Chapter 18
Rain World, nighttime.
Mo Xi sat with her back against the transport ship’s wall, watching clouds drift across the sky and the towering Iterators in the distance. She slowly let out a breath.
“Come to think of it, I’ve seen the sky in this world more often than I did in an entire year of work. That’s really...” Mo Xi swallowed the rest of her words and could only shake her head helplessly.
That was the life of an overworked office drone: either working overtime or on the way to work overtime. When you were barely managing to stay alive, having any sort of life or dreams of your own meant squeezing what little time you had left.
Fortunately, Mo Xi had escaped that predicament. Although she was still working for the Paradise, she had a lot more freedom now.
And...
“This kind of life, going on adventures everywhere, is pretty nice too,” the girl said, gazing into the distance.
In that quiet moment, Mo Xi suddenly seemed to remember something. She turned to look at the transport ship’s wall, polished so smooth it reflected her image.
The wall reflected a girl with a complicated expression. She had delicate features, and now and then, starlike glimmers flashed in her light green eyes.
In terms of looks, on a scale of 10, the girl would score at least an 8.3—maybe an 8.5.
Add in the gentle, refined air that came with her Angel class, and she’d score over a 9. She was the type people in her previous life would have called “Mommy.”
“Even after all this time, I’m still not quite used to it.” Mo Xi poked her reflection and sighed helplessly.
After all, compared to being brought back to life, becoming a girl was nothing. Mo Xi could only reassure herself and try to get used to it as soon as possible.
As Mo Xi continued admiring the view, a faint call came from nearby.
“Wa~”
Hearing the sound, Mo Xi turned around in confusion. In the desolate ruins, a small figure lay sprawled on the ground, apparently so weak it had fainted.
Mo Xi checked the rain countdown first. Seeing there was still some time, she hurried over.
As Mo Xi drew closer, the figure came into sharper focus. Once she was beside it, she finally recognized what kind of creature it was.
“A juvenile Slugcat. What are you doing here?” Mo Xi asked in confusion as she picked up the weak Slugcat.
When she got no response, Mo Xi sighed helplessly. She healed the Slugcat as she ran toward the transport ship.
But then, a rustling sound suddenly came from all around her.
“This is bad.” Mo Xi surveyed her surroundings, keenly tracking the enemies’ movements.
She was now not far from the transport ship, just a few steps from the cleared-out area the contractors had made.
But those few steps might as well have been an uncrossable chasm, with several lizards blocking her way.
“Perfect chance to test my strength,” Mo Xi said, her expression serious.
Mo Xi wasn’t the sort of staff member who poured all her resources into a noncombat profession. She prioritized improving her combat strength, so even if the other staff were in trouble, she still had options.
Perhaps because the contractors had killed too many creatures nearby, the lizards now only circled Mo Xi and probed for an opening, never daring to attack.
Realizing this, Mo Xi immediately locked onto one of the lizards, gathered all her strength, and unleashed Judgment.
Pfft.
A blurred spike of light pierced straight through the lizard’s body. The pain from the true damage immediately made it tremble all over.
At the attack, the other two lizards opened their gaping jaws and pounced on Mo Xi.
In that instant, time slowed.
Mo Xi’s pupils constricted bit by bit as time dragged. To her astonishment, she realized she could react to the attacks.
With a thought, two spikes of light shot toward the lizards one after the other. The attacks came incredibly fast, and the lizards were charging at full speed—there was no way they could dodge.
Pfft...
The two lizards fell, writhing from the pain of the true damage. Seeing them struggle, Mo Xi decided to put them out of their misery.
As the spikes of light continued to burn, all three lizards remained trapped in a cycle of trying to flee, only to be wracked with pain from the true damage and left unable to stand.
After a while, the final lizard’s kill notification appeared before Mo Xi.
“Green Lizard ×3 Killed”
“Obtained 2.1% of the World Source in total”
Mo Xi ran toward the transport ship, thinking as she went.
“Judging by the Fire Mage’s ability to easily one-shot two Green Lizards with a single move, my combat strength is probably only at the lower end of T2. I still need to be careful...” Mo Xi muttered to herself.
Although Mo Xi had managed to wear down three Green Lizards fairly easily, that was because the pain from the true damage kept them locked down—and they weren’t very smart.
If she faced any smarter hostile creature, it would figure out that the attacks were coming from Mo Xi. All it had to do was take her out, and the pain would stop.
A short while later, inside the transport ship.
The Slugcat kitten, which Mo Xi had been healing all the way back and had just given some liquid food, slowly woke up. Seeing a circle of hairless “Scavengers” gathered around it, it was badly frightened.
Cookie Girl looked curiously at the curled-up kitten and asked, “Big Sister Angela, where did you find this kitten? Why is it so, uh... small?”
“Hmm... I’m not sure either. Maybe it’s hungry?” Mo Xi replied after thinking for a moment.
As far as Mo Xi knew, Slugcats were very protective of their young. A kitten running off by itself just before the rain began could only mean one thing.
Its mother had moved on to the next cycle.
Mo Xi sighed silently and gently stroked the Slugcat to comfort it. At the same time, she asked the transport ship’s chef to bring some more food.
“For the rest of the mission, stay with me. At least that way, you won’t starve to death,” Mo Xi said softly to the Slugcat.
Whether it sensed that Mo Xi meant no harm or had simply grown used to the group, the kitten, which had been curled up the whole time, finally stretched out and curiously examined everything inside the transport ship.
Unlike the peaceful atmosphere around Mo Xi, the Fire Mage had run into an unimaginable problem.
“Damn it, why is this lizard covered in flames?!”
“And explosives barely do any damage to it. Have we run into a boss?!”
Amid the chaotic battlefield, the Fire Mage stared at the Flame Lizard glaring from a distance, grip tightening around the staff.
If the lizard had been any other element, the Fire Mage could have fought it. But it was fire-aligned, so the attacks barely did any damage.
Most importantly, judging by the way it kept sticking out its tongue to taunt them and refused to retreat, they had trespassed into its territory.
The Fire Mage looked up at the gloomy sky, brow furrowed. Turning to the other contractors, the Fire Mage said, “Deploy the rain shields early.”
As the Fire Mage spoke, the staff was put away, and a greatsword wreathed in flames was taken from storage.
As the Fire Mage raised the greatsword high, flames surged into the air. Beneath the gloomy sky, amid the flattened wasteland, the Fire Mage strode forward alone.
“Come on. Let’s trade blows.”