Xin directed a simple fire spell toward the Vulture, but it only caused a mere 80% reduction in its health. The combination of his weak spell and weapon was not enough to defeat the creature in one shot.
The Vulture screeched and lunged at Xin with its sharp claws.
Uncertain of how to engage in physical combat, Xin had no other option but to rely on his sword. With the fire spell still on cooldown, he bravely faced the incoming attack and swiftly thrust his sword into the creature's head.
When the Vulture's claws struck Xin's arm, he felt a slight decrease in his health points. However, he swiftly finished off the Giant Vulture with his sword, causing it to disintegrate into particles.
Xin defeated the Giant Vulture and received some EXP, gil, and common items as rewards. But, his encounter with Skylark, the angry woman from before, continued.
Facing her wrath, Xin saw her name above her health bar and learned it was Skylark.
Skylark approached him, pointing angrily, and blamed him for not saving her earlier. Xin couldn't understand why it was his responsibility.
"You could have helped me earlier!" Skylark accused, her voice filled with frustration. "You let that Vulture chase me and waste my mana! And I fell into the dirt because of you!"
Xin remained calm and replied, "If you can't handle a foe, its better not to engage it. It's common knowledge."
Skylark's face turned red with anger and embarrassment, and she addressed Xin, her eyes briefly pausing on his peculiar name, Lord Schrodinger.
"I'm not an idiot to engage a Giant Vulture!" she retorted. "They roam the skies and attack anyone in sight. I just happened to be passing by when that angry bird chased me out of nowhere."
Xin was still confused about why she was explaining herself to him. "Then . . . I will go now," he said, wanting to focus on his own tasks.
Skylark grabbed his clothes, causing him to stop. He turned back, appearing calm but sounding annoyed. "What is it?" he asked.
Skylark seemed baffled as she let go of him. "You . . . you really don't know me?"
"Should I?" Xin replied.
"Of course, you should!" she exclaimed. "Any sane, healthy young man should know me, Sky! Unless, of course, you're a woman hiding in a male's avatar, then I understand the indifference."
Xin remained silent, not quite sure how to respond to her assumption about his sanity.
"Wait. Maybe this will refresh your memory." Skylark took a step back and struck a pose as if in front of a camera. "Hello! Hello! Uwu! This is your gaming girl, Sky from Zone D!" She made a peace sign over her twinkling eyes, winked, and stuck out her tongue to finish her whole pose.
It was so cringe that Xin had to leave the scene.
"Huuraahh!" Skylark shouted and quickly went after him, blocking his path. "This is the part where you should say that you remember me! I'm a very popular streamer, you know!"
"Is that so?" Xin replied with little interest.
Skylark stared at Lord Schrodinger's unbothered face, feeling her energy deplete under his uninterested gaze. "You really don't know me? That can't be . . . is my end truly near? "I deleted my old account and made a new one to gain more views, but . . ."
She fell on all fours on the ground. "Is four million views all I could gather?"
Four million? Xin's lethargic eyes slightly bulged. He didn't know much about streaming, but he knew that having that many views would make someone popular online.
Skylark must have started streaming while he was in a coma, so he didn't know her. He wasn't into watching streamers, but he occasionally saw them in ads and billboards, so he knew the popular ones, even if he didn't want to.
"Isn't four million views already a lot?" Xin commented.
"Of course not!" Skylark replied with bloodshot eyes. "In the past, I could gain fifty million views! But now, my views are dwindling each day."
She sighed and looked dejected to the side. "Maybe because I'm getting old. I'm turning twenty, and viewers like fresh faces."
"You're still young," Xin tried to console her.
Skylark slowly stood up, looking like an aging woman. "I'm already in the middle of my lifespan."
Xin wanted to point out that a human's middle lifespan was around forty, but he kept quiet.
However, Skylark's depressed expression suddenly turned into a bright smile. Her mood changed at a snap of a finger.
"This is just my third day here. The camera features are still blocked on this newbie island," she muttered enthusiastically.
"The four million views is only about the topic of me deleting my account. Once I leave this newbie island and go into the world of Eternia to stream my new race and class, I'll gain even more views!"
Xin didn't quite understand what she was talking about, so he decided to leave.
"Hey, wait!" Skylark blocked Lord Schrodinger's path again and put on a flustered expression, complete with teary eyes that avoided his gaze. No man could surely resist this gesture of hers. "Do you want to . . . partner up?"
"No," Xin replied without hesitation.
Skylark was caught off guard by Lord Schrodinger's quick and straightforward response.
"Huh?! Why? It'd be easier to grind if there were two of us. Look around you. You'd rarely see solo players. What's more, we could beat a group of beasts with the two of us working together and gain more EXP. It's the quickest way to level up!" Skylark urged.
Lord Schrodinger's level was 15, and in this newbie island, players who reached that level were sought after in a group.
She was lucky that she found him first. She didn't see anyone around him, so she assumed that he was soloing.
Most players, when they reached level 15 and above, chose to leave the island. So these kinds of players on the island were few.
'He must have been on this island for days now to get his level to fifteen,' Skylark thought, though she hadn't seen him around the island. They must have missed each other. The island was big, after all.
"Not interested," Xin replied and went back to his foraging spot while Skylark could only watch him go.
When Lord Schrodinger's form disappeared from her sight, Skylark pouted and frowned. "What a strange guy."
She stretched her arms and let out a deep sigh. She then went back to town to complete more quests while she muttered to herself, "And what kind of name is Lord Schrodinger? Weirdo."