How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game Chapter 710: Inheritance 3.5

Dawn broke—

Celestine gradually parted her eyelids.

"Yawn..."

A soft, languid murmur escaped her lips while she tilted her head toward the window.

Gentle rays streamed inside.

Warm.

Tender.

Briefly—

She remained lying there, gazing at it.

A subtle, content smile curving her lips.

One more day.

Another stride in the ordeal.

...Though comprehension still eluded her.

Years slipped by.

Once more.

Yet—

No resolution.

No evident route.

The "key" for completing this trial seemed remote. Elusive. Forever teasing just beyond her grasp despite endless pursuit.

"...Impossible..."

The whisper barely passed her lips.

Perhaps—

The proper method had yet to reveal itself.

With deliberation, she rose.

Her actions flowed smoothly, habitual. Instinctive.

Cleanse.

Clothe.

Arrange her locks.

All performed on autopilot.

Until—

She faced the mirror.

"...."

She gazed intently for an instant.

That visage—

Familiarity had long set in.

Overly so.

Stunning.

Elegant.

Flawless to the point of seeming unreal at times.

Nevertheless—

Time's passage brought alteration.

Beyond mere allure now.

Ripeness emerged.

Profundity.

A subdued essence lurking in her gaze.

"...Snow Luvenitia White Germonia Leven..."

She uttered the name deliberately.

Meticulously.

As if sampling its resonance.

Her true identity.

...Or so she persisted in believing.

"...."

Silence met her from the reflection.

"...Riley..."

Next came that name unbidden.

Unintended.

She blinked.

"...Why do I keep saying that...?"

Her tone stayed hushed.

Remote.

Sleep still clinging.

The name rang familiar.

Vital.

As if etched not to be lost.

Still—

Full recall escaped her.

Completely.

Her recollections...

Once deemed her true beginnings—

They dimmed gradually.

Subtly.

Akin to a lone flake lost in tempestuous winds.

Merging.

Vanishing.

Transforming.

Into—

Celestine.

"...."

A fragment within persisted in knowing.

Clung tightly.

Murmured of underlying wrongness.

That incompleteness lingered.

But that fragment—Shrank steadily.

As moments accumulated—

Remaining choices to halt it...

Faded away.

Deep inside—

Awareness struck.

This wouldn't cease unaided.

......

Shoving the notion aside—

Celestine exhaled softly.

"...Later."

No leisure for rumination.

Or perhaps—

Avoidance suited her.

Hastily attired, she exited toward the rear yard as per custom.

Chilly breeze welcomed her instantly upon emerging—

Piercing.

Known.

Soothing somehow.

"Oh, Celestine, morning~!"

"Good morning, Anica."

Encounter midway.

Anica balanced a precarious load in her arms, struggling yet beaming effortlessly.

The former minuscule hatchling had matured.

Marginally in stature—draconic traits ensured that—but change was evident.

Nuanced.

In her posture.

In her speech.

Serene poise had taken root, energy undiminished.

"Aunty already left for the market," Anica said, adjusting her burden. "Went early again, as usual~"

"I see..."

Celestine glanced down at her arms.

"What are you carrying?"

"Oh, this?" Anica raised it slightly. "Aunty told me to separate the leaves from the stems. And cut the meat she prepared earlier too."

She beamed.

"Want to help?"

"I would," Celestine answered, shaking her head gently, "but it’s my turn to tend the garden today."

"Okay~" Anica agreed readily. "Make sure you water my tomatoes properly!"

"...Drizzle," Celestine reminded mildly.

"Yeah, that—whatever. Just don’t mess it up!"

"I won’t."

A faint smile graced her features.

Then she proceeded beyond.

To the rear.

And invariably—

Upon entering the garden—

She halted.

"...."

Beauty endured.

A verdant oasis amid perpetual snowfields.

Untouched by rime.

Unburdened by drifts.

The chill—

Halted abruptly.

As though repelled here.

Flora flourished silently, foliage rustling softly where survival seemed impossible.

Since earlier times—

Expansion occurred.

Broader.

Lusher.

More vibrant.

Thanks to their efforts.

Hers—

And her mother's.

Magic woven together, sustaining this haven.

Forging a warm enclave—

Amid unrelenting freeze.

"...."

Celestine advanced cautiously.

Extending—

Fingertips grazed a leaf delicately.

Velvety.

Pulsing with life.

"...It’s gotten bigger again..."

She breathed to herself.

Quiet pride blooming within.

Even here—

Growth they nurtured.

In essence—

This verdant spot anchored her sanity.

Sole evidence of transformation.

Of progression.

Years elapsed.

Days cycled.

Identical habits. Identical confines. Identical serene existence leading nowhere.

Yet—

The garden expanded.

Incrementally.

Foliage by foliage.

Modest.

Trivial perhaps.

But for Celestine—

For Snow's lingering essence—

It signified all.

"...."

Her hand tilted the can gracefully, droplets cascading onto the greenery.

Innumerable repetitions by now.

"...How long..."

Words emerged unnoticed.

"...How long do I have to stay here...?"

Her murmur hushed.

Nearly swallowed by calm.

Entrapment persisted.

Within unyielding bounds.

The dwelling.

Adjacent woods.

The settlement.

Nothing more.

Endless ventures barred extension.

No farther ventures.

No novel discoveries.

All trails—

Circled back.

All efforts—

Concluded identically.

"...."

The can dipped marginally.

Reflection deepened.

All feasible attempts—

Exhausted.

Methodical strategies.

Audacious risks.

Cautious advances.

Frantic lunges.

Exhaustive.

"...Then..."

Grip tightened faintly.

"Is that really... my only option left...?"

The notion resurfaced.

Inevitably.

That solitary route.

Repeatedly deferred.

One facet—

Propelled her nearer.

Insisted it held the solution.

The resolution.

Yet another—

Resisted fiercely.

For stakes transcended self.

That choice—

Impacted beyond her.

Them.

Mother.

Anica.

All inhabitants.

Absent assurances.

Demise here risked trial failure.

Not clearance.

Failure—

Beyond mere restart.

Oblivion.

Absolute.

"...But I have—"

Abrupt halt.

Voice faltered.

"...."

"...With me...?"

Faint utterance.

Hesitant.

Brow creased.

Baffled.

What hovered unspoken?

What clung desperately?

Presence lingered.

Crucial.

Assurance.

Former anchor—

"...."

Presently—

Recollection failed.

Head aching, she shook it slowly and sighed....

"...hm? why am I here...?"

Muttered softer now, words emerging autonomously. Eyes quivered blankly, as though roused mid-unremembered task.

"Ah... that’s right. The plants..."

She pivoted leisurely, scanning the modest plot. All appeared... orderly. Earth moistened anew. Stems upright, leaves intact. No vital mishaps this instance.

Sigh...

Gentle exhalation, trailed by a subdued smile—dim, cool, merely adequate.

Luminosity in Celestine’s silvery irises faded.

Crackle—!

Internal shift occurred.

Profoundly, where accumulated mana lingered excessively, frost yielded at last. Subtly, not explosively—a minor, silent rift.

Sufficient.

From it, chill infiltrated further.

Icier prior.

Within her core—

Gradually,

soundlessly,

it iced over.

"Celestine Aunty’s here! Let’s go help her cook so we can practice magic immediately...!"

"Coming!"

Anica’s vibrant call pierced the hush, lively amid stagnation.

Celestine pivoted softly as before, reentering the home as if unaltered.

As eternally unchanged.

.....

"....."

Lovers’ instincts cut keener than steel, they claim.

Truth perhaps.

Detecting unseen anomalies.

Skepticism... perilous. It eroded excellence internally. Yet occasionally, doubt preserved integrity.

Riley inclined forward, eyes locked on the display.

"...What is she doing?"

Murmur subdued, contemplative.

Snow’s trial unfolded onscreen.

Internal chronology accelerated—years elapsed.

Years.

Still...

Stagnation prevailed.

Truly.

Initially, patience seemed at play. Deliberate scrutiny, biding for insight.

Prolonged observation clarified otherwise.

No.

No advancement.

Mere repetition.

Habitual cycles.

Endlessly.

Trapped in oblivious cycles.

"...No..."

Riley’s gaze sharpened.

Not inability to advance.

Dire.

No endeavor even.

Or—

Oblivion of purpose.

"Hey... did your queen do something to Snow?"

Tone hushed, accusatory bite evident.

"P-Please be careful with that!"

Anica recoiled instantly. The frost dragon tensed, eyeing his clasp on the orb.

No mere trinket.

That orb—emitting faint icy glow—embodied the dungeon core. This realm’s nucleus. Sustaining operations... trial inclusive.

Now groaning under pressure.

"The trial you’re watching... it’s connected to the dungeon’s energy," Anica pressed, voice steadying. "The Frost Queen’s trial especially. It’s not something you can just... force your way through from the outside."

Prolonged breath, brow furrowed.

"Your partner is inside the Queen’s trial. Even I don’t fully understand how far the Queen’s influence reaches once someone enters it."

Hesitation.

Then resolute—

"But I don’t think that human is being controlled. And even if she was... that would still be part of the trial."

Eyes flicked to his grasp anew.

"So please... handle the orb with care."

"....."

Riley stayed silent.

Regarded her briefly—face impassive, inscrutable—before refocusing on the view.

Snow persisted.

In motion.

Perpetually... cycling.

Grasp unrelenting.

At this rate...

...won’t Snow fail?

Concern weighed heavily.

Third trial—familiar archetype. Encountered in game days.

No brawn required.

Nor prowess.

Enigma.

Probing discernment. Verity. Piercing facades to discern essence.

Demanding self-insight.

Here...

Grasping Snow.

One’s ABSOLUTE.

Riley’s stare intensified.

Assumed she’d conquer effortlessly. Least prone to impasse.

No wanderer she.

No dawdler.

Yet—

"...This isn’t right."

Aberration loomed.

Trial skewed.

Not overtly unjust.

Merely nudged.

Toward undesired vector.

Foreign to Snow.

"...tch."

Tongue clicked faintly.

Intact.

Yet evident.

Non-neutral trial.

Biased.

Insidiously.

Silently.

Toward favored conclusion—

Frost Queen’s design.

’Should I make a move now...?’

Notion lingered persistently.

Eyes fixed on Snow’s recurrent patterns... repeating... repeating.

"...Even if she doesn’t like it..."

Breath-borne mutter.

Frost Queen’s inheritance... viable route. Potent—yet not singular.

Unnecessary for parity.

Alternatives existed.

Frailer yet secure.

’No...’

Sigh escaped, hold slackening marginally on orb.

’...what am I thinking.’

Vow already given.

No shielding.

No dominion.

Autonomy to equal him.

Intervention—forcing exit or distortion—

No aid.

Usurpation.

"...That’d just be betrayal."

Moreover—

Preparations, schemes, perils to arrive—

Rendered void.

Gaze dipped momentarily, mind turning.

"...And there’s Evelyn..."

"...Was this part of it too?"

Anticipated?

Factored in skew?

Features tautened.

"...tch."

Additionally—

Respite neared end.

Academy beckoned.

Momentum built regardless.

Companions...

"...They’re probably starting to worry."

Brief lull.

Fresh notion arose.

"...Now that I think about it..."

Brows furrowed subtly.

"That cat..."

Absent entirely.

Cheshire.

Amid chaos, meddlesome feline ought intervene.

Designated wildcard.

Summoned for absurdity.

Yet—

"...Nothing."

Eyes narrowed.

"...Where the hell are you?"

.....

Elsewhere—

Frost Queen’s throne chamber.

Stagnant frost burdened the expansive hall.

Centrally, ice-hewn throne bore the Frost Queen immobile. Countenance eternal—

Serene.

Aloof.

Immutable.

Stare forward.

Though—

Solitude absent.

"Yo~ long time no see~"

Casual lilt shattered quiet, whimsical.

Smoke coiled aloft.

Emerging—

Hovering feline visage.

Beaming.

"I didn’t expect an apocalypse like you to be here... but hmm~ you feel a bit different."

Head canted, gaze appraising keenly.

"Are you his daughter? Or maybe an inheritor?"

Interval.

Then quasi-shrug—from disembodied form.

"Eh, whatever works~"

Grin broadened.

"So—mind guiding me a bit?"

Levity masked purpose.

"You see, the lover of my master is currently calling for yours truly’s grand appearance~"

Twirled idly, vapor streaming.

"But because of the little... ’adjustments’ you made to this place, I can’t quite pinpoint where he is."

Low whistle.

"Gotta say—pretty impressive."

Then, just as