Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 192 Will You Never Walk Alone?
Olvera landed lightly on the ground, slightly bent her knees to relieve the force of falling, and after standing up, she pulled her wrist, and every golden thread that made up the web of the world quickly separated, converged and returned along the trajectory of weaving the web, and gathered again at the side of its master like a sacred giant snake migrating. The brass pendulum at the end hung above the princess's head, swinging left and right, as if counting the moments before the end of fate.

The pale skeletal tree wailed miserably and began to tremble violently from the root. The roots, trunk, branches... all turned into leaden ashes after being burned by the fire. The ashes flew away with the wind, and the raindrops fell all over the sky, covering the sky and blocking the sun. For a time, the travelers could not see the central area where the ash rain was swirling. What a sad and bleak scene it was.

Several minutes passed before the heavy rain gradually subsided, but the chill that had already penetrated into her bones would not fade away. This reminded Olvera of the day when she watched the rain in the palace. The petals of the violets, which were fragrant all year round, withered and died in the rain, as if to indicate that there are things in the world greater than life and death, and prosperity and decay.

The princess still hasn't figured out what that thing is.

She turned around and looked at the dim scenery as the rain gradually faded away with complicated eyes. The towering pale bone tree had blended into the drizzling rain. What remained in the same place was still a tree, but a very ordinary tree, just like the ancient trees in the courtyard she saw in her childhood.

Maybe it was an oak, maybe an elm, or maybe it was the sour pear tree whose branches she once climbed to pick fruit... It had been so long that Olvera had almost forgotten it.

A beautiful and elegant woman stood under the tree. She smiled and held out her hand to the princess. Was she inviting her or sharing past memories? Olivia hesitated for a moment and did not respond. Suddenly, the other person's figure twisted, like a lake surface rippled by waves. After a brief ripple, it disappeared in an instant, leaving the princess stunned.

It turned out to be an illusion.

What is in the mirror is an illusion, what is in the eyes is also an illusion; the past is an illusion, only the present is real enough.

[Tough Memory: When holding the item "Reverberation of Will", the duration of See Through and Counterattack is permanently extended by 100%. ]

Olvera put away her weapon, walked silently to the tree, and picked up the item dropped by the BOSS from where the woman disappeared.

[The remnant of will: The will that once stirred the heart will still echo after calming down, telling the story of how the holder once said goodbye to the past and firmly welcomed the hope of the future. Placing it in the prop column will activate the corresponding state. In addition, there may be unexpected functions that need to be discovered by the holder himself. ]

"Say goodbye to the past and welcome the future..."

For some reason, the princess always felt that this pink staff should not be a weapon but a toy for little girls.

[Proof of a Hero], [Key to the Corridor on the Next Floor], [Magic Orb - Move Chant], [Ability Orb - Sword as Shield], [Embers of the Remnant] x8, and a leaf-shaped pale golden crystal, as beautiful as amber -

Two more companions joined the team: a girl named Metien and a goblin named Shemi.

[You have awakened the weapon used by the legendary heroes Metien & Shemi: the Holy Staff - Star Key.]

"you shut up."

However, the princess quickly recovered on her own. She put all the props that exploded into the prop column, then picked up the lantern, walked to the tree, and gently moved the candle in the lamp closer.

"Oh."

If the garden had remained until now, it would probably look like this, right?
Time will never make memories exactly the same.

Olvera looked around and realized that this was a garden, but there were dead branches and leaves everywhere. The wooden fence at the edge of the garden was entangled with dead morning glory vines. A large group of grasshoppers and ants drowned in the black soil under her feet. The scattered petals were rotting in the soil, and in the grains of dust, the humus was as heavy and sticky as a swamp.

Olvera whispered, as if she was talking to herself, or as if she was talking to someone.

Olvera chose [Rest] at the fire source to restore the HP and the burning time of the ember fire source, and then chose [Awaken]. The flames shot up into the sky and turned into a heavy rotating vortex. A beam of light fell from the vortex. This time it was no longer a random result, because this was the only weapon that had not been awakened.

Metien, who had just been awakened and was still confused about his current state, laughed awkwardly: "Ha, ha, is that so..."

The tree was withered and lifeless, as if it had died many years ago, and Olvera gave it new strength. Then, the golden sacred flame climbed up the trunk, licked the twisted roots downwards, and burned the forked branches upwards, soon igniting the entire tree, turning it into a new source of fire, releasing endless light, lighting up the space in which it was located, and then extending to the corridor outside the space. Everything was shrouded in a warm atmosphere, both bright and warm.

My mind was silent, and my companions remained silent, perhaps not knowing what to say at this moment.

After talking nonsense, he was scolded.

At the same time, a dagger named [Plant and Tree Disaster Star] appeared silently in the most remote corner of the prop column, and at this time, no one noticed its existence.

Alice greeted him warmly: "Hey, Metien, you're finally here! I've been waiting for you. If you don't join the team, the game will be over. Oh, and remember to comfort Lingge. He didn't see you just now and was so anxious that he almost cried..."

Unlike the previous two awakenings, the awakening of this weapon did not unlock any new mechanisms for Olvera, only a simple reminder. The star-shaped staff, about half a person's height, floated down from the broken light column and slowly landed in Olvera's palm, as light as a feather, without feeling any weight.

Sister Alice is still as cheerful and optimistic as before - this is a compliment, right?
An unhappy voice interrupted: "Hey, hey, hey, I'm here too! Why are you only mentioning Metien!"

"Huh!?" Alice pretended to be surprised and asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Shaymi, you bastard! It's only been a short time and you've already forgotten me. Is your memory the water grass at the bottom of the river? If you do this again next time, I'll bite you!"

"I'm really scared, no way." Alice said disdainfully: "Of course I know you are Shaymi, but the order of greeting is based on favorability. Your favorability with me is not as high as Metien's, so what's wrong with me greeting Metien first?" "Ugh!"

It doesn't sound like anything is wrong.

Alice continued to persuade him: "If you were in my shoes, you would also greet Metien first, right?"

"this!"

Shemi was shocked because she found out...it seemed to be true.

Could it be that Alice was not wrong and I was just being unreasonable?
The young elf, who was not very worldly-wise, fell into deep thought.

Alice, who only feels superior to her in intelligence, is very proud of herself.

Metien, who was caught in the middle and was in a dilemma, couldn't help but let out a sigh.

Saint Shalia asked, "Are they arguing?"

Lingge ignored it and replied calmly: "You'll get used to it."

"We didn't quarrel, we were just exchanging opinions!"

"Metien...if I'm Alice...I'm Metien, no...I'm Shemi?"

"Ling Ge, why are you silent? Did you make Sister Xiao Xia angry when I was away?"

"……No."

"Yes, Lingge is very gentle and always cares about me."

"Really, Lingge!? Your relationship with Sister Xiaoxia has... become better?"

"Wrong, this is called improving favorability. And with Ling'er's personality, it should be others who improve his favorability, not him who improves others' favorability."

"you shut up."

"Alice cares about me, too."

"Alice, Metien, Shemi... I'm Shemi... I'll greet Metien first... That's right..."

My head is in a mess.

very noisy.

Every time someone spoke, Olvera's mind became a mess, making her feel as if she was in the middle of a busy and noisy street, with voices everywhere, noisily squeezing through her eardrums and crashing into her mind.

This was a feeling she had never experienced before, because in reality, she had no idea what a busy street looked like, and during the most severe stage of the curse - or illness - she couldn't even leave her room.

Living in a closed space since childhood caused the princess to lose her cognition of the normal world prematurely, and she could only rely on descriptions in books to imagine.

Lively, noisy, quarrelsome, teasing, discussion, jokes... these are all words that are very far away from her.

It was not until now that I was in it and truly became a part of the world.

Therefore, she did not hate everyone talking loudly in her mind. On the contrary, she liked it very much. Even the vague sadness that had accumulated during the previous battle gradually dissipated along with those noisy and clamorous words.

Fight, defeat powerful enemies, and then hear the voices of your companions... This is what is called a new encounter, right?

The princess raised her lips slightly and gently selected the last option [Chat] in the fire source. Then, the figures of her companions were outlined by the flames and emerged one after another. They were no longer just in the form of sound, but appeared beside her in reality.

During a long journey, you may occasionally feel tired and exhausted. At this time, you might as well stop and take a break, get the warm comfort from the words and eyes of your companions, and then you will know that in this dark world, you will never walk alone.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)