Chapter 326: The Event Is Over, a Desire for Stability
Chapter 326: Chapter 326: The Event Is Over, a Desire for Stability
It was destined to be a restless night.
As more and more people returned to their rafts, the world channel exploded with messages, scrolling by too fast to read.
Faye Yardley paid it no mind. She was on the balcony, enjoying the evening breeze and a delicious meal prepared by Willow Yardley.
Blackwood was on the table, happily gobbling down its own portion of food.
Cole Kensington, sitting across from Faye, would occasionally pick some meat and vegetables from his bowl and place them on Blackwood’s plate.
"Kingston, it’s not good to be a picky eater."
"I’m not! I’m not a picky eater. I just saw how much Blackwood likes it, so I’m giving it some of mine."
Faye gave him a look. "It had better be."
After dinner, Faye wiped her mouth and said, "I’m going to get you guys a new friend."
And she meant "little" friend quite literally.
Perhaps her own thoughts had influenced the outcome, because when she used the Combat Intelligent Robot, what appeared before them was a little girl with long, curly hair, looking no older than eight or nine.
"Master~"
A sweet, girlish voice chirped from in front of Faye.
Willow looked at this newcomer—another of her kind—and wasn’t quite sure how to react. Finally, she said, "Sister, you should give her a name."
Naming things was a daunting task for Faye, who was notoriously bad at it. But looking into the little girl’s big, sparkling, expectant eyes, she said, "From now on, your name is Bella Yardley. And you don’t need to call me Master. Just call me Sister."
"Okay, thank you, Sister. Bella is a beautiful name."
Faye thought for a moment, then said to Willow, "Go cook her a piece of the meat with Divinity."
The moment she took out the meat imbued with Divinity, Blackwood’s head shot up. With a MEOW, it leaped onto her shoulder.
"You can’t have any more. This is for Bella. You’ve already had too much; you need to let it digest."
Willow gulped, her own mouth watering. She took the meat and said, "Right. Bella, come with me."
Still in a bit of a daze but driven by a craving for the meat, Bella followed Willow to the kitchen.
Cole Kensington didn’t quite understand. "Sister, why did you create a... little kid?"
"Oh, you can’t tell? Bella is a combat robot. Her fighting skills should be excellent." Faye admitted, feeling a bit of a headache herself, "I didn’t mean to make her so small. But oh well, Bella’s appearance is deceptive. People who don’t know her won’t see her as a threat."
"Combat? Can I fight her?"
Faye nodded. "You can ask her after she’s finished the meat and woken up. Come on, the training room has been upgraded. Let’s go check it out."
After that session, Faye was once again reminded that she was just a small fry.
When she emerged from the training room, she received a positive notification.
[Through extended training, Agility +2, Spirit +1]
Even Cole Kensington didn’t emerge as unscathed as he usually did.
Willow had to help her upstairs to the bedroom. Faye forced herself to take a quick shower before collapsing into bed and falling fast asleep.
「The next day」
The sun was bright and the sea was calm. It was a rare, beautiful day.
At 12:00 PM sharp, golden fireworks once again lit up the sky.
[Congratulations to all players who have returned to the World of Ocean Survival! The Fairy Tale World event has now concluded. Did you have fun? Let’s all look forward to the next group-wide event!] x3
’Probably not many people were looking forward to the next one,’ Faye thought. This time, too many had lost family and friends. Even people they disliked, or outright enemies, had simply vanished. And countless more were injured.
The survivors who had just returned barely had time to grieve or celebrate before they were bombarded by a wave of server-wide announcements.
The small private group Faye had created also buzzed back to life.
But today, the chatter was tinged with a hint of melancholy.
Bonnie Callahan: I’m so relieved to see you’re all safe. BOOHOO... I lost two more friends in the event. I... I want to ask Faye... please let me move to your island and just be a normal person.
Wade Warren: Sigh... tell me about it. These events are just one terrifying ordeal after another. I don’t mind so much for myself, but my family can’t take the stress.
Bonnie Callahan: Exactly! I used to think I could tough it out, that I could make a name for myself too. But watching the number of familiar faces shrink after every event... the pressure is just too much.
Zephyr Sterling: Honestly, if the group admin lets you on the island, it would be a good option for you. After all, who says you have to be just an "ordinary person" once you’re there? No matter where you are, you have to work hard if you want to be extraordinary.
Wade Warren: Mr. Sterling is right. I was being too narrow-minded.
Gavin Donovan: There are more options now. Did you guys see that our guild leveled up? I never would’ve guessed that after the upgrade, members can just stay in the guild headquarters to skip events. It seems like the guild officers still have to participate, though.
Kyle Lewis: For real? You can join a guild, leave your family in the headquarters, and just go to the event by yourself?
Gavin Donovan: You bet. There seems to be a limited number of spots, though. But given our guild’s size, we don’t have to worry about fighting over them.
Faye chimed in at the right moment: Once you’ve all thought it through, you can apply with me to come to the island. A house will be available in a week. Actually, what Donovan said is also true. For those who want to use the system to quickly increase their power, joining a guild is a better choice.
Bonnie Callahan: Faye, you’re here! Thank you for offering us a way out. *[sobbing]* I’m so, so scared I won’t survive the next event.
All Faye could do was offer some words of comfort. ’At least she’s alive for now,’ she thought.
Even in a peaceful world, you never know whether disaster or dawn will come first.
As long as a person could take responsibility for their own choices, then any choice was valid.
At least, that’s how Faye saw it.
She had to choose a group of people to come to the island anyway, so if they were willing, Faye was happy to give them the opportunity.
Speaking of which, last night’s Golden Treasure Chest had been a huge help.
Faye had a vague feeling that the Sea Survival System was gradually starting to tighten its net.
Many people who couldn’t adapt to this life at sea would be quickly eliminated.
People were always being eliminated, of course, but the scale had previously been comparable to the daily accidental death toll back on Aquaria. Even if the numbers were higher, they were still within an acceptable range.
But things had changed starting with this event.
The sudden appearance of more islands for people to fight over was, in a way, proof of her theory.
People now had more places they could choose to go, but those were still opportunities available only to a select few.
Everyone in the small chat group knew this, which was why Bonnie Callahan’s gratitude was so genuine.
RING RING~
"Yardley, you were looking for me earlier. What’s up?"
"Oh, Mr. Zephyr Sterling. Actually, I was the one who had something to ask you."
"Ask away."