House Reflecting the Mind

Whether it was Finance or Offense, neither helped their current predicament. They quickly put this trivial matter aside—though only temporarily, as Sonia would undoubtedly mock Yaxiu often in the future: "You don't have a single copper, so what the hell are you managing?!" "Then that leaves the third option: casually find any special Void Realm structure where the Heroic Spirit Legion can't enter, duck inside, and immediately disconnect from the Void Realm. We won't lose a thing." Yaxiu swerved the car to dodge a ranged attack. "The problem is, those kinds of Void Realm structures are rather hard to find." "Isn't there an option to turn around and kill them?" Diya asked. "Like using your invincible little car to run them over?" Sonia glanced at Diya and saw that another streak of red hair had appeared on her head, a clear sign that the Red Apostle had joined the meeting. Yaxiu explained, "Most of this car's modifications were designed to deal with knowledge creatures. Take the 'Refraction Curtain Wall'—a swarm of creatures could bash away at it for half a day without breaking through. But to a Heroic Spirit Legion, a single volley could shatter this flimsy barrier... If the Heroic Spirit Legion is a regular army, we're just street thugs who can only bully honest folk." Sonia: "While we don't think of ourselves as champions of justice, you don't have to make us sound that dirty." Besides that, Yaxiu was actually still saving resources to build the 'Alchemical Throne.' After all, that modification would drastically increase their absorption speed of golden sorcery power. He was just missing one critical resource, so he had held off on making other modifications. *Thump!* An attack from beyond visual range struck the 'Refraction Curtain Wall' once more, sending faint ripples across it. On their flight, the pursuers' ranged bombardment had never ceased. Yaxiu had been forced to upgrade the 'Refraction Curtain Wall' to Level 11, or their little car would have been blown to pieces long ago. [Refraction Curtain Wall · Level 11: The automobile is enveloped by a curtain wall with 4,000 Health. All damage dealt to the curtain wall is reduced by 42%. Level 6 Special Effect: Additional 30% damage reduction against ranged attacks. Level 11 Special Effect: Before damage reduction calculations, refracts 22% of the original damage to nearby non-operator creatures. Next level requires: 1,175 ore essence / 1,175 wood essence / 630 mercury essence.] With the 'Refraction Curtain Wall' active, the sports car took only (100% - 22%) * (100% - 42% - 30%) = 21.84% damage from ranged attacks. It was solely thanks to this immense damage reduction that they had held out until now. But this was the end of the line. Yaxiu glanced at the curtain wall's health. "The barrier is about to break. Option three is on the verge of failing." Upgrading the 'Refraction Curtain Wall' further was a mere drop in the bucket, and the barrier only really mattered when facing a Heroic Spirit Legion anyway. Against ordinary knowledge creatures, its defensive power was already absurdly high; just relying on the refracted damage could bounce an entire swarm to death. "Sword Princess, you do it." "What do you mean?" "You're not really foolish enough to die with me, are you?" Yaxiu chuckled. "What a waste... Be quick about it and finish me off directly, and the pursuers behind us will naturally give up. We get to keep the 'Soul Summoning' sorcery spirit, and all I lose is a bit of soul." *Thump!* The Refraction Curtain Wall shuddered violently, trembling like a candle in the wind on the verge of going out. "Hurry up. You're not the indecisive type." "Why does it have to be me?" Sonia pulled Diya straight in front of her. "Witch, let the Red Apostle do it!" "I can't, I can't!" Diya shook her head repeatedly. "I'm actually really afraid of blood—" "When it comes to gore, your basic attacks almost rival my Blood Blossom Water Moon! Afraid of blood, my foot!" Sonia shoved Diya forward. "Hurry, use your invincible dead lines to cut the Watcher in half at the waist!" "No way!" Diya, proficient in the fist and claw faction, countered with a reverse hold to pin Sonia. "Sword Princess, you're closer to the Watcher, so it's easier for you to strike!" "You've got it backward! The less you know someone, the easier it is to strike; it's when you have feelings for someone that you can't bring yourself to do it!" "Either way, I'm not doing it! The White Queen told me not to, and the Red Apostle refuses to do it too!" "Wait!" The village girl suddenly realized something. "Why don't you just kill yourself instead of making us do the dirty work? Are you trying to make us feel guilty so you can control us better?" "Sword Princess, how could you think of me like that?!" Yaxiu retorted indignantly. "Do I look like someone who calculates the human heart to such an extent?!" "Hard to say. After all, you've known me for so long; you must have picked up some of my fine qualities by now. Birds of a feather flock together, after all." *Damn it, the Sword Princess sounded entirely too convincing saying that.* "Anyway, I won't kill you." Sonia broke free from the Witch's grip. "Don't look at me." "I won't either." Diya shook her head as well. "What if you hold a grudge against me?" "Even though dying in the Void Realm isn't real death, actually murdering a companion feels like crossing an invisible line." Yaxiu fell silent for a moment, sighed, and drew his longsword, aiming it at his own abdomen. "Then I can only... Huh?! A special Void Realm area just appeared!" Sonia: "...What a coincidence." Diya: "...The White Queen also thinks it's a huge coincidence." "Were you testing just now to see if we'd actually do it? So you could latch onto our guilt as leverage?" "Watcher, you're truly despicable." Yaxiu decided not to stoop to the level of these two pitch-black-hearted operators and steered the sports car toward the golden notification area. Based on his experience, whenever a golden notification appeared, it was essentially an exceedingly rare area—such as 'Destiny Q&A,' 'miracle island,' 'Vortex,' or 'Legendary Library.' However, this golden prompt was rather peculiar... [Seems suitable for you, yet also doesn't seem quite suitable.] Though feeling somewhat uneasy, Yaxiu drove straight into the special area. It was a wooden cabin surrounded by a small garden, looking like an unremarkable farmhouse. Before entering, Yaxiu emphasized, "The moment we get inside, leave the Void Realm immediately. Don't get greedy for any rewards. If this place can't hold off the Heroic Spirit Legion outside, we'll be in deep trouble." After the Sword Princess and the Witch nodded emphatically, they entered the wooden cabin together, discovering nothing extraordinary inside. The wax-finished wood floor clicked pleasantly beneath their feet; a woven rug with simple patterns gave the plain rectangular dining table a cozy warmth; kitchen utensils rested on the stove by the window; and handcrafted display shelves held various artworks. There were no light sources here, but a light source was the last thing one needed to worry about on the Time Continent. The drops of reverse golden rain were like self-employed couriers; with their "door-to-door delivery" service, their business capability was not at all inferior to that arrogant monopoly known as the sun. In addition, there were cushioned armchairs, swings, a toddler's rocking horse, hammocks, reclining chairs... There was an unexpected abundance of places to sit, accommodating ages ranging from one to one hundred, as if the original owner had belonged to a great family spanning five generations under one roof. "Chairs, so many chairs..." Sonia murmured thoughtfully. "I think I've seen this somewhere before..." "Right! I remember now—this is the House Reflecting the Mind. Its defining feature is that any sorcerer who enters will..." "...lose their memories." As the village girl uttered the final word, she found a strange man in a dark-red trench coat and an unfamiliar girl with strangely discolored, messy hair standing beside her. "Who are you?!" Sonia immediately stepped back, leveling her sword point at them. "Stay away from me!" "I was about to ask who you are!" Yaxiu instantly drew his sword to face them. "Why am I here?!" Diya stumbled against the wall, then slumped down to the floor. Her expression twisted in agony as she clutched her face, muttering to herself, "Who are you... Why are you inside my head... Get out! Get out!" Just then, a message surfaced in the minds of all three: [You have lost all memories other than knowledge and skills.] [Three precious treasures of yours have also been lost along with your memories.] [If you wish to reclaim your treasures, please answer the three questions posed by "you."] [Answer incorrectly, and the treasure is lost; answer correctly, and you will receive an additional reward equal in value to the treasure.] [Giving up on answering is equivalent to answering incorrectly. You may reclaim all your memories upon leaving this house.] ["You" is already waiting for you.] The three turned their heads and saw that seated on the chair beside the bench, the armchair, and the swing were their respective... "Now, we are the originals," the phantom Yaxiu said with a smile. "Because I possess your memories, while you can't even remember your own name." The phantom Sonia sat with her legs crossed on a mahogany armchair, scrutinizing them with sharp eyes. "Wasn't there supposed to be only one person..." "What does it matter?!" Swinging on the swing, the phantom Diya, whose hair was a vibrant mix of distinct colored locks, chuckled. "Isn't it much more fun with everyone together?" The shock of the scene made the minds of Yaxiu, Sonia, and Diya grind to a halt. Just then, Denzel, clad in the Spiderweb Deceit Robe, pushed open the wooden door and stepped inside, instantly triggering their flight-or-fight response. "Who are you now?!" "The same as you," Denzel replied, looking at the three strangers before him. "Someone who has already lost their memories." At the same time, a phantom of Denzel appeared on a reclining chair. Unlike the Denzel shrouded in the Spiderweb Deceit Robe, however, the phantom Denzel had her robe wide open, revealing wheat-toned skin and an impressive cleavage, complete with bold sword-like brows, starry eyes, and an aura of dashing valor as she sprawled casually on the recliner. Only then did the three belatedly realize—she was actually a woman?! The phantom Denzel looked bleary-eyed. Sitting up from the reclining chair, she rubbed her eyes, then stared at her own hands as if having discovered some priceless treasure. After spending a second processing the situation, a relieved look washed over her face. "Fine by me..." "Even though there are quite a few people, that won't stop the game from proceeding," the phantom Yaxiu said breezily. "Still, there are an awful lot of us. For convenience's sake, how about the few of us take codenames to distinguish ourselves from you nameless folks... Hmm, call me Watcher." "Sword Princess." "Should I be called Princess, or Apostle? Queen sounds pretty good too... Ah, forget it, let's go with Witch!" The phantom Denzel pondered for a moment. "Empress." "Alright." The Watcher clapped his hands. "Who among you wants to be the first to answer 'your own' questions?"