Only then did it hit Pei Guang: even though he was a player, and even though his world was stitched together from many games—this was still a world of full realism. And that realism brought a type of pain he'd long forgotten.
Getting a whole giant True Sting looked amazing. In the future, its parts could definitely be used to make or upgrade equipment, or to synthesize all sorts of rare materials and items.
But just like March 7th said… it had to be processed first.
Pei Guang cried out, "Damn it! I didn't realize that even though this world doesn't make you wait through loading bars like most games, it forces you to wait in another way: one that's more realistic and even more time-consuming!"
Seeing Pei Guang in pain, Silver Wolf came over and patted him on the shoulder. "You'll get used to it. I mean, I have to spend ages just traveling between places too. Why don't they just let us skip that? Skipping would be way better in these boring parts..."
Pei Guang complained back, "In a world this real, you try skipping something and you might end up skipping your life too!"
Silver Wolf groaned, "I know!!! But even if it's useless, the option should still exist! Not having it just feels… wrong."
Pei Guang replied, "Take it up with the game devs then!"
Himeko, Welt, and Dan Heng watched the group bickering and chatting with fond smiles on their faces.
Himeko said, "Who would've thought we'd actually take down that thing amidst laughter and banter~"
Welt said, "It's all thanks to him. His wild imagination and impressive execution gave us a taste of both thrill and joy."
Dan Heng added, "Yeah…!"
Holding his pink bunny doll, Dan Heng proudly puffed out his chest. To him, this rabbit had given him great courage, and hope, for the future.
While everyone was chatting, Argenti stepped forward and spoke to the group about his next steps: "Now that the powerful enemy is defeated, it's time I resumed my journey."
Everyone turned to look at Argenti and Pei Guang was the first to respond: "You're planning to leave already? Not thinking about becoming a Trailblazer and joining us on the main quest?"
Pei Guang had also witnessed Argenti's strength. He originally thought that after fighting together, Argenti might join them, but from the looks of it, he didn't seem to have any intention of staying.
Argenti shook his head. "I'm already very happy to have met everyone and witnessed such pure beauty. But I cannot stop my pursuit of beauty. I must continue to explore the galaxy in search of more beauty... and find Lady Idrila."
Hearing Argenti's words, Pei Guang stroked his chin in thought. "To witness more beauty, huh... you know, I actually know someone who walks the Path of Beauty and wears the Robe of the Beauty. Interested in meeting her? Oh, and by the way, that robe was really worn by the Aeon of Beauty~"
At that moment, Pei Guang started thinking about his upcoming character quests, affinity quests, and all sorts of miscellaneous missions. Beyond that, he was also thinking about Elysia's future.
Elysia had been assisting the Herta puppets on Earth with development and was doing an excellent job. Together, she and the Herta puppets had brought Earth's technology to an unbelievable level.
Meanwhile, the human resistance formed on Earth had begun counterattacking against the Antimatter Legion.
And honestly, Pei Guang had fallen for Elysia from the time they spent together. Aside from a player's typical fondness for attractive characters, he was drawn to the purity and flawlessness of her heart.
In normal games, that kind of innocence and purity would be portrayed through story events. But separated by dimensions, even if one could sense that beauty, there would always be a kind of hollowness to it: the emptiness of something unreachable across dimensions.
But Pei Guang didn't feel that way, because he was a player who had come to this world. He could fully experience the traits and concepts that couldn't be enjoyed from a distance, savoring the beauty that in his own world only existed in fiction.
Even just looking at her, that flawless purity was overwhelming: so what would it do to a Knight of Beauty devoted to seeking such things? Pei Guang felt certain that Elysia, wearing the Robe of the Beauty, would give Argenti a once-in-a-lifetime impact.
"This!" Argenti's expression changed.
The mere mention of the "Robe of the Beauty" shook him to his core. As a Knight of Beauty, he naturally understood the weight those words carried.
To be recognized by that robe… what kind of beauty must that person possess?
Thinking of that, Argenti's face turned serious. "Really? Can I truly witness a being so purely beautiful?"
Pei Guang nodded. "Of course you can. The question is, if I take you to see her, what quest reward are you giving me?"
"Payment, is it?" Argenti responded. "I don't have anything of material value to offer. But I can make you this promise: if you can let me witness this beauty, I will swear on my title as a Knight of Beauty: no matter what powerful enemies you face in the future, no matter how dangerous the situation, I will appear at your side. I will fight without regrets."
All Knights of Beauty devote their lives to searching for Idrila, to finding the purest beauty of the universe. They possess hearts of absolute sincerity—but for the sake of beauty, they are willing to do anything.
As for the Aeon of Beauty, what kind of being was it? From all the clues Pei Guang had gathered so far, it seemed that, compared to those associated with propagation or destruction, the Aeon of Beauty sounded better.
But in truth, Pei Guang felt that if the Aeon of Beauty really still existed, it might not be such a good thing after all. That's because on the Xianzhou Luofu, the Aeon of Beauty had been classified as a Sacrosanct.
And Sacrosancts were beings whose intentions were impossible to gauge, whose morality was unfathomable. After all, beauty was far too subjective.
The simplest example: even the Aeon of Destruction had its own aesthetic of destruction. So couldn't the Aeon of Beauty also be captivated by that destruction aesthetic and make Nanook its emissary?
That was a question worthy of deep examination.
But even if Pei Guang wanted to research it, he couldn't: because Idrila had vanished. She simply couldn't be found right now.
Compared to such abstract, unfathomable entities like the Aeons, Pei Guang actually found Elysia far more aligned with the human understanding of beauty, or at least his understanding of it.
Though Argenti was a Knight of Beauty, from their interactions Pei Guang could tell that his perceptions were rooted in a very humble human perspective.
And since Argenti was someone who sincerely pursued beauty in the universe, Pei Guang felt that it would be a disservice not to let him meet Elysia.
Granted, Elysia wasn't particularly strong. She couldn't grant power beyond good and evil the way an Aeon could. But in terms of human ideals, Elysia was absolutely pure and flawless.
That, Pei Guang thought, was part of why people loved games. Games allowed players to release rage, destroy things, indulge their desires—but they also allowed them to experience things that real life couldn't offer.
To Pei Guang, Elysia could never match the concept of the Aeon of Beauty. But in this universe, she represented the human kind of pure beauty.
And based on Pei Guang's completely reckless, irresponsible logic, if the Aeon of Beauty were still alive, or if the Path of Beauty still had some remnant of an Aeon left, then Elysia's existence might very well carve off a piece of it, a piece that belonged to the beauty of humanity.
Even if that so-called Aeon didn't agree, Pei Guang would make it agree.
From what he understood, it was indeed possible to carve out a new path from an existing, powerful one. If the lore said it could be done, then as a player, he could do it.
Once the Astral Express stabilized and arrived at the "Washtopiar," Pei Guang took Argenti with him to Earth, where they met Elysia.
And just as Pei Guang had predicted, the moment Argenti saw Elysia, his eyes widened in utter disbelief.