The Spoilt Beauty And Her Beasts-Chapter 436: You’d whine too if your entire life turned into a tragic soap opera written by a sadistic god!

Chapter 436: Chapter 436: You’d whine too if your entire life turned into a tragic soap opera written by a sadistic god!

Isabella squinted, narrowing her eyes at the glowing screen in front of her. She remembered vaguely telling the system she wanted to start cultivating on this mountain soon — but apparently, "soon" to Bubu meant right now. She sighed, rubbing her temples. There was no point in arguing this time; who knew how long she’d even be stuck here?

"Fine," she muttered, lifting her chin with forced determination. "Let’s hear it."

The screen flickered, brightening like it had been waiting for her command.

Physical Tempering Walk

Focus: Strength, Endurance, Stamina

TASK:

Walk ten thousand mountain steps without stopping or using magic.

The path will test the limits of your human body and open your meridians through pain.

Effects:

• +15 Strength

• +25 Stamina

• Unlocks "Endurance Training" passive — recovers stamina faster during travel or battle

Flavor Text:

Every step will ache, every breath will burn, but your body will learn to remember the pain as growth.

Isabella blinked once—eyes wide, mouth slightly open—then blinked again.

Isabella stood there, squinting at the glowing blue screen floating in front of her. The mountain breeze carried the faint smell of mist and crushed leaves, rustling her loose hair as she read through the words again.

Physical Tempering Walk.

She blinked.

Then blinked again.

Her mouth fell open.

"Walk... ten thousand mountain steps?" she muttered, voice cracking. "Without stopping or using magic? Are you insane?"

The text hovered serenely, pulsing in calm blue light, as if mocking her panic. Then came the fine print:

Every step will ache, every breath will burn, but your body will remember the pain as growth.

Isabella stared at it like it had personally insulted her ancestors. "Who even writes this kind of torture poetry?"

Bubu’s screen slid smoothly beside her, voice sweetly neutral. "Your cultivation manual, Host. You said you wanted to start cultivating soon."

"Yes, but I didn’t say I wanted to die doing it!" Isabella’s voice rose an octave as she gestured wildly at the glowing screen. "Do you see that? Ten thousand steps! My legs will file for divorce halfway!"

Bubu hummed like a smug lullaby. "Pain builds character."

"Pain builds trauma!" Isabella snapped. "What is wrong with you?"

"The list would be too long to display," Bubu replied blandly.

She glared so hard the air might’ve ignited. Glimora squeaked softly from her shoulder as if saying don’t pick another fight with your system, but Isabella was beyond reason. She grabbed at her own hair and groaned. "Ever since I got into this stupid world, I have never—ever—had a moment of peace! Not one! I was nearly eaten by demonic goats! I’m stranded on a cursed mountain! And now I have to walk it—pregnant!"

Bubu’s floating screen tilted, voice dry as dust. "You make it sound like I got you pregnant."

Isabella froze mid-rant, eyes narrowing in disbelief. "Are you serious right now?"

"I am programmed to be serious at all times."

"Then you need a software update, because you’re broken."

Glimora whimpered again, pawing at Isabella’s cheek like breathe, Mama, breathe, and Isabella exhaled sharply, muttering, "You’re lucky I can’t strangle light."

Bubu’s tone didn’t change. "You still have the necklace Cyrus gave you. It’ll protect you while you train."

Her entire body stiffened. "Don’t you dare bring him up."

"I’m simply stating facts," Bubu said, calm as ever. "Unless you wish to remove it. Shall I initiate that process?"

Isabella gawked at the screen, scandalized. "Are you threatening a pregnant woman?"

"Merely asking for confirmation."

"Confirmation?" she spluttered. "You sound like a legal document! You know what, you are crazy."

"No," Bubu countered, matching her dramatic tone perfectly, "you are just dramatic and spoiled."

Isabella gasped so loudly that even the trees seemed to flinch. "Spoiled?! I am not spoiled! I am traumatized! There’s a difference!"

"Semantics," Bubu said. "You still whine too much."

Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. "Whine? I whine? You’d whine too if your entire life turned into a tragic soap opera written by a sadistic god!"

"Yet you keep surviving every episode," Bubu murmured.

That stopped her for half a heartbeat.

Her shoulders fell, and she crossed her arms tightly over her chest, avoiding the screen’s faint glow. "You think you’re so smart, don’t you?" she whispered.

"I am literally built to be smart."

"See! That’s what I mean!" Isabella threw her hands up, eyes glistening with more than just frustration. "You talk like you know everything, but you don’t know what it’s like to feel stuck inside a body that hurts all the time. To keep pretending to be strong when you’re terrified you’ll break."

For once, the silence that followed wasn’t filled with static. The wind slowed, curling softly around her like a sigh.

Bubu’s light dimmed slightly. "You’re right," it said quietly. "I don’t know what that feels like."

Isabella blinked, caught off guard by the gentleness.

"But," Bubu continued, voice steady, "you can’t keep hiding behind your fear forever, Host. You made choices. You faced danger. You survived. Now it’s time to grow stronger from it. That’s how this world works. You can’t keep blaming me every time it hurts."

Her lips trembled. "I’m not blaming you," she muttered. "I just—" She stopped, rubbing at her arms as if trying to wipe away goosebumps. "I just wish everything didn’t hurt so much all the time."

Bubu was quiet for a long while before replying. "It’s supposed to hurt. That’s how humans learn."

"Stop calling me human," she snapped, wiping at the corner of her eye before any tears could fall. "You make it sound like an insult."

"It’s not," Bubu said softly. "It’s the only thing that makes you extraordinary."

She froze, the words sinking into her chest like a quiet ache. For a moment, she couldn’t tell whether to laugh or cry.

Then she scoffed, shaking her head. "Oh, please. Don’t try to sound poetic now. You lost the right to be sentimental after calling me spoiled."

"I was being accurate," Bubu replied.

Her jaw dropped again. "You—You—"

"Yes, me."

"Argh!" Isabella stomped her foot on the rocky ground so hard it sent a sharp echo through the valley. Glimora flinched, curling tighter against her neck. "Fine! I’ll do your stupid training walk, alright? But if I faint halfway, I’m haunting you forever!"

"That would be inefficient," Bubu said.

"Exactly!" she shot back. "So maybe stop trying to kill me!"

"I’m trying to strengthen you."

"Same difference!"

They stared at each other—or rather, she glared at the screen while it hovered with emotionless calm. The silence stretched again, broken only by the rush of wind through the mountain leaves and the quiet pulse of the glowing text. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Finally, Isabella sighed, all the fire leaving her at once. "You’re impossible."

"And you’re exhausting," Bubu replied. "Yet here we are."

Her lips twitched despite herself. "You’re lucky you’re my system."

"I’m aware."

"Because if you weren’t—"

"You’d still need me," Bubu interrupted smoothly.

She huffed out a laugh—short, bitter, but real. "You’re insufferable."

"I prefer indispensable."

Her laughter died, replaced by the heavy weight of reality pressing against her chest again. "You know what, Bubu," she said quietly, staring at the glowing task still hovering in front of her, "maybe I am childish sometimes. But at least I still feel things. You don’t understand what that’s like—loving someone so much that it breaks you."

"I understand enough to know," Bubu answered calmly, "that love should make you stronger, not destroy you."

That one cut deeper than she expected.

Her throat tightened, but she forced a smirk anyway. "Wow. Look at you, acting like a philosopher now."

"It’s part of the premium package."

"Shut up," she muttered, though her lips curved slightly. Then she sighed, looking out toward the misty cliffs. "You’re still an unhinged system."

"And you’re still procrastinating, Host."

Her smirk vanished. "What?"

Bubu’s tone turned crisp again. "Start walking."

"What—wait—what do you mean start walking?"

"The cultivation won’t complete itself. Ten thousand mountain steps. Begin."

Her eyes widened. "No! I’m not ready yet!"

"You’ll never be ready," Bubu said simply.

And with that, the screen pulsed once and floated ahead of her, glowing like a smug little moon, illuminating the first rough stone steps carved into the mountain’s spine.

Isabella stared at it, dumbfounded, Glimora yawning against her neck.

Then she muttered under her breath, "I hate you so much right now."

Bubu didn’t vanish this time. It only hummed quietly, a faint echo in the wind. "Then prove me wrong, Host. Walk."

So she did.

Her feet hit the first step with a reluctant thud, and then another, and another—each one heavier, harder, until her breath started to burn and her legs screamed in protest. She kept walking anyway, because for all their bickering, both of them understood something they didn’t say aloud:

Isabella walked because she needed to survive.

And Bubu made her walk because it wanted her to live.