The bonfire burned, dry wood cracking, illuminating every corner of the night.
A faint glow rested on the tip of her nose.
Hazy and warm.
Xu Xi's eyes were slightly closed, the shadows of flames flickering across his face.
He was reminiscing—about his observations of Servia, as well as the past she had recounted. In the end, all the anomalies had found a reasonable explanation.
Because of that hideous face.
Because of that tragic, painful life.
The girl subconsciously avoided her undead self.
She donned armor.
Grasped a sharp sword.
Adopting the identity of a "hero," she approached the village, earning the trust of its people.
At the same time, Servia's wariness toward Xu Xi's identity as a sorcerer also stemmed from past events.
A sorcerer had destroyed the girl's home.
Turning her into something neither human nor ghost.
In truth.
Even now, Xu Xi could sense a faint trace of vigilance—buried deep in her heart, an instinctive reaction born of fear.
"Great Sorcerer, may I ask..."
"Why did you save me?"
The dry wood burned fiercely, crackling incessantly.
Orange-yellow flames reflected off the armor, casting patches of rust-stained yellow. The undead girl, puzzled, voiced the question that had weighed on her for so long.
To this.
Xu Xi did not hide the truth.
He admitted that her courage had moved him—and that he was intrigued by her state of existence.
"Your condition is unique, suspended between life and death, maintaining a delicate balance. I find it fascinating," Xu Xi said.
Servia suddenly understood.
She lowered her head, examining her skeletal hands.
Then touched her face.
Indeed, even in these times when the undead roamed freely, her body was an extraordinary case.
Ordinary people would recoil in fear, but for someone like Xu Xi, a sorcerer, it was only natural to be curious—even to desire studying it.
"Of course. Feel free to use my body as you wish."
The undead girl agreed without hesitation.
She was already dead.
Devoid of flesh, only bones remained.
If she could assist Xu Xi, repaying the debt of his saving her life, she had no objections to lending him her body.
Besides.
Servia herself was curious about her own condition. Perhaps Xu Xi, as a sorcerer, could provide a proper explanation.
The two reached an agreement swiftly, deciding to begin their research the next day.
The bonfire swayed in the night breeze.
Now leaning left.
Now tilting right.
Dancing gracefully, illuminating everything around them.
Perhaps it had been too long since she had spoken normally with another person, but the girl's spirits were unusually high, her questions endless.
"Great Sorcerer, how do sorcerers cultivate their powers?"
"Great Sorcerer, what has become of the world outside?"
"Great Sorcerer..."
"Great Sorcerer..."
Xu Xi patiently answered each of Servia's inquiries.
It was nothing much.
Just a soul, long isolated, eagerly venting its pent-up frustrations. Xu Xi understood that feeling well.
Finally, after answering her last question, Xu Xi asked in return:
"Servia, have you ever thought about the future?"
The future...
Her cheerful mood came to an abrupt halt.
The girl fell silent, forcing a smile with that horrifying visage. "I suppose... I'll keep being a hero. The people here still need me."
"Have you never considered leaving?"
"I have, but... they need me."
Hugging her knees, she lowered her head.
Servia's voice was tinged with loneliness.
Was it that the villagers needed a false hero, or was it the false hero who couldn't bear to leave them? Even she couldn't discern the truth anymore.
Hiss—
Xu Xi tapped the bonfire with a finger.
The dimming flames roared back to life, surging fiercely.
He didn't look at Servia, didn't gaze upon that desolate expression. Instead, he watched the wild dance of the fire and spoke softly:
"Servia, you're actually quite remarkable."
"Great Sorcerer, are you... referring to me?"
"Yes."
The girl's astonishment was palpable, her emerald-green eyes wide with disbelief. Never had she imagined that Xu Xi—who had obliterated a minotaur undead with a single spell—would praise someone as weak as her.
The clanking of metal echoed.
The sound of armored plates colliding.
"I think... you must be mistaken."
Servia shook her head, rejecting Xu Xi's words. "I'm not strong. On the contrary, I'm weak."
"You've saved many people, Servia."
"But... I'm not a real hero. I can't save everyone. I don't have true power."
The undead girl was lost, still denying Xu Xi's words.
Did saving others make her remarkable?
Compared to those she had rescued, there were far more things she couldn't do.
She couldn't bring her deceased parents back to life.
She couldn't defeat powerful undead.
She couldn't save the lives that slipped away before her eyes.
She was powerless.
"That alone is remarkable, Servia," Xu Xi's voice remained gentle, his eyes reflecting the blazing fire. The flickering light cast shifting patterns across the undead armor, painting the girl in an unusual hue.
To fight despite fear.
To fight despite hopeless odds.
Even a true hero.
Might not possess her perseverance.
And so, Xu Xi believed Servia was extraordinary.
Though her appearance was grotesque, a monster in the eyes of ordinary people, her spirit—unseen by most—shone brilliantly. A soul truly radiant and beautiful.
"I..."
The undead girl sat quietly, her skeletal hands clasped together beneath the armor.
There was so much she wanted to say.
That she wasn't as noble as Xu Xi claimed.
That she saved others partly out of her own loneliness.
So many things.
Too many words.
But in the end, all of them dissolved into the silence of her soulfire. Nothing left to say, only the trembling of cold armor encasing a spirit.
"BOOM!!!"
Thunder roared.
The rain, which had ceased earlier, returned with a vengeance.
The hero Servia shivered in fright.
"Are you alright, Servia?"
"G-Great Sorcerer, I'm... I'm fine..." Servia forced a steady voice, though it trembled.
In that moment.
Xu Xi wondered if he had misjudged her.
[You saved the "hero" on the brink of death.]
[And from the "hero's" own words, learned of her tragic life.]
[Servia Clawphire]
[Once the rising star of the Clawphire Family, destined for a bright future and a happy life—until a necromancer's spell turned her into a half-human, half-undead aberration.]
[She is a false hero struggling in the darkness, yet also a true hero who fights to save others.]
[You acknowledged the girl's deeds and formed a partnership with her. In return for your aid, Servia agreed to let you study her body.]
[Tonight, thunder rages.]
[Hero Servia encounters the storm, fighting valiantly but ultimately defeated.]
[Hero Servia has fallen.]
[Hero Servia curls into a ball.]
"Great Sorcerer, p-please don't look at me..."
"It's... a bit embarrassing..."
Thus spoke the hero Servia.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
ress Kneels to Admit Wrong] [Dealing with Love-Struck Fools] [Forced to the Throne] Ren Tianye transmigrated into a female-oriented novel world, only to find everyone in it was utterly insane. He risked his life to save a young girl from barbarians, but was accused of arriving too late and branded the real murderer. He held a knife to a military officer's neck, demanding the troop tally, but the officer only cared about questioning his wife: "Do you not love me anymore? All these years of affection and time together, they were all a mistake, a mistake!" After seizing Yunji City, the original defending general, to save face with the Empress, knelt on the ground: "You must give Yunji City back to me, or I'll hang myself at the city gate and let everyone know you're a villain!" The young lord of the Duke's mansion, to please a woman, directly ordered a merchant: "The menstrual pads you buy for her must be studded with diamonds. Loving her means giving her the best." Having become a great general, he was about to marry a merchant's daughter, who set a pre-nuptial rule: "I can divorce you anytime. When that happens, you must give me half of your troops and soldiers!" Even the Empress was a severe love-struck fool, who ordered the execution of 70,000 elite troops simply because they stood in the way of her romance. Ren Tianye was speechless. He was done. Let it all burn! This deranged female-oriented novel world! ...
