Silver Wolf abilities, after all, relied heavily on her hacking skills and her Aether Editing. So technically, all of her attacks were considered hacking attacks. But as she thought more about it, she began to worry. Was she right about this?
As she held her weapon, she noticed her Aether Editing's abilities were fully functional again. The moment she regained control, she activated a teleportation coordinate, sending over the rewards she had prepared earlier.
When the teleport activated, both Silver Wolf and Herta widened their eyes in surprise. They watched as the teleportation portal sparked and emitted fireworks. Since it was considered part of Silver Wolf's hacking skills, the teleportation effect triggered the fireworks.
Not only was Silver Wolf stunned, but Herta also narrowed her eyes, observing closely.
It was almost comedic—fireworks during a teleport. Sure, Herta could add such effects, but to have it happen so effortlessly, just from using an ability? It was intriguing. The idea of having celebratory fireworks every time she used teleportation was amusing, but adding effects during teleportation was a waste of energy, and not something just anyone could afford to do.
At that moment, Silver Wolf was even more certain of her thoughts. She handed over the items she had teleported. "Here, these were supposed to be your mission rewards. You can have them now."
What? Not going to hand them over?
Silver Wolf remembered Kafka's prediction well—the worst possible ending wasn't being killed, but being stewed into soup. And clearly, this wasn't the worst-case scenario. She hadn't been stewed; she was just soaking in warm water. Plus, Pei Guang had gifted her an amazing effect he'd looted from her.
Silver Wolf had once tried to add similar effects to her own abilities, like making her "Prometheus" attacks flash with cool colors. But compared to the completely absurd in-game effects, her customizations felt… lackluster.
She was sure now: the effect added to her weapon wasn't something she had just coded in. It was a true "skill effect," not something she had designed herself. Though she didn't fully understand the mechanics, since the effect had been added to her weapon, she figured she might as well make good use of it.
As she studied her weapon, her expression grew serious. She noticed that the four modules on her "Prometheus" had been enhanced with effects as well. Each module had its own little character that was now covered in fireworks. Various fireworks. They were actually kind of pretty.
"Ugh, never mind. I'm done thinking about it. The more I try, the more my head hurts. Anyway, here's all the rewards I promised you. And thanks for the bonus effect."
Pei Guang: "Think of it as me raising your favorability score. By the way, aren't you going to get out?"
Silver Wolf looked at the water in the tub. "I suppose. This isn't really the best place for a proper bath. Herta, mind if I take a bath here?"
Herta, who had been watching the whole time: "Go right ahead."
With everything settled, Herta felt like she had a lot more on her to-do list. She had to archive the footage of Silver Wolf getting bested, research Pei Guang's unique traits, and explore the new ideas she'd gotten from observing this up close. She was even considering inviting Pei Guang to test the Simulated Universe next time.
But thinking about Pei Guang's jumbled yet penetrating gaze, Herta decided to drop the matter. If her tinkering ended up attracting an actual Aeon, that would spell trouble.
Silver Wolf casually collected the bucket and the water, standing there completely dry.
"What a convenient ability. If I'd known your abilities were this useful, I would've come to you sooner," she remarked.
At that moment, Silver Wolf noticed that she now had access to various player-like abilities: storage space, a mini-map, teleportation—everything only a player could have. These were incredibly convenient powers, especially the storage space. It didn't matter what inanimate object she touched, no matter how large—it could all be stored away.
The only downside was the limited number of slots—she only had 50 storage spaces, though this far exceeded what Stelle and March 7th had.
After all, she had a much deeper appreciation for these abilities than most people. Stelle and March 7th had questioned how it worked. Silver Wolf? She didn't bother. Her attitude was very similar to Pei Guang's. As a player, having these abilities was only natural.
"Look at me before—relying on the Aether Editing for everything. Now I don't even need it: I can just store things away directly."
Pei Guang chimed in, "That's standard player equipment—it's common sense by now."
Silver Wolf nodded, "I always knew that was how it worked, but before I met you, I didn't have those powers. Are you sure you're not the Aeon of Games?"
Pei Guang shook his head. "No, but judging from what I've read about Aeons, I'm not interested in becoming one. They exist to be challenged by players like us. Let the Aeons stay as background and bosses—players are here to take them down."
Silver Wolf agreed immediately, "Exactly!"
Hearing their conversation, Stelle pulled out her fiery spear. "Well, I already pierced one."
Silver Wolf was about to say something, but then she caught sight of the amber glow on Stelle's spear and froze. Not only did she freeze—Herta did too. Up until now, not many people knew that Stelle had managed to land a strike on an Aeon. Herta and Silver Wolf had seen Pei Guang's viral "You've Been Tricked" video, but witnessing that amber glow in person made them realize: they had really been deceived…
Silver Wolf stammered, "Where did you get that…?"
Stelle shrugged, "I saw the Aeon of Preservation and thought, 'Let me give it a poke,' so I did."
Herta's eyes widened. "Wait, you were observed by an Aeon? It wasn't just a glance? And you managed to strike during that observation? Could it be…"
Now Herta understood why the last Amber Era was so short—it was because Stelle had gone and stabbed the Aeon of Preservation. That made sense. With her personality, seeing an opportunity like that, Stelle would definitely take a jab.
Stelle nodded seriously. "I'm sure it was watching me. As for how I managed it? I don't really know. I just wanted to poke it, and I did. Oh, and Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction, looked at me too. It stared for a while and then gave me this light cone."
Stelle pulled out a golden light cone. Seeing both the amber glow on her spear and the golden light cone, Herta was even more bewildered. Especially with the bold "Waiting for you" inscription on it.
Wait a minute… was the Aeon of Destruction really issuing an invitation? If this was true, then Herta's entire setup for the Aeon in the Simulated Universe would need a major overhaul. Her brain was buzzing—one glance at the light cone and her workload had tripled.
Compared to Herta's dilemma, Silver Wolf was much more straightforward. Without hesitation, she took out her phone and sent Kafka a message: "If you've got a mission, call me. If not, I'm sticking with Pei Guang for now."
Kafka's reply came quickly: "No problem, darling. I won't need you for the next mission, but if something comes up, I'll let you know. With your skills, you can assist remotely if needed~"
Silver Wolf responded, "That's fine. Useless side characters like me need to waste loads of time running all over doing fetch quests. That's just how it goes for players."
Kafka chuckled. "Alright, sweetheart~ Have fun~"
From Kafka's reply, Silver Wolf knew that Kafka understood she was having a blast. As long as she was enjoying herself, everything was fine. However…
As Kafka looked at the picture of Silver Wolf tied up in the bucket while Stelle stoked the fire, a smile spread across her face.
"Don't worry—we'll be meeting soon enough."
After receiving Kafka's reply, Silver Wolf looked up at Pei Guang, Stelle, and March 7th. "Starting today, I'm tagging along with you guys. First come, first served with the missions, but there will be times I'll have to take care of her requests. I can't tell you everything."
With the teleportation ability, Silver Wolf could pop over to Pei Guang anytime and join him on his main quests—it was perfect. And the idea of stabbing an Aeon, especially Stelle's casual recount of poking an Aeon of Preservation? That was too tempting for a player like her to pass up. She had to stick with Pei Guang's crew. Who knew? Maybe she could be the next to land a hit on an Aeon—that would be a legendary achievement.