1 Second Invincibility in the Game Chapter 128

The Tenest estate sits at the crossroads where the cool weather and fertile lands of the east et.

Winters are less harsh, and sumrs are moderately cool, making it an ideal place for crops to flourish.

Even the emperor himself keeps a close eye on the land, coveting it.

anwhile, a carriage, filled with sobs, crossed through the front gates of a mansion famous for having the most scenic view in the estate.

The coachman glanced back at the sobbing girl in the carriage and sighed deeply.

The girl, lin, had already exhausted her tear ducts, as though squeezing them like a dry rag, drenching her cheeks.

“Mom…”

When she heard what had happened after returning to her hotown, it felt like her entire life collapsed.

According to an old local woman who sold fish nearby, it went like this:

Her mother, who worked herself to the bone to earn money, realized she had disappeared and searched high and low for her, only to return empty-handed.

She ended up waiting endlessly in front of the orphanage.

Even after autumn passed and during the harsh winter, she continued to wait, ultimately succumbing to the cold.

The outco of such foolish love filled the heart of the still-young girl with complex emotions.

The carriage ca to a stop, and the coachman opened the door.

Though he wanted to give the dazed girl, lost in human emotions, more ti to gather herself, this was the mansion of a great noble family.

He couldn’t keep the carriage idling forever, so he slid his hand under lin’s arm and lifted her.

“Child, if you’ve co here because you have nowhere else to go, you’d better steel yourself.”

The coachman knew all too well what the people in the mansion were like.

The servants and soldiers were people who had either amassed an imnse amount of experience or managed to get in through family ties or connections.

There was no way they would treat a sudden orphan arrival with kindness.

At that mont, the head maid, Elma, approached.

The coachman was startled and bowed his head.

“I’m back, Head Maid.”

“Hmm, so it’s you. You’re from Belam, aren’t you?”

“Ah, yes…”

“I wasn’t asking you.”

At the head maid’s sharp rebuke, the coachman patted lin on the shoulder.

“Child, you should answer properly.”

The coachman was worried that the child wouldn’t speak properly.

She was already on thin ice, and if she didn’t answer the head maid correctly, she might face even worse.

But lin, who had been crying sorrowfully just monts ago, wiped away her tears and introduced herself calmly.

“I’m lin Arisil. Please take care of .”

The coachman was montarily surprised.

The rigid posture and the mature, intent look in her eyes were far beyond what one would expect from a girl her age.

The head maid shot a sharp glance at lin, then turned away.

The coachman hurriedly asked her.

“Uh, excuse , Head Maid? What should we do with this child?”

Without responding, the head maid left.

The coachman sighed deeply as he watched her go.

After such a long journey, it was standard to clean the child up and give her new clothes.

The fact that they didn’t even bother to do that ant she was truly out of favor.

‘Well… she was brought here by the eldest young master, so it’s no wonder they don’t like her.’

Having no other choice, the coachman secretly asked a maid he knew to take care of lin.

***

After taking a bath, lin changed into new clothes.

Having always worn shabby clothes, she struggled, and the maid sighed as she buttoned up lin’s clothes for her.

Then she smiled warmly.

“Is the eldest young master doing well these days?”

lin didn’t know how to answer.

Her mories of him mostly involved getting thrown to the ground and tied up during magic training.

And that he ruled the academy like a king?

Ah, then he must be doing well.

“Yes… At the academy, everyone reveres him.”

“Is that so? That’s good to hear.”

lin found the maid’s smile a bit unsettling.

The rumors she had heard about Hersel since arriving here were all terrible.

“You seem to think highly of the eldest young master.”

“Oh, of course. He saved my life, after all.”

“Savior?”

When lin asked, the maid smiled softly and began to explain.

“You see, there was once a monster sealed in this mansion that broke free.”

lin vaguely rembered hearing the instructors talk about it.

Rumors about the awakening of the black swan of vengeance.

It was said that the master of the house quickly dealt with it.

“If it weren’t for the eldest young master, we’d all be dead.”

The maid gazed into the distance as if recalling the events of that day.

“Ah, all done. Now, how about you sleep in this sister’s room for tonight? I’ll figure out your own room later.”

“Thank you…”

lin left the dressing room.

In the hallway, a towering man and a middle-aged man were chatting and waving.

Judging by their armor, they seed to be soldiers of the mansion.

“Are you the child that the eldest young master took under his wing?” the middle-aged man asked, and lin nodded.

After that, there was a brief introduction.

Through this, lin learned that the middle-aged man’s na was Jack, and the man beside him was Rodel.

“Uncle Jack, there are rumors that Sir Coulro will be in charge of training. Is that true?”

“Let’s hope not.”

It sounded a bit ominous.

lin decided that if things seed too dangerous, she would run away.

Just then, as if rembering his business, Jack cleared his throat and said, “Ahem. The twin young master and young lady have summoned you. Since the eldest young master sent you, they’re probably curious about a lot of things.”

Leaving behind the maid who waved goodbye, lin followed the two n.

As they walked down the corridor, she beca lost in thought, mostly about Hersel ben Tenest.

‘If he has people this loyal to him, maybe he’s not as bad as I thought?’

The only image she had of him from the dormitory was his fierce face, constantly hurling insults and calling people vermin.

She had thought that the reputation she’d heard of here wasn’t too far off from what she had seen, but after seeing these people, she wondered if perhaps he was different inside than he seed on the surface—in a good way.

‘Co to think of it, he didn’t kill us but instead accepted us as residents of his estate…’

lin cautiously asked Jack and Rodel, “What kind of person is the eldest young master?”

Both Jack and Rodel stopped in their tracks and widened their eyes.

Jack folded his arms and groaned before turning to Rodel.

“Rodel, what do you think?”

“Hmm, you couldn’t really call him a good person, could you?”

“Of course not. He was an absolute scoundrel.”

Jack rubbed his forehead, frowning.

“In the past, I truly thought he was a devil reincarnated. The only reason we stuck around him was to pick up whatever scraps we could.”

Jack said this, then suddenly smirked.

“But now…”

Grumbling, Jack turned his back again.

“Well, I guess you could say he’s beco a decent person.”

lin pursed her lips and blinked.

Just as she was beginning to form a clearer opinion of him, they arrived in front of the door where the twin children were said to be.

“Alright, lin. We’ll be going now. Make sure you don’t make any mistakes.”

“Yes, thank you, Uncle Jack. And Rodel, big brother.”

“Big brother… I guess I do look a bit young, don’t I?”

Jack chuckled as he led Rodel away.

Now left alone in front of the door, lin suddenly grew nervous and gulped.

She was terrified of what might happen if she made a mistake in front of the noble children.

“Whew.”

lin took a deep breath to calm herself, then knocked on the door.

“Co in.”

It was the voice of a young boy.

As lin stepped into the living room, her eyes widened in surprise.

A boy and girl, both a head shorter than her, approached with curiosity in their eyes.

“Are you the one our eldest brother sent?”

While the boy spoke, the young lady smiled and held up a piece of paper.

[Nice to et you. I am Niasel ben Tenest.]

It seed she couldn’t speak.

“I’m lin Arisil. It’s an honor to serve you, young master and young lady.”

Thanks to the etiquette lessons the maid had given her during her bath, lin was able to maintain basic manners.

“Take a seat for now,” the young master said, gesturing to the leather sofa.

As soon as lin sat down, questions began pouring in.

Starting with “How is Frost Heart?” to [Is our big brother doing well?].

“I was told not to speak of Frost Heart, so… I’m sorry, young master,” lin replied nervously.

“As for the eldest young master, I believe he is doing very well, as everyone there reveres him.”

The twins, having never been to a foreign land, were full of curiosity about many other things as well.

They asked about the Kingdom of Belam, where lin was from, and what the people there ate.

“Well, the people there eat lobsters. Nobles don’t like it because they consider it a sea insect, so it’s usually given to prisoners. But of course, people like us, who don’t have much, also eat it.”

While answering their endless questions, lin found her sorrowful thoughts being pushed to the back of her mind.

That was until Mircel innocently asked, “But if you went to see your mother, why did you co back alone? We could’ve made another seat if she ca with you.”

lin’s eyes trembled.

“Well, that’s…”

It was as if the bathwater had seeped back into her tear ducts.

She struggled to speak, but her sobbing throat and the tears streaming down her cheeks were unstoppable.

Not wanting to show such a pathetic sight, lin buried her face in her knees.

“I-I’m so, so sorry for showing such a disgraceful sight… I’m really sorry…”

As her shoulders trembled with sobs, Niasel looked at her with a pitying expression.

Mircel, looking uncomfortable, wiped the sweat from his forehead and scratched his temple.

“Uh… Why is she like this? Did I say sothing wrong?”

Niasel frowned and gave Mircel a push.

“Hey, don’t push , Niasel.”

[Get out.]

“Alright, alright. Stop pushing already.”

In the end, Mircel was shoved out of the living room by Niasel.

Once they were alone, Niasel approached lin and gently patted her back.

Feeling the touch of her small hand, lin cried even harder.

***

[…This is what happened.]

As Donatan read the illustrated journal Niasel had sent, he sighed in admiration.

‘Such a kind-hearted child. Unlike so people.’

“Yes, definitely different from Deisel and Erucel.”

‘I was talking about you, actually.’

“Oh dear, I’m too kind-hearted for my own good. It’s a burden, really. Life must be hard for .”

‘…You shaless fool.’

I carefully placed the letter into a drawer.

Though I was worried lin might face so discrimination for being under my wing, it seed my concerns were unnecessary.

With the twins around, and Jack and Rodel looking out for her, she should adapt quickly.

‘By the way, how long are you going to keep holding that?’ Donatan asked, making glance to the side.

A floating bed.

It had been floating for about 30 minutes now, suspended by mana worth several gold coins.

“I think I can keep it going a bit longer.”

My mana reserves had significantly increased compared to the early days.

Thanks to the recent blessing from Ricks, I had accumulated an imnse amount of mana during the magic training and the battle at Ruon.

And then there was Felia’s staff, mounted in the holster.

[Whispers of Mist

Attribute: Camouflage.

A magic staff crafted by a great mage from otherworldly wood for his apprentice.

Completely conceals the magic circle until the spell is cast.

The mana can only be perceived by the wielder.

Increases the accuracy of spell formulas by 30%.

Improves mana efficiency by 10%.]

The staff’s options were incredible, as expected of an S-rank artifact.

The accuracy bonus stacked with the one on my gloves, totaling 40%, and the mana efficiency boost greatly reduced the amount of mana consud.

But the best feature was how perfectly the concealnt option worked with the bed.

It completely hid the spell formula…

From the enemy’s perspective, even if I drew a spell circle right in front of them, they wouldn’t have a clue where or when the magic would strike.

The magic circle would be invisible, and no matter how sensitive their perception was, the mana would only be detectable by .

‘It’s amazing every ti I see it. You can’t even feel the mana. It’s like wielding a power that’s completely unseen and unfelt.’

“Yeah, it is, isn’t it?”

Wait.

If it’s unseen and undetectable, that ans…

An idea suddenly struck like lightning, and I gently set the bed down before coating my arm with the bed’s mana.

Then, when I lifted the bed, sothing astonishing happened.

It felt as light as an empty box.

Sensing the shift in my muscle usage, Donatan exclaid in surprise.

“Try drawing your sword, Hersel.”

“Alright…”

Almost as if possessed, I drew my sword in one swift motion.

As I handed control over to Donatan, the sword sliced through the air.

Swish!

The speed was incomparable to my usual swings.

It was similar to the rapid strikes that could be perford with aura manipulation.

“This, this is…!”

While Donatan shouted in astonishnt, a shiver ran down my spine, and I let out a soft, twisted chuckle.

“Heh heh heh.”

This would work perfectly as an exoskeleton suit.

As long as I cast the concealnt magic properly, no one would even notice.

“Looks like things just got even more fun.”

Now, I could even pretend to use aura.

Prev I TOC I Next