47. End of Summer (5)
In the split-second when the black scythe came flying toward my neck, there was only one thought in my head.
‘I’m actually going to die.’
Calculations? Strategy? Compromise?
None of that mattered.
The only thing I could do right now was blink straight forward.
Slash!
At the same time that the seats where I had been standing and the windows on both sides were all sliced apart, I had already closed the distance to within arm’s reach of him.
But even after narrowing the gap, without Terriphon there was nothing I could do, and even if I did have a weapon, it was doubtful whether I could injure him at all.
So,
I did nothing.
Perhaps startled, even if only a little, by the fact that I had suddenly teleported right in front of him, he flashed his glowing eyes and lightly sprang backward.
Then, in a bleak voice, he asked,
—Blink… You use a peculiar magic. Why did you not attack?
There was no need to tell him that, for me in my current state, this cheap wand wasn’t even as useful as a back scratcher.
But there was also no need to maintain silence.
Rather……
if he was misunderstanding something, I needed to use that.
“Kal Harimus.”
I wasn’t completely sure because my memory had been fuzzy, but when I said the name, his glowing eyes widened.
‘Witch Hunter.’
They were beings who lived hidden on the reverse side of the world, hunting witches—a race now believed to be extinct.
However……
in exchange for becoming Witch Hunters, they gave up every part of their identity.
Their race, gender, age, and name.
Even their faces.
It couldn’t be helped. In order to confront witches, they had no choice.
Most witches possessed powers that beguiled or ensnared others like a narcotic, so in order to resist them, Witch Hunters had to abandon themselves.
—How do you know that name?
“Why do you think? You can figure out the reason yourself.”
—……Could it be? Are you also a Witch Hunter?
“Yes. Due to circumstances, I can’t show you my mark right now, but wouldn’t possessing a Witch’s Crystal be proof enough?”
Because they lived alone in the hidden side of the world, their social skills were terrible. I needed to talk him down as gently as possible.
He stared at me for a moment, then narrowed his glowing eyes.
—And yet…… you have not cast away your face.
“I made a temporary one and am using it. The witch I tracked this time had hidden itself in society.”
—That is unusual…… Have you no pride as a Witch Hunter?
[Crimson Spring March’s ble…
“I hate that witch enough that I’d abandon even my pride if I had to. I will never forgive it.”
At my intense, emotional appeal, the Witch Hunter thought for a moment, then lowered his staff.
—……I see.
This was exactly why the Blessing of Crimson Spring March was so useful. Even if I wasn’t being sincere, once I threw myself into a full performance, my face would carry the weight of sincerity.
With acting this perfect, anyone would be fooled.
“In that case, hand over the crystal now. That’s my spoils.”
—My apologies. I will return this to you.
The Witch Hunter handed the crystal orb back to me.
I took the crystal and thought for a moment.
There were hardly any cases where witches themselves appeared in Main Episodes, but that didn’t mean there weren’t people related to them.
Stella’s commander of the overall knight order, Arain, lived under a time-limited curse placed on him by a witch, and Hyeijin Macaron of the Myeolamdan was a descendant who had inherited part of a witch’s bloodline.
Witches had each left behind great wounds in the story of Aether World.
Even though they hardly ever appeared at all, they still managed that much, which only proved how terrifying their abilities were.
The [498 Witch’s Crystal Orb] in my possession……
to be honest, it was incomplete. Only half-finished.
Back when I played Aether World Online, I’d never taken a deep interest in witches as a race, so I hadn’t completed the item.
But what if I could make this thing complete?
It might even become a better growth item than the lost Wheel of Dawn.
—I will be on my way now.
Just as the Witch Hunter began to dissolve into mist and leave, I hurriedly called out to him.
“Wait.”
—……What is it?
“The truth is, I need a little of your help in this witch hunt. It’s nothing difficult, so could you do me a favor?”
—Speak. If it is for the sake of hunting witches, I will help as much as I can.
“I was planning to lure the witch out using this Witch’s Crystal Orb, but the power inside it is extremely weak. It needs to be replenished, so would you take me to your subspace?”
—Why?
“My own subspace was completely, completely destroyed after the previous battle.”
—Was that the work of a witch?
“Yes. A witch that used pain sorcery. It was a horrific battle, but I did manage to take its head.”
—I see.
The Witch Hunter thought briefly, then nodded.
—Follow me.
He swung his staff in a broad arc, and the air split in half as a dark red warp hole appeared.
‘Oh……’
To be honest, it really was a little fascinating.
Even a space-type mage would need to be at least 7-Class to use a technique like that, yet these people wielded such techniques freely.
When the Witch Hunter stepped through the other side of the space, I followed him in.
And what spread before me was a space that was dark all over.
The interior wasn’t much different from an ordinary alchemist’s laboratory, but if there was one difference, it was that it felt more like the workplace of a mad scientist performing live experiments.
Fragments of what looked like monsters or even humans were strewn everywhere, and many of them had been stitched together or fused, forming things even more grotesque.
The products of efforts made in order to cast away the flesh.
I tried as hard as possible not to look at them.
No matter how much I was protected by the Blessing of Crimson Spring March, enduring such revolting sights was not easy.
—This is witch essence.
“……You’ve gathered quite a lot.”
When the Witch Hunter handed me a beaker full of dark red liquid, I offered the expected compliment out of courtesy.
But judging by the quantity through the analysis of the Jikbakguri Glasses……
to be honest, it wasn’t actually that much.
Of course, it was enough for me to use, but I could tell at a glance that the Witch Hunter in front of me hadn’t been doing this for very long.
Which was exactly why he had fallen for my obvious lies so thoroughly.
‘Wait, should I squeeze a little more out of this guy?’
Originally, I’d only meant to take a little.
But I changed my mind.
“I’ll make good use of it.”
I carefully opened the dark red beaker, placed my Witch’s Crystal Orb on the table, and slowly poured the liquid over it.
Ssssss…!
Then the message appeared.
[The rank of the item ‘498 Witch’s Crystal Orb’ has increased.]
[499 Witch’s Crystal Orb]
Witches had no names.
If one insisted on giving them names, the years they had lived became their names.
Tired of a life of killing and being killed, age itself became power, authority, and meaning to them.
This crystal, originally made by a witch who had lived for the immense span of 498 years, had, with the help of a Witch Hunter, now aged by one more year……
but honestly, it was frustrating.
If it gained just one more year here, it would become a full 500-year-old crystal orb.
And I had no way to raise its rank by myself.
Glug glug glug!
Ssssss…!
So I poured more and more of the beaker’s magical power into my crystal.
“Ah……”
—Are you not using too much?
A Witch Hunter’s witch-power was both their food and the very source of their strength. Apparently, seeing me use so much of it made him feel it was a bit of a waste.
“I’m really only going to use a little more.”
—Even so, this is a little—
“Sorry. I’ll pay you back later.”
—This is excessive. We may both be Witch Hunters, but I cannot tolerate greed that goes too far.
Seriously.
He whined a lot.
So I decided I had no choice but to dig a little into the fact that he was a rookie Witch Hunter.
“Hey.”
—Speak.
“How many witches have you caught so far? Ten, maybe?”
—…Seven.
“Tsk. That’s why you don’t know. I’ve caught over thirty so far.”
—Impressive. And what of it?
“It means you’re still a rookie. To lure out the witch I’m going after next, I absolutely need a 500-year-old crystal orb. You don’t even know why, do you?”
He fell silent for a moment, then shook his head.
—I do not.
“I thought so.”
Of course you wouldn’t know.
I didn’t know either.
“This next hunt is extremely important. I’m planning to hunt a terrifying, monstrous, unbelievably dangerous witch. Understand a little better now? By donating dark power to me, you’re helping eliminate one more disgusting witch from the world.”
He still looked only half-convinced somehow, but because I had claimed to have hunted thirty witches, he was forced to treat my words as correct, and so he reluctantly accepted it with a face that clearly said he thought it was nonsense.
Ding!
[The item’s rank has increased.]
[500-Year Witch’s Crystal Orb]
The item was completed while we were talking.
Even I felt a little guilty about taking any more than that, so I put the beaker back on the table, patted him on the shoulder, and walked past.
“If this hunt succeeds, half the credit is yours. Anyway, thanks for this. I’ll use it well.”
—……Very well.
I slipped out of the Witch Hunter’s subspace at a brisk pace.
When I emerged, I was back inside the train again.
“Phew……”
He didn’t follow me, did he?
I had been worried that he might come after me bearing a grudge, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
The moment I came out, the subspace disappeared as if it had been waiting for me to leave.
“Tsk, tsk. People ought to know how to share a little.”
The instant I returned to my original seat and dropped into it, the dark, corrupted atmosphere flipped completely.
Clatter clatter!
The train began moving normally again, and all the passengers who had vanished without me even noticing were back in their original places.
Thinking about it again, the fact that this was the ability of a Witch Hunter who hadn’t even managed to shed the rookie label yet made a cold sweat break out on me.
Well, anyway.
Good things were good things, weren’t they?
“Let’s check the item.”
[500-Year Witch’s Crystal Orb]
*Description: A special crystal orb created by a witch who lived for 498 years in order to train her own body. When used, it transfers the user into the witch’s space.
▼List
- Swim away from the sharks!
- Race along the dizzying narrow log.
- Together with the wolves
Mm, yes.
This was the real thing.
A peculiar item that dramatically increased one’s stats each time one cleared the so-called “mini-games” one by one.
Because it raised physical stats, it hadn’t been especially popular in the actual game.
I didn’t know what this witch had been training her body for, but the most widely accepted rumor was that she had died while attempting one of the mini-games inside the crystal orb.
So I would need to be careful when I used it as well.
It was dangerous.
Without a doubt.
But since it guaranteed real growth……
perhaps it was simply human nature that holding something like this made me a little excited.
‘……Should I try it a little before I arrive?’
My original plan had been to return to the dorm first and then secretly try them one at a time, but now that I had a 500-Year Witch’s Crystal Orb, it became harder to hold back.
[You use the Witch’s Crystal Orb.]
[You are transferred to the space of Stage 1, ‘Swim Away from the Sharks!’]
[Read only on MugenCodex.]
