107 Be prepared for whatever is coming

Xiao Chun Dan exhales. "Are you serious this time?"

"I am serious." Huang Qiuyan nods her head. "I want to become his equal. I also want to protect everything that is precious to him."

It's for that vampire king. Xiao Chun Dan pouts. He's the one who met her first. He saved her. He kept her soul in that body. Why are the vampire king and his things becoming more important to her? A host should care about the system first. Just like, the system always prioritizes the host. She calls him a family, but other people are more important to her. She even told the vampire king about him. Hmph!

"Elder sister, you see." Xiao Chun Dan begins, "I have been analyzing you. Even if I have installed basic fighting skills in your mind, you aren't mentally prepared and your body and you are not physically strong enough to deal with the vampire-zombies. So, I suggest that you concentrate on your magic and long-range attacks."

Several statistical graphs appear before her eyes. Huang Qiuyan is bad at many things, but she's is somewhat okay with numbers. She studied statistics in the university and she used to work in a bank too. She squints her eyes and analyzes the progress graphs. According to the system, her progress has been slow. Since she's his first and last host, he doesn't have any past data. He is using the general data from the Inter-Dimensional Archive. To summarize, her agility is good, but her survival instincts are mediocre. In close range fights, she's 40% slower than other hosts. The long-range fights haven't been tested yet. The magic level is also at level 1 (Beginner).

She stares at him.

"Don't look at me like that." Xiao Chun Dan shrugs. "But, you have magic. You are better than 89% of hosts. There are systems who are compatible with magic that help their hosts improve at a faster rate. I was built for humans, but I am reconfiguring myself as you are levelling up."

He sighs and adds, "If you stay stuck at a level, I can't do much for you when it comes to magic. I can analyze the basic magic, but when it is the higher level magic that people like Fu Sheng and Sung Na-Mi use, I get incorrect analyzation results. Elder Sister, it's dangerous for you if you do not become stronger. You are lucky that you can use magic when other converts can't. Then, there's the bond. When magic is such a big part in your life, you should take the path of magic. If you don't make efforts, you will be someone who needs protection."

Though he would also choose safety first, there's no growth if they hide inside the castle. His host needs to grow and become stronger. Then, he can also level up and progress. He wants the inter-dimensional world to know that he's the best system in all the worlds. Perhaps, he can teach those System Developers a lesson for building systems like him and abandoning them at any time when the systems outlive their usefulness. 

"He might be able to help you." Xiao Chun Dan has a good impression of Jin. He does find him unrealistic and ethereal. But, all purebloods are strange to some extent. "But, your magic is different from the purebloods' magic. You got it from the enchanted wooden arrow which is actually Fae's magic. The nature of enchanted wooden weapons is quite mysterious. We don't have points to buy good books or skills related to Fae. There's one more thing that I have noticed recently."

"What is it?" She asks him with worry.

"Your magic grew when you resolved your heart conflict last time." Xiao Chun Dan wonders how much his host's psychological state affects the magic inside her. "There's something else. It's better if I show it."

She gives him a stiff nod.

In her mind, a screen pops up. It shows her a video of a dark green energy cloud that keeps changing its shape, disappearing and reappearing at different spots. Then, there's another neon green energy that seems to be chasing that dark green ball around. The two are playing hide and seek. In the chase, the neon green energy captures the dark green cloud once or twice. Each time that happens, the dark green cloud becomes smaller and slower.

"Before you drank the hunter's blood, the life force was dormant. The enchanted wooden magic was passive and balancing it somehow. When the magic activated due to the hunter's blood, it was not bad as the life force was avoiding its grasp by instinct." Xiao Chun Dan analyzes, "After your magic grew by a level, it's magic manages to capture the life force time to time. It absorbs some part of the life force whenever it captures it. Each time it does that, the life force is condensing into a smaller form and becoming slower. This is not the worst part, Elder Sister."

"Why are you leaving that out?" She holds her head with her right hand and closes her eyes. All of this sounds bad to her. "Just tell me."

"It's affecting us." Xiao Chun Dan takes a breath. "This is changing us at a core level. The enchanted magic, your soul and this aberrant life force are merging together slowly. I can't predict what will happen in the future." 

Being different always comes with a price. Her mother always told her to be ordinary. According to her mother, men need ordinary women who can manage the house and raise their children. That's why she always tried to be an ordinary person when she was human. She didn't think much. She didn't argue much. She was complacent and meek. She would let others have control over her life. 

But, her new life has new needs. It's funny how the old beliefs are subconsciously controlling her, but she wants to change. She needs to change. For herself and the people around her, she has to become someone extraordinary. 

"You don't have time." Xiao Chun Dan changes the screen to the graphs again. "We should be prepared for whatever is coming for us."

***

[15 minutes later]

In the depth of the castle, Huang Qiuyan is walking alone. She looks back once with worry in her eyes. 

[I thought that you knew the way to the library.]

"Xiao Chun Dan, it's not my fault." Huang Qiuyan yells. "This place is huge. How do they clean this place?"

[That's not the problem. The problem is that I can't figure out how you managed to walk to the uncharted locations of the castle again under my navigation.] Xiao Chun Dan states with a frustrated voice. [You only had to follow my navigation.]

Huang Qiuyan sighs. Earlier, Xiao Chun Dan suggested that they should access the library and scans the books. He can directly store scan copies of the books. It's quicker than asking someone and waiting for answers. Using her knowledge and mastering the magic will be her job. Xiao Chun Dan also needs magical knowledge to build his foundations. These books will cost a lot if they try to buy it from the Inter-Dimensional Web. 

They are lost in some unknown part of the castle again. To her, all parts of the castle seem the same. She inhales sharply and then, she tries to sniff. There are many scents in the air. Fu Mian's scent is the strongest. She can smell the nine vampires. Fu Sheng's musky scent is captivating as always. Then, Sung Na-Mi's scent is something human and yet, something more that reminds her of the lightning and the rain. Sung Se-Yong smells like lemons and something else. She separates the scents in her mind. Xiao Chun Dan guesses what she's trying to do and analyzes the different scents along with her until they find the one -- the faint scent of books.