“Uh…”
“Hmm?”
Irina Zi’s gaze sharpened instantly when she saw Liyakade stammering like that.
“You’re not going to say it was your mistake again, or that something special happened so you didn’t correct it, are you?”
“No! I’ve already finished grading Alice’s exam!”
Liyakade hurriedly explained to Irina Zi, sensing her about to lose her temper again.
“Then what were you hesitating about over there for so long? The thoughts of a lowborn are really hard to understand.”
Irina Zi seemed to sense something off, but she didn’t press Liyakade immediately.
“Forget it, it doesn’t matter. How about the field test? Don’t tell me you got covered in blood but still came back empty-handed.”
Indeed, it wasn’t a complete failure, but the result of helping Alice get a perfect score turned out to be more of a setback—it could be called a reverse achievement.
“As for that… Alice was teamed up with Princess Field. I really couldn’t do much, and since Princess Field is quite powerful, she personally took Alice through the exam, so the score wasn’t low.”
Liyakade’s mind raced before she decided to tell a small lie and hide the fact that she was grouped with Alice.
If it was just a failure to complete the mission, Liyakade might have only received some insults or a beating, but if it was discovered that her mistake directly helped Alice get a perfect score, the punishment wouldn’t be ordinary at all.
“Heh, I knew it.” To everyone’s surprise, Irina Zi didn’t continue to scold Liyakade. It seemed that Irina Zi had grown accustomed to Liyakade’s repeated failures. She let out a disdainful sigh.
“Sigh, at least you tried a little. Although you didn’t manage to put that lowborn at the bottom, you could at least make her score a little worse… Sigh, your usefulness as a little waste is really just that much.”
“…”
Liyakade was at a loss for words. She truly couldn’t understand why Irina Zi always dragged her down. Did belittling her really satisfy Irina Zi that much?
“Seriously… this is exhausting. I stayed up so late waiting for your news and now my skin’s going to get worse.”
Irina Zi yawned, rubbed her eyes, got up from Liyakade’s bed, and prepared to leave, her voice heavy with fatigue.
“I’m too lazy to punish you today. Wait for the scores. If you don’t make me happy, you know what will happen.”
With that, Irina Zi left without looking back.
“Sigh… I’m so tired.”
After Irina Zi had gone, Liyakade finally dared to mutter complaints to herself.
Liyakade really couldn’t believe that Irina Zi was still waiting here for her at this late hour. She didn’t know if this person had too strong a need for control or if there was something wrong with her mind.
Luckily, it was so late that Irina Zi didn’t seem in the mood to keep tormenting her.
However, if Alice’s scores turned out better than expected, Liyakade would still be in for a serious beating in a few days.
Liyakade took off her bloodstained school uniform and tossed it aside, planning to throw away the tattered uniform tomorrow. There was no need to wash the bloodstains; that would save some trouble.
After a quick shower, Liyakade lay exhausted on her bed, recalling everything that had happened these past two days.
She hadn’t truly fulfilled any of Irina Zi’s orders against Alice.
Mostly, she just went through the motions or did the opposite, enough to make Irina Zi’s informants and other students believe Liyakade was bullying Alice.
Whether out of her own will or for her own benefit, Liyakade didn’t want to truly harm Alice.
She hoped she hadn’t shown any cracks in her act.
Liyakade silently prayed in her heart.
But there were still a few things that puzzled her deeply.
First was the attack by the Dark Treant in the forest. When she played the game before, Liyakade always thought the original owner had drawn this monster here. Now it seemed otherwise, because in the original, only the Twisted Treant appeared.
The Dark Treant that showed up during the day was a whole level stronger.
Though the monster types and levels were different, they had one thing in common—they possessed the power to wipe out the entire Protagonist Trio.
An unknown bystander character should have been seriously injured, but because Liyakade replaced this character to join the trio, the injury somehow became hers.
Well, at least one innocent bystander was spared from harm.
A bad feeling gradually grew in Liyakade’s heart. She didn’t know if the monsters getting stronger was the result of someone secretly messing things up or if the game’s plot had self-correcting abilities.
If the game’s plot truly had self-correction, then Liyakade was doomed. The overall strength increase of the trio caused the world’s power to boost the monsters at this critical plot point accordingly.
At this rate, even if Liyakade hadn’t actually bullied Alice, she’d still be locked up by Alice and Princess Field at a key moment.
All her efforts would be in vain, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t escape the fate of those three endings.
If it was someone secretly causing trouble, things wouldn’t be much better, since Liyakade had no clue who it might be.
The plot never mentioned such a person. The only useful information was that the original owner had secretly sabotaged Alice’s exam, which was why Liyakade initially thought the original had drawn the monsters here.
Later villains and even Irina Zi never mentioned this incident again.
Either way, it was very unfavorable for Liyakade.
There was another thing that baffled Liyakade deeply. Thinking of it, she timidly slipped her small hand under the blanket to gently touch her lower abdomen. Her skin was still as soft and smooth as ever, without a single blemish.
After another careful check, Liyakade confirmed that her body bore no scars at all. Even though she had bled so much, there were no wounds left on her body, not even scabs. It just didn’t add up.
Now recalling carefully, Liyakade had indeed been seriously injured, almost to the point of death. But the next moment, she stood up to help Princess Field counterattack the Dark Treant.
Could this… also be the World Will and the Plot Correction?
Liyakade couldn’t help but start thinking along this line. If all her outcomes in the plot were predetermined, then the World Will wouldn’t allow her to die now.
After all, if she died at this moment, the plot couldn’t continue. The Demon King’s revival and the Demon Race’s resurgence would be delayed, and there would be no story of the Protagonist Trio fighting the Demon King.
The more Liyakade thought, the more she felt her reasoning was correct. Otherwise, there was no explanation for why her injuries healed instantly.
But… if things really were as Liyakade thought, then she inevitably couldn’t escape the death ending…
Thinking this, despair washed over Liyakade once again.