Chapter 13 The Reader and Protagonist Definitely Have to Be in True Love

Previous Chapter      Table of Contents      Next Chapter

Chapter 13 – Reader: This young man won’t give this cutie to you!

Looking at the young one by his side, Du Ze’s brain was suddenly filled with sensational headlines:

“Human tragedy! The grieving father wanders in an alien world with starving child.”

“My poor ill-fated hero, why did you turn into a shota?”

“A talented waif with a mysterious past! On his shoulders rests the fate of the world, which he will either save or destroy. Which future will he choose?”

The reader wanted to lament his fate but was helpless to change it. The plot that the professional god launched 30 years ago, like a rectal prolapse of a wild horse, can’t be pulled up again.

In “Mixed Blood,” the protagonist entered the column of light in the Lost Land, went inside the Time Corridor, then saw the gnome-made metal pyramid when he exited. At that time the protagonist could not activate the pyramid, so he used the transfer array at the top of the pyramid and landed on the Tree of the Elves, triggering the elf story arc. As for the gnome story arc, it took a long time before the protagonist joined a mercenary group that explored the gnome ruins and awakened his gnome heritage.

Then why did those three people appear? That small fellow also awakened the protagonist’s gnome blood!

The reason why the gnome lineage was unlocked so late is because that storyline later allows the protagonist to activate the metal pyramid. He can then open the “passage” to the continent’s high level area – the reverse side. The protagonist of that storyline broke through level 100, therefore the reverse side of the continent held no dangers for him. He merely enjoyed the sights and sounds of the wind on the water. However, now … Du Ze looked at the soft, white, and tender form of the protagonist and could only imagine an uncertain future.

A yellow and blue moon wandered into the middle of the purple sky. The rare color of the night sky was a reminder of the fact that they were on the reverse side of the Chaos Continent. Yi Ye Zhi Qiu had described it as an extremely barren land with scarce resources and thin elements. In the second era, the angels and the elves drove the demons to this place. In the fourth era, the gnomes exiled the undead here and built the metal pyramid to block the passage back.

Therefore, the reverse side of the continent is where the dark creatures live and the law of the jungle rules. There are no countries, only 72 cities. Each city is a stronghold and the residents worship a demon god – the most powerful of the demon race.

Du Ze is very aware of what Yi Ye Zhi Qiu wrote: of all the races, the demon clan’s destruction skill is the strongest … strong …

Question: In the high-level area “Chaos Continent Reverse Side,” with a combat force composed of a level 5 noob and a person specializing in crafting, how can this team clear customs? Asking for guidance … TAT

A gust of wind blew, bringing with it the faint smell of blood. Du Ze looked for the source of the bloody scent and found that it came from the protagonist! Xiu was still curled up on the ground, motionless, the black robe like a blanket wrapped around him. Du Ze hesitated for a moment before reaching out and checking under the robe. An intense bloody smell permeated the air. The deep wound on Xiu’s waist was no longer bleeding, but every breath made the flesh shiver and turn white.

The helpless Du Ze panicked when he saw the hideous wound. Although the protagonist’s undead form cannot die, his gnome form is not undead. Also, it’s only after the protagonist has awakened four of his forms that Xiu can freely transform.

Du Ze got to his feet and looked around him. The reverse side of the continent was very desolate and barren. His eyes only saw bare land and stone. Plants were extremely rare. Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him. The silly reader happily turned around, expecting that the protagonist’s halo would attract a passing immortal/ god/ cute sister/ brother/ etc. to rescue him. Really, this YY novel is not bullying this little guy –

A monster with half a corpse in its mouth and Du Ze silently looked at each other.

… YY novel, you also betrayed me!!!

The monster looked like a saber-toothed tiger. The corpse in its mouth was still dripping fresh blood, and Du Ze feared that it liked the smell of blood enough to run over and gobble up the two of them. Du Ze stood in front of the sleeping Xiu, looking at the monster with an impassive face.

Cannot blink, cannot blink, cannot blink – someone told him to play dead if he meets a tiger but that is only useful if he is already lying down!

The tiger’s yellow eyes reflected Du Ze’s expressionless face. It was motionless, the whole body taut as though ready to leap if Du Ze moves. Du Ze’s eyes become more and more cold, displaying a silent strength – the eyes won’t be able to keep this up for long if the tiger doesn’t leave! QAQ

Finally, to the relief of some silly, staring, cute (delusional) person, the evil spirit beast did something unexpected. It put down the corpse slowly then backed away, eyes fixed on Du Ze, as if fearing that Du Ze would pounce on it and tear it up. Only after it was some distance away did it turn around and run away very fast.

The reader who was terror-stricken at the appearance of the monster: “…?”

Du Ze’s knees gave way and he sat down with a thud. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Although he was still afraid, the natural airhead’s mood was high.

Sure enough, the spirit of tyranny is a necessary skill for every person who has crossed over to another world. This youth is finally powerful and majestic, ah! Whether it’s a god spirit beast or just an evil spirit beast, they tremble before his might, ahem. This young man won’t give this cutie to you! Pfft, those spirit beasts are a piece of cake! OMG his eyes really hurt.

When Du Ze put his glasses back on, he saw something in his blurred vision that looked like a lifesaver. Elated, he ran to the corpse that was left behind by the beast. Ignoring the blood, Du Ze took the corpse’s bag. On the reverse side of the continent, because the elemental magics are weak, the people here usually heal their wounds with herbs or alchemy. Every adventurer brings herbs or potions along. When Du Ze found the potion and bandages inside the bag, he finally believed in the YY novel – the convenient medicine delivery service came true.

Du Ze gave sincere thanks to the corpse. “The brother who sent the medicine, you worked hard. In your struggle and sacrifice to save the protagonist, you were the first so we will never forget.”

He went back to Xiu, carefully spread the potion on the wound, then bandaged it up. The robe was wet with blood. Du Ze hesitated for a bit, then gritted his teeth, removed his clothes, and put the shirt and sweater vest on Xiu. Due to the gnome’s small size, the shirt went to his knees. Xiu looked like a child who had stolen an adult’s clothes.

The reader, standing on the red ground half-naked, felt that he had never been such a real man before.

A gust of wind blew and he sneezed.

This is not a good place to stay.

Du Ze picked up the black robe, saw the doujinshi, and, after a moment of frozen silence, decided to bring it with him. Tearing it up won’t destroy the book, and if he threw it away, people might read it … He can’t afford to lose that much face.

An even scarier scenario: what if someone found that this doujinshi restores itself after it was damaged? Then he will think that it is a heavenly book. Day and night he will study it. Perhaps a whole group of people from all over the continent will research the unique restore phenomenon. But how can a book be shared? By copying it! Such a magical book must surely have great research value! Hundreds of copies will be made … Then …

Either the protagonist discovers the contents and it’s GAME OVER, or the continent becomes gay and it’s GAME OVER. This is a problem.

The thought of the doujinshi copies proliferating scared Du Ze so much he almost wet his pants. Until he can find a good hiding place, he won’t let go of it.

Doujinshi: Therefore, this is absolutely true love, ah.

Du Ze hung the black robe on his back then picked up Xiu. The gnome form of the protagonist is very light. Even the weak form of the otaku can easily hold him to his bosom. Xiu did not wake up even after being picked up. His sleep is very heavy, possibly because of the injury. Or it might be because Du Ze’s presence is familiar, so that he fell into unguarded sleep.

Looking at that defenseless sleeping face, Du Ze suddenly understood the strange feelings of a lolicon

The soft and tender lolita and shota¹ have the biggest strike zones in the world. It’s no wonder that Yi Ye Zhi Qiu rarely describes the protagonist’s gnome form. Every time the gnome form appears he just hides himself away somewhere then comes out with an artifact in hand. If the author had described the gnome form in the novel, all of the readers would be howling “so cute, it must be a boy!”² The image of the protagonist would be broken and become trash …

Du Ze walked on, holding Xiu. He must find a place where they can stay. They do not dare to enter one of the 72 big cities. That would be like a fat sheep delivering itself to the wolf’s door. The protagonist right now is an endangered species of gnome, a living fossil. The only thing Du Ze can do is to try and a find a place outside a city for Xiu to hide in. Once he is in a safe place, Du Ze can go inside the city to trade for medicinal herbs and food.

Xiu’s head is softly pillowed on Du Ze’s shoulder. As the reader walked, the pointy ear was rubbing and rubbing against his chin.

******

******

This is a desolate land, the sky is a cloudy purple, and the whole earth is covered with dim red light. The withered plants shook wearily on the scarlet mountain. The wind blows from afar, and instantly crushes a plant into powder, and the black powder falls like a mournful lament.

– excerpt from “Mixed Blood”

The author has something to say:

Reader: This young man won’t give this cutie to you! This young hero saved the day beautifully, meow, haha haha!
Protagonist: I don’t have anything to repay you with, except for my body.
Reader: ∑=口=！ No, you don’t have to be so self-conscious.
Author: “Hero Saves the Beauty” achievement unlocked

Previous Chapter      Table of Contents      Next Chapter

1. Du Ze is an otaku. He uses a lot of Japanese words.
2. An internet meme about anime traps.