Spark Gifted to You

"Have we already been pulled into a domain?!"

Only after the enemy appeared did one clueless blonde realize what was happening.

She had been so focused on forming her armor that she hadn't noticed the subtle fluctuations in the magic.

The Stitched Monster swung its Chainsaw Cleaver. Its blue-green eyes fixed on the three of them as acid dripped from its mouth, sizzling against the ground.

Zhu Li raised a hand, signaling the other two to fall back.

The next instant, the Stitched Monster hurled the cleaver in its hand. Its silver blade flashed like a flying leaf, slicing toward Lin Yue's throat.

Chen Xi activated Berserk and swung with all her might, gripping her sword in both hands to block the attack—one powerful enough to cleave through a stone wall.

"Clang—"

The black-haired girl staggered back several steps from the recoil.

Chen Xi glanced at the Shadow Greatsword. Magic was steadily repairing the break in its blade.

With the armor's enhancement, she still couldn't match the monster head-on while in her Berserk state, but she could hold her own for a few exchanges.

She scooped Lin Yue up in one arm, then leaped lightly, carrying her to the second-floor corridor.

"I can't tell what his domain ability is." Chen Xi carefully surveyed the area around the school building but noticed nothing unusual.

"Neither can I." Cradled in her arms, Lin Yue blushed.

Once they were clear of the battlefield, Zhu Li finally moved.

Beneath the pitch-black night sky, flames burst into life. The red-haired girl was wreathed in dancing fire as crimson waves rolled outward, nearly engulfing the entire open space.

Even from dozens of meters away, Chen Xi felt as though her soul were being scorched.

Zhu Li aimed toward the Stitched Monster and held out her right hand.

At last, the flames filling the sky had somewhere to pour. With a thunderous roar, they surged forward like a tidal wave and swallowed the Stitched Monster.

When the flames died down, the monster had been reduced to ashes. The building behind it had also been burned beyond recognition. Only a Chainsaw Cleaver remained, resting quietly on the charred ground.

How strong. This was the first time Chen Xi had seen Zhu Li unleash her full power.

They were both Second Rank Transcendents, yet the Stitched Monster couldn't withstand even one of her attacks.

And that wasn't all...

The two of them looked up. The rising flames had dyed the night sky the color of sunset, while sparks drifted down like meteors streaking across the heavens.

The black-haired girl's eyes shone as they reflected the beautiful scene.

[New CG: Spark Gifted to You (Rare)]

[CG Description: A starry night, and you, whom I cannot predict]

[CG Bonus: Flame Rite]

[Flame Rite: Slightly increases fire resistance. When using related abilities, you also receive an equivalent boost]

The familiar chime, absent for 'some time,' rang in Chen Xi's mind, pulling her thoughts back from the firelight.

The name of this CG...

Chen Xi opened the panel. The CG showed the scene from a third-person perspective, clearly capturing her admiring the firelight—and Zhu Li, staring intently at her.

Chen Xi abruptly looked down at the ground, only to find that Zhu Li had already turned away. She was walking over to where the Stitched Monster had died, picking up the cleaver it had dropped.

"So pretty," Lin Yue exclaimed, completely unaware of what had passed between the other two.

"Come on, stop grinning like an idiot." Chen Xi dismissed her Shadow Armor and leaped down.

Seeing her, Lin Yue also used a shadow tentacle to lower herself to the ground.

[This Legend is called the Butcher.] Zhu Li showed the two of them the message she had just finished typing on her phone.

[Its domain ability should be a major boost to its own recovery.]

But under her fierce flames, even the strongest healing ability could only end in ashes.

"Why aren't you using sticky notes anymore?" Lin Yue spotted the discrepancy.

Zhu Li gave Lin Yue a look that said, I knew you'd ask, then lightly swiped a finger across the screen. The next message answered her: [I ran out.]

Chen Xi stared at the familiar-sounding term and thought for a moment. "The Butcher... Is it that organization?"

Zhu Li nodded.

"This is bad..." The black-haired girl let out a long sigh.

Zhu Li nodded again.

Watching the two of them hold a coded conversation from a distance, Lin Yue finally couldn't take it anymore. "What are you even talking about? Did I hit the skip button?"

"I keep telling you to read more forum posts." Chen Xi tapped the back of the blonde girl's head with her knuckles.

She was certain that in the original story, by her fourth cycle, Lin Yue would have been cramming every scrap of knowledge about Legends she could find.

She would never have been like this clueless girl here, treating Chen Xi like an encyclopedia.

Chen Xi quickly realized what made the difference.

It was the pressure. The pressure they faced was on entirely different levels.

With no one to rely on, Lin Yue would definitely have grown faster than she had now.

But this was nice, too.

Chen Xi glanced fondly at Lin Yue, who was still fooling around, then began to explain.

"The Artificial Legend Butcher is a token used by the evil organization Evil Flower to recruit newcomers."

"Once you take control of this Legend, you're considered to have chosen to join Evil Flower."

"The Butcher automatically erodes a Transcendent's mind. Even someone with a will far stronger than an ordinary person's will eventually go mad under its influence."

"There is a way to dispel the Butcher's negative curse, but the price is far greater than the benefits of taking control of this Legend."

"So all our effort was for nothing."

Since she'd only heard the name and had no picture to go by, Chen Xi hadn't recognized the Butcher at first.

"Everything she said is right." A cold electronic female voice sounded beside them. The two of them whipped around to see Zhu Li tapping the playback button on her phone.

Seeing their intense reaction, Zhu Li looked puzzled and continued typing before playing the message aloud. "What's wrong? Is this not very convenient?"

"Ah, no." Lin Yue faltered, carefully choosing her words. "It's just that you always used sticky notes before, so I thought there was some special reason."

Hearing that, Zhu Li kept typing, then tilted her head slightly and looked at Chen Xi.

"Would this be more convenient for you?" the cold electronic voice asked.

"Convenient." Chen Xi kept her answer brief.

Lin Yue tried to reassure her. "It is definitely a lot more convenient, but it's more fun when you write on sticky notes, Zhu Li."

"We'll take the cleaver." Chen Xi casually picked up the Chainsaw Cleaver.

Zhu Li looked like she wanted to say something, but in the end she let Chen Xi hold on to it.

"To take control of it, you have to kill ten people with the Chainsaw Cleaver. Unless you absolutely have to, don't even think about trying."

The red-haired girl played the voice message.

"You... Thanks." Chen Xi sighed helplessly. Zhu Li really had seen right through her.

So she decided to be frank. "Lin Yue can resist negative effects."

Without a shred of guilt, Chen Xi sold out the blonde girl beside her.

"What?! How did you know?"

Now it was Lin Yue's turn to be dumbfounded.

"You might as well have written 'I want it' on your face."

"And you dealt with the Shadow Dweller's consciousness using some unknown method, didn't you? Otherwise, you couldn't be this nimble."

At that moment, Chen Xi was proving the saying that knowledge was power.

Lin Yue was so embarrassed by the long string of observations that she muttered, "Am I really that easy to read?"

Looking at her indignant expression, the black-haired girl smiled with relief. "Don't overthink it. Put the cleaver in your backpack, and let's go get barbecue."

The three of them walked beneath the moonlight, laughing and chatting all the way.