And so, Luo Lin and Kiana naturally became friends.
Kiana, along with the other children, came to Luo Lin's house and swiftly devoured the snacks Luo Lin offered at an extraordinary speed.
Perhaps feeling a bit embarrassed about constantly being watched by others, Kiana subconsciously ate a little less (though not significantly so). However, Luo Lin, who had been paying close attention to her, discreetly told her she could take some more before leaving, causing the white-haired bundle to blush deeply.
Later on, after Kiana and Luo Lin became close, Kiana would come alone to eat snacks at Luo Lin's house, much like how one would mooch off others in the town for meals.
Luo Lin would then pinch Kiana's cheeks and pat her head, actions which the white-haired bundle didn't mind, seeming to consider them as the "price" she had to pay in exchange for snacks.
As the relationship between Luo Lin and Kiana soared, the large-scale drama series, "Saint Freya's Ace Instructor Assists B-Rank Valkyrie to New Heights," continued to heat up within the system space.
Having come to terms with herself, Himeko Murata ignited a fierce determination, vowing to impart all her lifelong knowledge to Luo Lin.
Thanks to the perfect simulated combat environment provided by the system, from grunts to Herrschers, from organisms to mechs, and even quantum monsters never seen by Himeko before... everything was present in the Infinity Abyss.
Himeko utilized these diverse enemies to demonstrate her combat skills, teaching Luo Lin how to gain the upper hand in battles with these techniques.
Currently, Luo Lin was practicing with a training greatsword, learning sword-related techniques from Himeko.
Of course, for now, Luo Lin's primary attack methods were still Kaslana Gun Fu and grenades. However, in order to better coordinate with Himeko in combat, it was necessary for her to understand how to use a greatsword as well.
"With a greatsword, the most important thing is to utilize its weight," Himeko explained as she wielded a training greatsword, swiftly slashing with it, the sword seemingly floating like a feather in her hands, leaving Luo Lin wide-eyed.
"A greatsword may not have the range of a handgun, but it can control the enemy's posture, crush armor and shields—if necessary, you can even use it to alter the terrain during combat."
Himeko tapped the floor regretfully, her face filled with disappointment. "It's a pity that the floor in this space is unaffected, otherwise, I could demonstrate it for you."
After a brief theoretical lesson, Luo Lin prepared for practical combat in the Infinity Abyss.
Above the familiar scoreboard, the large "Original Sin III" tier badge gleamed brightly.
"Original Sin III, I'm back!"
It could only be said that diligent practice could indeed change a person's strength.
The efforts during this period not only allowed Luo Lin to climb back to Original Sin III but also made her combat skills in the Abyss more mature.
After the familiar alarm, Luo Lin and Himeko formed a "vanguard-rearguard" duo.
Himeko maintained her style of "let the wind and rain come, I'll break through with my greatsword," swiftly reducing non-heavy defense Herrschers and grunts to rubble within three rounds.
As for enemies with strong defenses, they were dealt with differently. Himeko would attract the attention of the enemy, using her fierce greatsword attacks to pressure them into defense.
Luo Lin followed behind her, constantly harassing defensive enemies, making them expose vulnerabilities for Himeko to exploit.
At the same time, Luo Lin would use projectiles and handguns to drive back enemies attempting to surround them.
This kind of coordination might sound simple, but it was very difficult to achieve in practice.
Because Luo Lin's most powerful output and support tool at the moment were various projectiles she carried, which were area attacks and didn't discriminate between friend or foe. If the timing wasn't mastered well, it was easy to interfere with allies' movements or even accidentally injure friendly forces.
Fortunately, the difficult part had passed, and Luo Lin and Himeko had gained some insights, allowing them to gradually adapt to the intense battles of the Infinity Abyss, with their final scores stabilizing within a certain range.
At least they could maintain their ranking in Original Sin III.
As for Memorial Arena, it was still the same. Luo Lin, Himeko, and little Bianka would fight with all their might just to raise their ranking to 85 percent.
The remaining part entirely depended on whether the players behind them would remember to click on the arena.
If they did, then Luo Lin would only be left laughing behind at the 90 percent mark.
---
Kiana crouched in a dark corner, covering her ears.
"Hee hee~☆... Hey☆ Hee hee..."
Something pressed against her body, its breath brushing against her spine, causing the girl to shiver uncontrollably.
"Why aren't you suspicious?" The voice by her ear sounded puzzled, leisurely saying,
"Why didn't your father tell you your name much earlier earlier? Why is he so unfamiliar with you? Even less so than Luo Lin, whom you just met?"
"Ugh... Don't speak ill of my dad!" The white-haired bundle couldn't help but retort.
"Oh~☆ So you were actually listening to me seriously? I thought there was something wrong with your ears!" The blurry figure chuckled, reaching out to stroke Kiana's throat.
"You look... so annoying!" The shadow harshly gripped the white-haired bundle's neck, two golden glints shimmering.
"Soon, I'll be leaving here!!"
"—Waaah!" Kiana woke up from the dream, tumbling off the sofa and falling onto the carpet.
She panted heavily, clutching her throat as if something had made it difficult for her to breathe...
"Gurgle~" The white-haired bundle's stomach rumbled, indicating hunger.
Kiana instantly pushed aside the vague dream and hurriedly ran to the kitchen, searching for something to fill her stomach.
A few minutes later, the girl disappointedly found that the cupboard was empty, with nothing left.
"So hungry... Ah, right, Sister Luo Lin!" Kiana leaned on the window, looking towards the nearby house. Though the sky had already darkened, the lights in Luo Lin's living room were still on—indicating that she was still engaged in artistic creation and hadn't rested yet.
After intense mental struggle, lasting about a dozen seconds, she changed into her clothes, grabbed her keys, and rushed over there.
"Knock knock knock, Sister Luo Lin!"
Luo Lin opened the door, surprised to see the white-haired bundle looking weak. In a panic, she quickly pulled her into the room.
"Kiana, what's wrong? Where does it hurt?!"
"... I'm hungry."
Luo Lin chuckled helplessly, fetched some biscuits from the kitchen, and watched as
Kiana happily ate them, sitting on the sofa and pinching the white-haired bundle's cheeks. "Aside from being hungry?"
Kiana hesitated for a moment, and her hand, which was holding the biscuit, stopped.
"... I had a nightmare."
She spoke softly, "It was very scary... a very scary nightmare."
The Valkyrie stared at Kiana's lowered brows and eyes, a golden glint flashing from deep within her pupils.
That was definitely not an illusion.
Luo Lin's body stiffened.
It couldnt be the queen is awakening now is she?