A Top-Tier Player!

A villager? Or the Werewolf?

Mu You wasn't quite sure who this little girl was.

Either way, he definitely couldn't approach her now.

Mu You chose "Draw an arrow and attack," intending to test her strength first.

[Suspecting that the little girl might be the Werewolf in disguise, you stayed away and fired several arrows at her from a distance!]

[Just as the arrows were about to strike, a Magic Shield appeared around the little girl, deflecting every one of them.]

[Apparently enraged by your actions, the little girl took out her Magic Wand and cast a "Fireball Spell" at you.]

[You were killed by a fireball the size of a washbasin!]

[You have died. Lifespan -1. Remaining lifespan: 38 years.]

"Well, damn."

Mu You stared, dumbfounded. This little girl really wasn't someone to mess with.

The four spells he currently possessed were all support spells. He had yet to encounter a single offensive spell.

Yet the two spells this little girl casually cast were both practical combat spells. Mu You had no doubt she knew plenty more.

"The level gap is way too big..."

Mu You immediately reached that conclusion.

It now seemed that this little girl was most likely another player, and a high-level one at that. Whether she was the Werewolf in disguise remained uncertain.

He pressed the Pocket Watch, rewound time, and returned to the moment before his previous choice.

Figuring that if he couldn't fight her, he could at least avoid her, Mu You chose "Ignore her."

[You chose to ignore the little girl and quietly walked away.]

[Watching you hurry away, the little girl seemed annoyed by your indifference. She suddenly stood up, waved her Magic Wand, and cast a "Fireball Spell" at you.]

[You were killed by a fireball the size of a washbasin!]

[You have died. Lifespan -1. Remaining lifespan: 38 years.]

"Oh, screw you!"

Mu You nearly choked with outrage.

Fine, I get why you'd be upset if I attacked you, but now you're upset when I just walk away?

So I have to go over and let you set me up?

"Forget it. Worst case, I lose a life..."

Mu You silently cursed his luck, pressed the Pocket Watch again, and chose "Go over and help her."

He had already given up hope. His game character had practically no melee combat ability. He couldn't even beat a rabbit before, let alone a high-level player.

[You approached the little girl, intending to bandage her wounds. With her scheme a success, the little girl revealed the dagger in her hand and thrust it at you!]

[You grabbed her hand and desperately resisted, but unfortunately, the little girl was far stronger than you. She easily overpowered you and plunged the dagger into your chest...]

"Just as I thought..."

Mu You gave a bitter smile. He'd known he didn't stand a chance.

He shook his head, already bracing himself for resurrection.

Who would have thought the story text would suddenly take a turn and display something rather strange...

[The little girl's dagger suddenly stopped after piercing a short way into your body.]

[Amid the agonizing pain of approaching death, you felt the dagger being pulled out. Then you faintly heard the little girl murmur, "This weak? Looks like you're not the Werewolf..."]

[Pale green light shone down as the little girl cast a "Healing Spell" on you. Your wounds healed completely in an instant.]

[The little girl quickly left the square. You survived!]

"Huh???"

Mu You sat stunned for seven or eight seconds before he processed what had happened.

He'd actually survived?

He hurriedly reread the last three lines of text over and over.

Just as she was about to kill him, the little girl had voluntarily stopped, and she'd even used a Healing Spell to heal his wounds...

And then there was what she'd said afterward: "This weak? Looks like you're not the Werewolf..."

Did that mean she was another villager player? Had she only pretended to be injured here to lure the Werewolf out?

Mu You was stunned!

If that was true, it meant this little girl's level was extremely high!

At least in the game, she had no fear of fighting the Werewolf head-on. That was why she dared to expose herself in public and deliberately appear vulnerable to lure the Werewolf closer...

"Impressive!"

Mu You felt a surge of delighted surprise.

This little girl's appearance had shown him that he wasn't fighting alone. He had a teammate! And a top-tier player who could take on the Werewolf head-on, at that!

Of course, he couldn't completely trust the little girl just yet, because there was another possibility: she really was the Werewolf in disguise, and this whole performance was meant to deceive Mu You. Once he saw her as an ally and lowered his guard, she could coax information out of him and finally kill him in the real world... It was probably the same principle as a werewolf attacking themselves to trick the witch into using her antidote.

"Hmm, this is turning into a real brainteaser..."

Mu You rubbed his brow, then soon let out a breath.

Whether this little girl was a teammate or the Werewolf actually made no difference to him. Relying on others wouldn't get him anywhere in this game. What he needed to do had never changed: keep improving until he was strong enough to protect himself!

"Never mind. I'll find the Witch and get some poison first." Mu You set the matter aside for now and continued playing.

To speed things up, Mu You spent all his remaining stamina exploring the village.

[You discovered the "Village Apothecary"...]

[You discovered the "Lumberjack's Hut"...]

[You discovered the "Village Bar"...]

[You discovered the "Collector's Basement"...]

Over those two days, with nine stamina points in total and the help of time rewinding, Mu You discovered more than twenty new locations in the village!

Yet whether the village was simply too large or his luck was just terrible, not one of those twenty-odd attempts led him to the Witch's home...

His two days off flew by, and soon it was Monday, time to go back to work.

At seven in the morning, Mu You woke up right on schedule. The first thing he did was instinctively reach for his phone.

But when he turned his head, he saw that his phone was propped up on a stand on the bedside table, while Cola sprawled on the bed like a couch potato, eyes fixed intently on the screen.

Mu You sat up and glanced at what was playing on the screen. With a strange look on his face, he asked, "You haven't been watching anime all night, have you?"

Last night, wanting to test the scope of Cola's "Telepathic Conversation" ability, Mu You had casually searched online for a Naruto clip and played it for the cat.

It turned out Cola could not only understand Japanese, but also read the subtitles below!

Mu You figured the ability probably worked on much the same principle as the Star Spirit Dictionary. Whenever Cola saw or heard another language, it would automatically be converted into cat language that Cola could understand.

Mu You truly envied that ability. If he had it too, he wouldn't have to work himself to death learning the Star Spirit Language. Unfortunately, the ability seemed to be exclusive to Familiars. According to Cola, if Mu You wanted to learn it, he would at least have to become a Familiar first.

Once the test was over, Mu You had tried to put away his phone, but Cola wouldn't have it, making a fuss and insisting on watching Naruto!

Annoyed by the racket, Mu You had simply put on the first episode of Naruto and told Cola to go to sleep once the cat got tired of watching.

Now an entire night had passed, and Cola was still in the exact same position as at the start of the night. Meanwhile, the phone had already reached episode 21!