【 YOU HIT THE GODDESS 】

—

Amidst the clattering sounds, one player after another struggled as they crawled out from the wreckage.

And just like Optimist, each of them first looked around in confusion, as if they had yet to understand what had just occurred.

Then, when they caught sight of the familiar, sacred figure in the distance, they all froze.

Even Boxlunch, who’s usually a reticent person, dropped the dagger in his hand with a sharp clang.

It was unclear whether their bodies were still feeling unsteady after climbing out of the rubble and undergoing forceful teleportation, or whether they had simply not yet prepared themselves mentally to meet the Goddess herself in the flesh.

Only when another round of noise from shifting debris sounded did it finally break the awkward silence.

Along with a cloud of rising dust, a hand suddenly extended from beneath the blackened bricks.

Demacia, with his explosive hairstyle now dyed gray with dust, struggled as he emerged from the ruins.

While checking his physical condition, he complained irritably:

“Ugh, what happened? Why did the screen suddenly go black? I was just about to watch the Goddess fight those Demons! I even had my video recorder ready. Why did the scene just cut off halfway through?”

“Hm? What the—my HP dropped by more than half?! just a little more and I would have entered a continuous bleeding state… I almost went to see the Goddess. Whew, that was close, really close…”

However, no one responded to him.

“…Hmm?”

Demacia sensed that something was off.

He instinctively raised his head and looked at the nearby players, only to find them staring at him with strange expressions.

He chuckled and greeted them:

“Hey! Looks like everyone’s alive!”

No one still spoke.

Yet the odd looks remained.

Seeing their odd behavior, Demacia felt increasingly puzzled.

Confused, he lowered his head to examine the demonic armor on his body. It was somewhat damaged from the recent impact, but nothing about it seemed particularly unusual.

“Hey guys…? don’t look at me like that. Even I get creeped out when you all stare at me like that. Sure, I’m handsome and charming, but I’m still a shy young man…”

Demacia added.

As he spoke, he pulled a mana-restoring fruit from his pocket, took a hearty bite of its most potent flesh to replenish his nearly depleted MP, and casually tossed the remaining leftover skin behind him.

At that moment, he noticed the corners of the other players’ mouths twitch visibly.

Especially Dōngdōng and Little Salty Cat.

The two girls widened their eyes instantly as their expressions shifted from odd to shocked, and then from shocked to… admiration?

Demacia: “…”

“Uhh, hey guys…? what kind of looks are those? Say something, jeez!”

He said with dissatisfaction, whilst still chewing.

In the end, Li Mu could not bear it any longer.

He rubbed his forehead slightly and began typing in the chat group.

A new message then appeared in their group’s chat box, and the written message Demacia caught it from the corner of his eye:

‘The skin of the fruit that you threw hit the Goddess…’

Demacia: “…”

“—What?”

His face went blank.

‘The Goddess… is right behind you.’

Cypher typed.

Seeing the new message, Demacia abruptly stopped chewing as his eyes widened, mouth slightly agape, and his body stiffened.

Only his eyes quickly darted backward, yet as if afraid to confirm what he might see, he did not dare to fully turn around.

Then, shuddering, he struggled to stand, but lost his balance and slipped, falling heavily to the ground.

His body tilted backward, and he landed flat on his back.

What entered his view was a sacred regalia he knew all too well.

Only the viewing angle was somewhat… delicate.

His head had nearly collided with it.

For a brief instant, as he dumbly stared at the surreal sight above him.

Demacia: “…”

The first thought that came into his mind was that perhaps his usual artistic depictions had exaggerated the Goddess’s proportions somewhat.

Of course, such chaotic thoughts lasted only a moment.

In the next second, as if pricked by a thousand needles, Demacia immediately sprang up from the ground.

Then, under the stunned gazes of the other players, he turned around swiftly, dropped to his knees with a thud, and began kowtowing repeatedly, whilst chanting with utmost devotion:

“Praise be to Nature! Praise be to Life! Praise be to the great Goddess of Life, Eve!”

Evé: “…”

The rest of the players: “…”

༺⟐༻

No one had died.

Not a single member of the ten-man reconnaissance team.

Even Evé herself felt a trace of surprise upon seeing these ten players emerge from the fortress wreckage.

However, she quickly understood how did they survived.

The connection between her incarnation and the game system had weakened, and her power had been suppressed. As a result, she had not immediately noticed that they had also entered this sealed world.

That not a single person had died was indeed quite surprising.

However, their consciousness was protected by the game system, and their souls had not actually entered this place.

Under such circumstances, enduring the ravages of the spatial storm was only natural.

It was just that the timing of their encounter was somewhat awkward to say the least since she had not yet switched identities, and is still in her complete Goddess persona.

Speaking of which, aside from formal occasions, Evé realized she had never really directly interacted with the players in a casual setting while appearing as the Goddess.

Thus, at this moment, she found herself uncertain as to what attitude she should adopt when facing them.

After all, to the players, the Goddess was a distant lofty figure, their faction leader whom they could revere from afar, yet rarely approach or interact with directly.

Although she was widely recognized as the most popular NPC in the game, in truth, in her current Goddess persona, she felt far less at ease than when acting as Zero.

If a comparison had to be made, then as the ultimate object of veneration for her believers, and as the unseen ruler behind the game, the ‘Goddess of Life’ had stood in a lofty position for so long that even Evé herself now felt a certain burden tied to this persona.

—No.

For a true deity, this distance could not be called a “burden” but rather, should be described more as a sense of proper distance and mystery.

A divine stature, so to speak.

Distance creates beauty, and mystery inspires reverence.

Yes.

That’s exactly it.

Compared to this hesitation over how to engage with the players, the fruit skin that Demacia had accidentally thrown at her—which had been automatically deflected by divine power—was of no concern to her at all.

For the moment, Evé decided to stay silent.

However, following Demacia’s actions, the other nine players exchanged glances and then, one after another, knelt down as well:

“…Praise be to Nature! Praise be to Life! Praise be to the great Goddess of Life Eve!”

Eve: “…”

As she watched these ten players, who were now cautious and well-behaved like obedient schoolchildren, she suddenly realized another issue.

Not only had she been caught off guard by this sudden development, but these players were likely even more so.

Yet their respectful and compliant attitude helped her break free from her spiraling train of thoughts.

Indeed, there was no need for her to overthink how to interact with them…

At this moment, she was the exalted Goddess of Life, the leading figure of their faction, an NPC of immense importance to the players in every sense.

Thus, she only needed to act in accordance with the demeanor expected of a faction leader NPC.

There was no need for many overcomplicated words. It would suffice to express a gentle attitude and outline their general objective.

Plus with the game system still functioning, in most situations it was enough to simply assign them tasks.

In this manner, even without excessive dialogue, she could maintain a certain level of mystery and avoid diminishing her own divine stature before these players.

Having reached this conclusion, Evé subtly invoked her power, strengthening the connection between her incarnation and the players before her.

Then she smiled faintly and said:

“At ease. There is no need to be overly formal. Brave Chosen Ones, I require your assistance to search this world for traces of the Shadow elves…”

“Are you willing?”

Hearing Eve’s gentle and melodious voice, and seeing her beautiful and captivating smile, even the two female players found their gazes momentarily dazed.

Especially Dōngdōng. Being the Goddess’s most devoted female fan, this girl was already completely entranced.

In her field of vision, she had instinctively opened the screenshot interface and was rapidly capturing images.

At this moment, only one thought filled Dōngdōng’s mind:

Kyaa!

The Goddess!

Her dressed in her divine regalia with silver hair, is absolutely stunning!

It must be said that when one’s appearance and bearing reach a level that could almost be considered unfair, no one can resist such charm.

And when combined with certain tangible incentives, it becomes even more irresistible.

For example, the Goddess’s favorability.

For example, the various shop discounts, experience bonuses, and contribution buffs tied to that favorability.

For example, the experience of undertaking missions alongside the Goddess, something players could boast about for a lifetime.

Showing off was something every player longed for.

And now, gaining the Goddess’s recognition and completing a quest alongside her was already the kind of achievement one could boast about forever within the whole server.

Not to mention that in the future, when interacting with other elven NPCs, such experiences could serve as valuable leverage to rapidly increase favorability.

Faced with Eve’s smile, everyone responded excitedly:

“We’re willing! We’re definitely willing!”

Their answers came out immediately, without the slightest hesitation, as if they feared she might change her mind.

Accompanied by the system’s soft chime, the new quest issued by Evé appeared within their field of vision.

“Then let us depart. However… before we set out, everyone should change their clothing first.”

Evé continued with a smile.

The players exchanged glances, nodded firmly, and then quickly dispersed toward places where they could conceal themselves and change.

Even Demacia, who usually just changed equipment anywhere at will—thus filling the screen with holy light—uncharacteristically followed Li Mu into a small grove to change.

Before long, everyone in the team returned, their appearances completely transformed.

They had switched into their usual gear.

These ten players selected by Cypher for his team were all highly skilled veterans. Even the poorest among them, the easygoing optimist, carried a spatial ring, within which spare clothing and equipment had already been prepared.

Yet when the players returned, they were once again left momentarily stunned.

Within their field of vision, Eve’s appearance had changed.

Her waist-length hair had been tied into a silver ponytail. The sacred divine regalia was gone, replaced by a set of silver skirt armor adorned with golden patterns.

Beautiful, striking, and full of heroic grace.

Her appearance blended seamlessly with that of the players, yet lacked the flashy effects that made player gear seem gaudy, instead giving her an air of transcendent elegance.

The players’ eyes lit up almost instantly upon seeing it.

Dōngdōng widened her eyes even further, and the screenshot function in her system interface began firing off rapidly once again.

Only one thought echoed repeatedly in her mind:

Kyaa!

The Goddess in her battle armor looks so amazing as well!

“Let us depart,”

Evé said softly.

With that, she took the lead and walked toward the distance.

Her combat power stood at the pinnacle of this world. Therefore, as long as she still had divine power remaining, Leviathan would likely not come to confront her directly.

At most, the forces aligned with Leviathan in this world might seek to trouble her.

As such, there was no need for reconnaissance or elaborate preparation. They could simply advance directly, locate any nearby factions, and inquire about the whereabouts of the shadow elves.

Of course, once they reached a town or a faction’s stronghold, the actual task of gathering information would be assigned to these ten players in the form of tasks, while she herself could simply observe and listen to their reports.

Evé left the ruins of the demonic fortress and entered the forest in the distance.

The ten players exchanged glances, nodded, and followed behind her.

Their orderly and obedient movements resembled those of attendants protecting a noble lady.

Of course, if something truly happened, who would be protecting whom would be another matter entirely.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, as these ten players uploaded their “group photos” with the Goddess to the official forum, the entire forum exploded with activity:

“What! Holy shit! There’s actually a hidden quest where you can do a quest alongside the Goddess?”

“Who triggered it?”

“Cypher…”

“Cypher? That guy again? Damn his luck is so insane. I’m so jealous…”

“Hey, take more screenshots! And get some videos too! I want to see the Goddess smile!”

“Ahhh! I want a close-up photo with the Goddess too! So jealous…”

“Jealous +1”

“Jealous +2”

“… ”

The forum was filled with an overwhelming atmosphere of envy.

Even in the game’s public world chat, similar messages began to flood the log box in rapid repetition.

The ten players following behind Evé were constantly hearing system notification chimes, while their friend chat windows were nearly overwhelmed with incoming messages.

From this alone, one could easily see just how popular the Goddess is.

Even Evé herself became aware of the situation.

Through her perception, she could sense vast streams of information rapidly flowing through the players accompanying her.

Without drawing attention, she quietly strengthened the game system connection to take a brief look, and then… adjusted her posture to look even more composed.

After all, anyone who realized that out of these ten people following her, seven were livestreaming, while the remaining ones, aside from Boxlunch, were frantically taking screenshots and recording videos, would naturally become more mindful of their image.

Ah…

It’s so troublesome to maintain this divine stature of mine…

Evé inwardly grumbled.

Under her leadership, the team advanced looking outwardly calm and composed, while in reality, these players were inwardly bustling taking nonstop recordings.

The forest was dense, the sky high and clear.

Fresh air filled their lungs, and the sounds of birds and beasts were hidden within the woods.

If not for the sun above, encircled by golden runes, and the thin magical energy in the air, the ten players might have believed they were walking within the Elven Forest.

Of course, while it could be described as walking, it was closer to moving at a swift pace.

Elves were naturally adept at moving through forests, and after reaching the Silver-rank, their speed was on an entirely different level.

After some time, the trees on both sides gradually began to thin.

As the group continued forward, signs of intelligent life slowly began to appear within the forest.

Finally, after crossing a winding, crystal-clear river, a dirt path overgrown with weeds appeared before them.

The road stretched onward toward the north.

Farther ahead, the forest gradually opened up, and the view became wide and unobstructed.

In its place lay a vast expanse of golden wheat fields.

The dirt road wound through the fields, leading into the distance, where at its end a village with houses built in stones could be faintly seen.

TL/Note: lol Demacia be like:

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