Chapter 456: Exhaustion Part 1

When you lose a bet, you have to accept the consequences.

Just like Shin Byeong-cheol lost 10,000 points and Dang Gyu-young gave up her Kim Ho 1-Day Usage Ticket, the Sword Queen was no exception. She had to cough up an A+ rank item.

And I get to choose it from her inventory.

“Well then, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Why do you look so happy if you’re just ‘excusing’ yourself?”

“Excusing myself or not, I still have to collect what’s owed.”

“…As expected from Kim Ho.”

The Sword Queen grumbled, but she didn’t seem like the type to go back on her word. She opened her inventory.

This isn’t an opportunity that comes often, so I needed to take my time and look through everything carefully.

But before long, she closed the inventory window again.

Wondering what was up, I looked over at her and saw her expression had turned serious.

She jabbed me lightly with her elbow and spoke in a low voice.

“Come outside with me for a second.”

Is she doing this because she doesn’t want to give up the item?

Would someone like the Sword Queen really be that petty?

While I was thinking that, I heard a voice transmission in my ear.

– Hey, it’s not like I’m not going to give it to you. I will. Just come outside first.

Using voice transmission instead of just saying it aloud meant the situation was serious.

It also meant she didn’t want to draw attention from those around us.

So I got up and said to the group, pretending to be casual,

“I’ll be back in a bit.”

“……”

Seo Ye-in looked up at me, staring intently.

Dang Gyu-young also narrowed her eyes, sensing something was off.

Normally, she’d have insisted on tagging along, even by force. But perhaps because it was the Sword Queen, she held back this time.

I gave the group a light smile before stepping away.

The Sword Queen quickly walked out of the arena.

After a moment, she glanced sideways at me and spoke up.

“It was the other day, I think… I had another dream.”

“Like during the preliminaries?”

“Mhmm.”

Back then, the Sword Queen had learned through a dream that someone had infiltrated the Deep Dungeon, and she entered it with the principal to repel the Witch of Exhaustion.

It was probably something similar this time as well.

“I couldn’t remember it clearly before, but it just came back to me.”

“What kind of dream was it?”

“Well… I was showing you my inventory.”

“It could’ve been someone else.”

“No, it was definitely you. I kept thinking, ‘he’s such a Kim Ho kind of guy’.”

“I see.”

I accepted that without question.

Turns out being ranked #1 in annoyance comes with a few unexpected perks.

The Sword Queen frowned slightly and continued.

“Then a little later, we were walking. Just like now.”

“And after that?”

“After that… we were standing right here.”

We came to a stop at the entrance of the walking trail. The “here” she was speaking of.

The Sword Queen silently stared into the distance.

Someone of S-rank caliber probably had an exceptionally wide field of vision.

I waited a bit before gently asking,

“Do you see something?”

“Mhmm. The witch.”

I had a hunch when she brought me along and sure enough, it was related to the Witch of Exhaustion.

Why it had to be the walking trail out of all possible places, we’d have to ask the witch herself.

But first, I felt the need to get a clearer picture of the dream.

“What happened after that?”

“I don’t know. That’s where it ended.”

“Anything else come to mind? Even small details?”

The Sword Queen furrowed her brow as she tried to recall.

Then tilted her head slightly.

“…Wait, I don’t think you were there.”

“You didn’t bring me along at all?”

“No, I think I sent you in first.”

We both looked toward the trail again.

This time, the Sword Queen asked the question.

“What’ll it be? You decide.”

In the dream, I might’ve gone in first but that didn’t mean we had to do the same thing now.

I could go with her, or not go at all.

Even if I’m a Monarch, I’m still a first-year student. It was the adults’ responsibility to risk their lives for now.

After thinking for a moment, I gave my answer.

“I’ll go in alone.”

“You sure about that?”

“She probably won’t attack right away.”

If that had been her intention, she wouldn’t have chosen the walking trail as the meeting place.

It meant she was at least somewhat willing to talk.

“And it doesn’t really make a difference whether we go together or not.”

Someone at the level of the Sword Queen could probably cover the whole trail in a single bound.

There’s no need to provoke the witch’s suspicion by going together.

The Sword Queen must’ve thought I had a point, because she nodded without argument.

“Alright, go ahead. I’ll be watching.”

I started walking along the trail.

After a short distance, I saw a woman in a robe sitting on a bench.

She looked about our age.

Noticing my presence, she waved in this direction.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

Her first word was casual, so I responded the same way.

The fact that she was a centuries-old monster didn’t really matter.

I’ve technically graduated hundreds of times too.

Even if it was just in a game.

As expected, the Witch of Exhaustion didn’t comment on my tone and simply patted the spot next to her.

“Wanna sit?”

“Sure.”

When I sat beside her on the bench, she asked again.

“Want something to drink?”

“I’ll pass. I tried something from Corruption before, and it was terrible.”

“She’s not very good at cooking.”

“Fair enough.”

No one can be good at everything.

Some people bake tasty cookies, even if they always come out misshapen. So the reverse could also be true.

Or like the Witch of Corruption, maybe she’s just bad at both.

“Speaking of her, how’s she doing these days?”

“She went back to the master’s embrace.”

Meaning she died and got absorbed by the Corpse Dragon.

They must’ve decided it was cheaper to absorb her and make a new one than to restore her.

Still, it probably took a fair amount of resources.

“How’s Death doing?”

“Who knows? I’ve got no idea.”

“You should keep in touch with family more often. She didn’t go back to the master too, did she?”

“Doubt it. I’d know if she did.”

Unfortunately, it seems the Witch of Death made it back safe and sound.

Still, after causing chaos at Hye-seong city, she must’ve taken a fair hit to her forces. I expect she’ll need some time to recover.

The Witch of Exhaustion spoke up.

“Can I ask something now?”

“Go ahead.”

“You’re a Monarch, right?”

“I am.”

“Knew it!”

Her eyes sparkled excitedly.

The problem was, it looked more like she was eyeing an object than a person.

“Why don’t you come with me?”

“What happens if I do?”

“You can live forever! You’re a mage, right? How about becoming a lich?”

“No thanks.”

I politely declined.

Sure, I want to live a long life but not as an undead.

Now it was my turn to ask a question.

“What are you doing here?”

“Obviously, I came to see you. Corruption was making a huge fuss.”

“And after seeing me?”

“I was gonna kill you, but now I want to take you with me. You really don’t want to come?”

“No, I really don’t.”

Even after being rejected twice, the Witch of Exhaustion kept eyeing me, licking her lips.

Then, as if noticing the presence of the Sword Queen, she glanced toward the start of the trail and looked disappointed.

“Normally, I’d just drag you away by force, but I’m at too much of a disadvantage right now. If I’d had just a little more time… I didn’t think they’d strike this quickly.”

If she’d made her rounds through A-rank dungeons and built up enough high-level undead, she might’ve had a shot even against the principal and the Sword Queen.

But that plan had been cut off right at the first dungeon.

The Witch of Exhaustion clicked her tongue quietly.

“Can’t be helped. I’ll just have to come back next time.”

“Well, I’m not so sure there will be a next time.”

I said that as I cast a sideways glance.

The Sword Queen was approaching from the start of the trail, and from the opposite direction came the principal.

Faculty members and parents were likely closing in as well.

Even so, there wasn’t the slightest hint of panic on the witch’s face.

She got up from the bench and slowly walked to one side. Then, suddenly turning her head, she asked me,

“Aren’t you curious? Why I showed up here?”

“I was a little curious at first, but I figured I’d find out soon enough anyway.”

“Right, you’ll find out soon enough.”

Vwoom —

Magic circles began to glow beneath the witch’s feet.

Judging by their size and complexity, it was clearly a large-scale spell she’d put a lot of effort into.

“This place is actually great for laying down magic circles. It’s wide, flat, and surprisingly not that well guarded.”

Soon, the Witch of Exhaustion was surrounded by a translucent, dark barrier.

Seeing it, the Sword Queen and the principal started to swing their swords and then let them fall again.

Because they knew what that spell was.

Twilight Reflection Curtain.

A broken spell that repels all attacks while active.

Of course, being that overpowered, it came with a ton of drawbacks.

It takes a long time to draw the circles to cast it, its area is limited, it repels not only incoming attacks but also any spells cast by the user, and it only lasts about one to two minutes which was a very short duration.

Under normal circumstances, it’s practically unusable. But once it’s up, the caster becomes completely immune to outside interference.

And one to two minutes is more than enough time to chain into another spell.

The Witch of Exhaustion pulled a magic scroll out of her inventory.

As she tore it open, the engraved spell unraveled and began to tear open a rift in midair.

A long-distance teleportation spell was taking shape.

She gave a bright smile.

“Why else would I come out here? I’m here because I’m ready to leave.”

I let out a deep sigh.

“Ah…”

“No need to look so disappointed. We’ll be seeing each other again soon. And next time, I’m definitely taking you with me!”

“That’s not why I sighed.”

“Hmm? Then why?”

The Witch of Exhaustion tilted her head, looking puzzled.

I sighed again and spoke.

“Why do spellcasters all think the same way? I’m one too, but honestly, it’s frustrating.”

“…….?”

“You take everything so lightly. Stir things up, then act like, ‘Oh well, never mind~’ and try to just disappear.”

“Isn’t that kind of the strength of a ‘spellcaster’ though?”

I nodded.

“Not wrong. Still, I think sometimes you need to learn a lesson or two.”

“What kind of lesson?”

“That no skill in the world is perfect.”

That every skill, no matter how powerful, has a weakness and space-time magic is no exception.

I pointed to the half-open rift with my Crow Branch and spoke the activation word.

“Caw?”

In an instant, the rift snapped shut and vanished cleanly.

The teleportation spell had been canceled.

The Witch of Exhaustion stood there with a blank expression, like her brain had just short-circuited.

“Uh…?”

She fumbled around the spot where the rift had been, but of course, there was nothing there.

While she stood there dumbfounded, the dark barrier around her began to fade and then disappeared completely.

It meant the duration of [Twilight Reflection Curtain] had also ended.

The Sword Queen and the principal, who had been watching this whole farce unfold, exchanged glances.

Then, grinning from ear to ear, they raised the swords they’d been holding down at their sides.

“Guess you’re not running away now, right?”

“And you can’t reflect anything either, right?”