Rescue (1)
“The young master fell down there?”
Asella's face paled as she peered over the cliff's edge. It was the central fortress, deliberately built in a deep valley for defense. Pitch-black darkness shrouded her view, making it impossible to gauge the bottom. The jagged rocks of the mountains gaped like a maw, greedily swallowing anything that fell, as if eager to devour it whole.
“No.”
Asella clamped a hand over her mouth. No one could survive a bare-handed plunge into that abyss. The moment the obvious truth hit her, blood rushed to her head, turning her vision crimson.
“Tanya! Why were you fighting the barbarians with the young master? He was unarmed!”
Asella stormed toward Tanya, fury blazing. “That is...”
Tanya relayed the events exactly as they unfolded, explaining how she had failed to grab Ras when he lunged to save the boy at the end.
“What...!”
Slap!
Unable to contain her rage, Asella struck Tanya across the cheek. Tanya accepted the blow stoically, as if it were her due. She too had sensed Ras's death. Failure to protect her lord—disqualification as a guard knight. If she hadn't fixated on the imperial knights and shied away from the front lines, this might never have happened.
Ras was no one meant to die in a place like this. A single knight's momentary lapse had ruined everything. Tanya's heart ached unbearably, but she knew Asella suffered more, so she buried her emotions deep.
“What were you doing if you couldn't protect the young master?!”
“I have no excuses.”
“You useless...!”
Asella hurled curses at Tanya. The flicker in her blazing eyes wasn't just golden mana. She knew full well her outburst was pointless. Even so, she couldn't contain the boiling emotions. What even was this feeling? It was something Asella had never experienced before.
Loss. Ras, whom she'd assumed would always be by her side, was gone. She'd never even imagined it. No more sharing a bed tonight, no waking to his face tomorrow morning. And today was the end of the month—no more pathetic jokes or flippant remarks from next year on.
No matter how she denied it inwardly, the reality of this place—eyes open, breathing—remained unchanged. Was this the price of glimpsing the future with Foresight? In every timeline she'd seen, Ras survived. Five years from now, six years—he was always fine.
Was he merely alive in those visions? She knew they weren't futures connected to reality. Still, she'd grown complacent. She'd half-ignored his advice to stay safe in the rear because the battlefield was dangerous. Deep down, she'd been convinced neither she nor Ras would die before she claimed the throne here.
That's why she'd so easily allowed him to sneak into the heart of the fray. She shouldn't have. But now, all those thoughts were useless. What action in the world was more meaningless than regret?
Yet her neurons kept chasing futile hypotheticals, one after another. Asella realized her surging fury was aimed inward. She knew it but refused to admit it. So she unleashed it all on Tanya before her. She had to blame her. Otherwise, it felt like she had killed Ras.
...No. No amount of blame would bring him back.
“...Hah.”
Asella withdrew her hand and turned her back on Tanya, walking away in silence. The knights watched their lord breathlessly. Midway through,
“Aaaahhh!!”
Asella clenched her fists and screamed. Boom!! Mana erupted instinctively from her, exploding outward and carving a massive fissure in the ground.
The rock tribe chieftain's corpse sprawled in the snow wasn't exactly inviting to inspect. Tanya had cleanly severed his head just before the fall, after all. Thanks to that, the necklace artifact lay a few meters away. No need to touch the body—perfect.
“Legendary grade. Normally, even slaying this guy would've meant it reverting to the Empire, out of my hands.”
Picking up the necklace triggered its info in the Status Window.
Legendary Artifact
Effect: Creates or manipulates curses up to Advanced rank.
Related Artifact: Stormstone of Eternal Tempest
The rock tribe chieftain merely aped a shaman; he lacked the skill to craft powerful curses himself. Barbarians to begin with. Their curse-based shamanism fell under black magic anyway, requiring mana. This artifact enabled his potent enhancement curses.
“He probably used its Advanced curse creation to buff himself.”
Asella had wielded it once or twice herself. Even used it to curse the world to ruin.
“Life's full of twists. Falling down here let me snag this gem.”
Artifacts were rare enough; Legendary ones were unicorns. The Goblet of Prophecy that unlocked my talents was one step down, Heroic grade.
“Sell it and you'd remake your fate.”
Not that I'd actually sell it. An artifact casually churning out Advanced curses? If it fell to a black mage or Demon King's forces, headaches galore.
The last line nagged at me. “Related Artifact: Stormstone of Eternal Tempest.”
A groove sat in the necklace's center, shaped for a perfect fit—like it begged to be combined.
“The Stormstone was with the thunder tribe chieftain, if memory serves.”
Seemed the barbarians split artifacts from some ancient ruin. Passed down through chieftains, probably.
“Wonder what happens if I merge them?”
Status Window explained.
Mythic Artifact
Effect: Creates or manipulates curses up to Supreme rank.
“Mythic grade, huh.”
Simple upgrade: Advanced curse limit bumped to Supreme. True curse mastery.
“Black mages would cream themselves.”
Another perk caught my eye: curse manipulation.
“Means controlling active, pre-existing curses.”
Instant application sprang to mind: Asella's debuff removal surgery. Per Hugo, her womb housed a curse-triggering—or curse itself—soul. Like with the chieftain, a thrashing target complicates things. Hugo's quick hands saved the day there. Doing it mid-C-section? Way riskier. This could tame any rampaging curse.
“Perfect.”
Handy for sure. I wiped the necklace on my eyes to erase the chieftain's stench and slipped it on.
“Hm.”
No dramatic change—just heightened fingertip sensitivity. Vital artifact; I'd wear it for now.
To plan surgery and artifact sequence, I needed Asella's curse grade and type.
“Skill check.”
[Emergency Treatment C] → [Emergency Treatment B]
[Prescription C] → [Prescription B]
You can acquire 1 new skill.
“Nice.”
Volunteer work and battlefield EXP pushed my skills up. Options: CT Scan, MRI, Laparoscopic Surgery.
“Figuring Asella's curse is priority one. Hugo needs time to research too.”
MRI's high-frequency for 3D internals edged out, but her issue was abdominal—likely organ-related. CT's X-rays usually better there.
“Studies show similar accuracy for most diseases anyway. X-rays have rare side effects.”
Hugo'd need multi-angle shots for curse analysis. MRI wins.
“MRI it is.”
Decided—execute. Tapped Status Window to acquire.
“Now, getting back to test skills and artifact.”
Cliff above still loomed endlessly.
“Hey—!”
My shout vanished into valley winds.
“They won't assume I'm dead and leave, right?”
Tanya'd come down at least once for my body. But freezing in snow for hours? Nah.
“This'll do.”
Thick white snow perfect. I trudged, carving massive “I'M ALIVE” visible from afar. Twenty-meter radius—no way they'd miss.
“Time to rest. Divine power's tapped.”
Searched crevices; lucked into a cave soon after. Warmed up inside. Eyes open—who knew when rescue'd hit.
“Whew.”
Alone in nature, breathing steadied. Short break; might as well enjoy. Tanya'd descend soon.
“Might think I'm dead, though.”
Tanya, Chloe, Hugo, my healers—probably worried sick. Asella? Who knows. Suddenly curious what she was up to.
“Rescue team assembled.”
“Commencing descent.”
Tanya stood at the cliff with thirty Moonlight Palace knights, ropes tied around waists. The central fortress's 1st Regiment herded rescued refugees and the count toward the southern fortress. Tanya planned to descend the valley instead of joining them.
No real hope Ras lived. Still, duty bound her to retrieve his body for House Gotberg.
As Tanya stepped forward, someone beat her to it.
“Move out.”
Asella, fully armored, rope at her waist, commanded. Tanya faltered, trying to dissuade her.
“Your Highness.”
Asella shot Tanya a razor glare. “Didn't you hear? Move out.”