Volume 1, Chapter 7 – The Fairy Who Wouldn’t Smile

The Beginner’s Village was a special area set up by the System in the game world to help players adapt. It acted as both a buffer zone and a starting point.

Most Beginner’s Villages were located at the edges of this vast world. Once a player reached level 10, they could speak to the village chief, apply to leave, and only then were they considered to have officially stepped into the wider game world to begin their adventure.

As for the NPCs in the Beginner’s Village, aside from the village chief, there were only a few.

A blacksmith uncle who sold weapons and equipment, a tailor auntie who sold armor and accessories, an old pharmacist grandpa who sold consumables like potions, and lastly, a food vendor NPC who ran a small shop selling meals.

Yes, the reason there was even a food vendor NPC was because this game had a hunger system.

In short, food was a necessary consumable for players.

And so, Xingyu Muxi held Tianyin’s small hand and led her toward the food vendor.

Because Tianyin’s spawn point was in a rather remote house, and since most players at this time were out grinding monsters and leveling up, Xingyu Muxi was the only one who had discovered her so far.

However, as Tianyin followed Xingyu Muxi toward the NPC vendor, the players who were idly chatting or wandering around the Beginner’s Village couldn’t help but turn their attention toward the pair.

“W-wow… what a beautiful girl…”

Someone gasped in awe at the sight of Xingyu Muxi’s beauty.

“Wait, that girl… if I’m not mistaken, isn’t she one of the top 100 strongest players, and ranked first on the Goddess Leaderboard, the 【Fairy】?”

Another person recognized her and spoke in surprise.

“Hey, look, behind the 【Fairy】, there’s a little girl… wait, that little girl… she’s so… so cute…”

Rеaԁ oո KatRеαⅾіոɡСаfе

A few sharp-eyed players noticed Tianyin, who was feeling overwhelmed by all the attention and was quietly hiding behind Xingyu Muxi.

As soon as that player spoke, everyone’s curious eyes turned toward Tianyin.

“Wow… she’s really, really cute…”

“Whose kid is that? And that silver hair… so pretty…”

“This level of cuteness should be illegal!”

“……”

Comments like those spread through the crowd.

Though Tianyin was aware of how cute her new body was, having people publicly comment on it like this still made her extremely uncomfortable.

At that moment, a cold voice suddenly sounded beside her ear.

“Do you like what you see?”

The voice was unmistakably Xingyu Muxi’s, the same person who had been holding her hand and had just promised to help her find something to eat.

But this time, Xingyu Muxi’s stunning face no longer carried the gentle, tender expression Tianyin had seen before.

Instead, it was cold and distant, like the biting chill of winter.

Reαd οn ΚαtRеaⅾiոɡСafе

The instant her icy voice rang out, the once-bustling Beginner’s Village fell completely silent.

Yes, just a single, simple sentence from her was enough to make the entire crowd of players go dead quiet.

“S-Sister Xiaomu?”

In Tianyin’s eyes, Xingyu Muxi suddenly seemed like a different person. Just moments ago, she had seemed so kind, caring, and gentle, like a big sister anyone would trust.

But now, a faint, almost tangible pressure radiated from her, an aura that warned strangers to stay away.

Hearing Tianyin call her name nervously, Xingyu Muxi’s expression didn’t change. However, the hand holding Tianyin’s small one tightened slightly.

Feeling that subtle squeeze, the anxiety in Tianyin’s heart gradually faded.

“What? Cat got your tongue?”

Xingyu Muxi looked over the gathered players, her expression blank.

After a long, tense silence, when no one dared to speak, Xingyu Muxi slowly parted her lips.

“I’ll let it slide this time. But next time, it won’t be so simple.”

With that, she turned and calmly led Tianyin by the hand toward the food vendor.

Once the pair had walked far enough away, and Xingyu Muxi’s voice could no longer be heard, the crowd began to whisper again.

Rеаԁ оո ΚαtReaԁiոgCαfe

Yet strangely enough, most of the players acted as if nothing had happened, carefully avoiding any mention of the girl who had just walked off with the silver-haired child.

Finally, a newbie player who had only recently started playing virtual games couldn’t understand what was going on and turned to the veteran player beside him.

“Senior, why did everyone suddenly change the topic? We didn’t do anything wrong, did we? We just looked and said a few things.”

At those words, the veteran player’s face immediately twisted with fear.

“You idiot! Keep your voice down!”

“Eh? Why? It’s not like we did anything bad.”

“Hey, I’m telling you, be quiet! If she hears you, the 【Fairy】 will come after you!”

“Come after me?”

“Yes! The 【Fairy】 is one of the top 100 strongest players in the entire virtual gaming world. Maybe she’s not the absolute strongest among them, but for regular players like us, even a hundred or a thousand of us wouldn’t be enough to beat her!”

“That’s… that’s an exaggeration, right?”

The newbie clearly didn’t believe him.

“No, it’s true. There’s proof. Back when the 【Fairy】 first joined another virtual game, the leader of a major guild, one with hundreds of thousands of members, took a liking to her beauty. He told her to become his guild’s lady. When she refused, he threatened to kill her back to level one.”

“What kind of disgusting guy becomes a guild leader like that?!”

Rеаⅾ оո КαtRеаԁіոɡCаfe

“That’s not the point. The point is, a few days later, that massive guild’s core, its central base… was completely destroyed. The 【Fairy】 infiltrated and single-handedly shattered it.”

“And not only that, the guild leader himself, even though he was surrounded by layers of protection from his guild members, was killed repeatedly by the 【Fairy】, until he was reset all the way to level zero.”

“T-that strong…?”

Hearing this story, the newbie’s face froze in shock as he looked toward Xingyu Muxi, who was now standing in front of the vendor buying food.

At that moment, the girl who had just been so cold and terrifying was now gazing tenderly at the little silver-haired girl eating her food. On her face bloomed a breathtaking smile.

“S-Senior…”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“Do you think… the 【Fairy】 can smile?”

“Smile? Impossible. No one’s ever seen the 【Fairy】 smile before. With that icy expression of hers, something like smiling shouldn’t even be possible!”

“But… Senior, look over there…”

Following the direction the newbie was pointing, the veteran’s expression slowly changed into one of disbelief.

“The Fairy… is smiling…”