Chapter 133: [Bonus Chapter] Lost in Reverie Meanwhile, Hilda had been discreetly trailing Lord Schrodinger around the fortress, keeping her presence hidden.
Her heart ached with jealousy as she observed how freely the others could interact with him while she had to maintain a careful distance.
She yearned to engage in conversations with him and share his company openly.
As Lord Schrodinger moved gracefully through the corridors, occasionally pausing to inspect a particular feature of the fortress, Hilda couldn’t help but feel a sense of longing.
She watched him with a mixture of admiration and yearning, knowing that her own beauty might be the very thing preventing her from getting closer to him.
It was then that a realization struck her like a ray of sunlight breaking through the clouds on a gloomy day.
She stifled a giggle as the thought formed in her mind.
"Could it be . . . ?" Hilda murmured to herself, her eyes twinkling mischievously. She watched Lord Schrodinger’s every move, her heart now lightened by this newfound understanding.
A few moments later, as Lord Schrodinger turned to examine a tapestry adorning the fortress wall, Hilda couldn’t contain her amusement any longer.
She whispered softly to herself, "He’s worried that others might fight over me because I’m too beautiful!"
Suppressing a grin, Hilda continued to follow Lord Schrodinger, now seeing her perceived disadvantage in a whole new light.
With each step she took, she couldn’t help but feel a newfound sense of confidence and excitement, knowing that her allure was a force to be reckoned with.
Hilda found herself lost in a daydream as she walked through stone floors, her thoughts entirely consumed by the image of Lord Schrodinger.
A soft, delighted giggle escaped her lips as she imagined scenarios where they were together, sharing moments of laughter and adventure.
Her reverie was so consuming that she failed to notice the other players around her, lost in their own quests and conversations.
However, as her giggles grew more frequent and pronounced, her presence became increasingly conspicuous.
One player, a young man with a curious expression, nudged his companion and nodded towards Hilda. "Do you hear that?" he whispered.
His companion, a fellow player clad in armor, furrowed his brow and listened intently. Hilda’s giggles continued, each one filled with a sense of whimsy and infatuation.
"Yeah," he replied, equally hushed. "What’s up with her? She sounds weird."
A group of players nearby, overhearing the whispered exchange, began to cast curious glances in Hilda’s direction. Some exchanged bemused smiles, while others raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
Hilda, still lost in her dreamy thoughts, remained blissfully unaware of the attention she was garnering. Her laughter echoed softly in the fortress’s walls as she continued to fantasize about her romantic adventures with Lord Schrodinger.
One player leaned over and muttered to another, "Maybe she’s lost or something. I mean, she’s all alone, and that giggling . . . It’s just bizarre." He shivered. "It’s like a laughter from hell."
The second player nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you might be onto something there. We should probably ask if she’s okay."
"No way. She’s probably crazy. I don’t want anything to do with her, man. She’s giving me the creeps with her beard and bulky pecks."
Their hushed deliberations continued as they debated whether or not to approach Hilda.
Meanwhile, Hilda’s dreamlike trance persisted, the world around her fading into insignificance as she remained captivated by her romantic reveries.
Hilda was in a state of pure bliss, lost in the ethereal realm of her daydreams where she and Lord Schrodinger shared tender moments and whispered sweet nothings to each other. Her heart fluttered, and a dreamy smile graced her lips as she continued to fantasize.
But in an instant, her serene reverie was shattered.
A player, evidently filled with anger and frustration, jabbed a trembling finger at Lord Schrodinger’s chest and erupted in a heated, angry shout. "You! I don’t like that look on your face since the moment I saw you. You got something to say to me, huh?"
For a fraction of a second, Hilda saw red. Her euphoria was replaced by an overwhelming surge of rage radiating from her like an aura. Her anger was palpable, her very presence radiating an air of impending vengeance.
. The nearby players, sensing the seething fury emanating from her, quickly took a step back, creating a circle around her.
Hilda’s eyes narrowed, her fists clenched, and she felt an overwhelming urge to charge at the offending player and tear them to virtual shreds.
Before she could act on her instincts, a swift intervention occurred. Midnight Duchess and Victor stepped forward with lethal grace. Their movements were precise, and their blades flashed with an ominous gleam as they converged on the aggressive player and swiftly neutralized the threat.
The crowd of players watched in awe as the confrontation unfolded before them.
Hilda was still reeling from her bottled frustration and found herself unable to act. Her anger simmered beneath the surface like a volcano waiting to erupt.
As the defeated players were swiftly dealt with by Lord Schrodinger and the others, Hilda could only sneer in contempt at Devil’s Rising.
In her thoughts, she cursed their quick demise, wishing that their suffering could have been a hundredfold worse if it had been in her hands to administer.
The intensity of her loathing burned like a fiery ember within her as she simmered in impotent frustration, longing for a chance to make them pay for their insolence.
An hour had passed since that encounter, and Hilda had been tirelessly navigating the fortress, still following Lord Schrodinger’s presence.
Then, as if the universe had conspired to grant her wish, Hilda’s keen eyes spotted the very same players from Devil’s Rising, this time in a significantly larger group.
There were at least fifty of them, some coming from different guilds. Their avatars cluster together and scan their surroundings.
They were on a mission to locate Lord Schrodinger based on their angry voices and shouts. And their determined fervor fueled Hilda’s vindictive delight. Her grin widened impossibly, stretching from ear to ear, as she watched them scour the fortress.
Hilda couldn’t have asked for a more perfect opportunity to exact her revenge.
With the odds now stacked heavily in her favor, her anticipation grew to a fever pitch. The thrill of the impending confrontation sent an electric surge through her form.
She remained concealed, biding her time, ready to unleash her long-repressed fury on the unsuspecting members of Devil’s Rising.
It was a moment she had been waiting for, and her heart pounded with exhilaration as she watched them draw closer to her position, completely unaware of the storm that was about to descend upon them.