Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

Zhao Youyue did not realise that her identity in the source world as Princess Olivia was now respected by the enemy’s army for her “patriotism”.

Regardless of the age or civilisation, those who did not bow to their suppressors would be respected by the rest of the human race. Only a few would defend themselves until their last breaths. Hence, their courage was commendable.

Since Olivia had been left in an unconscious state, Zhao Youyue temporarily left the source world to head back to reality. She had to regain her bearings and make sure that she was from planet Earth, and she was Zhao Youyue, not Olivia.

Nevertheless, Olivia seemed like a good name to call herself. Lady Olivia Zhao. It almost sounded as fun as “Nicolas Zhao Si” [1]. However, Lady Zhao was a traditional Chinese Lady who defended the National Culture. After all, the Zhao Family was known for its patriotism. They were the only family who had the right to betray its country, since they had built this country right from the bottom.

When Lady Zhao went back to reality, she realized that the “Two Dimensional Gate” had recorded everything in the source world, like the paranormal world. Now it had even taken the liberty to convert the history into a fantastical drama. [2]

She could upload the video on a computer to play it, or upload it onto the internet. If It picked up, she could gather the energy and recharge the “Two Dimensional Gate.” It was not something could be explained with science.

When Zhao Youyue uploaded her paranormal exploits onto the internet, fans of horror novels had praised and promoted the video. The reactions of the actors had been so authentic and real that their screams of terror went right into the bone…

However, horror novels were not exactly mainstream. Even the storylines were short and straightforward. The only attractive part of their movie was the special effects and blood. Past that, they lacked the impact.

Some people could not forget about these films, such as an author who was know for his horror novel. He was still disturbed by the fact that his dream had been turned into a film and uploaded onto the internet.

No matter how he tried to make logic out of it, he would never fathom the possibility of the “Two Dimensional Gate” existing.

Compared to that paranormal video, Zhao Youyue played a central role as Olivia. If uploaded to the internet, it would most definitely become viral. Its quality would be no lesser than that of “Game of Thrones.”[3]

So, what should she call this series? She might not be the protagonist in the source world, but she damn well may be. After all, she was the one controlling the game system!

Should she try something like “Live Broadcast of the Empress,” [4] or perhaps something like “The Path of an Empress,” or simply “Olivia”?

Zhao Youyue could not make up her mind. This time, she would not have to worry about investigations being carried out on the ‘actors.’ None of them existed in this world.

Most of the scenes could be passed off as highly advanced computer-generated graphics.

The source world itself existed in an epic fantasy game which was engineered to be displayed in high-definition quality. It was nothing like the paranormal world which came from some “movie.”

That paranormal world was the birthplace of many horror films. Chu Renmei was a ghost from the movie “A Wicked Ghost,” the mere thought of which could rob people of their sleep. [5]

That was the only way to prove that Chu Renmei was more than qualified to exist in that world.

A great author must first venture deep into a source world. Only then could they write remarkable stories.

Source worlds and iconic novels existed symbiotically. It was the birthplace where authors received inspiration for their novels, or one could argue that was merely a plane where authors’ subconscious gathered, their similar wavelengths working together to create entire worlds.

The question then, what came first – the source worlds, or the iconic novels?

It was the same as “the first chicken and the egg argument.” There was no need to find the answer.

Zhao Youyue briefly scrolled through the computer-generated drama of the “Two Dimensional Gate.” There weren’t many epic scenes, other than the harmonious moment between Cirilla and Olivia. Of course, Olivia fighting alongside Geralt in the witch-hunting mission had been amazing.

Olivia was as cool as Saber, [6] charging into the fight with her invisible Excalibur. [7][8] With a roll-over and a “backstab of justice,” she had instantly ended a Fogler.[9]

Zhao Youyue did not rush to upload the film, as she sensed her body in the source world starting to gain consciousness.

Zhao Youyue was worried that Olivia might get killed by some idiotic soldiers. Would that be the end of her play in the source world?

It would not affect Zhao Youyue in reality, but she had big plans for Olivia. It would be great if she could become an Empress and take her own sister as her spouse!

She would learn so many new things in the process!

The Source world was a hundred percent identical to reality. She did not need to fabricate any iconic character to inherit the character’s special abilities. While honing her skills in the source world, both her body in reality and the source world would benefit from the training.

Olivia found herself in a carriage when she woke up. Worried about her condition, she instantly accessed the game system to check on her body. No damages found, what a relief! Unfortunately, she still could not access the blue bar.

Indeed, it had been a risky move. However, the computer-generated animation had one more epic scene to show! Now that Calanthe was safe, Cirilla would be delighted.

Hold on, where’s Cirilla?

That was when a new mission showed up in the game system. The search for Cirilla.

Translation Note:

[1] Nicolas Zhao Si (尼古拉斯.赵四) is a character played by Liu Xiaoguang (刘小光) in the TV comedy series “Countryside Love.” In a few of the series, Zhao Si performed a few street dances that “outshined the Hollywood star, even Nicolas Cage.” Because his dances were much similar towards Melbourne Shuffle Dance, he was also known as the creator of Chinese Shuffle Dance

[2] High Fantasy (奇幻史诗) or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy, defined either by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. The term “high fantasy” was coined by Lloyd Alexander in a 1971 essay, “High Fantasy and Heroic Romance” (originally given at the New England Round Table of Children’s Librarians in October 1969).

[3] Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. It is an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin’s series of fantasy novels, the first of which is A Game of Thrones. It is filmed in Belfast and elsewhere in Northern Ireland, Canada, Croatia, Iceland, Malta, Morocco, Spain, and the United States. The series premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011, and its seventh season ended on August 27, 2017. The series will conclude with its eighth season premiering in 2019.

[4] “Live Broadcast of the Empress” (女帝直播攻略) is a novel written by You Bao Xiang Gu (油爆香菇). The story is about broadcasting the war among the wives of an Emperor…

[5] A Wicked Ghost (山村老尸) was a movie of a young man, and a drama teacher must find the source of a hateful ghost’s rage before it’s too late.

[6] Saber is a fictional character from the Japanese visual novel and anime series Fate/stay night by Type-Moon and its prequel, Fate/Zero, by Type-Moon and nitroplus.

[7] Excalibur: Sword of Promised Victory (誓约胜利之剑) ( 約束された勝利の剣エクスカリバー , Yakusokusareta Shōri no KenEkusukaribā ?) is the strongest and most majestic holy sword that symbolizes King Arthur in Fate/stay night Noble Phantasm… As that which can be called the physical actualization of her ideas and the symbol of her heroism, it is her greatest and most powerful Noble Phantasm.

[8]Invisible Air: Barrier of the Wind King ( 風王結界インビジブル・エア , Fū-Ō KekkaiInbijiburu Ea ?) is a sheath of wind that covers Excalibur and conceals it so that it cannot be easily recognized as the famous holy sword of King Arthur and expose her identity. It is a Bounded Field closer to magecraft than a Noble Phantasm that is made up of multiple layers of wind compressed into super-high pressure air with a massive amount of magical energy, which distorts the refraction of light and renders what is inside completely invisible.

[9] Foglers, foglings, or foglets (小雾妖）(Polish: Mglak) are magical beings said to have arrived during the Conjunction of the Spheres. They tend to be found mainly in swamps, forests, or in the mountains and lure their prey into traps using magic. They have glowing eyes and mouths, keen ears and long pointed fingers and feed on the bodies of their victims.