Live 13 (2/2)

" " - Talking

' ' - Thoughts

[ ] - Skill/Images/Stat Increase

∆ - Typed Chat

(" ") - Mind Speak

★★★★ - Holographic Screen

Please let me know if you see any errors or comments on your thoughts.

This chapter is brought to you by me!

I reached 5k collections! Aye, I'm king now!

I will redeem myself this week!

•^•°^°•^•°^°•^°

:Main Universe:

6/25/2023

-Queens, NYC-

Truly, it was an incredible feeling to witness the woman who had caused Emil so much pain, now yearning for forgiveness.

He didn't completely feel better about her past behavior, but it was definitely a start.

'Ok, we will talk.' Emil replied to her.

("Thankyou...") Mona said, the relief evident in her voice.

'After I get everything set up.'

("Emil!")

'...I promise after this.' He assured her. He didn't know why he used that word, but somehow it came out.

Was something wrong with him?

("Fine...") Mona huffed, seemingly satisfied with his answer.

It would take an hour to set everything up, and after doing so, Emil realized something.

"Why did I even bother saving this in the first place?" He wondered while staring at the sorry state of his furniture.

They weren't in terrible shape, but with his new house, they looked tacky and out of place. Of course, they were hand-me-downs from when he still lived with his parents, so they were definitely showing their age.

Emil had never been one to prioritize decorating his living space, but the sight before him was simply too jarring to overlook.

"Lambert, I believe it's time to invest in some new furniture. Thoughts?" He inquired, shifting his gaze toward the furry gentleman, who was wagging his tail with uncontainable delight.

"Bark!" With an exuberant spirit, Lambert expressed his response through a single, joyous bark.

"Exactly." Emil nodded in agreement, a warm smile gracing his face as he gently petted Lambert's head. "We'll even get you your own bed. How does that sound? A big comfy one next to mine."

"Bark! Bark!"

"Hmm, y—"

("Alright, that's enough!")

*Poof*

In a sudden swirl of golden smoke, Mona materialized before him, her face etched with a deep sense of discontent.

It would seem she was done waiting.

"Can't you worry about that later? Can we talk now? Please." Her lip trembled as she pleaded sincerely. She looked as if she was about to cry at any moment.

Emil never knew such a woman could seem so...fragile.

Was she really that upset with him ignoring her?

With someone like her, it was hard to believe, but there is a saying, "Never judge a book by its cover."

After witnessing this, Emil plopped onto his small couch he placed out and let out a long weary sigh. "Alright," he muttered, bracing himself for what was to come.

"Let's hear it."

"I...um.." Mona's voice quivered as she twirled her thumbs. A subtle blush of shame delicately colored her cheeks as she grappled with articulating her thoughts.

When she wasn't too busy being a bitch, she was actually quite adorable.

"...I haven't been completely honest with you."

"Obviously." He nodded.

She nervously bit her lip, "...And, truth be told, I haven't exactly been the best with interactions."

"This is true. Not the best at all. I definitely agree. What about you, Lambert?"

"Bark!" Lambert nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay! Enough! I'm doing my best here!" She grumbled, stomping her feet in frustration.

"...Oh wow, I didn't know you're supposed to shout at the person you want forgiveness from." He deadpanned.

"Ugh!..." Mona took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "Look," she said, her tone firm and resolute as she stared into his eyes.

"I promise from now on, I won't keep information from you, and I'll tell you all I know."

Emil frowned, "...You're promising now? You don't expect me just to nod my head and be ok with everything, do you?"

Considering her past actions, he would be stupid to believe her words so easily.

He already planned on forgiving her, but now she was making a promise.

If there was one thing that could be said about Emil is the fact that he took promises seriously, which is also why he avoided using such a word because it held so much power over him.

For what reason, he didn't know, but he's been like that for as long as he could remember.

Nevertheless, Mona's remained determined, and she pressed on with her words.

"I swear..." As she spoke, a luminous glow enveloped her eyes, casting an enchanting and mysterious aura that seemed to amplify the power and intensity of her words.

"I swear on the River St—"

However, before Mona could finish her sentence, an eerie occurrence took place. All of a sudden, her head began to glitch, akin to the peculiar spider that bit Gwen just yesterday.

"Mona!?" He jolted upright, his heart racing with alarm at the sudden change. Desperate to snap her out of it, he grabbed her shoulders and shook her vigorously, but she remained unresponsive.

Perhaps it wasn't the smartest thing to do, but he was unable to think correctly in this sort of situation.

"Damn it!" Emil cursed in frustration before turning to Lambert. "Is there anything you can do!?"

"Whimper..." Lambert could only shake his head, leaving him even more frustrated.

'Could Mona also be an android? Could I get her to the Arg0 to have her fixed? What am I supposed to do?' He frantically racked his brain, trying to make sense.

Unfortunately, with his limited information about her, he couldn't come up with a solution.

Several seconds later, however...

"What's going on?"

It stopped on its own.

Almost immediately, Emil cupped Mona's face with his hands and checked her over.

"Are you okay?!" He asked as he turned her face from side to side.

Mona's eyes fluttered, a perplexed look etching across her face while a subtle rosy hue painted her cheeks.

"I assure you, I'm absolutely fine!" She declared, removing herself from his grasp.

"Oh...oops. I'm sorry." A faint blush spread across Emil"s face as he realized he was being a bit too familiar.

After all, she still was a woman.

"...It's fine," Mona muttered, her eyes involuntarily rolling while her cheeks burned with a growing blush.

"So...what were you going to say?" He asked. "Something about a river?

She pondered for a moment, gently stroking her cheek. "A river? I don't believe I had any intention of mentioning that...Oh, here's your reward, by the way."

[Optional quest has been completed!]

[A random skill book has been received.]

★★★★

Skill book: Hand-Eye Coordination

Rank: Rare

Info: a special book imbued with the skill [Hand-Eye Coordination].

★★★★

[A donation has been detected.]

[Caculating exp...]

[Ding! Level Up!]

[11 → 14]

★★★★★

Name: Emil C. Valentine

Level: 14(1,000/89,370) 4th stage Qi Practioner

Class: Celestial Streamer

Strength: 54 →56

Vitality: 41 →48

Agility: 38 →39

Intelligence: 36 →40

Spirit(Qi):127 →135

Skills: Unnamed Fist (level 1) - Gather qi to your fist to invoke a devastating attack.

★★★★★

There was a slight increase in his strength, but he didn't dwell on it for long as he was still confused about what happened.

"Thank you....but no. You don't feel off or anything?" Emil said, narrowing his eyes.

"No, I feel fine." Mona shook her head. "But...I did promise you a favor, so here it is! I should have enough for this." She said, muttering the last part under her breath.

[Ding]

[A Lucky Event Has Happened.]

[Double Reward]

[A random skill book has been received.]

★★★★

Skill book: Iron Skin

Rank: Epic

Info: a special book imbued with the skill [Iron Skin]

★★★★

"Oh, you were a bit lucky on that one. Congratulations!"

'Mona is acting extremely weird...should I press the issue, or should I wait? Perhaps that owl would have an answer? It would take a whole month though....'

As he was thinking about what to do, something even stranger happened.

Mona's face lit up with a warm smile as she reached out to pet an unsuspecting dog, "Well, hello there, Lambert! Aren't you just the most handsome gentleman?"

"Arf...?"

Emil stumbled backward, his eyes widening in disbelief. He couldn't help but blurt out, "...W-What the hell you say?!"

Now something was really off.

•^•°^°•^•°^°•^°

:Main Universe:

6/25/2023

-Queens, NYC-

It's been a few hours since things relatively turned normal for Emil. However, a certain someone has been acting a bit differently.

"Hey, when can we expect your triumphant return to the streaming world?" Mona asked with a hint of exhaustion, her arms enveloping his neck as she snuggled against him.

And in this case, a bit meant a lot.

Mona wasn't a shy person.

In fact, he remembered a few instances when she would playfully flaunt her curvaceous body, catching him off guard as a prank.

But now it was getting more out of control, or at least for their relationship.

'...What is our relationship anyways?' He wondered as he tried his best to ignore her while typing away on his computer.

He was replying to someone.

"Emiiiil! Pay attention to me!" She whined, tugging on his cheek.

"Ugh! I'm about to post on Rocket about my comeback stream! And can you stop this? Honestly, this is creeping me out!" He groaned, wiggling free from her clutches.

Her lips curled into a feline grin, amused by his reaction, "Oh, how adorable. Are you sure you just aren't accustomed to having a woman this close?" She whispered into his ear.

"W-Why would you even ask that?! You know the answer!" He shouted, his face flushing with a noticeable blush as he hastily covered it with his arm.

'Damn, shitty woman!'

Obviously, she knew the answer, but she just wanted to mess with him!

"Bark! Grrr!" Lambert seemed to agree with the sentiment.

How dare she mock his owner!

How dare!!

"Hahaha~" As her amusement grew, laughter began to bubble up from within Mona, escaping her throat in a delightful and melodic sound that filled the room.

"Can you stop laughing!"

"Maybe..." Mona suddenly leaned in close, pressing her ample chest against his back.

"Or perhaps I could lend a hand with that... what do you...think?" She suggested, her voice dripping with seduction as she nibbled on his ear, gently rubbing it between her teeth while adding an occasional teasing lick.

Almost immediately, Emil's breath hitched as he felt his face burn even brighter. Soon after, a strange sensation began to stir within him, something he thought he would never experience ever again...

Desire.

And it only grew by the second like a volcano preparing to erupt.

"W-what?—"

*Poof*

Before Emil could even register what Mona said, she disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

....

....

....

....

After realizing he was duped, he clenched his teeth and shouted, "MONA!!!"

("Hahahaha~") Mona only laughed in response.

'Damn it!! Some things don't change even if she is acting differently...' He inwardly groaned, palming his face.

'This is going to be a long month...I can't believe I actually miss the old Mona.'

Several minutes later, Emil managed to calm down. Once he was readjusted, he made a post on Rocket to let his fans know of his return.

✦​🇷​​🇴​​🇨​​🇰​​🇪​​🇹​✦

JunWuxian∆ - Hey, my wonderful subjects. I have made it to my new abode. I will be doing a stream on Liberate within the hour. Don't be late as I will have an announcement.

After the post, it didn't even take a minute for people to start replying.

Naturelle∆ - The emperor has returned! I will be there!

Gallivant∆- Let's...GOOOOOOO!!!

Sevenyer2344∆- My body is ready....take me!! TAKE ME NOW!!!

SusKing∆ - Finally, I thought this would only take three days...this felt like a week! Strange...

HelperGuy22∆ - @SusKing - Time is just weird like that. Don't look into it too much. Seriously.

JunWuxian'sWife∆ - Finally, you have returned my husband! Please never leave me again! OR ELSE!

Emil's brow furrowed with concern as he read the replies. 'Some of these people really need help...'

Regardless, it was time for Jun Wuxian to return to the streaming world. Despite his worries, he was actually quite excited.

•^•°^°•^•°^°•^°

A/N: So this is a sort of reboot with a twist. I found myself hitting writer's block because I turned things too serious too quickly, so after reading a manga. I came up with this idea with a bit of mystery. It also aligns with what I was going for, so there's that.

Anyways look forward to more streams and reactions for a while.