Rita had no way of knowing what Maple Burn had chosen back then. Based on the available clues, it might have been fire, since Maple Burn loved cooking. Or perhaps a gentler wood elent, as she didn't like conflict or fighting, and wood was more associated with healing, nurturing, and support. There was also the possibility that she chose the wind elent, like Maple Cang, because Maple Cang always wanted to take Maple Burn with her wherever she went, turning her into Maple Cang's shadow.
But at this mont, Rita's desire for Cheers suppressed all other thoughts. Since Maple Syrup gave her the choice, even if she chose sothing different from the original Maple Burn, nothing truly unexpected would happen. She had already settled into this "ho." Maple Syrup wouldn't treat her like she did to the previous incarnation of Maple Cang, the one who had been killed off. The worst that could happen was Maple Syrup finding an excuse to end this teaching session.
Even if, hypothetically, Maple Syrup killed her, she would just return in the next cycle, find Maple Burn, and take over her role with a disguise skill. She would get a second chance to choose again!
This was a golden opportunity. She would aim for the best and wouldn't settle for anything less.
With determined eyes, Rita looked at Maple Syrup and said, "I want to learn this! I want to be like my mother. I want to choose lightning, I want to learn Cheers. Please, teach , mother."
Maple Syrup stared at her for a long ti, her gaze softening more and more. She squatted down, gently holding Rita's arms, and asked softly, "Aren't you afraid?"
Rita replied firmly, "I'm not afraid."
Maple Syrup asked again, "Do you want to beco stronger to protect your mother and sister?"
Rita froze for a mont. Did she really an that?
As "Maple Burn," a support role, she could barely even defeat Maple Cang, let alone act as a protector. And the more she played this role, the more she understood that Maple Burn enjoyed being protected by her family. Her contributions were in other ways—she ensured the safety of her family while they fought.
So, Rita, understanding her role as "Maple Burn" and how it fit into the family dynamic, chose another response: "No, I like being protected by my mother and sister. I just want to learn Cheers. I want to hear people call 'Little Maple Syrup.'"
Before Rita could analyze the change in Maple Syrup's expression, she was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace. The force of the hug was so strong that Rita briefly thought her health bar might start dropping. After a long pause, Maple Syrup whispered, "Alright, mother will teach you."
For a month, Maple Syrup personally took Rita across the Forest Sea, chasing and collecting thunderstorms. She handed over the tasks of Afternoon Tea to Maple Mu, as she considered the transformation of Maple Burn's wings to be more important than dealing with the troubles in Forest Sea.
Rita had to follow Maple Syrup's instructions and gather lightning from nature to store in every feather of her wings. With ti, this process would result in a qualitative change, ultimately altering the properties of her wings. It was an undeniably painful process.
With Absolute Clarity active, Rita couldn't trigger the protection chanism of fainting. And she couldn't disable Absolute Clarity using her Personal Settings, as this SS-level skill was her dream skill. She couldn't afford to lose it.
Maple Syrup almost carried Rita across half of Forest Sea in pursuit of lightning. Because Rita was constantly exhausted from the lightning coursing through her wings, she spent most of the ti being carried by Maple Syrup.
The cold winds howled past them as they flew high in the sky, but Maple Syrup kept her well-protected, her wings shielding Rita.
Several tis, Rita wanted to remind Maple Syrup that she could create a lightning shield to block the wind, but the wind wasn't really cold. Yet, Rita didn't say anything. She lazily rested her chin on Maple Syrup's orange-red wings, looking at the sunset in the distance. It resembled the color of Maple Syrup's wings but wasn't as bright or captivating.
It was like people knowing that actions such as drinking iced beverages after intense exercise or staying up all night gaming were harmful but still unable to resist the pleasure. Rita couldn't resist this warmth, either.
Perhaps this love was fake, but it didn't matter. After all, she had never experienced real love before.
She closed her eyes and buried her face in Maple Syrup's soft wings.
When they returned ho, Rita had already chosen lightning as her core elent, and her wings had gone through an initial transformation. However, she still had trouble controlling them, often shocking herself with stray bolts of lightning.
Not only that, but on the way back, she had also learned all the theory behind Cheers, though the skill itself had not yet appeared on her skill panel.
By the ti they arrived ho, Maple Cang had already prepared dinner, and Maple Mu had co back early to celebrate with Maple Burn.
At dinner, Rita, curious, asked Maple Cang, "Why did you choose wind?"
She was also curious about why Maple Mu had chosen fire instead of lightning, but Maple Mu's strong-willed nature made her choice feel natural.
Maple Cang glanced at Maple Mu and Maple Syrup's hair before turning her gaze back to Rita. Her aning was clear: "Look at their hair."
Rita looked over. Maple Syrup's hair was long and slightly wavy, reaching her waist, while Maple Mu, originally long-haired, had cut hers short because the constant heat from fire had left it dry. On closer inspection, even though her hair was short, it still looked a little dry. anwhile, Maple Cang had soft, straight hair that shone brilliantly—so smooth and glossy that if she were on Blue Star, she could easily be a hair care model.
Maple Syrup sighed, "..."
Maple Mu rolled her eyes and said, "Don't listen to her nonsense. Mom's curls are natural. Our family always has a little wave in our hair. You didn't know? She used to sneak up at night to straighten it herself. Rember when she had curly hair until she was ten?"
Rita touched her little braid, glaring at Maple Cang for her mischief.
Maple Cang, after teasing her sister, finally said, "You know my Divine Gift skill is wind-based."
Rita sighed, "But Cheers is just too cool."
Maple Cang shrugged nonchalantly, "I can always create a similar skill myself."
She turned to Maple Burn and smiled, "How about calling it Maple Burn? How does that sound?"
Rita half-heartedly teased, "It sounds super powerful."
Maple Cang caught her insincerity and gave her a playful smack on the head.
After teaching Rita how to evolve her wings, Maple Syrup went back to being busy. Both Maple Mu and Maple Cang were now leading millions of owlbears, and coming ho to eat with Rita was now a rare treat for them.
Rita practiced controlling the power of lightning by herself at ho. Despite no one being around, she still didn't use her own skills like Thunder Cage or Hundred Thousand Volts. After all these years, she hadn't used any soul-bound equipnt, nor had she ventured outside to collect moonlight.
Once Rita fully adapted to the thunderstorm power in her wings and no longer shocked herself with stray lightning, Maple Mu dragged her into her team again as a support role. Experience new tales on My Virtual Library Empire
Despite Maple Syrup declaring that she wouldn't use Maple Burn's resurrection skill on anyone but herself, the other healing abilities of Cotton Candy were already incredibly strong.
Not to ntion, Maple Syrup had given her an even more powerful healing skill.
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