Vampire Princess Guide in Progress - Volume 1 Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Rare Moment of Leisure

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“Need some? Here you go.”

Nolan clicked on his inventory, and a leather water pouch appeared in his hand, which he passed to Cross.

Cross sat up slightly, reaching out with both small hands to accept it, thanking him softly before unscrewing the cap and taking a few small sips. She also put away her magic staff, and quickly returned the water pouch to Nolan.

Afterwards, she hugged her knees, curling her petite body up as she sat on the grassy slope to rest.

Nolan’s sitting posture was more relaxed, with one leg stretched out and the other bent at the knee for support, resting his elbow on the bent knee. Together with Cross beside him, they gazed at the expansive view in the distance, watching a small squad of players still shouting and coordinating to surround a hyena.

Listening to the gentle sound of the wind accompanied by the rustling of grass leaves, Cross’s long hair, like azure blue silk, floated gently in the breeze. As she looked at the layers of grass waves rising with the wind under the sunlight, she narrowed her eyes slightly.

“What a rare moment of leisure,” Nolan spoke first in this momentary tranquility.

“Mmm.” Cross rested her chin on her knees, remained silent for a few seconds, then said softly: “In this world, even the sunlight feels so real, giving the same warm feeling as in reality when it shines on you.”

“Yes, it’s quite incredible,” Nolan sighed lightly, “Who knows, maybe we’ve actually been transported to another world.”

“But from what we’ve seen so far, it still seems more like a game, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. Although it’s very realistic, for us it’s just a game, one that we’ll leave after completing it.”

Complete… Cross couldn’t help but silently repeat this word in her mind.

It would definitely take a long time, perhaps they would have to stay in this world for several years, and who knew what was happening in the real world now? Both family and friends must be worried about her disappearance.

Or perhaps… the flow of time between the two worlds might be different?

Maybe the Star Lord’s words were just lies, and she might still be lying on her bed at home, wearing a gaming headset.

“Nolan, didn’t you mention earlier that you have a sister? Is she your biological sister?”

Suddenly, Cross tilted her head curiously and asked the question to Nolan beside her.

Nolan gazed at the distant giant tree shrouded in mist and clouds, slowly answering: “Yes, biological sister. Just before entering this game, I was wondering whether to invite my sister to play together, as she had just graduated and started her vacation… Thinking about it now, I’m glad she refused.”

“Sounds like you have a good relationship. Your sister must be very worried about you, right?”

“Probably. If I really disappeared from reality and remained in this other world, she would definitely be anxious when she couldn’t find me. But more importantly, we know nothing about what’s happening in the real world on the other side. What about you? Were you at home when you logged into the game?”

“Yes, I was planning to finish my holiday assignments before logging in to play, but I couldn’t resist and created an account just to take a look…”

At this point, Cross’s eyebrows furrowed into 八 shape as the beautiful girl sighed.

It seemed this was the price to pay for neglecting school holiday tasks in favor of gaming. Otherwise, she might have missed this time window, and if there had been any reports about issues with the gaming device, she definitely wouldn’t have tried it.

“Huh? Are you laughing at me?” Cross noticed Nolan’s slightly upturned mouth corners.

“No, haha, I just thought the way you said that was… how do I put it, somehow amusing. So, you’re still in middle school?”

“University student,” Cross glanced at Nolan with annoyance.

“Sorry, I judged by appearance.”

“What do you mean?” Cross blinked, suspecting Nolan had some opinion about her height.

He had originally thought she was about the same age as his sister, or even younger, but he hadn’t expected Cross to be somewhat of a senior to him.

Cross’s fingers twirled the grass blades at her feet, pulling them out glumly. “Actually, I have an older sister. Although she’s my sister, she’s completely different from me — tall, and a busty beauty. Somehow when it came to me, I just didn’t grow tall.”

“What, suddenly interested when you hear about big breasts? You men…”

Cross seemed to cast a somewhat disdainful glance, and Nolan’s mouth twitched awkwardly. That wasn’t what he meant; he just empathized with people who had siblings, because he and his sister had polar opposite personalities too — he was dark and introverted, while his sister was lively and bright.

Even with the same bloodline, both appearance and personality could be vastly different…

However, it was precisely because they had irreplaceable family and friends that they had to survive in this death game, no matter how long it took. Eventually, they would reach the day when they completed the game.

Although players in Morning Dew Town would soon have the ability to survive safely, more players in Pure White Holy City were still in a state of panic, and the game’s progress couldn’t remain stagnant on the second floor forever…

“Hey! Look quickly, the Iris Knights have posted an announcement!”

“What? What? Is that the most powerful pioneer guild? They’re the only ones who haven’t disbanded, they’ve finally made a move?”

“And they sent a world broadcast… they sent a BOSS information report?”

Suddenly, nearby players who were grinding levels stopped in their tracks, one by one opening the World Channel chat box. It seemed there was some major news, especially since it was from the only remaining Iris Knights guild.

Nolan and Cross on the grassy slope naturally also received the broadcast message.

“Nolan, what are they talking about, the Iris Knights…?” Cross turned her face to ask.

“The Iris Knights, a pioneer group established during the closed beta. Whether in the closed beta or internal testing, they were the first to defeat the first floor boss. They’re a group of players who are very enthusiastic about dungeon raids… After yesterday’s dramatic changes, they had gone completely silent, but now they’ve finally shown some movement.”

Those guys were elite players currently on the second floor, the top players in this game, basically the hope in the hearts of all players in 《Floating Island: Fragments of the Stars》. If they could achieve some breakthrough… it would definitely be a huge encouragement for everyone!

Nolan quickly opened the World Channel and searched for the announcement.

Cross leaned her head closer, looking at it together with him.

【Attention to all players of 《Floating Island: Fragments of the Stars》…】

However, when Nolan saw this beginning, the excitement in his heart was suddenly replaced by an ominous premonition. As his gaze quickly scanned down line by line to the last line of the Iris Knights guild announcement…

…his gaze suddenly froze.