Blue Maple and White Cherry arrived somewhere they were very unfamiliar with.
Towering trees with thick canopies stretched into the skies everywhere, and their trunks were so thick that not even several people linking arms could wrap around them. The treesâ leaves and branches were so dense that sunlight couldnât shine onto the bottom of the trees. However, the area beneath the shade was lit and blurry fluorescent light shone upon everything beneath the canopies.
âWhere are we, Maple?â White Cherry surveyed her surroundings as she asked confusedly.
She was admiring the magnificent beauty of her surroundings at the same time. This place seemed like it couldnât possibly exist on Earth in real life.
âThis place belongs to an elven tribe. Their Ancient Tree of Life has withered, and these are seedlings germinated from the Ancient Tree of Lifeâs seeds. These trees have formed a miniature Elven Forest.â Blue Maple explained plainly like he had a deep understanding of this.
âAh, I see. How do you know all this, Maple?â White Cherry was confused. She didnât expect Blue Maple to be someone who knew a lot about things like these.
âI know this because of a quest,â answered Blue Maple casually.
Blue Maple could take somebody with him when he was teleporting with Heavenly Fire after his third class advancement. However, there was no notification of his improved skill. The reason was because Blue Maple had to consume a lot of Heavenly Fire to teleport somebody along with him, and he could only cover a short distance.
Blue Maple was directly absorbing all the naturally burning flames this time. He didnât deliberately try to control them, so he didnât run into a situation where the fire would run wild, or where they became uncontrollable. However, if he didnât care about the fire, they would continue burning until the entire patch of cherry trees were burned down.
The cherry trees by the creek burned for five minutes. Blue Maple couldnât control those flames but directly consuming them was different. Blue Maple managed to teleport both White Cherry and himself out, and he sent them through a distance that would have taken them two days to cover.
The quest had a time limit of three days. Considering how long it would take for the journey to be completed, three days was very tight.
Blue Maple shared the quest with White Cherry afterwards. His quest for the Water of Life didnât have a limit on the number of participating players anyway. More accurately put, the young lady in the kimono was hoping more people could help her, except she couldnât afford the rewards.
White Cherry quickly understood the questâs entire process.
White Cherry grinned at Blue Maple like she had discovered some secret.
âHey, Maple. Whatâs the reward for completing this quest?â
âThereâs none. I found this questâs contents interesting, so I took it.â Blue Mapleâs face was emotionless like what he was saying was real.
âSo proud.â
White Cherry giggled as she covered her mouth as even her eyes smiled beautifully.
Evidently, Blue Maple accepted this quest for free because he thought the young ladyâs story was tragic. Blue Maple still chose to say instead that he found this quest interesting, so he didnât need any reward in return.
âTch. Letâs go. The clues only tell us that this place is a miniature Elven Forest, and elves can appear around here. We donât have the elvesâ exact location. Furthermore, we have to gain their trust so that we can obtain the so-called Water of Life.â
Blue Maple knew that White Cherry saw right through him and said nothing more about the matter. He changed the topic and began talking of things related to the quest itself as he walked forward by himself.
White Cherry shook her head lightly as she followed behind.
White Cherry felt very exasperated about how Blue Maple always hid his true feelings so that others believed that he was the villain. Perhaps, Blue Maple was very used to that, but White Cherry still felt sorry for him.
She caught up with him and arrived by his side, and they continued walking side by side.
This scene was very similar to what had happened back then.
Blue Maple also slaughtered the Common Guildâs players, and they also left the scene together to complete a quest. The only difference was that previously, they were walking one ahead of the other, rather than walking side by side.
The last unknown was whether Blue Maple would leave White Cherry behind and leave by himself again.
The pair began their journey through this quest like they were âvolunteersâ. They were here early, so all they had was time. Blue Maple was lazy by nature and didnât want to search for answers deliberately, while White Cherry was very happy to continue staying by Blue Mapleâs side.
The reason was because she knew that Blue Maple would probably leave by himself again after finishing this quest.
However, the system-generated quest had some key components that the system hadnât spawned because Blue Maple and White Cherry were early. That was the reason why they couldnât find the elves.
The two of them wandered aimlessly around the miniature Elven Forest like lost wanderers who were walking around in circles.
Inside the Chinese Rank 2 Main City, Kunyue City.
Two beautiful girls were sitting opposite each other beside a study table in the library.
They were Blue Snow and Silent Observer.
However, Blue Snow seemed a little melancholic as she stirred a cup of coffee in front of her carelessly. She hadnât noticed that the coffee had gone cold because of all that stirring.
âWhatâs wrong, Snow? Why do you look so dejected? Were the cherry blossoms not pretty, or did someone do something to you?â Silent Observer asked like she was very concerned.
âNeither.â Blue Maple stopped stirring with her spoon.
âOh? Then why do you look so dejected?â
Silent Observer smiled slyly as she spoke.
âCan it be⌠that you like the handsome boy, but somebody else got there first?â
âClang!â
âNo⌠no⌠no way! I⌠I donât like anyone!â
Blue Snow stood up abruptly while she pushed the chair behind her, and she stammered with a flushed look on her face.
âOh? Then why do you look so unhappy? Youâve just returned from seeing cherry blossoms.â Silent Observer continued probing as a faint smile appeared on her pretty face.
âI⌠uh⌠that⌠yes!â Blue Snow stammered unintelligibly like she had suddenly thought of something.
âA bad person destroyed the cherry trees, so I didnât have a good time admiring the cherry blossoms. Yes, thatâs it.â Blue Snow heaved a sigh of relief like she had found a valid reason.
âAh, I see. I heard about that. I heard that there was a fellow who burned an entire patch of cherry trees in Gong Liang City, a Japanese city not far from where we are, the city that you visited. The local Japanese players are very upset about that.â Silent Observer pretended like she had finally understood what happened.
âYes, thatâs right. Youâve heard about that too. That was what happened.â Blue Snow felt a lot more relaxed when she heard Silent Observerâs words.
However, she quickly readjusted her chair and sat back down like she had a guilty conscience, and she sipped on her coffee that had already gone cold from the stirring.
âI wouldnât have recommended you to Gong Liang City if I had known that. Haih⌠what a pity.â Silent Observer had a lamenting look on her face like she felt responsible for what happened to Blue Snow.
Silent Observer was the one who had suggested for Blue Snow to visit Gong Liang City. She noticed that Blue Snowâs mood wasnât great recently, so she recommended for her to see the cherry blossoms so she could clear her head.
âYes, thatâs right.â Blue Snow kept her head down as she sipped on her coffee to mask her guilty conscience. She didnât care that her coffee had already gone cold.
The corner of Silent Observerâs mouth curved into a mischievous smile as she watched Blue Snowâs behavior.
âOh, yes. I heard that the bad guy burned the entire patch of cherry trees because he was furious that some players from the Common Guild had bullied his girlfriend, so he wanted revenge.â
âPfft! Ahem, ahem, ahem! AhemâŚâ
âUgh⌠Handkerchief! Tissue!â
Blue Snow immediately choked on her coffee, and she tried awkwardly to search for something to wipe her mouth with after coughing vigorously.
Silent Observer still had a smile on her face as she handed out a handkerchief that she already had in hand. She felt very satisfied with her little prank.
âUghâŚâ
Blue Snow quickly took the handkerchief and started wiping her mouth.
Blue Snow glared at Silent Observer afterwards like she was blaming her for something.
âAh, donât look at me like that. I didnât know youâd have such a big reaction.â Silent Observer had an innocent look on her face.
But she her expression immediately turned gossipy as she looked into Blue Snowâs eyes.
âCan it be that youâre crushing on him? I heard that he is very handsome! Furthermore, his hair and his clothes are all blue, the color that you like. Yes, his flames are also blue!â
âUnh, unh, unh!â
Blue Snow covered her mouth with the handkerchief as she shook her head violently.
âThatâs impossible! I am not crushing on that guy!â Blue Snowâs face was flushed red as she took away the handkerchief while she continued disputing Silent Observerâs questions.
âOhâŚâ Silent Observerâs expression seemed like she had understood something.
âNo⌠itâs not like that. I donât know that guy.â Blue Snow was panicking, and she was blushing so much that her face probably couldnât get any redder.
âOh. So, you do know him! When did you guys meet?â Silent Observer asked as she pretended to be surprised.
âNo⌠uh⌠I⌠Iâve seen him a few times. But itâs not like what youâre thinking!â Blue Snowâs beautiful cheeks were already warming up from all the blood rushing to her face.
Silent Observer said nothing more. Instead, she stared at Blue Snow like she was saying, âSo, I was right.â
Blue Snow was still blushing as she slumped down onto her chair with her head lowered and with nothing to say. Her mind was in a mess.
Silent Observer felt that baiting Blue Snow was too simple as she sat across from Blue Snow, who looked dazed. Blue Snow was very smart, but her intelligence seemed to have dwindled to zero when she was faced with something that concerned her feelings.
âLook at our beautiful little Snow. Your face is so red. Have you truly fallen for that guy?â
âI didnât! Iâm only curious about him. Furthermore⌠he looks like heâs very powerful. Maybe heâll know some things that I wish to find out aboutâŚâ
The redness in Blue Snowâs face receded a little as she spoke, and her panicky expression suddenly turned into a gloomier one.
âEh⌠Snow, Iâve told you before that if I donât know about something, then nobody else knows. SoâŚâ Silent Observer looked very serious as she spoke.
âAre you trying to deliberately change the subject? Haih⌠I didnât expect our little Snow to be so deep in her feelings.â Silent Observer looked like she felt sorry for her.
âI told you thatâs not true!â Blue Snowâs face turned red once more.
Silent Observer casually switched the conversation back around.
âReally? Then why is your face red again, Snow?â
âThat⌠thatâs because I just choked on my coffee!â
âBut why are your ears so red?â
âThatâsâŚ. because the coffee is too hot!â
âUh⌠Snow, your coffee has gone cold for a long time because of all your stirringâŚâ