Chapter 211: Heavenly Abode Visitation
Chapter 211: Heavenly Abode Visitation
"Oh? It was a success? That's pretty neat."
A feminine voice rang from beside Calvin.
His eyes immediately shot open the moment the voice fell into his ears.
'Who was the owner of that unfamiliar voice?' He thought in his head as he raised his upper body and discovered...
...A woman who looked to be the same age as him, but with a lazy look on her face.
The woman's expression might look placid, but the aura she was emanating was out of this world.
The majesty that she possessed couldn't be compared to the raging tempest of wind. Instead, it was similar to the boundless oceancalm, reserved, yet at any momentit could unleash strength that no mortal could hope to contend.
Yes, this woman was...
The Goddess of Compassion and Light, Grace.
"What the fuck?" Calvin couldn't help but curse out of confusion. The world around him was filled with darkness as if the light had been consumed by this woman standing in front of him.
"Wake up, Calvin."
"We have to talk."
Grace lifted a smile on his lips. A smile so dazzling that it took Calvin's breathe away temporarily.
"You brought me into your Heavenly Abode?"
"For what reason?" Calvin still felt his body ache after that vigorous activity in the middle of the night. Charlotte seemed to have transformed into something else as she devoured him completely. His legs were still wobbly and after about three hours of "exercise", Calvin was happy that he was finally free and could finally sleep.
However, he hadn't expected that just as he had fallen asleep.
Grace would drag his consciousness into her Heavenly Abode.
"Hey, you're the first mortal being that I have ever personally dragged into my Heavenly Abode. Why do you sound so ungrateful?"
Grace stared at Calvin with a frown.
But Calvin merely shrugged, seemingly not having any intention to explain himself.
"Please hurry up, I have something to do by daybreak. I still need to visit the Captain and the others in prison before the Coffee Shop opens for business." Calvin stood up and rubbed his glabella. He still felt dizzy and weak. Charlotte had crawled up to her after she brought Cecilia to sleep in the other room.
He had expected that Charlotte wouldn't last that long, but he clearly underestimated the stamina of a frustrated woman.
"Don't worry, this won't take long. Moreover, I can always manipulate the concept of time in my Heavenly Abode. I can let you stay here for even a thousand years and only an hour would pass in the outside world." Grace proudly explained.
Calvin's pupils constricted, "What the fuck?!"
He found himself out of breath, "Are you serious?!"
"Yup, why would I lie to you?" Grace stuck her chest out and looked incredibly proud.
"Then, can I stay here for a long time? I could use that time manipulation of yours to train here for a thousand years. I mean, come on. Just imagine the possibilities!" Calvin proposed.
Grace stared at him and smiled, "The topic of our talk right now involves that. That's why I want you to stand up and follow me."
"All right!" Calvin was now as energetic as an ox. The smile on his face deepened as he followed Grace into a room inside a white cube.
"What kind of a place is this?"
"This?" Grace stared at Calvin. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and declared, "This is a God's Sandbox."
"A Sandbox? Does that mean that when you're in here, you can practically do anything?" Calvin stared at Grace in shock, "As expected of one of the Seven Gods and Goddesses, you really are as OP as I thought."
"Hahaha, it would be strange if I wasn't overpowered. I might be like this, but I'm still a goddess, you see?" Grace lightly chuckled.
She waved her hand in front of her and the world inside the cube drastically changed.
An 80-inch flat-screen television appeared as well as the latest Playstation X.
A couch also materialized out of nowhere and Grace sat on it with this lazy look on her face.
Calvin stared at her speechlessly, "For a Goddess, you sure do look lazy... What will your followers think if they knew that their Goddess of Compassion and Light is nothing more than a game addict, and a lazy person that makes other people do their bidding?"
Grace stared right at Calvin for quite a long time.
Just as Calvin thought that Grace would become angry at him... the latter suddenly asked.
"If you are in my positionare you going to be proactive in the world down there and dabble in the complicated politics of the Seven Gods and Goddesses?"
"Nope..." Calvin immediately shook his head, "That sounds troublesome."
"Exactly." Grace beamed with a smile, "A fellow addict sure does understand a fellow addict, eh? Do you want to take a seat down here beside me and play a game or two? Don't worry about the passage of time, I may not be able to reverse it, but I sure can slow it down for you."
"Don't mind If I do..." Calvin was still a gamer at heart.
Even though he had a lot of questions that he wanted to be answered, it didn't mean that he was able to ignore the itching of his hands whenever he was offered to play a game. Taking a seat beside Grace, both people played furiously in the world of Grand Turismo. Grand Turismo was a racing game and Grace had just chosen the Duel Mode.
"Oh? You chose Duel Mode instead of the Arcade Mode?" Calvin furrowed his eyebrows.
"Why? Are you scared of me?" Grace provoked.
"Scared? That doesn't exist in my dictionary, young miss." Calvin sneered, "I'm just not going to bother playing without any stakes."
"Stakes? Is there even anything that you can offer me that I'll find it hard to refuse?" Grace mocked, "Let me give you a word of advice. I have been playing Grand Turismo for more than a decade now. I know every nook and cranny of all the tracks and the advantages and disadvantages of any car. Considering all of these, do you still want to fight me?"
"Hey, aren't you the one who opened up the Duel Mode? Why are you asking me that question?" Calvin stared at Grace in bewilderment. "
"Hahaha, I was just trying to confirm if you're going to chicken out or not." Grace lightly chuckled. Her phoenix-shaped eyebrows, paired with her white sleeveless dress and dark purple skirt sure did make her look attractive. Furthermore, her dark amethyst eyes that stared deep in Calvin's eyes seemed to carry a tinge of mocking in them.
"Say no more. I hope you don't regret your decision." Calvin's gamer heart rekindled in fury, "What are the winning conditions and the rewards as well as the limitations and restrictions?"
"No holds barred, do whatever you want to him. As for the winning conditions, the first one to finish the entire track and lap will win. If you're asking me about the rewards, let's just say that I haven't thought of anything yet." Grace stuck her pink tongue out and teased.
Her words basically meant that she didn't believe that Calvin would win against her in a game that she had continuously played for and mastered for a decade.
"What a cheeky girl." Calvin discovered that the Goddess of Compassion and Light didn't look to be as solemn and as divine as he had previously expected.
In fact, Grace seemed to be similar to a teenage girl that wanted to explore the world and the excitement that it could produce and contained.
Stretching his hand out, Calvin pinched her cheeks in a daze.
"What are you doing?" Grace turned to look at her with a gaze so coldit might as well freeze the world.
Calvin was quick to retract his hand and hurriedly waved his hand, "N-N-Nothing..."
"Hmmph." Grace coldly snorted. She turned her head away from him and mumbled amidst her chaotic heartbeats, "Let's start!"
"WELCOME TO GRAND TURISMO!"
These bold and striking words flashed on the screen.
At the very next moment, it disappeared and was replaced with the car selection screen.
"Wait up!" Grace suddenly interrupted, "Let me choose a car first!"
"What? Can't we just choose at the same time? It's not like we can't do that." Calvin looked at her in doubt.
"No! Let me choose one first!" Grace puffed her cheeks and cried out.
"All right, all right, whatever makes you happy." Calvin waved his hand and he placed his controller on a table in front of him.
Grace's expression underwent a subtle change.
The light in her eyes radiated mirth, yet there seemed to be a hint of schadenfreude in them.
Grace chose a Ferrari Tributo, while Calvin chose a Ford Mustang.
"Why choose such a generic car?" Grace sneered at Calvin.
"The looks don't matter, the stats does." Calvin retorted, "Your Ferrari might look imposing, but its maneuverability stat can't even compare to mine. What? For someone like you who played this game for a decade, do you still think that speed is everything?"
"Of course, not." Grace coldly chuckled, "Enough with the banter. Let's choose a map. You go and choose for us."
"Why me? Shouldn't the host choose the map?"
"That's because I don't want you to complain later that you lost because the map is bad!"
"You sure are hell-bent and meticulous on making me humiliate myself, eh?"
"I'm a competitive gamer, Calvin. I'd like to knowonce and for allwho's the better gamer between both of us?" Grace declared.
"Sure, sure, whatever makes you happy. But you better not renege on rewarding me if I managed to defeat you in this game." Calvin sneered, "I hope that Grace here remembers her dignity and face when she loses later!"
"Hahaha, what a funny joke." Grace lightly chuckled, "Start the game now!"
"All right." Calvin quickly chose a random map.
The loading screen came in and the map that Calvin happened to choose was the London Bridge.
The London Bridge map was four kilometers long and it had the shape of an oblong.
It had two U-Turn turns that one needed to take in order to reach the finish line.
At one glance, the map didn't actually look complicated.
But since there were A.I drivers and cars on the same road as them, this map would test the player's car maneuverability skills, as well as their ability to be decisive at any moment.
"3"
"2"
"1"
"Start!"