Novel Full Chapter 1949: Painting
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Elayne spent hours working on it until she finally finished a small painting.
It was rough, but it depicted her with her family and loved ones gathered together in the middle of a forest, enjoying a warm meal.
A single tear slipped down her cheek as she let out a quiet sigh.
Ding!
[You have learned the Skill: [Painting – Tier 1: Level 1/10]]
[You acquired the Title: [Amateur Painter]: Increases Painting Proficiency and Learning Ability by 10%. You can gain EXP from Painting.]
[You have painted an Amateur-Level Painting: "Happy Family"]
[You gained a small amount of EXP.]
[Level Up!]
[Your Level has increased from Level 0 to Level 1!]
[All of your Stats have increased.]
[You gained 10 Stat Points and 10 Skill Points.]
"Hm? Pfff... Hahaha!" Elayne burst into heartfelt laughter. "I learned Skills from painting? And I even leveled up... It’s so strange, but it reminds me of BNLO. You could level up from fishing there too. Ahh... those were good times, when life was simpler. When BNLO was just a video game. When... when my life hadn’t yet fallen apart..."
Ding!
[Do you wish to sell your Painting to the System? You will earn 100 System Points.]
[Yes] [No]
"Eh?" Elayne startled at the sudden notification. "The System wants to buy my painting? That makes no sense... Why would you want it?"
[...]
"It’s a pretty bad painting... Do you really want it?"
Ding!
[Do you wish to sell your Painting to the System? You will earn 100 System Points.]
[Yes] [No]
"I guess you do."
Elayne sighed. She wanted to show the painting to her daughter first, no matter how imperfect it was, so she quickly stored it in her System Inventory instead.
"Sorry... maybe later."
She stood up and stepped out of her Abyssal Shadow Domain. The once-dark space had transformed into a bright, peaceful area filled with nature as Elayne’s mind and soul gradually released their heavy burden of darkness.
"Let’s start another new day, I guess."
As she left the domain, Elayne was greeted by a sleepy Olivia and the warm morning sunlight streaming through the windows of the house the Amaterasu Clan had given them.
"E-Elayne?" Olivia slowly opened her eyes. "Where were you?"
"Oh, sorry," Elayne said. "I was inside a small domain of my own, painting this. Look."
"A painting?" Olivia tilted her head in surprise. "Wow... you painted? Have you ever done that before?"
"No..." Elayne replied. "But it felt refreshing."
Olivia stared at her for a moment, then gave a soft chuckle.
"Haha, well, out of everyone I know, you’re the last person I expected to suddenly start painting—especially after everything you’ve been through," Olivia said.
"Hm, well, it’s precisely because of everything I’ve been through that I started," Elayne answered. "I also formed a Dream Heart. But when I summoned my Dream Weapon, it turned out to be this ordinary paintbrush. So I thought... why not?"
"A paintbrush?!" Olivia’s eyes widened in shock. "Really? I would’ve imagined some powerful weapon or maybe a giant tree... A paintbrush feels so random."
"Right? It really is! And yet that’s what I got, for some bizarre reason," Elayne said, gently caressing the paintbrush. "At least it cleans itself."
The only ability the paintbrush possessed was that it could clean itself once she finished painting. It could not produce magical ink or anything of the sort. Elayne had used natural paints she created from materials in her Spirit Realm.
"So... what is this painting supposed to represent?" Olivia asked, tilting her head. "I can’t quite tell..."
"It’s something I envisioned," Elayne said softly. "A place where we could all gather together. I suppose a woman my age shouldn’t be painting such clumsy things... Sorry."
"No, no, it’s fine! It’s definitely not hideous!" Olivia quickly reassured her. "I’m sorry, Elayne. Did I sound harsh? It’s nice. I’m really glad you’re pursuing a hobby. Focusing too much on certain things can slowly tear us apart."
"Hm..." Elayne nodded, a light smile touching her lips. "Are you feeling better today, Olivia? Any problems with your new race?"
"Right... I stopped being human," Olivia groaned, massaging her temples. "But I believe I’m quite alright. Thank you for worrying, Elayne. This new power... I need to study it thoroughly before drawing any conclusions. At the very least, it doesn’t come with the usual vampire drawbacks. I can walk in sunlight just fine. If anything, bathing in it feels pleasant and makes me stronger."
"It does feel nice," Elayne agreed. She stood beside Olivia as both women basked in the morning sunlight with peaceful, blissful expressions.
"Ah... I should apologize," Elayne added, her voice growing quieter. "I’m sorry for turning you into what you’ve become. I’m still not even sure if what I did was right... I just didn’t know how else to save you from the Berserkers’ Curse."
Olivia looked back at her, then turned her gaze to the window once more. "Well... I am quite upset by what happened. I do miss being human."
"I’m sorry!" Elayne cried, dropping to her knees. "I’ll try to make it up to you. I’ll help you return to being human...!"
"Elayne, why are you kneeling? Stand up." Olivia gently helped her rise. "You have to respect yourself more, okay? You can’t just kneel before people begging for forgiveness—especially not with your rank and power."
"But..." Elayne muttered. "You’re my friend, so it’s fine, right?"
"Haha, I appreciate the sentiment, but no, it isn’t," Olivia said. "Have some self-respect, dear."
"Um... okay," Elayne nodded. "Sorry."
"Stop apologizing so much," Olivia sighed, shaking her head. "Now, about what happened... Regardless of how I feel, you still saved my life. And for that, I’m truly grateful. Thank you, Elayne. Really."
"Is that so?" Elayne asked softly. "Even though I turned you into something non-human?"
"Yes," Olivia nodded. "Now, we need to plan what to do next."
"You’re right..." Elayne agreed.
"What are our plans now?" Olivia asked. "Berserker is finally gone, and we stopped that Nightmare from appearing, but a lot of other things still need to be addressed."
"You’re not wrong," Elayne said. "I assume there will be a meeting to discuss everything that happened. I remember the Clan Head, Kaguya, mentioning that Lady Amaterasu favored me. I suppose we’ll speak with her. She does seem to trust me, at least."
"Well, you did go a little crazy back then," Olivia sighed. "Thankfully it didn’t escalate further. Who would’ve thought a simple trip would turn into such a chaotic war?"
"It must have been that fairy woman who triggered everything," Elayne said. "The one watching from the skies—Kireina. She seems to thrive on chaos. She probably provoked all of this just to see what would happen... Truly despicable."
"She truly is," Olivia nodded, shaking her head. "Haaa... Rider and Caster are both exhausted. They’ve been in deep slumber since we returned. I hope they recover soon."
"Are they that tired?" Elayne asked. "Maybe we should give them more Imaginarium Cores?"
"I’ll try, but I don’t want to give them too many or they’ll grow addicted," Olivia replied. "And... did you see Foreigner?"
"Foreigner?" Elayne asked, the image of Tartarus flashing through her mind. "Ugh..."
"Elayne?"
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