Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 63: Chapter 62: The Stubborn Rookie

The first snowfall of winter wasn’t too heavy, cloaking the entire forest in a silver-white that looked exceptionally beautiful under the sunlight. Fang Zheng leaned against the carriage door, yawning as he gazed at the scenery outside, accompanied by the incessant rocking of the carriage.

Although Clark prepared the best carriage in Sweetwater Town for Fang Zheng, it was still a small place after all, and this carriage was said to be handed down generation after generation by the town mayor. Not to mention anything else, at least a sense of history surged forth. And the current carriage, swaying left and right, could indeed be seen as… well, it was quite an achievement not to have fallen apart.

With this in mind, Fang Zheng glanced over at the young girl sitting beside him. She appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen, with curly golden hair that matched her fair skin, making her look quite like an adorable doll. At the moment, the girl clasped her hands tightly to her chest, devoutly offering her morning prayer. She said it was to bless those who had died in battle, hoping their souls could find eternal peace.

After a moment, the girl sighed deeply and then opened her eyes, looking apologetically at Fang Zheng.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Fang Zheng… Did I disturb you?”

“Not at all, Lady Fina.”

Upon hearing the girl’s inquiry, Fang Zheng shook his head with a smile. He had already introduced himself to her the day before; the girl’s name was Fina Carlsti Nateli, an Apprentice Priest roaming from place to place. What was referred to as roaming was actually what Fang Zheng viewed as a sort of “going to the countryside,” but Clerics had much better conditions than Apprentice Knights, as Clerics were not a combat-focused profession. Thus, an Apprentice Priest like Fina didn’t need to follow the likes of Shi Dong around to take on Cultists or the Undead like Fang Zheng did. Instead, upon reaching a new place, they would stay in the local Sanctuary and do whatever work they could handle. Such as preparing medicines or treating some patients.

However, for this young girl, her roaming journey had been a bit too thrilling.

“You don’t seem very happy. Are you troubled by something?”

Perhaps due to boredom, Fang Zheng curiously asked. He had noticed that ever since Fina woke up, she had been rather listless, as if she was preoccupied with something on her mind.

“If you don’t mind, why not share and let me listen?”

“No, it’s not really anything important…”

In response to Fang Zheng’s question, Fina revealed a wry smile and then sighed helplessly.

“I just feel… that I’m too stupid…”

“Stupid?”

Fang Zheng honestly found this answer quite unexpected; he had thought the young Cleric was still mourning for the deceased but couldn’t understand why she’d switch the topic to this.

“Yes…”

At that point, Fina shrank into herself and bowed her head deeply.

“Was what I did yesterday stupid? If I could have been like you, Mr. Fang Zheng, then those Soldiers wouldn’t have suffered so much pain. And… in the previous battle, if I had thought things through more, I might have been able to save even more people…”

“Uh…”

At this point, Fang Zheng was slightly taken aback. Although Fina hadn’t been explicit, he could guess why she was feeling down. If he wasn’t mistaken, the young Cleric had fallen prey to a common condition among rookie priests—obsessiveness!

Probably she was the type that wouldn’t switch targets until their health bars were completely full.

“You… always do that?”

“Yes…”

Fina pressed her head even lower in response to Fang Zheng’s question, looking as though she’d bury herself in the ground if there were a hole available.

“I can’t bear to see them suffering. Every time I look into the eyes of those wounded, I can’t help but feel I need to heal them completely…”

You must be a Libra, right? That’s a clear case of obsessive-compulsive disorder there.

“There’s no need to be so downcast. Well… It’s a common mistake many rookies make, very normal.”

Fang Zheng didn’t really know what else to say, so he could only try to console her reluctantly. He didn’t notice that when he said “rookies,” Fina’s expression changed, and then she lifted her head and looked at him in surprise.

“Is that true, Mr. Fang Zheng?”

“Almost there… at least I’ve seen plenty.”

Yeah, he had indeed seen many a healer with full health OCD in games, but this was his first time encountering one in reality.

“I see…”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s response, Fina’s expression turned complex, seemingly a mix of disappointed and yet somewhat relieved, but tinged with a bit of melancholy. However, she quickly shivered violently and let out a small sneeze.

“Achoo!”

“Is it very cold?”

Observing the girl ceaselessly rubbing her pale hands together, Fang Zheng was taken aback. It must be said that although the carriage spared them the hardship of a long journey on foot, the carriage itself was terribly dilapidated, with drafts coming through gaps everywhere. Fang Zheng didn’t mind since his body, enhanced by Zerg modifications, probably wouldn’t freeze even if thrown into space. But it was clear that the girl was struggling to cope, so without a second word, he took off his own coat and draped it over her.

“This, how could I… Mr. Fang Zheng…”

Noticing Fang Zheng’s action, Fina hurriedly waved her hands, looking flustered in an attempt to refuse, but Fang Zheng clearly didn’t care about such formalities.

“It doesn’t matter, I’m not cold anyway, regardless of whether I wear it or not. On the other hand, Lady Fina, you fainted from exhaustion just yesterday, so it’s best not to overdo it now. It would be troublesome if you got sick.”

“Ooo…”

Facing Fang Zheng’s reply, Fina obviously felt a little defiant and puffed her cheeks, but she couldn’t argue. After all, the bitter cold inside the carriage was a fact, and she indeed had fainted the day before, feeling much weaker than usual now. Taking a look at Fang Zheng and ensuring that he didn’t harbor any ulterior motives like those she had encountered before, Fina bit her lip and finally reached out to take the coat he offered.

“Then, I’m sorry for the imposition, please allow me to borrow it for a while.”

As she took Fang Zheng’s coat and draped it over herself, Fina’s eyes widened in surprise.

For after putting on the coat, she soon found that her body, which had felt icy, was gradually warming up?

This wasn’t Magic Equipment, was it?

There were many pieces of Magic Equipment on this continent, and the middle class could afford to buy some. Of course, these were basic items, like Spirit Crystal Lamps and Magic Furnaces for lighting and heating. Magic Apparel, tools, equipment, and weapons, on the other hand, were exclusive to the higher classes.

The reason was simple—such items were too expensive.

To put it in perspective, in Fang Zheng’s world, an average family could basically afford to have electric lights and gas, but they couldn’t afford more expensive electronics. Even a piece of Magic Apparel with a temperature constant Array etched in, was only affordable by the Nobility—prohibitively expensive for ordinary people.

If it were a piece of Magic Apparel, Fina wouldn’t have been so surprised. The Sanctuary was full of descendants from various noble families, and she had seen plenty of such things. But the problem was, Fina didn’t sense any magical fluctuations from this simple overcoat, nor did it have the Engraving Talisman typical of Magic Apparel. It seemed to be nothing more than a standard overcoat.

Watching Fina’s surprised expression, Fang Zheng smiled slightly and leaned back in his seat.

What he was wearing now was, of course, not the outfit he’d had when he time-traveled to “Edge of Tomorrow”, as that outfit was dirty and torn. Moreover, after Fang Zheng’s body was remade, it no longer fit him due to the height difference with the original owner, so he’d simply thrown it away.

In fact, the clothing Fang Zheng was wearing now was specially tailored for him in the world of “Edge of Tomorrow”.

Even though the civilization in that world was beaten down by Aliens, their technology was still a notch higher than the one Fang Zheng lived in before his Rebirth. So, getting a custom-made outfit from head to toe in a clothing shop there was nothing out of the ordinary. These garments were made of lightweight nanomaterials, offering not only a degree of physical protection but also great flexibility as well as being waterproof, fireproof, and insulating. Of course, such a set of clothing was not cheap, and Fang Zheng had spent a fair amount of money on it.

What? You ask where Fang Zheng got the money?

Ha ha ha, of course, he didn’t rob or steal. Why would he do such things? He simply opened up the vault of Banque de Paris and took a little “reward”.

You see, in RPG games, isn’t looting chests in NPC houses part of the basic operations for a Hero?

“Creak—”

Just as Fang Zheng was looking at Fina before him, thinking of saying something more, the carriage came to a slow halt, and then a voice came from outside.

“Master, Miss Cleric, something seems off ahead.”

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