Chapter 17: The Collaboration with Vivian

Sila remained composed upon learning of Livia's sudden appearance at the academy, naturally equipped with confidence.

As a veteran player of "Journey of Radiance." he was not only intimately familiar with the protagonists' personalities but also well-versed in all significant events within the six years following the game's main storyline.

"Journey of Radiance." a game akin to a galgame, featured a robust combat system and character development elements.

The rapid growth of the male and female protagonist was attributed to the game's dungeon system.

In the official terminology of Gandarniel, these dungeons were known as Dimensional Rifts.

The Rifts connected to various historical junctures since the inception of Gandarniel. Individuals who entered the Dimensional Rifts could find themselves immersed in significant historical events, battles, and adventures.

By challenging the main quests within the Rifts, defeating bosses, and grinding monsters, players had the opportunity to obtain ancient equipment and cultivation resources as rewards.

In the original story, several key Dimensional Rifts provided ultimate Spiritual Essence, which was used to enhance the protagonists' talent ceilings.

A unique aspect of Dimensional Rifts was that once entered, everything would cease to exist upon the rift's closure unless the task was successfully completed or the conditions for departure were met.

In fact, many Dimensional Rifts in Gandarniel conveniently ended shortly after their discovery, and countless others remained unknown from their inception to closure.

This characteristic was ideally suited for murder and mischief!

If Livia perished within a rift, no one would ever know the cause of his death, after the Dimensional Rift closed, people would merely assume he had disappeared.

Sila's plan involved a particularly easy resource rift near Victoria Magic Academy, one that could be cleared with less than expert-level skills.

In the game, this served as a beginner dungeon for the protagonists.

They discovered this rift three months into the storyline during a field combat lesson, when one of the female protagonist, Natasha, the little princess of the Victoria Kingdom, accidentally fell off a cliff while trying to evade her fiancé's harassment.

Her fiancé was too intimidated by the bottomless abyss to face it, and only the male lead stepped forward to rescue her.

Together, they entered the Dimensional Rift.

They confronted enemies, cleared the dungeon, strengthened their abilities, and their feelings rapidly deepened.

According to Sila's knowledge, when the protagonists entered that Dimensional Rift, it was already in its final fluctuation phase, on the verge of closing at any moment. In multiple playthroughs, the male lead could use items inherited from previous playthroughs to court Vivian early on and enter this beginner dungeon with her. With Vivian's knowledge base, she would deduce that this rift had existed for over a year yet remained undiscovered.

In other words...

Now, Sila could utilize this rift to gain some resources and equipment from ancient times, and conveniently cover up some of the items he had redeemed through the system under the guise of obtaining them from the rift!

More importantly, he could also use this to trap Livia.

"If Livia's target is really me." Sila reasoned,

"Then he will definitely try to follow me."

"Wouldn't anyone who wants to enhance their strength seize the opportunity upon seeing a Dimensional Rift?"

Sila explained.

With the system as his backup and intimate knowledge of the beginner dungeon from his past life. Sila was fully confident that he could trap and defeat Livia if he entered the Dimensional Rift. However, he didn't delve that deep into the details with Vivian.

Sila merely outlined the intelligence he possessed about a resource rift and expressed his desire to collaborate with Vivian, ensuring that if Livia tracked him or Vivian, they could lure her into it.

"Alright, I agree to your proposal." 

Vivian said after sensing something with a pocket watch she held in her hand.

She quickly withdrew her hand from Sila's grasp and nodded.

"Then we are temporary partners." Sila said enthusiastically, wrapping an arm around Vivian's relatively petite shoulders and patting her lightly. Feeling the girl's body heat gradually transferring to him, his smile widened. "Pleasure working with you!"

"For my safety, and for Lillian." 

Vivian said with a sigh, closing her eyes.

She was inherently aloof and didn't pay much attention to matters of the heart, instinctively wanting to shake off Sila's advances.

But since they were discussing a collaboration, she felt that being too distant wasn't advisable and had to endure the harassment. Moreover, since Sila had mentioned Lillian, it had significantly reduced the girl's aversion towards him.

Seeing this, a hint of triumph flashed through Sila's mind.

Different female protagonists required different approaches.

Vivian, this emotionless young lady, only cared about one thing before she opened her heart to the male protagonist early in the story—her sister, Lillian Rockefeller.

Perhaps, she also valued her research in alchemy.

Having grasped this key point, how could he not manipulate her?

Unfortunately, Sila hadn't enjoyed the warmth of the young girl for long when a flustered set of footsteps approached.

"What are you doing? Sila, let go of Vivian!"

In front of them stood a poorly dressed yet determined-looking young man.

It was the male protagonist, Leon Chester.

Sila casually glanced at him before continuing to hold Vivian and saying, "Then, as we agreed earlier, I look forward to your performance." He deliberately spoke in vague and ambiguous terms.

Earlier in the library, Sila had noticed the trio—Vivian, the orange-haired teen, and a stranger who seemed to have an air of sophistication.

Although they differed from the CGs in Journey of Radiance, using Vivian as a reference point.

Sila deduced that the game's male protagonist had already transferred to Magic Academy.

It must have been during the time he didn't attend the academy after being challenged by Scott. However, Sila refrained from making any hasty moves.

Leon Chester, the male protagonist of "Journey of Radiance", possessed a protagonist aura.

As a galgame, many of the male lead's "fatal outcomes" stemmed from insufficient affection cultivation with the female leads, leading to scripted deaths.

In the normal storyline, even in perilous situations like dungeon adventures and duels, he always managed to survive by a narrow margin.

In other words, Leon Chester was an extremely troublesome "sticky situation."

Moreover, the male protagonist arrived with elite ninth-tier strength, having chosen to join Magic Academy to seek an opportunity to break through to the expert level.

Sila's current strength was far from being able to provoke him.

But at this moment...

Sila couldn't help but feel a thrill.

Sorry...

I mean...

The joy of NTRing in front of the male protagonist was simply irresistible for ordinary people!

Sila put an arm around Vivian and said, "I don't think I did anything wrong, did I?"

"Vivian, tell him what our relationship is now." Sila prompted.

Vivian, the doll-like girl, hesitated for a moment before saying, "We are..."

Sila felt confident. The plot of " Journey of Radiance" had just begun. Even if the male protagonist was on Vivian's storyline, their affection level was likely zero.

Therefore...

Vivian decisively said, "Leon, excuse me, but Sila and I have some business to discuss. Could you please give us some privacy?"

Focused on the matter at hand, the girl didn't bother to continue struggling against Sila's hand, which was playing with her long hair.

Instead, as they were so close, the hormonal scent emanating from the fellow male made her cheeks gradually flush, making her look extremely cute and exuding a forbidden charm.

From Sila's perspective, the scene was enchanting.

Yet, for Leon, it was akin to a bolt of lightning on a clear day.

He had been at the academy for a few days now and had heard whispers about Sila's notorious reputation, even though the recent incident in the training chamber had somewhat improved his public perception.

However, that didn't erase his past of toying with women's emotions.

Seeing Vivian, whom he had earlier enjoyed a delightful conversation with, potentially being deceived by Sila, was particularly galling.

Despite the derogatory remarks hurled at him, Leon's face instantly hardened into a resolute expression.

His moral compass would not allow him to stand idly by while a girl he considered a friend was being deceived, even if he wasn't understood.

"Sila, let Vivian go!" he declared.

Sila merely smiled without saying a word.

He could already predict the unfolding of the narrative.

Vivian had been incredibly popular in his previous life, partly due to her sweet romantic storyline and partly because of—

Contrast.

Her initial indifference served as a stark contrast to her passionate feelings later on.

And now...

Seeing that Leon was still persisting, Vivian took a few unhesitating steps forward.

Leon's expression subtly shifted, revealing a hint of joy, thinking that his friend had finally seen the error of her ways and had come to her senses.