Secret Admirer

[Extraction in 5]

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My consciousness wrapped and tugged, making me lose any sense of myself.

In a matter of seconds, for me. I suddenly found myself in an old gazebo once again. With the waterfall occupying my entire peripheral vision.

My mind was muddled and confused, grasping my situation only after a while of being absent-minded; ignoring the system message about the received rewards for now.

Recalling everything that happened, my stomach felt uncomfortable.

I almost retched, feeling like vomiting. I desperately tried to calm down, but the feeling of tearing flesh and spilling warm blood was too vivid in my mind.

Actually, fighting all these bandits. I felt so scared. However, knowing that getting scared and shaky will not help my situation. I fueled all my fear into my survival instinct.

I come from the modern world; I never hurt anybody. They deserve it. I know it, they are just simulated scenarios created by a system, anyway. Not real people.

Still, I feel like I committed a massive murder just now.

*cough*

*cough*

I hunched my back, keeping my hand on my lips. My shoulders trembled from the impact of an uncomfortable sensation rising in my mouth.

'F*ck, calm the f*ck down.'

I desperately tried to tell myself, but my body didn't listen to me, and I started to feel nauseous.

'Am I having a panic attack?'

That realization passed through my mind.

It is important to understand that I am a very steady person. Even when my parents died, I didn't shed tears.

My eyes still got wet and red, but I didn't cry or throw a fit, much less a panic attack.

This comes from my religious and conservative upbringing. After all, men don't cry and shouldn't do so.

The fact that I am now a woman doesn't change things. These rules got integrated into my personality long ago.

"Here, take it you will feel better."

Suddenly, the presence emerged next to me, or maybe I was too self-absorbed to notice, earlier.

She patted my back comfortingly, making me freeze, my body tense from the sudden touch.

'Who?'

I thought, turning my head sideways to see the sudden intruder.

- An hour earlier, somewhere in a different location -

The outer sect was enormous. Yet, it wasn't possible to populate the entire mountain range. Most of it remains undeveloped to this day.

Some rules prohibit wandering too far from the main area. However, no one enforces it. Thanks to that from time to time, some disciples would visit the brimming with life forest around the sect.

Reasons for such behavior are diverse, but this anxious-looking girl, surely, wasn't the usual guest of this part of the woods.

She herself was unsure how she ended up coming here. Was that because of the earlier accident?

Probably, certainly…

She feels so dejected, unsure how to fix the current situation or if it is even fixable now.

She comes from a noble lineage, the pride of the Lei family; beautiful and talented. Doesn't it seem like the heavens favor her?

She was somewhat arrogant, yet she had a bright future. It was only natural for others to seek her favor and praise her existence.

No matter the whim, she always gets it.

Yet, there was something she couldn't possess.

Hair is a striking shade of light pink; the vibrant hue adds a touch of whimsy, creating a sense of playfulness. Small lips, delicately curved into a smile that could warm even the coldest permafrost. The smile itself seemed to radiate joy, filling the air with contagious happiness. This sight alone has been enough to captivate her, leaving an everlasting impression in her memory.

Since the day she saw her two years ago, hearing her humming the song by the pond, soaking her delicate feet in the warm water.

She just can't forget her, unsure what is wrong with her. She thought that with time, these strange bubbly feelings would disappear.

However, as if the heavens were mocking her, they didn't. Instead, as time continued to pass, the warm current, whatever she saw her, made affection for the girl to grow.

Becoming unbearable and leading her to do some strange things she would never do clear-headed.

She wasn't even in the same class as 'this girl', barely seeing each other only because they had classes, usually in the same building.

Yet, she became completely entranced by her. She was a noblewoman but was so concerned with a commoner girl; she gathered her information before. The Ling surname isn't any known noble household.

Despite all this, she never talked with her. She was Amie Lei, the nobly born heir to the matriarch position but when this beautiful commoner looked into her eyes, all her confidence and pride were gone.

This leads to today's disaster.

It all began as usual when she was with her friends, deciding to do some evening sparring.

They went to their usual reserved spot; the training grounds couldn't be reserved but nobody dared to question their group about it.

There, unexpectedly, they met Nicola Xie and Emily Yan. The conflict almost immediately broke out.

Lei's family is sworn enemies with the Xie and Yan clan. A few hundred years ago, the Lei family ancestor almost united an entirely immortal city of Jinhung.

If not by an unexpected alliance of Xie and Yan's family. The city wouldn't be divided to this day.

Understanding this. It is not unexpected that the situation quickly got out of control. Starting from insults to almost full-out brawl.

There was this one blond-haired girl trying to act as a mediator but failed miserably.

Still fighting between disciples is forbidden, so after a while of throwing insults at them, she felt satisfied and decided to find another spot to practice.

She clearly remembers how diligent she had felt at that moment, back home in the city of Jinhung. Such scenes were a regular part of her daily life, however, upon discovering that the girl she fancied had become friends with her two archenemies. She resolved to be more considerate.

However, the woman she keeps thinking of is absent from lessons today. So, showing these Xie and Yan families, their place shouldn't be a problem?

Well, that should be the case. Unfortunately, as she turned around, she met a gorgeous but furious face staring daggers at her.

Yet, she was destined not to admire this little beauty much longer because the coming slap almost grazed her cheeks.

Daring to slap her, who thinks she is!? She thought, but a chaotic jumble of thoughts prevented her from strategizing; her arm was caught as a result of the girl's second move.

Trying to struggle, the girl almost broke her arm. At that moment, she swore that she would start cultivating seriously like the girl before her.

After all, even if she has talent. Before the pink-haired girl who has talent and practices seriously every day. She can't compare.

Everything happened so fast that nobody was able to react, but soon after, the blond-haired girl took her off herself and disappeared with a pink-haired girl from the practice hall. Her friends from the Xia and Yan families followed.

All this led me here to this forsaken part of the sect.

Do I feel humiliated? Absolutely, yes, nobody treated me like that so far.

Yet, why does my throat feel so dry, and my chest is so uncomfortable?

I should be mad, but I just feel suffocating.

Her giving me a resentful glare before leaving made me feel so guilty.

Do I really have feelings for her? For this hateful, commoner girl who dared to hurt the nobility?

Looking up, she saw the towering trees, letting little to no sunlight, with the sun slowly disappearing behind the horizon, she decided to come back before it got too dark.

It is useless to think about it now. The girl, Rose. Would have from now on never talked to her ever again.

Just as she was getting familiar with that thought, the strange sight suddenly greeted her. Some wooden structure in the middle of a forest?

Curiously, she approached closer. Everything that would take her mind off the mental torture she was currently experiencing would be a blessing.

As she moved through the abundant vegetation, she finally saw clearly that it was an old wooden gazebo with a waterfall in the distance.

Following the broken stone path, she started climbing the slope on which the small building was located.

It didn't take her long and finally…

Someone's here? She freaked out. Seeing a girl sitting there, she almost instantly decided to leave.

Yet, seeing pink hair, she remained frozen.

She can't be Rose, can she? There are a few other people with pink hair in the sect.

Her hesitation didn't last long. The girl she may have a crush on looked like she was in pain; her body moved by itself.

"Here, take it you will feel better."

- Present time -

POV: Rose

Standing up as if electrified, I glared at the person who happened to see me in my moment of weakness.

The girl in question has a shoulder-length hairstyle with slightly wavy purple hair. The bangs are swept across her forehead, framing her face elegantly.

'Amie Lei, this villain, really came unable to bear the earlier loss. Her friends are probably already lying in ambush somewhere, ready to strike.'

I pondered and was even more assured that the pill she wanted to handle me was poisonous.

My reaction and dislike for this individual is not unfounded. In the game, she is known as the worst traitor in the history of The Heavenly Lotus Sect. Kinslayer, Bucher, and Devil Incarnation are just some titles they call her.

The previous villains don't compare to Amie Lei, the later-stage boss who will completely turn the sect upside down and nearly bring an end to its thousands-year-old legacy.

All this gives me pretty good reasons to hate her guts. However, it's still not the reason I despise her so much.

She…

She kills my favorite character in the game!!!

I never played it for the story, but I never skipped the dialogue with this particular character.

Yet, she suddenly dies at the hands of this evil woman, Amie Lei. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil.

"Were you following me?"

I asked with a guarded expression. Despite my eyes still being a little damp and my legs feeling weak, I pretended to look fierce, or at least I tried to.

"N-no I didn't, I just was curious and wanted to take a look…"

Her voice was soft, contrasting sharply with her condescending tone when speaking to my friends today.

'Wanting to fool me? I know how rotten and evil her true self is. I will not be deceived.'

I thought.

"I know that's quite a consequence to meet you here, but more importantly, are you fine? You seem to be in pain earlier…"

She continued, her eyes darting around to anything but my face.

Seeing that, I became alarmed. Is she looking around, making sure I have no escape routes? Despite my progress already being:

[Cultivation: Body Reconstruction (7th layer)]

It still would have been hopeless for me to take on so many opponents.

Seeing me still remaining unresponsive, she started to look nervous.

'Ahhh, I need to flee, she can't hold on anymore and is going to attack me soon!'

I thought, determined not to let myself be bullied again.

I took a quick back step and slid across the wooden barrier. Disappearing almost instantly from her vision into the dense vegetation.

'There is more than one path leading to the old gazebo and I remember them perfectly!'

Time to run.

- A couple of hours later, the dormitory -

The lights in the room were already turned off.

Nico, Emily, and additionally Natalie, who moved in not long ago seem to be already asleep. I, on the other hand, still couldn't.

After my grand escape, I quickly made up with them, no longer mad or more appropriately to say so overwhelmed by everything that happened that I almost forgot about it.

The plot of the story is so messed up. I shouldn't have met Amie Lei so early. Will there be more butterfly effects in the future?

About the system and its challenges… Will I always be put into somebody's body? If so, will I be placed in a non-human body too?

Last thing, should I try to follow the plot that is already twisted because of my actions, or maybe use my knowledge of the future and eliminate future threats now?

I haven't thought about it much, but wasn't I supposed to be the protagonist destined to save this world from total destruction?

I just want to have fun in this new life. I have no qualities of a great hero, and I lack courage.

I…

As fatigue enveloped me, my thoughts grew increasingly muddled and restless, like a turbulent storm within my mind. Reluctantly, I succumbed to the weariness, as my mind kept sinking deeper into a hazy, ethereal realm of dreamlands.