Chapter 96 – The Greatest Teacher
The once murky, inky-black ring began to take on the vibrant colors of autumn leaves, glowing with vivid hues.
As the ring turned a brilliant crimson, it exuded a lively, dynamic energy.
A new Aura emanated from the ring.
It was a force completely opposite to death—a boundless vitality that surged through the air.
“…Huh?”
I stared blankly at the transformation, only to suddenly snap to my senses.
The searing pain that had been drilling into my brain rapidly subsided, replaced by a cool, refreshing sensation.
I glanced down at my body.
The wretched state I had been in—a horrifying sight barely distinguishable from the zombies I had fought—was being reversed as if ti were flowing backward.
The dozens of cuts and gashes, the fractures in my bones—all of it was healing at an astonishing speed. Even my twisted limbs and mangled arm were visibly recovering before my eyes.
The speed of recovery was terrifying.
This felt like…
‘It’s like having two hearts.’
Two hearts.
I examined the red ring, which now seed like one of those hearts. Its ruby-like surface glead with a brilliant luster.
The Ring of Desire.
Just as my will had been set to “survival,” it seed that the power filling the vessel aligned with that very will.
[It was the best choice.]
The best choice.
I finally understood what Retonicalus had ant by those words.
With the heart of the Undying already inside , choosing “survival” as the vessel of my will naturally led to it being filled with the power of the Undying—a force unparalleled in its ability to survive.
Though unintended, by securing the ring, I had effectively gained an additional heart.
‘As long as my head isn’t severed or my body pulverized, I’m basically unkillable now.’
It was like being granted an extra life.
This new developnt would undoubtedly change my choices and actions moving forward. Whatever the direction, it would be to my advantage, so I decided to shelve my worries for now. I could reflect on them later, when I had more ti.
I twisted my neck and back—everything moved smoothly.
Feeling sufficiently recovered to move, I turned to look for Fenry.
She was leaning against the rock wall beneath a torch, resting.
As I approached, she stared at , still clad in her twin crows. Her body was hunched slightly, and her expression was twisted into a grimace, clearly showing signs of struggling with mana addiction.
What does mana addiction feel like?
The thought crossed my mind, but I quickly shook it off, feeling like a creep.
“Are you alright?”
“That’s my line. I thought you passed out while standing, but I guess not.”
“I’m done with fainting.”
Given that fainting had practically beco synonymous with life-threatening situations for , I was determined to avoid it at all costs moving forward.
Even if it was just superstition, the odds were too high to ignore.
“……”
She stared up at intently. When I shrugged in confusion, she let out a soft sigh and slowly stood up.
“What’s with the sigh? Do I seem pathetic to you?”
“Anyone who saw your fight just now would have reacted the sa way.”
“Did it look weird to you?”
“Weird? It was downright creepy.”
Fenry looked at with a mixture of disbelief and discomfort.
The sigh she had let out earlier wasn’t just exhaustion—it was relief. Relief that I wasn’t completely out of my mind after what she had witnessed on the battlefield.
Though she had seen intense battles in training grounds before, this had been different.
Out on the battlefield just now, I had been like…
‘A blood-crazed demon.’
The way I fought in close quarters, relying purely on instinct, was unsettling to watch. It invoked a primal fear in anyone who witnessed it.
A bizarre combat style driven solely by the instinct to destroy. And within the scope of that destruction, I had included myself. My patterns were unpredictable, impossible to read.
‘The harder you push, the closer he gets to death, and the more terrifying he becos to face.’
She wouldn’t want as an enemy.
Even knowing I was an ally, the unease lingered, compelling her to double-check my state.
‘It must be that entity’s influence.’
Retonicalus.
Fenry muttered the na softly as she dismissed her crows.
“You’re a proper monster now, aren’t you?”
“It’s a skill. Not monstrosity.”
“Skill, my ass. If you were a moth, you’d dive straight into a bonfire. I’ve had three near-death experiences in my life, and two of them involved you.”
“The Dominic Laboratory and the mines… What was the other one?”
“What do you care?”
“Didn’t they all turn out fine?”
“Fine? Do I look fine to you right now? If I get tangled up with you one more ti, I swear I’ll stop being an elf and turn into a dwarf.”
“Complaining while pocketing all the rewards, I see.”
“Want to die?”
“I’ve already almost died.”
Typically, with Fenry’s nasty personality, I’d have expected her fist to co flying by now. But instead, she just leaned against the wall, wheezing heavily.
After thrashing about so much in her current condition, she must have been on the verge of complete exhaustion.
I fiddled with the Ring of Desire.
‘Could it work?’
If I passed the ring to her—now filled with a second heart—could it help heal her mana addiction?
[At her level, she’d go insane before she recovered.]
“…Huh?”
Retonicalus’s sudden response caught off guard.
He answered without asking?
Could it be… he could read my thoughts?
[I didn’t read them—I simply sensed your actions and inferred. It’s not hard for .]
I frowned instinctively.
At least it seed he couldn’t uncover my true identity, but if even minor actions could give away my thoughts, dealing with him was going to be exhausting.
I had plenty to say to Retonicalus, but for now, it would have to wait.
GRRRR—
The sound of grinding gears echoed through the cavern.
It seed the ti had co.
We both instinctively looked up.
With a tallic clunk, a thick rope began to descend—a promise kept by Dorneth.
‘Great timing, as usual.’
Or perhaps it wasn’t so bad after all.
Co to think of it, if the zombie horde had still been down here, Dorneth might have simply shut the hatch again and left us for another three days.
We waited as the rope slowly descended.
Just as I reached for it, it stopped abruptly, dangling halfway down.
A mont later, Dorneth’s voice echoed from the high crevice in the rock.
“Shout, ‘The Great Dorneth has arrived!’”
“Shut up, you damned dwarf!”
“Definitely a wild cat.”
With that odd verification complete, the rope was lowered to within reach.
“You go first,” Fenry said.
“ first?”
“Why? Want to stare at my ass?”
I wanted to protest that the reverse was just as unappealing, but after what this elf had done to my rear before, I didn’t want to waste any more ntal energy on her nonsense.
“Here, take this with you.”
“…What is this?”
“It’s the helts of the previous lords.”
Inside the bag were crown-like helts. Even in her weakened state, she had made sure to collect evidence that the curse had been lifted.
I had to give her credit for being thorough.
Gripping the rope, I glanced around.
The bodies were gone, but traces of the dead remained.
With the ghosts of the mines exorcised, Veneta’s legendary mine—long relegated to history—would soon spring back to life. This marked yet another departure from the novel’s original storyline.
What kind of changes lay ahead?
Lost in thought, I grabbed the rope and began to climb.
Grrrrr…
“….”
My stomach growled.
Forget pondering—first, I needed food.
For my survival, hunger was the ultimate enemy.
***
Veneta’s Lord’s Castle.
“….”
Heavy eyelids fluttered open, brushing against the sheer lace curtains swaying gently in the breeze.
For a while, I blankly stared at the fluttering curtains.
Had I left the window open?
As I glanced outside the large window beside my bed, a bright, cloudless sky greeted .
Ah, I rembered now—I had woken briefly in the morning before falling back asleep.
How much longer had I slept?
It had been two days since I returned to Dorneth’s castle. In that ti, I had been eating, sleeping, and enjoying a life of comfort.
Ah, if only I could live like this forever.
Hugging the soft, fluffy blanket atop this enormous bed, I lazed around, basking in the luxury, when soone opened the door and walked in.
“Lunch has long passed. Wake up.”
Hearing a sweet voice, I turned my head to find a tall, elegant woman placing a plate of food on the small table next to the bed, looking down at .
Her brown hair swayed gently in the breeze, her beauty rivaling that of a supermodel. She was an elf who radiated poise and grace.
It was Sharbadin, the lady of the castle.
Being served als personally by the mistress of the lord’s castle—
‘This feels like indulgence, but…’
It also ca with a terrible sense of unease.
Though Dorneth often acted boisterous and carefree, when it ca to Sharbadin, he displayed a surprising level of timid possessiveness.
If he found out she had brought food, he would sneak over later to glare daggers at .
“You could’ve sent soone else…”
“As you know, your return is a secret. For now, I’ll be handling things myself.”
“I thought the Black Rose was supposed to assign soone…”
“No! You’re soone I owe my life to, so I can’t just treat you casually. I’ll personally see to your als and sleeping arrangents.”
No, no, it’s fine. It’s really fine!
Especially the part about sleeping arrangents. Please don’t ntion that to Dorneth!
Aside from Sharbadin’s excessive attentiveness, this was the perfect place to stay. However, her stubbornness was no joke either.
And there wasn’t much I could do to avoid her, given that my current accommodation was on the top floor of the lord’s castle—the sa floor as Dorneth’s quarters.
It was an exclusive area where few could enter, chosen to keep my presence hidden, but the problem was that Sharbadin’s room was right next to mine. Whenever she was bored, she’d drop by and make a fuss.
‘That damn elf needs to wake up already.’
As I dipped a piece of bread into a sweet soup and ate, I glanced at the adjacent bed.
Sprawled there was a slender, golden-haired elf with tanned skin.
It was Fenry—the feisty wildcat.
Despite her fiery deanor and refusal to show weakness, she had passed out the mont we left the Blacksmith’s Garden and boarded the carriage. Since then, she hadn’t regained consciousness.
The healer had said that without the arrival of Priestess Nella, her recovery would take a long ti.
If they wanted to speed it up, they’d need an Elf Stone.
“Is the Elf Stone ready yet?”
“Nella is putting her heart and soul into crafting it, but as you know, Elf Stones aren’t easily made.”
It seed the Elf Stone was far more precious than I had originally thought. Considering how many Fenry had used for this mission, it must have been a painful loss for her.
‘Still, she got that belt out of it, so maybe it’s a fair trade?’
Swallowing a piece of bread I had been chewing, I stood up and approached Fenry.
Unlike her usual sharp and combative deanor, she now looked peaceful, like a kitten sleeping soundly.
Could this be her most likable version?
It was so quiet—it felt like heaven.
“Were you and that belt lovers in a past life? Talk about possessiveness.”
“What is it about this belt, anyway?”
“It’s an artifact from the Blacksmith’s Garden.”
A Ruby Belt of Magic Amplification.
The belt amplified its wearer’s magic by an entire level, making it an invaluable treasure for soone like Fenry, who constantly thirsted for more magic power.
She had imdiately demanded the belt from Dorneth as soon as she presented the helts of the forr lords as evidence of the lifted curse.
Apparently, she was so paranoid I might claim the belt for myself that she had been clutching it like a treasure even as she passed out.
“...Mmm.”
When I reached out to touch the belt, her once peaceful expression turned fierce.
Her lips curled back, and she growled softly, baring her teeth.
How was this even possible?
“...She’s unconscious, right?”
“Sh-she should be, I think…”
Afraid she might actually open her eyes and glare at , I quickly withdrew my hand and returned to my seat at the table.
During the short al, Sharbadin sat across from , sharing news from outside.
So stories were important, others were trivial gossip.
It was half information, half chit-chat.
As her gentle voice filled the room, a soft breeze brushed against my face, carrying a pleasant sense of calm.
I nodded occasionally and glanced out the window. It felt like a serene café mont, the kind where you’d sit back with a cold Aricano.
Suddenly, I craved coffee.
After so ti, a butler arrived to summon Sharbadin, and she had to leave.
“I’ll be back later!”
“...Sure.”
I sighed. Dorneth had probably been away for so long on the mine expedition that she had beco unbearably bored.
Shaking my head, I walked over to the window.
The sun was starting to set, casting a soft, golden glow over Veneta. I quietly admired the tranquil scene before .
Tock—
I shut the window and allowed my thoughts to wander.
Sharbadin’s chatter often provided insights into the rumors outside and the changes stirring within Tobaron.
Especially in Blyer.
It seed Kal was beginning to make his presence felt.
‘For now, it’s fine.’
But the outside world wasn’t my biggest concern at the mont.
I returned to the bed and sat cross-legged.
There wasn’t any particular reason for this posture—it just seed like the best way to prepare for a certain conversation.
Closing my eyes, I listened to the steady rhythm of my heartbeat, as calm as ripples in still water.
“Retonicalus.”
[I told you not to call that.]
The Undying, Retonicalus.
How should I convince this being to cooperate with ?
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