Brain bloom

Mori realized that the misunderstanding was getting deeper and deeper, and that she simply couldn't keep it a secret any longer.

Back when she was still conquering the world in her powerful form, she had a rather complicated and unfortunate relationship with this strongest wild boss. Its hunting difficulty was extremely high. She had fought it many times and paid a heavy price, but only once did she succeed.

It has even survived to this day, and... it met Mori.

A powerhouse of this caliber could probably observe a soul directly. Or perhaps Melia had already revealed her identity, so there was really no need to continue this clumsy act.

What made Mori even more uneasy was that this was the first time he had met someone he knew from the gaming era face to face.

“Finanda…long time no see. I never imagined that someone as terrifying as you could be so beautiful.”

"Heh, Sen. It's truly something to miss, to see your soul again." She raised her finger, igniting a flickering crimson dragon flame, her tone softening considerably. "Let me see you now."

She slowly opened her eyes, their ruby-red hue surpassing any jewel.

The fate magic contained within them is carefully suppressed; otherwise, simply opening their eyes would cause destruction far surpassing that of the Calamity Mist. Yet, this very suppression is one of the factors contributing to their beauty and brilliance.

Just as Mori was about to continue explaining, trying to establish a connection, or asking her why she was there, suddenly! A powerful aura, almost blowing her away, erupted from Fernanda—

She quickly realized she was doomed. After all, the blood feud from their past battles couldn't be erased by time. The monstrous dragon, capable of crushing everything in its path, would likely annihilate her enemy's soul...

"Sen! You—"

"I'm warning you not to be impulsive. If we fight, no matter who dies, Melia will be very sad." Mori was prepared to enter his true god state and fight to the death.

"you……"

"I?"

"How did your body... become female?" Fernanda was extremely astonished and kept backing away.

She observes the world with her eyes closed, which allows her to directly perceive the soul. In her eyes, Mori's soul is the Mori she knows. But this appearance... Fernanda couldn't believe it. She closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and then suddenly opened them again.

This time, my gaze lingered for several seconds, imprinting every detail of Mori's face into my mind.

She only closed her eyes hastily when the magic of fate in her eyes seemed impossible to suppress.

Then she murmured, "It really looks good... but I wonder what she'll think if she finds out."

"Let's not talk about this anymore."

In a sense, Mori would rather fight her, even if he couldn't win.

When she first started playing this game, Mori crafted and obtained some outfits, and needed models to take screenshots for easier sales. But inexplicably, she couldn't log into anyone else's account, so she created this "Little Strawberry" account and became the fashion model herself.

Now is not the time to dwell on past hardships and appreciate present happiness.

Mori asked again, "My main body... I mean, didn't I tell you about my pessimistic side of my soul? That his other body is a seasonal girl."

Fernanda fell into deep thought.

"Mori has very few memories, only that there was a Four Seasons Person or something."

"Alright, since we're not enemies, you're here to help?"

"I'm not sure. I came here to see the Evil Mist and the ruins. I never expected to discover Sen's soul. Although that taciturn man was my mortal enemy, he was indeed powerful and reliable... But how did he become such a delicate and beautiful little girl...?"

She grimaced and spat out a mouthful of dragon flame, clearly still bothered by the fact that he was no longer hers.

Then she added angrily, "No wonder Melia made all sorts of excuses to stay in Silvermoon City for several days..."

Volume 1, Chapter 246: The Man Embracing the Mist

“I have a lot of questions for you,” Mori said sincerely. “Perhaps Mori has already asked them once, but I don’t have his memory. I… have a lot of things I want to understand.”

"Mori didn't ask me; someone else gave him the answer... So, unless you tell me her name, I won't answer any of your questions. But don't worry, for Melia's sake, I won't hurt you, Strawberry."

She finished her last sentence with a sarcastic remark and then extinguished the dragon flame on her finger.

Even though darkness shrouded the two, it couldn't conceal the fact that Fernanda was a terrifying dragon. Perhaps, as she said, she wouldn't actually attack, but the intense hostility still spurred Mori to action.

"Name? You mean that succubus?" she asked, bracing herself against the pressure.

"Otherwise what? You've forgotten about it too."

"No, of course I remember."

“That was 120 years ago,” Fernanda said incredulously.

"It wasn't that long ago for me—I remember it all. She lived in a desolate rose garden... She called herself 'the thornless flower,' and her name was Ten Colors, which was quite unique."

Just like the name of the banshee, this is an instance that exudes elegance from head to toe.

It was another hidden dungeon that she had painstakingly found and explored, so Mori remembered it very clearly. Not to mention, that lone banshee was extremely difficult to deal with, and Mori had studied her for a long time.

When Mori uttered that name, it was like a suitable key opening a door, allowing Mori to escape a death trap. However, it wasn't that complicated; it was simply that Fernanda had dissipated her murderous aura.

“It’s good that you remember her. Don’t forget her.” Fernanda was very happy. “Perhaps you and Sen are not the same person, but your souls are still connected, and you are the soul she loved.”

"I hope that part of my soul... hasn't let her down." That was all Mori could say.

Fernanda was a witness to all of that, and Mori probably still remembers the name; it holds a unique meaning for her. But in any case, it's all a story from a bygone era.

After that, she stopped talking about these things and focused on the present moment that she was experiencing firsthand.

"strangeness."

"What...what's wrong now?"

"Something's not right about this ruin. Why are they all hiding? And there should be a very powerful guardian."

Mori was taken aback: "...Guardian?"

"Yes, the guardian is gone. And look, isn't all of this laid bare before us? Completely unprepared."

Sen Shi was stunned. All the previous events rushed into her mind. Because of Fernanda's sudden and forceful appearance, she had forgotten that she was still doing this.

Yes... explore the ruins!

Fernanda even pushed open that door! That is to say… Mori looked over cautiously, increasing the brightness of the gem inside his skull. The place where those “traveling souls” resided was right before him, and the doors were wide open.

However, unlike the nine monsters, there weren't any particularly exciting scenes here.

Mori was a little disappointed. He had thought that ten thousand corpses would be used as bricks to build a blood-soaked passage leading to a huge human slaughterhouse or something. It seemed he had been dreaming.

Behind the door was a fairly large room, about the size of a basketball court, and it was very quiet.

The walls were clean and smooth, the floor was level, and various pseudo-artificial structures could be seen all around, some for lighting, others for unknown purposes. There were also other doors, possibly leading to other places.

If this place is inhabited by people from the underground world, it would probably be just one big family.

The only thing that caught Mori's attention in the room was the twelve large rectangular boxes that were placed there.

"I wonder what's in these boxes..." Mori muttered to himself.

“Those are coffins,” Fernanda said casually.

"……Well."

"Heh, aren't you the coffin deliverer? Can't you tell that you're the mascot of your Holy Coffin Kingdom?" she mocked, having already thoroughly understood Sen Shi's soul essence.

Sen Shi's face turned ashen. He never expected that coming to the underwater ruins to fight monsters and level up would turn into something akin to tomb raiding.

"What's in the coffin?"

"A corpse, huh?"

"Whose?"

Fernanda slowly explained, "Of course, it's these 'traveling souls,' who were driven from their homes and are constantly searching for the direction of Eden Bank underground. But immortality is difficult, and of course, some of them will die."

"Is this just an ordinary place for storing corpses?"

"It's not ordinary either... Okay, stop asking me, it's too much trouble to explain. You can go and ask the residents here."

Fernanda pointed to one of the coffins, causing Mori's heart to skip a beat. Didn't this mean they were going to open the coffin? She was the one who delivered the coffin, not the one who opened it...

But her eyes spotted something different—behind the coffin, in the corner of the wall, something was trembling.

There was no wind here, and it didn't look like anything man-made. It seemed... to be the native inhabitants of this underground world. Sen Shi tensed up. This was a race that manipulated the Evil Mist, fed tens of thousands of souls, and used nine level 90 monsters to guard the gate.

"I need to be careful..."

"What's there to be careful about? It's just a resident who got scared. Do you have some other explanation?"

"Scared? Oh... because the ancient calamity dragon that tore apart truth has arrived."

“I think you’re more terrifying,” Fernanda said meaningfully, looking directly at Mori. “No matter what, you’re still a Four Seasons Man.”

Mori didn't take it seriously, figuring it was probably just Fernanda being sarcastic again; she probably just liked that way of speaking, and there was nothing Mori could do about it. She hugged the skull tightly and walked toward the underground residents hiding in the corner.

It wasn't that she wanted to know if there were any hidden monsters that hadn't been brought out; rather, she was simply curious about everything.

The one trembling in the corner was the soul of a little boy, quite handsome. But unlike humans, this soul possessed a deeply repulsive aura, and being transparent and black, it clearly belonged to something extremely evil.

This was the first time Mori had encountered this race, the "traveling souls" chasing after Eden Bank, but it was quite different from his impression.

He clutched his head, huddled in a corner, trembling, helpless and miserable. His fear intensified when he saw Mori approaching.

As he approached, Sen Shi noticed that the little boy's soul was actually holding a large, extremely condensed mass of evil mist, like a child holding a pet dog, but both of them were trembling incessantly.

"Such a strong ominous mist... releasing it might cause problems."

“Four Seasons… don’t, don’t come any closer… spare me.” He spoke with utmost despair, his words barely comprehensible but carrying a strong regional accent. “But my cursed mist will not be given to you.”

"I don't want to. Besides... do you have the right to be afraid of me? A wandering soul, right?" Mori was afraid of him; those monsters were truly terrifying.

"You have... used such terrifying, brutal, and tyrannical methods to torture and kill the guardians who protected our ancestors..."

“So it was you.” Fernanda nodded, her gaze towards Moritoki becoming even more subtle, as if Moritoki were the villain who had committed the evil deed.

Volume 1 # I'm taking a day off for National Day, and there's some other news.

I think it's not too much to ask to take a day off... Yeah, I think so too.

It's been a long time since I've had a day off, and I've already figured out how I'm going to spend it—

I got up at 14 p.m., brushed my teeth and took a shower, and then happily cooked oatmeal and milk, adding some raisins and blueberries, as well as the small pancakes I baked a few days ago for breakfast.

And so, I read everyone's comments and reviews from yesterday, feeling happy because of the praise and laughing at the various witty remarks. I would also quietly mute those stupid, mindless readers who were just spouting nonsense.

After eating, I'll take out the ribs I marinated yesterday, coat them with Moon Crow (a special recipe) sauce, and marinate them a second time to prepare for lunch... and then... I'll continue writing.

After all, the leave I requested was for October 1st.