Chapter 52: Nezha Depicted

The last time I checked it, my Sanity was 80%. Now it has already dropped to 76%.

Verina's Sanity was barely fluctuating throughout the whole day, so what am I doing wrong?

"Did I push myself too much…?"

But if I didn't put in this much effort, nobody will.

I'm not the smartest nor the most creative person among my peers, so I worked harder than all of them to maintain a status quo that won't be belittled by anyone.

I'm not an extroverted person, but I forced myself to be in a theater club and all sorts of community organizations, becoming their representatives.

I chewed glass of things I don't find comfort in order to gain proper skills and experience, ensuring the betterment of my life as a whole. Or so I believe.

I could barely breathe comfortably when I was still haunted by my weird obsession with people's facial imperfection.

Life has been rough.

"Do I want this life to be like that…?"

I might actually be lucky that my encounter with that eldritch horror sent me into this world, since I was given a body that nullified my cruel and unneeded obsession, the source of my pain and silent suffering.

Should I waste this chance and live the same, forced, life full of hardship, like my first life?

"... What an idiotic thinking."

That was a foolish train of thought.

The reason why I was doing all of this hard work was the same as back then.

To earn a satisfying and happy life.

And if I wanted to safely dilly-dallying my ass like that, I must firstly pave a path across a mountain with these hands of mine.

"Sometimes, I've always been thinking of silly things."

With effort and mindfulness, a stable and comfortable place can be visited at the end of the arduous path.

No matter how pessimistic the situation might be.

"Though, there is also the great factor of luck."

I'm neither an individualist nor a collectivist when it comes to planning for the future.

I'm just a lost fish in the ocean of uncertainty, trying my best to swim toward the light.

"Mmm~" Stretching my arms, I felt the mental fatigue sapping out of my brain as I streamed an online music playlist directly into my consciousness. "I think I know why people want to live inside a simulation now."

Obviously, not inside Fallen Carcosa Online, a game that hadn't gone online in public yet, but somehow the server was already running with my current synchronized access as the proof.

Wait, would the world suffer a rollback to its initial state when the game was released to the public? If that was the case, then I might need to start all over again from that shallow river, meeting Lupina and Verina, and then going through that Ordeal with Hollow Star-

"Well, that won't be much of a problem, now that I experienced it. Will be better if the timeline continues as the players are surging in, though."

So technically, the world is currently being privatized.

"... I like this music."

Before I knew it, three hours had already passed, and I took an extra half hour rest before waking up to Verina's skating around the bastion at break-neck speed.

Apparently, she found out that not only could she anchor the center position of the Black Wheels relative to the position of the heels of the Aetherstride, she could also use it against the ground.

By concocting a reusable prompt of command in her mind, just like how she brewed most of her spells on the go—she was able to set the surface of the wheels to repel itself for a certain length whenever it was facing downright, while also creating a telekinetic friction without having the wheel touching the ground directly.

This, together with the first telekinesis spell where the Black Wheels were anchored relative to the position of the heels, she was able to practically hover the surface of anything while also moving around as if she was skating on the ground.

"I didn't expect that the Aetherstride could be used like this…"

The Black Wheels created a visible electrical current with the ground whenever it received as high acceleration, as if electromagnetic force was involved.

After noticing my arrival, she sharply drifted in the air and hurriedly approached me before decelerating and descending into the ground, standing with both of her new feet.

"Verina, if you want some kind of reward from me, feel free to voice it out."

"... Who are you?" Using her newfound hovering ability, she immediately created a distance from me. "Narcy never asked me to ask for a reward from her… Is the Ordeal starting already??"

"If you don't want it, then so be it."

"Wait, I want it." It wasn't really apparent on her face, but she moved her gaze and hands like she was really nervous. "Can I postpone it? My mind is too focused on honing my telekinesis, that I don't know what I really wanted from you as of now."

"Sure, keep up the good work~"

It was important to reward hard work and the urge to become better, creating a good feedback loop that incentivizes improvement.

[Ohrtender's Expertise: This individual has honed her skills as an Ohrtender, mastering the art of using Lifeline as a magical resource. Her deep understanding of this arcane energy allows her to manipulate it with finesse, casting spells that other sorcerers could only dream of] S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Heh, it looked like her Highlighted Trait wasn't wrong in the slightest.

Also, I just realized.

If Verina were to set the Black Wheels aflame, she would become the very depicted illustration of Nezha.

"Verina, can you set the Aetherstride's wheels aflame?"

"Won't the heat damage it?"

"Can you make the flame harmless then?"

"What is the purpose, however?"

"It will give you an otherworldly intimidating presence." I said without a single attempt to hide my smug face. "The more you used to cast this flame on the wheels whenever you're using it, the more you will be proficient with its efficiency.

"Just imagine for a second, a lone figure that floats above a pair of hellish-colored spinning wheels approaching you at break-neck speed, won't that be terrifying to any future human encounter?"

"So a cosmetic that its sole purpose is to make myself menacing and cooler." She immediately set her Black Wheels coated with red-blueish pyre flame. "I like that idea."

Regardless of my priority for efficiency, I was still an avid follower for the rule of cool.

In fact, that was the driving motivation for the design that I think of for the Soulthread Aegis.

I didn't only want to feel protected, I also wanted to look cool if it didn't greatly affect the efficiency.