Freya

Freya hiccuped, clutching the handrail as she swayed up the stairs. As a Veela, her resistances across the board were exceptionally high, making it generally quite difficult for her to get drunk—yet her body instinctively accommodated her mood. When unhappy, she could drink alcohol like water; when joyful, just a whiff of it could make her tipsy. "Sigh, I've booked every mud worker at Frostfall Mud Cafe at least once. It's about time I changed to a new mud cafe... Adela said a new butler-themed mud cafe opened near the university's West Gate. Once my scholarship comes in, I'll go explore... Still, Mudfish Dragon's abs are seriously amazing. Booking him again shouldn't get old..." "Rock Dragon was a pity. His technique was pretty great, but sadly he died in the 422 Incident..." Reaching the third floor, the lights in the corridor flickered. Accustomed to it, Freya felt around for her keys. This building was an old apartment constructed seventy years ago—no elevator, no floor heating, no air conditioning, and frequent wiring issues. Its sole redeeming feature was the dirt-cheap rent. If not for the fact that the landlord wasn't dead yet, it would have been demolished and rebuilt long ago. Still, it wouldn't be long now. The landlord was an orc in his sixties; in a few years, he would almost certainly liquidate his assets to book an anti-aging procedure at a research institute. That surgery was vastly cheaper than life extension surgery, making it a popular choice among lower-tier sorcerers and mortals. Once the research institute took possession of the building, they would naturally turn around and co-develop it with real estate developers, erecting a taller, sleeker apartment building—just like the two new towers going up by the West Gate. But none of that concerned Freya, as she would have graduated and moved away long before then. Unlocking the door, Freya noticed the light was on inside and found it somewhat odd—had she forgotten to turn it off before heading to class today? She slipped out of her knee-high boots at the entryway and changed into slippers. Walking inside, she saw a hooded man sitting at her desk. He was using her Mist Sea-brand Curtain of Knowledge, sipping the Great Orc sweet milk she kept in the mini-fridge, and clacking away at her Cherry Milo keyboard. Her pet Scottish Fold, Xiao Xian, was sprawled on the desk, arching its rump in a stretch before affectionately rubbing against the back of the man's hand. It was a textbook studio apartment: desk, bed, balcony, bathroom, and a kitchenette. From the entryway, one could take in the entire place in a single glance. The man noticed the commotion and looked back at Freya. "Welcome home." "Oh, I'm back." The man resumed browsing the light screen. Freya scratched her head, opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle of cold water, and chugged it down. Suddenly, a wave of acid surged in her stomach. She dashed into the bathroom and threw up a rainbow into the toilet bowl. As she heaved, Freya felt someone gently patting her back to make the retching easier. Three folded tissues were held out to her lips, and she accepted them instinctively. "Thank you." After emptying her stomach, Freya felt much clearer-headed. She came out, dumped all her clothes onto the chair—everyone had that one designated chair for dirty laundry—and turned around to head into the shower. As the warm, gentle stream of water washed over her body, Freya's faculties gradually returned. Leaning against the wall with her chin resting in her hand, she felt a profound sense of wrongness, yet couldn't put her finger on what it was. Suddenly, her eyes flashed cold, and she clapped her hands together. "I only came twice tonight! Usually it's three times—what a rip-off!" She clicked her tongue. "Even if the mud worker I booked tonight was a bit lacking in technique, I paid good money! I should've seen it through to the end, even with tears in my eyes!" After finishing her shower, she dried herself carefully with a bath towel, paying special attention to her underarms, under her breasts, and the insides of her thighs. Drying off every drop of water always made Freya feel exceptionally refreshed. She examined the fine white fuzz on her forearms and calves and decided it was about time for a trim. That was the one hassle of being a Veela: having to constantly shave the fine hairs on her limbs, otherwise they would trap sweat if they grew too long. Freya walked out completely in the nude. The balcony curtains were drawn anyway, and normally no one ever came to disturb her. More importantly, the weather had been warming up lately, and Veelas were naturally prone to sweating—though their sweat gave off a charming fragrance, it was still sticky and unpleasant, making it vastly more comfortable to remain in her birthday suit. Leaping onto the bed, she rolled around twice and called out softly. Xiao Xian immediately hopped over from the man and curled up in her arms. Snuggling against her Shooting Star Dragon body pillow, Freya petted Xiao Xian with one hand while opening her light screen to browse the school forums on the Curtain. She discovered that everyone was talking about tonight's Blood Moon Trial—topics like 'Financier', the 'social child-rearing system', and 'whether we can still take the municipal civil service exam'. It left Freya a bit baffled; when the Blood Moon Trial started earlier tonight, she had still been drinking at the mud cafe. Opening the Mind Department study group, she found that people there were discussing the trial as well, split into the 'Blood Moon Faction' and the 'Financier Faction'. They were locked in an epic three-hundred-round verbal brawl, with a stream of 999+ unread messages. Freya couldn't even scroll to the top, gleaning only that they were debating whether the two Blood Moon races even needed to exist. The affirmative argued that 'the two Blood Moon races are the cornerstone of social development', claiming their near-immortal lifespans were the bedrock of social stability, and that high-level sorcery technologies could only be developed by the two Blood Moon races who didn't need to chase short-term returns. The negative argued that 'the two Blood Moon races restrict multi-racial collaborative development', insisting that precisely because the two races absorbed all high-caliber talent, other races couldn't produce great scholars or grand sorcerers, meaning the glory of the two Blood Moon races was built on parasitizing everyone else! *Wait, is this really an issue we students can reach a conclusion on?* *Even if you all agree the two Blood Moon races shouldn't exist, are they all going to drop dead when you wake up tomorrow morning?* *Everyone's so hostile tonight.* *Was this Blood Moon Trial really that thrilling?* Freya browsed the Curtain for a bit and felt unsatisfied, her thighs rubbing together restlessly. *Two times really wasn't enough. It has to be three!* However, she usually used videos as her casting material, and all her videos were saved on her Curtain of Knowledge. After all, the Curtain of Knowledge had a thirty-two-inch screen, which offered not only a larger picture and higher resolution, but also more storage for hefty video files. Freya's personal chip model was the Miracle 11, which had a pathetic capacity of only 10 sectors; after saving some essential files and materials, barely any space remained. The Curtain of Knowledge, on the other hand, boasted a massive 800 sectors, which hadn't filled up even after Freya crammed in all her games and entertainment. Except the Curtain of Knowledge was currently occupied by that man. Freya stepped over to the desk, glanced at the display, and saw he was watching a replay of tonight's Blood Moon Trial. She tapped his shoulder. "I need to use it." "Oh. Go ahead, you first." The hooded man stood up from the chair with complete obedience. Freya sat down satisfied and deftly opened 'New Folder'. Inside, there were four subfolders: 'Unused', 'Used Once', 'Used a Few Times', and 'Lost Count'. She pondered for a moment. She was in a hurry right now, not in the mood for experimentation, so she selected the fourth folder and opened a video titled *Naughty Male Apprentice Disciplined: The Veela Professor Skilled in Mind Hypnosis*. She dragged the progress bar straight to the climax, and the melodious whimpering instantly had her enthralled again. Just as she could hold back no longer and pulled her portable companion from the cabinet, a jarring wave of wrongness struck her. *Why...* *Why is this chair so warm?* *Like someone was just sitting in it...* Freya whipped her head around and locked eyes with Yaxiu, who sat on the edge of the bed holding a book up to hide his face while stealthily peeking over it. Though Yaxiu immediately averted his gaze, Freya was now completely awake. With a thoughtful look, she raised a finger and pointed at him as though having an epiphany. "Ah! Are you Fishcleaver Dragon?!" "Nope." "Then... then are you Jade Fire Dragon?" "Not him either." Freya couldn't think of any other possibility. "Then which mud cafe are you from? I don't recall ordering home service tonight." In fact, home service was extremely expensive. Her expenses had been rather high lately, and she couldn't afford it. "I'm not a mud worker." "If you're not a mud worker, then why are you in my house... Wait, I saw you when I came back! Even if you were home service, you wouldn't have my house keys!" In shock, Freya backed away toward the balcony door. "Are you a thief?" "Nope. Truth be told, I'm an incarnation of the Blood Moon Sovereign. Having been plotted against by an enemy, I was forced into my current state to remain in the mortal realm. As long as you let me stay here for a few nights, once I regain my status as Sovereign, I will promote you to a Four-Winged Legendary Sorcerer. How about it?" "Really?!" Freya immediately lunged forward and grabbed Yaxiu's left hand, her eyes glistening with tearful anticipation. "Really a Four-Winged Sorcerer?" Blinded by her dazzling, uninhibited headlights, Yaxiu looked away. "Of course it's fake." "Huh?" "You reap what you sow. Becoming a Four-Winged Legendary Sorcerer just by letting someone crash for a few days—how could such an easy deal exist?" Seeing the pout on Freya's face, completely devoid of any altruistic desire to help, Yaxiu quickly added, "But I can give you a sorcery spirit as compensation. How about that?" "What faction?" "What faction do you want?" "Mind faction!" "Done." Yaxiu opened his palm, and a curled caterpillar-shaped sorcery spirit emerged in his hand. Though it was a caterpillar, it wasn't disgusting in the slightest; instead, it evoked a genuine sense of pity. To prepare a universal currency of sorts, Yaxiu hadn't immediately exchanged the sorcery spirits he obtained during his last Void Realm Exploration into game points. Instead, he had stored them all in his soul, and they had indeed come in handy. "A sympathy sorcery spirit!" Freya recognized it immediately. Though it was a common spirit of the mind faction, she hadn't managed to summon one yet. "Deal! That works!" Freya reached for it, but Yaxiu pulled his hand back. "I'll give it to you when I leave." "How do I know you won't back out?" Prepared in advance, Yaxiu pulled a fluorescent white sheet of paper from inside his coat. "We can sign a contract. This is contract paper made by an insurance master." He had gotten Igola to make this paper. As an insurance master, Igola naturally possessed the ability to craft miracle contract papers. Given Yaxiu's relationship with Igola, the latter had naturally been unwilling. However, Yaxiu's excuse had been, "We might need to sign impromptu contracts with people during the prison break." Perhaps Igola couldn't refuse a request that aided their escape, or perhaps Yaxiu had simply annoyed him to the brink of madness. In the end, Igola had begrudgingly let Yaxiu mooch off him several times. Freya blinked. "Well... alright." Wasting no time, Yaxiu immediately drafted the contract. The terms were simple: Yaxiu could stay at Freya's place for the next few days and use the household amenities, while Freya was forbidden from disclosing Yaxiu's existence by any means; in return, Yaxiu had to hand over the sympathy sorcery spirit to Freya before leaving. Freya stood beside him watching him draft the contract, her arms pressed inward so that her ample white mounds formed a magnificent valley. Catching the breathtaking view out of the corner of his eye, Yaxiu nearly wrote his name as 'White, Big, and Soft'. "How did you know my name is Freya Hoyle?" "Your notebook has your name on it." "The Blood Moon Sovereign is named Yaxiu Heath?" "Do you have a problem with that?" "No, no, none at all." Once the contract was drawn up, Yaxiu signed his name and handed the pen to Freya. Taking the pen, Freya paused as if in thought, sending a bead of cold sweat down Yaxiu's neck. But she soon scribbled her signature. The contract took effect, linking Yaxiu and Freya with an invisible shackle. Yaxiu let out a quiet sigh of relief. This way, not only did he have a temporary roof over his head, but he could also borrow Freya's Curtain of Knowledge to browse the Curtain and gather information, allowing him to steadily plan his side quest. It was truly fortunate he had stumbled upon a college girl who wasn't all there upstairs. He had originally planned that if he couldn't freeload using his 'Spectator's Visage', he would relocate immediately—the worst case being sleeping under a bridge for a few days, though that would make investigating Professor Xilin far less convenient. *Then again, do spam text scams not exist in this world? How could a bona fide university student never have encountered a scam along the lines of 'I am the Blood Moon Sovereign, send money'?* "You're actually the leader of the Four Pillar Gods cult, Yaxiu Heath, right?" Holding Xiao Xian, Freya tilted her head. "I actually voted for you during the Blood Moon Trial earlier, you know."