Chapter 9

Ellen rushed Lingmeng again, swinging her Light Sword to deliver the final blow.

Just as the blade was about to strike, Lingmeng's body seemed to turn into a projection. She still stood there, yet Ellen's sword somehow passed right through her.

"What?!" Ellen cried in shock.

At that moment, Lingmeng raised the Elemental Spirit and slashed hard at Ellen's abdomen.

Ellen tried to dodge, but her body moved inexplicably slowly, as though someone had cast a spell on her.

Slash!

A wound nearly eight inches long opened across Ellen's abdomen, and blood poured out.

Fortunately, Lingmeng had held back. The wound wasn't deep, and if Ellen returned at once to heal it with her Territory, she would recover quickly.

Clutching her wound, Ellen asked, "Were those your abilities too?"

"Yeah. I used darkness to make my body intangible, then slowed you down with the power of time when you tried to dodge."

Lingmeng revealed her abilities without a second thought. She knew Ellen posed no threat to her now that she was in the mood to fight.

"Haha! Just like Isaac said, your Angel really is troublesome! In all my years as the Strongest Wizard, you're the first Spirit who's managed to hurt me!"

Ellen suddenly burst into laughter like a madwoman.

"Do you still want to fight? The wound I gave you isn't deep, but it'll cause problems if you leave it untreated."

Lingmeng was still somewhat concerned about Ellen's wound. She had caused it, after all. Of course, if Ellen wanted to keep fighting, Lingmeng would gladly oblige.

"Element Maker, I'll spare your life this time. You're the first opponent in years to get me this excited. I didn't understand your abilities today, but the next time we meet, I'll hunt you down!"

Ignoring her own predicament, Ellen made her grand declaration.

"Sure, sure." Lingmeng waved dismissively, then muttered, "You lost. Just admit it instead of making excuses about not knowing my abilities. What a sore loser."

With that, Lingmeng had no intention of staying. She took flight with her powers and rode the wind several miles away in an instant.

"Holy crap, that scared me to death. That was the first time I've ever made someone bleed. My legs almost gave out."

Lingmeng held a hand over her heart as she flew at high speed.

In her previous life as a shut-in, when had she ever seen anything so bloody? If Ellen hadn't still been in front of her, Lingmeng would have lost her composure on the spot.

Ellen, the World's Strongest Wizard, huh? Better stay away from that woman from now on.

In theory, Lingmeng could have used her powers to beat Ellen as easily as a child. But she couldn't bring herself to hurt anyone.

The best solution was not to meet Ellen again. No meeting meant no problem.

"Lady Ellen, are you all right?"

The SSS members watched anxiously as Ellen inexplicably dropped to her knees.

"I'm fine. This little wound will heal soon."

Ellen struggled to get the words out. Gone was her earlier confidence; now she looked like a patient with grave injuries.

In truth, Lingmeng's relentless attacks had already pushed Ellen's body close to its limit. But Lingmeng hadn't left yet, so Ellen had forced herself to hold on.

Now that Lingmeng was gone, Ellen had no reason to keep up the act. Her strength gave out, and she collapsed to her knees, losing her composure in a second.

And so our Strongest Wizard, the invincible Ellen, fell!

Good Grief! The Mosaic Came to Life! ### "Ah, finally some peace and quiet."

Sitting on a rock, Lingmeng wiped the sweat from her forehead.

She was in a forest, hoping to avoid another fight with the SSS and Ellen.

The United Kingdom really was a heavily industrialized country, with towns almost everywhere. Lingmeng had flown for ages before finding this forest, nearly exhausting herself along the way.

"Whew. I'll stay here until I return to the Neighboring World on my own."

Lingmeng took out the phone she had bought not long ago.

The phone was worth the money. Lingmeng had carried it around through all her encounters with the SSS, yet it still hadn't broken. That surprised her a little.

Using her powers to connect to the internet, Lingmeng opened an app on her phone, tapped Bilibili, and started browsing.

That was right: she was on Bilibili. It wasn't because this world had the app. Lingmeng had used her powers to download it.

After buying the phone with Shido, Lingmeng had discovered that she could apparently install apps from her previous life through her powers.

She had no idea how it worked. She simply treated it as a perk of crossing into this world and didn't give it much thought.

"Hello, everyone! I'm CXK, an independent trainee who's trained for two and a half years. I like singing, dancing, rap, basketball, music! You're so beautiful..."

"Even if I, Wang Jingze, starve to death, jump from here, or die outside, I won't eat a bite of your food! ...Oh man, that's delicious!"

"Trooper Number One LBW is ready! ...Kill me in one hit? You think you can kill me in one hit? If you can take me down, I, LBW, will eat this computer monitor right here!"

"No matter what difficulties you face, don't be afraid. Face them with a smile. The best way to overcome fear is to face it. Keep it up! Let's go!"

"Brothers, if you can dream it, Lao Ba can do it. Today I'm going to eat poop for you. Bottoms up, brothers! Let's go! ...Ugh."

"Hahahaha! I'm dying! These classics never get old, no matter how many times I watch them!"

Watching the videos on her phone, Lingmeng laughed so hard she clutched her stomach. They were some of the most popular parody videos from her previous life, and she never tired of them.

After a while, Lingmeng suddenly put away her phone for no apparent reason and summoned the Elemental Spirit. She shouted at the empty forest around her.

"Come out! Stop hiding. I found you ages ago!"

"Oh? When did you notice me?"

A voice rang out, neither distinctly male nor female, with a hint of electronic distortion.

"I knew you were there from the moment you arrived. I just wanted a break, so I didn't say anything."

"What frightening powers of observation!"

Footsteps sounded behind Lingmeng.

"Thanks for the compliment!" Lingmeng turned to reply, then froze.

"A... Mosaic?"

Lingmeng muttered. The person before her was wrapped in such a thick blur of Mosaic that she couldn't make out their build, age, or gender.

What the hell is that? Did a Mosaic come to life? I thought things weren't allowed to come to life after the founding of the nation!

Lingmeng stared in astonishment.

"Why do I get the feeling you're thinking something rude?"

Seeing her expression, Mosaic sounded puzzled.

"Ahem. You're imagining things!" Lingmeng composed herself and asked sternly, "Who are you? Did the SSS send you to kill me?"

"Don't worry. I have nothing to do with the SSS. Besides, even if we fought, you wouldn't necessarily beat me. Who I am isn't important. I came to ask you one question."

Mosaic's calm explanation made it clear they had no hostile intent.

"What question? I've never even met you. What could you possibly want to ask me?"

"How did you become a Spirit? I don't have a Spirit Crystal with your kind of power, and I've never given you one."

Mosaic stated the question plainly.

"..." Lingmeng fell silent for a moment, then replied, "I don't know. I've been like this from the start. I've never seen a Spirit Crystal. I've never even heard of one."

Lingmeng had no intention of telling Mosaic about Xier Ya, so she lied.

"...Is that so? Could you be like me?" Mosaic murmured after a moment's thought.

"What do you mean, like you? And what's this Spirit Crystal you keep talking about?"

"A Spirit Crystal is a Spirit's core. Think of it as something like a heart. All a Spirit's power comes from it."

Mosaic ignored the first question and answered only the second.

"I see. Then are you a Spirit too? You also said you don't have my Spirit Crystal and never gave me one. Does that mean you can make Spirit Crystals and have given them to other humans?"

Lingmeng fired off another string of questions.

"You don't need to concern yourself with all that. I've been observing you for a while. Your attitude and your command of your Angel are both excellent, so I can safely leave you to your own devices."

"Why do you sound like a mother talking to her child before they leave home to make their way in the world?"

Lingmeng's mouth twitched as she made the comparison.

"...Well, we've talked long enough. I should go. If you ever tire of this life, visit Tengu City. I can promise that going there will give you a new life."

Tengu City? That sounds so familiar. Wait, didn't I go there just a week ago? My life didn't change at all!

Remembering her visit to Tengu City, Lingmeng cursed inwardly. She had no idea why Mosaic wanted her to go there.

"Wait, don't go! I still have lots of questions!"

Seeing Mosaic about to leave, Lingmeng rushed forward to grab them. But just as she was about to make contact, Mosaic inexplicably vanished.

"What was that? They showed up out of nowhere, left whenever they pleased, and ran off after saying only half of what they meant. What did they even come here for?"

Lingmeng put away the Elemental Spirit, stamped her foot, and puffed out her cheeks in frustration.

"Forget it! I'll visit Tengu City again if I get the chance. I'd like to see what kind of new life I'm supposed to find there."

Lingmeng pushed the encounter from her mind, sat back down on the rock, and picked up her phone. A game might help her feel better.

The Purple-Haired Girl, Shido, and Lingmeng ### "Heh. Tengu City, I'm finally back!"

Standing on the concrete pavement, Lingmeng folded her arms and smiled.

A month had passed since her encounter with the strange Mosaic. She had now been in this world for two months and one week.

The reason Lingmeng dared return today was that, over those two months, she had gained at least some control over how long she remained in the human world.

This phenomenon was known as Manifestation Suspension.

"I haven't been here in over a month. I wonder where Shido is now? Since I'm finally back, I should catch up with him if I run into him!"

Lingmeng smiled up at the sky. Shido Itsuka was the only person in this city she knew at all.

"Woo-woo-woo-woo-woo..."

"Ah, there's a familiar sound... Huh?!"

At the familiar alarm, Lingmeng's eyes went wide.

Everyone who had been walking past her had fled. Lingmeng stood alone where she was.

"What the hell is going on? Why's the Spacequake alarm sounding? I thought I could control Spacequakes now! Did it stop working?"

Lingmeng looked down at her hands in disbelief. Normally, she shouldn't have triggered a Spacequake anymore. So what was happening?

Just then, Lingmeng sensed a group of people flying toward her. There was no need to guess: it had to be the AST.

"You've got to be kidding. They got here that fast?"

Lingmeng grimaced as the AST arrived.

"I only just got back. Do I really have to fight already?"

With a sigh, Lingmeng was about to summon the Elemental Spirit when she noticed that the AST had flown straight past her, heading somewhere behind her.

They aren't after me? Lingmeng tilted her head in confusion, then realized something. If they aren't here to kill me, and I didn't trigger the Spacequake alarm, does that mean another Spirit has appeared in this city?

As Lingmeng considered this, a sudden boom! erupted behind her. A hot blast of wind swept over her, sending her long hair flying.

When Lingmeng turned around, she saw that a Spacequake had torn a huge crater into the ground several hundred yards behind her.