Chapter 6: Already, I Can’t Go Back

With the Dean’s backing, Elia’s admission encountered no obstacles.

The student ID was issued quickly.

“Welcome to the institute,” Lu Mo said, handing the ID to Elia. “With this, perhaps we can find a cultivation method more suited to you.”

“Th—thank you…” Elia took the ID, lowering her head as she spoke softly, her small face flushing bright red.

“Uuu…”

She stared blankly at the student ID for a long time, lost in thought.

Lu Mo didn’t think much of it.

Now that the most important task was settled, it was time for her to return to reality.

When the night grew deep and silent, she summoned the system and chose to **[Save and Exit]**.

*Hum—*

Another sensation of spatial distortion swept through her body and soul.

In a daze, she seemed to return to that large bed.

As the flow of time normalized, the memories from more than half a year in the Simulated Reincarnation flooded into her mind, giving her a splitting headache.

Yet, returning to reality didn’t bring Lu Mo any relief.

She felt like she was being violently shaken.

The kind of shaking that felt like her brain was being turned into a smoothie.

“Miss… please don’t… die… waaaah…”

“It’s all my fault… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, waaaah…”

“Miss, if you really never wake up… I’ll go down there with you… to keep you company…”

When she opened her eyes, she saw the little maid shaking her relentlessly, wailing loudly with tears streaming down her face.

‘If this keeps up, I’m going to be shaken to death even if I were healthy!’

“I’m still alive… Afu…” Lu Mo forced herself to speak.

“Miss Lu Mo!” Hearing Lu Mo’s voice, Afu immediately stopped shaking. Her eyes, swollen from crying, instantly lit up.

But before Lu Mo could catch her breath—

“Oof!”

Afu pulled Lu Mo into a tight embrace. “Miss… you’re alive…”

The maid’s voice carried the tone of someone weeping for joy.

“Afu, let go a little, I can’t breathe!”

“Stop crying, your tears are getting on my face! Gah!!!”

‘Thank goodness, truly… thank goodness.’

—

A few minutes later.

“Miss, I’m sorry.”

“It’s all my fault. I caused a secondary injury to you again, and I almost got your face dirty… uuu…”

Afu apologized incessantly, her eyes welling up again as she spoke.

‘A pathetic young lady and a pathetic maid?’

‘I suppose we really are a pair of ill-fated birds.’

Lu Mo was left speechless.

She finally figured out what had happened in reality while she was in the Simulated Reincarnation.

She had started the simulation and spent over half a year inside.

Because of the automatic time dilation adjustment, only a few minutes had actually passed in the real world.

During that time, in Afu’s eyes, she had simply fallen unconscious again.

‘Who knew this Simulated Reincarnation actually involved being part of the cycle?’

‘I thought I’d just be reading text, clicking around, and maxing out affection points to get rewards.’

Lu Mo complained inwardly.

She tried to recall her memories of being a Shadow Moon Hall Sequence in the Simulated Reincarnation.

She quickly discovered that some memories were only broad strokes; whenever she tried to delve deeper, they became blurred.

For example, her memories of the sect, the Shadow Moon Manual, and the Dream of Glory were all hazy.

However, everything that happened after she met Elia remained crystal clear.

She hadn’t forgotten the high-tier secret techniques and combat skills she had browsed at the Ice Orchid Institute.

Even some of the combat experience from that period remained.

Meeting Elia was clearly a vital node in the simulation.

“Still…”

Returning to reality, her cultivation level had dropped from high-tier back to beginner.

Having tasted the power of a high-tier practitioner, Lu Mo let out a soft sigh as she felt her current weakness.

‘I’m sorry…’

‘High-tier power is just too strong.’

‘Already, I can’t go back.’

She recalled her former persistence and her past feelings of being unwilling.

‘Was this how Elia felt back then?’

Working hard day and night.

Practicing the sword until her whole body ached and her hands were covered in blood.

Yet, despite everything, her power barely increased.

Perhaps it was because she had truly experienced it in the real world, but even if it was just a virtual cycle, she wanted to give Elia a hand.

At the very least…

She didn’t want the girl to be like her past self—unnoticed and without anyone to embrace her.

However, Elia was slightly different from her.

Lu Mo knew that Elia possessed pure Frostwhisper Blood.

In the stories, the ugly duckling had the potential to become a white swan.

But as for herself…

Lu Mo’s situation was quite peculiar.

Her comprehension was astounding. Sometimes, just by watching the family elders practice combat techniques, she could quickly deduce the methods to execute them.

She had even completed some fragmented secret arts in the library. When compared, her versions were more perfect than those restored by the elders throughout the family’s history.

But who would believe her if she spoke up?

She had once mentioned this to the main branch, hoping to trade the knowledge for her freedom.

But the people from the main branch hadn’t even looked at the complete circuits she had drawn. They simply sneered and walked away without looking back.

Combined with her personality, Lu Mo eventually fell silent and stopped mentioning it altogether.

Her cultivation talent, however, was practically nonexistent.

It was almost as if… she had been born deprived of it by some kind of entity.

‘Thinking about it now, did I have some supreme bone or special talent when I was a child that was dug out by some powerful faction?’

Lu Mo joked to herself, but then she followed it with a bitter smile.

That kind of plot usually only appeared in novels.

Instead of thinking about that, she should figure out how to complete the missions in the Simulated Reincarnation to get the full rewards during the settlement phase.

“Hnn—”

Lu Mo stretched and stood up.

Seeing the dark clouds disperse and the weather clear up, she called out to the little maid who was spacing out nearby. “Afu.”

“Ye—yes!”

“Accompany me for a walk to clear my head,” Lu Mo said as she walked toward the door.

“Miss, wait for me!” Afu followed closely behind.

Looking at Lu Mo’s back, Afu had a strange illusion.

It felt as if something about her lady had changed.

After the light rain, it felt as though the entire world had been washed clean.

The air was much fresher, and the plants in the courtyard were a vibrant green, with the flowers blooming elegantly.

Lu Mo walked along the path.

Away from the tense atmosphere of the Simulated Reincarnation, the lush greenery and soft sunlight allowed her heart to relax.

She exhaled slowly, a long-lost smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

She hadn’t shown such an expression in the family for a long time.

Before she had gone very far, another figure approached from the side.

Lu Mo looked up and saw a slightly plump woman older than herself approaching.

She remembered the woman’s name: Nalie Trasil. She was from the main branch, but her status wasn’t particularly high.

The woman’s expression was dark, as if she had just been scolded.

But the moment she saw Lu Mo, she suddenly brightened up, lifting her head and walking over with a trace of arrogance.

Normally, Lu Mo would have lowered her head, stepped off the path, and respectfully called her “Miss Nalie.”

But today, Lu Mo didn’t even move aside. She walked straight ahead and brushed past her.

“Mm,” the woman responded dismissively, as she usually did.

But when she realized that Lu Mo hadn’t done anything and she had just responded to thin air like a fool, her face darkened, and she stumbled slightly.

What?

This time, a mere member of the side branch like Lu Mo actually didn’t salute her?

How dare she!

Seeing the woman’s expression sour, Afu quickly bowed and then scurried over to Lu Mo’s side, whispering, “Miss Lu Mo, you should have greeted Miss Nalie just now…”

Before Afu could finish, an unfriendly voice rang out from behind Lu Mo. The plump woman spoke up angrily, “Hey, you—”

But Lu Mo simply turned her head, responding with a cold gaze and asking in the calmest tone possible, “Is something wrong?”

Her tone, her gaze, and her aura at this moment all came from her time as a Shadow Moon Hall Sequence in the Simulated Reincarnation.

When their eyes met, the plump woman felt her whole body tremble. A murderous and desolate pressure bore down on her!

Even her own father had never possessed such an aura!

“No… nothing…”

Nalie’s expression quickly shifted from anger to humble fawning. “I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you as Miss Lu Mo just now, hahaha…”

Lu Mo nodded, then retracted her gaze and continued walking.

Once the cold aura vanished, the plump woman shivered and slowly recovered.

She felt that if she had stayed under Lu Mo’s gaze for one more second, she might have knelt right then and there!

‘That gaze… what on earth was that?’

Nalie was still shaken.

She didn’t have the courage to lift a finger.

Because she had an illusion that if she dared to act out in anger back then…

She might have died!

…

“Miss Lu Mo, you… I…”

Afu didn’t understand what was happening either, sounding incoherent as they walked.

Ignoring Miss Nalie was one thing, but Miss Nalie didn’t even get angry—she actually apologized?

When did that woman with the terrible personality become so easy to talk to?

“Let’s go, Afu,” Lu Mo signaled for Afu to calm down. “It’s a rare nice day. Don’t let trash ruin the mood.”

“O—okay!” Afu nodded vigorously.

‘The lady is a bit strange today, but why is she so inexplicably cool?!’

—

A short while later, night fell.

In the dead of night, Lu Mo stayed in her room alone. She awakened the system once more and entered the Simulated Reincarnation.

In the cycle, as the top-ranked freshman, she naturally entered the core class.

As for Elia, although she received quite a bit of care because of Lu Mo, her poor talent meant she was placed in the most ordinary class.

But even in the ordinary class, the knowledge provided was far beyond what other common academies could offer.

Elia listened intently, but even so, she found the lessons difficult.

Lu Mo would help her every time, patiently explaining the parts she didn’t understand.

She would simplify the content taught in the core class and relay it to Elia in an easy-to-understand way.

She even went to the library specifically to find frost-attribute secret arts, breaking them down to teach them to Elia.

And so, half a month passed.

One day, Elia returned to their lodgings as usual. After greeting Lu Mo, she quickly retreated to her room.

It was unusual.

Lu Mo noticed that today, there was extra dust on Elia’s clothes, and there were small scratches on her hands.