radicalducati Page 13
Page 13
Six months later, with your outstanding performance in mastering all the magic tricks, you entered the preparatory class of Qing Teng Academy through adult self-study. This is an academy mainly for the general public and adult candidates. You looked at your classmates, ranging from eighteen to eighty years old. Many of them had been in the preparatory class for three or four years without formally enrolling. You felt relieved, realizing that you weren't that bad.
A year later, looking at your apprentice's progress of 90%, you gritted your teeth and vowed to enter the first-year class next year.
A year later, you've successfully entered freshman year. At the welcome party, you see Musk, now a sophomore, but he doesn't remember you.
[This past year, perhaps due to your exceptional meditation abilities, your warrior level has progressed rapidly, reaching the initial bottleneck. The magic network has assigned you an annual mission: to clear out the goblin infestation in the northern Wilderness Territory of the Forest Sea Territory. You traveled there with a warrior's journey group, and just as you took out your staff, before you could even decide which spell to use, your muscle memory suddenly kicked in. Your broad back muscles contracted, and you instantly killed a goblin with a single blow.]
Two more years passed, and your first-level mage level reached a meager 20%, while only four or five first-year students remained repeating a year. Feeling dejected, you happened to be joined by a group of warriors traveling the kingdom through Lundia. After some thought, you decided to join them and broaden your horizons.
[You spent nearly half a year traveling from Lundia, through the Forest Territory, north into the Mountain Wasteland Territory, and finally arriving at the Norard capital, Sirenflower Castle, near the coastline. You had hoped to meet Queen Cindria Whiteley, but learned that she rarely summoned warriors, so you had to leave disappointed.]
“Wait, aren’t I a mage?” Latis shouted.
[Amidst the passionate clashes with your warrior comrades, you gradually forget the tedious spells. You happily continue north with them, passing through the border territory of the Kingdom of Norard—Twin Gorges. Here, a nearly ten-thousand-meter-deep chasm lies before you. Looking far to the north, atop the snow-capped peaks, lies another nation, the Kingdom of Andora.]
You suddenly remember a half-elf brother named Ateliers from several years ago. Before you parted ways, he had seen the portal to Andora. He probably never imagined that your progress in learning magic would be so slow. You wonder if, after all these years, he has successfully summoned the Mother Goddess.
The warriors, shirtless, played on the half-frozen cliff, a pale red aura emanating from their bodies, creating a lively scene. However, you suddenly remembered the Three Rings Pact, instantly losing interest in the play. After bidding farewell to the warriors, you returned to Lundia alone.
Five years have passed in the blink of an eye, and you've finally become a second-circle mage. However, you're now also a level six warrior—a speed that's considered genius-level in the warrior realm. During a trip, you and the Holy Knight Jennifer sparked a romance. Excited by your first taste of forbidden fruit, she took a novel she'd somehow acquired and, following the challenging actions and role-playing scenarios, worked with you from beginning to end to develop your respective knight and warrior potential.
You gradually come to understand her shared love of abstract concepts, and your lives complement each other perfectly. Sometimes, she can even catch your jokes. When you boast that you've been practicing freestyle fighting since you were born, she'll aptly call you a "muscle monster." When you're practicing magic sporadically, she'll righteously use her "slacking-off technique" to declare that those who can't slack off will ultimately lead a failed life.
At these times, you feel an unexpected surge of ecstasy. In the tranquility of your life, now past thirty, your passion for learning magic has gradually waned, and the obsession with being single for thirty years in your past life has slowly faded away amidst your blissful sexual days.
However, fate intervened. Jennifer's father fell critically ill, and she had to make an emergency trip back to the floating island of Hines City to stabilize her life. This trip was uncertain and could last for many years. So, before leaving, you did it thirty times in one go. You swore this was the most intense push you'd ever made in your life. Jennifer, who was good at controlling the pace and would stop to adjust her movements when tired, was far gentler than Mrs. Red Dragon, who only knew how to exploit you.
Five years later, during a solo journey, you rescued a small, silver-white dragon. In gratitude, the dragon gifted you some medicinal herbs. After consuming them, you successfully ascended to Legendary status, and the shackles of your Dragon Knight Soul vanished instantly. Your suppressed magic surged into your body, only to be calmly absorbed within your powerful physique. When you returned home, you were a Legendary Warrior and a Sixth Ring Mage.
[You find an old beacon within your body and awkwardly use beacon communication magic. In an instant, a large number of messages are sent into your beacon, but the most recent message is more than five years old.]
[Atheris sent you a lot of guidance on learning magic and, worried that you weren't doing well on the path of magic, explained in detail how to follow the old-school mage path. At the end, she said she was ready to storm the floating island and climb to its highest peak to summon the Mother Goddess. She told you that if you left this plane, the beacon would no longer receive messages, and then she told you her true name: Autumn Leaf.]
You tentatively touch the dim, newly appeared true name in your consciousness, but nothing happens. You remain silent for a long time, then suddenly realize that the person you first met has been dead for a long time.
Chapter 22 Floating Island
"It's time to go to the floating island," you tell yourself. Whether it's to find out the cause of death of your world's first friend or to visit your wife whom you haven't seen for many years, a trip to the floating island is necessary.
Before heading to the floating island, you returned to Lundia, presented your second-year student ID to the astonished headmaster of Green Vine Academy, and then demonstrated your sixth-circle mage skills, successfully graduating.
As you were leaving the academy, a group of drunkards were parading around a fourth-ring mage. The mage saw the sixth-ring badge on your chest and immediately bowed to you.
[You think this monk looks familiar, then you look closer and realize it's Little Ma! Years have passed, and he's all scruffy; he looks like he should be called Old Ma now.]
You recall the brief time you spent with your best friend, Atelier, and a wave of nostalgia washes over you. So you stop Old Ma and make him take a good look at you, ready to mercilessly mock his past arrogance and complacency, now reduced to a mere fourth-tier noob after all these years.
He stopped, a hesitant expression on his face, his lips moving but no sound escaping. His attitude finally became respectful, and he clearly called out, "Master!"
You shivered, speechless, knowing a pitifully thick barrier had already formed between you.
After parting ways with Old Ma, you headed to the magic scroll shop to buy some scrolls in preparation for potential battles. However, you immediately started sweating profusely upon entering. Years of warrior life had accustomed you to a simple life of sleeping in the open, and you assumed that prices in this world were always this low. Little did you expect that your first purchase of magical items would give you such a harsh lesson.
[You spent 800 gold worth of White to purchase a fourth-circle Anywhere Door and a sixth-circle Arcane Door. You also traded all your Magic Network Points with the shopkeeper for a seventh-circle Interdimensional Teleportation Scroll, in preparation for a last-ditch escape if you encounter a powerful enemy and lose connection to the Magic Network. Seeing that you, a sixth-circle mage, are so afraid of death, the shopkeeper sincerely recommends that you have a warrior bodyguard accompany you, with room and board included, or even for free.]
You firmly and sternly refused him, and reprimanded him for objectifying soldiers. Having served as a soldier for several years, you knew all too well how murky things were; a soldier could easily eat forty or fifty pounds of meat in one meal if he ate freely.
You have twenty gold worth of white coins left for travel expenses, enough to live a life of luxury in the Kingdom of Norard for a whole year. Having prepared yourself, you embark on your journey to the floating islands.
[In a letter from Arte many years ago, I introduced you to the Floating Islands. As the name suggests, Floating Islands are islands suspended high in the sky, but they are not small islands. Instead, they are composed of separate, floating landmasses controlled by each family. The Floating Islands occupy the very center of Atlantis, dividing the rest into four long, narrow kingdoms. The Floating Islands themselves are enormous, comprising nearly fifty families, each representing nearly fifty islands of nearly ten million acres. The higher the family's rank, the higher the island floats.]
When Artemis was a child, Herod was at its zenith, a city of great prosperity. Unlike pure-blooded elves, half-elves had reproductive habits and frequencies more similar to humans, resulting in a thriving population in Herod. Coupled with their innate magical affinity, it could be said that almost half of Herod's inhabitants possessed the potential to ascend to legendary status.
"Then why did they fall again?" you wondered. Art didn't tell you much about the old stories he'd uncovered; he mostly wrote you notes on spell learning and precautions for venturing into Atlantis. These seemed less relevant to you now, but the subtle gratitude that permeated the letters made you realize for the first time that while the half-elf might seem rigid to you, his emotions were undeniably loyal. A simple rescue had been remembered silently for years, until his own death. "Thank goodness this is a simulation," you thought, "otherwise, I would have truly failed to live up to his expectations."
The first stop on the floating island is called the Ascension Staircase. One must possess legendary strength or equipment equivalent to legendary strength, or hold a token from a floating island family to pass through. Beyond the Ascension Staircase lies the public island of the floating island, where each family sends representatives to guard their respective reception points, essentially making it an island with fifty embassies.
You successfully traversed the long, airborne staircase and located the meeting point for Hines City on the public island. Upon entering, you found the place deserted. Stepping outside, you noticed many people coldly observing you, but when you looked at them, they quickly averted their gaze.
[You are transported to Hines City with a sense of bewilderment, only to find the entire city under attack. You try to see Jennifer, but learn that she has been searching for her true name in the stars for nearly two years. During these two years, the later families of Hines have been waging a continuous aerial war, intending to cause Hines City to fall. As if on cue, a floating island outside Hines City breaks through the thick clouds and crashes directly into the city walls.]
Just as you were about to angrily denounce these treacherous villains, you discovered that two more islands had collided with Hines City. Three different families had conspired to attack the weakened city simultaneously!
[You were given your mission amidst the defeat, ordered to act in a time of crisis. With your rusty magic skills, formidable physique, and the long-unused key-binding device, you drove all their mages off the battlefield. Unfortunately, mages are ultimately a minority among high-level combatants. Seeing that you had somehow paralyzed all the mages with some kind of sorcery, the opposing commander panicked and summoned a dozen legendary warriors to surround and attack you.]
This protracted battle lasted for two months. You had hoped to save your wife's family with your own strength, but you were treated like this: a dozen burly men surrounded you. You finally understood what it meant to be a troublemaker, a nuisance, and someone even dogs dislike.
[Your battle with the warriors was brutal, every punch landing with a vengeance; not a drop of blood was your own. The fight was so intense it seemed the very foundation of your being was being eroded. In the end, you were unable to resist any longer. Covered in sweat, a man on top of a man, you had no choice but to abandon the defense of the city. You pulled out a teleportation scroll from your pocket, intending to leave.]
[But at this moment, your wife Jennifer finally descended like a goddess. She wore her usual golden armor, and her pale red pupils radiated a captivating aura. You know, that is the power of her true name.]
The opportunistic rats scattered in all directions, and finally, Jennifer appeared beside you, giving you an incredibly long French kiss. After the kiss, you discovered that her people had already wisely gone back to their own homes.
[Jennifer's eyes gleamed with a provocative fire. Before you could even ask about her situation, everything blurred, and all you heard was a loud "Elbow, come with me to Wu."]
Chapter 23 Two people die happily
The first time was the joy of a long-awaited reunion; the second was the relief of love and longing; the third was the stimulation of oscillating between unfamiliar bodies and familiar postures; the fourth was the display of the difference between improved strength and an aging body...
[For the tenth time, you raised an eyebrow and advised Jennifer not to force herself. Jennifer chuckled and said that in the lonely starry sky, she had already planned how to celebrate her reunion with you, having thought about it more than a dozen times from beginning to end. Even the most demanding client couldn't find any flaws in the details.]
[On the twentieth try, you sensed something was off and quickly stopped her, asking Jennifer if she hadn't said it was only a dozen or so times. She gave you a Nike-like smile and said, "Yes, she did say she thought about it a dozen times, but she meant doing it a hundred times."]
[For the twenty-fifth time, your face paled slightly as you watched Jennifer cradling her cheeks against your chest, a mischievous smile playing on her lips as she slowly worked her way up to you, waiting for your comeback. You couldn't help but swallow hard. Now, you were the challenger.]
Two months later, you sip goji berry tea, watching Jennifer personally repair the exposed foundations on the walls of Hines. The spring breeze, though warm, seeps into your soul, and you involuntarily shiver. Looking at her firm thighs, you think: A cyclist only needs to sit on the saddle and focus entirely on riding, but the saddle has so much more to consider…
Two years later, you intended to say goodbye to Jennifer and embark on a solo journey to the stars, but she stopped you, saying she didn't want your child to be fatherless and advised you to drink some herbal tea. Overjoyed, you immediately asked her if you were going to be a father. Jennifer chuckled and called you "Dad."
[You, Latis, bear a great deal of responsibility for the fact that the Holy Knights under the command of the God of Light have become like this.]
[You then learn that she is indeed pregnant. After thinking about it, you decide to keep the child and wait until it's older before searching for its true name in the starry sky. After all, you don't have any anxiety about combat power right now, so leveling up can wait.]
Ten months later, your child was born—a daughter. Looking into her pale red eyes, so similar to her mother's, you couldn't help but vow to yourself that you would make her the happiest girl in the world for the rest of your life.
Jennifer named her child Livs Hines—in the continent of Atlantis, commoners like you don't have surnames, so you don't really care that your child is a Hines. However, every time you hear your daughter's name, you can't help but think of your first good brother in this world, Ateliers.
Five years later, an elderly, bald mage passed through the city of Hines and arrived at the city lord's mansion, inquiring whether Morosa Hines was still alive. Jennifer was astonished, saying that he was her great-great-great-great-grandfather, who had died over a hundred years ago. The bald man seemed both happy and sad upon hearing this. You looked closer and suddenly recognized him as the famous Lykmore, also known as Starfury of the Red Dragon Serfal—no, my husband.
You casually steered the conversation towards his identity, and sure enough, he made no attempt to hide it—no wonder he's a seasoned internet user who uses his real name. You asked him where he'd been for the past hundred years, and he twitched his lips, saying he'd gone to slay dragons. You noticed the cold sweat on his forehead and, being quite tactful, didn't expose him.
Before leaving, the bald man checked your daughter's aptitude and sighed, saying that her future magical abilities might be a hundred times stronger than yours. You felt unconvinced, yet also felt that she was indeed your daughter and deserved this.
A year later, you suddenly hear that a powerful demon king named Lekmor has risen to power in another dimension, causing chaos and committing evil deeds. He's even boasting about finding someone named "I Sell My Crotch in Atlantis" to compete in a magic research contest. You're puzzled, thinking, "I'm not some kind of mage, what magic could I possibly be researching?" Since you don't know how he got your online name, you decide to stay home for the next few years, spending your days leisurely riding with your wife and watching your daughter grow up.
Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. Your daughter, Livs, is now sixteen, a beautiful and poised young woman. However, her personality is just like yours—absent-minded and unpredictable. In Hines City, almost no one her age can match her intellectual depth. You are quite troubled by this, because her magical talent is too strong. Sometimes you even have to break her net to discipline her with Jennifer.
One midsummer night, you detected magical fluctuations in your home using your magic radar. Peeking in, you discovered the bald demon king listening attentively to Livs's explanation of magic formulas.
[What's going on? Your head is spinning. Listening from the corner until the end, the bald demon king humbly asks how to be a better demon king. Livs, with sound reasoning, advises him that to incite hatred, a demon king should target women; to incite fear, he should target men. The bald man suddenly understands, sincerely admitting that his thinking is too outdated and that the future depends on young people like them.]
"Livis, your thinking is too ahead of its time!" you couldn't help but say. Upon hearing your voice, the bald man immediately darted away like a mouse seeing a cat, while Livis grinned like a little devil, saying to you, "Dad can't even stand this little trick? What a coward! But there's nothing I can do, Dad, you're already at retirement age. Just hand over Hines City to me as soon as possible, and I'll make Hines City famous throughout the entire universe!"
You couldn't resist cutting off her internet connection and grabbed her, giving her a hundred good spankings. However, immediately after you finished, she cast a spell and bound you.
[A spell that doesn't rely on the magic network! You stare in shock at this scene. Livs triumphantly picks up a small grimoire from her pocket and says to you, "Dad, you've fought me, now that you've seen my strength, you can finally rest easy, right? Mom, come out, you two can go on your honeymoon together."]
Jennifer emerged from behind the door, carrying a longsword, and said to you, "Honey, you've worked so hard taking care of the family all these years. Now that our daughter is capable of supporting us, let's continue to pursue your dreams!"
[You were still reeling from your daughter's path to becoming a mage, so similar to Atelier's, when Jennifer suddenly hoisted you up and carried you into the starry sky. "My dream now is to see my daughter grow up!" The words caught in your throat, and you could only sigh, then begin searching for your true name, continuing your legendary journey.]
Ten years later, you failed in your conquest of the true name "Sefah" and were severely injured. Jennifer did everything she could to keep you alive so you could return home and have your daughter find a way. However, spatial turbulence confused your paths, and without the dimensional beacon of a legendary spell, you, a knight and a warrior, had no way of finding your way home.
In the end, you both perished in an unknown dimension. Before you died, a dying Jennifer gently stroked your cheek and teasingly said, "Wouldn't you call this a failed life?"
You laughed so hard you almost choked, and shouted, "If I don't die alongside Jennifer, the queen of slacking off, I'll end up living a failed life!"
Chapter 24: The more you fight, the stronger you get; the more exhilarating the battles, the better! (Two chapters combined)
[You died, the first time you died in a woman's arms, and you felt incredibly happy.]
[This simulation has ended. Proceeding to the settlement screen...]
[Comment: Your life has been like walking on thin ice, and you ultimately failed to reach the other side. You'd rather be a pile driver than an ascetic? Ha, men! Remember this: women will only dull your staff! Overall, it can be considered a successful life. You have a loving wife and a mischievous daughter; you ask for nothing more. High emotional intelligence: They are your greatest wealth; low emotional intelligence: your wealth level is still a tiny fraction of what Old Ma possessed.]
You have obtained 900 drops of Goddess's Water, current balance: 940
You can redeem your currency from the following options:
1. Items obtained by myself in this simulation (300).
2. Skills learned in this simulation (Value: 500).
3. All memories from this simulation (Value: 100).
The near-death experience of running out of energy made Latis clutch his chest for a moment. A faint sense of pleasure and regret welled up in his heart, which gradually dissipated after a while.
He let out a long breath and couldn't help but mutter:
"That's quite a remarkable life."
Latis shook his head, looked at the panel, nodded, and thought:
"Although I don't know what items and skills I possess, I'll exchange them if I can. As for memories..."
He hesitated. Compared to his current short experience, the life in the simulator seemed much richer and more fulfilling. It wasn't that he didn't have points to exchange, but he still couldn't decide.
"If that memory outweighs the rest of my current memories, am I still me? Or have I become a shell of a simulated personality reborn? And is there a possibility of memory overload leading to my sanity being reset to zero?"
“Let’s give digital life a complete home later.” Latis shook his head. “Or let it experience more things, or if there are secrets we really want to know, then we can acquire those memories.”
"Goodbye, Jennifer, the queen of slacking off." Latis closed the settlement page, then smiled faintly. "I hope you'll let me off the hook again when we meet again."
[You have obtained the Hines Hero Badge, a Fourth Ring Anywhere Door Scroll, a Sixth Ring Arcane Door Scroll, a Seventh Ring Interdimensional Teleportation Scroll, a Hiking Master Certification, a Green Vine Academy Graduation Certificate, and 20 Gold Whites]
[You have mastered the following combat skills: Level 1: All-terrain hiking, extreme starvation, acrobatics; Level 2: Flip, knee slide, salted fish thrust; Level 3: Extreme freezing, super digestion; Level 6: Advanced posture mastery, stance fighting; Legendary combat skill: Challenger stance!]
[You have learned the following spells: First Circle: Divine Grace, Great Stride, Magic Missile; Second Circle: Chain of Protection; Sixth Circle: Pathfinding, Healing! You have learned your true name: "Autumn Leaf"!]
A long string of text came into Latis's view. He nodded calmly, then looked into the distance.
"We've struck it rich..."
He said this silently to himself.
"Huh?" Latis paused for a moment, then looked back at the panel.
"You've really struck it rich!"
He picked out a few terms that piqued his curiosity and read their descriptions.
[Hynes Hero Badge: A badge awarded by the Lord of Hynes to heroes who have made significant contributions to the city. The holder of this badge enjoys privileges second only to the Lord of Hynes within the city.]