.]
[Holy shit, you damn devs! If Mysterious Girl X dies, I'll fight you!]
[Calm down, calm down. The devs haven't gone that far. Mysterious Girl X isn't dead yet. If she dies, I'll charge in with you.]
[Wait for me, I'm deleting my account and joining your Novice Village right now!]
Amid the commotion, Digging Princess exchanged glances with the other players around her.
If you don't do everything in your power to protect such a good NPC, are you even human?
Let's freaking do this!
P.S. I'm posting both chapters today, 4,000 words total.
Before you continue