Rovel ascended to the third floor of Block A. The dormitories here were a significant step up from the standard rooms, each one an individual, split-level suite that occupied an entire floor. There was no chance of knocking on the wrong door.
Despite having the key, Rovel chose to knock politely, a simple courtesy.
"Please wait a mont," a cool, clear voice replied from within.
A few seconds later, the lock clicked and the door swung open, revealing a strikingly handso youth.
She was dressed in a style that Rovel's mind first labeled as old-fashioned, before correcting itself. No, it was more of a professional, traditional aesthetic. Her uniform was a deep blue, its cut subtly evoking the martial arts garnts of ancient Shenzhou. Though it lacked any overt decoration, the simple, clean lines could not conceal the grace of the person wearing it.
Her gray hair was impeccably combed, and she wore a pair of red-rimd glasses. If Rovel wasn't mistaken, they were non-prescription lenses, but likely enhanced with the kind of high-tech functions one might see on a certain pint-sized detective.
"A Descender?" Fu Hua's expression held a flicker of surprise as she took in the sight of him.
"Hello, I'm your new roommate." Rovel smiled, dangling the key from his finger before extending his hand. "My na is Fang Ruobai. You can just call Rovel."
"A roommate..." Fu Hua blinked, the surprise lingering in her calm eyes. It seed this was news to her.
"Hello. It's a pleasure to et you. I am Fu Hua." Her voice was perfectly level, carrying a natural coolness that felt less like aloofness and more like an untroubled serenity, as if she were detached from the mundane trifles of the world.
If he didn't know her true identity, Rovel might have mistaken this quiet student for the real Fu Hua.
She t his handshake with her own. The mont their hands touched, Fu Hua felt sothing shift—a peculiar resonance as the energy coursing through Rovel's body t her own. Her composure finally broke.
"You... you're a martial artist?!"
It wasn't the presence of internal energy that surprised her. While the cataclysm five hundred years ago had resulted in the loss of many of Shenzhou's martial disciplines, so lineages had survived. It was plausible that Rovel had stumbled upon one of these surviving techniques.
What truly shocked her was the sheer magnitude of the power coiled within him.
And more than that... there was a familiar, chilling undercurrent to it. A sensation she knew all too well. 'Is that... Dead Force?!'
This boy, who looked no older than twenty, had actually mastered the use of Dead Force?
"I was fortunate enough to et a good teacher, so I picked up a few things," Rovel explained with a practiced, easygoing smile. He then glanced down at their still-clasped hands.
"My apologies..." Fu Hua finally registered that she was still holding his hand, her focus having been entirely consud by her subconscious probe of his physical state. She quickly released her grip.
After ushering him inside, Rovel got his first proper look at a St. Freya Academy dormitory suite. It was less a dorm and more a spacious apartnt, even larger than the one he lived in back in the real world. The entire place was kept carefully neat and spotless, a clear reflection of its sole occupant.
"Classmate Ruobai," Fu Hua began, her gaze serious as she turned to face him. "Forgive my forwardness, but have you... have you used Dead Force before?"
"Yes," Rovel confird with a nod. He hadn't expected her to discern his mastery of the dangerous energy after a single handshake. "I used it while I was escaping from Nagazora."
"...Dead Force is an exceedingly dangerous power," Fu Hua stated, her tone shifting into that of a concerned instructor. "While it allows the body to unleash extraordinary strength, it inflicts permanent, irreversible damage because the human form cannot withstand its corrosive nature."
She paused, her eyes narrowing slightly behind her glasses as she studied him. "However, I am unfamiliar with how this 'price' is exacted from Descenders. I perford a cursory scan just now, and your body shows no signs of such permanent damage. Of course, my check may not have been thorough. I would suggest you visit the infirmary for a complete examination."
Her words, though clinical, were laced with an obvious undercurrent of concern. For soone she had only just t, she was showing a surprising degree of care.
'This is the gentle Fu Hua,'Rovel thought, his mind wandering for a mont.'Was this the sa Red Kite Immortal who was supposedly slain by her seven disciples five hundred years ago because she had fallen into madness? It's hard to believe.'
"Don't worry, I'm fine," Rovel reassured her, pulling his thoughts back to the present. "Descenders manifest in this world in a digitized form. I'm already aware of the price Dead Force demands from , and it doesn't affect my physical body."
The price was experience points. Every single use of Dead Force cost him a flat 10,000 EXP. If his experience bar was insufficient, his level would drop instead.
For most Descenders, 10,000 experience points was an astronomical sum, sothing that would take them ages to grind. The sa was currently true for Rovel; St. Freya Academy wasn't exactly crawling with Honkai Beasts and Death Soldiers for him to farm. Even with a million unallocated experience points in reserve, that was only enough for a hundred uses of Dead Force.
However, Rovel wasn't in a hurry to level up. Not when he could eat food personally cooked by Raiden i to permanently increase his base stats. From his perspective, a temporary drop in level wasn't necessarily a bad thing at all.
"That's good to hear," Fu Hua said, and the subtle tension in her shoulders seed to ease. She looked genuinely relieved.
"By the way," she added, "I was just about to prepare dinner. Would you like to join ?"
"I'd be happy to, if it's not too much trouble," Rovel accepted without hesitation.
If his mory served him right, Fu Hua was also an exceptional cook.
[Dish made by Fu Hua: After consumption, all stats 1. Limited to once per day. No further increase once base stats reach 150.]
Just as he'd suspected, a system notification popped into his vision. Fu Hua's cooking provided the sa type of bonus as i's.
'Then... can they stack?'
If they could, he could gain two permanent stat points every day. His growth rate would double! At that pace, he could max out his base stats to 150 in just over a month. The thought alone was exhilarating.
"It's just so simple ho-cooked food. I'm not sure if it will suit your palate," Fu Hua said modestly as she served the al.
"It's delicious," Rovel replied, offering sincere praise after the first bite.
Perhaps because Fu Hua had only bought groceries for one, the portions weren't massive. The two of them made quick work of the al, sweeping every plate clean. Afterward, Rovel naturally took on the responsibility of washing the dishes.
"Rovel!" Just as he was drying the last plate, Kiana's energetic voice echoed from outside the apartnt door.
Rovel went to open it. The mont he did, he felt Fu Hua's gaze from behind him fall squarely on the silver-haired girl standing in the hallway.
"Let introduce you," Rovel said, stepping aside. "This is my roommate, Fu Hua. Like , she's from Shenzhou."
"Hello." Fu Hua offered a calm, simple nod, her expression unreadable.
"Hi! I'm Kiana Kaslana," Kiana chirped back, matching the greeting. Then, her attention snapped back to Rovel. "i sent to co get you for dinner! C'mon, hurry up, or we're going to be late!"
Without waiting for another word, Kiana grabbed Rovel's arm and began dragging him down the hall.
Left alone in the doorway, Fu Hua watched them go. She calmly adjusted her glasses, and in the reflection of the lenses, a line of transparent text materialized, visible only to her.
[New Mission: Monitor the Herrscher of the Void.]
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