Chapter 24 ~ Picking Up This Memory Means No Turning Back
No sooner had she stood up than Tillysha whipped the stone blade in her hand like a bullwhip, laying the creature flat.
“Don’t even think about getting up, naughty children deserve punishment, ohoho.” Tillysha nonchalantly swiped on her golden chalice interface with light taps in the air, keeping an eye on the movements of the Resentful Centaur. Any attempt to rise was immediately met with a swift blow to its legs. She was so smooth that it seemed like an afternoon picnic.
This mission’s reward stakes were more than sufficient. Though the guaranteed minimum was 150 pulls, Tillysha just had this odd confidence about these extra 50 pulls being enough to summon her signature weapon, the “Floral Whisper Longsu.”
As more memories flooded in, Tillysha increasingly felt a strange familiarity and affection toward this weapon, an undeniable urge to hold it in her hands.
However, she didn’t go full-on like she did in her previous life by spamming ten-pulls; she instead calmly slid her pristine fingers onto the single-draw button, tapping it ever so gently.
A flash of purple light erupted from her satchel, and a vial of special alchemical potion, shimmering with magma-like fiery oil, appeared in her hand.
“Oops, Inferno Oil. My luck isn’t really on today, is it?” Tillysha arched an elegant brow as she stashed the alchemy agent into… you guessed it—her chest, then tapped the single draw again.
This time, purple light flashed again, accompanied by a glint of chill, lowering the surrounding temperature a few notches.
“Kiss of Frost? Ice and fire, two extremes, but I guess that’s not a bad deal.” Tillysha shoved it into her chest with a flick and continued, casually smacking the centaur trying to rise again, knocking it back down.
For other archers, a bow is their lifeline. But to Tillysha, it’s but a seal. Without it, she could fight even more freely.
The Resentful Centaur, though lacking autonomous consciousness—being driven by the Collective of Grievance—was utterly baffled. This woman, how is she so brutally strong? A single slap could throw its balance off.
“Revival of the Wind. Hmm, my luck really isn’t playing nice today.”
A series of single draws followed, and Tillysha kept pulling out one-time alchemical potions or magic scrolls. But every single one of them was purple-grade. Not a single blue-grade, heaven forbid any whites!
Finally, the ninth draw glinted with gold.
However, Tillysha shook her head. She didn’t even know what it was yet, but her gut feeling told her it was another misstep.
Sure enough, a silver ring with an embedded mint-green crystal appeared in her palm, its surface still shimmering with a residual golden glow.
What on earth was this?
Tillysha activated her Divine Analysis Technique to check.
Name: [Purtran’s Divine Authority Ring]
Legend says it was forged by Purtran, the father of divine authority. The wearer’s power recovery doubles, and when the power consumption of divine authority exceeds a certain threshold, its potency increases proportionately to the amount consumed.
Boost power recovery speed? Now that was something. So far, no alchemical potion to recover power had been developed, and enchanted items were as rare as hen’s teeth. The recovery of power was only possible through natural restoration.
Having an item that could affect power recovery speed was nothing short of invaluable.
Though she didn’t know yet how this Purtran’s ring would work with her, she slipped it onto her ring finger and kept drawing.
Having gone wrong once, surely a second golden wouldn’t also be a flub, right?
Tillysha drew a few more times, but they were all just alchemy agents.
For crying out loud, heading out without carrying a proper bag, all alchemy agents had to be stuffed into her… oh, let’s just say “chest area” here, and the chest can only take so much, regardless of however much storage space it seems to have.
With that thought, Tillysha turned a sweet smile towards Yimi.
“?” Yimi threw a puzzled glance at Tillysha mid-fight while receiving a meaningful gaze from her, sensing this woman’s not-so-pure motives.
“What? Why are you looking at me?”
“Umm… help me stash some?”
Tillysha smiled sweetly, raising the vials mischievously as she eyed Yimi’s… ahem, “flat prairie,” capable of taking off and flying right there.
“You…!” Yimi curled her fists tightly, already regretting not having slapped her harder before. If it weren’t for her excellent demeanor, she might have already been spewing profanities in Tibetan.
This woman, even in critical moments, couldn’t resist mocking her own shortfalls…
Just because she had more temporary storage slots than Yimi, what’s that supposed to mean??
Imbalanced posture aside, dropping soup while eating is just more likely. She envied nothing about Tillysha!
Suddenly, Yimi’s expression changed. “Hey, watch out behind you!”
Tillysha turned around just in time to see the enraged Grievance Beast opening its enormous maw.
After falling on the ground several times, this centaur finally learned its lesson and stopped trying to stand up—it began spewing toxic flames straight at her instead.
At this distance, summoning the “[Emerald Heavenly Fragrance]” spell was too slow. Tillysha, with nothing but “[Holy Oblivion]” at her disposal, relied on her bodily knowledge and a flash of insight to combine the two stone blades in a fan-like motion, dispersing the flames like clothes in a spin cycle.
“[Divine Warrior Revelation]”
Tillysha looked at the stone blades in slight surprise. It wasn’t her getting stronger; rather, she had used a technique suddenly revealed to her, employing the most efficient method to counter the flames.
Was this the original Tillysha’s skill?
As she had no time to ponder, a shadow loomed over her. Looking up, she saw an infuriated grievance centaur lifting its fiery iron hoof, ready to trample her ruthlessly.
Continuously absorbing grievances, this cursed centaur was as tall as a bell tower by now. Facing this colossal monster, Tillysha seemed as harmless as a little white rabbit.
“BOOOOM!!” The fiery hoof, imbued with massive power, descended.
This resentment-imbued flesh feeds on despair and negative emotions, so as long as those sentiments burned within it, its power would never run out.
As the fiery hoof came crashing down like a mountain, Tillysha threw aside a stone blade and gathered a tiny vine sprout in her free hand. She fused it with the other blade.
The stone blade now blossomed with fresh roses and radiant chicory.
This was the pairing of crafting blades and “[Emerald Heavenly Fragrance].” Combining the two could create extraordinary effects. Blades cast from power have excellent energy flow. Attaching “[Emerald Heavenly Fragrance]” not only fulfills the blade’s function but also enhances its power absorption.
The slender stone blade blocked the massive horse hooves, with its flowers visibly devouring the attached power. The raging fire quickly dimmed from a roaring blaze into a flickering flame, and the “[Emerald Heavenly Fragrance]” absorbed every last bit.
Without the power coating for protection, Tillysha casually flipped the centaur and created a cloud of dust.
Tillysha raised her blade and delivered a mighty slash at the centaur’s ankle, where the blade ignited strands of light-blue flame.
It was the blade flame.
“SHWOOSH!” A clear and decisive flash of sword light, accompanied by the Resentful Centaur’s shriek and cry, cleanly severed its entire hoof.
Tillysha expected this to calm the beast somewhat, but within five seconds, black flames erupted from the wound, instantly regenerating a complete horse leg.
As “Piece” had said, unless these grievances were thoroughly erased, this monster would endlessly resurrect.
It’s easy to k*ll the flesh, but grievance, a rule of the world, isn’t. The spirit doesn’t fear blades—it only fades naturally or remains forever.
The centaur roared in rage, thrusting its massive spear at Tillysha like rain, obliterating the ground beneath her feet as if in a sandstorm. Tillysha, in the center of this storm, was obscured by flying sand.
In moments, the sand settled and a golden figure pierced through the haze with a blade engulfed in blade flames, thrusting it into the centaur’s abdomen.
Unable to k*ll it, she would then halt it.
The stone blade embedded in the centaur’s stomach began to drain the grievances within it. Its flowers visibly faded from fresh red to withered black before finally crumbling in the wind.
That was time enough.
Tillysha lightly tapped the single-draw button.
Yimi nearby could only see Tillysha’s movements while she was effortlessly dealing with the Resentful Centaur, but couldn’t make out what she was doing with her hand motions in the air.
A golden glow emerged from her satchel. Tillysha could feel the familiar, heart-warming presence as if a long-lost close friend had returned.
The dagger embedded in the centaur’s stomach blackened, decayed, and then dissolved into dust, restoring the monster’s movement. With its massive spear, it swung at Tillysha.
This time, Tillysha didn’t have time to dodge. She got a direct hit while still mid-draw, thrown high into the air from the attack wrapped in ghostly flames.
“Ghhhh!” This time, the Sacred Tree Shelter was no longer shielding her. The battered remnants of her Domain could barely provide any protection; it was as if she’d used her face to absorb the grievances’ ultimate attack.
Scarlet bl**d trickled down from the corner of her mouth. Tillysha felt her internal organs shift violently, unable to vomit even as the bitter taste of metallic bl**d filled her throat.
Smitten by the full force of the Grievance Collective’s attack, Tillysha’s legs went limp. She fell to one knee, her torn and tattered white silk stockings showing a fair complexion. On one leg, all that was left of the stockings was thigh-highs.
Her neatly braided princess locks had become somewhat tousled, and after wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, her emerald-like eyes clouded over a bit. Struggling through her dizziness and physical discomfort, she stood up unsteadily.
She looked disheveled, her clothes torn and tattered, barely covering her “soft upfront armor.”
But her face betrayed no hint of fear, a small smirk even emerging.
There was just one reason—she had finally reclaimed her weapon.
A withered stick adorned with fresh green leaves floated in her hand, growing rapidly like bamboo after rain, transforming into a grand wooden bow.
This majestic wooden bow then metamorphosed into a wooden handle in Tillysha’s grip. With a “hiss,” the handle erupted into a light-green blade.
“User detected. Identity confirmed. Would you like to activate full capabilities?”
This voice, resonating in her mind, drew Tillysha into a luminous starry space.
When her awareness returned, she found herself floating in an endless void, devoid of any sense of dimension.
Suddenly, emerald green spread across this space, rapidly transforming the ethereal starry ocean into verdant meadows.
The gentle tinkling of a babbling brook and the rustle of leaves were soothing and delightful.
A tender voice singing some unknown melody caught her attention.
“Your weapon carries many memories and cognitions. Are you sure you want to proceed?” A Gold-haired Elf facing away from her swayed on a swing, her floral crown gleaming with sweetness, inquiring lightly.
“If you decide to unlock it, there will be no turning back, ohoho.” The Gold-haired Elf cautioned.
“Are the carried memories accurate?” Tillysha was unexpectedly not curious about who the elf was and asked instead.
“Of course.”
“If they’re true, why should I avoid the truth?”
“Because the truth is often unpleasant and burdensome.” The floral-crowned elf answered.
“Whatever. I can’t sway you. It’s always like this, even when you lost your memory.” The elf’s n*ked white feet lightly touched the ground, stopping her swing.
“I only hope this time, you continue to charge forward boldly.”
“Good luck, Elf Divine Warrior.”
As the words faded, the emerald green rapidly disappeared as if this were all but a fleeting dream.
Tillysha clutched her head as a strange yet somehow familiar memory surged forth.
A silver-haired, gray-skinned elf girl stood facing her. Another scene flashed—her collapsing into the girl’s arms, her chest pierced by a streak of black flames.
“Get up, Tillysha! What is this?!… Explain everything!”
Her consciousness was waning, the last thing she heard being the elf girl’s cries and sobs.
As her consciousness faded into darkness, a glimmer of light appeared before her eyes, and the next moment, a newborn’s wail filled the air from a cradle.
“Congratulations! It’s a boy!” Then came the familiar scene—her homeworld’s operating table and harsh lights under highly advanced tech, making her feel she had returned home.
However, just for a moment, this ‘homeland’ felt less and less familiar…
The clear memory illuminated everything.
