Disciple (3)
Disciple (3)
"Ugh...!"
Jaden, dragged into the rift before he could even process what was happening, got to his feet, rubbing the back of his head.
"Damned old coot...."
Cursing his rejuvenated master, who kept smacking him upside the head at every opportunity, he took in his surroundings.
A long corridor evoking the medieval era,
lined with candelabras at regular intervals to light the way.
...Drip. Drip.
...Drip.
He turned his head toward the faint sound from the towering windows on the opposite side and saw a dark sky, rain pattering down.
'A themed rift?'
Among the high-level rifts of stage 9 and above, those unified by a single color—like Oberon, the Fairy King, and the fairies' homeland—were known as themed rifts.
【Guest.】
"...?!"
At the chilling voice of a woman from beneath his feet, Jaden reflexively threw himself into a roll.
He quickly scrambled up and turned to unleash magic toward the source of the voice—
【My master bids you cease your foolishness and bring the item.】
"Hurk?!"
The same voice came from directly behind him, and Jaden pitched forward and collapsed.
【Your unsightly display is rather amusing, but my master's time is exceedingly precious. I suggest you rise quickly—before I am forced to drag you.】
"Cough, cough...!"
His mana had tangled from the shock. Coughing hard, Jaden struggled to his feet and turned to see what had startled him so badly.
【Follow.】
A translucent spirit form with lovely features it couldn't hide.
Yet the woman exuded a gloom at odds with that radiant beauty.
'A Banshee...!'
The highest class of fallen ghosts, known as Banshee or Banshi, was first reported in an 11th-stage rift.
Not a unique individual like Oberon, but unlike the fallen, mindless Banshees, this one retained its full sanity—an exceedingly dangerous monster.
【Come quickly. Or I could simply break your unnecessary legs and drag you along.】
"I-I was just about to move."
Jaden hurried his steps and fell in behind the nameless Banshee.
Even before his retirement, he couldn't have faced such an entity alone. Now, with his skills further diminished, there was no chance. Obedience was the only option.
Kugugugung—!!
"...?!"
As he walked the long corridor, the floor suddenly shuddered, and a new path opened up beside him.
【Halt.】
Jaden had been staring at the newly formed route in real time. The Banshee's chill voice snapped him back to attention, and he stopped walking.
Kung, kuung—!!
"Crazy...."
A tremor far stronger than before swept through the floor. Then every space around them—except the single section where Jaden and the Banshee stood—began to twist and rearrange like puzzle pieces.
【You may enter through there.】
Once the distorted space reassembled itself, the Banshee pointed at the enormous door that had materialized right in front of them and passed through it.
"You idiot...!"
Jaden raked a hand through his own hair, cursing his past self—the one who'd declared he'd take Baek Woo-jin's ring. If he could, he'd go back and slap that fool silly.
"Hoo."
Shaking off the dark history of his past, Jaden straightened his disheveled hair and carefully opened the door.
Crackle-
Unlike the gloomy corridor, a simple room with a sense of warmth welcomed him.
"Come in."
"...Yes."
Before a fireplace where firewood crackled, Baek Woo-jin sat in a solid wooden chair, one hand resting on a Crystal floating in the air.
Jaden fixed his eyes on the Crystal, glowing with a lustrous light, as he approached.
"The Balance Scale."
"Ah, h-here it is."
Jaden produced the Balance Scale he had carefully tucked against his chest and added,
"I'm not certain it's the one you were looking for."
"It is."
The Balance Scale flew through the air and settled into Baek Woo-jin's hand.
An old Balance Scale—Jaden couldn't even remember who he'd gotten it from.
He vaguely recalled having won it with difficulty at an auction house. But finding no magical traces, let alone an activation method, he had deemed it a mere antique and used it to decorate his lab.
Jaden waited, curious to see just how Baek Woo-jin would use the Balance Scale, watching for his next move.
Fwoosh—!!
Just then, the Crystal flared a little brighter.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"...Pardon?"
"Leave through the exit behind you."
Jaden turned. Behind him, where nothing had been moments ago, a portal now shimmered.
"That master of yours outside is searching frantically. You're noisy, so take him and go."
"Ah...."
Jaden remembered then—the master who'd been smacking the back of his head. And the words he himself had spoken. Despair hit him.
A scene he might never witness again, and he was being dismissed just to shoo away a grumbling old man.
"It will remain until the Grade Evaluations are over, so stop your moping and get out fast."
"That's not— I-I mean! Yes!! I'm leaving now!!"
Before Baek Woo-jin could change his mind, Jaden hurled himself through the exit to deal with his master.
**
Crackle-
Once Jaden left, silence returned to the room.
"Biche."
【Yes, Master.】
The spirit body that had been hiding beneath the floor revealed itself and stood before me.
She lacked a physical form, but like Oberon—a unique individual who retained her living appearance and memories—she was the master of the Silent Ancient Castle, a 14th-stage rift not yet known at this point in time.
Right now, this spirit before me was the limit of what I could manifest through the Crystal I had subdued.
A unique entity, hands folded neatly below her waist, head bowed as she awaited my command.
No mere replica.
The first thing I'd tried to manifest here was Oberon, the Fairy King already slain by human hands.
The information required for manifestation was sufficient; the necessary resources were sufficient. And yet, despite meeting every condition, Oberon did not manifest.
But Biche—another unique entity—stood before me without a single flaw, awaiting my orders.
A woman who remembered everything from her life, yet had no body.
What comprised her form was not the energy mass humans call mana—it was the "soul" itself, a soul that had lost its body to return to.
Yes. The Crystal had not used my mana as a resource to create her. It had summoned her. And it had done so under a master-servant bond.
That taught me something new. Unique individuals are not created by the Crystal—their true bodies, existing somewhere, are summoned here. And furthermore—
"What about your memories?"
【My apologies. No matter how I try to recall, I cannot remember the place where I originally was.】
She retained the memories of her life, but the location she occupied before being summoned eluded her.
"Understood. Rest."
【My apologies.】
Bowing her head, she sank back beneath the floor.
'I've twisted the future without meaning to.'
By summoning Biche, the 14th-stage rift that would later appear would likely shift to a different theme. Unless the rift forcibly severed the master-servant bond and dragged her back.
Having sorted my thoughts, I released the Crystal in my hand. It drifted up lightly, stopped at a comfortable spot, and then—as if showing off—withdrew its radiance and settled into rest.
I looked away from the now-docile Crystal and raised the Balance Scale in my hand.
'The Scale of Sacrifice.'
True to its name, a god-level artifact that sacrifices something from the user and grants or achieves a result of lesser value.
However, the value of the sacrifice was determined by the Scale itself, calibrated to the user.
Just as the same sum of money can feel different depending on who holds it, the Scale assessed worth not by objective value but by quantifying how much the user valued the sacrifice.
That made the artifact in my hand dangerously variable—its utility skyrocketed depending on who used it.
In certain cases, enough to damage even a divinity itself.
Which was why a certain god, upon learning of this artifact's existence, sealed it. So that no one could ever use it.
But making a mockery of her own seal, that same god would eventually undo it herself.
'To weaken Void.'
That's right. The god who placed the seal on this artifact was none other than the Goddess of Benevolence—the one who exploited Baek Ha-na time and again. And the seal was broken solely to trade Baek Ha-na's life to strike at Void.
'Vermin.'
When the time came, she would be the first one I tore apart.
"Hoo."
I shook off the seething emotions. Feelings like these would only interfere with the work ahead.
"Biche."
【Yes, Master.】
I gave my order to the spirit that had reemerged.
"If anyone enters before I wake, knock them unconscious and leave them be."
【It shall be done.】
From this moment, I would use the Authority of Emptiness to erase the existence of this artifact from that vile bitch's memory and make the fact of the seal as though it never was.
Unlike with Greed, the Authority had its own master, so the burden on me would be far less. Even so, it would still push me to my current limits.
I would focus on regaining consciousness rather than restoring the soul, so I'd wake faster than I had a few days ago—recovery notwithstanding.
However, during that brief window, I wouldn't be able to control the rift. So, to account for any overeager fool who might dive in recklessly, I lifted the entry restrictions.
"It's dangerous. Do not approach this place until I seek you out."
【Yes, Master.】
Without a single question, she passed silently through the firmly shut door and out.
Alone now, I removed my glasses—they felt like an extension of my body at this point—and hooked them onto my jacket pocket.
Wuuung—!!
Even the Crystal that had been resting in the air seemed to sense the wrongness. It drifted away from me and vanished somewhere.
Truly alone, I looked down at the Balance Scale in my hand.
"This is the power you loathe."
I released the power of Void I had kept bound.
"Run wild to your heart's content."
**
...Wednesday lunch, the student cafeteria.
Sitting across from Baek Ha-na, Idni let out a sigh, her face utterly devoid of the will to live.
"Smartphones exist—so why can't we use them...."
"Quit whining and just eat."
"Haa...."
Banned from gaming by Lee Ye-sol, Idni hadn't even lasted a full day before she started muttering from the morning on. To Maria, who was also enduring the ban, it was only natural that her palm twitched upward instinctively every time Idni grumbled.
"Ha-na, is there a specific potion you want?"
"Anything you make for me is good, Na-young."
"R-Really? Heh, hehe...."
On the opposite side of the gloomy atmosphere, Lee Na-young—usually the gloomy one herself—had been brimming with enthusiasm since last evening, now that she and Baek Ha-na were on the same team.
Just as they were finishing up their meal like any other day—
"Hey."
A familiar voice—not a particularly welcome one—drew everyone's gaze except Lee Na-young's toward the source.
"...Hi."
Na Ju-hee, her striking red hair especially conspicuous, greeted Baek Ha-na with an awkward posture.
"Wha— mmph...."
"You, please just shut up. I'm begging you."
Idni tried to cut in like a spark, but Maria, sharper than a blade, was faster.
"If you have something to say, say it."
Baek Ha-na asked flatly. Na Ju-hee's blue eyes flickered as she hesitated to answer.
"Well...."
"Pardon me, Lady."
The moment Na Ju-hee forced her mouth open, a boy whose age was deeply suspect appeared out of nowhere, cutting her off.
Na Ju-hee's eyes narrowed fiercely at the interloper who had interrupted her.
"And you are?"
His height and face were unmistakably that of a boy, but the clothes he wore were unmistakably the Arena Academy uniform. Na Ju-hee decided to figure out who she was dealing with first.
"I'm called Sean. I arrived today as an exchange student from the Royal Academy in England. And—"
The boy who introduced himself as Sean smiled in an oddly out-of-place way and said to Na Ju-hee,
"I am a disciple of Professor Jaden."