Chapter 25 - Author: That is the proper use of storage rings

Chapter 25.1 – Author: That is the proper use of storage rings

 

“Cough, cough, cough …”

Violet was coughing in the smoke and wanted to climb up from the ground, but there was a sharp pain on her back. She was able to reach out a hand to feel the ground before everything in her vision turned red. In that moment she could only form a battle aura around herself for defense before the explosion swept across everything around her.1

There was silence. In the smoke, Violet could not see her companions. After resting for a while, the demon girl stood up, softly calling out: “Lord Xiu … Mr. Du Ze?”

No response.

She remembered their location when last she saw them, so first she went to where Xiu had been resting. She did not find him. Violet then went to the center of the explosion. There she found the two of them huddled together. Xiu had his back to Violet and he was holding the other person in his bosom. The Lich’s body was badly damaged, but with his death aura he was recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The smell of blood grew stronger. Violet went to Xiu’s side and was shocked to see the black-haired youth in the Lich’s arms. No matter how you looked at it, that person was clearly dying. Even with the Lich protecting Du Ze’s body with his, they were just too close to the Flame Lord’s explosion. Sharp stone fragments had penetrated Du Ze’s chest, making his blood flow unceasingly.

Among all races, the dragons have the strongest physique while the weakest are the gnomes, followed by the humans. Violet was surprised and puzzled; is Du Ze really just a human, not a dragon?

Xiu hugged Du Ze silently. For the first time, Violet saw a dazed and bewildered expression on the Lich’s face.

Xiu was frozen, as though he were afraid that any movement would cause the youth in his arms to stop breathing.

Why is he so scared?

The man can only stay by his side.

If this man were to die, he could still make an undead puppet of him, so why is he so worried?

This person is different.

Since when did he start to think that?

This person is important – why is this person important?

The Lich’s strong death aura forced Violet to back up a little. It gave one the feeling that anyone nearby would be quickly killed.

Xiu was frowning, trying to think of a way to save Du Ze. Actually, there was no need to heal Du Ze completely. If he can just keep the youth alive until midnight, then that person will not die. But all he can use at this time is the undead magic, which represents torture and death.

Since the undead can’t do it, Xiu coldly thought that a change would come in handy.

A white flame leapt up, illuminating the symbol on the torch.

Violet raised a hand to her mouth in amazement when a man with splendid blond hair appeared. The man gently pressed down on the black-haired youth’s wound. Inside the volcano filled with dark elements, there was a sudden glow of healing.

The light elements, summoned by the magic of Xiu, battled with the dense dark and fire elements in the volcano and attached themselves to Xiu’s hand. Under the light of the healing magic, Du Ze’s chest stopped bleeding, but his face was still very pale. This healing was only a drop in the bucket since the amount of light elements in the reverse side of the continent are too sparse to allow Xiu to use even the most basic healing magic. Xiu couldn’t remove his hand from Du Ze’s chest for even a moment, else the youth would stop breathing and die.

As time passed, Xiu’s face became paler and paler until there was very little difference between his face and Du Ze’s. Both of them looked like they were dying. Violet held her peace for a long time but, finally, she could not stay quiet: “It’s hopeless …”

“Shut up!”

Violet opened her mouth but then choose to keep silent. If Alice were on the verge of death, Violet would never give up even if she was wasting her energy.

The demon girl in the blue dress did not have the heart to look at the two of them anymore so she looked up at the purple sky. The two moons continued to climb the heavens slowly. They would not stop for anyone’s death. Violet was so sad that she even felt like the moons were glaring down at her

This night is so long.

The wet sound of something being pulled out of a body caught her attention and Violet looked back in astonishment. She saw that the stone fragments in Du Ze’s body were pulled out and thrown aside by Xiu. The youth’s chest was filled with bloody gashes but at that very moment Violet thought she she saw a miracle.

The handsome young man with blond hair lowered his eyes and his blue eyes reflected the appearance of the black-haired youth whose body was now completely restored. The blonde’s lips were curved up in a smile and he seemed to be saying someone’s name in a whisper. The next moment, the person holding Du Ze fell to the ground, unconscious.

*****

Du Ze had another dream but this time, amazingly enough, he knew he was dreaming.

Surrounded by darkness, Du Ze looked down at his chest and touched it gingerly. Before he lost consciousness, he had felt a severe pain in that area. Even in this dream he still felt a faint ache.

[…… You …]

The sudden sound startled Du Ze. It sounded like an old phone call, very intermittent, noisy and disturbing.

[…… How…… Dying … Where are you …]

This time Du Ze listened attentively and could just barely understand a few words here and there. Somehow, Du Ze felt that the person who made the sound was listening. When Du Ze opened his mouth to speak, the static noise in the background suddenly vanished and the dark place became silent once more. One sentence could describe this situation properly: Your connection was interrupted.

Then Du Ze woke up.

Chapter 25.2 – Author: That is the proper use of storage rings

An orange-red flame was flickering in front of his eyes. Sitting beside a campfire, a figure turned around. It was Violet. Seeing that the dazed Du Ze had woken up, Violet was pleasantly surprised: “Mr Du Ze, you’re awake.”

Du Ze wanted to get up, but unexpectedly found that he couldn’t move because he was being held tightly by someone behind him. He turned his head to look at that person and the first thing he saw was a brilliant golden color. A handsome young blonde lay sleeping behind him, his eyes closed and his long eyelashes casting shadows on his face. Du Ze was silent for a moment, thinking: Don’t think that just because you changed your waistcoat that I won’t know you – then he meowed – what happened, why did the protagonist suddenly change the channel?

Violet explained everything to Du Ze in an intimate manner.

“… The master’s hold on you was so tight that I couldn’t separate the two of you. I was desperate, but luckily I found a place where we could all take a break and recuperate. Today is the second day.”

Du Ze was able to escape from Xiu’s embrace with Violet’s help. They planned to stay here until Xiu woke up since the supplies they had prepared were sufficient for a short rest.

For a few days Du Ze sat at Xiu’s side while the protagonist slept, staring at him in a daze. The human in front of Du Ze has dazzling blonde hair and facial features as perfect as though they had been carved by a master sculptor. This is exactly the type of person that can be regarded as a great protagonist: he has a handsome appearance, peerless talent, and countless admirers.

Du Ze’s mood was extraordinarily complex as he gazed on, imagining the light-hearted and spirited Xiu as he was before a shadow was cast over his life. This incident also served as a wake-up call for him: Did he rely on the original plot of “Mixed Blood” too much?

Because he lost consciousness at that time, he didn’t feel or see anything. But after hearing Violet’s description of the events, Du Ze felt extremely guilty and frightened knowing that Xiu had fought so desperately to save him. Du Ze continued to stare at Xiu until he realized that he was looking into a pair of azure eyes. He didn’t know when the protagonist had woken up and just lay there, quietly gazing at Du Ze.

Caught in the act, Du Ze tried to change the subject: “… You’re awake. ”

Xiu stretched out a hand and placed it on the back of Du Ze’s neck. The warmth and the slow pulse proved that that person is very much alive and still by his side.

“Hmm, what about Violet?”

“She is bathing in a nearby hot spring. We aren’t far from the volcano.” Violet had found the hot spring and spent some time everyday cleaning her body.

Du Ze suddenly remembered that he had not yet had time to hand over the loot from the Flame Lord. For the sake of getting this treasure, he had narrowly escaped joining his ancestors.

“This is for you.”

Xiu looked at Du Ze’s palm which held a pair of silver-white rings. One ring was inlaid with a red crystal, the other a blue crystal. The style of the rings was simple and classic.

Du Ze was not wrong about what he said before, the Flame Lord really did have some good things. These two items were the best loot that the protagonist got after he defeated the Flame Lord in the “Mixed Blood” novel – a pair of spatial storage rings. In every YY novel, protagonists always obtain the same magical item: the spatial storage ring, a necessary tool for killing, arson, and sneaky activities. Most of the time, storage rings are rare, and only the protagonist can buy or create them.

In “Mixed Blood,” the protagonist found the storage rings after he defeated the Flame Lord. He already had better equipment, so he gave the rings to the lily sisters. When the demon sisters received the rings, his favorability rating with them soared and they immediately got married to the protagonist.

Xiu looked at the rings. He did not know why, but he had a complicated expression in his eyes as he hesitated, shaken by some unknown emotion, before taking them with a deep, bottomless feeling in his heart.

“Is this for me?”

Du Ze nodded, then remembered the protagonist’s stupid f***ing behavior before, so the cute reader thought that Xiu might not know the correct use of the storage rings, and said: “You can give this to the person you like.”

When Xiu heard this statement he gave Du Ze a profound look and put the storage rings away.

“I will.”

Xiu’s human form is easy to speak with. When he was in his undead form, he always looked gloomily at Du Ze so the reader found it difficult to overcome his social barrier. Du Ze thought this was a good opportunity so he said to Xiu: “There is something that I want to say to you when we return to the other side of the continent.”

At that time, this young man will definitely find a way to let you return to your Moe self!

“Good.” Xiu did not reject his assertion. The protagonist looked at Du Ze and smiled, eyes like bottomless azure pools: “I also have something to tell you.”

“I’m back …you’re awake, my Lord!”

Fresh from her bath, Violet’s face was rosy. She was surprised to see Xiu awake. Regarding the fact that he transformed yet again, she wisely choose to say nothing. All she cared about was that her master was strong and could make her stronger, too.

Sensing a certain delicate atmosphere around those two people, she suddenly felt as if she had come at a bad time. She cautiously suggested, “Would you like to take a bath?”

******

******

He stepped on the corpse of the Flame Lord, and suddenly a ray of light flashed in the corner of his eye.

What’s this?

He jumped up and examined the Flame Lord’s throat. There he found a pair of silver rings, one inlaid with red crystals and the other with blue crystals. Xiu picked them up and saw that it was a pair of spatial storage rings; inside each ring is a magical space of around 10 square meters.

It’s a common low level item, but he can take it to give to someone since he doesn’t need it anyway.

– excerpt from “Mixed Blood”

*******

The author has something to say:

The Protagonist: I accept.

Reader:?

Protagonist: Your proposal.

Reader: What!?

Protagonist: Bridal Chamber (drags away the reader)

Author: That is the proper use of storage rings