“You two brats…”
Rhode looked at Icy Snow who had put on the robe and hid behind him, before shifting his gaze to the twins who hugged their heads and squatted in defense. He let out a helpless sigh and crushed the magic crystal in his hand. He knew there was about a 80 percent probability that Bubble was up to no good suggesting this idea. In the end, it seemed like he was indeed right.
Mini Bubble Gum and Icy Snow were considered to have an ill-fated relationship. Even though they knew each other for a long time, when Icy Snow and Rhode knew Mini Bubble Gum, Starlight wasn’t established yet. Logically speaking, the two little fellas knew each other for a long time, so their relationship should have more or less improved. But in reality, it was entirely otherwise. The rebellious Bubble looked down upon obedient girls and was often filled with hostility against Icy Snow who kept replying with ‘My mother said…”, “My father said…”. On the other hand, Icy Snow’s serious personality made it impossible for her to accept erratic people like Mini Bubble Gum. That was why both of them often quarreled when they came together. What made matters worse was that Mini Bubble Gum was unlike the rest. She was unafraid of Icy Snow’s ‘Projectile Shooting’. As a talent who went against a large group of players on the forum alone and killed players in the game until they deleted their characters, there was no doubt about Mini Bubble Gum’s perseverance. Mini Bubble Gum cast a defensive shield over her as long as she was online, taunting Icy Snow: “Come and kill me if you can” and angering her every time. The success of Icy Snow’s Projectile Shooting was its unexpected instant-kill. Icy Snow had no ways against Mini Bubble Gum who didn’t mind casting a defensive shield over her all the time. One had to admit that from a certain angle, these two little fellas did have extraordinary tenacity.
Among the conflicts between them, they unintentionally learned that they were born in the same year, and on the same month and day. Thereafter, Icy Snow and Mini Bubble Gum had been arguing who exactly was the big sister among them. Icy Snow believed that she was born at midnight, so she was definitely older than Mini Bubble Gum. But Mini Bubble Gum wasn’t willing to admit defeat. She expressed confidently that she was born right at midnight and had even seen the time herself!
Utter nonsense!
Up until Rhode transmigrated, it was always an eternal topic of debate between them—who was the big sister. The guild was also used to the bickering between these two mascots. Not only that, but fan clubs were also formed to support them, adding fuel to fire. On the other hand, Rhode actually enjoyed such a comedic development. After all, Icy Snow was too clever for her own good. The sight of her acting like a brat towards Mini Bubble Gum reminded him that she was indeed still young… which made her rather adorable.
Of course, that was only once in a while.
“You really decided to use this method to force Little Icy to call you big sister, huh…”
Rhode let out a helpless sigh, gazing at the two Bubbles who hugged their heads and revealed an expression of agony upon witnessing the crushed magic crystal in his hand. As a matter of fact, Canary and Mini Bubble Gum had also felt a similar sort of resentment. Perhaps it was that they were also naked when they were first summoned, so later on, when Rhode summoned other characters, both of them watched from the sidelines with a ‘you-shall-suffer-the-same-loss-as-me’ expression. But it was a pity that Orchid Heart was summoned in a card form and came equipped with an armor and weapon, failing to satisfy Mini Bubble Gum’s greed. As a result, it seemed only right for Mini Bubble Gum to take it out on Icy Snow.
“There’s no need for that, Leader!”
Upon hearing Rhode’s sigh, the two Bubbles jumped up suddenly and said in a righteous tone. Then, they revealed a proud smile at the same time, knitting their brows and curling their lips at Icy Snow, who stared at them.
“Hahaha, that’s because we’re sure that we’re the big sisters now!”
“W-What makes you think you are…”
The instant Icy Snow rebutted instinctively, Bubble interrupted.
“You’re a phantom guardian, right?”
“Yes…”
Unlike the original self, phantom guardians would be informed of their identities when summoned. That was why the obedient Icy Snow couldn’t possibly lie and simply nodded. Upon hearing her response, Bubble revealed a satisfied smile. She pointed her finger at Bubble No. 2 and then at Icy Snow.
“You’re a phantom guardian, and so is she. But she was summoned by Leader earlier than you! That is why she is your big sister! You don’t have any excuses anymore, huh! And I… am her big sister… right!”
“That’s right, Big Sister!”
Bubble No. 2 seized the chance to work with her original self. After receiving the confirmation from Bubble No. 2, Bubble revealed a delighted smile at Icy Snow and stuck her thumb out.
“You see, she is your big sister. She calls me a big sister too, which makes me your big sister! Come on, Little Icy. Let me hear you call me your big sister!”
“You… You…!”
The fuming Icy Snow was speechless by this theatrical double act by the two Bubbles. Although Icy Snow was a phantom guardian, she didn’t wish to surrender to them. But it was a pity that Bubble’s arguments were indeed reasonable, which put Icy Snow at a complete loss. As a well brought up child, she wasn’t an annoying troublemaker like Bubble, which explained why she didn’t know how to retort. She let out a grunt and turned over to stop looking at Bubble. Meanwhile, Bubble treated this as a sign of yielding and jumped up and down in excitement.
“Hahaha, I win! I finally won! You see, Leader, a piece of cake!”
“In this case, why did you still take a video of it?”
“To threaten her, of course! I can make her do anything I want in the future. If she dares to defy my orders, I will play it for others!”
This can’t go on. These two brats are beyond hope.
Facing these two smug little fellas, Rhode’s only choice left was to punish them with a fist to the head.
Pow! Pow!
***
“Nice to meet you, I’m Icy Snow…”
After putting on another set of clothing, Icy Snow followed Rhode’s lead to meet the rest. After all, the robe that Rhode handed to her was to cover up her body and wasn’t meant to be her permanent equipment. Fortunately, Rhode had requested Lydia to retrieve a set of ‘Thorn of Dawn’ bow, arrows, and armor before summoning Icy Snow. Even though the ‘Thorn of Dawn’ was a set of archer costume for someone with a reputation level higher than ‘Worship’ in the Munn Kingdom, in terms of value, it wasn’t comparable to Icy Snow’s rightful ‘God Hunter’ equipment in the game, which she could obtain later. For now, the ‘Thorn of Dawn’ was sufficient as a substitute at this stage.
Of course, even though there was a ‘dawn’ in its name, it wasn’t exactly an armor for dawn angels. The armor that dawn angels wore was considered heavy-armor and wasn’t suitable for archers at all. ‘Thorn of Dawn’ was a suit of white leather armor with a large jade longbow. Icy Snow wasn’t mindful about the equipment. In the game, she used equipment that was much better than this, so this longbow didn’t have any unique significance to her.
“Leader, is she a half-beast?”
Gazing at the twitching black cat ears and tail in the back, Anne couldn’t help but ask curiously. Facing her question, Rhode shrugged.
“You could say that. She’s about the same as you.”
Icy Snow had initially chosen a human race. But in a mission, she accidentally triggered the hidden condition of fusing with a beast spirit, gaining the reward to fuse with a black cat. That was why Icy Snow had a pair of cat ears and a tail. Of course, this wasn’t only to ‘act cute’. As a matter of fact, Icy Snow also gained the nimbleness of a cat and the special skill of ‘concealment’, making it even harder for others to deal with her. She could conceal herself whenever she wanted and sprint in extreme speed. In addition to her ultra long-range Projectile Shooting, she was simply a nightmare for all outdoors PK.
But Rhode didn’t summon Icy Snow just to introduce her to everyone.
“Alright, Little Icy. Leave this to later. You should know what to do, right? Do you have any questions?”
“No, I will give it a shot, Big Brother.”
Upon hearing Rhode’s question, Icy Snow nodded in response. Rhode had explained everything that happened to Icy Snow and why he needed her help. Icy Snow was glad to accept his request for help. Of course, she didn’t forget to glare at the two Bubbles and criticized: “I won’t be as useless as someone.”
But it was a pity that those two shameless brats weren’t affected by such an insignificant statement from Icy Snow.
Icy Snow agilely stepped on the deck and gazed into the distance. Apart from white layers of cloud, there was nothing else. But to Icy Snow who possessed [Space Detection] and the power of manipulation, it was an entirely different matter.
She gazed ahead with her pitch-black eyes, penetrating the distance and barrier of space, shooting straight at where she anticipated. She narrowed her eyes and they glinted in countless flashes. Objects that shouldn’t be seen by human eyes appeared in her line of sight. She shifted her eyes slightly and searched for essential clues. Then, she came to a sudden halt.
“Found it,” the young lady said softly.
