Encounters

My pristine white hair cascaded down my back, past my nape.
On that fair face, a pair of golden eyes, a delicate nose, and slightly pink cherry lips formed a beautiful countenance.

Such a pretty girl.

I gazed at Liv Shadowsong, reflected in the lake, and couldn’t help but be a little entranced.

Her slightly slender body, enveloped by the gorgeous white dress, appeared very graceful.
Her “Celestial Mountain” (bust) was barely average, not exceptionally well-developed, and her long, beautiful legs were fair and delicate, showing no hint of excess fat.

Individually, not every aspect was perfect, but when combined, they possessed an indescribable beauty.

Is this still Liv Shadowsong?

It’s likely due to the effects of reincarnation; her former brown hair, emerald eyes, and wheat-colored skin were now completely gone.

What puzzled me most was her youth.
Yes, she looked too young.

In the early stages of ‘Grand Adventure’, Liv Shadowsong was 27 years old, a princess of a fallen kingdom.
Due to being in the same faction, in the main storyline, Liv Shadowsong, pursuing a path of national restoration, would become a powerful support character for our side.

Her role was very long in the early game, so I could recall her appearance without having to think hard.

The 27-year-old Liv Shadowsong possessed a mature and beautiful charm, whereas the Liv Shadowsong reflected in the water looked like a naive 16 or 17-year-old, no matter how I looked at her.

To confirm her actual age, I specifically delved into those massive memories.
It was close to my guess: 17 years and five months.

If it wasn’t due to the effects of reincarnation, then I might have traveled to a world ten years ago, a time that didn’t exist in ‘Grand Adventure’!

Grrr…

“So hungry…” My stomach’s uncooperative rumbling interrupted my thoughts.

Counting the time, I hadn’t eaten for almost three days.

The battle with the imp Flora blew the castle to smithereens, and naturally, the loot was air.

To find food and a way out of the forest, I had been walking almost nonstop for nearly three days.

This eerie forest had no animals, not even a single insect, as if it were a forbidden zone of life.

Even more preposterous, such a vast forest didn’t have a single tree bearing wild fruits; all were the same kind of gray, large trees.

“Hah…” Looking at the newly added hunger and stamina values on the character interface, I couldn’t help but sigh.

Both values were negative one hundred, and my HP had now dropped to eight.
No matter how I looked at it, these two values were the cause.

If I didn’t find food soon, I would starve to death in this gloomy and eerie forest in a few days.

I got some clean water from the lake to fill my stomach.
My belly was so hungry it was almost pressed against my back, so I had to continue my journey.

I hoped to get out of this damn forest today.
It would be even better if I could meet some kind adventurers along the way.

The forest was very quiet; not a single bird could be seen in the spotless blue sky.
Here, life seemed to be an unnecessary thing; everything appeared so illogical.

I wiped the fine sweat from my forehead, my chest slightly rising and falling with my breathing, and my heartbeat became a bit erratic.

I forgot how long I had walked.
In this directionless forest, I just kept walking forward, ceaselessly.

Snap!

The sound of something breaking came from ahead.
I never thought the first sound I heard other than my own would be so pleasant!

“Brother, is there really a treasure in this Witch’s Forest?”

“Of course there is. The Witch’s Legacy was proven to exist more than ten years ago. If this forest hadn’t been shrouded in strange miasma, the guild would have turned the place upside down long ago.”

“Because this deadly miasma was too potent, no one dared to enter. If the miasma here hadn’t suddenly disappeared three days ago, I really wouldn’t have dared to come.”

“It seems we’re in for a big fortune this time. We should hurry before those guys from the guild get the news.”

“Hahaha, we’re going to strike it rich!”

Two figures were conversing not far away; they seemed to be adventurers.

Great, I finally see people!
I jogged towards them with excitement.

“Who’s there!” The other party noticed me approaching and immediately drew an iron sword, becoming vigilant.

“Hello, my name is Liv Shadowsong. I unfortunately encountered trouble in the forest. Excuse me, do you have anything to eat?” My stomach was really hungry, so I shamelessly asked them for some food.

Ugh, how embarrassing.
This is the first time I’ve asked someone for food in my life, but I can’t care about that right now; I’m practically starving to death…

I tried to remain still while observing them.

If I had to describe the duo before me in four words, ‘tall, short, fat, thin’ would be most suitable; the tall one was very thin, and the short one was very fat.

The tall, thin man squinted, and seeing me unarmed, still looked around cautiously.

When he found no one else nearby, he then scrutinized me, his gaze as if he wanted to lick my entire body, making me shiver.

A bad premonition arose.

“Heheheheh, of course we have food, beautiful lady. We’ll ‘feed’ you from below later!” The duo scanned my body with lewd glances as they spread out to block my escape route.

Damn it, I ran into perverts!

“…” Indeed, I still underestimated my own charm.

Carelessly approaching adventurers in the wilderness, especially male adventurers, was undoubtedly the worst situation!

It seems I was truly starving to foolishness.
This isn’t China, with its good public security in the 21st century.
To actively jump into a wolf’s den or something, sigh!

“Brother, this time, should we fry first then kill, or kill first then fry?” As the short, fat man spoke, I turned and ran.

“Let’s try something new this time. How about frying while killing?”

“Heheh, Brother really knows how to have fun… Little beauty, don’t think you can run!”

I’d be a ghost if I listened to you!

I ran with all my might, scrambling through the disordered forest.

If I had full stamina, escaping deeper into the forest would undoubtedly be the best choice.
Unfortunately, having eaten nothing for three days, my physical condition was unusually poor.
No matter how hard I tried, I wouldn’t be able to escape.

Understanding is one thing; not thinking about it is another.
Right now, I just want to escape for one more second.
Even if I know the outcome, doing nothing is clearly not my style!

Swish!

A sudden chill ran down my back, and a sharp pain shot to my brain.
My body immediately lost balance, and the vibrant green wild grass met me as I fell to the ground.

What happened?
I quickly checked the character status interface and found that my HP was only a shocking 1 point.
I was attacked just now!

My right hand touched the painful wound, and I pulled out a dagger.
A large amount of fresh blood immediately gushed from the wound, and the burning pain made me grit my teeth involuntarily.

“I told you not to run.” I turned with difficulty, just in time to see the tall, thin man’s lewd smile, and a surge of nameless anger instantly rose in my heart.

I’ve had enough.
I’ve encountered so many dangerous things in just a few days of being in this world; it’s really enough!

“Shadow Spear!” You think I’m a pushover if I don’t get angry, huh?!
Filled with fury, I activated the shadow technique, and a black spear shimmered into existence.

The duo was startled by the sudden appearance of the black spear, and they quickly flashed away, moving outside the spear’s attack range.

Just as I was about to launch an attack, a scene that stunned us all appeared.

The Shadow Spear vanished without a trace!

‘Insufficient MP, unable to cast.’

Looking at the prompt text on the character status interface, I felt as if I had fallen into an ice cellar.