Chapter 40: We’re all girls here… Ugh, bleh!!!

“Done!”

The moment the golden patterns were completed, Ye Lian’s dual enchantment was officially finished.

A wave of inexplicable satisfaction and exhaustion surged through her at the same time.

‘So tired… This is way more draining than just crafting. Feels like my body’s being slowly emptied out.’

She held up the mask and sighed to herself.

“So pretty!” Bai Xue said cheerfully.

The plain white mask had already looked fine before, but now, with the added golden lines, it looked refined and elegant.

“Here.”

Ye Lian casually named it [Maid Mask], then handed it over to Bai Xue.

The latter received it with joy and immediately put it on.

The moment the mask touched her skin, it adhered like a suction cup—gentle but firm—fitting perfectly to her face.

Her field of vision was no different from normal, and now she even had an extra layer of defense.

Breathing felt completely unobstructed—smooth and natural.

Opening her status panel, she saw her defense stat had shot up by 50 points.

At this moment, in terms of defense, she was practically a tank.

Ordinary monsters would have a hard time even scratching her.

“Master, I love it!” Bai Xue beamed, cupping her face with both hands.

She didn’t specify what exactly she loved.

Those who understood would get it.

And those who didn’t—well, no explanation would help.

“I’m glad you like it,” Ye Lian said, smiling.

Having your creation appreciated by someone else really was a satisfying feeling.

“Master, this mask is amazing! It even has an instant defense function and a localized attack reflection feature!”

Bai Xue looked over the mask’s data in surprise.

“That’s something I added just for you,” Ye Lian said.

“Normally, the defensive function only protects your head. In special cases, you can activate full-body defense. But once you use it, there’s a 12-hour cooldown. During that cooldown, even the head protection won’t work. So be careful, okay?”

“Yes, Master,” Bai Xue nodded, feeling warm inside.

***

After resting for a bit, Ye Lian resumed her enchanting work.

Because the materials for the Wind King Spear were rather mediocre, she could only apply a single-layer spatial enchantment.

That left her a little disappointed.

Fortunately, the wind crystal already had wind attributes, so it could still be used for a while.

“Give me your sword and shield,” she said after putting away the spear.

“Yes, Master,” Bai Xue replied quickly, handing over her small shield and the black-and-white sword.

Thanks to her previous two enchantment sessions, Ye Lian completed the next round of work rather quickly.

Of course, the fact that these were only single-layer enchantments helped.

She imbued Bai Xue’s sword and shield with the power of wind—the sword gained improved sharpness, and the shield could now generate a wind barrier for double-layered defense.

She didn’t go for dual enchantments this time because the cost was too high and not worth it.

These items would eventually either be reforged or replaced anyway.

No matter how many features she stacked on them, they wouldn’t scale much further.

This was good enough.

“Amazing! Even though I haven’t leveled up, I already feel stronger!”

Bai Xue exclaimed with delight as she equipped the upgraded sword and shield.

“Not bad,” Ye Lian said, scanning her from head to toe.

Bai Xue was now basically armed to the teeth.

“Wait, there’s still a weak spot. Take off your tights—I’ll reinforce them too.”

“Again?” Bai Xue’s face flushed slightly.

“Is that a problem?” Ye Lian tilted her head.

‘It’s just taking off tights. Why so shy?’

‘We’re both girls anyway—wait, no, no! What the hell am I thinking?’

‘I’m a boy!’

She shook her head, a sudden chill creeping into her heart.

She had unknowingly begun to identify with the role of a girl!

“Master, here…” At that moment, Bai Xue had already taken off her pantyhose.

“Oh, right.” Ye Lian took it from her absentmindedly. It was still warm to the touch.

There was no doubt—it was Bai Xue’s lingering body heat.

Taking a deep breath, Ye Lian shook off her thoughts, quickly pulling out the materials and fusing them with the pantyhose.

She reforged them into a brand-new pair of pantyhose.

After Bai Xue put them on, she immediately noticed they were more breathable and much more comfortable.

And not just that—they now provided +20 defense.

This was just a pair of pantyhose, not armor!

“No… it is armor now.”

She calmed herself and murmured under her breath.

“All set. Let’s get going,” Ye Lian said, loosening her limbs and gazing into the distance.

“Mm!” Bai Xue replied, full of confidence.

Now fully geared from head to toe, she was no longer afraid of any challenge!

***

They crossed a stream and walked for about five minutes before they saw a field of starlight.

But it wasn’t coming from the sky—it was on the ground.

From Ye Lian’s experience, anything that glowed in this game usually carried some degree of danger.

Like those fish monsters from before.

Not even Bai Xue had seen that coming, and neither had Ye Lian expected them to leap out and attack.

“I’ll go check it out. You stay here—don’t move.”

Ye Lian spoke as she walked.

“…” ‘Are you going to buy oranges or something?’ Bai Xue couldn’t help but smile.

Still, her mind tensed up.

Joking aside, this place was no laughing matter.

Ye Lian focused all her attention, approaching cautiously step by step.

She saw a patch of glowing grass swaying in the wind, breathtakingly beautiful.

The air carried a faint, pleasant fragrance.

“Starlight Grass?” she said, slightly puzzled.

If it really was Starlight Grass, then this was a stroke of luck.

It was a key ingredient for both mental and health recovery potions.

She crouched down to inspect it carefully—and was immediately delighted.

This glowing field of grass was indeed the Starlight Grass used for potion crafting!

She pulled one from the ground.

Nothing dangerous happened, just as she had hoped.

Then a second.

Then a third.

Still no danger.

Once she confirmed it was safe, she called Bai Xue over to help.

“Master, these are so pretty and smell amazing!” Bai Xue said cheerfully, sniffing the handful of grass in her hand.

“Smell? I guess there’s a bit of a scent.” Ye Lian looked confused.

She could only catch a faint whiff—’why did Bai Xue think it smelled so good?’

‘Maybe it was just a difference in perception.’

She shrugged off the thought and kept picking the grass.

Two people working together were naturally faster than one.

Before long, they had cleared about half of the field.

“Master, the smell’s getting stronger… mm, it feels so nice.”

Bai Xue suddenly held a bundle of Starlight Grass and took a deep breath in.

“Does it really smell that strong?” Ye Lian picked up some more and sniffed again.

Still, she could only detect a faint fragrance.

Nothing unusual.

“Is my sense of smell broken?”

She tilted her head, confused.

She then scooped up some dirt and sniffed it—there was the typical earthy smell, with a hint of iron.

“Seems normal to me.”

If it’s not her, then the problem must be with Bai Xue.

Ye Lian’s eyes suddenly widened.

She realized she had overlooked something critical.

“Damn, Bai Xue’s in danger!” She turned her head quickly.

But Bai Xue was nowhere to be seen.

Only a pile of Starlight Grass lay on the ground—as if someone had dropped it carelessly.

Ye Lian’s eyes sharpened.

A faint sense of danger prickled at her senses.

It was coming from behind.

“Zhao Gang! You dare show your face again? Die!!!”

Suddenly, a furious and familiar voice rang out from behind.

A surge of killing intent exploded forth, followed by a flash of sword light—

Bringing with it a deadly threat!