Chapter 49 Li Xin
Li Wen took off the VR headset and checked the time. It was already 2:21 PM on June 26th.
After these two days of intense game progress, she had completely lost track of real-world time.
She opened her phone and found four or five missed calls on her messaging app.
Except for one from her homeroom teacher, all the others were from someone named Li Xin.
Li Xin was, of course, Li Wen’s sister, two years younger than Li Wen and a student at Tianhai Fourth High School.
Li Wen had complicated feelings about her sister. On one hand, Li Wen was eager to see Li Xin, the relative she had sworn to protect; on the other hand, due to events from a past life, Li Wen was full of guilt and didn’t know how to face her.
After hesitating for a moment, Li Wen, fearing her sister might have something important to tell her, dialed the number.
“Ring… Ring…”
The busy signal on the phone was like Li Wen’s heartbeat, growing louder with each ring.
“Hello? Brother, why are you calling at this time…”
A familiar gentle female voice came from the other end of the phone. Li Wen felt her eyes stinging, and after composing herself, she said,
“Are you in class, Ah Xin?”
“Uh-huh, don’t you have class, brother?”
Hearing her sister’s question, Li Wen changed the subject.
“Did you call because something happened at home? I was busy with other things and didn’t see it.”
“No, I just missed you. Is everything okay on your end?”
“No, things are mostly handled.”
Li Wen was contemplating whether to tell Li Xin about the game and the transmigration, but then she realized she shouldn’t worry her sister too much, so she held back.
“Really? Mom called me and said you didn’t go to school.”
Li Wen’s heart lurched. It was probably because her homeroom teacher had notified them, but Li Wen wondered why her mother had called Li Xin instead of her.
Recalling her memories, she remembered that at this time, she had a falling out with her family. Perhaps it was for this reason that Li Xin had called multiple times.
“I and…” Li Wen paused before recalling her homeroom teacher’s name, “I had already asked Teacher Yang for leave.”
“Is that so?” A faint chuckle came from the other end of the phone. “Um, if there’s anything you can’t tell Mom, you can tell me.”
“I will.” Li Wen unconsciously smiled. The pressure from the advancement path of The Path had suddenly lessened, and in turn, her resolve had strengthened. “By the way, I saw your post. Have you been playing a game called ‘World Tree: Origin’ recently?”
“Huh?” Li Xin’s voice suddenly became flustered. “I haven’t been playing for too long, just when I have free time at night.”
Li Xin was a gaming enthusiast. Besides drawing, her favorite pastime was playing games, so she naturally wouldn’t miss out on a groundbreaking game like ‘World Tree: Origin’.
If it were the Li Wen before the Great Convergence event, she would have sternly lectured her sister about not getting addicted to games, encouraging her to read more, exercise, and hang out with friends. However, because of the transmigration that players inevitably had to experience, those who spent more time in the game and had higher levels had a greater advantage. Therefore, Li Wen only mentioned it briefly.
“Yeah, it’s fine to play for entertainment, just don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”
“Brother? Are you sure everything is okay?”
Li Xin’s voice was filled with suspicion. Her brother usually didn’t talk like this, wishing she would focus all her energy on her studies.
“…Just be careful yourself.”
Li Wen found it difficult to respond. After all, who would have thought that playing a game could lead to transmigration?
“Brother, do you want to play too? This game is really, really fun, like a real-life other world.”
It couldn’t be more real, but even more real things were waiting ahead…
Li Wen was speechless. For now, she didn’t want to reveal to Li Xin that she was already playing ‘World Tree: Origin’. As the wielder of Urd’s Sting, every move she made could have unpredictable effects on the future course of events.
So Li Wen said, “When I have time… If there’s nothing else, may I hang up?”
“Mhm, bye-bye.”
“Yeah, stay safe.”
After hanging up Li Xin’s call, Li Wen lay on her bed, unable to return to her senses for a long time.
“M2, what time is it now.”
After waiting for a while with no response, Li Wen remembered that the smart assistant had been forced into standby mode a couple of days ago.
So Li Wen got up, opened the refrigerator, took out a ready-meal box, quickly heated it, ate it, and then put on the VR headset again.
*
Li Wen left the nun’s dormitory and headed straight for the church.
It was nighttime in the game, and the darkness was deepening. Most of the believers had already left.
The large church was lit by candlelight. Only one person was praying before the altar, his shadow stretched large and distorted by the candlelight, like a ravenous shadow monster.
Hearing the movement, Priest Mog turned around and saw Li Wen, cloaked and looking even more suspicious than he did.
“Where is it?”
He asked directly.
“The person is dead, and he drank the Moonlight Potion.”
Upon hearing Li Wen mention the potion’s name, Priest Mog’s expression softened slightly. He didn’t seem to care at all how Li Wen had survived facing a mage who had used the Moonlight Potion.
“If that’s the case, then this matter is over. I will report it to them.”
“Them”… did that refer to the Chong Yue faction?
Li Wen didn’t ask further. She didn’t know about the secret dealings between Priest Mog and the Chong Yue faction members, whether it was common knowledge within Dark Dawn, or if it was a transaction made under Siswell’s instruction. If she were to inquire casually, her status as a non-member of Dark Dawn would be revealed, which would put her in a difficult position.
She glanced at her character panel. her experience pool had increased to 910.
Of this, 60 experience was leftover from last time, and 50 experience was gained from killing the monster in the laboratory. 300 experience came from Priest Mog’s quest, and the final 500 was most likely awarded because Li Wen and Moria had explored the alchemist master’s laboratory together. This was a reward for Li Wen’s unwitting participation in some world event, and it was distributed when Li Wen first logged in.
A full five hundred experience points, equivalent to the heads of two Fire Mages, was slightly more than Priest Mog’s quest. And Li Wen had no idea what she had done, only guessing that it was related to that alchemist master of unknown name.
Moria Einon, the Eldest Son of the Holy See, his purpose in coming to the Black Dragon Territory was certainly not simple. However, the current Li Wen could not afford to concern herself with his situation. For her, the most important thing now was the advancement of The Path.
910 experience points were enough for her to level up twice, directly to lv4.
The question now was, should she upgrade her skills or learn new abilities?
