Moon World Girlfriend Comes Knocking

This system is that cheeky?

But thinking about it, if a character in a game could really log out, that would go beyond the scope of a game. It's obviously unrealistic when you think about it.

Ereshkigal lifted her eyes, glanced at Lan Ze, and asked, "Since you can't quit the game, why did that button pop up?"

"Lan Ze?"

"Are you listening to me? Hey—"

Ereshkigal's hand waved back and forth in front of Lan Ze's eyes. When he snapped out of it and looked up, he saw the Goddess of the Underworld staring at him with a puffed-up expression.

"Why are you ignoring me? Is it because I'm the Goddess of the Underworld, so you're that scared of me..."

Just a moment ago, she'd been all huffy, but by the end of her words, Ereshkigal drooped her head in disappointment, her small face dim.

Calling her the Goddess of the Underworld, she didn't really fit that image at all—or rather, she didn't match the stereotype of a cold, ruthless underworld goddess.

This goddess was actually terrified of loneliness.

Something stirred in Lan Ze's heart. He reached out and gently patted Ereshkigal's head. "How could that be? I have no reason to be afraid of you."

"...Why?" Ereshkigal's eyes widened slightly, incredulous.

"I'm the Goddess of the Underworld, you know? The death goddess who represents the dead? Why aren't you afraid of me?"

"But you're cute," Lan Ze said.

"Huh?" Ereshkigal blinked.

Lan Ze said, puzzled, "Did you not get what I meant? Because you're cute, I don't feel scared."

"If you were that giant skeleton monster from before, I might've been afraid."

Ereshkigal finally snapped out of it. She raised her hands frantically, waving them. "W-wait, hold on! Why are you suddenly saying that?! It's nice being called cute for the first time, but that's not right! Even if I am, cute... I mean, even if you think I'm cute, my identity doesn't change because of that, okay? I'm the goddess who rules the underworld! The goddess of death, who reaps souls!"

"So what?" Lan Ze paused to think, then took two steps back.

"Ah, ah... such a majestic Goddess of the Underworld. So, so scary!" Lan Ze said in a completely flat tone.

Ereshkigal let out a "pfft" laugh, pointing at Lan Ze. "Hahaha, what are you doing, you idiot?"

Struggling to stifle her laughter, Ereshkigal wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and looked up at Lan Ze, sizing him up.

This guy sure had a way with words.

It had been so long since she'd last talked to a human.

The Goddess of the Underworld couldn't leave the underworld normally; she could only stay in that cold, icy realm. Besides weaving cages every day, she sometimes indulged in girlish, rosy fantasies of romance, wondering if one day someone might suddenly appear in the underworld to chat with her and understand everything she did...

Feeling Lan Ze's eyes sweep over her, Ereshkigal instinctively covered her skirt, pressing her legs together, and snapped in embarrassment, "What are you looking at?"

"I thought there'd be something like an affinity meter," Lan Ze said, raising a finger to try finding an affinity column in the menu, but he didn't spot anything like that.

"Why are you looking for something like that?" Ereshkigal pursed her lips, looking displeased.

"I wanted to check your affinity."

"My affinity can't be pinned down by a bunch of numbers. It's better that there's nothing like that." As she said this, Ereshkigal seemed to think of something and asked next:

"Was all that flattery just now because of that 'quest' you mentioned?"

By the end, a hint of disappointment crept into her eyes.

It wasn't surprising—she'd just learned from Lan Ze that she was actually a character in a game, and he was a player. Her having that thought wasn't strange.

"It's not a quest. I was just curious, so I asked," Lan Ze shook his head. "How do you see me?"

Ereshkigal's voice faltered, then she gave a light cough, her cheeks flushing. "Of course as an ordinary..."

Feeling Lan Ze's gaze, she seemed to relent and changed her answer: "I guess you could count as a friend... yeah, a friend!"

She raised a finger, her slightly reddened cheeks looking adorable, and continued, "Just an ordinary friend... maybe a little better than an ordinary friend, so you don't need to be too upset."

"Thanks." Lan Ze said with a smile.

Ereshkigal shook her head gently, unused to being stared at like that. She lowered her head slightly and said softly, "Are you going back to Uruk...? In your terms, that means entering the game, right?"

Lan Ze nodded. "Of course I'm entering the game, but there's a problem now. If I go into the game, can you come along too?"

"About that, actually, while you were eating, I tried it. I can go back to the interface, and I can press that 'enter game' button to return to the underworld," Ereshkigal said.

"You can't appear on the surface in Uruk?" Lan Ze asked.

"Of course not. No matter what, my duties don't change," Ereshkigal pouted.

Ereshkigal was a god created by the underworld. She had been offered as a cornerstone to the underworld, because the underworld needed a god to take the post, so it was forced onto her.

She held supreme power in the underworld, but as the price, for a thousand years, even ten thousand years, she had never truly set foot on the surface or in the sky—she had always spent her time in the underworld.

That was why Ereshkigal had been so happy when she met Lan Ze. After all, she'd finally run into someone she could talk to, even if she thought this guy was a bit odd, never hiding his inner desires.

But she didn't dislike that either. She liked honest people.

"Anyway, let's enter the game first and take a look." Lan Ze raised his finger and pressed the square button to enter the game.

Ereshkigal glanced at him, then followed his action and pressed the enter-game button.

Lan Ze slowly opened his eyes.

The view before him was a barren wasteland, with broken walls and collapsed ruins scattered everywhere in the distance, destroyed by Monsters. Further ahead, a towering city wall rose into view.

That was the Absolute Demonic Front—a massive wall standing tall beneath the sky, ancient and magnificent, as if piercing through heaven and earth.

Lan Ze raised his hand to swipe open the menu. Seeing the interface, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

It looked like this time the game had started normally.

But where had Ereshkigal gone?

She should have entered the game with me just now.

Was she in the Underworld now?

How was he supposed to contact her?

Lan Ze thought for a moment, then called out:

"System?"

"System Daddy?!"

"System Mommy?!"

[Host, you need to rely on your own efforts.]

Holy shit, so it really was alive after all...

And it was female, huh... Lan Ze muttered inwardly, then spoke up:

"I'd love to rely on myself, but you've got to at least give me a goal, right? You can't just throw someone into a game and not issue any quests!"

"..."

"Don't go silent on me?! At least let me meet the Queen of the Land of the Dead first, okay?"

"Ding-dong!"

[First arrival in Uruk, reward: one Chat Orb. Please accept.]

Accompanied by a pleasant chime in his ears, Lan Ze's spirits lifted. He quickly opened his backpack and indeed found a translucent Crystal Ball sitting in the otherwise empty inventory.

He tapped the Crystal Ball lightly, and its surface rippled like water.

Then, the scene before him was no longer Uruk, but a bizarre space.

The space was empty, with nothing but ten seats.

And on one of those seats sat a woman. Her entire figure was hazy and indistinct, like a 160p video, while the surrounding scenery was clearly in high-definition—a baffling contrast.

"Oh? Another little one has come in? How unexpected." The woman suddenly spoke, her voice dripping with allure. Though her figure was blurry, Lan Ze instantly pictured a sexy older sister sitting cross-legged in a chair, one leg draped over the other.

"You are...?" Lan Ze asked tentatively.

"The Queen of the Land of the Dead," the woman said, snapping her fingers. In an instant, the 160p quality upgraded to crystal-clear HD.

"You can call me Master,"

She looked at Lan Ze, a faint smile on her face. She paused, then added, "Or Sister Scathach."

Master.jpg

Lan Ze was completely stunned.

Scathach's sexy, curvaceous figure was now fully in view. Her tight-fitting outfit traced an alluring silhouette, perfectly highlighting her proud chest. Her high-heeled military boots tapped the ground in a steady rhythm, her posture like that of a queen ruling over all, inspiring a desire to submit.

So this was Master...

VR games really did look so realistic.

Just look at that face, those legs, and that chest... It was almost like the real thing.

"Excuse me, where is this place?" Lan Ze asked curiously.

"A place... like a chat room."

Scathach paused, then continued, "As for the specifics, I don't know either."

Lan Ze's mind stirred.

Was this the system's doing?

"I answered your question, so shouldn't you satisfy me in return, young man?"

Scathach stood up and walked slowly to Lan Ze, her high-heeled boots clicking pleasantly against the floor.

She stopped in front of him, crouched down slightly, and smiled. "How did you end up here?"

Her smile was warm, like a gentle older sister next door, but anyone who knew Scathach wouldn't let their guard down.

Because beneath that sisterly exterior lay a burning heart—she was a battle maniac, forever seeking someone strong enough to defeat her.

"Is it because of this?" Scathach pulled out a translucent glass ball and asked.

Lan Ze's eyes flickered.

She had one too?

"So it seems, everyone who can enter this hall must possess this Crystal Ball?"

"Of course. And I suspect we're not the only owners." Scathach swept her gaze across the hall, taking in the ten seats arranged within it.

Lan Ze nodded to himself.

Indeed. Ten seats in this hall meant that, counting himself and Scathach, there were at least eight others.

What exactly was this game? How had that crystal ball brought him to a place like this?

Lan Ze's heart was full of confusion.

"Now that I think of it, your body looks quite frail," Scathach said, sizing him up before suddenly adding, "I originally thought this was some arrangement of the Counter Force, but now it seems unrelated to it."

As she spoke, the woman crouched slightly in front of Lan Ze, leaning forward with evident interest, staring into his eyes. "Young man, what's your name?"

"Lan Ze."

Scathach gave a slight nod. "You're far too weak right now."

"Perhaps more and more beings will enter this space in the future. If you stay this weak, someone might try to take your seat next time."

"It's fine. I can level up," Lan Ze said.

"Level up...?"

"Sorry, that slipped out... Please forget it."

Scathach tilted her head, studying Lan Ze a moment longer.

What an odd one.

"You don't look well. You must rarely exercise, right?" Scathach asked.

Lan Ze gave a small nod.

Rather than rarely exercising, it would be more accurate to say he had never exercised at all.