After mastering the resurrection technique, they begged me to extend their lives.

Xinuo opened her beautiful eyes wide and took back her empty crystal bottle.

My heart ached terribly, but I didn't say a word.

This is a high-grade magic potion, a concentrated version, worth nearly a hundred gold dragon coins. I wouldn't even dare to drink it myself!

But this guy not only drank it all down like it was juice, but he was still not satisfied!

Moreover, judging from his lingering enjoyment, he didn't seem to be reacting like someone who had been "drunk."

Logically speaking, a normal mage would have collapsed from excessive magic power after drinking a cup in one gulp! Even if he had a resurrection spell, it shouldn't be like this, right?

His "battle rank" is clearly only level 2!

"Hmm? What's wrong, Miss Hino? Why are you staring at me? I feel pretty good right now, although I still feel a little empty, but it seems like I can move forward a little further."

An Xiao glanced at the Sword Maiden and said with great enthusiasm.

He quickly deduced from the fleeting green light in the other person's eyes that they were probably using "Appraisal" on him.

In the Wayne setting book, this is a basic spell that some people with the talent of "Appraisal" can learn.

It is usually cast through the eyes and is also known as the Identification Pupil Technique. Its function is to display as much information about the target as possible in front of one's eyes. The amount of information obtained varies depending on the level of the technique.

[Attributes: Strength F, Agility E, Magic A, Stamina D, Luck B...]

[Talent: Creation SSSSS (Exclusive).]

"..."

This concise information panel comes from her appraisal spell – "Eye of the Wind".

When she first saw An Xiao's panel, she thought she was blind.

After all, he had reviewed information on too many people during his lifetime. Even the most talented court archmage in the empire, Lady Margaret, only had an "SS" level of mastery in fire magic.

Princess, who has awakened the Mark of Radiance, starts with an "S" rank in divine magic.

Of course, she also conducted a "self-assessment" out of curiosity and concluded that her highest ability was "Elemental Sword SSS".

She was very satisfied with the result, and even became complacent, believing that this was the pinnacle of her talent and that there was no one more powerful than 3S.

Today, our understanding has finally collapsed.

Not only was "SSSSS" unprecedented, but she had also never heard of the so-called "creation" system.

Normally, although the Warlock class is rare, its talent branches usually have three main systems: "Curses," "Summoning," and "Shadow." She was very clear about this.

But this guy in front of me doesn't even seem to know the most basic second-level spell—"Shadow Bolt"—yet he managed to resurrect himself...

That's really weird.

"In any case, combat rank often represents the overall combat strength of the target, and they are usually roughly the same."

He clearly had no ability to protect himself, yet he dared to drink the potion so freely; it was truly a waste.

She silently put away the small bottle, turned around somewhat unhappily, and continued leading the way.

An Xiao followed behind her, completely bewildered, wondering what she had done to offend her this time.

In fact, after drinking the potion, he not only failed to fully replenish his body's needs, but he also didn't even replenish half of his magic gauge... At best, it was like drinking a latte to quench his thirst, not even qualifying as an Americano.

My own "20-unit" mana gauge...

It seems that its mana is different from that of other mages.

Furthermore, it's uncertain whether the so-called Mana is actually a unit of magic power.

Or, in other words, is there a conversion rate between the two?

However, there was some good news as well.

Once you have the most basic magic power within you, you can bring up the skill panel again for observation and analysis.

As An Xiao walked and pondered, she suddenly discovered that the original [Resurrect Humans LV1] had been upgraded to [Resurrect Humans LV2] after being used once, and a new function—"Time Enhancement"—had been unlocked.

[Time Enhancement: The decay level of resurrectable corpses is increased to three months, and the duration after resurrection is extended to seven days.]

"Oh?"

A thought struck him.

If I remember correctly, the LV1 resurrection spell is "death time is one month, lasting for three days".

Nowadays, the benefits of increased proficiency are considerable. The most direct advantage is that when you want to extend someone's life, the frequency won't be so high that you'll be drained every three days.

Thinking of this, he glanced at the back of a certain Fiora.

"This is just one creation... If we consider creation magic as a kind of alternative summoning magic, what if the number increases in the future, even exceeding five or ten... Wouldn't I be in a state of constant unconsciousness? Is that reasonable?"

An Xiao rubbed her temples, not daring to imagine that scene.

"Hey, big brother, stop messing with me! With a monthly salary of over 30,000, can't you at least do a decent job?"

He muttered a complaint under his breath, then continued walking with a deflated expression.

...

After walking for a long time, Xinuo suddenly turned to the left and walked up a stone slope.

An Xiao stopped and looked around, realizing that the bottomless tunnel was finally coming to an end.

At the end of the line of sight is a hexagonal stone door resembling a vault. The door is heavy and has wall-mounted torches on the left and right sides for illumination.

They were burning silently at that moment, standing out conspicuously in the empty corridor.

"strangeness."

Hino frowned slightly, subconsciously gripping the hilt of her sword as she slowly approached the door.

An Xiao observed her movements and tiptoed after her.

"What's wrong? Is something the problem?"

"."

Hino didn't respond, nor did she immediately press the mechanical switch next to the stone door. Instead, she pressed her beautiful, fair face against the door, trying to hear the sounds from the other side.

"...How could we hear anything through such a thick stone door?"

An Xiao was a little speechless, feeling that the swordswoman in front of her lacked common sense and that some of her behaviors were a bit too cute.

But on second thought, it makes sense.

In the story, she devoted almost all her time to practicing swordsmanship and was indifferent to other things, which is why she was so amazed by the goblin products.

He hadn't had time to observe her closely in the gloomy, dark cellar, but now that he was so close, he finally had the chance to savor the "creation" he had created.

Overall, her beauty is unique—

It wasn't the unattainable beauty of a high-mountain flower, but rather a kind of pure beauty with a hint of... foolishness, a strange beauty whose mind probably only has cultivation and princesses.

"It seems the lead artist wasn't slacking off; XP is obvious at a glance."

An Xiao muttered to herself, nodding inwardly.

Looking up from behind, the Sword Maiden's soft, long hair reached her waist. Her hair color was not a dazzling gold, but a more approachable amber gold that was more in line with popular aesthetics, giving people a feeling of warmth and naturalness.

Her sword hung diagonally at her waist, its scabbard adorned with a beautiful blend of wind green and floral patterns.

The silver-white light armor she wore was even more noteworthy; rather than being battle armor, it was more accurate to consider it a specially modified battle skirt—

After all, the Sword Saint is not a knight, and wearing chainmail or steel armor would limit her agility. Therefore, under her sorcerer's robe, she was wearing close-fitting leather armor and a leather skirt, which did not affect her flying and teleporting at all.

Upon closer inspection, the leather skirt was surprisingly short, resembling hot pants.

Beneath the skirt, two thin black boot straps gently pierced the flesh of her erogenous zones, connecting a pair of over-the-knee boots.

At this point, it has become art.

"It wasn't in vain that I put so much effort into infusing it with soul."

An Xiao affirmed the aesthetic sense of the main beauty.

Recalling his past at his former company, he couldn't help but sigh softly, filled with mixed emotions.

What many people don't know is that in a typical anime-style game company, developing a game project from scratch often requires the collaborative efforts of several departments.

The lead writer can be understood as the head screenwriter, the lead artist is the art director, and the lead planner is the head of the system, numerical, and combat planning teams.

Finally, the person in charge of finalizing all matters is the "producer," who is also the project boss.

This involves the "chicken or the egg" question.

In some companies, the art director is so strong that the producers often take art as the core, designing characters first, then making gameplay, and then finding writers to build the world view.

In some companies, the producer may be a lead designer himself, and he pays great attention to gameplay. So he first creates a gameplay and then designs the story and art style based on it.

Of course, An Xiao's former boss was different—

His boss is a hardcore novel enthusiast, so he cares most about the story's logic and the grand and vivid worldview.

Therefore, the ecosystem within the former company was dominated by the chief writer, who was at the very top of all demand.

Once the lead writer has laid out the world-building and established the settings, they assign tasks to the lead planner and lead artist, and then all departments must fully cooperate and no requirements may be released in reverse.

This is the true value of top-tier copywriting.

This was also the reason he died suddenly after working on a project all night.

"I wield an astonishing amount of power, but making money is just too difficult."

Seeing the living, breathing Sword Maiden performing all sorts of incredibly human-like actions right before her eyes, An Xiao felt that no matter what, it was all worth it.

"Never mind, let's just go in."

Perhaps because she hadn't heard anything, Xinuo knew something was wrong, but she had no intention of waiting any longer and directly pressed a round button located on the lower right side of the stone gate.

Cave cave cave—

With a mechanical sound, the hexagonal stone door rotated a full circle clockwise, then split in two and slid to the left and right.

Immediately afterwards, Xinuo stretched out her hands and forcefully pulled the bookshelves that were facing away from the room to both sides, and soon the situation in the maids' lounge came into view.

"this……?"

In the large room, cleaning tools were scattered haphazardly on the floor, seemingly untidy.

On more than ten single beds, long black and white maid uniform dresses were simply thrown on them, without being hung up properly at all.

If you sniff carefully, you can smell not only the sweet perfume of the maids, but also the smell of oil from the armor and swords.

Hino was unusually sensitive to this.

"No, no."

She stepped into the house first, ignoring An Xiao's slow movements behind her, and went straight to the wooden door of the room.

"What's going on, Miss Fiora?"

An Xiao also sensed something amiss. After all, the maids who worked in the castle must have received rigorous training, and they wouldn't be so slovenly, even in their own lounge.

If he had to guess what had happened here, the only thing he could think of was that during the process of tidying up the room, the maids were all taken away and interrogated by people who suddenly barged into the room.

There has most likely been a crisis here.

"I can sense the tension, Sorcerer. Please wait here while I go check out the princess's bedroom next door."

With her back to him, she pushed her arm toward the solid wood door as she spoke.

Clearly, a sense of foreboding had enveloped her heart.

Although less than a month has passed since the attack by the villains, a lot must have happened in that time. She has no idea how the princess is doing or what the power dynamics are like within the palace.

An Xiao nodded, recalling the grand scheme of the Alevant Empire, and was about to analyze its power dynamics when suddenly, a conversation with a distinctly threatening tone came from outside the door—

"Your Highness, you have already lost your all-powerful swordswoman, and now, your new young guard has also fallen to my spear. Who can protect you now? Why not seriously consider my suggestion?"

"Stop dreaming! Volta, you disgusting man, you must have something to do with Sister Xinuo's affairs! Don't think I don't know, you...you've long wanted to control the Empire through Xiaowei! You could have avoided so many wars, you could have reduced the bloodshed, but you...you...!"

"Hahaha, what are you saying? Your Highness, your thinking is indeed quite naive. What does the empire rely on if not war? Mercy?"

Can benevolence forge a glorious history? Can it protect its people, expand its territory, and secure more resources?

The man's voice was arrogant and frivolous.

"You...you..."

"You really aren't suited to governing a country. Why don't you just hand over that will to me obediently, okay?"

As you can see, His Majesty has passed away, and the Second Prince Victor will ascend the throne immediately.

He has promised to give you to me in marriage after he is crowned the new queen. Is there anything you are not satisfied with?

Why threaten to kill yourself to refuse?

Regardless of anything else, as the commander-in-chief of the Winged Dragon Cavalry, after the Sword Maiden's death, who can match my martial prowess? Hmm? What is it about me that makes me unworthy of you?

"If you submit to me, I guarantee that no one in this empire will dare touch you. I mean what I say. Otherwise, don't blame me for using force."

"As expected, Father was also harmed by you..."

The girl took a deep breath, gritted her teeth as if she had been prepared, and said, "Ha, I should have guessed. Volta, don't even think about it. Even if I die, you won't be able to touch me."

"Die? Hahahaha, poor Airi, the entire castle is surrounded by my men. Do you think you can just run to the rooftop and jump off in front of me? Give up the fight, I don't want to—"

Soldier: "Commander! She hid scissors in her skirt!!"

"?! Damn it, stop her!"

……

……