Chapter 14 | Fantasy Descends, I Start as a Magical Girl

“Holy cow... how is this any different from just playing with them?!”

As the sounds of clashing steel rang out one after another, Mo Shao’s effortless and relaxed combat style instantly dispelled any sense of danger.

Naturally, this sparked a heated discussion among the people in the supermarket—they were already peering through the cracks in the door, stealing glances at the outside world.

“Seriously, her movements are as smooth as flowing water. Every move is a tiny, precise shift. It’s a bit too elegant, isn’t it?”

In reality, Mo Shao was simply forcing her “cool action hero” persona. After all, if she looked too pathetic while fighting, the psychological effect would be lost.

“To me, it looks more like she’s just parrying rhythmically...”

“Yeah, her timing is just too perfect. I couldn't even pull off moves like that in a video game!”

“Is this big sis a bit too fierce? Could she be some kind of urban soldier king? Or maybe a martial arts master?!”

“I’d say we have to choose between a returner, a transmigrator, or someone with a system.” Very quickly, someone blurted out the “truth.”

After all, plenty of people in this world read web novels, let alone a group of boarding high school students.

Playing games was too dangerous and phones had to be handed in—but sneakily using an MP3 player to read novels was easy as pie.

Of course, they were only speaking casually; no one could give a definitive answer, and no one dared to ask.

Such things were obviously “core secrets.” Who would be dumb enough to ask about that? Weren't they afraid of being silenced to protect her identity?

However, while people were currently showing a decent amount of restraint, it didn't rule out the possibility of Mo Shao encountering a real blockhead in the future.

...

“Wait, what are you guys even talking about? How can your imaginations be so vivid?”

One person doubted, but another countered: “Fantasy has already descended into reality, so what if those things actually exist?”

“True. I’ve already decided to follow this boss blindly.”

“Me too.” Her appeal was unquestionable.

Regardless of the truth, Mo Shao had already demonstrated her strength, which was the most important thing in the apocalypse.

Attracting others was nothing more than a matter of benefit and charisma, and Mo Shao, this “powerful beautiful girl,” perfectly met both conditions.

“Stop talking about that, the Gulpuff is dead!”

“Huh? Is her damage that high?!”

Someone subconsciously changed their tune: “So she has both the skill and the stats now. I wonder what the boss’s mechanics are like?”

In truth, Mo Shao had infused a massive amount of mana into her iron sword just to show off; she was actually feeling a little bit drained right now.

While Mo Shao was finished on her end, Little Ka’s fight wasn't over yet. As a novice, she still lacked many techniques.

However, if Mo Shao were to intervene, it would be somewhat disrespectful, and Little Ka wasn't in any real danger.

So, she ultimately chose to return to the doorway and pick up her backpack. Everyone was quite well-behaved; no one had messed with it.

Seeing that Mo Shao had finished off the Gulpuff, Little Ka subconsciously increased her intensity and ended her battle about a minute later.

Unfortunately, neither the Gulpuff nor the Cruisewing dropped an Echo.

...

“It’s settled.” Mo Shao walked over.

“...Yeah, it wasn't as hard as I imagined.” Little Ka seemed to still be processing the combat; she dithered for a moment before giving a smiling response.

Compared to what Mo Shao faced, the Cruisewing Little Ka dealt with was far easier—it was fragile, had low poise, and few attack patterns.

However, the Cruisewing would become difficult to deal with later. Currently, its advantage of flight hadn't been fully utilized yet.

Right now, it would fly to the same height as its target and charge straight into their face to engage in melee.

Once it “woke up” later, it would essentially act like an aerial drone, becoming incredibly agile and infused with elemental powers!

“Does anyone want to absorb this?” Mo Shao glanced at the Mimic Echo by her side and asked the group behind her.

“We can absorb them too?” a boy asked in surprise. The fact that he even had to ask this proved one thing...

It had indeed been very safe here last night.

...

“Yeah, but once you absorb it, it’s a Dead-binding.” Mo Shao nodded. After confirming, she bluntly stated the consequences as well.

“This... what does ‘Dead-binding’ mean?” The English teacher stepped forward, voicing the question everyone shared.

“That? Well, to put it simply, it’s like this...” Mo Shao gave a brief explanation of Dead-binding and Live-binding.

“And what about me? What's my situation?” Little Ka tilted her head in confusion, pointing a finger at herself.

“Your compatibility was too high, so you completed an innate transformation. This type is even rarer and holds more advantages.”

Mo Shao winked at Little Ka. “For instance, you have an extra Live-binding slot, and you can save your Dead-binding slots for later.”

“If there's an innate type... does that mean there's an acquired type too?”

“Yes. You kill a monster yourself, and then during the fusion, you use your will to think ‘I want to become it.’”

To complete a transformation, one had to personally kill the target they wished to transform into so they could gather the essence from its body.

Then, utilizing the Feedback provided by [Order] after the kill, they would transfer that essence into themselves to complete the transformation.

“However, I don't recommend you guys try that haphazardly. It has some drawbacks...” Mo Shao added a few supplements.

She primarily described the specific mental effects transformation had on a person. As for why she was playing the teacher so much?

Aside from matters regarding [Order] and [Chaos]—which she couldn't mention for fear of being hunted down—she intended to share all other knowledge that wouldn't harm her.

After all, this would provide a decent boost to humanity as a whole. Knowing information in advance brought too many advantages.

Naturally, such behavior also earned her Feedback from [Order].

Moreover, as this information spread further and became known to more people, the Feedback she received would only increase.

Because she was the “First Cause,” she had the first-mover effect, and [Order] would naturally grant her the lion’s share of the Feedback.

To put it bluntly, because she was the first to transmit this knowledge, it was equivalent to registering a “patent” with [Order].

In the future, whenever others passed on the information, as long as the source of their knowledge could be traced back to her, she would receive “copyright fees”!

...

After Mo Shao’s explanation, the crowd’s desire for the Mimic Echo wasn't quite as strong.

After all, people always harbored a bit of fantasy, imagining if they could find something better to transform into or Dead-bind.

But the memories of her past life proved that such strokes of luck only happened to a tiny minority.

If you didn't get something good at the start, it would be even harder to get one later.

Ultimately, if one didn't use Dead-binding or transformation, they couldn't use fantasy items, and their growth speed and strength would remain stuck.

They wouldn't be able to defeat monsters or enter the Phantom Realms, and they couldn't compete with others. Naturally, it became difficult to obtain anything good.