In truth, most of the Clock Credits were collected by Stelle while acting alone or with Firefly.
While Pei Guang and Firefly were playing around the secret base, Stelle was smacking person after person unconscious with a bat, grinding until she had a terrifying amount that made even Clockie Boy's gears tremble.
Seeing Clockie Boy shocked, Pei Guang looked serious.
"Clockie Boy! Don't tell me we gathered so many that you can't afford the reward?"
"How could that be?"
Clockie Boy put hands on hips proudly. "With this much, I can teach you Clockwork Tricks! With these tricks, you can more easily help the people of Dreamville find their lost abilities!"
Pei Guang: "New ability huh, sounds pretty good."
Clockie Boy: "Of course! Now, close your eyes!"
Pei Guang and Stelle both closed their eyes. Firefly and Acheron silently watched them.
Once Pei Guang closed his eyes, a system notification appeared.
[Congratulations, player has learned the skill: Clockwork Trick]
[Clockwork Trick: In dreams, you can use emotion embodiments to freely adjust others' emotions.]
While Pei Guang was studying the skill and ready to ask Clockie Boy how to use it, a familiar voice appeared beside him.
"Huh? You're here~ Why are your eyes closed?"
Pei Guang opened his eyes.
The moment he did, he saw March 7th's bright happy eyes.
Pei Guang: "With eyes closed you can only see… what you can see~ You got here pretty fast?"
March 7th: "Of course! Once we got your message, we rushed right over. But… Miss Robin…"
When she mentioned Robin, her tone dropped. After Black Swan reunited with Himeko and March 7th, she told them what happened.
March never expected the kind girl who helped them check in would die in the dream.
Hearing her sad tone, Pei Guang patted her head.
"Mini-map! Mini-map!"
"Mini-map? What about it?"
"Pull left!"
March 7th followed Pei Guang's words.
Her eyes widened. She glanced at the map: seeing the big 'Alive' next to Robin's name, she then stared at Pei Guang.
March 7th: "Really?"
Pei Guang nodded. "Really. Pretty interesting, right?"
March 7th: "Whew! So interesting!"
Pei Guang: "I reminded you because you looked upset. Even if Miss Robin 'died,' we still have a lot we can do."
Seeing Robin marked alive made March 7th brighten up. But in the next second, she suddenly remembered something.
She leaned close to Pei Guang, whispering:
"Ah Guang! Explain. That girl—what's with her? How long has it been? A day? Not even a day? And you already charmed such a cute girl? Unforgivable! I should've stuck to you and watched you closely!!!"
The moment she was happy, she remembered Firefly.
From Black Swan she learned that Pei Guang and Firefly were attacked by Something Unto Death like Robin and survived.
She was happy for them—but when she saw Firefly, a huge sense of crisis hit.
She had read many romance novels out of boredom, and there was a common trope: "Childhood friend always loses to the one who appears out of nowhere."
Based on who met Pei Guang first, she was definitely the childhood-friend heroine candidate.
She thought she was secure, but she never expected Pei Guang to bring back Firefly, who matched her in both figure and looks!
If she was the childhood friend, then this Firefly girl was the definition of the "falls-from-the-sky heroine."
This sudden arrival made March 7th's guard shoot to maximum alert.
One day! It had only been one day! And in one day he already sweet-talked such a cute girl into following him: who knew what would happen if another day passed?
At this rate, maybe by tomorrow they'd already have a kid running around calling him dad~
(T-T)
Pei Guang: "Firefly? We met by coincidence, then adventured and played together. I estimate… her affection should be pretty high by now?"
March 7th: "My goodness, how many is that already? Miss Asta, Miss Fu Xuan, and that little Bailu, plus this Firefly girl… why do I feel like my future just turned very bleak…"
Pei Guang patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll win."
March 7th: "Win? Win how? You didn't see the way she looks at you! Her gaze was practically oozing string."
Pei Guang: "No big deal, it's just affection points. Hers definitely isn't higher than yours. And even if she maxed it out, so what? If I don't hand out a ring is she gonna reverse-propose me? It's not like I'm playing an adult dating sim: she can't force-marry me, right?"
Looking at Pei Guang's mysterious confidence, March felt a mix of relief and danger.
Pei Guang: "It's fine. When this map ends, I'll tally up affection values. Firefly definitely doesn't beat you."
Pei Guang thought back: Firefly had only gotten one proper affection boost. March had been gaining affection constantly from start to finish.
Of course, Pei Guang clearly forgot a certain game mechanic: it's not exactly impossible for some characters, once a special event triggers, to instantly max affection…
While Pei Guang was analyzing this, Himeko waved from afar. "Ah Guang, come here for a moment. We want your thoughts on something."
"Coming, coming!" Pei Guang stood and ran over to Himeko and Welt.
While March 7th was judging Firefly, Firefly was staring right back.
She had seen March 7th's gaze toward Pei Guang: her jealousy could practically be seen with the naked eye even from far away.
Seeing Pei Guang walk away, Stelle leaned in. "I have an idea. Since this is a dream anyway, how about you and Firefly fight it out? Winner takes all, loser gets nothing."
"Hm?"
March turned toward Stelle.
She felt both happy and irritated about Firefly's appearance. Happy that Pei Guang saved such a cute girl, irritated that he raised her affection so high while doing it.
But she didn't really have anyone to be mad at. After hearing Firefly's story, and seeing how cute she was, she couldn't bear the thought of her getting hurt.
She genuinely admired Pei Guang for saving her—of course, she'd be even happier if he saved people without raising their affection.
March 7th truly hated iron for not becoming steel.
Sure, save her, but why grind affection points too? The pressure on her was enormous!