Love at First Game

Episode 14 The Crazy Mission

In the midst of the chaos surrounding the competition, Natalie seemed to type even faster when it came to gossip. In an instant, she sent another message:

"Mason is actually quite handsome. I have a photo of them together. Do you want to see it, Vivian?"

Vivian had no interest in knowing what Mason looked like at all. If she cared, she could have seen his photos during their "marriage" phase one or two months ago. At that time, another couple in their gang had exchanged photos, only for both sides to be dissatisfied with each other's appearance, leading to a tragic breakup.

It was actually Mason who had suggested the photo exchange back then. Shocked by the idea, Vivian made up a weak excuse:

"I don't have a digital camera, so I don't have any electronic photos."

Although it was true, it sounded fake. To Vivian, the reason for refusing didn’t matter—what mattered was expressing her unwillingness.

Meeting someone online was just a fleeting encounter, after all. There was no need to reveal her face or heart. Sharing photos, especially under the pretext of being "married," felt ambiguous, and Vivian disliked such ambiguity.

But Mason clearly didn’t think that way. Looking back, Vivian realized Mason’s attitude toward her had started to change around that time.

Natalie persisted:

"Are you really not going to look?"

Vivian replied firmly:

"No >o

Frustrated, Natalie said:

"You're no fun if you keep secrets. By the way, have you met Nathan? Is he handsome or not?"

This caught Vivian off guard, and she casually replied:

"I haven’t met him."

However, for some reason, she couldn’t help but think about whether she would exchange photos if Nathan Daniel Thorne asked.

It seemed like… she would.

What if Nathan asked him to meet him in real life?

It seemed like… she would be willing, too.

Vivian startled herself with her own repeated “willing.” But then she reasoned that, with Nathan’s personality, he would never make such a request. These two hypothetical questions were invalid, and yet…

She felt a vague sense of regret.

The next day, without any surprise, Vivian and Nathan became the champions of the video competition. The rewards arrived quickly, and the double experience bonus helped Vivian level up immediately.

She was ecstatic—leveling up to her level was no easy task. The last time she leveled up was two weeks ago. Alongside the experience bonus, they received a colorful outfit set.

Vivian immediately tried it on. The outfit was beautiful, dazzling even, with adjustable colors. However, it had no special attributes, and wearing them in battle would certainly lead to a quick and glorious death.

After two days of wearing it enthusiastically, Vivian threw the outfit into a corner of her warehouse, never to wear it again.

There was a small episode during those two days:

Despite only wearing the outfit for two or three days, Vivian ran into Ruby three times—something that rarely happened in ten days or even half a month.

By the third encounter, Vivian felt awkward and thought:

"I hope she doesn’t think I’m deliberately showing off."

Then again, let her think whatever she wants! Who cares! >o

Along with the announcement of the video competition winners came news about the upcoming couple's PK tournament. After a month-long delay, the schedule was finally out, and Vivian found it quite reasonable.

The competition would start next Friday night and last a month. The first half of the tournament would be a point-based round-robin for each server. The top 16 teams would then advance to elimination matches, semifinals, and eventually the finals on the Global Server.

Vivian paid particular attention to the finals, scheduled for the evening of June 14th. This gave her a week to focus on her Level 6 English exams, which were on June 21st.

Perfect. Vivian nodded with satisfaction and began carefully planning her studies and gaming schedule.

Nathan, on the other hand, seemed casual:

"If there’s a competition, let me know a day in advance."

Vivian immediately nodded:

"Sure, no problem."

While Nathan remained nonchalant, Max and George were brimming with enthusiasm. They kept pestering Vivian and Nathan to practice PK with them.

Max said:

"Come on, treat us as your opponents and simulate a PK match."

Nathan asked calmly:

"Our opponents are a couple, so who’s the husband and who’s the wife between you two?"

Max replied confidently:

"Of course, I’m the husband."

George exploded:

"I’m the husband!"

Max retorted:

"I’m taller than you."

George shot back:

"I weigh more than you."

Their childish argument escalated, and no conclusion was reached. Ultimately, there were no practice matches, and the group’s primary activity remained boss hunting.

Vivian and Nathan occasionally left the group to work on couple's tasks. They had completed almost all the advanced tasks, leaving only the infamously difficult "Legend of the Condor Heroes" mission.

The mission was so insane that no one on the Global Server had ever completed it. Vivian and Nathan found the mission to be as crazy as its reputation suggested. Every stage was grueling and complicated.

One monster, for example, resisted all non-attack spells and could heal itself to full HP once it dropped below a certain threshold. It was also immune to detection spells, so no one could determine its exact HP.

It wasn’t until Nathan calculated the monster’s HP and the threshold for its healing ability that they managed to defeat it.

Vivian’s admiration for Daniel Thorne reached new heights. Calculating a monster’s HP mid-battle? It was simply inhuman.

The mission involved not just monster-fighting and material-collecting, but also absurdly difficult puzzles, mazes, and even chess games. Players could choose between Chinese chess and Go, but those unfamiliar with either game were doomed to struggle—Vivian included.

Fortunately, there was the versatile Nathan Daniel Thorne.

The final stage of the mission, however, was the pinnacle of insanity.

After a conversation with an NPC, Vivian was suddenly teleported to a mysterious, pitch-black location that didn’t exist on the map. Nathan had to find her within 16 hours, or the mission would fail.

Thankfully, the system hadn’t disabled messaging, so they could still communicate.

Nathan asked:

"What does the surrounding environment look like?"

Vivian replied:

"It’s just really, really dark…"

Nathan:

"Can’t you see anything?"

Vivian:

"Right."

Nathan:

"What about the sound?"

Vivian listened carefully:

"It sounds like water."

Nathan:

"Hmm, I see."

Without saying anything further, Nathan began his search.

Vivian, meanwhile, groped around in the darkness, hoping to find any clues to share with Nathan. She also scoured the internet for information, but no strategies existed since no one had ever reached this stage before.

The official description of the mission’s final level contained only one line:

"Clear the level relying on telepathy between lovers."

Unbelievable.

Vivian’s reverie was interrupted by an unexpected message.

Conqueror:

"Willow, how dare your team steal the boss of our gang?"

Confused, Vivian replied:

"What boss fight? I’ve been doing a couple of quests."

Conqueror:

"George and Max—aren’t they at your party?"