How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game - Chapter 396

Chapter 396: White Days
Every day began to feel like a dream woven in golden threads of wonder—soft, surreal, and quietly magical.

A world she once believed so cold and distant had begun to bloom with color.

The skies, always a distant gray in her memories, now beamed with warmth.

The sun painted everything in gentle gold, and even the air felt lighter, as if the universe had exhaled its tension at last.

It felt unreal… and yet, so very real.

For Alice, these days were brighter—warmer than anything she had ever known.

Her once-lonely journey, filled with thorns and uncertainty, now felt like it had reached its long-awaited destination.

The pain she had buried deep in her chest, the memories that clawed at her during sleepless nights, the silent ache of walking forward with no one truly by her side… all of it faded the moment she reached out and found his hand waiting for her.

Fingers interlocked; a silent promise exchanged.

It had been a long road.

And it had hurt, it had hurt so much.

But now—now that she was no longer alone—that pain no longer mattered.

It didn’t define her.

It didn’t hold her.

For the first time in her life, Alice had found someone she could trust—not just with her words, or her tears, but with her entire self.

Someone she didn’t have to hide from. Someone who looked at her and saw not the broken pieces, but the whole picture—the person she was, and the person she wanted to be.

She used to think it was selfish to want to forget.

To leave behind the past—the sorrow, the people, the wounds.

But the more she lived in the warmth of the present, the more she understood: clinging to pain didn’t mean strength. It only kept her tethered to a life she had already survived.

And she had survived.

So now, with her heart open and her hand held tightly in his, Alice let the past go—not because she was running from it, but because she had finally found something worth running toward.

The future.

Now that he was here, everything felt different.

The world that once seemed so daunting, uncertain, and cold now shimmered with the warmth of a new beginning.

A different future awaited her—one that no longer felt like a distant hope, but something tangible and near.

And this time, she wouldn’t walk that road alone. He was here—with her, for her.

The man who had saved her from a fate she once thought was sealed.

The man who looked at her not with pity, not with judgment, but with understanding so deep it left her breathless.

The man who, without hesitation, had risked everything—his safety, his peace, even his own future—for her sake.

The man who made her heart tremble with feelings she never knew she was capable of.

The man who showed her the true meaning of trust, not in words, but in quiet gestures, in unwavering presence, in the way he always reached for her hand even when she thought she didn’t deserve it.

The man whose heart had been with her from the very beginning—even before she realized it herself.

The man she loved, more deeply than she had ever loved anyone.

Alice slowly stirred awake, her lashes fluttering before her eyes opened, still heavy with the comfort of sleep.

A sleepy haze blurred her vision for just a second, but then she saw him—Riley—right beside her.

A soft smile crept across her face, warm and full of quiet joy.

His sleeping expression was peaceful, his arms still wrapped protectively around her, his breathing steady and calm.

Her head rose and fell gently with the rhythm of his chest, and each heartbeat she heard reminded her that this moment was real.

That he was real.

That they were here, together.

The warmth of his body pressed against hers, the safety of his embrace, the feeling of belonging—it all made her heart beat a little faster.

A little softer.

A little more… alive.

She gazed at him lovingly, brushing a strand of hair away from his face.

“To think I used to think you were weird,” she whispered with a light chuckle, her voice barely louder than a breath.

With that thought, she leaned in, her lips brushing gently against his in a soft, lingering kiss—a quiet “good morning” without words.

Then, she tucked herself closer into his arms, wrapping her own around him in return, returning the silent promise his embrace had always offered: I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.

Her heartbeat, now rhythmic and calm, danced in time with his.

In that moment, Alice didn’t think about what had been, or what might come next.

She only thought of this—of him.

And all she wanted was to stay like this for just a little while longer, lost in the warmth of the boy she loved.

…

Morning.

A couple of days had passed since I woke up from the two-week coma, and every day since then, I’d felt just a bit more like myself.

The stiffness in my limbs had lessened, the dull ache in my chest was now a faint throb, and my mana—once barely a flicker—was gradually returning to its natural rhythm.

My soul, which had taken the brunt of the blow, was slowly mending too.

Not fast, but steady.

Huff…! Huff…!

Right now, I was running. Jogging at near full speed along the white-paved roads surrounding the pristine castle walls, the morning air crisp against my sweat-slicked skin.

My breath came out in short bursts as my body pushed itself forward, muscles burning just enough to remind me I was still alive.

I’d been running for almost two hours, my feet pounding the ground with consistent rhythm.

The scenery around me blurred—endless white stone roads winding between perfectly trimmed hedges and shimmering marble pillars—but I paid it no mind.

I’d woken up earlier than usual today, surprisingly Alice already left my side by then.

Usually she wakes later than me but, I guess she can’t really ignore everything that’s going on in the white realm now…

There was no particular reason—I just couldn’t sleep properly.

Maybe it was instinct, maybe habit.

Either way, I decided it was time to return to the routines that kept me grounded back at the academy.

Even if I didn’t have access to my usual gym equipment, simple cardio like this was more than enough to get the blood flowing.

“A few rounds of calisthenics after this should do the job,” I muttered under my breath between gasps.

That, or I could ask Cheshire or Alice to recreate some of my old workout equipment.

Knowing them, they’d probably manage it in a heartbeat—especially Cheshire, if I bribed him with sweets.

“A bit of small compliments would probably do the trick”

Finishing my jog, I slowed to a halt and let my breathing steady.

My clothes clung to me with sweat, my skin flushed and warm from exertion.

Still, I wasn’t done yet.

The second part of my morning routine awaited.

With a simple motion, I summoned Valeria.

The blade materialized in my hand with a shimmer of light, its familiar weight resting against my palm like it belonged there—which it did.

I moved into position and began to swing.

Simple, clean sword strikes. No flourish, no techniques. Just the basics—cut, step, pivot, repeat.

My body followed the familiar rhythm automatically, years of training guiding each movement.

To most people, it might seem pointless.

I had more than enough skills at my disposal now—magic-infused swordsmanship, divine enhancements, cursed arts that turned even a flick of the wrist into a weapon.

In terms of raw growth, these basic drills did nothing.

But that wasn’t the point.

This wasn’t for progress.

This was for peace.

Each swing cut through not just the air, but the noise inside my head.

The tension, the uncertainty, the lingering weight from the coma, from the fight before that, from the quiet fear I hadn’t quite shaken off yet—it all quieted as the blade moved.

Breathe. Swing. Step. Focus.

It was kind of funny.

With everything I’d learned—everything I’d gained—returning to the fundamentals still gave me more clarity than anything else.

So, I kept swinging.

As my mind gradually settled into stillness, the haze of exertion giving way to clarity, my thoughts began drifting—pulling me back to everything that had happened so far.

The White Queen… she was really gone now…

A presence once so powerful and overwhelming, now reduced to memory.

I had managed to do it—somehow, against all odds.

I had saved Senior Alice from the cruel fate that had once bound her.

And now, the white realm—once so cold and monochromatic, like a lifeless painting locked in time—was beginning to shift.

Slowly, but surely, color was blooming back into its bones. Like spring returning to a land forgotten by the sun.

And in that change… I could feel it.

I had done the impossible.

I had defied fate.

Not just resisted it, but overwritten it with my own will.

And most precious of all… Alice and I—

We had crossed a boundary that could never be undone.

The bond between us had deepened, strengthened—gone beyond words, beyond mere emotion.

We had expressed it with everything we were—openly, fearlessly.

My face flushed just thinking about it.

That day.

That moment.

And every day that followed.

No—almost every hour since then.

Every minute, Every Second.

Every time she smiled at me, every time she whispered my name in that quiet, teasing tone, every time we reached for each other without needing to speak.

All of it still felt like a dream I hadn’t quite woken up from.

I still couldn’t put into words just how happy I was.

To be seen by her.

To be loved by her.

To be understood in ways I never thought possible.

Alice and I… we weren’t just lovers now.

We were more.

We were intertwined—in body, in mind, in essence.

It wasn’t just the physical closeness.

That moment still made my heart skip a beat every time I recalled it.