The MP Limit

Chloe didn't hesitate as she questioned the status window.

"This 86,400... it represents twenty-four hours in seconds, right?"

"Never mind. Call the assistant."

"Call the assistant! You said I could do it from wherever I wanted. I currently have two thousand hidden points. I'll pay them."

Chloe pondered what would be the easiest task before answering promptly.

"There's something I need delivered. Delma got tired and went to sleep."

"Yes."

Chloe stared at the status window with her eyes wide open, waiting for Taechang to appear. At last the blue window began spinning in a vortex before her eyes. She had been so startled the first time she saw it. Now it just seemed like a lot of flashy screen effects with nothing substantial behind them. The status window, which had been twirling clockwise and counterclockwise, gradually slowed to a stop and spat Taechang out just like before.

Somehow his complexion looked worse than it had previously.

"Are you sick?"

"To hear such words from a patient... how absurd."

"I can't very well ask a sick person to run errands, can I?"

"I'm still in better shape than you. So? What is this task?"

"It's nothing special. Just stand over there for a bit."

Taechang made a puzzled face and furrowed his brows deeply. He had clearly been told he would be given work, yet she only wanted him to stand there.

Meanwhile, time ticked steadily away. Taechang grew anxious as he watched the scheming glint in Chloe's eyes.

How long had it been?

Even though Chloe hadn't declared the task complete, Taechang's body began to blur. Chloe flashed a triumphant smile.

"Right on time."

Taechang's eyes flew wide, and in the next instant he was sucked back into the status window.

Once Taechang vanished, Chloe reopened the status window.

"Just as I thought!"

Everything else remained unchanged; only the hidden points and MP index had shifted.

"If you won't tell me, did you really think I couldn't figure it out myself?"

Chloe beamed at the status window and asked,

"That MP is the amount of time Taechang can appear, isn't it?"

The status window offered no reply.

"And every time my body suffered, the number that had increased in the MP went back down. Which means!"

Chloe declared with proud confidence as she gazed at the status window.

"Taechang absolutely cannot allow me to get sick. In other words, he's an existence that must serve and revere me. Right? Because if I get sick the MP index drops, and if the MP ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠index drops, the time Taechang can appear shrinks. Well? How's my reasoning?"

The status window had no idea how to respond to Chloe's reasoning, which had started so strongly only to veer off in a strangely bizarre direction.

When the status window remained silent, Chloe shouted with absolute confidence.

"Call the assistant."

"See? I was right, wasn't I?"

Chloe grew even more triumphant. Then, as though granting a generous favor, she told the status window,

"Convert ten hidden points into MP index."

After confirming the updated window, Chloe shouted at it once more.

"Call the assistant!"

The status window fidgeted for a moment, spun the blue screen a few lazy times, then grudgingly shoved Taechang out.

Unlike the first summoning—with its dramatic clockwise and counterclockwise spins, dramatic wind effects, and overall spectacle—this time it showed zero sincerity.

Taechang, forcibly ejected from the screen, struggled to get back inside, but it was useless.

Chloe stared at the status window, which had stubbornly turned its back on her, and asked,

"Happy you got ten extra seconds?"

The trembling figure with its back turned suddenly whirled around and strode straight to the bed where Chloe lay. His face, once white as snow, now burned crimson with rage.

"Do not mock me. I am not an existence you may treat so disrespectfully."

"Okay."

Taechang looked bewildered by Chloe's unexpectedly compliant answer. Her docile attitude made his furious approach feel almost embarrassing.

But then—

"Taechang."

Taechang let out a deep sigh at the hated name and glared at her with clear displeasure. Chloe was smiling sweetly.

"Ten seconds are up~"

"What?"

At the same time, his body blurred and he was sucked back into the status window. She thought she might have heard a curse slip out.

He really does have a foul temper.

Chloe, gazing at the now-silent status window, grinned.

"Convert one thousand two hundred hidden points into MP."

"I'm feeling generous. Besides, three minutes isn't enough time to order him around anyway. At least twenty minutes would be useful, don't you think? And honestly, my rapid recovery does seem to be thanks to Taechang. So I'm giving it as a bonus of sorts."

"No. I'm tired. I'm going to sleep. He probably got sulky after all my teasing earlier anyway. Just leave him alone."

Chloe muttered as if complaining about a stubborn younger sibling, then pulled the blanket over her head. Truthfully, the medicine had been making it difficult to keep her eyes open for some time now.

Before long, the room filled with the sound of her soft, even breathing.

"She's handing out medicine after causing the illness."

Taechang, who had appeared at some point, stared down at the sleeping Chloe with a thoroughly dumbfounded expression.

The blue status window bunched itself into a round shape once more, transforming into a small blue bird that perched quietly on the headboard.

"We'll find out in due time."

"No."

"Just because."

It was a simple whim. Unable to control the shift in his own mood, Taechang remained seated there for a long while before finally vanishing.

Red Bear entered the Black Forest with the desperate mindset of a drowning man clutching at straws, searching for the Cullens' habitat. The Cullens had attacked the village at the hour when the morning sun was rising—an absolute impossibility for creatures that could not be active during daylight.

Even if it had been daytime, it made no sense that the Cullens would not have noticed their young being taken. They must have employed some powerful means capable of putting even monsters to sleep.

Discovering what that method was took priority.

"It's over there."

Urun stopped walking, pointed in a certain direction, and whispered. Red Bear and his subordinates instantly lowered their bodies and stared intently at the dark cave entrance.

During the previous large-scale attack, a great number of Cullens had been killed. Therefore, even if some remained inside the cave, their numbers should be manageable.

"I'll go ahead and scout."

Worried for Red Bear, who had sustained a serious injury in the last ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠battle, Urun spoke up first. Though he too had been wounded, he had suffered neither broken bones nor internal injuries, so he continued to take the lead in protecting his commander. Besides, Urun excelled at concealing his presence.

With Red Bear's permission, Urun moved swiftly toward the Cullen cave. Body lowered, his approach resembled a predator stealthily crawling toward its prey.

Upon reaching the cave entrance, Urun hid himself and strained his ears toward the sounds coming from within.

Whiiiiiiing.

The wind howling from deep inside the cave sounded like a giant whistling. Urun signaled toward Red Bear's position, then hurled one of the prepared flares into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the cave.

Pssssssht!

The few remaining flares in the Grace Territory had been crafted by an alchemist who stayed at Grace Castle for two months ten years earlier. They were old, and the alchemist had not been particularly skilled, so their duration was short.

Still, they burned brightly enough to illuminate the pitch-black cave before dying out—more than sufficient to provoke any remaining Cullens. The men waited in high tension for a reaction, but even after a long while the cave remained as silent as a tomb.

Urun, still concealed nearby, sent another signal. He would enter and investigate personally. Red Bear and his men immediately advanced toward the cave. Though there were no signs of the creatures, they did not relax their vigilance for even a moment.

"It's completely empty."

Not a single Cullen remained inside the cave. Since not all of them had died that day, it appeared the survivors had relocated their habitat. Just to be certain, several men entered and detonated additional flares, but there was still no response.

"Light the torches."

Red Bear and his subordinates slowly made their way deeper into the cave. Having once housed over a hundred creatures at once, its scale was enormous. The ceiling rose roughly three stories high, and the width was broad enough for ten grown men to walk abreast with room to spare.

The soldiers' cautious footsteps echoed softly—pat, pat, pat—through the cavern.

Drip, drip, drip. The sound of falling water droplets echoed ceaselessly from somewhere. Despite it being midday outside, not a single ray of light penetrated the cave, leaving it in total darkness.

"Hey! There's something here!"

Just as they were about to leave after circling the cave once, an excited soldier's voice rang out from one side. Red Bear and Urun rushed toward the sound.

A young soldier had discovered a half-burned pouch and now held it with a bright smile. Red Bear examined the pouch with sharp eyes and shouted urgently at the man.

"Put that down immediately!"