Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Life Is Cheap in This World

Dreamscape Academy cafeteria, second floor.

"What should we have for dinner?"

"The left window is featuring deep-fried milk today!"

As soon as Mo Ying and Xiya entered Dreamscape's cafeteria, they heard students chatting and laughing carefreely.

"I see Teacher Liushu over there."

Xiya spotted Liushu from afar; he had come straight to the cafeteria to eat, barely watching any of the matches at all.

He might slack off as a teacher, but when it came to meals, no one was more enthusiastic.

"Looks like there are others, too?"

Mo Ying noticed there were people sitting across from Liushu.

As they got a little closer, they saw clearly that sitting across from Liushu was a very beautiful girl.

She was a short-haired girl with purple hair, done up in two braided pigtails, slightly shorter than Liushu; dressed in a white coat with a small shoulder bag, white stockings and ordinary sandals on her feet.

Her eyes, a light purple, were more beautiful than any gemstone Mo Ying had ever seen.

The girl, who had just been chatting with Liushu, saw Mo Ying and Xiya approach. She didn't say much, just picked up her bag and left.

Mo Ying's eyes followed the girl as she left. The last time a woman surprised her this much was Director Wei, but Director Wei was far too strict.

"Who was that, teacher Liushu?"

Mo Ying sat down in the spot the girl had just vacated, right in front of Liushu.

"Is she your wife?! She's so pretty!"

Mo Ying said, line by line.

"Ahem, cough, cough!!"

Liushu almost choked at her question.

"Things like that shouldn't be said so casually, Mo Ying. If someone overheard you, it could have big consequences,"

Liushu said once he'd recovered.

Mo Ying's curiosity reignited.

"She's a teacher in the infirmary,"

"Yi Guan Huamo · Luciferio." The source of thɪs content is novelFɪre.net

"You probably don't know her because you've never been to the infirmary,"

"Mo Ying's right—she's also a teacher. You just don't know her because you've never needed the infirmary,"

"Huamo isn't just the infirmary's physician, she's also the chief instructor of the medical department," he added.

"So, what's your relationship with her?"

Mo Ying's desire for gossip was lit again.

"No special relationship; we just exchanged greetings in passing,"

Liushu said, continuing with his meal.

Mo Ying's eagerness for gossip fizzled out instantly.

"Teacher Liushu, aren't you eating too much?"

Xiya remarked at the stack of plates piling up next to him.

"Is it a lot? I think it's alright. Maybe the food at Dreamscape is just too good—way better than grass from the ground."

"How desperate does it have to get for someone to eat grass off the ground..."

Mo Ying said, unable to imagine it.

"That was a miserable, long-ago tale. Let's skip over that subject,"

"Let's talk about you two. Have you ever wanted to return to your original world?"

Liushu took a sip of water.

Mo Ying and Xiya exchanged a glance.

"I was guided here by someone. I have to find her and thank her,"

"Oh? Someone gave you something and brought you to Yggdonia?"

Liushu seemed to realize something.

"Xiya came by accident. She was right there next to me, and somehow I pulled her in with me,"

Mo Ying said apologetically.

"It's fine... I didn't have any family left back in that world anyway. And maybe, by coming here, I can find the answers I'm looking for."

"Like Mo Ying, I want to find someone... but..."

"The image of that person has become so blurry in my mind. I know she exists, I remember her, but I can't say her name or recall her face,"

Xiya poured herself some water.

"I want to find her. I don't want to lose her again. No matter what, I want to be by her side."

"But you don't even know who she is. Not her name, nor her appearance."

Liushu put down his bowl.

"In that case, it's probably that someone tampered with your memory—likely some kind of magic, I bet,"

"But since that person has the ability to mess with your memories, she wouldn't let you remember her anyway, which makes this really tricky," he said, spreading his hands.

"As long as you both have your own purposes here, I can rest easier. My greatest fear was that you'd be lost and wandering here without direction,"

Liushu said, setting aside his empty bowl and picking up a newspaper.

"Why do you still read a newspaper when you have a mobile phone?"

"Hm? I still don't really understand how these phone things work,"

"I think it's pretty simple."

"Maybe I'm just too much of a fossil."

"Huh? Did something serious happen in the shopping street yesterday? Someone suddenly went crazy and attacked civilians?"

Liushu noticed a headline as he flipped through the newspaper.

Mo Ying's expression flickered noticeably.

"You were there yesterday, weren't you, Mo Ying?"

Memories of yesterday surfaced, and Mo Ying nodded slowly.

"You saw the Knights clear him out, so now your spirits are down,"

Liushu said as he took out his cigarettes and lighter.

"Teacher Liushu, no smoking in the cafeteria,"

Liushu put the cigarettes away.

"You must have seen the killing firsthand. At your age, feeling so down is only natural," he said.

"I didn't see the actual killing, but I know he died... I just feel a bit..."

"A bit unable to confront the loss of life?"

It was the first time she had witnessed someone killed.

"Mo Ying, this world is called Yggdonia. It's different from your original world."

"Yggdonia is peaceful; there are no large-scale wars. As long as you try to work even a little, you basically won't starve."

"But this is a fantasy world, because there's magic here."

"You could step into a dimensional rift any day and just vanish."

"You might not understand now, but in Yggdonia, if you aren't strong enough, you really can fall victim to accidents. You two are in Anzelona and may not have realized it."

"Anzelona is the most peaceful nation in this world, and not only that, you're in the capital, Tianqing City. As Dreamscape Academy students, you're considered children blessed by heaven many people's eyes."

"Anzelona is in the far west of the world, but in the east of Yggdonia, there's the second largest human nation—Lixiya."

"Lixiya is the Mercenary Kingdom—it's nothing like Anzelona. There are countless mercenaries and Hunters there, often slaying monsters or wild beasts for bounty, and even fighting each other."

"Yggdonia is peaceful, yes, truly peaceful—but only in the sense that there isn't war, no large-scale war."

"If you spend your whole life safe in Anzelona, never leaving, you'll never have any problems."

"But your lives are long. The average human lifespan these days is 300 years. Sooner or later, you'll leave here."

"In the east, there's the Mercenary Kingdom of Lixiya, with its demon city; to the north, the lawless land of Necrograd; to the south, the technologically advanced Mechanical City; the world center, Tianqing City and the elven sea; to the southeast, the dragonspine mountains of Sismilene; the city of angels high in the sky, and beyond all life, the deity's domain, Geluo's Celestial Domain."

"If you don't have the ability to protect yourselves, you can't even go to these places."

"Mmm... I've said all this just to make one thing clear."

"In this world, life isn't that precious... If you're not strong enough, then after losing the protection of Anzelona and Dreamscape, maybe... uh, maybe it's too soon to be telling you all this,"

Liushu realized he'd said too much and flipped to the next page of the newspaper.

"Words alone can't capture all of this. Someday, when you experience things yourself, you'll understand. The second-year hunting grounds are when you'll start to learn all of this,"

Liushu rarely spoke this seriously, but Mo Ying and Xiya couldn't really understand his words for now.

"By the way, where's Shuang Yun? I haven't seen her. Didn't she come with you?"

Liushu suddenly realized Shuang Yun wasn't there.

"She's training with the others in the gym. She works really hard,"

"Probably feeling the pressure of keeping up with you two,"

Liushu wasn't surprised.

People do feel pressure—especially when they realize Xiya and Mo Ying are ridiculously talented, so Shuang Yun has twice the pressure.

In today's training matches, both Mo Ying and Xiya easily defeated their opponents. Only Shuang Yun barely scraped a win with some luck.

"She's the sort who really can't stand losing—competitive to the core. That's not a bad thing."

Liushu folded up his newspaper and tossed it aside.

"Sadly, she only has determination, without the corresponding willpower... or talent,"

"Teacher Liushu, at times you should encourage others more—why are you sighing like that?"

"Ah yes, you're right, sorry. I've just seen too many such cases, can't help but sigh."

"In any case, determination is good to have. As for the rest... this world is full of magic and wonder—who knows what will happen next?"

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