Moon World Girlfriend Comes Knocking

"Can't even you do it?" Lan Ze looked somewhat disappointed.

Ereshkigal's mouth opened slightly, then she crossed her arms and turned her head away. "Of course not. Don't take things for granted; casually sending a soul back to the surface doesn't align with the rules of the Underworld."

"But didn't you say my soul doesn't belong to the Underworld?" Lan Ze asked.

"That, that is because..."

"Since it doesn't belong to the Underworld, it shouldn't be kept here, right? That doesn't align with the rules of the Underworld either." Lan Ze coaxed her step by step.

Ereshkigal: "..."

For a moment, she couldn't find a reason to refute him.

After a long silence, she shouted, "In short, no means no, absolutely not! If you want to leave, try it yourself!"

After saying this, she acted as if she were throwing a tantrum, turning around to weave a cage to house souls, ignoring Lan Ze entirely.

"Ereshkigal?"

"Hey—Goddess of the Underworld, can you hear me?"

Lan Ze tried calling out to her twice, but the goddess treated his voice like wind passing by her ears, pretending she hadn't heard a thing.

It looks like I'll have to find a way on my own.

Lan Ze sighed helplessly.

As for the method to leave the Underworld... Ereshkigal had just mentioned it.

One could leave the Underworld by passing through the Seven Gates of the Underworld.

Or perhaps... I could grind for favorability with Ereshkigal here until she is willing to let me go?

Of course, there is also the possibility that once the favorability is high, Ereshkigal might not want him to leave at all.

Regardless, I should try to see if I can walk out first. Although it's a pity, dragging things out here isn't a solution either.

Lan Ze took a step and headed toward the Seven Gates of the Underworld.

Behind him, Ereshkigal sat alone on a giant rock with her legs tucked to the side, silently weaving a cage, appearing as if she were completely indifferent to everything around her.

Of course, it was only an appearance of indifference. Although she kept her head down to weave the cage, her attention was entirely focused on the young man behind her.

Seeing him once again recklessly walking toward the gates of the Underworld, Ereshkigal was so angry she wanted to smash the cage in her hands against the back of Lan Ze's head.

But she only took a shallow breath and exhaled slowly, forcing herself to calm down, constantly comforting herself in her heart.

Stay calm... must stay calm... His soul doesn't belong to the Underworld anyway; if he wants to court death, let him go. Besides, if his soul dissipates, it has nothing to do with me, right?

However... even saying that, it was hard not to care a little.

Really, just a little!

After all, having been in the Underworld for so long, it was finally a rare chance to encounter a soul she could talk to, and yet this soul wanted to run away before they could even chat for a few sentences.

Of course, it wasn't because she had been alone in the Underworld for too long or felt lonely or anything like that; she just felt bored and wanted someone to talk to.

A sudden gust of whistling wind came from behind, followed by a breeze laced with chill.

"Did that idiot actually enter the second gate?!" Ereshkigal turned her head in disbelief.

Of the Seven Gates of the Underworld, each gate passed reduces a soul's weight; by the end, the soul dissipates completely. Once that happens, it would be too late to save him even if she wanted to.

Ereshkigal's eyes were filled with shock, and she clutched her head in frustration.

A sudden feeling of deep regret washed over her.

Why did she have to be so stubborn with an ordinary person?

If he were to disappear forever in the gates of the Underworld, wouldn't she regret it for the rest of her life out of guilt?

What a troublesome bad boy who loves to cause trouble!

"I hate bad boys the most!"

Ereshkigal shook her head vigorously in annoyance, then looked up again, her eyes fixed firmly on Lan Ze, who was about to pass through the second gate.

Forget it, no matter what, I have to drag him back this time, even if I have to use force!

Thinking of this, Ereshkigal was about to step forward, but at that moment, the soul ahead flickered, and then, with a whoosh, it vanished.

Ereshkigal froze, subconsciously taking half a step back as if her strength had been drained, and she slumped onto the ground.

"It's over," she murmured to herself.

She really was going to regret this for the rest of her life.

In the howling cold wind, Ereshkigal sat limply by the giant rock, hugging her knees, her forehead pressed tightly against them as she let out a soft sigh.

What an idiot. I already told him there was no way to leave the Underworld; why wouldn't he listen...

Time passed silently. After an unknown amount of time, she suddenly felt as if the space in front of her was illuminated by some kind of blue light.

As she slowly raised her head to look, a translucent, pale blue ring of light had appeared out of nowhere, looking like a gate.

What is that...?

After skeptically examining the 'gate' in front of her, Ereshkigal supported her weary body, stood up, and slowly walked toward the ring of light.

Ten minutes ago.

Lan Ze was surrounded by pitch-black darkness, with only floating pale blue light particles barely illuminating the area.

This was the character login interface, a boundless space where no matter how long one walked, it felt as though there was no end in sight.

His presence here now meant that he had died while passing through the second Gate of the Underworld.

No respawn point, just a restart of the game?

Lan Ze pondered, reaching out to gently touch the login button at the bottom of the interface, but a window popped up instead:

[Your soul is currently resetting. Please wait patiently for five minutes before trying again.]

Then, a five-minute countdown appeared before his eyes.

Without giving Lan Ze a chance to act, the next pop-up followed immediately:

[Matching Space: Unknown]

[Identifying Host Identity Information]

[Identity Information Recorded]

Then, after about five minutes of silence, a crisp female voice rang out:

[Achievement Unlocked: First Encounter with the Goddess of the Underworld. Reward: Holy Grail ×1]

Strange... I didn't even save my game progress, so why did an achievement pop up?

Lan Ze's eyes flickered, his heart filled with confusion.

He tried raising his hand and was surprised to find he could pull up the menu bar. He opened his inventory, and sure enough, he saw the Holy Grail rewarded by the system.

The Holy Grail... could it be that I can summon Heroic Spirits?

Just then, a thin book appeared silently in front of Lan Ze.

Achievement Book? Lan Ze saw the corresponding text on it.

He reached out and opened the book; the first page displayed the Holy Grail that had just been activated.

[Currently Activated Item: Holy Grail. This is a relic from Christian legend, a miracle artifact, and a high-purity crystal of magic.]

[Skill Reward: Magic Supply]

[Skill Reward: Illusion Manifestation]

I can understand Magic Supply... but what does Illusion Manifestation mean?

Lan Ze frowned. The book provided no descriptions for its abilities; was the person who made this game just lazy?

However, looking at it now, meeting Ereshkigal earlier wasn't a bug, but rather a setting inherent to the game itself.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have displayed the achievement completion.

And this Holy Grail... is it perhaps something like a beginner's gift pack?

With lingering confusion and doubt, Lan Ze gently turned to the second page of the book.

[Currently Inactive Item: Ring of Solomon. A symbol of the wise man recognized by God, and the source of magic capable of commanding angels and demons. Activation Condition: ?]

Lan Ze's eyes shifted. Could it be that all the items in this book were activated through achievements?

As for the effects of the abilities he had just acquired, he could make a few guesses.

Magic Supply was likely a feature where the Holy Grail would provide a certain amount of magic when his mana bar was running low.

But what did "Illusion Manifestation" mean?

Lan Ze's thoughts raced like flickering shadows, analyzing rapidly.

An illusion, as the name suggests, is a hallucination, an image from a dream... and manifestation likely means bringing that image into concrete reality...

I'll have to find an opportunity to test it out.

Just as Lan Ze thought this, a strong light effect suddenly shone from the distance, causing him to squint and turn his head to look.

A gate appeared before him, and the Goddess of the Underworld with flowing golden hair actually stepped out from it!

The young girl possessed an exquisite face, her brilliant, dazzling long golden hair swaying gently with her steps. Beneath her black skirt, a pair of perfect, slender legs were revealed, one of her tender white thighs wrapped in thin black silk stockings. The surrounding light particles made the already stunning girl look breathtakingly beautiful at this moment.

Although he had seen her once before, Lan Ze was still slightly dazed.

He had to admit, even though she was the Goddess of the Underworld, no one would question it if someone called her an angel based on her appearance.

She was as beautiful as an angel.

But that wasn't the problem; the problem was...

Why would a character from the game show up in the login interface?!

Ereshkigal looked somewhat bewildered at the moment. Noticing Lan Ze's gaze, she looked up, her eyes guarded, and pointed her Cage Gun at him.

"Who are you? And where is this place?"

Lan Ze was slightly stunned.

She forgot me...?

No, it must be because my face looks different than it did a moment ago.

Lan Ze only just remembered that he had customized his face when entering the game, but now, his face had reverted to his real-world appearance.

"My name is Tohsaka Tokiomi," Lan Ze said.

Ereshkigal stared at Lan Ze for a long time, her brows furrowed and her lips bitten lightly, looking as if she were harboring the resentment of someone thinking, Is this guy seriously trying to mess with me?

Then, her voice filled with displeasure rang out: "Are you treating me like an idiot? You're that soul from the Underworld just now, aren't you?"

Since you already know, why bother asking me... Lan Ze said jokingly, "I just wanted to confirm whether your memory was good or not."

Ereshkigal glanced at him, her cheeks flushing slightly, and she whispered, "So, did I pass?"

Lan Ze was stunned. "What?"

"How is my memory?"

"Hmm... very good. You are a very smart girl."

Watching Ereshkigal look so jubilant because of his words, Lan Ze felt a sudden pang of guilt in his heart.

How should he put it... this Goddess was truly simple-minded.

"Why am I appearing here?" Ereshkigal looked around the surroundings and pressed further.

"Also, didn't you disappear earlier? How did you suddenly appear here again?"

There were simply too many doubts in Ereshkigal's heart. She had clearly seen Lan Ze vanish within the Underworld and had assumed his soul had been completely extinguished, yet now, she was seeing him appear in this strange place.

"Actually, it's like this..."

Listening to the Goddess of the Underworld's barrage of questions, Lan Ze pondered for a moment before ultimately deciding to tell her the truth.

Thinking about it now, the meaning of Illusion Manifestation was likely that it allowed her to appear within the login interface.