stonecrandall Chapter 550 Is this still a combined system?
Chapter 550 Is this still a combined system?
The Gate of Fox Virtue, a world that Heart Moon Fox is most proud of in her mind.
It is also the largest mental world ever confirmed.
The rules here were meticulously crafted by Kokoro, and are defined as "TRPG with dice-based turn-based combat" as the foundation for everyone's fun adventure, making it extremely popular in the magical girl community.
The rulebook and player manual for "Fox Virtue Gate 1+2", released by Xin Yuehu himself, have been packaged and put on the shelves. They are selling like hotcakes, with the first batch selling out within five minutes, seemingly poised to reignite a TRPG craze.
...However, if this is truly the mental world I know, then everything here seems strange:
Turn-based combat?
"Fireball! Five in a row!"
"Boom boom boom boom boom!!!"
Five flaming orbs shot from the young mage's fingertips, flying toward the slender, dark figure that surged toward them like a tidal wave. The explosions roared and surged in the heatwave, instantly clearing a large open area, leaving only countless ashes.
A fun adventure?
Before the irises could catch their breath, countless dark shadows filled the gaps created by the fireball explosions, and the offensive continued.
"Why are there so many of them!?"
"Iris said in surprise, her magic surging in her hands. She raised her staff high and whispered to herself, following another voice that arose in her mind:
"Sixth-Order Technique... [Anonymous - Blizzard]!"
TRPG (Trading with Dice)?
The blizzard formed by magic raged across the sky, instantly covering a large open area in front of the young mage. The monsters formed from black shadows gradually slowed down in the snow and soon shattered into countless ice sculptures.
Iris finally got a brief respite, activated her flight technique to lift her onto the roof of a nearby dilapidated building, where she could catch her breath for a moment.
No, everything seems wrong.
This is a big problem!
Not only were there no familiar NPCs set up by Xin Yuehu in the city, but there was also no one to communicate with—those shadowy figures were completely mindless monsters, and they did nothing except pounce on you when you got close enough.
It's like a puppet whose actions are pre-programmed; it has no self-awareness and only follows the preset path.
Thinking of this, the iris quietly peeked out, glanced at the bewildered black shadows on the ground who had lost their target, and silently withdrew her head back to the edge of the roof.
"call……"
The girl let out a soft breath, looked down at her familiar mage attire, and doubts rose in her heart once again.
Where am I? Am I in a dream, or have I been brought into Xin Yuehu's mental world? Or am I in some more dangerous situation...?
Iris had no time to think. Following her memories of her adventures in the world of imagination, she rummaged through her bag, trying to find some useful items.
After fiddling around for a while, the young mage pulled out a small medicine bottle containing a clear blue liquid. When the cork was removed, it released a refreshing blueberry scent.
Premium Mana Potion (Blueberry Flavor)
After staring at the suspicious bottle of potion for a long time, and repeatedly confirming that there was absolutely no such useless "mana potion" in her bag, Iris still tentatively took a sip.
Hmm, it tastes pretty good, it definitely has a blueberry flavor.
A bottle of potion was poured down his throat, and the magic power that had been depleted by a sixth-order spell was immediately restored, with an excellent effect.
Only then did the iris have time to carefully observe the surrounding scenery.
My last memory of the Gate of the Fox was of the moment I left the world of my mind—a time of sunset, with countless merchant ships docked in the harbor, streets filled with familiar NPCs playing the role of residents, and a grand celebration ceremony taking place in front of the mage tower. The archdruid and the archmage renewed their peace treaty, and amidst the cheers of the city's inhabitants, they offered their blessings to the adventurers who were going to defeat the demon king.
As for the Gate of Fox Virtue that I see now... it would be a stretch to say that it is dilapidated and desolate. It looks like it has been plowed through by artillery fire. The streets are full of broken bricks and rubble, and dark shadows lurk in the shadows. Even the air is heavy with a grim atmosphere.
Especially the mage tower that was broken in two. Iris didn't even notice where the other half was when she was in front of the square. It wasn't until she ran far away that she finally saw the location of the upper half: it had collapsed a commercial district and lay quietly in the ruins, like a broken tree waiting to rot.
Something is definitely wrong, Iris thought.
The Gate of Fox Virtue could not possibly look like this. It doesn't suit Xin Yuehu's interests, and she would never specially set up such a battle-damaged scene just for a prank. This would require several times, or even dozens of times, more effort than building a fully functional city.
Unless Xin Yuehu is bored out of his mind.
However, it's unlikely that Xin Yuehu would be idle and bored when faced with the immense threat of Garuda.
Just as Iris was racking her brains trying to figure out her current situation, a slight sound of wings flapping and disturbing the air came from there. She immediately looked toward the source of the faint sound and met the eyes of the petite figure that was frantically flying toward her ruins.
"Gurgle! Click-click-click—hiss—!"
The girl instantly spread her wings and lowered her head. The owl instantly puffed up into a feather ball, its upper and lower teeth clashing together, and a deep, guttural sound, unique to owl-winged people, came from its throat, making it look like a large bird that had been startled and was panting.
The iris stood frozen in place, staring in astonishment at the familiar face before her.
The other person seemed to recognize him immediately, hurriedly stopped breathing, and an embarrassed look appeared in his amber eyes. He instantly changed from a fluffy badminton shuttlecock to a tense bird stick mode.
"Oh, iris?! ... Hugs, I'm so sorry, I was just too nervous. I thought you were... you were one of those monsters..."
The winged girl scratched her head awkwardly with her magical hand.
Iris didn't mind Sasha's breath, and had no time to think about why she saw Sasha in this place where dreams and mental images were indistinguishable. But from Sasha's words, she realized one thing—that in Sasha's eyes, she should remain in the state of Iris.
Was this a dream or a prank by the Moon Fox in his mental world? He truly couldn't tell.
"You mean those dark shadows on the ground?" Iris asked.
The winged sorcerer girl nodded repeatedly, her face filled with fear and lingering dread.
"Yes, yes, these are it."
"As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw them stand up from the shadows. They looked absolutely terrifying. I was thinking of going closer to check if I had seen something strange, but when they saw me, they pounced on me like...like they were going to bite me!"
"Their mouths are this big, and their teeth are this long, it's really super, super scary!"
"So I ran and ran, ran and ran, from one side to the other, until I couldn't run anymore, so I thought I'd fly up to see if there was any way out, and then..."
After uttering a long, fragmented statement, Sasha recovered somewhat from her shock and took a deep breath.
"Huff, huff... But speaking of which, why are you here, Iris? I thought I was dreaming—ah, if this is a nightmare, will pricking myself wake me up?"
"Hey? Wait a minute..."
Before Iris could finish speaking, the winged girl pulled a fallen feather from her wing and, without thinking, stabbed it into Lolu's thigh.
[Health Points -1], accompanied by a sharp bird cry.
Sasha was in so much pain that tears streamed down her face.
"This is probably not what you think. We're not in a dream; it's more like we've been caught up in some unknown and dangerous situation."
"Huh? A dangerous situation?"
The winged girl repeated the sentence in a low voice, blinked, and looked completely confused.
"Isn't this the world of Heart Moon Fox's mind? I remember lying in bed getting ready to sleep, and then suddenly... What, where is this place? Is there something... dangerous here...?!"
Seeing that her expression was becoming increasingly frightened, Iris quickly stepped forward to comfort her, gently stroking the feathers on her head that were standing up high due to tension. This method seemed to help Sasha calm down quickly.
However, an unusual noise instantly put them on alert:
"Click-clack".
"Click-clack".
"Crack!"
A pitch-black hand climbed up the edge of the building ruins.
Then came the second, the third... The black shadows climbed up from around the house, opening their pitch-black maws toward the two people sitting on the roof, emitting a piercing, inhuman shriek.
"They...they've climbed up here! Aaaaaaah!"
Sasha stammered in fright and tried to shrink behind the iris, but she found that there were also dark shadows climbing up from the other side of the building. One or two of them had even leaned half their bodies onto the roof, and a blood-red light shone from their head-like parts, as if they were watching her. It made her break out in a cold sweat.
But, the next second.
Iris raised her staff high, its tip emitting a dazzling light!
"Fourth-order method—"
"[Anonymous - Storm Shock]!"
"Whoosh!!"
The staff pierced the ground, and magic erupted into a powerful storm above their heads. The strong winds whipped up countless dust and pebbles, naturally blowing away all the dark shadows that were trying to climb onto the roof.
Iris didn't know why this magic had popped into her head—but she had indeed prepared a spell list for her mage character's future upgrades when creating the character card, and the spell list seemed to actually contain this powerful spell from the Evocation school.
"Whoa! Is this magic?!"
Sasha clung tightly to the iris from behind in terror to prevent herself from being blown away as well. Her wings covered most of the iris's body, with only two hands and a head sticking out from between the feathers.
Before the storm had subsided, the sound of irises followed:
"Don't just stand there like an idiot, take this opportunity and run!"