Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: Growing Pains
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──Whiiing
The wind brushed against his hair, carrying the violin’s melody along with it.
A cool, wistful tune.
That trembling melody turned into words, knocking gently on the hearts of everyone gathered there.
“There has lived, in the Great Forest since time immemorial… a race of breathtaking beauty.”
The voice of the bard, violin tucked under his shoulder, spread with the wind as he spoke.
With those words, a ‘forest’ slowly rose before the eyes of the audience watching him.
It wasn’t an illusion. Nor a hallucination.
This was…
‘A story.’
As the bard told his tale, fragments of it materialized as light before the audience’s eyes.
““……””
They weren’t just listening.
They could see it.
They could read it.
They could feel it.
“The world came to call them… ‘elves.’”
Leaves scattering in the breeze.
Birds gliding through the sky on outstretched wings.
Before they knew it, the audience’s vision filled with the scenery of the Great Forest.
“They were nobler than anyone in the world… and more beautiful than any other.”
Eyes that embraced the heavens.
Beauty untouched by the flow of time.
A race that never aged, never fell ill, eternally singing.
And—
“At the heart of that radiant beginning… stood the elves’ mother and father, the ‘World Tree.’”
─────!
The moment the violin bow trembled… a colossal tree rose before the audience’s eyes.
Towering so high its peak vanished from sight, its thousands of layered leaves blotting out the sky.
The tree breathed, and with every breath, winds named ‘life’ scattered across the world.
“The tree connecting worlds… the being that breathed life into the world….”
“…….”
“But—”
Screeech───
The lilting melody suddenly grated.
Cracks rippled through the beautiful tune, and the scenery that had appeared with it darkened ominously.
“…Why was that, I wonder.”
The bard’s voice carried sorrow.
And with it, the world unfolding before the audience… brimmed with sorrow.
The light faded.
The colors faded.
The bright greens and warm golds that filled the forest turned to ashen gray.
From somewhere, black smoke rose, crumbling ancient branches.
“The elves were bewildered. Their mother and father, the World Tree… began rotting away for no reason they could fathom.”
Crackle…
Branches crumbling to dust.
Stems shedding their bark.
Black shadows crept up between them.
The familiar presence of life had vanished, replaced by unknown monstrosities.
Shadows of magic beasts.
Grotesquely twisted lifeforms devoured the Great Forest.
“Why? How… could the World Tree be rotting away?”
No one knew.
Without reason or cause, the Great Forest was branded with ‘ruin.’
“The elves each tried in their own way to protect the World Tree.”
Elves appeared before the audience’s eyes.
Some tenderly wiped the World Tree’s trunk.
They stroked each piece of bark, praying it wouldn’t hurt.
Others…
Abandoned their pure, radiant mana to embrace holy power, praying day and night for the World Tree.
“But… it was all in vain.”
Rustle…
Dry leaves fell.
From the fingertips of elves reaching out… faint lights flickered and died.
The wind blew.
It scattered their prayers and shattered their faith.
“What happened after that… no one knows.”
Time simply passed.
Nothing remained where they had vanished.
Light turned to ash, song to silence.
In time…
The Great Forest became known as the Demon Realm.
Black blood oozed from the roots of the rotten trees, birthing countless magic beasts.
“In the end, the elven race vanished from the world. All that remained… was the Great Forest turned Demon Realm.”
Twang—
The violin’s melody exhaled its final breath and stopped.
The scattering wind, the resounding tune—everything fell silent.
“Why the World Tree became that way, why the elves disappeared… no one knows.”
The bard finished speaking, and silence lingered around him.
Then…
Soft applause began, very faint at first.
It grew louder and louder.
“…Impressive.”
“A fine tale.”
What they had seen was no mere ‘story.’
Through the bard’s song, the audience had truly witnessed that place and felt that era.
“Hmm… A tale of the World Tree and elves. Quite the intriguing one, bard.”
“Thank you.”
“But I have a question, bard.”
“What is it?”
“How do you know the tale of the World Tree and elves in such detail?”
“Hmm….”
The bard reached out and…
Caressed the wind.
“I can see stories.”
“…Stories?”
“Traces remain in the wind. Words and breaths, and all the hearts within them.”
“…….”
“Follow that flow… and you hear the songs of forgotten eras.”
“Flow, you say….”
“I hear those songs. And through me… they return to the world.”
The bard bowed one last time.
His robes fluttered in the wind, and within it, a faint melody echoed once more.
“Then… I’ll be off.”
“Until next time, bard.”
As the bard turned to leave, the crowd in the square applauded again.
No one waved carelessly, no one blocked his path.
The bard…
Soon vanished into the throng.
“Hmm… Where to next, I wonder.”
【Caden.】
“What is it, Mormot?”
【If you’re going to wear a robe, why not just hide your ears instead?】
Whiiing….
The wind blew once more, lifting the bard’s robe high.
Beneath it lay a form unlike any human’s.
Ashen hair drained of light.
And… ears longer and sharper than a human’s.
【You hid them well enough at the orphanage, but flaunt them in the square.】
“There’s a feeling to these things, you know?”
【No, there isn’t.】
“Oh dear, what a pity.”
Flick.
The bard—Caden—pulled the robe back over his head.
“Shall we visit the Great Forest after so long? They say it’s not so dangerous these days.”
【…….】
“Mormot?”
【……Caden.】
“Yes, I’m listening.”
【‘Fate’ approaches.】
“……….”
【No time to take it easy.】
Fate.
An inexorable wind.
【The Pope’s death is not far off.】
【Envy will soon awaken, and the world will drown in chaos.】
Disasters stirring to life.
And…
The bard, Caden, no ordinary soul, could not escape that fate either.
【Caden.】
【It’s near.】
【At most, one month.】
【Your death approaches.】
One month left.
In that time, the being called ‘Caden’ would vanish.
And from beneath that shell, the disaster named ‘Mormot’ would rise upon the world.
“Lucky, then.”
But—
Even so, Caden smiled.
“It means I still have a whole month left.”
【…….】
“Then let’s go. It’s been ages since the Great Forest… I’m curious how it’s changed.”
【…Caden.】
“At the very least… I want to choose my own place to die.”
***
‘Oh.’
The moment I opened my eyes, I let out a sigh of admiration.
A refreshing start to the day.
A crisp mood.
Something told me today would go smoothly.
But──
Tick, tick, tick.
The clock’s second hand echoed in my ears.
I shifted my gaze to the clock face.
‘Oh….’
The second hand ticked past the hour.
Right.
At this hour… I was late.
‘Here goes.’
I leisurely rose from bed.
No need to rush.
Being late already, what good would frantic movement do?
‘Hmm.’
I stretched vigorously, then headed to the wardrobe.
Straw mats visible through the half-open door.
The Yuram uniform shoved in one corner.
The uniform Carnel bought me, neatly hung on the rack.
And, as always, the pitch-black casual set hanging carelessly.
‘First, wash up.’
I splashed cold water over myself to wake my mind.
Dunked my half-asleep head in a basin, then donned the familiar black full set.
Quietly, I opened the dormitory door and stepped out.
‘Hmm….’
I walked toward Yuram as peacefully as ever, pondering a fitting excuse for being late.
But… no plausible excuse came to mind. Lost in thought, I reached one conclusion.
Play the villain.
With resolve, I opened the door to the training grounds.
Veronica was surely beating—no, training—the students under the guise of class.
I stepped in as naturally as possible, pulling out my whiteboard in my usual pose.
[Dean, students are bound to be a bit lat─]
“Hey. You fucker.”
Thwack──!
Before I could finish, a shadow loomed over me and delivered an uppercut.
My body floated, then my back hit the floor.
Boom!
My poor body slammed into a corner of the training grounds.
“…….”
My vision spun.
My face was masked, but I must have looked utterly pathetic.
And… before me stood someone whose eyes met mine.
[ H i r e v __ ]
“……….”
Rev, quietly crouched in the corner.
Rev ignored my greeting, staring at my face… more precisely, my ‘mask.’
“Hey, you bastard.”
Whoosh.
Before I knew it, Veronica was sitting on my back.
Feeling my breath catch, I raised the whiteboard.
[Save me]
Desperate handwriting.
But…
Rev stared fixedly at my mask, ignoring my plea for rescue.
***
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
[ Adel ]
Limit Breakthrough: ★★☆☆☆
Attributes
: 「Abyss」
: 「Space」
: 「Dreamlike」
: 「Nothingness」
Stats
: Physique: 15 (D)
: Strength: 5 (F)
: Intelligence: 29 (B)
: Mental Fortitude: 32 (A)
: Mana: ■ ()
Talents
: 【All talents are fixed to ‘lowest’ due to the 「Stigma」.】
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
“…What are you doing?”
Rev’s voice from beside me.
I turned to look at him.
Rev had come close and crouched next to me, watching my actions curiously.
[Meditating]
“…Meditating?”
[Observing myself]
【Philosophical, mask guy.】
Normally, I’d chat leisurely with Rev, but…
I didn’t have the luxury now.
Lately, I hadn’t been ‘growing’ at all.
‘…….’
I stared blankly at the floating status window, then…
Sighed inwardly and swiped it away.
‘Ugh….’
I leaned back against the wall, stretched out my legs, and slumped.
【Mask guy’s all limp!】
“…What’s wrong?”
Rev looked at me, but…
His gaze lingered not on my face, but my ‘mask.’
Puzzled, I wrote on the whiteboard.
[Growing pains hurt too much]
The sensation that something inside me refused to advance further.
Body, mind, abilities.
All stagnant since some point.
Was my ‘growth’ just slow, or had I hit my limit?
“…Growing pains?”
[Feels like growth has stalled lately]
Even boosting stats with elixirs has its limits.
Higher stats demand exponentially more cost and risk, and no matter how much money, elixirs aren’t infinite.
“…Do you… have to grow?”
I glanced at Rev.
…Had Rev always been strong?
Or had he endured growing pains like me to get there?
[It’d be nice to grow]
【Getting strong isn’t all great.】
Lamenta grinned as she spoke.
But before she finished, Rev flicked her forehead.
“…Fine.”
Swish—
Rev scooted closer to me…
And cautiously leaned in, bringing his small face near my mask.
“…I’ll protect you.”
[?]
I held up the whiteboard in brief surprise.
But… undeterred by my reaction, Rev slowly reached out and gently stroked my mask.
“…On one condition.”
[Condition?]
“…The mask.”
His fingertips traced the mask’s surface softly.
Soon, Rev’s hand lifted my chin slightly.
“…Show me the face beyond the mask.”
[I can’t control that]
“…Doesn’t matter.”
Rev replied.
No more, no less.
And with that… I realized.
Rev simply—
Felt a twinge of jealousy at not seeing what everyone else had.
[Got it]
I didn’t know for sure, but…
It was a wish utterly like Rev.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at that.
“…….”
[I’ll consider it positively]