NOVEL WEB Chapter 7: FS-07
[The user has canceled Silent mode.]
[The N'ghalathoth, the Unsanctified Devourer, Has not been satisfied.]
[...]
[The Jester has been impressed.]
["Kaisers are something else," Jester exclaims.]
[User "Kazuki" has been eliminated. 240 exp has been distributed. Sophia Kaiser, fallen saintness, suffers a severe penalty with her stats decreased by 12% and enduring other harsh consequences.]
[User "Priya" has been eliminated. 240 exp has been distributed. Sophia Kaiser, fallen saintness, suffers a severe penalty with her stats decreased by 12% and enduring other harsh consequences.]
[User "Santiago" has been eliminated. 240 exp has been distributed. Sophia Kaiser, fallen saintness, suffers a severe penalty with her stats decreased by 12% and enduring other harsh consequences.]
[User "Ananya" has been eliminated. 240 exp has been distributed. Sophia Kaiser, fallen saintness, suffers a severe penalty with her stats decreased by 12% and enduring other harsh consequences.]
[User "Jin Wei" has been eliminated. 240 exp has been distributed. Sophia Kaiser, fallen saintness, suffers a severe penalty with her stats decreased by 12% and enduring other harsh consequences.]
[User "Aarav" has been eliminated. 240 exp has been distributed. Sophia Kaiser, fallen saintness, suffers a severe penalty with her stats decreased by 12% and enduring other harsh consequences.]
[User "Amara" has been eliminated. 240 exp has been distributed. Sophia Kaiser, fallen saintness, suffers a severe penalty with her stats decreased by 12% and enduring other harsh consequences.]
[User "Eliana" has been eliminated. 240 exp has been distributed. Sophia Kaiser, fallen saintness, suffers a severe penalty with her stats decreased by 12% and enduring other harsh consequences.]
[User "Rajiv" has been eliminated. 240 exp has been distributed. Sophia Kaiser, fallen saintness, suffers a severe penalty with her stats decreased by 12% and enduring other harsh consequences.]
[User "Lila" has been eliminated. 240 exp has been distributed. Sophia Kaiser, fallen saintness, suffers a severe penalty with her stats decreased by 12% and enduring other harsh consequences.]
[The Exp cannot be collected due to the penalty.]
[You can't level up!]
[You can't level up!]
[...]
Lilith gently wipes Sophia's head, "My Liege, it might still take you a few hours to recover, approximately 16 hours, 25 minutes, and 12 seconds. "
Sei's eyes are still wide open, and his eyebrows raised internally, he thinks to himself, "I unusually feel calm." Ava looks over to the pool of blood, flesh, and bones. She looks over at her brother, confused, "Brother? Why don't I feel anything seeing those now?"
Sei raises his shoulder. Lilith speaks, "I am using a large AOE heal over us, which blocks negative emotions and increases mental resistance."
"Ohh..." They both whisper in unison.
Ava looks over to the elegant dresses they have on, and she looks over to her brother.
'What is this idiot-'
Sei's face blushing heavily as he is on his four legs like a puppy, mesmerized as is eyes were blinking blue once in a while. Ava grunts and pushes her brother a bit, "Idiot Sei! You're drooling."
Sophia raises her hands over as she is wearing one-piece Chinese dress made from smooth, deep black silk. It has a simple but graceful shape, fitting the body gently without being too tight. The most beautiful part is a golden dragon design woven into the fabric—not shiny or flashy, but soft and quiet, almost hidden unless the light hits it just right.
The dragon starts at the bottom of the dress and curves up one side, reaching near the collar. It looks elegant and calm, not wild or scary. The gold used is soft, almost like old gold, so it doesn't stand out too much, but adds a touch of beauty.
The dress has a high collar with a small gold flower clasp. The short sleeves have a thin gold edge, matching the style of the dragon. It reaches down to the ankles, with a small slit on the side to help with walking while Lilith wears a long, fitted dress made from soft, dark gray fabric that moves quietly when she walks. It's simple but sharp—no extra decorations or bright colors.
The dress has long sleeves and a high neck, almost like a maid's uniform, but more modern and clean.
There are tiny red stitches along the edges of the dress—hard to see unless you're really close. These threads hint at something dangerous, like hidden blood.
Her hands are covered with thin black gloves that leave her fingers exposed, and her black boots are quiet and strong, letting her move fast if needed.
She wears a tight black choker around her neck with a small hidden symbol on the inside—Sophia's mark. Her hair is tied neatly, and her eyes always look calm but cold, like she's watching everything and waiting for orders.
She looks over to the ceiling while singing softly,
"Be not afraid, Be not afraid.
Through realms of fear,
they'll gently guide,
In wicked ways, they'll stand beside."
"Lilith, I think I'm grieving, but for what? " Sophia wakes up as she pushes the ground a bit. Lilith nods.
"Difficult to say, My Liege."
...
Sophia waves at them before disappearing from sight. Lilith looks at them for a while. The siblings and Lilith look at each other awkwardly. Lilith suddenly forwards her arm with the finger pointing downwards, scaring the shit out of the siblings.
"What does she mean--
"We need to bow? show respect--" Ava and Sei are sweating.
Ava and Sei both look at each other, in confusion slowly holding the index finger. Lilith almost smiles but goes back to her poker face. She gently walks them over slowly into the dim and dark cave, towards the entrance where a bright light comes.
"There. Two tickets. Take."
Ava and Sei nod and pick up the purple paper that Lilith has on her hand.
[Congratulation! Player "Sei Silver" has completed the Tutorial with the highest difficulty with a score of 4.8!]
[Congratulation! Player "Ava Silver has completed the Tutorial with the highest difficulty with a score of 2.3!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[Rewards will be placed in the player's Inventory.]
[You may enter the tutorial waiting hall (Premium)]
Ava turns over to Lilith, "Premium? What does that mean?" Sei looks over to her in confusion as well. They hold the tickets in their hands before it suddenly turns into twinkling lights, disappearing slowly.
"Premium tickets."
"Ohhh! These types of things exist?" Ava looks at the ticket slowly disintegrating from their hands. Sei is in awe as well.
"Yes, they cost around 150 gold each," Lilith replies.
"150?" Sei looks over at the faces of those two.
Sei looks over to Ava in awe, "How much do you have?"
"I don't know, maybe at least 3 golds." Ava looks over to Sei after folding her fingers, counting the gold.
"And I have three."
"Thank you so much, My Liege." Sei stands up and knows in a complete ninety-degree turn, but Ava seems to still be awed by the tickets' twinkling lights.
Sei hurriedly makes Ava bow too.
Sophia waves her hand in a swift motion, and Lilith nods with her eyes closed.
"Before you stand before my Liege," she begins, voice soft, almost a whisper, yet cutting through the silence like a needle through skin.
"You will not raise your hand, voice, or gaze without invitation."
"You will not speak her name. To do so without reverence is to desecrate. You will address her only as Tsar, Liege, or Sultana, and you will do so with bowed heads."
"If you are spoken to, answer clearly, briefly. If not, remain still."
"You will not touch her. Not her robe, not her shadow, not the air that clings to her skin."
"To touch Her Grace," she says, stepping closer to Sei, then Ava, "is to offer your life freely."
"And lastly..." She tilts her head, hands folded neatly behind her back.
"If you forget these rules... I will remember them for you."
"Remember these," Lilith pats him on his shoulder. Ava nods and enters the Waiting hall (Premium) while Sei follows, keeping his head down all the time. Sei looks over to Lilith, "So how can we pay you back though?"
Lilith stops and looks over, "Kill the monster. Gather. Pay."
...
After a minute, Ava looks over to Sei, "What do you think the 'Be not afraid of us' was about? Should we even follow these people?" Sei raises his shoulder with his lips turned, " We've got no choice, do we?"
Sei looks over and squeezes Ava's cheeks while smug, "I am here, your brother is here. We are together in this shithole. And don't you think that song was a bit catchy?"
"What was that again?"
"Be not afraid?"
...
"Kids, come." Lilith waves at them.
"Let's go, Ava." Sei grabs her hand, not firmly, but with a soft one.
...
Beside the Centipede's corpse,
"BE NOT AFRAID! FUCKKKKKKK!" Leon wakes up from his unconscious state screaming. Leon huffs as he wipes the blood from his face.
He spits on the ground while swearing,
"Man, fuck that guy I was a minute ago."