“Ha?”
“I said, who’s the father?” Lyrica repeated herself.
“Father? There’s no father. Lisandra’s Adopted.” Shiro replied with a tilt of her head.
“I know about the blonde one but what about her? She looks just like the previous you since you had black hair.” Lyrica said, pointing at Yin.
“Mn? You should know about her. It’s Yin.”
“Yin?”
“Yeah. She’s the tiny bird from before.” Shiro nodded as she gestured for Yin to transform.
“Who are you calling tiny.” Yin pouted a little.
“Whatever.” Shiro rolled her eyes.
Sighing slightly, Yin transformed herself back to her phoenix form and perched herself on top of Shiro’s head. Naturally, she made herself small since she didn’t want to crush Shiro under her.
“Eh? How?! And why does she look like you then?” Lyrica asked in confusion.
“Life Blood Contract. We established it before she was born so maybe my blood changed her appearance?” Shiro said as she tapped Yin on the beak.
“So there’s no father?”
“Of course not.” Shiro rolled her eyes.
“Oh phew. I was worried for a moment.” Lyrica sighed and patted her chest in relief.
“I don’t know what you’re worried about but congratulations I guess? Also, why are you two standing so far away.” She said while narrowing her eyes on Madison and Silvia.
“Oh nothing. We were just curious about the infrastructure of this stadium.” Silvia explained quickly.
“Hm… Fine whatever. The three of us were about to go to a restaurant. Do you girls want to join us?” Shiro asked.
“Of course we’ll join.” Lyrica nodded.
Making their way to the restaurant, they talked about what they were doing since joining the faction.
“Us three just kept going in dungeons. Fu fu~ I have to say, I believe that our teamwork has increased quite a bit.” Lyrica grinned.
“Of course it should increase. Plus, the fact that all three of you are reaching level 50 is a good sign. Soon, you’ll be able to class up. Don’t disappoint me ok?” Shiro smiled lightly as she glanced at both Silvia and Madison’s chest.
‘Since the class up got rid of mine, it should also get rid of their bosom right?’
Both Silvia and Madison couldn’t help but sweat at Shiro’s behaviour.
‘She’s still the same as ever.’ They thought tiredly.
Arriving at the restaurant, they were led to a table for 6 as Yin instantly picked up the menu and started to look through all the options.
While Yin was choosing the food, Shiro talked about their future plans.
“Right now, I feel like I should give you three some space to develop with each other so we won’t party up for a bit.”
“I agree. Previously, we were a bit reliant on you. After parting for a bit, I definitely feel like I’ve improved quicker.” Madison nodded in agreement.
“Eh? But I kinda miss partying up with Shiro.” Lyrica puffed up her cheeks in disappointment.
“So do I but we must learn to level up by ourselves instead of relying on Shiro.” Madison shook her head.
“She’s right you know.” Shiro agreed with a smile.
As they grow more independent, their individual prowess would soar. Once they party up again, all they needed to do was match up their tempo and they’ll easily clear dungeons and defeat high level enemies.
“Urg…” Seeing that Shiro agreed with splitting up for now, Lyrica couldn’t help but sigh.
After talking for a short while, Shiro gestured for the waiter to come since it looked like Yin’s finished picking out the stuff she wanted to eat.
“What would you like to order?” The waiter asked with a smile.
“Can I have all the entire menu minus the drinks?” Yin said with a smile.
“…”
“What?”
Even Shiro couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow in confusion.
‘Did I just hear that correctly?’ She wondered.
“I said that I want everything on the menu except for the drinks. Is that hard to understand?” Yin tilted her head.
“Oi, do you know how much everything is?” Shiro said as her smile twitched a little.
“Why would it matter? It’s not like you spend money on buying armour anyway.” Yin retorted.
“. . .” Shiro paused for a moment since Yin was correct. With her power, she can easily farm high level monsters to get equipment. Her weapon was also sorted since she had Ataraxia. Hell, even without Ataraxia, she had her magic and firearms.
So money wasn’t a big concern for her.
“Even so, you’re not having everything on the menu. Pick 10 things max.” Shiro shook her head.
“Tch, fine.” Yin frowned before looking in the menu once more.
“Sorry about this.” Silvia apologised to the waiter.
“Ah no worries. I’m fine with waiting.” He smiled since he couldn’t help but feel grateful for Yin. The longer she took to look through the menu, the more time he had to enjoy the table of beauties. Especially Madison since he couldn’t help but glance at her chest.
Naturally, the girls noticed this but decided to do nothing since they didn’t want to cause a commotion. Shiro was different though since she wasn’t scared of a measly level 50.
Sweeping her eyes over the waiter, Shiro released a sliver of killing intent as his face paled instantly.
Looking at the source of his fears, he made eye contact with Shiro and flinched back in shock.
Her pure black eyes seemed to draw his soul away the longer he stared. Not daring to look at the table of beauties anymore, he stared at the ground while trying his hardest to stop his body from shivering.
“Thank you.” Madison whispered over to Shiro.
“Don’t worry about it.” Shiro waved her hand lightly.
Soon, Yin picked out 10 dishes as the waiter quickly left the area as if his life depended on it.
“So can you tell me about how you even adopted Lisandra?” Lyrica asked curiously.
“Hmm… well I met her in a quest and formed a contract with her. That being said, what happened with Yuan Tian?” Shiro asked as she couldn’t see the butler.
“I’m right here my princess. I wouldn’t want to disrupt your reunion after all.” Yuan Tian smiled as he materialised behind Lyrica.
“Don’t worry about it. So, how is Lyrica’s swordplay?” Shiro asked with a smile.
“A little rough around the edges but her potential is rather peculiar. I sense that she suits the dual ended blades but at the same time, it is still preventing her from using her pull power.” Yuan Tian replied.
“Of course. Ever heard of hidden proficiency? Well her hidden proficiency is a mix between the dual blades and the bladed whip. Until we can get a blacksmith that’s able to craft such a weapon, Lyrica won’t be able to use her full power.”
“I see… So that’s why.” Yuan Tian nodded his head in understanding.
“Speaking of which my princess, your martial arts seemed to have improved immensely in the time that you were gone.” He said while smiling.
“Mn, it has been quite a fruitful week for me. I spent a few months inside the quest world, got rewards and even got myself an adopted daughter.” Shiro nodded her head.
“Ah speaking of martial arts, how far are you with phantom path?”
“About this…” Both Lyrica and Madison scratched their cheeks in embarrassment.
“Well we managed to get some success it them but we reached a bottleneck soon.” Madison said as Shiro frowned slightly.
“Explain.”
“So when I tried to use third phantom, I feel the impact being amplified inside my body rather than redirecting it. As for second phantom, the strain on my muscles made it hard to use continuously. I’ve tried to do some body workout to increase it but the backlash only increased rather than decrease.”
“Hmm… and is this the same for you Lyrica?” Shiro asked while crossing her legs.
“Pretty much. For second phantom, I’m able to sustain it for a little longer but overall, it strains my body quite a bit. Third phantom is completely out of my league.” Lyrica sighed.
“Hmm… I think it’s to do with the way you move your bodies. As a tank, Madison is used to moving her body in a way that requires her to redirect the force. But even then, her control over her body is a little lacking. Same goes with you. You’re more suited for second phantom but you’re lacking in body control.” Shiro explained.
“So how can we fix this?”
“Well it’s simple. You just need to increase your control over your body. Make sure that you can control all of the muscles individually and control how much power is generated.” Shiro said while playing around with a fork.
“It sounds simple yet we all know that it’s harder than what you make it out to be.” Madison raised an eyebrow.
“True. But honestly there’s not much else to it. I’ve already broken down the martial arts in your books to its simplest form. Now is only a case of you learning how to improve your control over your body. I’m not you and I don’t have a body similar to you so I can’t exactly teach you a suitable way for your body to move. You need to discover that yourself.” Shiro confessed with a shrug.
This was about as much as she can do for them. Rest of it was down to their own efforts.
Before she could continue, she felt a powerful gaze on her and looked towards the source. It was a teenage boy who wore a grey hoodie and black jeans.
His black hair was neat and tidy while his face was quite handsome.
[Chen Yu – LVL 55 ???]
‘Disguised class huh? Strange.’ She thought after inspecting him.
Seeing that he had caught her attention, Chen Yu mouthed a few words before leaving the premises.
Narrowing her eyes, Shiro frowned.
“Tch, troublesome.” She muttered while standing up.
“You girls enjoy the food; I’ll be right back.” She said before leaving the table.
Watching her leave, the girls shrugged before digging into their meal. From their knowledge of Shiro, they knew that she wasn’t one to be in danger. Even if she was, she’ll be able to escape without problem hence why they weren’t too worried about her.
As for Shiro, after leaving the restaurant, she jumped up onto the roof and sat down.
“Did the Nan Tian send you?” She said with disinterest.
“Yes, it was the branch master that sent me.” Chen Yu replied.
While he was only level 55, Shiro could tell that he was much stronger than the average level 55.
“So, what does he want?”
“There are a few things that needs to be investigated in the area. You’ll complete them and I’ll hand you the reward before reporting to the branch master.”
“Hou~ So he ain’t around huh? And here I thought he said that he’ll be following around.” Shiro smiled.
“Are you disappointed?”
“F*ck no. I’m ecstatic.” Shiro grinned.
“…”
“Anyways, I’ll tell you about the tasks in the area. T-”
“Just give me the list of quests. I’ll complete the ones that I find interesting. That was the agreement between me and him. I do the quests that I like and he’ll pay me. Nothing more nothing less.” Shiro cut him off.
“Tsk. Fine. Here, take it.” Chen Yu said, clearly annoyed.
Taking the note, Shiro smiled before flickering in front of the teen.
“Behave yourself and I’ll reward you with the chance to help me piss Nan Tian off ok?” She grinned and ruffled his hair.
Jumping away, she snickered slightly after seeing his annoyed face.
‘Nan Tian’s followers are so serious. Even the hacker girl from before was like this. Since I joined his faction branch, maybe I should loosen them up before taking over the branch and subsequently the faction itself. That might be fun. Plus, if I do this, I’ll have my own power to secure a footing in this world.’ She thought to herself.
Watching Shiro jump away, the teen gritted his teeth in annoyance.
“F*ck! What the hell does the branch master see in her anyways? She’s just cuter than average humph. She even has an ass fetish for god’s sake.” He complained while making sure that his hair was neat again.
Seeing that he was going to be the agent between them, he had made sure to research on his target before making contact. After finding out about her history of attacks, he naturally assigned her the title of ass freak.
Sighing heavily, he started to regret taking this mission.
“Branch master ah, I get that she’s cute but her personality is too dangerous for males ah. You might lose your chrysanthemum if you’re not careful.- wait… aren’t I the one in the most danger? Oh f*ck.” He paled slightly before flickering away from the place. He was going to make sure that he lodged a complaint against his branch master.
After returning to the restaurant, Shiro ordered some more food for herself since she had clearly underestimated how much food Yin could eat. Once they finished the meal, they talked for a little longer before parting ways. They agreed that before they hit level 100, they’ll go to dungeons separately since Shiro was clearly too experienced to be partying with them. A problematic situation that can only be solved once the girls gain some decent experience themselves.
“So they’re mum’s friends huh? I must say they’re quite fun to be around.” Lisandra said with a small smile.
“Fu fu~ You should meet Kanae then.” Yin smiled since she enjoyed playing with Kanae the most. She allowed her to eat as many mana stones as she wanted after all.
“You know that we won’t be seeing Kanae anytime soon. She’s still young.” Shiro smiled. Thinking of Kanae, she wondered if she was going through her first awakening yet. Once she awakens, she’ll gain her first class.
Shaking her head, Shiro checked the map to see if there were any dungeons nearby. It was time to upgrade her sword with the Divine Metal and Heavenly Runes that she got from the quest.
