Amelia let out a blood-curdling scream. Her small body flew and was hurdling straight for the water. Wei made a desperate attempt to reach her, but a massive explosion of blue sparks prevented him. The explosion was so violent and bright that for a moment, everything seemed to freeze before chaos ensued.

The figure of a small child with flowing auburn locks materialized from the yellow sparks, and the sight of her could be described as none other than blinding. Her skin glowed white, and every detail of her elaborate robes glimmered like gold.

Artemis.

How much spiritual power did she exhaust just to appear in the weak form of a child?

My eyes widened at the sight of the glowing, luminous girl easily catching Amelia in her small arms. The girl floated upward and gently set Amelia upon the serpent’s head before pressing her forehead against the serpent’s forehead. At once, the serpent immediately slumped down.

The string between Amelia and Artemis only tightened, and Hindsight confirmed my suspicion—Artemis was ready to sponsor Amelia the next time the opportunity arose.

With a deafening scream, the auburn-haired girl was assaulted by a flurry of yellow sparks that dug into her white skin like daggers until she vanished. A single star in the sky flicked out.

The punishment for interfering so heavily in an early scenario would be absolutely detrimental, especially given Artemis’ status. She had clearly grown incredibly attached to Amelia during the short extent they noticed one another.

[Observers Chat]

Socrates: So, this was Jia Li’s plan… you’ve sent the divinities into a flurry in the heavenly realm. They’re astonished.

[You have received a new review!]

MAGICTAPE REVIEW: ★★★★★

Liu Peijin is wickedly cruel, and it is thrilling to watch her actions. However, I pity her party members. Even though she cares for Amelia the most, she was willing to sacrifice Amelia’s security just for a sponsor.

Amelia weakly pressed the iron cuff to the sea serpent’s head, and it quickly vanished, becoming no more than a silver engraving.

Suddenly, my entire party was free falling straight toward the water, but Amelia made no sound.

Her body was limp, and the blue hoodie was desperately trying to jerk her higher into the air.

“Zhige! Get her!” I commanded, throwing the sword in her direction.

Zhige pierced through the coat, which flailed angrily and threatened to tear. Though Zhige and the coat slowed her fall, Amelia was still hurdling toward the waves at dangerous speeds.

Lengthening his staff, Yang managed to hang onto it as the other half dug into the riverbed below. Wei grabbed onto his arm and swung below him before they both descended toward the water below, trying to meet Amelia.

I wrestled for my bag, my limbs flailing in the air. Before I could pull my shield out, I felt a strong hand pull me in.

“Peijin,” Yue whispered, looking at me with a frightened expression. She held onto me tightly, yet we were both still hurtling toward the waves.

“Don’t worry,” I reassured her, shutting my eyes due to the wind blowing debris into them. “I can break your fall. My physique level is high enough.”

Riding his staff, Yang reached out to grab onto Amelia, hooking her small, limp body into his arm. Wei, Amelia, and Yang soon crashed into the water with an explosive splash, but they quickly resurfaced alive.

I shifted Yue on top of me while lying in the inner curve of my shield. When we hit the water, the shield and I would break her fall, and if any of us were hurt, I’d use the potions collected from the last dungeon room.

I tightened my grip on Yue, making sure to protect her head. My muscles tensed up as I prepared for impact, but instead of landing in water, I slammed against medal rather than rippling water. Blood spurted up from my mouth, and it felt as if every bone in my body shattered on the impact.

[Observers Chat]

Nipon23: karma.

I slammed against the top of the incoming train. Since we had completed the round, it flew back in, only to leave me splayed out like a stafish on the dented metal ceiling.

Yue got off of me and quickly dusted off, snickering and pointing at me while trying to contain her laughter. She jumped off the roof and swung into the train while I stared at the sky, contemplating my life.

I followed a few moments after, spotting the beast-themed chest beside me.

“Amelia,” I groaned, heading toward her. Her small body clung onto Yang, who was rubbing the leftover kraken mucus into her wounds. I wheezed while searching through my bag for a restorative potion to help her recover her physical health and mana. There were only two, and I pulled one out and crawled over to her, dribbling the liquid into her mouth.

“Amelia?” I repeated.

I tried to take her from Yang, but he held onto her tightly. Amelia swallowed the liquid, and I wiped the blood off of her face. She slowly opened her eyes.

“Peijin,” she sobbed, reaching her small arms out to hook them around my neck. Yang relented and begrudgingly handed her over. I gently threw her over my shoulder while rocking her to soothe her.

When I stood up, pain seared through my body, but I ignored it and paced around the inside of the train. “You did well, Amelia. I’m proud of you. You were the reason we beat that level,” I whispered into her ear while patting her back. I discreetly looked over my shoulder and gestured for the rest of the party to raid the rewards chest.

With Amelia now possessing two beasts under her command despite being an initially very weak disciple, there was no doubt that she could survive alone in this world.

Admittedly, a part of me felt remorse over forcing her through such an experience, but she was insignificant to this story and nothing more than an anomaly in a fictional world.

[Scathing Reviewer activated!]

A wave of guilt rushed through me. Amelia’s small hands tightly gripped onto the back of my shirt, and I suddenly felt the strange urge to comfort her.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Amelia, you did what no other disciple could in all of China. You even got a Greek goddess looking out for you,” I reassured her until she seemed to calm down. “You should check out the chest. There will probably be some awards for you.”

Tears still fell down Amelia’s face. “Peijin, I was so scared.”

“You handled it perfectly. I’m proud of you,” I said.

I inspected the silver cuff on her arm, and the sea serpent was now a part of the intricate ornamentation. The cuff already contained other beasts including a phoenix and white tiger, but those would be far too strong for her—in fact, they were far too strong for almost all disciples, even later into Surviving My First Run, since they were members of the Four Auspicious Beasts like Chang.

To get an item like this from a simple dungeon room… it felt impossible. It felt like something karmic restraints should have prevented. The same applied for the various other items my party received, including Zhige. I pushed the thought from my head, focusing on the moment before me.

Yang’s voice called as he stood in front of the chest. “Amelia! There are three skills for you to pick from.”

Three blue screens were glowing from above the chest. The rest of the rewards seemed like miscellaneous items that the rest of the party had already bagged.

[Universal Communication

Stone’s Aura

Mark of the Beast]

‘Universal Communication’ would allow Amelia the ability to easily communicate with all creatures: wolves, dragons, serpents, insects. More powerful beasts were incredibly hard to connect with or speak to, yet this skill would bridge the gap.

Still, Amelia had already proven herself very capable of talking to various beasts. There were better options for her.

‘Stone’s Aura’ was a rather interesting skill; when equipped, the user’s aura or energy would vanish and become nothing more than a stone. In later rounds where demons or ghosts could detect people and divinities, it would completely protect her. It was a primarily defensive move, but it was perfect for an ambush.

‘Mark of the Beast’ was by far the most complicated one. As per the same, it inherited evil or demon connotations and would compete with the Abrahamic divinities. It would other divinities, like Artemis, nervous. But it wasn’t a demonic skill.

The user would be able to merge and turn into a beast hybrid for a period of time if they so desired. It got its name from the fact that humans who merged themself permanently with a creature—typically serpents, bulls, and dragons—became demons.

Demon Great Sage who Pacifies Heaven encourages disciple Amelia to select ‘Mark of the Beast.’

That was the first time the Bull Demon King expended a significant amount of spiritual energy, and it was over a weak disciple’s skill.

“Wouldn’t ‘Mark of the Beast’ align Amelia with demons?” Yang asked, looking skeptically toward me for an answer. I could tell that he had much more to say to me, but he bit his tongue in front of Amelia.

“The description reads makes it sound like a temporary shift. It probably is just named after the fact that demons are typically merged with some kind of animal, and the skill permits that.”

[Observers Chat]

Hedgehog1938: That’s sick asf pick it

I wasn’t sure how far I should take my lie of being a god. Should I presume omniscience or take a middle-ground?

Divinity Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts says ‘Stone’s Aura’ is difficult to attain.

Demon Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven says ‘Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts’ disagrees just to disagree.

Divinity Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts takes offense to such a claim.

Divinity Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts is threatening to torture ‘Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven’ for fun.

Yue was now glaring at Wei, her arms crossed over her chest while the spear was held in a threatening manner. “Your sponsor better mind his place, Wei.”

“I’m just a disciple. There’s nothing I can do.”

Divinity ‘Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts’ finds Disciple Yue to be very entertaining.

Divinity ‘Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts’ has sponsored Disciple Yue 2,000 stars.

2,000 stars?!

Yue’s body immediately tensed at the mocking sponsorship, but after noticing the amount, she kept her mouth shut.

In a monotone voice, Wei replied, “Is money the only way to shut you up?”

“It’s one of the ways.”

If the Bull Demon King and Archangel Michael theoretically fought, it would be a rather difficult battle for both sides; however, Archangel Michael had the advantage of killing many demons in the past. He was by far one of the cruelest Abrahamic gods, and he frequently tortured and mutilated Demon Kings when bored. The only reason he wasn’t doing so now was because he was more entertained by the splendid show I was putting on.

Amelia, still wearing the blue hoodie, tugged on the bottom of my dark brown pants. “Peijin, does ‘Stone’s Aura’ apply to the animals I tame?”

“Uhh…”

[Editor’s Pen activated!]

[When equipped, the skill ‘Stone’s Aura’ applies to all of the disciple’s tamed entities.]

[Edit granted!]

My face softened, and I smiled at her. “I believe so.”

“Then I should pick that one, right?” She paused and stammered, seemingly to turn back on her decision. “I-I don’t know. What would you pick, Peijin?”

“‘Stone’s Aura’ is a daoist and defensive technique, and ‘Mark of the Beast’ is more offensive and has indirect correlations with the Demon Kings,” I replied. “Both are good options. It just depends on what you want, although you can theoretically work your way to both.”

I wasn’t lying this time. Whichever she picked, both would work out well. Personally, I doubted her ability to get ‘Mark of the Beast’ herself—she was still rather weak and not a very formidable opponent, but ‘Stone’s Aura’ would take the average disciple hundreds of years to attain.

Amelia’s small hand reached up and selected a skill just before the timer ran out. Once she selected her room, the train moved at incredible speeds toward the next room. Yang looked like he was dying to say something, but he held himself back.

I looked toward Yang. “What is it?”

He gave me a complicated expression and glanced at Amelia. I covered her ears despite her protests.

“You let Amelia suffer like that just for Artemis to interfere? For what? Her sponsorship?” Yang finally said. His arms were crossed.

“It’ll be better in the long-term. It’s better for Amelia this way, too. She’ll know how to take care of herself,” I said.

“You knew it was her biggest fear, and you left her in that moment.”

Though Yang and I weren’t very close before the apocalypse, we never argued or got anywhere close to a fight. A part of me was taken aback, but the other part also knew he was doing this out of a place of genuine concern for Amelia and not anger.

"If there was any moment of danger for Amelia, I would’ve stepped in instantly.”

Yang’s brows furrowed, but before he could say anything, Wei stepped in. “Peijin hasn’t done anything that hasn’t been in our best interest.”

“I know you don’t agree with what she did, Wei,” Yang said.

“I don’t, but I believe in Peijin.”

“You don’t need to justify what I did for me, Wei,” I said. “Yang, I hope you trust me enough to know that I care about Amelia, and I wouldn’t let her get hurt.”

Yang looked down at the ground for a moment before nodding. “Peijin, I want to put all my trust in you, and I will until you prove otherwise.”

“That’s very ominous,” I said.

Yang quirked a brow suggestively, and I laughed. The tension finally lifted until Yue spoke.

“If was in the party’s best interest for her to go through that whole room alone, would you have let it happen?” Yue asked.

Yue firmly held my gaze, and a flurry of emotions were swirling in her gaze. For a moment, it caught me off guard.

I smirked at her. “Why? Are you worried I’m going to leave you behind?”

Yue scowled, her expression dark. “You bitch. You wouldn’t dare.”

I shrugged and turned away from her.

The metro began to slow once more until it finally came to a stop.

I confidently turned to Yue, spinning my blade and readjusting it in my hand. “Yue, do you have any idea on what your room—”

“No.”

My expression immediately turned back to one of disdain. “Are you seriously going to act like this right now?”

“These rooms are based on our biggest fears, right?” She asked back, ignoring my question.

I paused for a moment before giving a slight nod. I looked back at her poster expecting to see the isolated island, since that was what I had written in Surviving My First Run. But this time, the poster displayed a girl that shared a shocking resemblance to Yue herself. She was reeled over in agony, screaming in an empty white room as dozens of black swords, spears, and staffs pierced through her abdomen, black blood leaking out and pooling beneath her. Behind her, the distinct silhouettes of people loomed over her, watching the scene take place but not doing anything.

Her deepest fear had changed after Amelia’s room.

Yang gently placed his hand on Yue’s shoulder, looking at her with those reassuring orange eyes. “What do you want us to do in the next room?”

His question still felt like a direct attack on my reaction to Amelia’s room.

Yue spared a small glance up at Yang, and the hand that clutched her spear trembled.

“Don’t leave,” she said.

The doors opened to a vast theater. Large theater lights popped up and illuminated the room.

[Custom room now commencing!]

[Tailored for: Disciple He Yue.]

My eyes took a moment to adjust to the light, but I was blinking rapidly to help the adjustment. I could hear the train behind us vanish into the distance once every party member exited. When my vision finally cleared, I turned to face my party.

The spot beside Yang once occupied was now empty, yet his hand was still hovering in the air as if it were on a shoulder. Yang’s eyes widened as he quickly pulled back.

“Yue?”