NOVEL NEXT Chapter 33
Chapter 33: Coach, I Want to Deal Damage!
People from another world learning skills in the “Fantasy Realm” comes with a lot of uncertainties. This was Miss Vilyric’s first attempt, and she needed a relatively quiet environment to ensure success.
Although Hua seemed a bit anxious, she reluctantly stepped out at Liliya’s strong insistence, stating she would guard the door.
Once ready, under the eager yet tense gaze of Princess, Vilyric waved her hand to create a translucent barrier that nullified detection, silenced sound, and provided protection, beginning the final checks.
“So, have you decided what path you want to take, Liliya?”
“Yes, I’ve read through all the directories and introductions in the book, and I’ve made up my mind. I want to choose Air Magic!”
“Air Magic, huh… That means you’ll be more of a damage-dealing mage. But I thought you wanted to be defensive. Why not consider a defensive type?”
The princess paused for a moment, gently stroking the small iron box, the Ascension Box, given to her by Vilyric, as if speaking to herself.
“Originally, I thought that being a ruler meant being virtuous, generous, and capable like my eldest brother, so everyone would naturally submit… But that wasn’t the case.”
“The Imperial Guards dared to rebel because they thought they could kill me. The Beastmen can invade, burn, kill, and plunder just because they are stronger than humans… After witnessing all this, I suddenly understood.”
“Pure benevolence does not exist. Without strength, that’s just simple weakness and retreat. To deal with those crazed, desperate beings, only being harsher, stronger, and taking the initiative will truly make them fear us.”
“I was too timid and naive before, too scared to act, retreating step by step, which brought me to this point.”
The girl clutched the small iron box at her chest, her fingers turning pale from the grip, her teeth clenched.
“I want to fight! To take the initiative! Before the enemy can hurt me or my cherished ones, I will crush them to dust, just like this ambush! Attack is the best defense, isn’t it?”
“Is that so… It seems you’ve given this a lot of thought. Since that’s the case, I don’t need to say much more. Let’s begin.”
Vilyric smiled approvingly, not reaching into the void for items as usual, but instead, cupped her hands and closed her eyes.
“Focus your mind and concentrate.”
A massive, incomprehensible aura emerged from the girl’s palms, rapidly spreading outwards, but was halted by the barrier cloaking the tent.
Liliya’s eyes widened in astonishment as she watched a slender shoot sprouting from the air, growing visibly fast into a lush, miniature celestial tree, branching out endlessly.
“This… is…”
The princess felt a sharp pain in her eyes and, unable to control herself, tears began to fall. She felt dizzy, as though merely looking at the tree was a great disrespect, hastily averting her gaze to feel better.
Thankfully, the Ascension Box that Vilyric had given her had been stabilizing over the past few days, significantly boosting Liliya’s physical capacity. Otherwise, just that moment might have caused her to pass out.
Liliya then understood why Vilyric had gone to such lengths to set up that seemingly complicated barrier.
The significance of this tree could hardly be described with the word precious; gazing at it, the princess felt as if she were facing a entire world.
“The Cabala Tree of Life, do not gaze upon it, do not touch its essence, and do not speak its name. Though it’s only a replica, it is still an existence that mere mortals cannot comprehend.”
As she spoke, Vilyric slowly opened her eyes, noticing Liliya’s instinctive act of looking away, and she couldn’t help but appreciate the girl’s cleverness.
This was her first time summoning such a thing in this world. Thankfully, Vilyric had anticipated that it might cause quite a stir and had prepared accordingly. Otherwise, it would probably have drawn global attention just like when she healed Layton. They were still trying to stay undercover.
The artifact, the Simulated Cabala Tree of Life, is both a prop and an equipment item.
Although it belonged to Vilyric, it did not occupy any equipment slots and could not even be stored in a bag; it existed in a companion-like form beside her.
According to the official information in “Fantasy Realm,” the Simulated Cabala Tree of Life is a representation of a newly sprouted bud from the top of the real Cabala Tree, comparable to a super mini-version of its essence, with only one function: simulation.
It could simulate any item or prop, fully replicating it.
As long as something existed in the game world, aside from the true artifacts and living beings, even something as elusive as skill trees within the system could be simulated as long as it was touched.
This item was a reward Vilyric obtained from a hidden super-large chain quest, taking her an entire month to complete, during which she was killed by various ridiculous plot twists multiple times. It was worth the artifact status it had.
Vilyric’s skill tree, naturally, couldn’t be used by Liliya. In fact, she wouldn’t even have been able to see it, but through the Simulated Cabala Tree of Life, which was a kind of bug item resembling a modifier, the princess could still attempt to learn skills from “Fantasy Realm.”
“Let me see… Combat skills… Air type… Ah, this should be the part! Transform for me!”
With a flash of colorful light, Liliya felt as if her vision had blurred, and the vibrant little tree transformed into an array shimmering with strange colors, consisting of patterns and text forming a skill branching chart, quietly floating before the princess.
“Ah…”
This scene that defied comprehension left the blue-haired girl speechless for a long time.
But at least Liliya had spent about half a month with Vilyric, the weirdo, so she had built some resistance against the abnormal. Thereupon, she tossed aside her useless rationality and, after confirming with the black-haired girl, quickly focused her attention on the skill tree.
“It really seems like I am learning…”
Watching Liliya’s small hands darting around in the air, Vilyric was equally curious about what might happen, yet she felt it wasn’t the right time to interrupt, so she remained silent, patiently waiting.
After a while, the princess lifted her head, a deep thoughtfulness crossing her features as she began to explain.
“Just like sister Vilyric and the book said, learning skills requires something called skill points. I currently have very few, and my level isn’t high enough, so I’ve only learned three.”
“The first is called Flow Wind, which seems to allow me to manipulate air for movement; the second is called Wind Slash, which probably condenses air into a blade-like form for attack; and the last is Air Acceleration, which, from the description, should enhance my speed using wind. They’re all very simple and practical abilities.”
“Are there additional conditions for advanced skills?” Vilyric asked about the most concerning topic.
“There are, but I don’t really understand many of them, like Achievements, and there are some materials and creatures I’ve never even heard of. It’s hard to focus when reading so much, so I didn’t dare to study them closely…”
Liliya lowered her head a bit embarrassed.
“That’s really the case, huh…”