Chapter 308: It Was Me Who Came First.jpg
Thanks to the high HP bonus from the Crimson Chaos Staff and the boost from 1 point of legend, Aileen's bloodline purification was very smooth. Her two ears had transformed from their original rounded shape into pointed ones, and like a Doberman, they were extremely sensitive, twitching at the slightest touch.
Strictly speaking, however, Aileen now possessed a half-elf bloodline. While retaining the unique creativity and adaptability of humans, she also gained the agility and magical perception of elves. This resulted in her ear shape currently being in between the two, belonging to the more rounded type among elven ears.
During the bloodline purification questline, there was also a mandatory special quest to "Save the World Tree Branch." This World Tree branch had been occupied and nested by a spider monster. After defeating it, as a token of gratitude, the World Tree branch fully upgraded her Elven Archer Set. By now, the set, having accumulated three critical enhancements, had undergone a qualitative transformation equivalent to a regular +10 equipment. While the base stats were a bit lower, all the qualitative bonuses were fully present.
Additionally, since Aileen had already received the "Windwalker" class inheritance before undergoing bloodline purification, coupled with the new innate abilities from her purified half-elf bloodline, she had entered the T1, or even T0.5, tier among ranged archers of her rank. While there was still a gap between her and the top-tier individuals, she was no longer in a state where she couldn't contend at all.
As Aileen's subordinate, having just joined and witnessed Aileen's transformation and growth firsthand, the white-haired, dark-skinned archer, Makina Mina, felt quite complex.
In the previous dungeon, they could still engage in intense ranged combat, but now there was a clear disparity between them. While this left her feeling somewhat disheartened, it also ignited her competitive spirit, making her want to further catch up to Aileen's pace. It was evident that some of Mina's world-weary emotions were dispelled by her competitiveness.
Aileen, whose strength had greatly increased, was in high spirits. So, upon exiting the dungeon and seeing Cheng Tian's online icon in her friends list, she immediately and eagerly knocked on the door of his private space, imagining Cheng Tian's stunned expression upon seeing her new appearance. Aileen even laughed out loud outside the door.
However, when she heard a female voice from within the room, a "Coming~" that was completely different from Cheng Mouren's, Aileen first froze, then immediately remembered. It must be that cross-dressing beauty named Bazett.
But when the door actually opened, a never-before-seen woman, with long, flowing hair and a gentle demeanor, appeared abruptly before Aileen, looking like an angel. What was even more striking was a pair of pure white wings on her back.
"Hello, are you Aoko's friend?" asked Leya, who had come to open the door, in a soft voice.
"Ah, oh..."
Aileen, looking somewhat dazed, didn't know what to say for a moment.
At this moment, her mind was filled with a series of questions: "Who is this? How did she appear in Aoko's space? Why does she look like she owns the place?"
However, when she craned her neck and looked past Leya's shoulder and through the gap in her wings, she saw another "angel" who looked exactly like the person in front of her—from hair color to wings, completely identical—but whose demeanor was slightly more lively and playful. This "angel" was currently wrestling with Cheng Tian under the same kotatsu, occasionally throwing a punch.
Angels!? And twins!?
Aileen rubbed her eyes in disbelief and reopened her status panel to reconfirm the amount of time she had been away to complete the bloodline purification quest.
It was indeed one day, not one month... "Yo~ you're here~ How was the quest~"
Cheng Tian, seeing the door open, said this while placing his last black piece. The next second, all of Fina's white pieces on the board were flipped over, and the entire Othello board turned completely black.
To be able to play Othello to the point where not a single piece remains is, in a sense, a kind of talent.
Fina, who had been completely taken over, looked furious, her silver teeth gnashing, almost ready to bite Cheng Tian directly.
At this moment, Fina had already been contaminated by Cheng Mouren's meme, and the "freedom" aspect of her personality had been further unleashed. She had completely lost the gentle demeanor she had displayed as a "goddess" in the Kingdom of Ys. She was now more free-spirited and playful.
As for Bazett, whom Aileen had previously considered a significant threat, she was currently nestled in the kotatsu on the other side, calmly sipping hot tea and thanking Utan for a peeled orange segment, enjoying a long-awaited moment of idleness.
"Ah? Oh! It's good, yes, it's good..."
Aileen, somewhat distractedly answering Cheng Tian's question, entered the room in a daze, accompanied by the frowning white-haired, dark-skinned girl.
She had met Cheng Tian earlier than anyone else present, yet these one or two "strangers" all displayed an overly familiar way of interacting with Cheng Tian. These facts quickly brought Aileen's bloodline-purified mind back to normal.
She first subtly glanced around, noticing that only two angels had been added to the room, with no more unfamiliar women appearing. Then, a nearly abnormally enthusiastic smile suddenly bloomed on her face.
Subsequently, Aileen walked directly towards Cheng Tian and Fina's location and unhesitatingly took the position to Cheng Tian's right, half her body sliding into the kotatsu.
And now, Aileen and Fina had Cheng Tian sandwiched between them, one on his left and one on his right, forming a sandwich.
Almost instantly, Fina, who was a goddess but fundamentally still a woman, experienced a flash of heightened perception.
An enemy!
Over Cheng Tian's somewhat substantial back, the half-elf archer and the Red Moon Goddess met each other's gaze. Faintly visible mental energy lightning flashed with dazzling light at the midline of their intersecting fields of vision.
Seeing this scene, Utan pulled back his lips, revealing his teeth, and chuckled in a low voice.
Bazett, who was spitting out orange seeds, instinctively felt an intense battle atmosphere but couldn't find the true source, question marks popping up above her head.
Meanwhile, Leya, who had returned from opening the door, settled into the kotatsu position opposite Cheng Tian, maintaining a gentle smile on her face. For some reason, however, tiny black particles seemed to be emerging from between her pure white wings.
As for Cheng Mouren, who was at the eye of the storm... "Want some pizza?"
Completely unaffected, Cheng Mouren pulled out the menu from Arcade Imitation Cuisine and asked.