Fated Apartments
“Big White,” Aya Jiu began, her small legs swinging from the hanging basket, “do you think it’s really okay for Papa to stay cooped up at home all day, while the pretty ladies go out without him?” Her large eyes brimmed with concern for her father. ‘Fire Finch often complains to me,’ she thought, ‘about how Papa has such low emotional intelligence, always doing things that upset girls.’ ‘I wonder how Papa is doing now… I hope those pretty ladies aren’t mad at him…’ ‘I really want to go see, but Papa said I can’t follow him.’ A sigh escaped her, her small face pouting in distress.
Big White pondered for a moment, ultimately deciding to save her master some face. “The master should… be fine, shouldn’t he?” Yet, even as she spoke, a seed of doubt lingered in her mind. ‘Heh… the master is such a blockhead. I just hope Lin Ling and the others have a pleasant weekend.’
****
Within the E-rank Ghost Domain dungeon, a stark contrast to the scorching heat outside, an eerie chill permeated the air, punctuated by the occasional whisper of mysterious gibberish. Aya Tone retrieved the small stool from his pocket – a cherished item he intended to pass down as a family heirloom – and watched with keen interest as the three figures in the distance frantically struggled. He observed silently, with no intention of intervening. ‘Ghost Domains can be quite entertaining, if one knows how to play the game,’ he mused, a faint, enigmatic smile playing on his lips.
“Fis, Ye Liu! We can’t count on the teacher, let’s go!” The three clutched their magic wands, their backs pressed together, nervously eyeing the phantoms that swirled around them. Though these phantoms appeared incredibly fragile, no matter how many they struck down, an endless stream would continuously emerge from the void, as if they could never be truly eradicated.
“Lin Ling, don’t be reckless!” Ye Liu called out, halting Lin Ling’s impulsive charge. “The phantoms themselves pose no real threat to us. The most crucial task right now is to locate the dungeon core and destroy it!” She continued, “Otherwise, our internal magic will quickly become depleted!” At the mention of their dwindling magic, the expressions of all three women darkened. Initially, they hadn’t understood the nature of the phantoms, expending all their might with every attack, thereby squandering a significant portion of their magic. Furthermore, the longer they remained in the Ghost Domain, the more their magic would uncontrollably drain, absorbed by the surrounding environment. This exacerbated the already precarious situation for the trio, who were already low on magic. If they didn’t quickly find a way to break the stalemate, they risked their magic completely running dry, potentially allowing the phantoms to possess their bodies.
“Ye Liu is right,” Liu Fei stated, her expression serious. “You two help me fend off the phantoms’ harassment, and I’ll search for the core.” Her abilities leaned towards agility and perception, making her perfectly suited for locating the core and breaking the deadlock. “Fis, can your mental strength hold up?” Ye Liu asked, her eyes clouded with worry. “Don’t worry, it’s just an E-rank dungeon, no problem!” With Liu Fei’s assurance, the other two refrained from further persuasion. After all, they had no better alternative to break the current stalemate. Having made their decision, a surge of crimson-yellow magic erupted from Ye Liu, and she began to chant. A magic shield instantly unfurled around her, and the phantoms that merely brushed against its light vanished into thin air the very next moment.
“Nice!” With the stable space created by Ye Liu, Liu Fei slowly closed her eyes. Waves of magic, laced with faint mental energy, rapidly spread outwards like ripples. Not far away, Aya Tone, who had been sitting back and enjoying the spectacle, nodded subtly upon seeing the trio finally using their brains. He wasn’t concerned that Liu Fei wouldn’t find the dungeon core. An E-rank dungeon was, at most, the size of a sports field; it only seemed larger due to the overwhelming gloom within the Ghost Domain. At the same time, he couldn’t help but inwardly exclaim, ‘Now *this* is practical training!’ ‘When people teach people, they always subconsciously hold back, never truly giving students that sense of life-or-death urgency.’ ‘Hmm, I’ll make a note of this. Next class, I’ll secretly take them out of school and put them to work!’ The thought of having nearly fifty students under him, divided into teams of ten, rotating through E-rank dungeons… Each time one team completed a dungeon, the next would take its turn. Then, when the next team finished, the previous one would be well-rested and ready to go again! In this cyclical fashion, Aya Tone felt as though he could already see the throne of the wealthiest person beckoning to him.
Just as Aya Tone was lost in his whimsical thoughts, Liu Fei, whose eyes had been tightly shut, suddenly snapped them open, pointing towards a dilapidated hut to the east. “Lin Ling! That hut is the core!” “Understood!” Lin Ling, who had been waiting impatiently, grinned, raising her magic wand and aiming it directly at the distant hut. It was as if she intended to unleash all the pent-up frustration in her heart. She shouted, “Starlight Breaker!” Aya Tone tilted his head. “Huh?” ‘Did I just hear something rather extravagant?’ he wondered.
Magic bloomed from the tip of Lin Ling’s magic wand, and a dazzling beam of light shot towards the dilapidated hut like a bolt of lightning. And just then! The phantoms throughout the entire Ghost Domain seemed to receive a command, surging en masse towards the magical beam with a clear objective, attempting to use their formless remnants to delay the impending attack. “Hmph! A praying mantis trying to stop a chariot!” Lin Ling scoffed, a sneer gracing her lips. That was her full power; their obstruction was destined to be futile. Indeed! Countless phantoms, like moths drawn to a flame, dissolved like snowflakes before they even made contact. “Boom!” A faint, ethereal glow had just begun to rise from the hut’s surface, but it had no time to offer resistance. The immense force of the impact tore the hut into splinters, sending thatch flying through the air like enchanted feathers. The magical beam, its momentum undiminished, then carved a massive crater into the ground, kicking up a thick cloud of dust. “Haha! We did it!” Lin Ling bent at the waist, panting heavily. That single spell had utterly depleted the last vestiges of magic within her; she was now powerless to cast a second. After a long moment, as the dust settled, the already crumbling hut had been reduced to a heap of rubble, its broken walls faintly visible through the lingering smoke. The shattered pottery that once adorned the interior was now scattered in fragments amidst the ruins. Faintly, one could even discern traces of white ash strewn across the ground, though its origin remained a mystery…
As the hut was destroyed, the entire Ghost Domain suddenly began to tremble. Several cracks appeared in the dark, boundless sky, allowing light from the outside world to pierce into this perpetually twilight realm. The pervasive gloom, however, made one last desperate struggle, gathering together to block out the invading sunlight. The three women gazed at the perfectly delineated boundary between light and shadow, their minds too awestruck to recover for a long time.
“Stop staring,” a voice cut through their daze. “Once the sunlight completely overtakes the dungeon, it will vanish. And then, we’ll be trapped here—no, that’s not right, *you* will be trapped here.” Hearing this, the trio turned around to find their teacher, Aya Tone, standing behind them, a small hoe casually slung over his shoulder, having appeared without their notice. Lin Ling, having recovered slightly, asked with a hint of curiosity, “Teacher, if the dungeon collapses, why would only *we* be trapped here, and not you?” Aya Tone rolled his eyes dramatically, retorting with a hint of exasperation, “Just because you’re silly doesn’t mean I am. Of course, I’d escape before the dungeon collapses!” “Ah, haha,” Lin Ling chuckled, scratching her head good-naturedly, not at all offended by the jab. ‘The teacher’s words actually make a lot of sense,’ she thought.