Chapter 10

In the blossoming and rainy season of being sixteen or seventeen, what is the most important thing?

The answer from the heart varies from person to person.

"The most important thing, of course, is love. Youth only comes once in a lifetime, how can one afford to miss it... Those who give such answers are mostly young girls, those in the throes of spring, whose minds are entirely preoccupied with 'he looked at me,' 'does he love me,' love stories, and emotional entanglements, which make up the entirety of their blossoming years."

"The most important thing is to dominate the nation... Those single-minded sports department members, who strive with all their might for victory, how passionate and exhilarating it is. A simple slogan will be etched into the memories of youth, even if we fail, even if we fall short of the championship by a hair, as long as we have worked together, what is there to regret."

"The most important thing is power, power is justice, the hellfire in my right hand is burning fiercely, my demon lord power can no longer slumber... Late-onset middle school syndrome has escalated to high school syndrome, but sometimes it can spark a creative interest. Black history will become nourishment on the path of creation."

Whether it's the passionate youth or the black history that makes one roll on the ground in shame when recalled in adulthood, after the洗礼 of time, the memories still remain so nostalgic, just like those yellowed and old photos.

Ah, the years of youth, how many poems praise it, how many people yearn for it, it is the waltz of the golden years, the most brilliant days of youth, the never-fading jewels.

And Luo Xia, who is in the golden years, has his own perspective...

"... Why don't those young people study at all?!"

Throwing away the comic in his hand, those stories are indeed interesting, and borrowing centuries-old comic magazines from Lynn is the happiest thing for Luo Xia. If it weren't for the many things he has to do, he would definitely be immersed in them.

But the values reflected in some of the stories are incomprehensible to Luo Xia. These guys are busy with love, soccer, and middle school syndrome, and they don't study at all. How can they still have a beautiful life?

Aren't they worried that being a slacker all the way will result in not finding a job, not earning money, not buying a house, not getting married, and ending up on the streets... Cough, it seems I'm blackening someone again.

What, a blanket attack? I apologize, I apologize.

To the point, no matter how beautiful the life in the comic books is, thinking about his own reality, Luo Xia is directly on his knees.

"Why is my youth all about studying... Finally becoming a top student, and then turning into a slacker again."

During the free time for lunch, under the ivy-covered campus street pavilion, while sharing the exotic items he admires with his friends, Luo Xia half-jokingly and half-complainingly grumbled to his friends.

"Please don't talk nonsense about things that never happened, Luo Xia, you were never a top student."

Although somewhat exaggerated, Luo Xia is indeed a bit dejected.

Driving the magic armor did cause a stir for a while, but after a week, everything returned to normal, and the results of the first monthly exam were even more disastrous.

On the ground were the freshly graded monthly exam papers, each zero seemed to be mocking—Little guy, are you just playing with us?

Touching the collection of zero-scored exam papers, while strongly complaining about the lack of multiple-choice questions to boost his luck, Luo Xia is indeed looking for future possibilities. Clearly, continuing to be at the bottom is not an option.

"Why are there no multiple-choice questions? At least give me a few points to look better..."

"... Is this the point? Do you have no sense of shame at all? Also, although you weren't a slacker, when did you ever study hard?"

Suna Naona's face was full of disdain. After years of being classmates, she knows Luo Xia's nature well. Relying on a good memory and decent understanding, with the goal of just passing, when did you ever study hard?

In fact, such people are the most hateful. You always see them playing, but in the end, they still score better than you.

"No, no, I did study hard sometimes, uh, at least I studied hard when I crammed for exams, and I'm not a slacker."

"Hmm, attitude aside, your grades are only slightly better than a slacker. What is this? A 'study bun'? Much weaker than a top student but better than a slacker. Not at the top or the bottom, it's really quite boring."

Suna Naona's smile was full of malice. In a sense, she has been waiting for this day for a long time.

"By the way, don't expect to encounter multiple-choice questions in the future. This isn't Earth. In exams, it's very difficult for seers to cheat. Predicting a complete answer and a single option are completely different levels of difficulty. And those high-level clerics of the goddess of luck, giving them multiple-choice questions is like giving them free points."

"Alright, let's forget the past, now we need to face the future... Dora Naona, Dora Class President, do you have any magical gadgets that can help me learn alien languages? My requirements are not high, as long as I'm not the last... I should look for a time machine, go back to the past, and save my sister so I don't have to be at the bottom here."

That driving class unexpectedly led to a new development. Unable to bear the external pressure, the former class president Matt resigned, and the new class president was temporarily taken over by the top student in this monthly exam.

And this new class president, a former friend, a slacker in his memory who had to repeat a grade, suddenly became a genuine super top student here.

"Class first is one thing, but third in the grade... Our first grade has nineteen classes, over a thousand seven hundred people."

And as a slacker at the bottom of the grade, asking a top student for advice is quite natural, isn't it?

"Do you know about proselytizing... No, do you know about the true gods? This isn't Earth. If you're worried about doing poorly, pray to the true gods."

The answer from his friend, with a hint of joking, was not entirely a joke.

"Will the gods care about failing exams?"

"They want to manage everything, it's just whether they can."

"It sounds like the neighborhood committee aunties."

"They are actually more informed and want to manage more."

If Luo Xia had to find the biggest difference between the two worlds, or the most unaccustomed part, it would probably be this—this world not only has magic but also gods.

The divine power is like a prison, the divine grace like the sea, even resurrection is possible. In the face of such supernatural beings, language barriers and poor grades are nothing.

In fact, as long as a deity expends a bit of divine power, imparting a language is not difficult.

In a sense, for mortals, the gods are more useful than that blue-skinned cat.

"Then, Guldan, what's the price?"

"Everything... Cough, stop playing with words, let's get serious. Don't always act like I'm trying to trick you. Divine power is actually quite common in this world. You're not the first outsider. What you need are some standardized knowledge and language packages, available for sale at the major temples, with a bit of faith and offerings."

"They are competing fiercely lately. It's said that now, joining a religion not only waives the membership fee but also gives you language and knowledge packages, and even two packs of toilet paper."

While throwing the empty package labeled "Red Dragon Milk" into the trash.

"But I suggest you go during the next Gray Song Festival, there should be more favorable promotions. I remember last year, the Temple of Wealth was the most generous, giving two boxes of oil, and if you introduce three people, they even provide a month's worth of milk and newspaper delivery."

Luo Xia was speechless, his basic knowledge had been shattered. The competition for believers using business tactics could be explained as progress, but how to understand these language, knowledge, and emoji packages?

Language and knowledge packages could be understood as special abilities to implant memories, but how to explain emoji packages? Is it teaching you how to make exaggerated and scary internet expressions with your face? Or fixing your expression to avoid mistakes?

A smile emoji package, a gentle smile for 24 hours a day, never making a mistake, making you feel safe and secure for 24 hours... Safe and secure, my ass. Smiling at the door while using the toilet, and even smiling at the ceiling while sleeping, just thinking about it is terrifying.

Luo Xia was scared by his own imagination. To quickly adapt to the local environment, does he really have to hand over his brain to others to mess with?

"This sounds a bit scary, this proselytizing is like a pyramid scheme."

"Go to the temple district and see for yourself. For certain reasons, they are more aggressive than pyramid schemes. Since you live on campus, you should have seen the battle priest on the street waving a magic rod, and his partner, the bishop who sings rock and dances the moonwalk."

Ignoring the blind spots in his memory, thinking of the recent street promoters holding chess pieces and wearing robes, Luo Xia suddenly understood.

"Those handing out flyers on the street are really clerics, I thought they were offering certificates and utility repairs."

"... Actually, they can offer certificates and utility repairs if you need them."

It seems that these issues are not unique. Going to the temple is necessary, but now Luo Xia has a new question.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"First, in this world, non-clerics interfering with others' beliefs is the biggest taboo. Persuading someone to change their faith is like issuing a challenge. Discussing beliefs requires a close relationship. Second, just as you didn't pay attention to them, they probably didn't pay attention to you. Who knew you wouldn't even prepare for the most basic language barrier."

Luo Xia was silent, but then...

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? You should know I wouldn't have these concerns."

Yes, that's the point. Others might not know, but you, Suna Naona, couldn't have not known.

"You didn't ask me."

Suna Naona smiled brightly, carefree, and without a care in the world. The genuine joy in her smile made Luo Xia feel extremely uneasy.

It's been years since he's seen Suna Naona smile like this. Looking at this fleeting, cheerful smile, Luo Xia felt a strange pain in his stomach... Every time she smiles like this, she's planning to trick someone.

"... How can you be so heartless? We've been classmates for seven years. Even if I didn't shield you from bullets, I've run errands and bought lunch for you. When you were sick, I even visited you."

"Does this have anything to do with my heartlessness? You didn't ask me."

At this moment, Luo Xia's stomach pain was unbearable. You, woman, are too heartless.

"Hmph, who is heartless and who is unrighteous, it's hard to say. Did you come to see me or to play with my new PS13 game console? The grudge of my Red Dead Redemption 23 save being overwritten, I still haven't avenged."

"That was in fourth grade, so many years have passed, and you still remember..."

"Of course I remember. From childhood to now, I've been sick so many times. You only visited me once, and you still remember, right? I remember, when you came, you ate my snacks, played my games, and took my new comic book. That's the real reason you came to visit. How could I forget such a childhood trauma?"

Touching his chest, looking at this vengeful and unrighteous "childhood friend," Luo Xia gazed blankly at the sky. In recent days, he has become more and more familiar with this posture.

"Ah, looking up at a 45-degree angle, the sky is so blue."

"Hehe, you came to see me and deliberately avoided Lynn, not just to make me happy, right? Lunch break is almost over."

The lunch break is very limited, and the reminiscing is enough. It's time to get to the point.

Luo Xia hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind.

Hesitantly, with a bitter smile, but this question must be faced.

"You and I, being classmates for so