After arriving at the Shattered Mirror Continent, Mu Anqi had only tasted two small cakes from Mu Xiaobai before being called to the General's Mansion by Xia Fenghua. Of course, little friend Xia Fenghua did not go with her.
"The General means that you've rested long enough. Since you want to learn staff techniques, you still need to practice the basics. And since there's little rest time, you'd better go to the General's Mansion to practice now." Xia Fenghua passed on the message, looking at Mu Anqi's fallen expression with pleasure, and impatiently waved her hand: "Go on, go on, I'll help you finish the rest of the little cakes, they won't go to waste!~"
Mu Anqi: "…"
Mu Anqi: "My blessing-curse has leveled up, do you want to try the upgraded version?"
Xia Fenghua instantly shut her mouth, respectfully making a "please" gesture, "The General is still waiting for you."
Mu Anqi gave a small hum, then asked Mu Xiaobai for two cake boxes, packing a mango mille-feuille and a strawberry mousse. After bidding farewell to Mu Xiaobai and Xia Fenghua, she headed to the General's Mansion.
For the sake of the little cakes… maybe this basic training won't be too exhausting?
Arriving at the General's Mansion, it was an unfamiliar guard ghost who opened the door for her. Last time, Mu Anqi had stayed at the General's Mansion to rest and had enjoyed herself so much she nearly forgot about Nirvana, so naturally she also knew the way. She walked straight into the main hall of the mansion and happened to meet General Ji.
"General, little cakes~"
"Put them on the table. First hold horse stance for an hour, then I'll teach you the basics of staff techniques."
Mu Anqi: "…"
Placing the cakes on the table, Mu Anqi resigned herself and went to the training ground, finding a corner to obediently settle into horse stance. Her posture was very proper—after all, when she had learned dagger techniques last time, the General had also taught her.
Horse stance was meant to train lower-body strength, to make her foundation steady. After one hour, Mu Anqi was already struggling, but under Ji Huaichu's watchful gaze she straightened, kicked her legs, and stretched for relief before enduring through the remaining hour of horse stance.
Once that was done, Ji Huaichu tossed her a long staff and began teaching her from the most basic movements. Just like when teaching dagger techniques, she corrected each move carefully one by one. After going through all the movements, she told Mu Anqi to practice them each thirty times, and for every mistake she made, repeat it ten more times.
"The medicinal bath is good for your body." While Mu Anqi was practicing staff techniques, Ji Huaichu spoke softly. "From now on, your three daily meals will also be various medicinal dishes to help nourish you."
Mu Anqi, struggling to swing the long staff, only felt as if her arms no longer belonged to her. Even with the beautiful General softly speaking beside her, she had no energy left to appreciate it.
"Your arms are drooping. Use strength, make the movements precise." The General's voice was still as gentle as ever, murmuring by Mu Anqi's ear. "Ten more times."
Mu Anqi: "QAQ"
Clearly…
A free learning opportunity was already a surprise, and having General Ji personally instruct her was a surprise within a surprise. Yet this double surprise stacked together became ten times the physical burden… Was this really normal!
Mu Anqi forced her arms up again and continued swinging the staff. Only after completing the extra ten repetitions was she completely exhausted. She had no choice but to set the staff on the ground for a moment and shake out her arms to relax.
When she picked the staff back up again, she saw the General, expressionless, finishing the mango mille-feuille and already opening the strawberry mousse box. Mu Anqi, noticing the cream at the corner of the General's thin lips, blinked and said: "General, right here on your mouth."
Slender fingers lifted and casually wiped away the cream at the corner of her lips. Ji Huaichu then picked up a piece of strawberry mousse with her fork and continued eating.
"This was made by Mu Xiaobai! If the General prefers it sweeter or lighter, you can have Mu Xiaobai customize it." Mu Anqi couldn't help but promote, "Xiaobai has been working really hard lately, studying baking and all kinds of little cakes!"
"Mm." Ji Huaichu finished that piece of cake, then said, "If your arms are tired, go hold horse stance."
"…" Helpless, Mu Anqi got back into horse stance, when she heard the General ask her again:
"You like Mu Xiaobai very much?"
"Mu Xiaobai is very cute, and also very sincere." Mu Anqi instinctively grew nervous. Though she didn't know why, after giving that reason she hurried to add, "I also like Xia Fenghua a lot. But I still like the General the most!"
"What do you want to do in the future?"
Mu Anqi was stunned by the question. What to do in the future? "I… I want to become a real rich lady?"
"At a certain stage, the Nirvana Space will open deeper permissions for players."
"I know, after more than eight games, and… it seems the Black Mirror Vortex doesn't count." Mu Anqi said. Of course she remembered this, but now she was already on her ninth game, yet the special shop still hadn't unlocked. Clearly the Black Mirror Vortex wasn't recognized by Nirvana Space. To get through eight games… it meant the games of the Shattered Mirror Continent. "General, are you worried I'll use a Rebirth Ticket?"
If she returned to just before that car accident and avoided it, she could revive and go on living, even continue claiming the lottery prize. Only…
From what Mu Anqi knew, the Rebirth Ticket seemed to erase one's memories of Nirvana Space. The space would help her avoid that death point and let her continue her life along its original track. But… Mu Anqi was already hesitating. She truly worried about her parents, but if it meant forgetting everything she had experienced and turning back into just an ordinary suddenly-rich woman… though not bad, it still wasn't something she was truly willing to accept. She didn't want to cut off the memories of this time.
"There's a Plane Travel Ticket in the shop," Mu Anqi said. "I think… if I could go back and see my parents, that would be enough."
Unlike the malicious system and the evil, terrifying ghosts in novels, the existence of the Nirvana Space seemed extremely neutral. It was more like a transfer station. As for the emotions it required… they didn't really harm Mu Anqi. At its core, the Shattered Mirror Continent wasn't much different from her original world. Even demons and monsters were three-dimensional and complex—some good, some bad. Of course, perhaps compared to ordinary people, demons and monsters were more impulsive, with greater destructive power, but in some ways they were still very similar. The randomly appearing Black Mirror Vortices on the Shattered Mirror Continent were the truly "evil" aspect.
The games… were very interesting. Even the dungeons of the Black Mirror Vortex gave Mu Anqi experiences that helped her grow a lot.
"I guess… I'm pretty selfish." Mu Anqi lowered her head and said, "In life, I was just an unlucky ordinary person. Even though I struck it rich by winning the lottery, at heart I was still just an ordinary person, an ordinary college student. I didn't have any special abilities, not even a single skill to rely on. I don't seem to have any talents worth showing, just plain and ordinary—probably just a very normal female college student?"
"Of course, my looks aren't bad, and my personality isn't bad either. I have kindness, I have passion… probably not much different from the average person." Mu Anqi said, "But in the games, more people need me. I can do things I couldn't do before. I can realize my own value."
"In my life before, I… saw a lot of injustices—from the news, the internet, newspapers… and of course, even more evil hidden in the gutters. But I couldn't do anything. Even when victims cried for help online, I couldn't offer any real assistance. Before the car accident, I was just from an ordinary family, with little pocket money. The only charity I ever did was donating one yuan a day to the love fund." The more Mu Anqi spoke, the more embarrassed she became. Thinking of her past self, she truly felt she had been nothing more ordinary than ordinary. She loved reading all kinds of novels, playing games, surfing the internet, but her personal strength was too small. She couldn't help the victims, and she couldn't even win verbal battles against those "twisting right and wrong," "victim-blaming," "double-standard" keyboard warriors. But here it was different—she could kill the evil ghosts inside the Black Mirror Vortices. As her skills grew stronger and her points increased, one day she could even exchange for a Gatling gun to physically exorcise those evils.
"…Does that sound ridiculous?" Mu Anqi couldn't help but ask softly.
"No." Ji Huaichu said. On the contrary, when she heard Mu Anqi wouldn't choose to be reborn, she felt joy. Was the Mu Anqi of her past life really just ordinary and plain? Ji Huaichu didn't think so. Back in the novice dungeon, Mu Anqi had already been calmer and more composed than other players. Suddenly dragged into such a game right after death, Mu Anqi had been able to adjust herself well—that was already remarkable. "Don't look down on yourself. Don't belittle yourself."
Mu Anqi pressed her lips into a smile, the sparkle in her eyes bright as starlight, striking Ji Huaichu in an instant. Ji Huaichu shifted her gaze away without a trace and said lightly: "If you've rested enough, continue the previous movements. The sooner you finish all the drills, the sooner you can rest."
Mu Anqi's smile froze instantly.
She sighed inwardly, quietly stretched her legs, and resignedly picked up the long staff to continue practicing the basic forms.
There was already the Nirvana Space—so why couldn't it just provide a "skill pack"? Wouldn't it be better to gain proficiency with one click and instantly master all eighteen weapons? Sigh, such martial skills couldn't be mastered overnight; it would probably take endless grinding in the future.
Thinking of General Ji being proficient in all eighteen weapons, Mu Anqi couldn't help but suspect that the General must have been too bored while staying on the Shattered Mirror Continent, and with no Black Mirror Vortices appearing, simply self-studied these weapons year after year until she forged such mastery.
That was… pretty inspiring.
Mu Anqi roused her fighting spirit. She was now a player in the Nirvana Space—probably counted as a "dead person" already. Her personal profile even listed her age at death, which meant she no longer had to worry about lifespan! What was there to fear? As a rich lady, she hadn't even used up any of her free revivals. As long as she kept going, she wouldn't end up in the tragic situation of failing and dying. Which meant…
Her future was long. A hundred years? A thousand years?
Who could say. Anyway, if it took her hundreds or thousands of years to learn, she could still become a master of cold weapons! Learn! Learn until death! [T/N: Girl.. You already death though]