Welcome To The Nightmare Game Chapter 34

Before QiLeren could find the stranger in the darkness, several silver streaks shot past him in quick succession, each arrow finding its target with pinpoint accuracy and killing all the wolves who dared to set foot within a few metres of the fire with its bone-piercing force. The rest of the hungry pack turned and fled, disappearing quickly into the shadows.

Silence settled around them, the rustling of trees fading until all that was left was the quiet crackle of the bonfire.

QiLeren was keenly aware of the stranger lurking closeby; in fact, he wouldn't be surprised if there was another arrow aimed at the back of his head, ready to fire at the slightest sign of animosity.

To be honest, he was more afraid now than when he was surrounded by wolves. The one he faced now was definitely a player of far superior skill, someone who could kill him as easily as they killed the wolves. He didn't even know where they were hiding.

The sheer gap in power sent chills down QiLeren's back. He had to say something, anything, at least to discourage the stranger from killing this potential rival.

He raised his hands slowly in appeas.e.m.e.nt and said with a slightly trembling voice, "Hey there? Thank you for saving me."

QiLeren wracked his brain for things to say.

"Do you know ChenBaiqi? She told me about you and how you accepted the same quest as me… I promise I don't have any ill intent - if you don't mind, perhaps we can consider working together?" Considering ChenBaiqi's tone, she probably knew the owner of the black bird. Whether or not they were on friendly terms was left up in the air, but it wasn't like he had any other options.

QiLeren heard what he thought might be the soft sound of a weapon being put away before the branches above rustled lightly under the weight of a person's agile steps.

Someone dropped onto the ground before him.

Illuminated by the soft light of the fire, QiLeren took in the sight of the stranger - it was just one look, but ChenBaiqi's reason for calling her a cold beauty was made crystal clear.

The stranger was dressed in the same sacrificial gown as him, though what was once a loose gown was now bound tightly around her body, its sleeves cut off and hemline shortened. Her long hair had been tied up into a high ponytail, revealing refined features that held the poised beauty of a rose covered with frost and snow.

QiLeren stared. Something akin to warmth unfurled within his chest - perhaps some would call it love at first sight.

A gorgeous face that gave off an icy vibe due to her overall aura of a cold beauty, coupled with long legs and the maturity that came with sheer competence? Was she not the physical embodiment of his perfect G.o.ddess?

He had to leave a good first impression.

QiLeren stamped down the chaos of his trembling heart and forced a pleasant smile for his G.o.ddess. "h.e.l.lo, pretty G.o.ddess, my name is QiLeren."

Was he seeing things or did her eye just twitch?

He took a step forward before continuing, "What's your name?"

He might've hit some dangerous trigger with this, QiLeren thought as his G.o.ddess drew a short knife hanging by her side in a sudden motion and hurled it towards him. Had he said something wrong? Why was she trying to kill him?

Most importantly, he hadn't saved a file yet for the G.o.ddess to kill him a few more times until she was happy!

In the instant between life and death, it was obvious that QiLeren's brain was no longer functioning correctly. The expected pain, however, never came. The short knife had instead embedded itself by his feet - or rather, in the triangular-shaped head of a rather colourful snake.

Oh. It was to save him. Feelings complicated, QiLeren carefully sneaked a glance at his G.o.ddess. Her deep eyes reflected a faint blue hue in the campfire as she shot him a cool look. His glance was probably not as sneaky as he'd hoped.

QiLeren hurriedly bent down and pulled the knife from the snake. It was heavier than it looked, despite the pair of fullers that ran down its length, glinting its cold lethality in the night.

"Here." Pinching the blade between two fingers, he presented the knife handle first, which his G.o.ddess accepted and slotted back into its sheath - she had two short knives on her person, QiLeren noticed, and neither were in the inventory but rather belted to her thigh.

It was probably faster to use them this way.

Contrary to his expectations, his G.o.ddess seated herself by the campfire and started cooking some meat jerky she took out of the inventory. As the inviting smell of warmed meat wafted through the air, QiLeren quietly lamented the rations in his stomach.

Somewhat desperate to make conversation, he coughed lightly to draw his G.o.ddess's attention, then closed his mouth when she looked at him.

What if he, having never gone after a girl before despite having being alive for twenty-five years already, said the wrong thing?

The black bird descended down from its perch and landed on his G.o.ddess's shoulder, before crowing in disgust at the meat she offered. It flew to QiLeren with hopeful eyes.

Should he feed it?

Seeing QiLeren's prolonged hesitation, the bird bit him on the arm and flew back to its owner in a fit of irritation.

QiLeren stole a peek at his G.o.ddess. She was chewing on her meat with a blank expression and exuded unapproachable animosity.

d.a.m.n it, she clearly didn't want to talk! She hadn't left yet though, so she must be at least somewhat willing to get along with him temporarily?

Gathering his courage, he finally spoke again to the crush he had fallen for at first sight. "I… My name is QiLeren. What's your name?"

The beautiful stranger lowered her meat jerky and fixed him with an indiscernible gaze, blue eyes seemingly glowing in the night. The half of her face illuminated by the campfire looked almost ethereal, though her eyes held no trace of emotion - no joy, no sorrow, no vitality.

QiLeren swallowed. This person sitting in front of him…were they even a player?

His G.o.ddess stared at him for a beat longer as QiLeren inwardly panicked and held his breath to meet her gaze, then coolly turned away and resumed eating her meat jerky.

QiLeren's mind exploded into a flurry. What was that supposed to mean?!

The black bird on her shoulder gave a sudden squawk, before craning its neck and saying, "She's mute, she's mute!"

What?!

"I swear on my bird-tue that I'm telling the truth!" the bird added, sprouting nonsense in its annoyingly inscrutable way.

QiLeren had no idea if the bird was intelligent or not, but given that it had screwed with him twice already, its "bird-tue" was pretty much non-existent. It's a wonder how his G.o.ddess puts up with it.

Even worse was that his G.o.ddess didn't correct its words. She quietly looked at QiLeren for a bit, before adding more firewood to the fire and closing her eyes as she leaned back against a tree.

QiLeren's chest immediately warmed with the pride of being trusted. Was she about to sleep?

His G.o.ddess! Was going to sleep right in front of him!! She trusts him enough to keep watch!!! A nagging voice in the back of his mind mocked him for being so weak that there was no reason for caution, but he squashed it down and concentrated instead on staying awake and being the best night watch his G.o.ddess would ever meet.

In the quiet woods, the strange calls of unknown birds and crackles of the bonfire filled the air as time pa.s.sed in slow seconds. Now that she was asleep, QiLeren audaciously stared at his G.o.ddess's face - the more he looked, the more he felt his inner appreciation for beauty awaken. G.o.dd.a.m.n it, how could she be so pretty! Her smile could bring ruin to the world with its sheer radiance if she ever showed it.

The woods at night was a little cold. QiLeren lightly gathered the blanket he had discarded onto the ground before to cover the sleeping girl, only to meet her opened eyes not a few steps in. The reflection of a dancing flame burned within her pupils, alluring and unearthly.

"It's cold at night," QiLeren said by way of explanation, handing over the blanket with forced calm. "Here, you can use this."

Thankfully, she accepted his offer, drawing the blanket around herself as she closed her eyes again.

QiLeren silently gave himself a pat on the back. He didn't mess up this opportunity to show his ability to be a great boyfriend. Perfect performance!

Despite his excitement, QiLeren found himself nodding off as he stared at the bonfire. Its light and warmth drew away from him, farther and farther into the distance until it disappeared altogether.

He fell asleep.

It was a deep sort of slumber, unwilling to let go even as QiLeren awoke to the sound of bird calls. He took a few minutes to realise where he was before struggling to sit up.

Something fell onto his lap. It was the blanket he had given his G.o.ddess last night, now draped over his body. The bonfire next to him was burned out, and when he looked to the tree trunk nearby, the figure that had been resting there last night was long gone.

Bathed in the hazy light of daybreak, QiLeren couldn't help the bitter taste of disappointment that rose to his tongue.

Author's Note

Despite it being their first meeting, the protagonist is already displaying his potential as a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t… I just want to write about a beautiful girl fighting monsters and levelling up while her fangirl follows her around (lmao), let me get my fill of excitement in this instance, alright?
What? What do you mean why did the G.o.ddess leave? They just met, why would the G.o.ddess keep useless luggage around? QiLeren has some ways to go before he can go for the ice queen G.o.ddess(♂) route.
Headcannon of what happens before they leave the instance:
QLR: Don't be pressured because we're both girls, G.o.ddess, I'm actually a guy!
ML: What a coincidence, so am I.

Translator's Note "I swear on my bird-tue that I'm telling the truth!"

What the bird says here is “I swear on my virtue as a bird that I'm telling the truth!”, with the word used for ‘virtue' being 人rén格gé in this case. As 人rén means person/human, the bird subst.i.tuted the word for bird, 鸟niǎo, into the term to make a pun for its virtue as a bird instead of a human (鸟niǎo格gé).