Chapter 67

Bang-!

Water is the source of life. Yet, merciless violence disguised as vitality devastates the land.

As soon as the magic ended, Professor Cronicle, the vice dean, descended to the earth and engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

The clash of a sword and a mace wrapped in the mana of the water source rang out.

Name, fully adorned in iron chains, adeptly deflected Jin’s swinging sword and countered with a strike that slipped through Jin’s defenses.

“No name, I’m coming to help…!”

Clang-

However, Jin was not a human without backup. His decisive strikes were repeatedly blocked by the steel pocket watch, allowing him to continue his assault.

A blue sheen enveloped Cronicle’s sword. The blue mana sought to maul at Name’s waist like a fierce hunting dog.

Name quickly rolled forward. At the same time, she pulled back the head of her flail, and the following iron chain wrapped around Jin’s sword, sealing his weapon.

“Watch out for the beam above—”

By then, the pocket watch had reached above Name’s head.

The relentless ticking of the second hand echoed in her ears, dizzying her.

The sound of the clock winding was a harbinger of a vicious strike that would steal the lives of everything in its direct path.

As Name rushed toward Cronicle again, he too retreated, raising his sword diagonally.

The ray created by the Forest Guardian left her vulnerable.

At the moment of a definite choice, he planned to take her life for sure.

Wheeing—

As expected, Name stopped and activated a magic circle to break the pocket watch that was obstructing her from behind.

Her abdomen was clearly exposed.

Cronicle again lunged toward Name with large strides.

“Look behind you!”

Adella’s urgent scream erupted.

Name swung her flail late, realizing she had delayed her response. There was no way she couldn’t have been late.

Boom-!

But before Adella could warn her, Name’s flail struck Jin’s head first.

Her attempt to break the pocket watch had been a deception.

Instead, she had cast an optical magic circle to confuse the position of her flail, anticipating that Cronicle would target her.

“Ugh…!”

As her last stamina drained, it felt like the end of the boss battle was near.

-This is totally useless, for real, lol.

-Adella took hits for attacks she should have dodged because of that bitch.

-If you’re going to interfere, then why are you standing right next to me?

-Suspiciously good at magic for a streamer.

-Isn’t this definitely the professor? Seriously, I’m starting to doubt.

-Just pure physicality is insane though?

-When dodging the beam, she rolled sideways and landed smoothly, felt like watching parkour in a movie lol.

-It’s like something is off…

-Stop hitting with basic attacks and use your skills, for real!!!

-Fact: Priests can’t learn any attack skills until the first part ends.

-Then why are you playing a useless character?

-At normal difficulty, just healing from the back is enough since teammates handle the boss fight.

-That’s why I always recommend healers to newbies who want to clear the game for the first time.

Whoosh—

The flail head spun.

Even though he was clearly hit directly, Professor Jin Cronicle was still conscious.

“Living… who would have thought… from such young children…”

With both arms, one leg, and his skull in shambles, the professor coughed out nonsensical words.

“Cough. If only I had a laurel.”

He seemed so defenseless that he lacked the strength even to pick up the monocle that lay on the ground.

If she were to end his life, now would be the opportunity.

“Laural. Laural. Laural. Laural. Laural. Laural. Laural. Laural. Laural. Laural.”

Name loosened the chains and hurled her artifact, striking down his lower back from a distance.

Crunch— an unpleasant sound of a spine breaking resonated.

“Laural. Wigrasil? Yes, pitiful woman. I will soon mark the end of the world. The revelry of a day is the decay of the six seasons.”

His mouth would not stop, fragments of words scattered like dust in the wind.

Then his body stood erect like a wooden puppet.

“Adella.”

He quietly uttered his daughter’s name.

“My beloved Adella.”

“What—what is it! Out of nowhere!”

The piece of laurel bound to him floated back up.

Hundreds of fireflies lit the night sky.

“…!”

The fireflies slowly surrounded Adella.

She reached out, but unfortunately, she could not catch them.

“Adella, run away now!”

“What?!”

“It’s too late. Descendant of Wigrasil.”

The clouded gaze of Professor Cronicle regained its vibrancy.

“Uh… what’s happening to my body?”

Adella stumbled and fell to the ground. The strength in her legs had left her.

“The laurel of life. It’s an unbelievably remarkable object.”

-??????????

-Phase 2?

-What are you talking about, the pattern had a Phase 3 moments ago?

-His health was clearly 0, right?

The concept of a phase that deceives players does not appear until the fight is completely over.

It is established that the phase changes occur when health is reduced to a third or half at fixed intervals.

Hence, Professor Cronicle’s actions now left many questions.

[Ice Prison]

108 ice pillars rose in concentric circles centered around Name.

“You’re not Jin Cronicle, are you?”

“Was the act too clumsy? But it doesn’t matter.”

Trapped in the ice wall, Name didn’t care and offered a hand to Adella, who had fallen hard on her backside.

“I’m sorry for startling you. But I had no choice if I wanted to wake up.”

“Who… who are you?”

“Right now, I am nothing at all. Therefore, I cannot answer your question.”

Kind, yet increasingly strange.

“I know you, Adella. I highly value your talents.”

Adella gripped the dagger she had hidden tightly.

But there were no openings in the man. Instinct warned her that no matter where she swung, this man would easily block it.

Still, Adella denied her instincts.

A swift strike aimed for the man’s carotid artery.

Clang—

Not even a scratch appeared on the man’s neck. He didn’t even try hard to block it.

The difference in strength was clear.

“Your effort, your courage, your will, your perseverance, your tenacity, and even your existence. But because of the curse laid upon your flesh, you cannot bloom your flower bud.”

“What… what are you talking about…?”

“Your father foolishly laid a curse on you. On the year you turn nineteen, you are to part from this world. Look here. Isn’t the mark of the curse imprinted on your heart?”

Adella glanced down at her chest.

A blue pattern, which had never been there before, had emerged.

“What is this, what does it matter!”

“Look, doesn’t it still hurt now?”

A dark aura surged from the man’s hand.

At that moment, the mark inscribed on her chest resonated and glowed.

“Ugh…!”

“You are a being more radiant than anyone, Adella. But because of a mere foolish creature, you spend the night on cold stone floors, chewing on hard bread soaked in spit. Blame your father. You ought to blame him.”

“It hurts…”

“But Jin Cronicle is already dead. Do you feel emptiness for not being able to kill him with your own hands? No, revenge is inherently empty and hollow. Now that it’s all over, you have no regrets in life? No, you are fundamentally a greedy woman.”

“So what…!”

“Don’t you envy that child’s talents?”

The man pointed at Name.

“I will grant you a new life. Steal the body of the Forest Guardian.”

The devil’s whisper seduced her.

The pillars imprisoning Name twisted like a snake.

Four pillars opened their mouths wide and grasped at her limbs.

No matter how much Name struggled, the rigid ice would not release her.

Now she could fully take the body of the Forest Guardian.

“You will have the warm food, the warm home, and the Academy life you desire. You can start all over again from the beginning.”

You will become the Forest Guardian who came from Arseria to enroll in the Academy.

Instead of a filthy body smeared with soup leftovers, you will own a divine body chosen by the gods.

“The body gifted by Wigrasil is a blessing in itself.”

As the man withdrew his power, the piercing pain in her heart vanished.

“What should I do… what do you want me to do…?”

“All we want is one thing. It shan’t be a bad proposal for you either.”

Fireflies swarmed around Adella’s head.

It took the shape of a sparkling laurel crown.

“Become our new god.”

“A god…?”

“Yes. Wigrasil is a false god. We need a new god.”

“I… I don’t know about that.”

“No, it’s easier than picking the pockets of nobles. Just go and stab the Forest Guardian’s heart with a dagger. It’s not killing her, so you needn’t feel guilty. You are merely borrowing her body.”

“I’m… I am… ugh… ugh!”

The fireflies glimmered again.

Adella clutched her head in agony and collapsed.

She realized the truth about the laurel, Wigrasil, and the fireflies.

At the same time, Jin Cronicle’s body fell helplessly to the ground.

Taking advantage of his weakened body and mind, she had already absorbed into the part of ‘existence.’

“You were… demons.”

Tears streamed down Adella’s face.

Her wretched hands refused to let go of the dagger. Was this her true intention?

Her heartbeat quickened. She felt strength return to her legs.

[You are a being worth being blessed.]

Adella took a slow step closer to Name.

Today, the weapon she held felt particularly unfamiliar.

Had it always been this sharp? A feeling of fear surged within her.

“I’m sorry, Forest Guardian.”

Another step, then another.

“I really must be pathetic, huh?”

Name’s face clearly showed confusion.

“I just… I just wanted my father to recognize me. I don’t know why everything went wrong.”

She wanted to prove her existence. She wanted to be a necessary cog in the world.

She was terrified that if she died like this, no one would remember her, and she wanted recognition from anyone.

“Did you hear? I’m bound to die anyway… in less than a year… If that’s the case, then why did my father keep me alive? He might as well have killed me when I was born…!”

She craved attention and affection throughout her life.

To this end, she disturbed Alphalion with trivial conversations even when he was busy, and once stole and wore Sisiella’s favorite dress.

“I know… even living like this, the world won’t see me as pitiful. I’m useless. I’m the Adella everyone hates.”

So she envied the nameless Forest Guardian even more.

Unwavering charm that instantly connected with newcomers, a body as if shaped by the gods, boundless mana, and endless knowledge.

In contrast, all that Adella had left was the resilience to live on reluctantly.

“I’m sorry… then why did you go out of your way to treat someone like me well? You must have found me quite untrustworthy… ugh… ugh…”

Tears blurred her vision, Adella’s tear ducts were like broken faucets.

Even as she was in this state, the Forest Guardian did not say a single word.

What had shaped her icy demeanor?

Adella had no way of knowing.

Her hand trembled even more than when she committed her first murder. She lacked even the basics as an assassin.

“I didn’t want to be born this weak. I want everyone to look up to me. No, actually, I don’t need anything at all. So what the hell did I want…?”

Though the dagger had been half destroyed in several battles, the jagged edge was still enough to sever a fragile thread of life.

Her cries began to subside.

It signified she had completed her resolve within.

“Yeah… I think I understand a little. I needed a friend.”

Was her true purpose in entering the Academy simply to gain her father’s full acknowledgment?

Just from that single encounter, Adella realized Jin Cronicle could never become someone like that.

Deep down, she found herself envious.

When she was wrapped up in robes, stealing in back alleys, she envied the Academy students who punished ruffians oppressing merchants and those who rescued children almost run over by carriages.

She wanted to belong to that group. She wanted to be praised. She wanted to engage with them.

She wanted to feel the warmth of a person she had never felt in her entire life.

She shares her days with the Forest Guardian trapped behind the ice wall.

“I wanted to live like they did.”

She raised the dagger high above her head.

“Thank you for everything… There’s no other way, so I’m sorry, it’s all my fault… Will you do me just one favor?”

The energy of the fireflies gathered into the dagger.

The demon completed preparations to plunder Name’s body.

“Don’t forget me… forever… being forgotten is too scary… keep me in your heart, remember that a wonderful person named Adella once lived… And please send my regards to Uncle Gestalt too. Hehe… that makes two…”

Adella forced a clear smile while gripping the dagger backward.

“You’ll do it, right?”

The trajectory of the dagger that was aimed for Name suddenly twisted.

The blade intended for the Forest Guardian’s heart was now aimed at her own.

Sensing the crisis, the fireflies tried to escape the dagger, but Adella’s arm was faster.

At last, crimson blood splattered across Name’s face. Adella poured forth a gush of blood.

The ice began to melt.

Name hurried over and caught the crumbling form of Adella.

Thousands of fireflies who lost their essence soared into the sky and disappeared.

The red dawn glimmered, breathing vitality into the cold earth.

But the body of the girl who chose the noblest death, ignited by her inconsequential remaining life, remained motionless and cold.