42. Isolation (1)
Even in the Aiter World, where telephones were rare, the high and mighty all tended to possess private means of communication.
But Elf King Kkotseorin could not.
That was because if anyone listened to her voice from afar for too long, there was a risk they would fall under her curse.
-…Is that really true?
“Yes.”
That was no longer the case.
Her curse had weakened greatly. At this point, it was safe to say there was no danger at all of someone falling into lovesickness just from hearing her voice.
Thanks to that, Kkotseorin had begun using telephones freely and handling her duties personally more often, and though the amount of work she herself had to deal with increased, she said all the frustrating parts had disappeared completely.
-To think you managed to obtain the divine relic so quickly… What a relief. Truly. I was so worried because I couldn’t go in person…
Honestly, what is one supposed to do if someone has a beautiful face and a beautiful heart too? If you ask me, even after her curse disappears, there won’t be just one or two people suffering from lovesickness.
Would it really be so strange if I counted myself among them?
‘…Not that I’m really planning on dating anyone yet.’
Maybe that was why.
Even though there were this many attractive women around me, I rarely felt anything like romantic emotion.
Part of it was because most of them were younger, but the bigger reason was that there was a mountain of things piled up in front of me that I had to deal with right now.
I don’t have any absurd sense of duty that says I have to save the world all by myself.
I’m not that great a person.
I’m just struggling to survive.
“Though I’d like to bring the divine relic over immediately and help weaken your curse another step, my schedule is overlapping right now, so…”
-It’s all right. I’ve waited until now, so I can wait… as long as I must.
The way she said that only made me feel like I needed to bring it to her even sooner.
“Yes. I’ll come see you soon.”
-Please stay healthy until then.
After ending the call with Kkotseorin, I rummaged through my pocket and pulled out the broken pipe.
“Hm… It’s completely smashed.”
The name of this pipe was the “Vengeful Spirit Talisman.”
It was an artifact I had obtained all too easily, but in truth, this was an extremely high-grade magic tool, so rare that even within the Aiter World it would be hard to find.
Even just possessing it gave the ridiculously broken trait of “complete immunity to ghost-type attacks.”
But now, it had been shattered.
Even for me, did entering the mirror world to save Flame come without any risk?
Absolutely not.
The Constellatio Project had, on a very rare occasion, personally stepped in and even modified and reinforced an artifact I possessed—placing a special blessing on this very “Vengeful Spirit Talisman.”
Thanks to that, I had been able to move freely even in Flame’s world, but in exchange I ended up consuming in a single use the absurdly broken talisman I could have milked forever.
According to the setting, artifacts were relics left behind from the era of the ancient progenitor mages, which meant they could not be repaired with modern technology.
‘Still… maybe I should take it to Alterisha and let her look at it.’
When I played the original game, you could only request the crafting or repair of items that had been predetermined, but this place was reality, so she would probably listen even to a ridiculous request like this.
Whether it could actually be repaired or not was a separate matter.
“It’s a shame, but… I used it properly.”
For an artifact like this to save Flame’s life, the Vengeful Spirit Talisman had more than earned its keep.
Still, thinking there was the slightest chance it might be repairable, I put it away in a special storage case.
Next, for the first time in a long while, I checked my stats.
- Stats
[Strength: 3 Star 47%] [Senses: 3 Star 69%]
[Agility: 3 Star 03%] [Stamina: 2 Star 78%]
[Toughness: 0 Star 99%] [Willpower: 3 Star 76%]
[Magic Power: -]
- Skills
[Front Blink Lv.2]
[Taeryeong Divine Technique Lv.2]
- Traits
[Mana Leakage Physique Lv.3]
[Blessing of Crimson Spring March Lv.3]
[Contractor of the Divine Beast Iphanel]
Up to now, my growth had been rather slow, but thanks to the buffs from [Blessing of Crimson Spring March] and [Taeryeong Divine Technique], my growth had accelerated.
On top of involving myself in the major episode called [Dark Mage Encroachment], I had even completed the mission personally requested by the Constellatio Project, earning an incredible amount of growth experience.
[Having completed the mission presented by the Constellatio Project, two very special rewards are offered to you.]
[1. A nerfed version of an item used in the game]
[2. A nerfed version of a skill obtained in the game]
[3. Experience points]
Not just any rewards, but “very special rewards.” Since this was the first time I’d seen something like that, I was a little excited.
The reward list itself didn’t look all that different from before, but still, there had to be some added benefit.
To be honest, I agonized over this for quite a while.
Should I pick an item, or raise my stats?
Simply increasing Strength or Agility would create an incredible synergy effect with Taeryeong Divine Technique.
But…
‘Blink is the better choice.’
Mana Leakage Physique? Taeryeong Divine Technique?
In the end, the real reason I had once been able to run wild while playing as the character Baek Yuseol was this Blink.
What good was it if I swung a sword beautifully?
Without Blink, I’d just get swept up in a few spells and die.
“Hmm… I’ll take number 2.”
[Granting experience to Front Blink.]
[Front Blink has leveled up!]
[Front Blink]
Class: 3
Maximum Range: 15m
Maximum Charge Count: 3
Cooldown: 3 seconds
At last the rank had gone up, but unfortunately the maximum number of Blink charges had not increased.
It couldn’t be helped.
One of the fundamental problems of the character Baek Yuseol—
His growth was painfully slow compared to other characters.
‘This is why I almost quit so many times.’
If you played as Ma Yuseong or Hae Wonryang, they each achieved explosive growth in ways that matched their own special traits.
The defining feature of those two characters was their ability to wield multiple attributes freely, so every time they leveled up, they either gained a new attribute or learned some explosive new spell. Their growth was extremely visible.
But Baek Yuseol was different.
What was so amazing about Blink magic? All it did was increase the distance little by little, or very occasionally add one more charge.
Still… once I reached the next stage, Blink’s maximum charge count would become 4, so I only had to endure a little longer.
It wouldn’t be to the level of the original game, where I could spam Blink all over the place, but even so, four Blinks would completely change my mobility.
“I’ll put the second reward on hold for now.”
[Reward placed on hold.]
From the point after Dark Mage Encroachment onward, the main episode changed drastically depending on the branch chosen.
Some players passed smoothly into the second semester story.
Some triggered another summer horror special event under the title [An Endless Summer Vacation].
Some advanced their relationship with the male lead through an event titled [On a Sun-Drenched Beach in Summer].
Because there were truly hundreds, even thousands of possible events, I had no way of knowing what kind of episode would occur next.
Still, I had no intention of waiting around vaguely, so after tidying up my rewards and everything else, I stood up at once.
It was time to go visit Flame in the hospital.
Flame was using a private room.
Originally, those were reserved for wealthy nobles, but because she had been deeply involved in this incident and had rendered tremendous service in solving it, the professors had pulled some strings for her.
“Ah… yes. I’m all right.”
“That’s good. It’s a relief there’s nowhere seriously hurt. Let’s have a meal together next time.”
Not only Stella Academy professors, but even mages from the Magic Tower came by from time to time to visit Flame in the hospital.
Since she had taken the lead in resolving the major incident known as the Seventh Main Tower Ghost Story, she had attracted a great deal of attention from many mages.
As for Flame, this attention was nothing but a burden.
‘…In the dream, I think I liked it.’
The Flame from that world had lived basking in popularity like a plant that grew by feeding on attention.
That personality was completely opposite from the real Flame.
‘So damn annoying…’
If the professors all came rushing in to worry over her, how could she possibly lie there in comfort?
After the professors left behind fruit and bouquets of flowers and departed, Flame immediately stretched herself back out on the bed.
Knock knock!
But the knock that came right after made her face twist in irritation, and then she quickly forced it back into a polite smile.
“Yeees~ Who is it~?”
The person who opened the door and came in was neither a professor nor a mage.
It was Baek Yuseol.
“It’s me.”
“Oh, uh…?”
It had been two days since she woke up.
This was the first time Baek Yuseol had come to visit her in the hospital, so the expression management Flame had been holding together immediately melted away.
What kind of face was she supposed to make?
Should she smile? Get annoyed? Joke around?
No—why was she even worrying about what face to make just because she was meeting someone like Baek Yuseol?
Flame’s thought process overloaded.
“Why’s your reaction so flat? You okay? It’s not some terminal disease, is it?”
“What… are you stupid? It’s just exhaustion…”
“Yeah. Actually, I know.”
“…Then why ask? You’re so annoying.”
More than anyone else, Baek Yuseol knew that the reason she had collapsed and been hospitalized was simply severe accumulated mental fatigue.
He shoved aside the pile of gifts stacked on the table, set down the fruit basket he had brought, and then plopped himself down on Flame’s bed.
…She subtly shifted her hips inward, away from him.
It wasn’t very noticeable.
“I was actually going to come see you anyway, but there’ve just been too many visitors coming by. Do you remember what happened back then?”
“Uh, yeah… It’s kind of embarrassing, but I remember.”
With her gaze lowered, fidgeting with her fingers, she spoke as casually as she could.
“That place was my hometown.”
Baek Yuseol probably already knew that her hometown was another world.
She had never told him directly… but in the countless timelines, another version of herself—the one who had loved him—must have.
“I know.”
As expected, Baek Yuseol reacted as though it were no big deal and began peeling an apple.
For someone who used a sword in daily life, he was unbelievably clumsy and terrible at it.
Then again, no one judged an apple by the shape it was peeled into.
“…You peel like absolute trash.”
Still, there were limits.
At this point, it was honestly the worst she had ever seen.
“Just eat it. They say the peel has more nutrients anyway.”
Baek Yuseol crunched into the apple.
Crunch!
For a while, the only sound filling the hospital room was the sound of him chewing.
Baek Yuseol had found a newspaper lying on the table and got absorbed in reading it, while Flame got absorbed in choosing her next words.
“Hey…”
At last, when she finally opened her mouth, Baek Yuseol folded the newspaper and met her eyes.
‘Damn it. Why are you listening that seriously…?’
I was just going to say something pointless, but if he reacts that much, I can’t do it.
“So, about the world I dreamed…”
“Yeah.”
“That wasn’t a real world, right?”
At that, Baek Yuseol rested his chin on his hand and fell silent for a moment, then answered:
“Who knows.”
“…Huh?”
“It might have been real, or it might not have been. But what matters is that now that you’ve come back, that world is safe.”
“I see…”
“If that world was real, then they’ll remember you as a hero. Because the moment you made your sacrifice, every monster in the world disappeared.”
Baek Yuseol’s words were simple.
‘You all but saved that world, so don’t blame yourself.’
He had pinpointed exactly what part she was worrying about.
Even though he had said it in such a roundabout way, the meaning behind his words was incredibly warm.
Still, once the conversation had started like this, the awkwardness gradually faded. They were able to exchange pointless jokes more and more, and she was able to meet his gaze again just as before.
And while they spent time trading useless chatter—
A commotion suddenly rose out in the hallway, with a crowd of people rushing past.
“What is that?”
He had tried not to pay attention, but the atmosphere was strange enough that Baek Yuseol stood up at once and looked out into the hall.
“That’s… Adolevit’s Phoenix Knights.”
At Flame’s words, spoken as she followed after him, Baek Yuseol’s expression turned serious.
Unless it was a special case, private armies were strictly forbidden from entering Stella. Let alone the royal family’s direct Phoenix Knights coming all the way here—that could cause considerable diplomatic friction as well.
“What on earth…”
Flame looked puzzled, as though this were something that had never happened in the original romance-fantasy story, but Baek Yuseol, who immediately understood what kind of situation this was, only darkened further.
Princess Hong Biyeon’s future had already been decided.
‘The day she graduates from Stella, she meets her death.’
Hong Biyeon’s fate—the mystery that had driven countless players to despair for ten years because nobody knew the cause or the reason.
Why did she have to die?
If simple death were the entirety of her ending, that might almost be a relief.
Depending on the player’s choices, Hong Biyeon could meet much worse endings.
And right now, this was one of those cases.
‘Hong Biyeon Exile Ending.’
To isolate her from society and imprison her, leaving her unable to do anything as she slowly withered away.
Compared to the prison ending, the social death ending, or the beheading ending, this was at least much better—but even so, it still was not right.
Read only on MugenCodex.
Baek Yuseol went after the departing Phoenix Knights.
The splendid carriage racing ahead of the others stood out especially sharply.
He passed through the front gates of Stella Academy and stared for a long time at the carriage of the Adolevit royal family as it moved farther and farther away.
Was it just his imagination?
Through the blackened carriage window…
It felt as though he had met someone’s eyes.
