That night, nobody went to sleep early.
After hearing Em Bé Công Nhân’s story, the atmosphere inside the wooden house became heavier than ever.
The fire inside the furnace continued crackling softly.
But no one was in the mood for cheerful conversation anymore.
Trụ sat beside Em Bé Công Nhân for a very long time.
The little girl still hugged her knees tightly, her eyes swollen red from crying too much.
Trụ gently patted her head.
— From now on, you’re not alone anymore.
Hearing that, the little girl slowly looked up.
Her eyes were still filled with anxiety.
After everything she had gone through…
she was probably terrified of losing people again.
Nearby, Ki also sat quietly in silence.
Even though he didn’t say much…
his eyes looked deeply saddened.
Maybe because he was the one who had personally witnessed East Village turning into ashes.
Even Bướm rarely stayed this quiet for so long.
She stood beside the window, silently looking at the sea of clouds outside the island.
Moonlight reflected inside her cold purple eyes.
Nobody knew what she was thinking about.
After a long while, Bướm finally spoke.
— Do you want to become stronger?
Em Bé Công Nhân flinched slightly.
Bướm turned to look at her.
— If you want to protect the things precious to you…
— then you need strength.
Her voice was still cold as usual.
But this time…
it no longer felt distant.
The little girl clenched her hands lightly.
— Can… I really become stronger?
Bướm answered calmly:
— You won’t know unless you try.
Trụ immediately nodded enthusiastically.
— Exactly!
— We’ll all become stronger together!
— And next time, nobody will be left behind!
Ki let out a small laugh.
— You really sound like a main character.
Trụ placed her hands on her hips proudly.
— That’s because I am the main character.
The atmosphere finally softened a little.
That night…
for the first time in a very long time, Em Bé Công Nhân fell asleep without trembling in fear of the darkness.
The next morning.
Sunlight shone across the floating island above the sea of clouds.
After a simple breakfast, the group began preparing to head out.
Trụ stood in front of the table and made an extremely serious announcement.
— Our group currently has three main goals!
She raised one finger.
— Make money!
A second finger.
— Recruit more teammates!
Then the third.
— Expand our territory!
Bướm crossed her arms.
— Sounds pretty ambitious.
Ki laughed softly.
— But I like it.
Even Em Bé Công Nhân smiled a little.
After finishing their preparations, the four left the island server and headed toward the large city near the central district.
This place was far busier than when Trụ first arrived.
Everywhere they looked were:
hunters, adventurer groups, merchants, and ability users.
Along the streets were even:
chained beasts being sold, weapon shops, auction houses, and giant mission boards.
Trụ’s eyes sparkled brightly.
— This is amazing…
— One day our group will definitely become famous here!
Bướm answered calmly:
— First, we should survive.
The group walked through several busy streets before finally stopping in front of a rather large store.
The signboard above read:
“Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion.”
Ki looked around curiously.
— Is this a gear shop?
Bướm nodded.
— And they sell a few useful things too.
The moment they entered, Trụ’s attention was immediately drawn toward a small silver-white stone tablet placed in the center of the store.
It was about waist-high.
Strange glowing symbols covered its surface.
Trụ blinked curiously.
— What’s this?
The old shopkeeper stroked his beard and smiled.
— The Heavenly Dao Monument.
Hearing the name, everyone turned to look at him.
The old man continued.
— It’s an artifact used to measure overall ability, talent, and future potential.
Trụ’s eyes lit up instantly.
— That sounds so cool?!
Bướm glanced at the tablet.
— How much?
The old man smiled warmly.
— It’s not cheap.
A few moments later…
after hearing the price, Trụ nearly collapsed.
— WHY IS IT SO EXPENSIVE?!
Even Ki coughed awkwardly.
— Are we seriously buying this…
But in the end, after arguing for quite a while…
the group still decided to purchase it.
The reason was simple:
they needed to know exactly how strong they currently were.
Besides the Heavenly Dao Monument, they also bought:
new arrows for Trụ, sword sharpening stones for Bướm, construction tools for Ki, and several supplies for the island server.
As for Em Bé Công Nhân—
Trụ secretly bought her a brand-new scarf.
The moment the little girl received it, she immediately hugged it tightly.
Her eyes filled with emotion.
After leaving the city, the group began heading back toward the island server.
The forest path was unusually quiet.
Afternoon sunlight shone through the tall trees.
Ki was carrying a heavy pile of materials behind everyone when he suddenly stopped.
— Wait…
Bướm’s eyes immediately narrowed as well.
There was a faint smell of blood in the air.
Not far ahead— the sound of chopping echoed repeatedly.
Slash!Slash!Slash!
The group slowly approached.
Then everyone froze.
In the middle of a clearing— a girl around Trụ’s age was squatting beside the corpse of a gigantic beast.
The creature had already been almost completely butchered.
Blood dyed the ground red.
The girl wore dark clothes, her messy hair stained with blood.
But the most terrifying thing was— her expression was completely calm.
As if cutting apart a giant monster was just an ordinary daily task.
The girl held a large blood-covered knife before slowly turning toward the group.
Her sharp eyes instantly made the surrounding air feel colder.
Trụ unconsciously swallowed.
— …Why does she look so terrifying…
~End~