Four Split Personalities

"Let’s leave it at that for now, I’m going to find the Pope right away."

Xia Lian nodded and turned toward the door, tossing over her shoulder as she left, "By the way, no matter what, we’ll keep Yu Chen’s identity hidden, so don’t worry."

The obedient Yu Chen blinked and went, "Eh?"

Motan chuckled slyly and said, "That would be best, otherwise ’our’ Church of the Dawn would be in trouble, what with a God’s Chosen being from another world and all."

"Hmph, the main reason is that I really like this girl, regardless of who she is."

Xia Lian grimaced and pushed open the door to the prayer room before striding out.

Then, only three players were left here...

A moment later, Cordova broke the silence first, "Motan, why didn’t you say something sooner?"

[Nonsense, this ’hidden mission’ didn’t even exist half an hour ago. How could I have mentioned it sooner?!]

Motan inwardly retorted, then said helplessly, "It would have been useless anyway. I was never sure what exactly this mission was, and that monster didn’t affect my normal gameplay, so aside from searching for a little while at the beginning of the game, I’d forgotten about it."

Yu Chen tilted his head and lightly tapped his chin with his index finger, quietly saying, "Until I mentioned that I found a monster that looked a lot like you, Motan?"

"Right, my first thought was exactly that, which is why I wanted to find you and then head back to the City of Light together."

Although he didn’t want to deceive Yu Chen, Motan couldn’t risk exposing the secret that his mind was not well, so he toughed it out and said, "After that, we were just busy with the Misha County stuff, because the situation was already chaotic, so I didn’t bring it up."

Cordova nodded, "Indeed, there’s just too much unknown in this game. But about that mission of yours, what exactly is it?"

...

[Phase One•Nightmare]

Hidden Mission

Description: It is your undying, independent, relentless, and insane alter ego, which you can never find, but maybe you can manage to escape it.

Reward: Freedom from the Nightmare

Penalty for Failure: None

[Note: This was written by Hei Fan so there are no further notes.]

...

"Um..."

After Motan mumbled through an explanation of his ’task’, Cordova fell into deep thought.

"Come on now, maybe we shouldn’t overthink it~"

Yu Chen interrupted Cordova’s pondering with a sweet smile, "This game has plenty of bizarre tasks. Remember when I was unconscious, there was a similar one called ’Waking Up’ that never clarified how exactly to wake up. It feels pretty similar to Motan’s Nightmare, yeah?"

"Ah! That’s it!"

Cordova smacked his palms together, startling both Motan and Yu Chen, then said excitedly, "That’s what I was trying to say! Your missions, one called ’Waking Up’ and the other ’Nightmare’, they really seem to match!"

"Eh?"

Yu Chen, who thought Cordova was grappling with the nature of Motan’s hidden mission itself, was stunned.

Motan grimaced and rolled his eyes, "So you mean to say, that constipated look just now... was you thinking about this?"

"Yep."

Cordova slapped his thigh, laughing, "It happens, right? You have something on the tip of your tongue and then suddenly forget what you wanted to say."

Yu Chen finally caught on and pouted at Cordova, "Xiao Yu, you’re really not being serious!"

"Just kidding, just kidding."

Cordova grinned and then said seriously, "Speaking of which, I’m planning to leave."

"Leaving?"

Both Motan and Yu Chen were puzzled, then they asked in unison, "Where are you going?"

"Haven’t decided yet."

Cordova scratched his head, looking utterly... cough, refreshed, "The City of Light doesn’t seem very fun anymore, despite the nice vibe. I’ve been there for too long, and it’s gotten boring. Since I’m free now, I’m planning to travel, see some sights, maybe even meet a girl who admires me!"

Yu Chen chuckled awkwardly and murmured, "Maybe..."

"Dream on, let’s not even talk about skills, your face isn’t clearing the hurdle."

Motan was blunt about it.

"What’s wrong with my face?!"

"You sound like Iron Man."

"Damn, Iron Man is so cool."

"The problem is you look more like his suit than him himself."

"MMP!"

"Pfft~"

Yu Chen couldn’t help but laugh out loud, it was a good thing she was the one sitting here. If it had been a certain winged beauty, she’d probably be rolling on the carpet by now.

"Alright, no more messing around."

Seeing that the topic had drifted far enough, Motan decided to seize the opportunity to change the subject, asking curiously, "Didn’t you just complete a mission? Why didn’t you go straight back to Sky Pillar Mountain to report?"

Cordova snorted and swung his fists in the air a couple of times, "I don’t want to go back so soon. Luwei, that old undead, never gave me a single day of peace, always experimenting on me or using big hammers and drills for my ’upgrades and modifications’. When it’s a major modification, he even stuffs me inside an orc’s body. If the mission hadn’t been completed, it would still be fine, but now that it’s done, asking me to go back immediately is a fool’s dream. Since I’ve gathered all the Revelation Crystals, even if I use up the battery...um, I mean the Revelation Crystal, that old man wouldn’t dare to flare up. I still have over eighty percent of energy left along with a fully charged crystal, not having fun would just be a disservice to myself!"

Motan/Yu Chen fell silent for a moment, then secretly sent a message.

’That, Xiao Yu seems to have a lot of unspeakable secrets too...’

’Exactly, it feels kind of sad.’

"Hey! What are you two whispering about? Can you stop throwing flash bombs in public?"

Cordova looked at the two of them irritably and asked, "Got any good places to recommend?"

Yu Chen clapped her hands, "Wanyang is at Holy Mountain Sumier, you two get along super well, right?"

"I went there before. It’s cold and boring, plus there are loads of crazy heretics, and not many orc ladies fit my aesthetic like General Bora. Count me out."

"Ah, I heard from the Saintess that there’s a Dragon Valley not far from Pray Town, supposed to be a great place for adventures, might even see a dragon if you’re lucky! Though I don’t know if it’s true."

"Forget it, I know a dragon named Femigel, not curious about those untrustworthy big lizards."

"And, and... the Saintess said the ancient battlefield upstream of the Jin Hui River Valley is really thrilling! Great for a courage trial!"

"I’m afraid of ghosts."

"Uhm..."

Yu Chen scratched her chin in distress.

Then...

"How about going to the Violet Empire?"

Motan, who had been quiet till now, suddenly spoke up with a thoughtful suggestion, "I have a friend there who’s getting ready for a battle. If you’re interested, maybe you could help out."

"I’m not really into fighting, although I can indeed fight..."

Cordova nonchalantly dug his ear and asked casually, "Is it a boyfriend or a girlfriend?"

"It’s a woma... spit, a female friend."

Motan glared at Cordova irritably, then coughed lightly, "You’ve met her before, so has Yu Chen."

"Huh?"

Cordova was confused then.

Yu Chen caught on quickly this time, clapping her hands, "Could it be Miss Double Leaf?"

Motan nodded, "Exactly, but you should be older than her."

"Indeed."

Cordova also caught on, nodding immediately, "Although I’ve never met her in person, but from her voice, she doesn’t sound like a busty type."

Crack!!!

A pale golden bolt of lightning fell from the sky, striking Cordova head-on.

Motan and Yu Chen seemed to hear a faint—"@% damn!"

Cordova, inexplicably blasted away 30% of his health points, was flabbergasted and struggled for a while before getting up, staring shocked at Yu Chen, "Did you blast me?"

"No."

Motan quickly answered from the side, laughing joyfully...

"What happened just now was ’Divine Punishment’."

Chapter 523: The End