Finding a spacecraft had gone more smoothly than expected.
While they hadn't found one in perfect condition, by scavenging parts and making repairs, they'd managed to get one barely operational.
It was mostly thanks to the planet's automated maintenance systems—without them, anything left sitting this long would've been impossible to get moving again.
The ship wasn't large, less than fifty meters even—a small vessel, really. But it had a reliable engine capable of escaping the planet's gravity and enough fuel to manage it.
By stocking a little extra fuel on board, they could at least reach the nearest inhabited planet of any significance.
"What luck, actually finding a ship! I thought after the Fragmentum creatures and the Antimatter Legion swept through, nothing this intact would be left."
Sylvia watched as Acheron easily pulled up the ship's operating manual and a method to bypass its security systems right from her phone.
With nothing left for her to do, Sylvia couldn't help but sigh in admiration from the sidelines.
Acheron worked the controls, glancing over at the idling Sylvia.
"The Stellaron disaster mainly spreads through the Fragmentum. Those monsters have little interest in inanimate objects. If we searched thoroughly, we could probably find something even better."
Though many across the cosmos attributed the Stellaron's origins to Nanook, there was no solid proof for that claim.
Regardless, the Fragmentum and its creatures brought by the Stellaron's calamity were far more sensitive to living beings.
"Alright, I've set the course. You can get some proper rest over the next few days."
With everything handed over to the AI's autopilot, Acheron relaxed as she felt the ship lift off with a steady hum.
"Woo-hoo~ I'm gonna get some solid sleep." After days of rough living outdoors, constant fighting and training, all Sylvia wanted now was a good, long rest.
"Go ahead." Sylvia nodded, smiling as she stood up to leave the cockpit.
But just as she rose, she noticed Acheron simply sitting motionless in her chair and curiosity sparked.
During their time together, she'd rarely seen Acheron rest.
Of course, Sylvia herself hadn't slept much either, but she'd assumed Acheron was just keeping watch for danger—being an Emanator, going ten days or half a month without sleep probably wasn't a big deal.
Yet now they were aboard the ship, set to follow the course without issue for a while. Still, she wasn't resting?
"Acheron, aren't you going to rest too?"
"No need. I seldom sleep. You go ahead." Acheron could hear the puzzlement in Sylvia's voice, but she just shook her head in refusal.
She didn't dislike sleep itself, but she disliked dreaming—because she always dreamed of those who had died because of her.
Sadly, the mountains of corpses and seas of bones in her dreams were constant companions, never fading by her will alone.
Besides, as an Emanator, going extended periods without sleep wasn't really a problem. So, gradually, Acheron had simply stopped sleeping much.
These weren't pleasant topics, though, so Acheron had no desire to share them with Sylvia.
Seeing that Acheron didn't seem to want to pursue the subject, Sylvia let it drop and went off to rest by herself.
--+--
Sylvia had no idea how long she'd been out.
She woke in bed, having changed into loose, soft sleepwear at some point. Her armor had naturally been stored away within her Herrscher Core.
She grabbed her phone and checked the time—she'd slept a full twenty-four hours straight. "Hah… I slept that long? Guess I must've built up more exhaustion than I thought."
The fatigue from over half a month had largely been driven by survival. After all, they'd been stranded in a wasteland of a world.
Fortunately, Acheron had been willing to teach her—the pressure to survive, coupled with a powerful ally's kindness, had drawn out a willpower Sylvia herself found hard to believe.
Now, with temporary safety secured, all that accumulated weariness had turned her downright sluggish.
"Time for some games."
Games in this interstellar era were, naturally, diverse and plentiful.
And with the staggering leaps in technology, even a simple phone like Sylvia's could deliver access to almost every genre imaginable—even immersive dive games were possible, though not as realistic as with dedicated equipment.
Of course, while on that planet, Sylvia definitely couldn't have played any dive games. Now with time to spare, she was eager to finally try one out.
She didn't even need to browse—she already knew exactly what she wanted to play. Lying back down, she closed her eyes and dove into the game.
Right after creating her character, Sylvia sent a friend request to a certain account. The other party seemed to be online and responded immediately:
[GamingDomainDivaSilverWolf: Here already? What, finally done with your stuff?]
[QuadCoreGreatsword: Yep, Duckie! Came to game with you the second I was free. See how much I love you?]
[GamingDomainDivaSilverWolf: ??? Play a hundred matches with me, and maybe I won't hunt you down IRL immediately.]
[QuadCoreGreatsword: The pro bullying the newbie, huh? Bring it on! Today, I'm turning the tables!]
Sylvia cheerfully traded nonsense with her online gaming buddy and accepted the duel invitation.
The reason she called her "Duckie" was, of course, because of the other's ID: 'Silver Wolf.' It was impossible not to think of that Stellaron Hunter.
The fact that Sylvia wasn't immediately freaking out was a testament to her restraint—mostly because she was afraid of getting utterly crushed in a new game and wanted to bide her time.
Once she got the hang of the controls, she'd definitely make sure to properly educate her opponent on the exquisite beauty of a certain duck's rear end.
As for whether the person on the other end could actually be the real Silver Wolf… Sylvia's take was: you'd have a better chance finding a needle in a haystack.
A quick platform search for users named "Silver Wolf" turned up at least 999+ results.
The same went for "Kafka" or "Sam." The odds of randomly matching with the real one were so low she might as well eat her phone if it happened.
Besides, how capable was the real Silver Wolf? If this were actually her, she'd have already traced Sylvia's connection and come to shut her down personally—no need for trash talk online.
So Sylvia had zero worry about any dog-blooded scenario where she actually ran into the real deal.
Of course, this fake Silver Wolf's gaming skills were pretty solid—in that regard, she did share some similarity with the real one.
But Sylvia wasn't intimidated. With her current reflexes, she could easily overpower most players.
In their last game, they'd been about evenly matched in later matches. Now, diving into an immersive game as a fire-element greatsword user? This was going to be a slaughter!
The game this fake Silver Wolf had recommended was free-form and rich in gameplay; even a new player could create a max-level character for PvP.
So Sylvia had directly deployed a greatsword-wielding build she'd put together in her spare time after researching, brimming with confidence as she entered the custom match.
Then, two minutes later, thoroughly crushed and questioning her life choices, she hit the 'surrender' button.
[QuadCoreGreatsword: No way. No freaking way. How does one bullet do that much damage? Are you cheating?]
[GamingDomainDivaSilverWolf: Tch. Get good. Just because you're bad doesn't mean I'm cheating. Don't get cocky just 'cause you beat one of my records. Time to learn who's really the boss here.]
Reading the message, Sylvia was sure this guy was holding a grudge over that one record she'd broken.
[QuadCoreGreatsword: Oh, I see how it is. I knew all that 'I don't care' talk was just tough talk. Again!]
Fortunately, from their interactions, Sylvia knew this kid was a serious Silver Wolf fanboy—even mentioning Silver Wolf would earn a rebuttal, and his username was basically a tribute to her.
"In that case, don't blame me for pulling out all the stops." Lying in bed, Sylvia cracked a mischievous grin, accepted the rematch, and prepared to turn the tables.
--+--
T/N: Silver wolf ain't actually a god at games, btw. Prolly like middle high...?
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.