Chapter 87: Twin Wings

That night, in Room 3-27 of the Bright Light Hotel in the Bright Light District.

Even on a cold winter night, the black-haired girl, wearing nothing but a thin nightgown, sat carelessly on the bed with a fluffy bear in her arms, her pale skin hinting through the deep neckline with every movement.

After listening to the reports from the two sisters, she nodded in satisfaction.

“Mm-mm, this is quite a valuable clue. So, the woman you met before might just be the Holy Knight Karina Brett, who was infested by the mask in last night’s incident. Good thing you two were cautious and didn’t act rashly. That mask gives off really eerie vibes; getting caught up in it could’ve been a hassle.”

“Eh? Is it really that powerful? I mean, my sister and I are already beyond that level. Dealing with some ordinary folks should be no problem, right? Miss Vilyric, are you trying to scare us?”

Miss Renée, casually holding a pillow and wearing her nightgown while sitting across from the Priestess, seemed somewhat unconvinced. Ever since the little girl managed to break through to the next level, her confidence had visibly inflated—she even claimed…

“I’m a different person now! I feel like I could take on ten of my old selves!”

Hearing the girl’s exuberant declaration, along with the four white wings flapping excitedly at the mention, Miss Vilyric could only show a hint of helplessness. Meanwhile, Leila, sitting beside her, promptly raised her hand and knocked the girl on the head, causing her to yelp, “Ouch!”

“No matter how many of you there are combined, you still wouldn’t be a match for even one of Miss Vilyric’s fingers. I don’t know what you’re bragging about… Since Miss Vilyric says it’s dangerous, you should really keep that in mind, stay cautious, or you might end up in trouble and need someone to save you.”

“Wah… Comparing me to Miss Vilyric is too harsh! Not to mention, in Mingguang City, I should be able to hold my own, right? Dealing with a little mask isn’t going to be a problem, right? It can’t be some godly existence or something?”

“Why wouldn’t it be possible? Have we not encountered our fair share of strange dangers? Just think about the Saint of Bright Light, Yuna Summerfield. With her peak-level prowess and her divine artifact, do you really believe you’re her match?”

“Ugh! It’s just fancy equipment; what’s so impressive about that? I, I, I…”

Watching the sisters bicker, Miss Vilyric, who had already grown accustomed to their daily interactions and had removed the Mask of the God Fox, chuckled and mediated.

“Alright, alright, Leila’s not wrong. It’s always wise to be cautious. While you’re indeed powerful at your level, you’re still far from being invincible. Take Yuna for instance; there’s a vast difference in strength even among peers at the transcendental level. You two are still quite new to it, so do not let your guard down!”

After pondering for a moment while cradling her chin, the Priestess pulled out two oddly-shaped pendants from the dark void beside her.

“Since we’re on the topic of divine artifacts, you two have been with me for quite some time now, and it’s quite unreasonable that I haven’t given you anything worthwhile. With Mingguang City being a bit unsafe, since you’ll be going out on tasks often, I’ll hand these two pieces over to you for self-defense.”

“Wow… a gift!”

“Miss Vilyric, this…”

The black-haired girl placed the glowing and evidently valuable paired pendants on the bed to showcase them, teasingly saying, “Hey, hey, you’re not going to refuse, right? That’d be too formal~ I carefully picked out these two necklaces after much thought. They should effectively protect you both.”

In fact, Miss Vilyric had long intended to give some self-defense items to Leila and Renée, including Tilysha. However, the minimum usage standard for divine artifacts was level 50, which meant transcendental level.

Before breaking through to the transcendental level, no matter how good the items were, they couldn’t use them. Moreover, the Priestess didn’t feel it necessary to bring out something so humble for her own people, so it had taken until now.

Seeing the sisters exchange glances, appearing to have reached a silent agreement, they no longer showed signs of refusal, prompting the Priestess to nod in satisfaction and caress one of the pendant’s gems, smiling.

“Let me briefly explain how these work.”

The two necklaces were composed of nearly a hundred tiny white orb-shaped gems, with the only difference being the largest wing-shaped gem at the bottom—one was gold and the other silver, oriented in exactly opposite directions.

“This equipment is called [Wings of Compassion].”

The [Wings of Compassion] was a reward that Miss Vilyric received after completing part of the prerequisite quests when she obtained the divine artifact [Feather Garment: Glareia]. It’s a sacred artifact divided into [Left Wing] and [Right Wing], requiring two players to equip one of each.

As a sacred artifact, while its individual strength barely ranked near the bottom among similar levels, if players wear both [Left Wing of Compassion] and [Right Wing of Compassion] in the same party and are sufficiently close, it could significantly enhance the attached attributes of the equipment and activate certain hidden abilities.

In this scenario, [Wings of Compassion] could indeed be considered among the finest of sacred artifacts.

The most crucial ability, [Twin Wings], divided damage taken by either of the paired players, significantly reducing the damage endured.

In numerical terms, if one took about ten thousand points of damage, each would only lose around three thousand health. Additionally, if it were a large-scale AoE attack, both would be treated as one, only incurring the damage once.

This ability was undoubtedly a lifesaver in various high-end or lower-tier dungeons or PvP battles, especially critical for fragile mages. The only drawback? It had to bind the teammates involved.

This equipment was also tied to a player system termed “affinity,” which could slowly increase through joint play and team-ups. The higher the affinity, the stronger the hidden effects of [Wings of Compassion], such as the previously mentioned [Twin Wings] damage mitigation.

Though this world isn’t a game, in essence, with minimal changes to equipment effects, the affinity was akin to bonds and relationships, making Leila and Renée, as close sisters, perfect candidates for these artifacts.

Even when mentally prepared, the sisters couldn’t help but gasp as Vilyric finished explaining the equipment’s effects, their expressions turning anxious.

Leila hesitated, glancing at the delicately glowing gem pendant before tentatively saying, “Miss Vilyric… this unbelievable, marvelous power exceeds even magical equipment and spirits, doesn’t it? Such a treasure considered a divine artifact… perhaps it’d be better for you to keep it to use with Lady Xiao Guang. We…”

Shaking her head with a mix of amusement and exasperation, the Priestess pushed the two necklaces toward the sisters.

“Alright, alright… What’s so divine about it? With this level, you’re still far from being a divine artifact. It’s somewhat valuable, but to me, it’s merely an unusable collectible. I’m not that selfless; the genuinely good treasures are meant for me, so don’t worry about these trivial matters.”

“Now, you two hurry up and try it on, see how well you can match in affinity… cough, I mean, check out how much of an effect it can produce.”

“Okay…”

Watching the two girls carefully wear the necklaces around their smooth, pale necks, glowing in a complementary manner, Miss Vilyric silently nodded.

In fact, had she not worried that holding onto a spear or staff of sacred artifact level would attract more danger and trouble, Miss Vilyric had entirely considered equipping them with a full set of top-notch gear. She had plenty of collectibles at the half-sacred artifact level that were of no use to her.

It was just unfortunate that her in-game warehouse hadn’t come along to this world; otherwise, not just two, but even ten times what they needed could’ve been arranged in a flash, yielding perfect-fit gear above sacred artifact level.

Because while the finest equipment was mostly worn, her true savings, like currency and most materials, as well as a myriad of fancy potions and gadgets rarely used, were typically stored in a much larger warehouse space, only retrieved when necessary.

Though it didn’t greatly affect her, there were times when she felt a pinch of nostalgia.

Oh, how I miss you, my precious warehouse… I wonder how you’re doing now…

   

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