Chapter 49: Ringing the Bell to Farm Experience, Fishing Demon Orchids in the Swamp

"Um—Vivian, are you alright now?"

Suppressing the doubt and confusion in his heart, Xia Zhi tentatively asked the golden-haired girl.

"..."

"..."

"I... I'm fine..."

Vivian took a breath, also seeming to have finally come to her senses, trying hard to pretend to be calm, but her slightly trembling voice still betrayed her.

The "Memory" just now was too real, as if she had truly experienced that scene; it was a very long journey, enough to turn a staff that healed allies into a long spear that defeated enemies, enough to make innate eyesight completely lose...

It was also enough to wither the Fantasy Tree, to transition the Fairy Kingdom's calendar from the Fairy Calendar to the Queen Calendar...

That was a full four thousand years of long time...

Vivian was immersed in it, and for a long, long time she couldn't catch her breath, because that ending, because that unprecedented immense grief, hatred and despair that seemed to tear body and mind apart... surged forth from that "future"——

Directly drowning her.

"... Really fine?"

At this time, the youth opposite scrutinized her with a rather suspicious look.

After all, no matter how you looked at it, this didn't look like someone who was fine; one could even say the girl's face clearly read "not fine".

"..."

"..."

"Really fine... just, just remembered foster mother and the others..."

Vivian shook her head, her voice still trembling slightly, carrying a trace of grief; she took a few hurried breaths before continuing: "And this Execution Platform, she... she... definitely didn't say my name until the very end..."

The girl gritted her teeth tightly, as if unable to continue speaking.

This was indeed a very good reason; Xia Zhi also nodded in understanding, while raising his head to examine this Execution Platform.

It is said that on the night of the Night of Extermination, the Four Clans Allied Forces directly executed the "Paradise Fairy" swiftly and decisively. And as far as he knew, that person should be the true princess of the Rain Country, the Queen Consort's daughter.

——No wonder Vivian lost control of her emotions.

——Although this is actually still hard to explain, why the look in her eyes when she looked at him just now was so strange.

"That..."

Xia Zhi seriously organized his words, wanting to comfort the girl, but also found that at this time, any words seemed very pale. Strictly speaking, the other party only truly returned today to face the fact and grief of the extermination.

"You want me to offer condolences?"

Looking at the youth before her with his hesitant appearance, Vivian sniffed hard; seeing the other party standing fine right before her now, her emotions also stabilized a lot, and her body and mind gradually pulled away from the immense grief just now.

She grabbed the long staff placed beside her, slowly stood up from the ground, took a deep breath, and said as if swearing an oath: "Rest assured, I'm not that easy to knock down; I absolutely, absolutely will make those fellows look good!!"

Huh?

This momentum is not bad!

Xia Zhi instantly nodded repeatedly; this was the resilient momentum he wanted! Although he didn't know what kind of determination and realization she had born from grief, just in terms of momentum, it had already surpassed the level when she confronted Artoria before.

So he also hurried to strike while the iron was hot: "That's right, just like this; what use is offering condolences, we have to make others offer condolences..."

Immediately followed by a series of classic chicken soup quotes, such as "turn grief into strength", "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger"... and so on, whatever came to mind he poured into the girl.

In short, he just had to cheer Vivian up at this time, encourage her to bring out that ruthless drive.

"You're right, we have to make them offer condolences too!!"

Vivian nodded very forcefully, saying through gritted teeth, as if extremely agreeing with this.

"I hate all Fairies except the Rain Clan; those disgusting things, we shouldn't have any expectations for them..."

——Eh?

Xia Zhi, currently embodying a spiritual mentor, hearing this, instantly felt a slight surprise.

Is the potency of this chicken soup a bit too much? Is the encouragement effect a little too good? Or is it that returning to face Onyx's tragedy head-on completely intensified her hatred? Could she have darkened?

But Vivian didn't feel there was any problem at all; this was her current thought; although very radical and intense, it was also because the "Second Playthrough" experience was extremely tragic... that kind of experience of hatred and despair, she absolutely did not want to go through again.

——In the first two thousand years, she continuously suppressed Calamities, eliminated disputes in the Fairy Kingdom, and simultaneously undertook the Pilgrimage Journey...

——In the latter two thousand years, she radically changed her strategy, established an absolute monarchy within the Fairy Kingdom, and tortured Fairies under a long two thousand years of tyranny...

The root cause of such a fierce reversal was the Fairies' repeated backstabbing. Countless malice, betrayal again and again; no matter who, repeating such encounters for two thousand years, their distrust and dissatisfaction with Fairies would reach a peak.

And after the final effort also ended in failure, her anger completely exploded, and she could no longer persuade herself with a sense of responsibility.

Taking this as the Divergence Point, Vivian changed the Savior's strategy, choosing to protect Britain with the identity of a Ruler.

However, even so, the ending of that "Second Playthrough" was still very tragic——

Adopted Daughter executed, Holy Lance destroyed, Divine Corpse of the Horned God revived...

Flame Calamity, Beast Calamity, Curse Calamity arrived in succession...

The situation deteriorated to the extreme almost overnight; driven to a desperate situation by the simultaneous explosion of Calamities and betrayals, facing the joint strangulation of external troubles and internal strife, even she herself almost encountered assassination on the Throne... although at that very end——

The black dog walking tall with head held high was decapitated.

The dragon corpse soaring in the heavens was shot down.

The Abyssal Worms crawling out from the Great Void were all brutally bombarded back.

However... at the same time the Fairy Kingdom was saved, she also discovered that the figure who had accompanied her through the long journey had completely disappeared——the peace maintaining that elegant Stone Throne was the price of the vanished dream.

Recalling that final scene in her memory, Vivian tightly clenched her fist, nails almost digging deep into her flesh.

She exhaled forcefully, not wanting the other party to see her abnormality, waving her clenched fist in the air: "Xia Zhi, I've already thought about what to do next; this Mors Calamity we can utilize; while the various Clans are too busy to cope, it's exactly our opportunity to ring the bell!"

"Ring the bell?"

"Right, as long as we ring all the Pilgrimage Bells, that counts as completely completing a Pilgrimage; this way I can truly obtain the power belonging to the Paradise Fairy..." the girl said with a cold tone, expression very indifferent.

The her who became Queen even completed six Pilgrimages in two thousand years.

The power gained thereby was also extremely terrifying——

Enough to let her completely exhaust the Fantasy Tree's magical energy, and enough to let her alone launch an all-out war against the Fairy Kingdom.

And now, she decided to utilize this knack, using the Pilgrimage Journey to farm experience.

Anyway the Fairies definitely won't truly confess their crimes, so she can just repeatedly farm, ringing the bell again and again.

"In other words, taking advantage of a crisis, huh? That I quite like..." Observing Vivian's expression, Xia Zhi pondered while voicing agreement with the plan, "Then which clan do you plan to act against first?"

"Starting from Onyx here..."

Vivian decided without hesitation, then immediately seemed to think of something and added: "And there's also a place here we can go take a look, there might be some unexpected gains."

She thought of Melusine, that "Dragon" Fairy—

Should still be in that Dark Swamp right now, maybe can go fish her out... After all, rather than letting Melusine devote herself to that stupid woman Aurora, better to think of a way to win her over to her own side.

"Hmm... works too, anyway you understand this place better, so naturally I'll listen to you."

Xia Zhi pinched his chin and slowly nodded, he always felt the girl's momentum had become especially different, decisive and swift not to mention, her goal especially clear. None of that occasional blankness from before, that feeling of not knowing what to do...

She just now—could it be she read a strategy guide?

(Chapter End)