Chapter 58: First Encounter with Cocolia

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With all its frost crystal constructs eliminated, Ice Out of Space was left to face the four enemies alone. Despite sustaining significant injuries, it showed no fear. As commonly known...

Stellaron, released by Destruction Aeon Nanook across the universe, gave birth to rifts.

And Ice Out of Space, conceived within these rifts, could be considered an ally of the Antimatter Legion.

Both parties shared a strong desire for destruction against life and civilization.

Ice Out of Space would fight relentlessly, undeterred even by death itself.

Bochang and his allies had no intention of showing mercy either.

As March 7th and the black-haired youth freed themselves from other battles, they focused their ranged attacks on Ice Out of Space.

With their ranged attacks, they swiftly defeated Ice Out of Space.

Bochang's Dragon Blast severely wounded Ice Out of Space, and March 7th followed up with an arrow, directly killing the enemy.

Naturally...

Before launching their attacks, both Bochang and March 7th alerted Dan Heng and Stelle to avoid accidentally harming their teammates. In the real world, unlike games, friendly fire was always possible.

Especially with Bochang's Dragon Blast, one misstep could easily affect allies, as even he himself...

"Oh no... we've slain another formidable monster again. Let's take a photo for memories."

March 7th picked up the camera and started taking selfies, facing away from the dead Ice Out of Space. Bochang couldn't help but tease, "March, haven't you had enough of these photos already...?"

"Taking photos? I'll never get tired of that." March 7th blinked, her slender eyelashes fluttering, "Bochang, come over and join for a picture too. After all, we both delivered the final blows together."

On the side, Stelle thoughtfully remarked, "If my memory serves me right, March, you call this behavior 'monster stealing'."

"Hehe, then let's take it together."

March 7th smiled nonchalantly.

Stelle promptly shook her head; at the Herta space station, she had experienced firsthand how relentless March 7th could be with taking photos, to the point of annoyance.

Bochang said, "March, let's not waste time on more photos. Our departure from Belobog caused quite a stir, and if my guess is correct, the Architects are likely rushing towards Stellaron as well. We need to act swiftly."

"You're right, Bochang. March, don't waste any more time; let's set off quickly," Dan Heng agreed.

Dan Heng fully agreed with Bochang's viewpoint.

March 7th pouted discontentedly but ultimately said nothing. She hastily took just a couple more photos.

The Trailblazer squad continued on their journey.

After walking for a short distance, March 7th suddenly remarked, "I mean... don't you guys feel something eerie about this place? It's like... as if being watched by countless eyes."

"Do we?" Bochang scratched his head, not sensing anything unusual.

Stelle nodded in agreement, though.

Dan Heng stated, "My feelings align with March's... I suspect it's because as we get closer to Stellaron, the rift's pollution becomes increasingly intense. This is actually good news."

For the group actively searching for Stellaron, it indeed was favorable.

"Let's continue moving forward," Dan Heng said, gripping his long spear tightly and leading at the forefront alone.

Following behind were Bochang, March 7th, and Stelle.

After taking only a few steps, they spotted two figures ahead.

"Who's that?" March 7th whispered. "Why are they standing here?"

"If I'm not mistaken, those should be Cocolia and Bronya," Dan Heng said expressionlessly. "One is the Great Guardian of Belobog, and the other is her successor as well as the commander of the Silvermane Guards..." He had familiarized himself with their backgrounds during his intelligence gathering. "However... these aren't actually them but rather residual echoes, or more precisely..."

"They're replicas created by the rift from some form of Energy residue."

During previous encounters with Stellaron incidents, both Dan Heng and March 7th had experienced similar phenomena.

Nevertheless...

March 7th still struggled to differentiate between reality and illusions.

In the past, Dan Heng might have corrected her, but now he saw no point; she wouldn't remember it anyway.

It wasn't entirely March 7th's fault—the residual images were incredibly lifelike. Even Bochang initially mistook them for real people before Dan Heng pointed out the discrepancy.

The pink-haired girl had a sudden realization.

"Oh... So they've already been here? I didn't expect their Speed to be faster than ours."

"Considering they're locals and know the routes much better, even if we started ahead of them, we might not be quicker," Dan Heng shrugged. "But it works out well. With them leading the way, we'll find Stellaron more swiftly without worrying about getting lost."

Their brief conversation concluded.

Bochang and the others proceeded in the direction of the lingering images.

Soon, they arrived next to the fading echoes of Cocolia and Bronya.

The two tall figures continued murmuring something among themselves.

Due to their haste, the group did not stop to listen closely.

As Bochang passed by the lingering images, he couldn't resist reaching out to touch one of the remarkably lifelike figures.

There was no resistance whatsoever; his hand effortlessly passed through the phantom's body.

With just a gentle touch, Bronya's residual image disintegrated like dandelion seeds scattering, turning into fine particles that dispersed in all directions, leaving only Cocolia's shadow behind.

Seeing this, March 7th remarked, "Bochang, these shadows have no physical substance."

"Ahem... I was merely curious," Bochang cleared his throat, "Don't read too much into it."

"I'm not reading anything into it; you said it yourself." March 7th rolled her eyes dramatically.

Bochang fell silent, momentarily at a loss for words.

Time continued to move forward.

Bochang and the group followed the fading traces left by Cocolia and Bronya, battling monsters along their journey.

They encountered numerous powerful rift creatures, such as Guardian Shadows, Frigid Prowlers, and more...

The Trailblazer squad dispatched them effortlessly.

After nearly half an hour, they finally emerged from the rift.

In the original storyline, just before exiting the rift...

A residual image of Cocolia would transform into a rift creature, similar to a Guardian Shadow.

Both types were monsters created by replicating biological data gathered within the rift.

Since Cocolia was also a Great Guardian, it made sense for her residual image to become a Guardian Shadow, based on the same principle.

However, this transformation did not occur here.

It's unclear why...

Bochang hadn't reached this point in the game, so he couldn't identify any anomalies.

March 7th sighed with relief, "Having someone lead the way is truly great. Without these lingering shadows, we might have been wandering inside for much longer... It feels so refreshing to be out now."

Bochang gazed at the vast snowfield ahead, knowing there was still some distance left to cover...

Fortunately, Dan Heng spotted faint footprints partially covered by wind-blown snow. These undoubtedly indicated their path forward once again.