Token

Texas held out her hand. The girl's fingers were long and fair; though they had gripped a blade for a long time, they remained remarkably delicate.

In her palm was an insignia engraved with a pattern made up of a triangle, a circle, and a wolf's head.

A deep scratch ran across the insignia, splitting the wolf's head in two.

At Texas's silent gesture, Bai Ye took the insignia. It still carried a trace of warmth from the girl's palm.

Bai Ye held the metal insignia and pressed his lips together without speaking. Texas did not need comfort from others, so he simply stood quietly at her side.

The girl bore burdens no one her age should have had to endure. Bai Ye had once wondered what would have happened if he had gone through what Texas had experienced.

He quickly found his answer. He did not think he could have endured such a blow. Such a vast and powerful family had been wiped out overnight; even an unrelated passerby would find the news hard to accept.

Much less Texas, who had lived within that family for so long.

Bai Ye did not know what Texas was thinking. He could only silently keep her company, like the Holy Light in his hand—subtle and gentle, like sunshine on a winter's day.

"I can't help you bear this burden, but I can carry you." Looking at Texas's profile, Bai Ye suddenly spoke softly. "Just like that night."

Texas froze. Though Bai Ye's voice was quiet, the girl felt the strength behind his words.

"You don't have to do this..."

Texas shook her head, but she did not refuse. Over the past half month, though she had still failed to figure out the boy's origins, she had come to know what kind of person Bai Ye was. At the very least, once he made a decision, he would not easily change it.

As someone entirely unrelated to her, he had gone this far. It was Texas's first time seeing such an absurdly "foolish" good guy.

What Texas did not know was that although Bai Ye was a good guy, he was not so good that he would risk his life for someone like this—wasn't it all because the system had issued a mission?

Ahem, Bai Ye would never admit that he actually had the hots for Texas!

After all, the boy was not that honest yet.

"What are you planning to do next? As long as you remain within the Columbia Federation, danger will keep coming for you."

Putting aside those strange thoughts, Bai Ye asked. Over the past half month, Texas and Bai Ye had already killed two groups of assassins from southern Columbia.

"We can only leave first."

Texas's words were full of unwillingness, but she had no other choice now. After all, they were facing pursuit from several powerful families. No matter how unwilling Texas was, she could only avoid their edge for now.

"Once we finish Rhine Lab's commission, let's leave this place. Our location has already been exposed."

No matter how careful they had been, Texas and Bai Ye had still left behind many traces that could be tracked. Though those families did not dare act openly in the north, the assassins and mercenaries they kept sending were still quite troublesome for Bai Ye and Texas.

"Alright."

Texas nodded. As for where they would go next, she had no clue either. They could only take things one step at a time.

By the time they had settled their next itinerary, night had completely fallen. As they talked, the two entered the house.

"Dinner from that pizza place again?"

Bai Ye took out his terminal and began looking over tonight's options.

"Mm. I like the black pepper pineapple one."

Just as Bai Ye was about to leave, he suddenly realized that the Texas Family insignia was still with him.

"Texas, here, take this back."

Bai Ye called the girl over and held out the metal insignia.

Texas stared at the insignia in Bai Ye's hand for a while, then shook her head.

"It's for you."

"Huh?!"

Bai Ye was somewhat surprised. According to Texas's old records, wasn't this the girl's token? Could it be that...

However, Texas's next words crushed his barely rising delight once more.

"Our family crest is an Originium weapon. It can unleash one Arts attack. You're too weak, so it'll be useful on you."

Texas spoke a long stretch of words in one breath, which was extremely rare. Bai Ye smiled helplessly as he pinched the insignia and ran his fingers over the deep scratch on it. So I was overthinking it.

Though he felt a little embarrassed at being called "too weak" by the girl, after fighting "Texas" in the pure white space for so long, Bai Ye knew that she possessed at least high-tier strength.

Her base Agility was around 40 points, while her Strength and Constitution would not be low either. That was the information Bai Ye had gathered by assessing "Texas."

"So this system can't even inspect other people's strength? It's way too useless... It only knows how to bully me in dreams."

As he placed an order at the pizza shop, Bai Ye muttered bad things about the system. In truth, he was only talking big; after all, the system was one of the few cheat powers he had, and the foundation he relied on to grow stronger.

Yeah, anyway, Bai Ye was definitely not a tsundere!

"Hello, Teacher."

Within the pure white space, Bai Ye first bowed toward "Texas" in the distance.

Ahem, Bai Ye was just trying to find joy amid hardship. Much like Teacher Gundyr, who had driven countless players away, "Texas" could also be considered Bai Ye's teacher.

"Here comes the suffering again."

Though he said that aloud, Bai Ye felt some anticipation inside. After all, his strength had improved again, which would be a great help in tackling the thirty-second mission.

"Here it comes."

After dueling this "teacher" for half a month, Bai Ye was thoroughly familiar with her.

His enhanced Perception quickly caught the Originium blade "Texas" thrust toward him, and Bai Ye used all his strength to evade the strike.

To complete the thirty-second mission, Bai Ye could only focus on dodging attacks. After all, his strength and skill were both inferior to "Texas," so facing her head-on was naturally not an option.

"Fifteen seconds—"

Under "Texas's" storm of attacks, Bai Ye dodged with difficulty, every second seeming to stretch into eternity.

"What is this...?"

It was as though time had truly been stretched out. Bai Ye felt that he had broken through some kind of boundary, and he actually managed to catch Texas's movements.

"Not an illusion... This is?"

Everything around him seemed to slow down. Bai Ye easily avoided Texas's slash, then swung his sword at her.

Though the strike was still blocked, Bai Ye was exhilarated.

"I don't know what happened, and I don't know what state I'm in right now... But if I can see her movements, then I can dodge them, and even..."

"Counterattack!"