Chapter 26: Two Huge Slimes
Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Two Huge Slimes
With that, Dr. Anton turned back around and returned to the work on his desk.
Wang Xi held the pitch-black Card, lost in thought.
’Is this a subtle reminder that, with my current strength, I can’t yet unleash its full power?’
He thought.
After stowing the Card safely, Wang Xi lay down and went to sleep.
The night passed peacefully.
The next day, while still in the hospital recovering, Wang Xi waited for a nurse to check on him and change his dressings. Afterward, he found an opportunity to secretly use "photosynthesis" and basked in the sun, hiding by his room’s window.
His injuries made it difficult to practice the Body Refining Technique, so he decided to use this boring, idle time to improve his physical condition a little.
However, there was a small hiccup.
An old man in a wheelchair downstairs happened to glance up at Wang Xi’s window. The man looked as if he’d seen a ghost—eyes wide, mouth agape, sputtering incoherently for a good while. He tremblingly pointed a finger, nearly choking on a wad of phlegm from the shock.
Even the nurse beside him was scared half to death by the sight, thinking the old man was about to pass on right then and there.
He looked delirious, picking at imaginary threads in the air.
That was exactly what he looked like...
Thankfully, Wang Xi ducked out of sight just in time.
It made sense, though.
An old man with one foot in the grave suddenly sees a green-faced, long-fanged ghoulish face pop up in a hospital window. He probably thought it was the grim reaper coming to escort him on his final journey.
At that moment, Wang Xi whipped out his phone as fast as he could.
He then switched to his "electronic wooden fish" app and frantically tapped it a few times.
TAP TAP TAP...
The words "Merit +1" flashed repeatedly on the screen.
Only then did his tense, green face finally relax a little.
’That was a close one. Almost went into karmic debt.’
He didn’t dare change his skin to sunbathe again that afternoon. Instead, he studied hard, preparing for next month’s Professional Warrior assessment.
Around three-thirty, a notification from Kaos appeared in his mind: the cooldown for his projection was over.
「Projection Managed」
「Current World: Fairy Tales」
「Exploration Level: 0.34%」
「Cooldown Complete. Projection Available.」
Wang Xi put down his phone, found a comfortable position, and lay down. He closed his eyes and chose to project.
His consciousness sank, and his surroundings shifted.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting alone in a grassy field. A campfire burned nearby, around which four or five armored Merchant Guards were sitting and chatting.
The horses and carriage were parked off to one side. Steward White held a piece of parchment with curled edges, taking inventory of the cargo. Guard Captain Bennett stood beside him, occasionally murmuring something.
’Are we resting at camp?’
Wang Xi glanced at the sky. It was evening in the Otherworld as well; the sun was setting, casting the sky in a yellowish hue.
Just then, footsteps approached from behind.
"Gai, I brought you something to eat..."
Goddalir approached, her face etched with worry, holding dried fish, bread, and an apple.
When she saw the young man turn his head, she froze for a moment. They locked eyes for a few seconds, and then a look of delight spread across Goddalir’s face before she threw her arms around him.
She paid no mind to the food that tumbled to the ground.
"Gai! You’re finally lucid!"
Goddalir wept with joy, her eyes turning red.
"What’s happened recently? I can’t quite remember..."
Wang Xi gently patted the girl’s back and asked softly.
Goddalir released her embrace and gently wiped her eyes.
"Gai, your ’Ice Heart Curse’ flared up again. Ever since we left Buchanan, you’ve barely said a word for a full fourteen days. Even when I spoke to you, you’d only give the occasional, brief reply, and your attitude was so cold..."
Her voice was tinged with sadness.
From Goddalir’s explanation, Wang Xi finally understood what had happened while his projection was being managed.
After his consciousness returned to the Main World, the managed projection had become very stiff and unresponsive. When others spoke to him, he would only reply coldly with simple words.
The caravan members quickly noticed this. At first, they didn’t understand and thought they had somehow offended the companion who had joined them partway through their journey.
It was only after Goddalir’s explanation that everyone learned the young man was actually one of the "Ice Heart People"!
They had traveled far and wide and were quite knowledgeable, so they had naturally encountered the Ice Heart People before, and his state was indeed similar. Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, no one felt any aversion; instead, their attitude toward him became one of pity.
In the common perception, the Ice Heart People tended not to live long and were often apathetic and cold-blooded.
There was no need to pick a fight with a dying man.
"During that time, the caravan was ambushed twice by robbers, but we made it through both encounters shaken but unharmed..."
Goddalir added, wiping away her tears.
According to her, the first robbery was by a group of vagrants. It started with two half-grown kids lying in the middle of the road. After the caravan stopped, a dozen sallow, emaciated men in rags rushed out, armed with sickles, axes, and pitchforks.
But the caravan was experienced and well-prepared. Facing seven or eight fully armed Merchant Guards, the group of vagrants stood no chance. The fight was over in just a few minutes.
The result was zero casualties for the guards and over a dozen for the vagrants.
The guards were unharmed, aside from being spattered with blood, while the group of vagrants was annihilated. The two children who had been playing dead saw how things were going and fled. Steward White didn’t order a pursuit; he just had the bodies moved off the road before they continued on their way.
’Armored against unarmored... it was simply a slaughter.’
Wang Xi shook his head to himself.
Moreover, the Merchant Guards were all able-bodied young men trained in combat. Their level of nutrition and combat experience were so superior that a group of vagrants was no match for them.
Anyone with experience in killing would know that even if the number of vagrants had been several times larger, they still wouldn’t have posed a threat to the caravan.
Goddalir’s story continued.
The caravan’s second attack was from a group of armored bandits, roughly equal in number to their own guards.
It should have been a tough fight, but Guard Captain Bennett went all out, cutting down two men in the first clash.
Meanwhile, the expressionless Gai also unleashed his power. He started by head-shotting one with his Hand Crossbow—the Crossbow Arrow striking the part of the face left exposed by the man’s Pot Helmet. Then, he charged in with his Longsword and cut down two more, his performance no less impressive than Bennett’s.
Led by these two powerhouses, the caravan once again achieved a flawless, casualty-free victory.
Hearing this, Wang Xi had a clear picture of what had happened.
’It seems the managed projection can still use my Card abilities, but its performance is severely limited... It’s not intelligent enough, just too rigid.’
He thought to himself.
Wang Xi picked up the dried fish, bread, and apple from the ground. He brushed off the grass and dirt and began to eat, unconcerned.
He also noticed the bandage on his left hand was gone. The wound was almost completely healed, showing no signs of infection.
This was clearly Goddalir’s doing.
"Thank you for taking care of me all this time, Goddalir."
Wang Xi wiped the apple in his hand again and handed it to the girl with a thankful smile.
A sweet feeling bloomed in Goddalir’s heart. She took the apple, bit into it, and murmured that it was sweet.
After finishing his food, Wang Xi noticed a sour stench coming from his body. He had been too focused on getting caught up to notice it before, but now the smell was becoming overwhelming.
Even Goddalir, who was right beside him, smelled bad.
Wang Xi asked her about it in a low voice.
Goddalir looked embarrassed, her cheeks flushing red.
How could they not stink after more than ten days without bathing?
And it wasn’t just a regular stink.
It was an overpowering stench!
Wang Xi still had bloodstains on him that Goddalir had tried to wipe away several times without success...
Unable to stand it any longer, Wang Xi shot to his feet and walked toward the campfire.
"Excuse me, everyone. Is there a water source nearby?"
As he approached and spoke, the group of guards stopped their chatter and turned to look at him.
They all looked a little surprised.
They hadn’t expected Gai, who had been expressionless for over ten days, to start a conversation. But seeing the smile on his face and the life back in his eyes, they understood.
The curse had temporarily subsided.
"Brother Gai, there’s a stream behind that patch of woods,"
said Polk, the guard Wang Xi had once defeated. He put down his roasted potato and pointed with his knife, a smile on his face.
"If you go, be quick. Night is falling, and the forest isn’t safe. Besides wild beasts, there might be Demons lurking about..."
Demons...
’Probably some kind of fantasy creature, like a goblin.’
Wang Xi nodded his thanks and turned to go back.
"Goddalir, I’m going to go wash up."
"Can I come with you?" the girl’s eyes lit up. She then stammered, "I’ve actually been wanting to wash up for a while, but I never had the chance, and it wasn’t very convenient..."
"Sure," Wang Xi smiled. "Follow me."
Goddalir’s face lit up with joy. She rose nimbly, clutching the hem of her skirt, and followed close behind him.
The two of them walked a hundred meters or so from the campsite, passing through a sparse grove of trees. Before long, they reached the bank of a small stream.
The stream was only three or four meters wide and about half a meter deep. The water was clear enough to see the pebbles of all sizes lining the bottom.
"You go ahead and wash. I’ll keep watch."
Wang Xi said quietly to the girl.
Goddalir gave a sweet smile and hummed in agreement.
She felt that ever since they left Randall, Gai had become much gentler and more considerate, a far cry from the arrogant and rude person he used to be.
Although she didn’t know the reason for his change, Goddalir had to admit to herself that she much preferred the current Gai.
As Goddalir reached the stream’s edge, she slowly began to remove her smelly, dirty clothes in the evening twilight.
She glanced back cautiously but saw only the bushes; the young man was nowhere in sight.
While breathing a secret sigh of relief, she also felt a twinge of disappointment.
’If Gai were to peek, I’d probably be angry... Hmm, just a little bit angry.’
’Just a little.’
At that moment, Wang Xi was leaning against a large tree with a stalk of foxtail grass dangling from his lips. He touched the Crossbow on his shoulder, then rested his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist and closed his eyes to listen.
In the growing darkness, everything was quiet.
There was only the soft rustle of the wind through the leaves.
Soon, he heard Goddalir’s heartbeat.
It was just a short distance behind him.
’No beasts or humans nearby...’
Wang Xi opened his eyes and deactivated "Listen to Heartbeat".
He was well aware that Goddalir had feelings for him... but that was a burden in its own way.
’Once we get to the Royal Capital and I’m settled, I’ll find a chance to clear the air with her.’
Wang Xi thought to himself.
"AH—!"
Just then, Goddalir’s scream pierced the air.
Wang Xi frowned.
’The déjà vu from this crappy trope is so strong,’ he thought. ’Why is it that whenever a woman takes a bath in a story, something always has to happen?!’
He didn’t have time to complain further. Grabbing the hilt of his sword, he burst out of the woods.
When he reached the stream, a look of shock appeared on Wang Xi’s face.
’Fuck! Two huge, white Slimes!’