64 Pearls to...
Support my contracted main novel and winner of Writing Prompts #26 - The Legendary Mage!
Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn!
https://www.webnovel.com/book/12013957905760805/Desolate-Mage%3A-A-Legend-Reborn!
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The mild-mannered man rubbed his sore, red face.
His lips and face were swollen like a pigs lips. Pink, red and throbbing painfully.
He was angry enough to die, to lay his life on the line and try to tear apart the young girl into a thousand pieces!...
...At least he would, if he had the strength.
'Curse you Sam!!! I'll show you who's boss once my mission is over... And my powers are unsealed! I'll make you regret ever crossing paths with the great me...!!! Muahahaha!!!' He thought to himself while meekly keeping his head low, not daring to let out even a peep about his grievances, lest he be *bopped* on the head again.
They had confronted the smiling, happy girl over the violence she had subjected them to. The blustering man and the yowling cat had sprayed their saliva in Sam's face to give her a piece of their mind. Then the smiling, happy girl had told them how much she missed her, then hit them both on their heads leaving sore, rising bumps - one each for the man and cat alike.
He and Snowie were rubbing their heads in pain, muttering to one another in demon-speak and cat-speak, united by their common foe just like in the saying: Having Sam as your enemy makes for strange bedfellows.[1]
Sam was standing quietly in front of the projection screen, digesting and relishing the sense of accomplishment she felt. Her body was by now free from injuries; self-healed during the long duration of her endless fall. Relief gushed over her, washing away her feeling of cold sweat that had burst out from every pore, and the sense of fear that felt like a circlet of thorns constricting the crown of her head.
She rejoiced in the taste of achievement, savoring every moment. She had done it! It was not a dream! It had truly come to pass! Her wish and heart's cry was heard at her darkest moment.
She had saved her first kiss.
Though she wasn't sure who it was for yet.
'Maybe Reeves... If he isn't too weak... But yeah, he's just really weak... Except for that *ZOOM SWISH BOOM POW!!* move that he did I guess? When I went "urgh!" and he made me fly away!'
Then she heard a peculiar sound from the projection screen before the altar.
She saw something even more odd. A symbol she could recognise easily anywhere, but one that somehow triggered great resentment and a heating up of her whole body in rage. A feeling like she wanted to smash everything around her and pull the plugs, then call up the Internet Service Provider and give them a-- Wait, what was she talking about again...?[2]
It was the image of a spinning clock on the display, like a circle going round and round without going anywhere. Somehow she felt so irritated looking at it that she punched the screen - but her hand just passed through, like grasping at the wind.[2]
After a long while of waiting and listening to her stomach grumbling (Albert and Snowie wisely hid behind some statues, making themselves scarce lest the girl look for them to "play" and let off her steam), finally she heard a "Ding!" sound.
"Congratulations! Challenges completed! Successor candidate, here are your results for the first phase of the inheritance trials!"
"Challenge 1: Trial of Perseverence - 100% score!"
"Challenge 2: Trial of Strength - 100% score!"
"Challenge 3: Trial of Wisdom - 192% score!"
"Overall results for Phase 1 of the inheritance trial (Difficulty MAX Level 10) - 392% out of 300% - *ERROR* score has been achieved! Result: Phase 1 of the inheritance trials has been completed! Apologies for the delay, as the completion method was outside of the fixed parameters. Beep."
"Huh?!? What cheat did you pull!!! There's no way these are Sam's results!!! What kind of death trap or sly trick are you planning, you dastardly Beep voice!??"
"Miao-yow yow yow yelp! Hsss! miao!!! Myuu, meow!"
Perseverence he understood. That bloody girl had no issue bugging him for 1 minute, 1 hour or 1 day if she didn't get what she wanted, even if it were just a pat on the head! Strength... Ahem, no comment. But wisdom!?!?!??!?
Rowllool meowie-ow wow! Reow, hss, prrr, meow!?????
"No!!! Beep. The results are real!!! Beep. Here's the recordings..."
[23 minutes later]
A slack-jawed man and cat stood shell-shocked, mouths unable to close.
"How the hell did you pass that last trial, you cheat!!!"
"Miao (Scolding in cat language)!!!"
They stood in the same incredulous pose, pointing a finger at Sam in furious questioning.
"Heheh! Lucky~!" She tried to act cute, which was pretty good, given that she was 151cm tall -- "Huh???"
Albert and the cat patted the girl all over, searching and sniffing (only the safe parts) of her body then asked.
"Where'd the rest of you go??/ Meowowoow??!"
She smiled, tilting her head in a cute way that finally suited her, then explained with an understanding and confident voice. "I don't know!"
"..." Albert face-palmed himself then shared a knowing look with Snowie, as if ridiculing himself for even asking.
'Whatever, nevermind. I should've learned by now never to care or rely on logic when it comes to this girl. What was I even thinking? Hah, haha... Hahahaha! Logic... Sam... Hahahah-oof!!'
"Hehe... You were laughing so much that I felt it would be funny if I punched you in the face while you were laughing... Hehe...!"
Albert's face turned red, not from the punch but from anger.
'Just you wait... I'll get you yet... You little--oof!!'
"Hehe... You were frowning so much that I felt it would be funny if I punched you..."
A cat looked on in pity at her friend, shaking her head in sadness (while hiding behind a statue so that the violent girl wouldn't lay eyes on her). Snowie sighed and shook her head, looking like an old woman - then all the hairs on her furry white body stood on end as a demonic predator laid eyes on her.
Eyes that said, "Hehe, I felt it would be funny if I XXXX'd you..."
Snowie fled with a now-suddenly small-sized 10 year old girl in hot pursuit, while the female voice which went "Beep." waited for her audience to pay attention to her so she could continue.
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[Later in the morning, about 11 minute before lunch]
"Oh, so what's the inheritance?"
"The knowledge and 100,000 years more advanced technology of the Assi Oddity race of the Assi Oddity planet shall be your grand inheritance! This knowledge brings with it sufficient power to establish a dynasty that spans a trillion planets, and quadrillion light years of territory! In fact, even 82,974 years prior to these discoveries, the Assi Oddity race had already conquered far and wide with their vastly superior technology, proving that..."
As the voice droned on an on with her occasional "Beep."s, it was Sam's turn to stand slack-jawed and dozing off, drool dripping down onto Snowie's head - the cat was caught in Sam's bosom, hugged like a boster.
Albert buried his face in his hands, weeping. Not with joy, but with sorrow, grief and a acute sense of loss as the inheritance being given to Sam was like pearls thrown to pigs...
What would she do with knowledge anyway? Eat it? Throw it at her enemies? Punch someone with it...?
Or more likely, forget it completely? Like that story she told him about the letter that she forgot... The letter that was supposed to be her reason for going to Rome and her only ticket to enter the prestigious Rome School of Arts...
[A short while later]
"...the war of the Second Centauri quadrant in 199,281 resulted in the eventual replacement of the Boson fragmenter with a new generation of cutting-edge weaponry, led by Sage Professor Mi-Jae who eventually rose to prominence as the--"
Finally unable to stand it anymore, Sam cut off the female voice, asking a simple question.
"I'm hungry. When's dinner...?"
It was already night-time.
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[1] Comment if you know the correct saying =P
[2] Don't you wish sometimes that those ISP's would pay you back for every minute of no internet? For those seconds and minutes and hours of your time they wasted without any connection...? For the hundreds of MMR you've lost in D*tA? For causing you to miss that perfect KDA in a certain FPS...?
