The Humiliation of Pride
And just like that, she got her ass handed to her in spectacular fashion. Zernya tumbled across the floor several times before she could even process what had just happened. Truth be told, she didn’t want to understand it. She couldn’t believe that someone of Adelbein blood was rolling around like a beaten dog.
“Did you truly believe fake constellations could pierce my scales? How utterly foolish.”
“This… this is humiliating.”
Even when she had lost to that tomboy named Rustilla, it hadn’t felt this degrading. Back then she hadn’t used her constellations, after all. She had believed that deploying her artificial constellations would let her defeat even an avatar.
“Let me offer you one piece of advice.”
Maylem slithered closer, flicking her tongue. Zernya spat out a mouthful of sour, metallic blood and rose to her feet, readjusting her grip on her rapier.
“Shut up.”
“What are you even saying, you Outer Deity lackey?”
The blade, brimming with Ether, glowed with a brilliant blue light. Zernya’s body surged forward like a crashing wave.
“Still a fool, I see.”
Maylem’s tail whipped around and slammed into Zernya’s torso. The girl flew in a grotesque arc and smashed into the wall. A pathetic groan echoed through the chamber.
“The moment you stepped into my domain, your fate was already sealed.”
A shrill ringing filled Zernya’s ears. She barely managed to lift her head. Maylem was still speaking.
— Idiot.
— You are not a chosen one.
— Know your place.
No.
Everyone in the world had called her a genius. A chosen one, even if unlucky. Her talent existed on a completely different level. Her vessel was so vast it could never be filled by an entire galaxy. That was why she had adapted to the artificial constellations and survived.
“In every field, in every place, the world is full of prodigies. Isn’t that right, little girl?”
“A monster like you has no right to lecture me.”
“Well, I understand. Mortals rarely change. And when they do experience something that could change them, the tuition fee is usually…”
Maylem’s jaws yawned open with a sickening crack.
“…paid in death.”
A low, hissing laugh filled the air. A pair of gilded, razor-sharp fangs drew steadily closer. Terror wrapped itself around her body. If she stayed like this, she would die.
“Ugh… ugh!”
She had to get up, but her body refused to obey. Her arms burned and her stomach felt numb. In front of the gaping maw of that enormous serpent, Zernya’s artificial constellations could not protect her mind. Because something manufactured had no soul.
Ah.
Exposed to raw consciousness, Zernya’s expression grew distant.
I… I don’t want to die.
A flurry of memories flashed before her eyes. The faces of her family praising her talent. The atmosphere in the laboratory after her successful artificial constellation transplant. The dumbfounded look on her mediocre teacher’s face when she answered difficult questions. Perfect score sheets. The empty lot after school where she had thoroughly crushed her cocky classmates. And then… Aidel.
Aidel?
Why am I thinking about him?
Know humility.
The avatar’s words suddenly resurfaced. She didn’t know why. She didn’t want to know. Right now, she only wanted to live.
But the reality bearing down on her was agonizing. She wanted to run from it. Zernya squeezed her eyes shut.
So she didn’t see it—the sight of the golden-fanged serpent that had been about to devour her suddenly having its neck severed and falling beyond the horizon.
“…Huh?”
When she cautiously opened her eyes, a single caliper was embedded in the ground in front of the avatar.
By the time we arrived, Chamber Three was already under attack. Steel vipers were biting students indiscriminately. The venom connected to the avatar’s core was slowly spreading through the victims’ bodies.
“We must locate and kill the avatar as quickly as possible. Only then can we neutralize the poison,” Instructor Isaac said. We moved according to his orders.
“Split the troops and clear the monsters from floors one through nine. I, Kibel, and Aidel will head to the top floor.”
“Why are we going to the top floor?”
“I sense powerful malice coming from above.”
Yet when we reached the tenth floor, it was eerily quiet and empty.
“Something’s off.”
“Are you sure this is the right place?”
Isaac and Kibel swallowed their unease. Meanwhile, I had been carefully examining the buttons and found a clue.
“Instructor, look at this.”
“This is… a snake biting its own tail.”
“It’s called the Ouroboros symbol. It represents infinite cycles and perfection.”
I organized my thoughts based on the symbol drawn on the first floor.
Beep.
“We’ll start from the first floor.” I pressed the button for the fourth floor.
“Next?”
“Second floor. Then eighth, fifth, and seventh.”
Finally, pressing the third, sixth, and ninth floors…
— A sound like something opening echoed.
“You were looking for a secret passage. So what’s the principle behind it?”
To Kibel’s question, I kindly explained.
“The sequence 1-4-2-8-5-7 is the repeating cycle you get when you express 1/7 as a decimal. When you plot it on a circle, it becomes the ‘hexad’ model used in numerology. It symbolizes infinite circulation.”
“Ah, um…”
“And 3-6-9. When plotted on a circle, it forms an equilateral triangle. Isn’t the equilateral triangle the shape that represents perfection?”
“And?”
“That’s it. All we have to do now is press the tenth floor.”
I reached for the tenth-floor button, then froze. A chilling killing intent radiated from it. Instead of touching it with my hand, I pulled out my caliper.
“That’s—!”
“A gift from my girlfriend.”
— ‘The God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ is startled.
Crack!
I smashed the tenth-floor button with my tool.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“There was a very faint trace of an Outer Deity’s aura. If we had just pressed it, we would’ve been in serious trouble.”
“We knew that much! What I mean is—why would you break the button?!”
Kibel and Isaac sighed at the same time. They began whispering to each other. In the meantime, the elevator indicated an ominous floor number.
The doors opened. What appeared was a damp space lit by a few scattered lights. There, a serpent with golden fangs and a silver-haired girl collapsed helplessly in front of it.
The silver-haired girl was Zernya.
Damn it. If she stayed like that, she’d get eaten. She might become a villain in the future, but she hadn’t done anything yet. Letting her die would weigh on my conscience.
Isaac, having finished his conversation with Kibel, carefully examined the area beyond the elevator and spoke.
“It’s deploying a Void Space. Looking at the elevator structure, that’s what it is.”
“A Void Space?”
“It’s a sealed domain used by certain avatars. None of us should step out of this elevator. If we do, even if we kill the avatar, we might never escape from beyond it.”
“So you’re saying we have to kill it from a distance?”
Isaac nodded.
“Aidel, I’ll infuse your weapon with stellar power. Throw it.”
“Understood.”
— ‘The God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ sees through Isaac Clark’s scheme and chuckles softly.
I already knew what Isaac was thinking. And I was letting him have his way anyway.
“Hup!”
I hurled the caliper infused with Omega-rank stellar power with all my strength. Once the direction was set, the rest was easy. The caliper began chasing the avatar’s core, guided by starlight.
Slice!
The caliper, carrying both Isaac’s stellar power and the Outer Deity’s mental damage, severed Maylem’s neck in a single strike.
— Avatar Golden Serpent ‘Maylem’ has been slain.
— 90,000 Fron acquired!
— Additional 10,000 Fron acquired as cooperative points!
So the core really was in the neck after all.
— The effects of Void Space and Venomous Fang have dissipated.
Thank goodness. We weren’t too late.
I immediately approached Zernya.
480. Only twenty points away from 500. She had nearly ended up like Seti.
“Are you okay?”
“You…”
After retrieving the caliper, I examined Zernya’s condition. There were clear bite marks on her right arm.
“Did that thing get you?”
“None of your business.”
Zernya slowly stood up. She couldn’t keep her balance. Her severely drained mental strength had robbed her of equilibrium.
“Want me to support you?”
“I don’t need it.”
She swatted my hand away and staggered forward. As expected. I shrugged and scanned the floor. A pure white scarf had fallen there.
“Hey, you dropped your scarf.”
“Ah.”
When Zernya turned around, her face was a mask of panic. For a brief moment, the artificial constellation mark on her neck was visible. It was less a mark and more of a scar. To Zernya, who pursued absolute perfection, it was a complex. That was why she wore a scarf all year round.
“Give it back! Ah!”
In her rush, Zernya tripped over her own feet and fell right in front of me. With no strength left, she grabbed onto me like a pillar and slumped against me. Her shoulders trembled violently. After a brief struggle, she ran out of energy, went limp, and muttered.
“…You saw it.”
I silently wrapped the scarf around her neck as she kept her head bowed.
“Let’s go back.”
Zernya let me support her, head hanging low. Just then, Isaac and Kibel approached us. Isaac looked at Zernya leaning against me and started teasing.
“Aidel, already switched girlfriends?”
“Don’t say weird things, Instructor.”
“You really are blessed with good fortune.”
Unlike Isaac, Kibel remained stiff. The moment he saw me, he turned his eyes away indifferently.
“Looks like your friend is having a hard time. Why don’t you carry her?”
“Sure, why not.”
“Won’t the suit be uncomfortable? Since the work is done, you can change into something more comfortable.”
I nodded, stripped off everything above the waist except for a plain t-shirt, and hoisted Zernya onto my back in one smooth motion.
“W-what are you doing?!”
While Zernya panicked, I had already lifted her.
“Put me down! I said put me down!”
She flailed like a live fish before going limp again.
“This is humiliating. This is… humiliating.”
In the elevator mirror, her eyes were glistening with tears. Half her face was buried in my shoulder.
“You’re light. About 43 kilograms? Gaaah!”
Zernya bit down hard on my shoulder.
We took the elevator down and sorted out the situation.
“There are many injured, but not a single fatality.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Indeed. It is.”
Aidel and Kibel glanced at me and cleared their throats.
“Kibel, Enavet. Take these two down. I’ll clean up here and join you in the lobby. The rest of the team, continue searching for Chamber Four.”
“Yes!”
“I’m not too worried since Nayer is there, but you never know what might happen.”
Isaac let out a small sigh.
Escorted by the swordsmen, I boarded the orbital elevator with Zernya still on my back. She remained silent for a long time before finally speaking.
“Consider yourself lucky.”
“About what?”
“If this practical exam hadn’t been interrupted by an attack, I would have crushed you.”
“Zernya.” I sighed. “You almost died. You’re still talking like that?”
“Being top of the class is a serious matter. Don’t you know this exam decides the semester ranking?”
“Who cares about some stupid ranking?”
“What?”
“Why are you so obsessed with being number one?”
Zernya bit my shoulder three times in a row. This was going to kill me. I was probably going to end up with bruises.
“You can only say that because you’re currently in first place.”
“Yeah, yeah. My bad.”
In the end, I raised both hands in surrender. Instead of agreeing with her, I added one more thing.
“You worked really hard.”
It was a phrase she had never heard before. She had heard plenty of result-oriented praise—you’re the best, you’re number one—but never praise for the process itself. Zernya’s heart suddenly began to pound wildly.
Know humility.
The avatar’s words came back to her again. What exactly was humility? She had never once considered the question. Zernya had never bowed her head to anyone. Whenever she fought others, she was always right and they were always wrong. Because she believed the winner was justice.
Yeah, I was wrong.
That was why she couldn’t understand Aidel’s apology. Why was he admitting fault like an idiot? It was annoying. She wanted to argue, but she didn’t have the strength. The only resistance she could manage was biting down on his shoulder with her upper teeth. Whenever Zernya got irritated, she had a habit of biting or tearing at something.
“Ouch.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Her heart hurt. There must still be some venom left.
“Just in case, let’s go to the hospital. If we go to where my parents work, we can get it cheap.”
Stab. Stab. It felt like needles pricking her. As Zernya clenched her teeth, the orbital elevator arrived at the lobby.
And then.
“…Aidel?”
A familiar, unlucky girl’s voice rang out.