Chapter 72: Effortlessly Resolved

Back at the inn, I carefully recalled what Sharuna had just said, the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. What I used to perceive as intimidating about some of the job changers now felt strangely familiar, and the way they looked at me seemed to carry a newfound sense of recognition. I hadn’t noticed this change in attitude until now, but upon reflection, I realized the issue was indeed with myself.

However, Sharuna was unwilling to teach me how to conceal or completely eliminate the natural killing intent that had become almost instinctual from the endless slaughter in the dark caves. It wasn’t something that could be hidden by simply smiling or wiggling my hips. I pondered for a long time, even digging up some ridiculous internet tips like focusing my energy in my dantian, hiding my intentions, and making my spirit intangible, but in the end, I still couldn’t figure it out.

But I wasn’t worried. Otaku have their own skills, and my method happened to be one that most otaku in the original world were good at—self-hypnosis. In the original world, many otaku formed because of the conflict between their thoughts and beliefs and social reality. Through self-hypnosis, self-satisfaction, and immersion in the ACG world they created, I had a similar tendency, so self-hypnosis wasn’t a problem for me. Hmph, who says otaku are useless? Today, I’ll show you, people of this different world, the power of an otaku’s resentment!

As for what to hypnotize myself with, well, I’ll just imagine the monsters I’ve killed as radishes and greens. A butcher who has killed pigs for decades often seems terrifying, but no one has ever heard of a chef becoming a nun because they cut too many vegetables. This analogy might sound ridiculous, but it’s that simple. Truth is often straightforward; it’s just that people tend to complicate it. Of course, I can’t rule out the possibility that my mind is simple, but who cares, as long as it works.

The next morning, I emerged from my room, looking haggard and pale, just like after staying up all night playing games.

"Good morning, sir." The waiter approached with a smile.

"Bring me some grilled meat." I smiled at the waiter, and even I could feel that my smile was no longer forced. From the waiter’s reaction, it seemed my self-hypnosis was quite thorough. Good.

After finishing my breakfast, I tidied up my messy appearance and immediately headed to the western district. My mood was like that of a child, eager to show Sharuna the results.

Sure enough, Sharuna was at the archery range, shooting arrow after arrow, fully focused on her target.

"Big Sister Sharuna." Damn, did I get so used to calling her that yesterday that I blurted it out again? I really wanted to slap myself.

My voice drew the attention of a crowd—just who dared to call this witch by her name, and even call her "sister"!?

Sharuna was taken aback, the arrow in her hand dropped, and a layer of sweat was visible on her pale neck, indicating she had been practicing for a long time.

"You…."

Sharuna looked at me, seemingly disbelieving, her small mouth wide open. Then a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes, probably because she couldn’t take advantage of me anymore. Haha…

"How about it, Big Sister Sharuna, am I impressive?" I proudly turned around in front of her.

"How did you find a solution so quickly? Did you just pretend not to know yesterday to play with me? And even if you knew, it’s impossible to hide your killing intent so quickly." Seeing my bright and cheerful demeanor, which was even more open than half a year ago, Sharuna almost thought I was an imposter if it weren’t for my unchanged appearance and voice.

"I’m a genius; nothing is impossible."

"Ah, forget it, I don’t even know how to respond to you. But, actually, it’s not a big deal. As a job changer, having a bit of a killer aura might be better; otherwise, people might think you’re a rookie. However, being able to control your aura so quickly is indeed impressive." Sharuna said half in exasperation and half in sincerity.

Being as humble as I am, I naturally had to modestly decline, to show my noble character.

"By the way, Big Sister Sharuna, to thank you for your reminder, I want to give you a gift." Finding the reason for Sara’s avoidance was all thanks to Sharuna, and I’m never stingy with those who have helped me.

"Oh?"

My words immediately caught Sharuna’s attention: "It’s not those life potions again, is it!"

She blinked her deep blue eyes, looking at me as if I were the legendary "Medicine King."

"Of course not."

I gave a mysterious smile and took out the arrows and crossbow bolts from my inventory. There were 7 cylinders in total: 5 cylinders of arrows, about 1,000 in number, and 2 cylinders of crossbow bolts, about 400 in number.

Due to the extremely low drop rate in this world, even Sharuna usually had to use ordinary arrows and bolts to fight enemies. Seeing such a large number of high-quality arrows and crossbow bolts, even she was stunned.

"What do you think, Big Sister Sharuna?"

Looking at Sharuna’s surprised expression, I felt a bit smug.

"What are these?" Sharuna suddenly asked.

"Uh…" I thought carefully; if I answered poorly, I was sure Sharuna wouldn’t accept them.

"Because, you said you’re my big sister, right? So I’m your little brother. This is a gift from a little brother to his big sister; what’s wrong with that?" I said sincerely.

"Big sister…? Little brother…?" Sharuna murmured, lost in thought, before finally smiling.

"That’s right, you’re my little brother. Okay, I’ll accept them. Hmph, consider it an honor; I, Sharuna, have never accepted anything from anyone before." Sharuna said with a serious face, as if it were truly an honor.

"Oh, really? Then I, the little brother, am truly blessed." I feigned surprise, only to be lightly tapped on the head by Sharuna.

"As my little brother, your archery skills are terrible. You must practice every day from now on. I, your big sister, will personally supervise and train you." Sharuna smiled happily, but her words made me feel a chill.

After chatting for a while, I bid farewell to Sharuna and went to the Lar family’s house again. When I entered, little Sara, who was still hiding behind Aunt Sari, didn’t wait for me to strike a sexy pose to shock her. Instead, she pounced into my arms, refusing to let go. Her clinginess was overwhelming, especially considering she now had a girl’s body but a little girl’s heart. I never thought I’d be in a situation where I was being "reverse pushed."

"Aunt Sari, you didn’t even remind me, making me think little Sara hated me."

After sitting down in the courtyard with little Sara in my arms, I looked at Aunt Sari with a hint of complaint. If she had reminded me earlier, I might have realized my issue sooner.

"Ha, is that so?" Aunt Sari looked at us meaningfully.

"At the time, I did notice something was off with you, but I believed you could overcome it. Lar was the same when he was young…" Aunt Sari got lost in her memories, undoubtedly reminiscing about "the stories of her and Lar."

"So, I deliberately didn’t say anything. Now, you and Sara are even closer, right? Sometimes, a little friction between men and women can deepen their relationship. I’ve been through it, so I know." Aunt Sari smiled at me after a while.

"It seems Aunt Sari and Uncle Lar went through a lot of 'trials' before they got together." I replied with a hint of resentment. Despite Aunt Sari’s logical explanation, it didn’t easily dispel my resentment.

Regardless, the irritations of the past few days had a satisfying resolution. Seeing little Sara’s face light up with a sunny smile and her happiness whenever she saw me, I felt content. After this incident, she seemed to have grown up a bit, at least not as clingy as before. Sigh!

I’m not lamenting anything, really…

The following days were much like the previous half-month, except that my mornings at the archery range now included Big Sister Sharuna’s guidance. Although she said she would be strict, she couldn’t be severe with me, her suddenly appeared little brother. After spending more time with her, I found her personality wasn’t as terrifying as others said. It was likely that in her youth, she faced rejection from her clan due to her appearance and personality, leading to her complex character. This was just a protective layer. Removing this facade, the real her was just a persistent and somewhat vain, but cute, big sister. For example, when killing Andariel, she never thought of asking for help. When I asked why, she tilted her head and said, "Because I’m not used to it; I don’t want to be with people I don’t like."

"Then let me help you." I immediately said.

She just looked at me, still stubborn: "No, I’ve already said I’ll do it alone. Don’t follow me, or I’ll stuff you into a stone coffin (the kind with a removable lid, you know, from the game). She glared at me, and I had no doubt she would do it if I really followed her.

She was a stubborn, hot-tempered woman, considered foolish and silly by the standards of the Dark Continent, but I liked her persistence, finding it endearingly silly.

Unconsciously, another month passed. With Sharuna’s guidance, my archery skills improved dramatically. Of course, it wasn’t as exaggerated as "activating the protagonist mode." Sharuna wasn’t a bow goddess, and I wasn’t a genius. This world didn’t have the cliché of someone becoming an expert overnight with sheer willpower.

In simple terms, my "dramatic improvement" meant that if I stood still, I could now hit small objects several hundred meters away. Hoho, if I were in the original world, I could probably win an Olympic archery gold medal. I thought it would take several months to reach this level, but it only took a little over a month. Isn’t that a dramatic improvement?

As for practicing moving targets, well, it’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but even with my newfound confidence, Sharuna’s comment, "When you can hit a hard-skinned rat 1,000 meters away, then I’ll let you practice moving targets," immediately brought me back to reality.

In terms of elemental magic, I had reduced the casting time of Firestorm to about one second, but I seemed to have hit a bottleneck and couldn’t cast it instantly. Lava Rock was stuck at about four seconds, and no amount of practice helped. After giving up on these two skills, I started practicing Arctic Blast, a spell that required 4 mana to cast and 6 mana per second to maintain. As a result, the flowers and plants behind the church were often covered in a thick layer of ice, looking quite beautiful. Hehe, Akara only told me not to destroy the church; these plants shouldn’t be a problem, right? I carefully examined the once beautiful garden, where the delicate flowers and plants were either scorched or frozen. Well, don’t blame me; Akara didn’t include them in her warning…

My most valued skill, Aerial Ambush, also saw the most improvement. Perhaps I had a natural talent for summoning, as I could now teleport three ghost wolves simultaneously with relatively precise landing points. This was already useful against larger monsters, like giant beasts. Unfortunately, for smaller bosses like Blood Raven, I needed to teleport five ghost wolves to surround her.

The only regret was that Lar and the others hadn’t returned. Aunt Sari’s smile remained, but I could sense her hidden worry and unease. Often, I saw her sitting under the tree where I first met her, holding a book and staring at the sky, lost in thought for hours. This made little Sara increasingly anxious. All I could do was spend more time with this pitiful mother and daughter, and silently pray for their return…

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