Alex couldn't help but worry that continuing to converse with this peculiar little girl might drive him insane, so he shifted his attention to the doomed wolf not far away, entering the wolf's territory once again. Holding the Eternal Moment of Destiny in his hand, the exaggerated appearance of the weapon would make people notice it first rather than him when they looked at him for the first time. It wasn't a sword, nor a knife, nor a blunt object. Entirely black, its irregular shape was impossible to describe, with seven holes emitting different colors... It could be confirmed that wherever it went, whoever held it, it would become the center of attention.
The length of the Eternal Moment combined with Alex's arm length allowed his attack range to cover a radius of two meters in front of him. At this moment, Alex didn't need to attract the hatred of a single wolf to prevent more wolves from coming. He charged directly into the dense pack of wolves without any hesitation, and as he entered their range of hatred, pairs of eyes gleaming with blood locked onto him, their owners charging toward him amidst a chorus of wolf howls.
Swinging the Eternal Moment diagonally, he traced a black arc parallel to the ground, hitting the three wolves running in the front simultaneously. -85, -87, -85, three brilliant red damage numbers floated up at the same time. With Alex's attack power nearly surpassing one hundred at this moment, dealing with this pack of wolves no longer posed the pressure it did before. His attacks slightly slowed the momentum of the three wolves charging at him, and then Alex stepped back, swinging his sword twice in succession, instantly killing the three wolves that had just approached him.
"Oh la la! Master is so powerful, defeating all these little monsters, defeat them all!" Candy's voice made Alex's mind involuntarily muddled, nearly surrounded by five wolves pouncing at him. He moved hurriedly to change his position, but he was still clawed twice by two wolves. He struck three times in succession to kill all the wolves he intentionally gathered in front of him, and finally, the wonderful level-up notification sound rang in his ears.
"Ding... Your level has increased to level 1. HP +10, MP +10, gained 5 attribute points." Allocating all the 5 attribute points gained from leveling up to strength, Alex's attack power instantly exceeded one hundred. Wolves that previously required three hits to defeat could now occasionally be dispatched in just two strikes.
Leveling up in" Destiny "was unprecedentedly difficult. It took the accumulation of one hundred experience points to advance from Zero to level one, but the leap from level one to level two required a whopping one thousand points. Such an exaggerated leap had never been seen in the history of virtual games.
As two more wolves fell simultaneously in front of him, Alex glanced at the accumulating wolf corpses around him. He picked up a few coins scattered on the ground, which amounted to only five copper coins. Despite the ten points of luck bestowed by the Destiny's blessing, the drop rate of the wolves clearly increasing, the system still remained stingy, to the point of exasperation. Apart from a few lonely coins, not even a bottle of healing potion had dropped.
Stepping out of the wolf territory, Alex had decided to temporarily return to the novice village to learn gathering skills in order to complete the task that interested him. Holding the peculiar and eerie Eternal Moment of Destiny, Alex still had a surreal feeling as if he were in a dream. He tentatively tried to recall the Eternal Moment of Destiny like he would with ordinary equipment, and suddenly, the massive Eternal Moment of Destiny disappeared from his sight, but instead of returning to his backpack, it transformed into a pendant-like state and hung around his neck on a mysterious black thread.
There were always some inexplicable mysteries in the world. Holding the Eternal Moment of Destiny in the palm of his hand, Alex couldn't fathom the secrets hidden within it, but he could be sure of one thing... Its appearance would signify something... Signify that even without a profession, his starting point would be much higher than that of other players.
Fair or unfair?
"Oh la la! Master, where are you going?" Seeing Alex heading south, Candy immediately floated behind him. Her floating height was about the same as Alex's shoulder height. She had no wings behind her, nor did she make any movement with her hands or feet, but floated like a clump of cotton supported by the wind.
"Going back." Alex replied heavily, his mind flashing through the bizarre events from before.
"Where are you going back to? Are you going to a fun place? Or are you going back to Master's home?"
"... "
"Master, you haven't bought candy for me to eat yet. I'm the cutest and most obedient Loli Candy. How can I not eat candy?"
"... "
"Oh la la! Master, you're so impolite! I'm such a cute Loli asking you questions, and you're ignoring me! Hey! Despicable Master, can't you hear me talking?"
Alex's thoughts were thoroughly disrupted, finally reached his limit. He halted his steps abruptly and swung his hand, grabbing the small girl from the air. As he held her in his hand, a soft and warm sensation immediately enveloped his palm, causing Alex's hand to involuntarily relax slightly. With a cold expression on his face, he sternly said, "No more talking!!"
Candy's body was only about thirty centimeters long in total, and Alex's hand easily held her from her waist to her calf. Her eyes widened, her body stiffened, clearly stunned. Slowly, her petite lips flattened, and her bright eyes began to shimmer with tears... Then, with a loud wail, she burst into tears.
"Waaah!! You're bullying me, you're bullying me... You're bullying me!!"
In her cries, which made Alex's eardrums throb, tears poured down like a torrential flood, quickly soaking Alex's hand. Her sorrowful cries were as if she had suffered the greatest injustice in the world, enough to make anyone who heard them ache with sympathy. Though her body was small, her cries were surprisingly loud, echoing far in the open wilderness.
Alex's scalp tingled, and a hint of panic appeared in his expression. The desperate cries seemed utterly genuine, without a trace of pretense, and the torrent of tears was undeniably real. The sorrow in her voice even made Alex feel as if he had committed the cruelest act in the world, causing his previously composed demeanor to crumble. He quickly released his grip, cradling her in his hand, and lowered his head, speaking in the gentlest tone possible, "Alright, alright, it's my fault. Candy, don't cry anymore..."
Candy's body floated as if weightless. Alex had never imagined himself frantically trying to comfort a little girl like this before. His attempts at consolation were futile, and Candy's cries only grew louder. "Waaah... You're bullying me! You're bullying me!"
"Be good, it's my fault. I promise I won't bully Candy anymore, okay?" Alex struggled to force a gentle smile, a smile that had rarely appeared on his face, now greatly distorted.
"Waa... You're lying, you're lying! How could you be so mean? I'm so cute and obedient, how could you bully me... Waaah!" Candy continued to cry, her tears quickly soaking Alex's palm once again. Alex's mouth twitched, and even his heart seemed to convulse. From childhood to adulthood, in all his memories, he had always been pampered by "her"... He had never comforted anyone before.
"If Candy stops crying, I promise I won't bully her anymore. I'll also really like the world's cutest and most obedient loli, Candy. Is that okay?" Alex racked his brains, forcing himself to utter these comforting words that made him feel extremely uncomfortable. As soon as he finished speaking, he almost felt as if his self-awareness had been completely overturned. He could only pray for the world to quiet down immediately.
As he had hoped, the world indeed quieted down, and it happened so quickly that Alex could barely regain his composure. Candy's face was covered in glistening tears, her eyes wide open, filled with droplets that hadn't had the chance to fall, reflecting a remarkably captivating brilliance. However, her crying had completely stopped, and even the previously extremely aggrieved expression had completely disappeared. Then, she spoke very seriously, "Oh la la! Is what Master said true?"
"...It's true." Alex forced the words out with a stiff demeanor, as if squeezing them out from between his teeth. The abrupt shift from stormy emotions to a bright disposition was stark. He now found himself doubting whether he had fallen into the trap of this little girl.
"Wow! Wow!" Little Candy cheered, her face still adorned with droplets of water, but radiating joyous excitement. "Master's words count... Mmm! I want lollipops..."
Alex:"..."
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