I'm on the Ark, and I start out as Gretchen.

"I also think our eldest sister is very strong!"

Patriot's words reminded many Yetis of some details from lunchtime.

Some people discussed the matter objectively, while others, who are usually more outspoken, began to "stand up for Frostnova."

"Anyway, you guys should keep an eye on things. If anything seems amiss, remember to let me know. I'll go talk to Talu and the others later."

Looking at the children before him, a hint of helplessness flashed in the Patriot's bloodshot eyes, and then he reminded them again in his hoarse voice.

"Okay, we'll remember that, Uncle."

"We will let you know as soon as possible if we have any questions."

Yelena, who had been mostly silent, nodded slightly upon hearing this.

P.S.: I'd better get some writing done early tomorrow, I'm about to collapse from exhaustion. I'm taking my medicine and going to sleep now. Goodnight everyone.

Chapter 15 Are you out of your mind?!

Although the afternoon sun was bright, it did nothing to warm the cold snowfield. A cold wind blew up the snowflakes on the ground, and through the open curtains... it seeped into the tent.

"..."

Enjoying the chill brought by the cold wind, Greta raised her hand and dipped her brush into the colors on the palette, adding a touch of warmth to the somber painting in front of her.

With her final stroke, the painting, rendered in Talulah's colors, was officially completed.

Then Gretchen also came out of her painting state and began to examine the painting in front of her.

In the image, a young red dragon is entangled by an illusory black snake and falls to the ground in the snow. The young dragon's eyes reveal numbness, despair, and an unconcealable hatred.

The pristine snow beside the young dragon was stained crimson in large patches, and at the same time, an orange armband of the Reunion Movement, stained with blood, drifted down from the sky...

All of this was observed and savored by the black snake's delighted vertical pupils.

"..."

For some reason, Gretchen felt that her painting this time might not be so ordinary... but it hadn't reached the point where something strange had been manifested.

This made her hesitate, wondering whether she should give the painting to Talulah...

After hesitating for a while, Gretchen decided to give it to him anyway, since with her there to keep an eye on things, there shouldn't be any major problems.

With that in mind, she picked up the canvas and temporarily covered up the painting.

Then, as if remembering something, Gretchen summoned the system panel and began to carefully examine it.

Although the system's interface looks very similar to the game, it doesn't have as many armors as the game does.

Except for a few special characters, all other characters only need to be unlocked once, and they will be at the peak of their strength when they are unlocked.

Then, through more than a day of exploration, Gretchen discovered that the character she transformed into had no limitations in the use of power, and that her strength could continue to grow.

After all, she even managed to create a tyrannical uncle this morning that didn't appear at all in the game's storyline...

However... for now, Gretchen can only look on with envy at the characters, since she doesn't know how to unlock any of the other characters besides Ying Jieying.

Moreover, if she had unlocked a Valkyrie related to the spiritual realm, she wouldn't need to be so cautious; she could just cut off the Black Serpent first.

Thinking this, Gretchen's gaze swept helplessly over Aponia, then slowly continued to flip through the pages... but when the next character's face came into her big eyes...

The sound effects automatically started playing in the little girl's mind...

[Huh? Hey! You! What! Me! Heh! Hmph!]

Are you out of your mind?! No, are you two out of your minds?!

"too horrible……"

In an instant, Gretchen recalled the fear she felt before she transmigrated, when she was dominated by the great Herrscher of Knowledge.

……

After a while, once the sound effects in her mind finally faded, Gretchen looked at the interface of the Herrscher of Knowledge again, and then subconsciously began to think about who on this continent had a good compatibility with the Knowledge Treasure.

Then, in the next instant, the face of a Sarkaz girl from the Americas appeared in the little girl's mind.

"..."

At this point, Gretchen fell completely silent.

However, she had to admit that W was indeed the closest person to her right now, and that he and Xiao Shi seemed to have some compatibility.

However, just thinking about Gretchen's petite body makes me shudder. What kind of hellish difficulty is this... I'm sure I'll get yelled at to death.

It's important to understand that W isn't like Shi Bao, who could search through all of Fu Hua's memories and find very few swear words. W's stored vocabulary is definitely extensive...

But, the treasure-hunting creature is really powerful, and it can even take down the black snake... Ugh!

"I am back!"

And just then

Just as Gretchen was agonizing over her decision, her CPU was about to overheat, when Alina, who had been away on business, returned.

"What's wrong? Why does little Greta look so troubled?"

Alina, who had just entered the tent, looked at Gretchen, whose big eyes were filled with confusion, and asked in bewilderment.

"N-nothing... I was just thinking about something. And... the painting is finished." Looking at the puzzled person in front of her, Gretchen first gently shook her head, then changed the subject.

She absolutely did not want Alina to know that she had been struggling with whether or not to approach W... It was something that was impossible to explain in words.

"She's very fast; Little Grey is really amazing."

Although she knew the little guy was trying to change the subject, Alina played along perfectly. She gently patted Gretsch's head and showered him with praise.

In Xiaolu's view, it's perfectly normal for children to have secrets they don't want to tell others. So, even if Gretsch doesn't tell her, she won't pry.

"However... it would be best to show it to Tarua when she's free in the evening, because I don't know what might happen... Alina shouldn't look at this painting this time."

As she spoke, Gretchen tugged at the canvas again, covering the painting even more completely.

"Okay, I understand."

Upon hearing this, Alina nodded first, then said in a gentle tone, "Alright, little Gretchen has been in the tent all afternoon. Let's go out for a walk now. I see you really like Yelena, and she's back from outside now."

"Ah."

After agreeing, Gretchen packed up the painting she had just finished and all her painting tools, and then followed Alina outside.

Greta felt she really needed to go out and relax; otherwise, staying cooped up in one place for too long would easily lead to overthinking…

I really should spend more time with Yelena, build a good relationship with her, and then protect her! And maybe unlock another character while I'm at it.

To be honest, Gretchen hadn't even considered how to use Sakura's identity yet...

However, having an additional identity is like having an extra trump card, especially since Ying Jieying's strength is not weak either.

……

The sky over the snowfield quickly darkened, and soon it was dinnertime. Everyone gathered around the campfire again.

Tonight, Gretchen, Yelena, and the Yetis sat around a campfire, while Patriot sat with Talulah and the others because he had something to discuss.

Dinner wasn't very good tonight, but as before, Gretchen didn't care.

But there were other things that bothered her...

P.S.: Oh no, another all-nighter. I actually started writing this afternoon, but after writing two thousand words, I wasn't satisfied and deleted it all. And this one, I think, is a bit of a style shift; what do you guys think?

Chapter 16 This is because Kosmo said he preferred it this way.

"...?"

What concerned Gretchen most tonight was that, although Yelena's way of treating her and her gaze remained unchanged, the Yetis sometimes looked at her very strangely.

As for why it's described as strange...

Because Gretsch always felt that the Yetis were curious about something... not all of them, but most of them looked at her with a hint of curiosity.

However, she is not the kind of person who keeps her problems to herself.

After dinner, Gretchen gently tugged at Yelena's sleeve, then looked at her with her big eyes and asked, "Sister Yelena, is there anything you want to ask me?"

"...Gresch, why would you ask that?"

Yelena was slightly taken aback when she heard Gretsch's question, clearly not quite understanding yet.

“Hmm… the Yetis looked at me very curiously tonight, as if they had something to ask me.” As she spoke, Gretchen looked up at the Yetis sitting by the campfire.

Because Yelena wasn't the one being observed, and the Yetis were all dressed quite warmly, she only now noticed the curiosity in her teammates' eyes when they looked at Gretchen.

For a moment, meeting Gretchen's innocent and questioning gaze, Yelena, the leader of the Yetis, couldn't help but twitch at the corner of her mouth...

"Ahem... It's nothing, you don't need to worry about them. They're just bored and haven't been training much..."

"Yes, eldest sister is right, we're just a little too idle."

"That's right, we're just too bored, and little Greta, you're just too cute, we can't help but want to look at you a little longer."

"So that's it..."

With that, Gretchen nodded her little head gently, indicating that she understood. Then she carefully snuggled into Yelena's arms, silently snuggling up to her.

Although she was still a little curious about what the Yetis were curious about, Gretsch didn't intend to pester them to ask since Yelena didn't want to say.

"Hmm... I've always had a question."

Seeing the little girl nestled in Yelena's arms, acting all cute, Lois finally managed to squeeze out a question.

Upon hearing this, the yetis, who had just barely relaxed, instantly became anxious again, fearing that Lois would reveal the reason for their curiosity.

"Hmm? What's the problem..."

Gretchen, who thought she wouldn't learn anything more from the yetis tonight, slowly emerged from...

Yelena lifted her head from her arms, blinked her large violet eyes, and asked curiously.

"So, even though you're not afraid of the cold, little Gretchen, why do you always go barefoot? Aren't you afraid it will hurt your feet?"

As she spoke, Lois glanced at Gretchen's bare, snow-white feet, which were clearly visible on the ground.

"...You mean this? Because Kosmo said he prefers it this way."

Greta hadn't expected Lois to ask this question, but she answered truthfully nonetheless.

"Wait, who is Kosmo? He's the one who told you not to wear shoes?"