The blood-stained brambles swiftly withdrew into the ground. A few strands brushed lightly over Bai Six’s bare, wet insteps, so gently it felt less like thorns and more like a soothing caress.
At last, the brambles returned to the cross, winding themselves even tighter around the deity suspended upon it. Before, his entire face had been visible. Now only half remained exposed.
From beneath the mass of thorns, the deity slowly opened his eyes and looked quietly at Bai Six before blinking with visible exhaustion.
Bai Six lowered his gaze to the brambles gliding softly over his feet.
Several vines curled around his ankle in an almost spoiled, intimate gesture. The sensation tickled faintly.
Bai Six unconsciously curled his toes. His gaze shifted strangely from his own feet to the face half-hidden beneath the brambles. He studied the deity, who looked as though he might drift back into slumber at any moment.
...So this was the “God-level NPC” Bai Liu had mentioned. The one who had kissed him twice.
But this NPC looked no older than sixteen or seventeen...
Did his future self really get involved with someone that much younger?
The deity’s limbs were bound tightly to the cross by the dense tangle of brambles. Every movement looked painfully slow, as though stepping down would mean being forcibly torn free from the thorns themselves.
Bai Six instinctively stepped back.
Even though Bai Liu had described this God-level NPC as relatively harmless toward him—and supposedly trustworthy and powerful—the system notifications were enough to keep Bai Six wary.
Privacy Settings
[System Warning: Player Bai Liu’s sub-identity route has triggered a God-level NPC!]
[Updating “Love Welfare Home Monster Book” — Bramble Deity]
[Monster Name: Bramble Deity (God-level NPC)]
[Characteristics: Punishes anyone who smothers children in its presence]
[Weakness: None currently discovered (Players are not required to explore this monster’s weakness)]
[Attack Methods: Tail strike, face biting (2/???)]
(Note: Since the upper limit of attack methods cannot be determined, discovering one attack method counts as successful collection.)
The youthful face hidden among the pitch-black, bloodstained brambles looked strangely innocent.
The deity seemed completely indifferent to the thorns digging into his body. Instead, he kept inching closer to Bai Six with pure, undisguised curiosity, tilting his head as he examined him.
“Bai Liu,” he said softly, “you’ve turned into... a human cub.”
He lifted a hand as though intending to touch Bai Six’s face out of curiosity, but Bai Six dodged immediately.
The deity paused, then seemed to realize something.
“Right... your health points are only 0.5 now. You can’t withstand my touch anymore.”
“But even if your health points are only 0.5...” His fingers twitched slightly as he stared intently at Bai Six, his expression blatantly telegraphing the words I want to pinch your face.
“When you were little, your face was much softer than when you grew up. So can I...”
Bai Six knew he still had a bit of baby fat on his cheeks. His body was actually quite lean, but his face stubbornly retained some softness.
Still, hearing it phrased like that by this guy somehow made the entire topic feel bizarre.
—This God-level NPC had an extremely strange way of speaking.
Bai Six rejected him flatly.
“...No pinching.”
Privacy Settings
The deity lowered his eyes in obvious disappointment.
“...But before, you let me bite your face. Now I can’t even pinch it?”
Bai Six: “...”
For some reason, he suddenly felt like he was bullying the other party.
According to the system warnings, this thing was supposed to be a monster with absurd attack power.
So why did it act like this?
What exactly had Bai Liu done to this God-level NPC?
Bai Six couldn’t stop that subtle expression from appearing on his face again.
His actual health value was still 50, but he kept his mouth shut about it while continuing to observe the God-level NPC carefully.
He still wasn’t sure how dangerous this suddenly appearing deity really was.
But Bai Liu had told him to try collecting every Monster Book entry...
Bai Six hesitated for a long moment before finally turning his face slightly to the side, presenting the cheek that still carried traces of soft baby fat.
His tone came out awkwardly stiff.
“...If you really want to pinch it, go ahead. It counts as an attack method, doesn’t it? Just don’t hurt me too much. I need you to attack me.”
Tawil slowly lifted his eyes.
They brightened faintly.
He stared at Bai Six’s profile for a long time, as though seriously considering where to begin. That intense concentration made Bai Six’s entire body gradually tense.
Finally, Tawil extended one finger wrapped in black brambles and lightly—very lightly—pressed it against Bai Six’s cheek.
The thorns brushed against his skin with unbelievable gentleness, leaving behind only the icy touch of Tawil’s fingertip.
The contact was so soft it was difficult to believe it came from a hand covered in sharp brambles.
There was no pain at all.
[System Warning: Player Bai Liu’s sub-identity route has been attacked by the God-level NPC’s Bramble Entanglement. Health points decreasing...]
[Due to negligible damage, recalculating...]
[Calculation complete. Health points reduced by 0.3.]
Privacy Settings
[Unlocked new attack method: Tail strike, face biting, face poking (3/???)]
(Note: Since the upper limit of attack methods cannot be determined, discovering one attack method counts as successful collection.)
[Congratulations to Player Bai Liu for completing the Bramble Deity entry in the Monster Book.]
“It’s warm,” Tawil said quietly.
“Bai Liu... when you were little, were you this warm too? Even warmer than your lips... and your face from before.”
Bai Six’s eyelashes trembled faintly.
Almost unconsciously, he raised a hand to touch the place Tawil had poked.
“I’m not warm,” Bai Six replied softly.
He had only just climbed out of the baptismal pool.
Looking down at Tawil’s unnaturally cold fingers, Bai Six added, “You’re just too cold.”
“My body temperature has always been like this.” Tawil lifted his gaze toward him. “But you were the first person who came close enough for me to realize I’m cold.”
A faint smile appeared on his face—tired, but quietly satisfied.
His eyelids slowly drooped again as he murmured:
“I broke the system’s restrictions and woke up to kill an NPC... so I’ll be forced back into deep sleep.”
“But I felt you calling me.”
“So I woke up to see you.”
Tawil slowly curled his fingers shut, as though trying to preserve the warmth lingering there.
“Bai Liu... every time I wake up and see you, I’m happy.”
“See you next time.”
“I really like your body temperature.”
“So next time... give me a little more.”
Let a monster without warmth hold onto the small amount you give him each time he wakes, so the endless cold of deep sleep might become a little less unbearable.
The brambles coiled tighter and tighter until Tawil’s face vanished completely beneath them.
The grotesque vines bound him back against the cross once more.
The thorns tightened as though punishing him.
Then he fell silent again, returning to deep sleep.
Privacy Settings
The youthful deity slept amid the bloodstained brambles with his head tilted slightly to one side, still clutching the finger that had retained Bai Six’s warmth.
He did not breathe.
Yet he slept deeply.
Exhausted.
As though merely attacking someone had already consumed tremendous effort.
And judging by the precision with which he controlled his strength so carefully—
it clearly wasn’t the first time he had done this.
Had Bai Liu always forced him to “attack” him like this for Monster Book entries?
Thinking back to Bai Liu’s casual, almost flippant attitude whenever he spoke about Tawil—just fooling around, just a game, just an NPC—Bai Six looked silently at the God-level NPC who had been satisfied by nothing more than poking someone’s cheek before obediently returning to the cross.
This NPC looked barely sixteen or seventeen years old.
There was a huge age gap between him and Bai Liu.
Yet he had been completely led around by that calculating scumbag—working for him willingly, appearing every time just to help him complete Monster Book entries, letting himself be taken «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» advantage of through kisses and touches...
And now he was even looking forward to the next meeting.
As someone who had also realized he himself was an NPC, Bai Six’s feelings became extremely complicated.
The way he looked at Tawil now carried an unmistakable trace of pity.
—This really did feel like watching a sophisticated scumbag seduce an underage boy into a relationship.
“...Wow,” Bai Six said expressionlessly.
“I’m actually kind of a terrible person.”
