[Received: 470 EXP, 38 Faded Feathers]
"This is tiring…" Ruminas had just recovered from her rest, but was now lying on the ground again after the battle just now.
"And I'm about to level up again, so I'll try a little harder."
The little spirit came over and once again helped Ruminas recover her body. She didn't know how many times this had happened, but the little spirit still seemed very happy.
"Baby, do you have any little games?" Ruminas suddenly asked.
The little spirit tilted its head slightly to look at Ruminas.
"It's like participating in a game to get a reward…" Ruminas asked because she thought that all the npcs would be able to do that and she would only need one more mini-game to complete the quest.
The little spirit thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Great, do it quickly"
[NPC Shy Elf has proposed a mini game. Do you accept?]
[Reward: 200 EXP, 5 Random Stat Points]
"Oh, the reward is a little more than a clown."
Ruminas immediately chose to accept.
She then looked up at the little spirit but saw that it was smiling rather unusually. Suddenly, a black smoke started to spread around it and gradually enveloped its body.
Ruminas suddenly felt uneasy, she stepped back a little.
The black smoke from the little spirit grew thicker, swirling like a tornado around its body. A sense of unease filled Ruminas' heart.
"What the hell is going on?"
The little elf opened its eyes again, but the gentle light in them was gone. Instead, there was a sharp, cunning, and dangerous gaze.
[Warning: NPC "Shy Elf" has transformed into "Cunning Elf"]
"Fuck... I got fooled!"
The spirit before Ruminas no longer looked cute. Black smoke clung to its body, forming a thin, shimmering armor. The previously transparent wings also gradually turned jet black, with purple edges.
"Hehe… Thank you for accepting my game, Ruminas~" The voice was still lovely, but the tone was filled with mischief.
Ruminas immediately backed away, clearly feeling the change in the atmosphere.
"Who are you?"
The little elf hovered in the air, raising a finger to her lips.
"I'm still your little darling, what's wrong?" The little spirit said as she snapped her fingers, and immediately a vine grew from the ground and tied Ruminas' hands.
"What do you want to do?"
"It's just that I can't go out for a while so I have to enjoy it a little~" The little spirit approached Ruminas, using his small hand to caress her face making her shiver.
Ruminas immediately exerted all his strength, trying to break free from the vine. However, this vine was not ordinary, it seemed to have a will of its own, the more it struggled, the tighter it tightened.
"Be good, or it will hurt."
As soon as the little spirit finished speaking, sharp thorns suddenly grew out of the thread, stabbing Ruminas' hand, causing blood to flow.
Her breathing was a little rapid from the pain but she still tried to hold back her screams.
"Still holding back?" The little spirit asked while tightening the vine even more, causing the thorns to dig deeper.
"What do you want after all? Start the game now," Ruminas said with difficulty.
"That's OK"
The spirit snapped his fingers and a necklace appeared in his hand and he attached it to Ruminas' neck.
"Answer my question, if the answer satisfies me then you pass, otherwise this circle will tighten every time you answer poorly"
Ruminas felt a slight itch on her neck, the metal necklace touching her skin made her shiver again but there was nothing she could do now but complete this game.
The little spirit flew around Ruminas, eyes shining with delight.
"So, first question..."
It stopped right in front of her, tilted its head in thought for a moment, then gave a mischievous smile.
"What is my real name?"
Ruminas narrowed her eyes. This question was too unexpected.
"How should I know? You never told me."
Beep!
The necklace immediately glowed, then tightened slightly. Ruminas felt short of breath for a moment.
"Too bad. You can guess, right?" The little elf blinked, pretending to be innocent. "You don't even think, so just bear with it."
Although the collar only tightened a little, if it continued like this, Ruminas would sooner or later be unable to bear it.
"Second question. Guess… how many people have I killed?" The little elf had an evil smile on his face.
Ruminas did not answer immediately this time , she began to think.
"Since the baby has two sides to his personality, this question could be a trick question. The 'I' here could be the cunning version or the timid version. But if it's the timid version, I don't believe it could kill someone," Ruminas thought to herself.
"But everything is still too vague, there are absolutely no clues. Let's take a chance."
Ruminas raised her head, looked at the little spirit who was still waiting for an answer, and said, "If you kill someone, will the little one forgive you? Surely you are not the owner of this body, right?"
Beep!
The collar tightened even more.
"Don't think you know so much"
Ruminas collapsed to the ground, she could barely breathe. Her vision blurred and she could no longer hear what the little spirit was saying.
When Ruminas was about to reach her limit, the collar suddenly loosened a bit, Ruminas seemed to find a way to live and breathed rapidly.
"That's pathetic, Ruminas."
After a while, Ruminas regained her senses and looked up at the little spirit in front of her with difficulty.
"What… do you want… again? Why… won't… you… let… me die…" She struggled to get out each word.
"Because I want to torture you." The little spirit smiled innocently again.
"On to the third question," it said. "Between a traitor who stays by your side, and a loyal one who leaves you… who would you choose?"
Ruminas tried to sit up but her hands were tied from behind so she couldn't do that, in the end she gave up and focused on thinking of an answer.
"Betrayal and loyalty…?"
Through the clown's story, Ruminas realized that sincerity may not get you anything in return, but lies will definitely not have a good ending.
She looked at the little spirit and replied with a determined gaze: " Betrayal is something that can never be forgiven." After saying that, she closed her eyes, waiting for the ring to tighten, but a while passed and nothing happened.
Ruminas slowly opened her eyes, she looked at the little spirit, who had a rather unsightly face.
"Are you serious?" the little spirit asked again.
Ruminas nodded.
Beep!
The collar was loosened back to normal.
Ruminas breathed a sigh of relief.
"Last question," the little elf said, his voice becoming a little more serious.
"Between me and that guy, who do you choose?" The little spirit asked and then tensed up again, it seemed like it was also looking forward to Ruminas' answer.
Ruminas replied without thinking: "I have no reason to choose you, but if you change, we can still start over."
The little spirit was stunned.
It glared at Ruminas, as if it couldn't believe the answer it had just heard. A moment of hesitation crossed its mischievous face, but very quickly, the little spirit burst into laughter.
"Haha~ Who do you think you are to say such things to me?"
With that, it swung its arm, and the vines immediately tightened around Ruminas once more.
But this time, Ruminas was prepared.
She gritted her teeth and strained, trying to resist the pressure that was slowly squeezing her body. Pain shot through her arm, but she gritted her teeth and endured.
"So you don't like my answer?" Ruminas narrowed her eyes, her tone still calm but her gaze sharper than ever.
The little spirit was silent. It neither denied nor confirmed anything, just stood there, its wings fluttering slightly, staring at Ruminas as if trying to read her thoughts.
A few seconds passed, then suddenly, the necklace around Ruminas' neck let out a final Beep ! sound, then automatically unlocked and fell to the ground.
The vine also disappeared immediately.
Ruminas was a bit surprised, but she quickly regained her composure and looked up at the little spirit.
"Hey, so we're through?"
The little elf did not answer immediately. It lowered its head, its purple eyes flashing with a complicated light. After a while, it smiled slightly, but this time the smile was no longer mischievous, but rather somewhat relieved.
"The game is over"
[Congratulations on clearing the game of the Cunning Spirit!]
[Receive 200 EXP, 5 Random Stat Points]
[Receive: +2 Luck, +2 Intelligence, +1 Stamina]
[Enough EXP to level up]
[Level Up Reward: 5 Optional Stat Points]
A notification popped up in Ruminas's head, but she paid it no mind. The little spirit flew towards her, its sparkling purple eyes looking straight into Ruminas's.
"You are so strange…"
Ruminas raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
The little spirit smiled lightly, then said nothing more. It only lightly touched Ruminas' forehead with its small finger.
"I'm telling you in advance that being friends with me isn't easy."
With that, its body gradually glowed, then turned into small specks of light, sparkling and disappearing into the air. Then, the shy spirit with a bright white and innocent appearance reappeared before her.
"Someday…" Ruminas said softly as she picked up the little spirit, looking at it nestled in the palm of her hand, unable to believe that this was the thing that had just tormented her.
"Damn, that red mark on my neck is too fierce. If it appears again, I will have to get revenge," Ruminas thought to herself.
But she didn't have much resentment towards this little spirit in front of her. Perhaps it had its own story that Ruminas would have to try harder to get to know.