Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Self-Love
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Won’t you finish me off?”
I tried to.
But my body wouldn’t move.
‘Guess I can’t use this recklessly.’
Gale Rush was undeniably powerful, but the exhaustion that hit right after was no joke.
It seemed this Art was a high-risk, high-return type that burned through stamina to deal massive damage.
If Senia suddenly sprang up and stabbed me now, I’d be dead for sure.
But somehow, I didn’t think she would.
The gem above her head had vanished.
From my experience so far, the gem only appeared when someone had the will to fight. No gem meant this woman had no intention of backstabbing me.
“You just said you sometimes target people, right?”
“It felt a bit vague to say I wanted to be like someone, so don’t mind it.”
“Is that so? Halibal, you have Lady Adelrin.”
“I’m a turn-based fighter, so imitating Lady Adelrin is tough for me.”
Senia’s eyes widened round, and she let out an “Ahaha.”
“Saying you’re a genius yourself. I’ve never even uttered words like that.”
“I didn’t say that either.”
For real.
For some reason, people in this world automatically translated “turn-based” as “genius.”
Explaining real-time combat versus turn-based in detail would just be boring and pretentious, so I let it slide.
Genius or turn-based, as long as I handle my business, it’s fine.
“Do you think targeting people is wrong, Halibal?”
“Not wrong, but I can’t do it, so I was just surprised it’s possible.”
“I can’t agree with that. I’ve always had someone to target.”
With those words, Senia sprang to her feet.
“I just lost that target recently… and was wandering a bit.”
Her swift movement forced me into a defensive stance on instinct.
Was phase two starting?
Just as I’d created a new Art after seeing hers, she might have figured out a counter after taking one hit. Fighting now, I’d probably lose.
“You don’t need to be so on guard.”
I’d braced for the fight to continue, but unexpectedly, she opened the socket on her lapis lazuli and held it out to me.
“Halibal, I admit defeat to you.”
“So you weren’t planning to do it?”
“Shall we go again then?”
“Let’s just call it my win.”
With the socket open, the Shard’s effects wouldn’t apply.
In other words, she was handing her Shard over to me, saying I could do whatever I wanted.
The classic defeat declaration, something I’d seen multiple times in the game.
“You said you’d take Rene if you won, but you lost… so I suppose I have to pay the price.”
“You don’t have to.”
“No. I don’t want it that way. How about this?”
She pulled out the blue Shard from the socket and placed it in my hand.
“From now on, I’ll target you, like Cecil does.”
“……Pardon?”
“For that, we need equal terms, right?”
Just as Cecilia entrusted Rene to me, Senia seemed to be giving me one of hers.
But Rene and a blue Shard? Weren’t they worlds apart? Felt a bit stingy.
I couldn’t refuse, though, so I accepted.
“This is…”
The moment I gripped the Shard, I instantly knew it wasn’t an ordinary blue Shard.
“This is a memento from my mother.”
“Your mother… You mean the previous Sword Princess?”
“You knew.”
Senia and Cecilia’s mother, the previous Sword Princess, Seidin Ren. A character who never appeared in the story, only mentioned in the settings.
She had already passed before Cecilia returned to the main house, but she must have been precious to Senia, who stayed behind.
“Before she passed, she gripped my hand tight and gave me this, just like now.”
[Self-Love]
‘It shows up here.’
I’d mistaken it for a regular blue at first glance, but up close, its deep blue hue was clearly superior.
Self-Love, like Black Cloud, boosted stamina by 8, but it rarely made it into final builds.
Most preferred attack or fluidity Shards over stamina or defense ones.
Later on, there were monsters where stacking stamina or defense didn’t even matter.
Anyway, this explained why she was still standing fine after 32 straight battles.
Defense 15, stamina 8.
Tank build with a blood pig setup.
“Are you okay giving this away, Lady?”
In reality, blue Shards directly affected stamina. Giving it to me meant hers would drop by that much.
“I’m plenty strong without it.”
Didn’t sound arrogant.
It was true. I hadn’t expected her tank build to hit that hard.
“Ah.”
Then Senia puffed her cheeks and spoke.
“But Halibal, no matter how I think about it, isn’t that too much? We’re proper ladies… Do you really think it’s okay to punch someone’s face like that without mercy?”
Of course not.
But the mood was perfect for a finishing punch, so my hand moved on its own.
If there were achievements, one probably would’ve popped.
“The one who socked the twin ladies!” or something.
“I’m telling Cecil. That you punched my face.”
“Lady Cecilia will be heartbroken.”
Seeing my reaction, Senia narrowed her eyes and flashed a mischievous smile.
“No? Cecil would be jealous.”
“……?”
I figured it was a lame joke.
Jealous that her sister got punched?
“Please take good care of the Shard I gave you.”
“I will.”
“If I beat you next time, I’ll take Self-Love back with Rene as interest.”
“As long as you reach a fair agreement with Lady Cecilia, sure.”
Of course, I had zero intention of giving it up.
I’d use it well for life.
Senia laughed “Ahaha” again at my answer, then lightly touched her finger to her lips.
“Just so you know, I’ve never lost to Cecil once.”
With that, Senia vanished.
She’d declared forfeit on the dungeon clear.
I confirmed she was fully gone, then sprawled out on the floor in a spread-eagle.
“Brutal.”
I’d never planned to fight Senia to begin with.
Plus, the new Art had drained my stamina massively.
Could I finish the remaining trials like this?
‘At least I’ve met almost all the playable characters.’
The consolation was that only instant-kill NPCs were left.
Cecilia dropping out was a blessing in disguise. If she’d stayed, I’d have lost for sure.
Wait a sec.
‘Luna’s still in, isn’t she?’
Thinking about it, the last playable character, Luna Grace, remained.
I stood up, and my whole body creaked.
Not armor creaking—my bones.
‘I’m wrecked.’
Luna was the top magical damage dealer at Requiem Academy.
She stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Cecilia.
No way I could beat her in this state.
‘Still, I want to finish… What to do?’
Then I remembered the Self-Love I’d just gotten.
A stamina 8 boost—maybe I could tough it out.
I slotted Self-Love into Rene right away.
Not 1, but a full 8!
Vitality surged through my body rapidly.
No wounds healed or anything, but now I was confident I could endure the rest.
The Rene sisters sure didn’t hold back.
So what if they were crazy with shattered personalities.
They gave me a special Shard.
╔═════════╗
◈Abyss Core - Rene◈
╠═════════╣
▸ Equipped Shards: 16/16
◆ ◆ ◆ □
◎ ◎ ◎ ◎
◎ ◎ ◎ ◎
◎ ◎ ◎ ◎
╠═════════╣
□ = Red Shard II 1
◎ = Green Shard 12
◆ = [Black Cloud]
◆ = [Adamant]
◆ = [Self-Love]
╠═════════╣
▸ Stat Bonuses
Attack: 2
Stamina: 11
Defense: 3
Crit: 12
Fluidity: 8
╚═════════╝
Thanks to the special Shard, the ability unlock message appeared after ages.
[An ability is unlocked due to equipping a special Shard.]
[Special Shard: Self-Love]
[Special Ability: Bond]
‘Bond?’
Not an intuitive name, so hard to guess the effect.
[Bond(因緣) - When partying with someone you’ve bonded with, party members trigger additional attacks on your attacks based on their favorability level.]
“…What’s this?”
Even reading the description, it didn’t click.
Instant Kill or Reduction were solo abilities. I’d been fighting turn-based in a real-time action world alone.
Party? Wasn’t I the only turn-based one?
From experience, when I entered combat, I moved turn-based, but to others, it looked real-time.
Even if I split two turns for attacks, they just saw “insanely fast!”
So how do turn-based and real-time party up?
[Favorability level can be checked by aiming the Abyss Core at the target.]
[Favorability level maxes at 5.]
Plus, this Bond level thing baffled me.
How to raise it? How did extra attacks work? Questions everywhere.
Haven’t felt this confused since dropping into this world.
Guess I’d have to test it.
‘Where’s a playable character when you need one?’
Fiddling with Self-Love wistfully, the boss door opened, and the bobcut girl appeared.
“…H-Hello…”
Luna Grace.
She recognized me in my helmet instantly, so she must’ve heard the exam details from Victor.
If not? She’d ID me just from my exposed abs or side—impossible.
Unlike Senia, no interactions, so no chance to learn my quirks.
I pointed my sword at her without delay.
Self-Love restored some stamina, but not full.
Could I win?
Honestly, doubtful.
She was the final wall of this exam, so grit teeth and push through…
“I… forfeit the exam…”
“……Pardon?”
…or so I thought, but Luna said that the moment she entered, looking at me.
It was so anticlimactic my maintained persona slipped unwittingly.
In the original, Luna didn’t forfeit.
She even landed a hit on Adelrin and got top marks. Why?
“G-Goodbye…”
Luna faded like smoke.
Wait, tell me why!
Just in case, I aimed Rene at her as she vanished, to test Self-Love.
Then—
[Luna Grace]
[Favorability Level: 3]
“?”
Max is 5?
Why’s hers already 3?
In the end, I could only stare dazedly as Luna disappeared.
Without ever meeting my eyes.
What the hell?
Right after Luna vanished, a message floated over the bonfire.
[Louisdel Entrance Exam ended. Halibal Belder, please come to the Louisdel admissions office immediately.]
“Ah.”
Looking around, the Shadow Dungeon was crumbling away.
It finally sank in.
“So, Adelrin Challenge cleared?”
I’d achieved my insane self-imposed goal: not lose to a single examinee.
“Not bad.”
I didn’t bother hiding the grin splitting my face.