Qing Bai was undoubtedly defeated.
She had already proven incapable of withstanding even a simple clash of minor spells like Wind Blade.
The moment Bick unleashed its boss-specific grand magic, she, utterly devoid of mana, had no choice but to surrender.
Consequently, while attempting to channel her “Mana Recharge” skill, she was struck down by heavenly fire descending from above.
“Sigh.”
Sighing helplessly, Yan walked over, then used his mana to slowly revive Qing Bai, who lay on the ground awaiting her 300-second respawn timer.
This was a rather player-friendly mechanic within the game, Accompanying God Realm.
Even if players weren’t in a party or friends, and were complete strangers, as long as they had exited combat, fallen players in the same map could be revived by others at the cost of some mana.
On a side note, players who perished in a boss battle could not be revived immediately.
They had to patiently wait for 300 seconds, or until their entire party was wiped out, after which they would all revive together at the boss chamber entrance.
“Erm, I’m out of mana. Just a moment.”
Mid-revival, Yan realized he wasn’t wearing his usual high-mana equipment.
Instead, apart from his spear, he was clad entirely in novice gear.
At only Level 20, and without having specifically boosted his mana reserves, he clearly couldn’t sustain Qing Bai’s immediate revival.
Consequently, he unslung the spear from his back and strode towards a cluster of small monsters.
‘It seems I’ll have to make my equipment look a bit more understated after returning to town,’ Yan thought with a helpless sigh.
‘My previous gear was all divine equipment, far too flashy. I didn’t even dare to use it openly.’
Qing Bai, lying on the ground and observing her surroundings in spirit form, rolled her eyes in exasperation, then resumed playing dead.
Typically, physical professions in this game wouldn’t allocate skill points to the mage’s channeled mana recovery ability, “Mana Recharge.”
Instead, they relied on another game mechanic: “Attack Mana Recovery,” to replenish spent mana.
Simply put, basic attacks would restore a small amount of mana.
As the “Attack Mana Recovery” stat increased, the amount of mana recovered would grow proportionally.
Just as Yan prepared to swiftly dispatch a few nearby small monsters, Tian Jiu timidly approached him.
“I-I’ll do it…”
“Oh, in that case, I’ll leave it to you.”
Only then did Yan recall he had a Priest accompanying him.
Priests, much like Mages, would learn the “Mana Recharge” skill to restore mana, and would also specifically boost their mana reserves to sustain skill usage.
She instinctively gathered her priest’s robe to prevent any accidental exposure, then gently knelt beside Qing Bai’s prone form.
Mimicking Yan’s earlier action, she placed her palm just above Qing Bai’s body.
****
An awkward stillness settled between them.
“Um… Yan, how exactly should I do this…?”
Tian Jiu’s small face flushed crimson as she looked up, seeking Yan’s help.
“Hey, hey, you’re a Priest! Don’t you even know the most basic outdoor revival skills…?”
Yan pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation.
Not only him, but even Qing Bai, playing dead on the ground, felt a strong urge to simply return to the main city to respawn.
“I-I’m so sorry…”
Tian Jiu seemed to realize her oversight, her voice barely a whisper, filled with acute embarrassment.
“Ah, never mind,” Yan conceded, utterly won over by Tian Jiu’s genuine newbie status, and abandoned his teasing.
“See that floating ID? Click on that spot in front of you, and a system window will pop up.
“Within that window, there will be a ‘Revive’ option. Just click it.”
In truth, most players could already control these functions with their gaze, foregoing manual clicks.
However, for a genuine newbie like Tian Jiu, it was probably best to simply have her click it the old-fashioned way…
“Oh, oh.”
Tian Jiu, her petite frame still crouched beside Qing Bai, raised her delicate hand and clicked through the windows.
Soon, Qing Bai’s eyes fluttered open.
“Thank you…”
Qing Bai’s thanks, directed at strangers whose party invitation she had just refused yet who had now come to her aid, sounded somewhat lacking in conviction.
“It’s… it’s no big deal.”
Tian Jiu quickly waved her hands, seemingly flustered by the effortless appearance of words that were rarely heard in reality.
“Despite not knowing how to revive someone in the wild, you actually learned the ‘First Aid’ skill, didn’t you?” Yan praised without reservation.
“If you hadn’t learned it, you wouldn’t have revived her so quickly. You’re still a competent Priest.”
“Before playing this game, Tian Jiu did read some guides, didn’t she?”
Recalling something gleaned from their earlier chat, Alice smiled as she spoke, her gaze falling upon Tian Jiu.
This made Tian Jiu blush, lowering her crimson face in embarrassment.
“So, how about it? Want to tackle the boss together?” Yan turned his head to look at the newly revived Qing Bai.
Seeing her about to stubbornly refuse again, he quickly swallowed the words “You can’t beat it alone anyway” that had been on the tip of his tongue.
He offered a friendly smile instead, saying, “This boss is a bit challenging for early-game Mages, and you wouldn’t want the roaming boss you’ve been chasing for half a day to get away again, would you?”
“Mm…” Qing Bai hesitated for a moment, then, with an unwilling huff of tsundere pride, she conceded, “Fine… thank you.”
‘It seems this young lady has finally come to her senses.’
Yan thought with a helpless sigh.
Given his nature, he couldn’t bear to watch a highly skilled player’s gaming experience deteriorate to the point where they were forced to abandon the game.
This was why he was so keen on helping her.
Perhaps it was this very personality that led everyone in the “Blazing Dragon” guild on the old server to strongly recommend him as their guild master, earning him the affection of other guild members.
He sent Qing Bai a party invitation, swiftly pulling her into their team.
“Qing Bai Wants Cola… *chuckle*,” Yan couldn’t help but burst into laughter upon seeing Qing Bai’s ID.
Noticing Qing Bai’s face gradually darkening, he quickly tried to salvage the situation.
“*Chuckle*, I apologize, but that ID is just so… ‘Heavenly Dynasty’ (TL Note: A self-deprecating or humorous term for China, often used by Chinese netizens.) style. But it’s quite cute, really.”
Yet, his laughter didn’t cease.
“What’s wrong with ‘I want cola’?! Cola is the most wonderful beverage in the world!”
Qing Bai seemed utterly unconvinced, expressing her heartfelt love for cola.
“I love cola the most!”
“*Chuckle*, be careful not to drink too much cola, or you might get fat…”
Yan said, half-jokingly.
“You needn’t worry about that, although I love cola, I don’t drink it in reality.”
Qing Bai proudly lifted her head, appearing immensely proud.
“Oh?”
Hearing this, Yan looked at her with a hint of confusion.
“One of the reasons I love ‘Accompanying God Realm’ so much is that here, you can drink 100% authentically recreated carbonated beverages, without having to worry about sugar or calories. It’s perfectly healthy.”
“My favorite cola can even be bought with Divine Coins here!”
Observing Qing Bai, whose joy was clearly overflowing, Yan’s stiff lips struggled to form an appropriate expression, so he simply shook his head slightly and changed the subject.
“Speaking of which, Qing Bai, you seem like an experienced player. Your technique for applying buffs before engaging monsters is quite skilled.”
“Hmph hmph, naturally.”
Qing Bai proudly placed her hands on her hips, clearly confident in her gaming prowess.
“This young lady was among the top hundred on the old server’s strategy rankings.”
“Oh~ that’s quite impressive.”
Yan merely smiled, refraining from revealing that he was actually among the top five on the old server’s strategy rankings, lest he overly dampen her spirits.
“Yan, are you an old player too?”
Yan’s earlier questions seemed to have prompted a realization in her.
Qing Bai tilted her head, her bright eyes fixed on him.
“Mm, I am.”
Yan nodded.
“Hmph hmph, but you’re definitely not as good as this young lady. Not just anyone can get onto the strategy rankings, you know.”
Yan smiled helplessly, not intending to refute her.
However, just because he didn’t speak didn’t mean others wouldn’t…
“Young lady, you’ve got that wrong,” Alice suddenly interjected from among them.
“Yan is a top-five dalao (TL Note: A Chinese internet slang term referring to an expert or master player.) on the old server’s strategy rankings.”
Alice’s single sentence struck the proud Qing Bai like a bolt from the blue, leaving her utterly stunned in place.
“Wha-wha-wha-what?!!!!!”
Ignoring Qing Bai, who was too shocked to do anything but exclaim loudly, Yan instead looked at Alice with a wry smile.
“Alice, what in the world is that strange appellation?”
While Yan himself felt that Qing Bai’s behavior strongly resembled that of a pampered, tsundere young lady, he didn’t believe Alice would utter a playful nickname that might potentially annoy players.
“Hm? What is it?”
Alice looked at Yan in confusion, as if he were the abnormal one.
Then, she suddenly understood something, and with a dawning realization, she lightly tapped her left palm with her right fist.
She then spoke.
“Oh~ the ‘young lady’ appellation? That’s a title Young Lady Qing Bai herself set for Alice to use~”
Alice smiled, looking towards Qing Bai, seemingly waiting for her to step forward and explain.
“What? Is ‘young lady’ not acceptable?” Qing Bai glared at Yan, seemingly having recovered from her shock.
She then offered a graceful smile and spoke.
“In reality, my parents hold a certain social standing, and all the servants at home call me that. I’m used to hearing it, so I had Alice address me that way.”
‘Damn, so she really is a rich young lady from a prominent family. No wonder…’
Yan thought helplessly, observing the arrogant Qing Bai.
“Um, excuse me, but can Alice’s title actually be set by players themselves?”
It was Tian Jiu who spoke.
She seemed more curious about Alice’s title settings than the fact that her two teammates were famous players on the strategy rankings, likely because she hadn’t yet grasped the significance of the game’s rankings.
“That’s right~ Whatever Tian Jiu wishes Alice to call her, Alice will comply~”
Alice smiled and nodded, speaking to Tian Jiu.
“Even intimate titles like ‘husband’ are acceptable?”
No sooner had Tian Jiu’s words fallen than she noticed everyone’s gazes had changed, and the air plunged into a suffocating silence.
“N-no, it’s not like that…”
Tian Jiu’s small face flushed crimson again, and she waved her hands frantically, explaining.
“I was just… a little curious if any players would do that. It’s not… it’s not that I have that kind of inclination.”
“Ahem.”
Yan cleared his throat, easing the almost suffocating atmosphere.
Following suit, Alice also smiled gently.
“Hmm~ how should I put it, such intimate titles are indeed permissible,” Alice explained with a smile to Tian Jiu.
“In fact, there’s quite a number of players who have Alice call them ‘husband’.”
“However, it’s important to note that if multiple players from the same party or guild are present simultaneously, and they’ve set identical titles, Alice will no longer use that title.
“Instead, she will directly address that player by their ID, otherwise, no one would be able to tell who she’s calling.”
“Oh, I see.”
Tian Jiu nodded, appearing to understand yet not quite grasping it fully.
“I’m actually more curious about what the most common title players set for Alice is…”
Yan grinned with a hint of mischievous delight.
Alice gave him a helpless glance, then revealed the truth.
“According to Alice’s statistics, as of the last version update, the most frequently set title among players is ‘Big Brother,’ followed by synonyms for ‘husband’ and similar terms.”
‘Ah, this…’
Although Yan had vaguely anticipated the answer in his heart, upon hearing Alice confirm it herself, he still couldn’t help but think.
‘Indeed, the power of two-dimensional (TL Note: A term referring to anime, manga, and other fictional media, often used in contrast to ‘three-dimensional’ reality.) characters is truly boundless, isn’t it? (TL Note: ‘2333’ is a Chinese internet slang for laughter, similar to ‘lol’ or ‘hahaha’.)’