Chapter 18: Survival Skills

Lin Naiyue looked seriously into Primrose’s eyes, those violet irises filled with nothing but tenderness.

“Then… let’s leave it at that.” Primrose felt a sense of relief, but at the same time, a pang of bitterness surged in her heart.

‘She could buff Mom. And when I was picking her talents at the start, I followed the three principles of defense, escape, and survival.’

‘Mom doesn’t understand game mechanics. She doesn’t understand combat efficiency, either.’

‘All she’s thinking about is how to be with me for one more day.’

‘This idiot of a mom.’

“I give up on you.” Primrose bent her arm, pressed her hand to her forehead, and let out a deep sigh.

She muttered under her breath, but the corners of her eyes felt hot.

From a few steps away, Cecilia watched it all.

She held her left hand to her chest, pulled a silk handkerchief from somewhere with her right, tilted her head slightly, and dabbed at the tears welling in her eyes.

“So touching…” Cecilia said between sobs.

“For Lady Mother to give up such great power willingly, just to serve Lady Goddess forever, and choose to become the sturdiest shield…”

“This pure love, this devotion to Lady Goddess… sniffle!”

Cecilia cried as she pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve to wipe her nose.

Beside her, Yuna stood straight as a rod, her face completely blank, her eyes turned into white circles with single-lash black dots.

‘What?’

‘Lady Goddess and Lord Hero are mother and daughter?’

‘And Lady Saintess already knows this?’

“Yuna, don’t breathe a word of this.”

Cecilia noticed Yuna’s reaction. Knowing it couldn’t be hidden, she gave a warning.

“Yes, Lady Saintess. I will bury this matter deep in my heart!”

Yuna, clad in her knight armor, turned to face Cecilia.

She placed her right fist horizontally against her chest, stood at attention, and gave a slight bow—a standard knight’s salute from the Kingdom of Aezera.

Meanwhile, Primrose began teaching her mother about skills.

Lin Naiyue pulled up her skill panel.

“Mom, back in the Unified Divine Realm, I used the points I can control to assign you three talent skills.”

Since Yuna already knew, Primrose figured she might as well stop calling her “Lord Hero.”

She’d just call her Mom.

Pointing at the three icons on the panel, she said, “These three skills are your lifeline. You have to remember exactly how to use them.”

Seeing how serious her daughter was, Lin Naiyue dropped her smile and stared intently at the panel.

Primrose pointed at the first icon, which depicted a shield.

“This is Green Grade—also D-rank—called Earthly Bedrock.”

“It greatly boosts your defense and can completely nullify one instance of any type of damage.”

“No matter how strong the enemy is or how hard they hit you, as long as you activate this skill, that one attack won’t hurt you at all.”

Lin Naiyue’s eyes lit up. “That’s incredible! Does that mean I’m invincible?”

“Don’t get too excited.”

Primrose tapped the panel. “The cooldown is one day. In other words, you can only use it once per day.”

“Once you’ve used it, you have to wait until tomorrow to use it again.”

“So you absolutely cannot waste this skill unless it’s a last resort.”

Lin Naiyue nodded quickly. “Got it, an invincible shield once a day.”

Primrose pointed to the second icon, which depicted a formation.

“Second, Verdant Grade · Instant Teleport.”

“What this skill does is let you teleport to a place you’ve been before.”

“Instant teleport? Like in sci-fi movies—whoosh, and you’re gone?” Lin Naiyue asked excitedly.

“Right.” Primrose nodded. “As long as it’s a place you’ve physically been to, and you picture that place in your mind, you activate the skill, and you’ll teleport there instantly.”

“This is a top-tier escape skill. If you can’t win, run—no shame in that.”

Primrose stressed the point on purpose.

She was most afraid her mom would be too stubborn to retreat when facing danger.

“But!” Primrose’s tone shifted. “This skill’s cooldown is also one day.”

Lin Naiyue propped her sword on the ground and counted on her fingers. “One shield a day, one escape a day.”

“Okay, Mom’s got it.”

Primrose pointed at the last icon, which depicted wings.

“Last one, the lowest rank—E-rank, Gray-white Grade · Wind’s Blessing.”

“Its effect is simple: it increases your movement speed, making you run faster and more agile.”

Lin Naiyue nodded. She understood most of it, but…

“What does ‘agile’ mean?”

Primrose paused for a moment. “It means your movements will be very flexible.”

‘That explanation should be fine.’

Primrose looked at her mom. “Mom, in future battles, you absolutely must use these three skills well.”

“Use Earthly Bedrock to block fatal blows, Instant Teleport to create distance or escape, and keep Wind’s Blessing active during fights.”

“I’ll also cast various defensive and offensive BUFFs on you, so just fight with peace of mind.”

Lin Naiyue’s heart felt warm at her daughter’s worried expression and earnest teaching tone.

Back when she wanted to play games with her daughter, she’d always get brushed aside and given excuses.

Back then, she didn’t understand why.

Now she did.

Back then, it was just games—for her daughter, a tool for relaxation, a way to escape reality, immerse in another world, and have private time for herself.

Having a mom with a generation gap tagging along would definitely make her uncomfortable.

But now it was reality, with difficulties looming ahead. This time, her daughter was wholeheartedly thinking about her, explaining the game knowledge she’d never wanted to share before.

“Don’t worry, Prim.”

Lin Naiyue patted her chest in assurance. “Mom may not know how to fight, but back when I was snatching discounted eggs at the supermarket, I never lost!”

Primrose was speechless at her mom’s analogy.

Was snatching eggs at the supermarket the same as fighting monsters?

“Alright, then let’s start our first real fight.”

Primrose pointed at the few Slimes still hopping around in the grass nearby.

“I’m ready! Bring it on!” Lin Naiyue took a deep breath, gripped her sword handle with both hands, and nodded firmly.

Primrose opened the Sage’s Codex in her hand.

First, she set up a detection and alert magic around the area—no, not just around, but for several kilometers in all directions.

Then, Primrose’s fingers slid quickly across the pages as she chanted a spell.

Beams of golden light flew out from the Codex and landed on Lin Naiyue.

“Status ailment immunity, added.”

“Instant Death Immunity, added.”

“Physical damage reduction by thirty percent, added.”

“Magic Resistance boost, added.”

“…”

Primrose cast over a dozen defensive BUFFs on her mom in one go.

But she didn’t add any offensive BUFFs.

The main point of this exercise was to train her mom’s combat ability.

Besides, they were just fighting Slimes. Her mom was level 50, equipped with Smoky Purple Grade weapons and gear—her stats were already more than enough, and then some.