Stepping inside the Secret Garden, Li Fei finally understood why men were forbidden from entering.
Fairies, as a species, had absolutely no concept of "gender" — and the fairies living freely within the Secret Garden had even more primal, natural habits to match. On every branch, beside every stream, and tucked into every patch of grass, you could find fairies who clearly couldn't afford clothing enthusiastically making more fairies.
As a side note: on the Continent of Enlos, any female of any species who engaged in deep-level intimacy without proper precautions ran a very real risk of ♀♀producing♀. This didn't align with any biology Li Fei remembered from her previous life, but then — this world ran on mysticism. Complete the ritual, receive the result. The answer to why was simply "the power of the Laws." Specific mechanisms: ask the Creator God.
Beyond the uninhibited goings-on, the Secret Garden was absolutely bursting with exotic flowers Li Fei had never seen before, and towering, brilliantly colored mushrooms of every conceivable variety competed for attention in a riot of color and shape, making her feel as though she'd wandered straight into a fairy tale.
Every so often, a fairy would come zipping boldly up to Li Fei's side, tugging at her clothes and jostling her — only to get a firm finger-flick to the forehead and sent spinning away.
Clearly, even fairies — for all their delicate, enchanting appearance and dainty, whimsical charm — had the wild instincts and aggressive territorial drive of Transcendent creatures running in their blood. It was hard to imagine what kind of delightful screaming would come from an ordinary, helpless straight woman who wandered in here. Probably not much better than being dropped off at the Bai estate, honestly.
The effortless power Li Fei displayed, however, made the two fairies holding her hands droop with visible disappointment. Unlike the R-grade specimens scattered everywhere around them, these two were at least SR — they knew how to read the room.
Accompanied by their slightly envious gazes, Li Fei drank in the breathtaking scenery of the Secret Garden as she walked, until she arrived at its deepest heart.
There, a ring of multicolored mushrooms formed a perfect circle. Mist coiled and drifted within it, and through the hazy vapors, faint glimmers of light flickered in and out of view.
What caught her attention, however, was something beside the mushrooms: a set of leather armor, a pair of short boots, a white undershirt, and a pair of grey leggings had all been neatly folded and set to one side — and they still faintly radiated warmth.
Compared to the Lucky Fountain or the Rainbow Altar, the Fairy Ring's blessing lasted considerably longer — a full seven days — but it came with a catch. You had to remove all your clothing and stand inside the ring for ten minutes before the effect would take hold.
"Somehow this feels familiar… oh, I remember now!"
Li Fei muttered to herself as she calmly undressed. Under the dazed, blinking stares of the two small fairies, she stepped barefoot into the Fairy Ring.
The damp mist was no barrier to Li Fei's sharp eyes. She glanced left and right, and quickly spotted a slender, pale silhouette through the haze. She strolled right over.
"What a coincidence, Grace."
The girl let out a startled cry at the sound of her name, stumbled back several steps with a hand pressed to her chest, and after a few seconds of uncertainty, answered hesitantly: "Li Fei?"
"Mm-hm."
Li Fei clasped her hands behind her back and sauntered closer with a light, breezy step — moving with the casual confidence of someone who was absolutely, definitely not about to invade anyone's personal space. "Didn't expect to run into you here."
"Um…"
Grace's head drooped. Her hands fluttered up to cover herself, then fell away, unable to decide on a course of action. Her expression was the very picture of an introverted girl who had just been ambushed by a not-quite-friend with zero sense of personal boundaries in a public bathhouse.
"My, my. A Special Enrollment student skipping class on only the third day of term."
In the space of two sentences, the distance between them had shrunk to almost nothing.
Grace's figure was slender without being frail — her collarbones carved deep and elegant, a clean line of toned muscle running along her pale midriff, her waist and legs lean and taut. An athletic build, flat-chested, and entirely her own.
She reached up a little nervously to tuck a strand of flaxen hair behind her ear, her cyan eyes fixed firmly on the tips of her own toes. "You're one to talk," she said quietly.
"Well, you know how it is — some classes are just a waste of time for people like us. You have to make choices." Li Fei spread her hands in a helpless shrug — and her fingertip appeared to accidentally graze Grace's side. The girl jolted as if she'd been shocked, skittering backward a full step like a startled rabbit.
"Easy, easy — relax. We're both girls. What's there to be nervous about?"
Li Fei attempted to offer some reassurance. That line might carry some weight in other contexts. In Loxibrook, however…
Grace pressed her lips together and refused to let her gaze drift anywhere near Li Fei, because even catching a glimpse of all that white in her peripheral vision was enough to make her heart slam uncomfortably against her ribs.
A comfortable silence settled between them. The fine mist wound through the air and seeped in through every pore, bringing with it an indescribable feeling of clarity and openness — it reminded Li Fei of the steam rooms she had visited in her previous life.
"This is wonderful. I'm definitely coming back."
Li Fei broke the silence again: "Next time, let's come together."
"Sure."
Unexpectedly, after only a brief hesitation, Grace nodded.
This girl is a little strange… I keep getting the sense she wants to keep her distance, but she always ends up agreeing to whatever I suggest.
Li Fei frowned slightly and pressed on: "Do you generally have bad luck? You must be a regular here."
"I take mercenary contracts sometimes. Good luck helps."
"I'm planning to do mercenary work on the side too!" Li Fei's eyes lit up immediately. "Why don't we team up?"
"Alright."
Again, after a beat of silence, Grace agreed.
"Tomorrow after morning classes, then?"
Li Fei's eyes narrowed ever so slightly — but her tone remained warm and genuinely inviting.
"Mm."
...
Ten minutes later, Li Fei stepped back out fully dressed and feeling absolutely refreshed.
Grace had already slipped away first.
"Thank you."
The two fairies escorted Li Fei to the garden's exit. True to her cardinal rule of never taking something for nothing, the star courtesan leaned down and pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads.
One gold coin in exchange for two kisses from the star courtesan. From the blissful, dazed expressions on the little fairies' faces, they were convinced they'd gotten the better end of the deal.
The star courtesan, meanwhile, was already running the numbers. She'd waltzed in for free on her very first visit. Come back often enough — could she eventually bring every fairy in the garden under her wing? And then all the treasures growing inside would be hers for the taking, wouldn't they…
"I'll be back."
The Griffin spread its wings, whipping up a gale, and launched itself and Li Fei skyward into the clouds.
...
"Stop here."
Li Fei pointed toward a stretch of lush green ground that looked, on instinct, like it had good feng shui, and called out over the rushing wind.
The Sequence 5 Griffin clearly understood human speech. It let out a long cry, circled once, and touched down.
"Good work."
Li Fei hopped off its back, ran her fingertips through the feathers at its neck, and then walked to the center of the green field. The radiant sunlight made her squint.
She drew a slow, deep breath, and pulled out the Spell Scroll she had traded five academic credits for.
Mana surged and shifted — and a small, entirely green creature was summoned into existence.
It looked vaguely like a dwarf from the Order alignment, but without the imposing musculature or thick beard. Its skin was pale, it wore a green vest, and on its head sat an absurdly tall, cylindrical green hat — longer than its own head — which gave it an air of profound, unintentional comedy.
A Child of the Jungle. Sequence 9. Combat capability: abysmal. But thanks to their bloodline, this species was born with the innate ability to cast the Tier-2 buff spell Fortune Spell — which meant any Nature-alignment mage who had mastered Introductory Natural Magic could exploit this to access a Tier-2 spell well ahead of schedule.
Li Fei studied it carefully. Its androgynous face wore a frozen, slightly exaggerated grin, exposing two neat rows of white front teeth. Compared to the fairies born of Summoning Magic, this summoned unit — conjured from a Spell Scroll — was noticeably more vacant in expression. More of a puppet than a person.
"Cast Fortune Spell on me," Li Fei instructed.
A wash of vivid green light pulsed outward, and Li Fei's Luck climbed to 5 points.
She then produced the potion she had been keeping warm against her body.
[Enhanced Lucky Potion (Reject Batch)]
Potion Rating: ?
Effect: Increases Luck by 10 points for 10 seconds; induces an irritable, short-tempered state for thirty minutes.
Having already confirmed that the gacha wouldn't cause any visible spectacle, Li Fei saw no reason to wait until she got home. She picked a spot near the city gate that looked auspicious and settled in on the spot.
She pried the stopper free and knocked the whole thing back in three hearty gulps.
Luck: 5 (1) → 15 (1)
The moment her Luck spiked, a wave of irritable restlessness welled up inside her — and she found herself inexplicably mourning the Moonlight Wolves for dying too quickly.
Fortunately, the feeling wasn't overwhelming. Li Fei wrestled her emotions back under control and fixed her attention on the Gacha Panel.
On the massive wheel, the white section had shrunk to a narrow sliver. Green dominated over half the wheel, silver made up a quarter, and gold was roughly as thin as the white — but it was there.
"System, spin."
The wheel began to turn. Li Fei pressed her palms together and pushed them hard against her chest, her heart hammering.
Gradually, the wheel slowed — and under the star courtesan's wide, staring eyes, the needle crossed the green section in the final half-second and landed squarely on white.
Are you kidding me—
In the grip of the irritability debuff, Li Fei spun around and planted a kick square into the Child of the Jungle beside her, then ground her teeth and snapped:
"Again!"
The wheel spun a second time. When the needle came to rest, brilliant golden light flooded Li Fei's pupils.
"One more!"
Li Fei slapped her thigh in excitement and shouted.
In soft, shimmering silver light, the fist she had been clenching slowly uncurled, finger by finger.
White. Silver. Gold.
Her living conditions had improved considerably lately, and she could eat as much of whatever she liked — but old habits died hard. Li Fei had always saved the best bite for last.
So she lit a cigarette and checked the first pull result first.
[Obtained: Nature-alignment Knowledge Book — Buff Spell — Tier 1 — Sensitivity Aura]
"Heh."
Li Fei let out a short, derisive laugh. She had this system completely figured out — it never stopped cramming buff spells into her repertoire.
And this particular spell she knew very well. Back at the tavern, Sensitivity Aura saw more use than Stone Skin on its best day. According to a certain close friend's complaints, after she used this spell, "it was like someone had opened a tap."
Sensitivity Aura (Lv1)
Spell Effect: Increases the target's sensitivity by 10%.
Duration: 20 minutes
Cooldown: 30 seconds
Mana Cost: 6
EXP to Next Level: 0/100
She used the Knowledge Book on the spot, exhaled a long stream of smoke, and moved on to the silver pull.
[Obtained: Chaos-alignment Knowledge Book — Offensive Spell — Tier 6 — Abyssal Lava]
!!!
A Tier-6 offensive spell!
A surge of completely unexpected, overwhelming joy rose in Li Fei's chest. With something like this, wouldn't she be absolutely flying?
"System, absorb it now!"
She didn't even say it out loud — just screamed it inwardly. The Knowledge Book shattered, and deep within Li Fei's soul, an exquisitely beautiful spell framework took root.
Abyssal Lava (Lv1)
Spell Effect: Releases a torrent of abyssal lava in a 15-foot radius, dealing area damage.
Cooldown: 3 minutes
Mana Cost: 3000
EXP to Next Level: 0/215,000
"…Hm?"
Li Fei's brow furrowed. Something was very wrong. The smile stiffened on her face.
Three thousand mana for a single cast?!
Is this a joke?
This lady is still two thousand seven hundred gold coins in debt. At level ten, she has barely three hundred mana points.
Dragon's Might — an eighth-tier spell — only costs two hundred and something mana!
Li Fei was so furious her whole body was shaking. The irritability debuff wasn't helping. She hurled her staff to the ground with all her might.
This rotten system is out to get me specifically.
She ground her teeth, took a breath, and finally turned her eyes to the gold pull result.
[Obtained: Gold Skill Book ×10]
[Gold Skill Book]
Description: Can raise any single skill by one level, up to a maximum of Lv10.
"Hm…"
Li Fei's brow creased. She sank into thought.
These past two days of classes hadn't been entirely wasted. She understood clearly that as a spell's level increased, its mana cost and cooldown decreased while its effects improved.
On top of that, the Five Elements Meditation would continue raising her Intelligence and mana pool, further reducing costs. Once she advanced to Sequence 9, her stats would get an immediate and tangible boost — and certain Classes also carried passive mana reduction effects. She would also unlock a proper-tier Meditation method then, driving her mana ceiling even higher and her costs even lower.
Throw in a few more equipment purchases.
Three thousand mana… actually didn't feel that far out of reach.
Sequence 8 at the earliest, Sequence 7 at the latest — Li Fei was confident she could fire off at least one round of Abyssal Lava.
The only thing giving her pause was that, objectively speaking, using the Skill Books on the Tier-8 spell Dragon's Might would save a considerably larger amount of proficiency grind…
"No time to waste!"
Li Fei wrestled with the dilemma for exactly three seconds before reaching a decision. "Gacha pulls aren't going anywhere — converting resources into real combat power right now is what matters. Better to build the foundation before going for the big shiny. A wraith that builds Serrated Dirk first has a way better win rate than the idiot who rushes to the capstone item bare…"
Nine Skill Books in rapid succession, slapped down one after another — the freshly learned Abyssal Lava shot straight to Lv10.
Abyssal Lava (Lv10)
Spell Effect: Releases a torrent of abyssal lava in a 30-foot radius, dealing area damage.
Cooldown: 90 seconds
Mana Cost: 1,650
EXP to Next Level: 0/430,000
The last Skill Book she decided to save for later.
"Tonight I need to decide which Class to take at Sequence 9. Tomorrow morning, I'll go to Mama Nicole to pick up the secret potion and Ritual knowledge. At noon, I head to the Mercenary Guild — earn money and grind EXP!"
After a moment's thought, Li Fei had mapped out the next stretch of her life with clean, satisfying precision.
She ground the cigarette butt under her heel, ignored the blankly staring Child of the Jungle, and swung herself back onto the Griffin's back. She gave its feathers a firm pat.
"Let's go home."
The great eagle-headed beast spread its wings, casting an enormous shadow across the ground below, and circled away toward the not-too-distant city of Loxibrook.
...
"Miss, this is the list of personnel for the journey."
In the rear courtyard of Qin's Apothecary, a silver-haired elder with a white beard bowed and presented a ledger to Qin Zhihua.
"I always trust Elder Jiang to handle things properly," Qin Zhihua said with a warm smile, accepting the ledger.
"The Miss is too kind."
The old man was dressed in a clean, well-fitted long robe, his silver hair tied back with meticulous precision. He walked Qin Zhihua through the arrangements for the day-after-tomorrow's departure in thorough, organized detail, and then concluded with a suggestion:
"The journey itself carries no particular risk — the Mercenary Guild has already swept through Viranean thoroughly enough. That said…" He bowed slightly. "This old servant feels it might be worth bringing along someone with knowledge of Terrain Awareness. It would save the party a considerable amount of effort."
Qin Zhihua glanced at the ledger with a small frown. "Isn't there already a Beast Tamer on the list?"
"Ah, there is, Miss — but that particular elven lady specializes in the Summoning path and hasn't ventured into buff spells," the elder replied with a measured smile. "Not having Terrain Awareness is hardly a crisis — but when gathering medicinal herbs out in the field, every additional advantage is worth having."
"I see." Qin Zhihua nodded. "As it happens, I was already planning to stop by the Mercenary Guild tomorrow to discuss a business matter. I'll look for a suitable hire while I'm there."
____
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