Successor of the Great Witch
I stared blankly at the blue notification window flickering before me.
Successor of the Great Witch
[Additional Rewards Being Settled...]
Damage Dealt to Demon King Kazea (100,000,000/1)
"One...?"
It was a quest that I could've cleared easily just by dealing a single point of damage. But no, I went overboard, risking my life to take down Kazea completely. Sure, that netted me extra rewards, but...
"Cough... I didn't need to go that far..."
I wiped the blood slowly trickling from my mouth and kept staring at the blue window. That's when I spotted Asella approaching from afar, covered in wounds.
"Noel..."
I turned my head and gave her a faint smile, even as blood dripped from my lips.
"Asella-nim... cough."
I could feel my life force fading bit by bit. After spitting up another mouthful of blood, I finally managed to speak properly.
"In the end... we won... haha..."
"Don't talk...! Recovery first..."
I smiled softly and whispered to her.
"It's no use."
"What..?"
"I made a deal with Nemira-nim... cough, I traded my life... for the power to take down the Demon King."
"How could you do something so stupid...! Sniff... sob... The world's already burned to ashes... why..."
Asella began shedding tears right in front of me.
"Sob... like this... no one's gonna know..."
Feeling my breath growing shallower, I forced a smile for her.
"Asel... cough, Asella-nim knows..."
"That stupid pride... sniff... I could've done it... Damn gods never helped once... sob..."
I staggered toward Asella, who was bawling like a child, and gently wiped her tears with my hand.
"Cough, Nemira-nim said to tell you she's sorry..."
"If she's sorry, tell her to bring you back to life... yeah? ...No, I'll do it myself."
"Curse Goddess Nemira—"
Thud—I grabbed her hand to stop her.
"No... cough, anyway... I... have to go back..."
"...Go back..?"
"I'm... cough, not from this world..."
"What do you... Oh."
Asella stared blankly into space.
"...Ha... haha..."
Then she started laughing hollowly. With blood and tears streaming down her face, she looked eerie at first glance, but the raw grief was unmistakable.
"Your world... must still be okay."
I clung to my fading breath and smiled.
"I'm... dying, but... I'm glad I could help Asella-nim..."
"Noel..."
With those final words, Noel's breath stopped.
You have died.
Experience reduced by 50%.
Quest completion nullifies penalty.
And so, the lone Asella remained.
"Priscilla-nim..."
Carrying Noel's body, she trudged over mountains of corpses toward somewhere far away.
"Gasp... huff... cough... Huh?"
Back in reality, I gasped for air and spat up blood.
"Noel!!"
Asella threw herself into my arms, sobbing.
"Asella-nim..."
"Sob... sniff... don't die... I'm sorry..."
Asella rubbed her face against my chest, mumbling nonsense amid her tears.
"Asella-nim."
"Don't die... don't..."
"Asella-nim!"
"Gasp..."
I gently hugged her and patted her small back.
"I'm not dead. See? I'm right here."
"I'm sorry... I lost control of the magic circle midway... and you got hurt because of me..."
I smiled softly and spoke tenderly to her.
"It's okay. I passed the test, right?"
"Yeah... you passed with flying colors... And I have something for you."
Something for me? Looked like Asella was about to hand over the additional reward that hadn't shown up in the notifications. I followed her.
Asella held out a brooch: luxurious fabric in a smoky silver base, embedded with a large purple gem.
"Noel, wanna be my successor?"
The Great Witch, Asella, proposes the path of her successor to you.
Accept: Change to Hidden Class: Successor of the Great Witch.
Decline: Receive 2 Legendary-grade items, no class change.
I couldn't help but be shocked. Season 1 never had a hidden class system—this was new.
Without a second thought, I told Asella,
"It's an honor. I want to be your successor, Asella-nim."
Asella beamed and pinned the brooch on me.
◈ A one-of-a-kind brooch handmade by the Great Witch Asella for someone dear. Only the Successor of the Great Witch may wear it.
◈ All curse and magic damage +30%.
◈ All NPCs recognize you as the Great Witch's successor.
◈ Mental magic effects on self -50%.
You have become the Successor of the Great Witch. (Once per game day, receive training from Asella as a Great Witch.)
Great Witch Asella's affinity has greatly increased.
A barrage of blue windows filled my vision. Grinning at them, I muttered softly,
"God game, indeed."
I chatted with Asella for a while, sorting everything out. Her affinity kept rising during our talk.
'...Is this for real?'
Even in Season 1, hitting "love" affinity with any NPC was rare. I'd focused on growth, so I had plenty of trust, but never once reached love.
'...I'll hit it soon, huh?'
"...So, are you even listening?"
While I was checking the affinity window, Asella puffed her cheeks and glared at me.
"Ahaha... sorry. What were you saying?"
"So... you're my successor now, so you have to come to my room once a day for Great Witch training. Magic... curses... everything, no skipping!"
"Got it, Asella-nim. I won't miss a single day."
She hugged me tight. Her tiny frame made it feel more like she was clinging to me.
"You're my successor now, so no one can look down on you. Your actions reflect on me. So... do your best. Not that I'm worried about you..."
I chuckled and scooped her into my arms.
"Don't worry. I'll do everything to uphold the Great Witch's prestige."
"Uh, yeah..."
I left Asella's room and headed to my room to tally up today's gains. My Room was one of Lost World's more indulgent features—a space to design your house and rest in-game.
"First... skills."
Successor of the Great Witch. As the name implied, the one to inherit the Great Witch's mantle—multiple disciples possible, but only one successor. This class was unique to me.
"...But most are locked."
Way more skills than regular Witch, but over 80% locked.
"Oh yeah, I forgot something..."
Then I spotted the blinking stream button in the corner.
"Right, the stream..."
"Shit..."
The chat exploded from the start with spam.
I smacked my forehead and rushed to explain.
"Calm down, everyone. I got teleported to a no-stream zone suddenly..."
The chat calmed once I explained. I brought up the hidden quest...
They barely cared about the quest details, so I started showing off the rewards one by one.
"Okay, first, this successor class has tons of skills? But most are locked. Probably unlock 'em through Asella's training."
"And... this."
◈ All curse and magic damage +30%.
◈ All NPCs recognize you as the Great Witch's successor.
◈ Mental magic effects on self -50%.
I snickered at the chat reactions. Bragging really is the best.
"Oh, right. And this."
◈ Bestowed upon the one who saved a tale of despair.
◈ NPCs won't be hostile on first conversation.
◈ 'Hero' NPCs hold slight affinity toward you.
I thought the title was meh too—a real mixed bag. Still, in NPC-heavy Lost World, it'd help.
"Alright... shall we chat a bit then end the stream?"
1,320 viewers still chatting away lively. I smiled, logged out of Lost World.
But I'd forgotten one thing.
Zap—
"Oh. 3rd job change..."
"Gah!!"
Capsule forcibly shutting down.
The massive pain hit as I logged out, knocking me unconscious. The capsule shut down, stream ended too.
Excessive fatigue detected in streamer. Broadcast ended.
Viewers stared at the black screen and that message, spamming question marks for a while.
...Noel woke up 12 hours after passing out.