Rise of Zero Wing

Rise of Zero Wing! 4

On a roll today.

Silence permeated the room, as Sharlyn looked at the Abyssal Book in his hand. She seemed stunned as she kept looking between it and him. Perhaps she hadn't known he had it, or maybe she didn't believe he would show it to her; whatever she thought, Shi Feng was sure then that he had made the correct decision.

"You-," she sighed as she looked at him, a warm gaze on her face. "You rascal. To think you had it with you. Even my senses hadn't detected the book with you."

Shi Feng was surprised to hear that. He had thought that with the way the MGS had worded itself earlier any powerful NPC might have found the mark by searching his body, something he still didn't quite understand. Were they actually looking at his body as it permeated some type of mana, or were they looking into his soul directly? He hadn't wanted to chance it earlier, and showed Sharlyn the item, all for it to be for nothing, as it somehow escaped her notice.

Somehow Sharlyn had followed his train of thoughts and said, "There are some things in this world that follow a set of rules. No matter how powerful I or any other person may be, some items are simply hidden from those that truly don't need them." Shi Feng gave her a confused look at that. Did she mean that the MGS system hid certain items from its own NPC that had reached a certain level so that it gave a chance to players to find them and use them? "Items like that sword that helped you get the Blade Saint Legacy. Only once you took it out of your bag was I able to sense it. What need would I have for it, for I had already been set in another path? One that was near the pinnacle at that. I could very well pass by a sword from legends untold, laying in a merchant's table as he sold it to a Heaven-blessed individual and wouldn't even bat an eye. For the world's laws decided that it wasn't for my path."

Shi Feng laid on the couch stunned as he heard her. Sharlyn might not have fully understood what she was saying when she meant by laws but he did. After all, for all that God's Domain was herald as a second world, it still followed a set of rules and programming. What she said finally explained a mystery many players had discussed in his past life. How could they grow to have so many opportunities, and yet the NPCs who had grown in that world had missed them all? Yet while a simple explanation on her part, he finally understood.

They just couldn't.

No matter how powerful or talented an NPC was, as long as they weren't something like a personal guard for a player, they would possibly never get the chance to deviate from a set, programmed path. That was the reason why he had been able to get Personal Guards like Kite, and Anna. Kite, who had been known for having a great chance of reaching a higher Tier as long as he kept training, yet because of the loss of his hand he had fallen from grace, only for Shi Feng in this life to give him one more chance. And Anna couldn't be closer to that explanation. Had he not crossed paths with her because of his quest, would she have ever gone to the Adventurer's Association and taken the test? Probable not. And her talent would have been wasted working as a secretary.

"Items like this Abyssal Book, no matter how vile and powerful it is, how much I needed it to close the passage I wouldn't have felt even if you had laid yourself above me. Only less powerful people, or places like the War God's Temple would have had safeguards set in place to detect the book, for it is their purpose."

"Then, I could have used it and you wouldn't have noticed?" At that Sharlyn's piercing eyes glowered at him. "Not that I wouldn't have kept it from you."

She sighed. "Probably, but now-" Faster than he could react Sharlyn took the book off his hand. "Well," she gave him a sly smile, "It's mine now."

Shi Feng only gaped for a second before giving her a helpless smile. Having been caught, he had no say in what happened next. The importance of keeping Sharlyn happy would have to supersede anything else for now. Sharlyn took some time to look over the book, reading the pages inside and learning more about how the passages were open and possibly how to close them. After a while, she closed the book shut, a beaming smile filling her face.