Chapter Thirty-Two: Shen Ce’s Embarrassment

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Awkwardness of Shen Ce

The moment he logged in the next day, Shen Ce’s first order of business was to contact customer service about the spell that temporarily transformed him into a demon. All he wanted was to clarify which side his merit points would count toward after falsifying his identity.

The game’s customer service representative who received him was a sweet-voiced young woman. She spoke with utmost politeness, explaining that this was the first time she’d encountered such a situation and would need to consult her superiors for an exact answer. She asked Shen Ce to wait for half an hour.

After half an hour, Shen Ce finally got his answer: as long as he didn’t truly defect while disguised as a demon, his merit points would only be counted for the Light faction.

But the transformation wasn’t without its extra perks—if Shen Ce used his demon appearance to kill players from the Light faction, the system wouldn’t record any kill value for him. Shen Ce pondered this for a moment and decided to make good use of this benefit. For example, he could take the opportunity to eliminate people like Blood Wolf, whom he disliked, without being hunted by the NPC guards, and could redirect the enmity onto the demon faction, thus avoiding any harm to himself or Han Qishao’s guild.

No sooner had he finished questioning customer service than he received a private message from Shui Linglong: “Zero, weren’t you looking for equipment related to assassins? I’ve been paying close attention, but all the readily available gear is either low quality or already reserved. However, a player has a high-level assassin set forging blueprint—an upgradeable B-rank item. Since you said money was no issue, I went ahead and bought it for a hefty sum. I’ve gathered most of the related materials; the only thing missing is a flawless piece of lapis lazuli. I heard a female player has one. She happens to be a priest, and her terms are harsh: she wants someone to take her to Star Spirit Valley for her class change quest. Apparently, many people have failed to help her, so no one else is willing to waste the time and effort. Zero, are you willing to go yourself?”

Star Spirit Valley—the name made Shen Ce’s eyes darken. This female player’s luck was truly unfortunate; she had drawn the most troublesome and difficult class change quest. The task required her to hunt one hundred snow hares within Star Spirit Valley in an hour. If she missed the deadline, she’d have to start over, and the required number of hares would only increase.

The scenery in Star Spirit Valley was beautiful, but the paths were winding and treacherous, and the snow hares were the most cunning creatures there. The quest demanded that the hares be captured, not killed, raising the difficulty significantly.

Originally, the quest could only be completed solo, but so many priests complained on the forums about its harsh requirements that the game’s official team relaxed the rules. Now, the player could seek help from a partner, but the number of snow hares increased from one hundred to one hundred and fifty—so it wasn’t any easier.

After looking over the assassin forging blueprint Shui Linglong sent, Shen Ce agreed to help without hesitation. His main reason was the exceptional attributes of the “Shadow Set” for assassins. Secondly, Shen Ce’s own class change quest had taken place in Star Spirit Valley, hunting snow hares. Back then, it was solo only, and after failing once, he succeeded the second time by exploiting the hares’ fondness for Timothy grass.

Shen Ce arranged to meet the female priest at the entrance to Star Spirit Valley. As soon as he saw her—a figure in white robes and skirt, ethereal as a fairy—he immediately understood why she kept failing at the quest. If he recalled correctly, she was still wearing the novice outfit from when she first entered “Heaven’s Dominion.” Many of the game’s clothes were exquisitely designed, especially the female novice gear, which was widely praised. Yet she’d worn it ever since, just for its beauty—an oddity in itself.

“Are you the one here to help me with the quest?” the female priest asked Shen Ce.

He nodded, and the priest blushed, taking a deep breath before speaking: “You look so much like the priest in a combat demo outside Ling Shui City. He’s my idol—I wanted to become a priest because of him.”

Was that demo still remembered even now? Shen Ce realized he’d underestimated the impact of that thread.

Her dazed admiration made Shen Ce a bit irritable. He added her to his party and promptly denied her guess: “You’ve mistaken me for someone else. Let’s start the quest—you just stand aside and follow me, leave everything else to me.”

Hearing his denial, the priest looked disappointed, then her mood soured further at Shen Ce’s aloof arrogance: “Hey! Don’t underestimate me—I can help you.”

Shen Ce cast her a cool glance. “That’s unnecessary. I assure you I can complete the quest alone. If you mess around, don’t blame me for leaving halfway.” He had already used basic appraisal to check her level and equipment, concluding that she was more likely to cause trouble than help.

Faced with this clear threat, the priest fell silent. At her current level and skill, she couldn’t possibly complete the quest alone in Star Spirit Valley—if she didn’t get torn apart by monsters, she’d be lucky.

Shen Ce strode into the valley, surrounded by tall, sturdy trees. His footsteps made no sound on the rotting leaves; now and then, faint insect noises created an atmosphere of peace and tranquility.

He’d been to Star Spirit Valley several times and knew where the dangerous creatures hid, but since he was only helping with a quest this time, he had no intention of taking risks. He took out the Timothy grass he’d bought and modified in advance and scattered it around. Before long, there were rustling sounds in the grass—some unwary snow hares had taken the bait.

When the cute little creature appeared, Shen Ce swiftly subdued it and placed it in a specially made capture bag. After several dozen minutes, he’d caught the hundred snow hares. The female player took the bag, her cheeks tinged with red: “You’re amazing—more formidable than the priest in that demo.”

Shen Ce frowned at that. “The quest is done. Please hand over the lapis lazuli.”

Disappointed, the female player pouted—this male priest really was dense. She opened the trade panel and gave Shen Ce the lapis lazuli.

It was indeed flawless: delicate, translucent, not a single crack, its color the purest sky blue and very beautiful.

Shen Ce’s lips curved in a faint smile, clearly pleased. He stored the lapis lazuli in his inventory, only to find the female player gazing at him dumbly. His smile cooled. “Why are you still here?”

The female player had thought Shen Ce was just an ice block, but seeing him smile emboldened her to probe: “Handsome, do you have a girlfriend?” She giggled, her eyes sultry and enchanting, reaching out to grab the hem of Shen Ce’s priest robe.

Such a bold move left Shen Ce extremely displeased. He was about to brush off her hand when suddenly, a clear, deep voice sounded overhead: “No girlfriend, but…”

Could it be…Cellos?

Shen Ce’s body stiffened involuntarily. He looked up, and sure enough, a figure in silver robes stood atop a tree branch, mask lightly covering his face, only a pair of deep black eyes and cool lips exposed.

“But what?” The female player was startled by the sudden voice, turning around to search for its source, but finding nothing.

Cellos leaped down from the branch, his thin lips curved in a mocking smile, ambiguous as to whom it was directed—Shen Ce or the female player. Shen Ce felt an odd sense of being a thief caught red-handed by a policeman.

That thought startled him—why would he think that?

While Shen Ce was lost in thought, Cellos extended his long arm and drew Shen Ce close, smiling at the female player: “Do I need to explain further?”

The female player stepped back in shock, her eyes wide: “You two—”

Shen Ce frowned, wanting to push away Cellos’s hand from his shoulder, but he knew Cellos was just putting on a show for her, so he let it be.

Yet, to both their surprise, the frail-looking female player’s face showed a mysterious, shy smile: “You two are a perfect match. Well then, I won’t disturb you.” A white light flashed over her, and she vanished from sight.

Once she was gone, Cellos released Shen Ce’s shoulder openly, lips slightly curled, eyes mischievous: “She said we’re a perfect match.”

Shen Ce breathed an inward sigh of relief as Cellos withdrew his hand. He shook his head: “She was just speaking offhand.”

Cellos pressed his lips together, his expression half-serious, half teasing: “Zero, I’ve thought of a way to enter the Royal Family Library. I used the ‘Companion Across Worlds’ skill to find you, and didn’t expect you to be here…”

Shen Ce’s eyelids twitched; he had a feeling whatever Cellos was about to say wouldn’t be good. Shen Ce hurriedly cut him off: “I’m not as idle as you imagine,” he said, taking out the “Shadow Set” forging blueprint and the lapis lazuli he’d just acquired. “Do you remember I promised to give you a set of assassin gear?”

Cellos’s expression changed as he saw the items, his seductive eyes fixed on Shen Ce: “So, you were gathering materials for my equipment just now?”

Noticing Cellos’s intense gaze, Shen Ce felt an inescapable sense of nervousness. He’d long realized that something felt off whenever he met Cellos’s eyes, as if he were under the spell of some mysterious force.

To ease the odd sensation, Shen Ce looked away. “That’s right. Cellos, come with me to find a high-level dwarf craftsman. I’d originally planned to have the gear made before giving it to you, but it seems best for you to discuss the details with him yourself.”

Cellos lifted his brow carelessly: “You mean Old Dwarf Hatal?”

Author’s Note: (*/w＼*) Actually, there’s a reason Shen Ce is so easily influenced by Cellos—it’ll be revealed later!