Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Auto Hunting
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There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
He had no intention of solving problems with mere words.
Park Chan-woo had advised Adora in exchange for her retrieving the holy relic.
Thanks to that, he could obtain a high-grade holy relic without hunting himself.
It was far easier than lying down and eating rice cake from the sky.
"Do not fear your own power. Simply rule over death as naturally as breathing. Live up to the name of the Witch of Death."
"...Are you saying I can't control death?"
"If you had truly mastered it, Kankun's tribe wouldn't have been wiped out. Isn't that right?"
The root of all this lay with Adora.
If she had properly wielded her death energy, she could have controlled it enough to prevent Kankun's tribe from being massacred.
But because she couldn't control it, the tribe was annihilated.
And that led to a forced battle with Kankun.
"Kankun overcame his weakness on his own. But you still fear your power. Even if you meet him again in this state, nothing will be resolved."
"Only the 'Black Witch' can control the witch's power."
"You can do it too. With my help."
Park Chan-woo was confident.
Adora simply hadn't learned properly.
In the world of witches, there was no need to control the power of death, and even if there was, they would rely on the 'Black Witch'.
Black magic.
Magic that defies truth.
From a mage's perspective, who wielded truth, black magic was an incredibly alluring subject of study.
Especially since he could study a witch—the master of black magic—right by his side, which was a rare opportunity.
There were black mages, but none could compare to the origin.
'I sensed it when our hands touched. The way Adora's death works.'
He had a vague feeling.
It wasn't just about stripping life away to kill.
It was magic composed of far more advanced formulas.
'Adora's mana burns other mana.'
Mana.
Something all living beings possessed.
Adora's mana had the property of burning any mana it touched.
That was why he passed out the moment they shook hands.
Poksil had blocked the death, but a significant portion of the mana inside his body had burned away, causing him to lose consciousness.
Mana that burned other mana.
And it activated as naturally as breathing.
How astonishing was that?
The death magic placed on Kankun's heart had worked by 'burning the heart's mana' as well.
That was why his chest was charred black.
'Mana Burn is operating like a passive skill.'
There were similar spells.
A spell called Mana Burn.
Most mages thought Mana Burn existed in only one form, but strictly speaking, it divided into three types.
'Mana Drain', which absorbed the opponent's mana; 'Mana Break', which burned only the opponent's mana; and 'Mana Burn', which burned mana while killing the target.
Adora had the most vicious form, 'Mana Burn', applied as a constant passive. And when she willed it, it could encompass the entire tower—a massive spell.
A being who naturally wielded magic of this scale from birth.
'...Insane.'
Park Chan-woo, who knew better than anyone how incredible this was, could only shake his head in disbelief.
Spells that manipulated an opponent's mana were at least Unique grade.
Even then, their range was limited, and efficiency was low.
To achieve Adora's level of destructive power, Mana Burn would need to be Eternal grade.
'Magic requires formulas and mana to function. Black magic, on the other hand, requires sacrifices.'
That was why most black magic was condemned.
What about witches?
What sacrifice did Adora offer to wield 'death'?
And why had her death energy suddenly weakened?
There was one answer.
'...Erasing emotions must be the condition for her power.'
To handle such immense power, the witch had eliminated her emotions.
She had offered all her emotions as sacrifice.
Naturally, awakening emotions was the greatest sin for witches.
But Adora had felt emotion upon seeing Kankun, and now her 'death' itself was weakening.
To restore her death energy to its original state...
...Her emotions had to be erased.
Returned to nothingness.
"What must I do to properly wield death?"
Adora asked.
The other was an extraordinary mage who had removed Kankun's weakness and even withdrawn the death magic.
The only one in the Tower of Arrogance who had moved between floors.
She couldn't treat him like other humans.
So she spoke sincerely.
About solving this problem.
About how he could help.
The answer was simple.
......Kankun just had to die.
But that wasn't a proper solution, a true overcoming.
Park Chan-woo extended his hand.
"......?"
Adora stared blankly at the offered hand.
"Make it so I don't pass out."
"...You'll die."
Even if Poksil blocked death, the mana would still burn.
Repeating it forcibly would eventually burn all his mana and kill him.
Park Chan-woo knew this better than anyone.
But there was only one reason he kept extending his hand.
"I know. However, I'm the only one who hasn't died from touching your body. If I die, you solve nothing. Overcome it before I do."
Overcome it.
Prove you can.
Such an opportunity wasn't common.
Everything that touched her died, but Park Chan-woo was the exception.
But the chance wasn't infinite.
She had to resolve it with desperate resolve.
Park Chan-woo continued.
"Use me to dominate death. It's essential if you want to approach Kankun."
In her current state, meeting Kankun would mean one of them died for sure.
They couldn't even stand face-to-face.
Proper conversation was impossible.
Don't avoid it—overcome it and dominate.
"......"
The Witch of Death, Adora.
She looked at Park Chan-woo with a strange gaze.
A human willing to sacrifice himself to solve her problem.
Shockingly, this human didn't fear death.
He was the first among all living beings she'd encountered.
So nonchalant toward death.
Even witches avoided her.
Everything that touched Adora died and withered.
Kankun's tribe, and Kankun himself.
She didn't know why she was born with this power or why she had to bear this karma.
It was just dark.
She existed in pitch-black darkness.
Yet this human reached out from that abyss of darkness.
"Come on."
"......"
As Park Chan-woo urged her, Adora cautiously grasped his extended hand.
His body convulsed.
'Guhk!'
Park Chan-woo passed out once more.
It tasted like something was burning in his mouth.
His mind went blank, and it felt like the blood in his heart was evaporating.
Mana was burning.
Blazing fiercely.
A spell that forcibly burned the opponent's mana.
It activated automatically within her domain, and to the extreme upon physical contact.
'Still, I lasted 3 seconds this time.'
The first handshake had knocked him out instantly.
This time, he endured about 3 seconds.
The blackout was shorter too.
Roughly from 2 hours down to 1 hour 30 minutes.
But it was far from easy.
The pain was excruciating.
It really felt like he was being seared.
Among all pains he'd experienced in life, it ranked in the top three.
Would blocking his senses reduce the pain?
'Sensory block won't help.'
Mana burning had nothing to do with senses.
It was in the realm beyond the six senses.
Repeating it was madness.
'I can probably do it four times a day.'
Yet Park Chan-woo didn't give up.
His eyes gleamed as he offered another handshake to Adora.
'Mana burns and regenerates. In that process, only purer mana remains.'
He gained something from it too.
Mana efficiency, regeneration, and even the mana value itself had risen.
A miraculous effect born from Poksil and the Witch of Death together.
Park Chan-woo wondered how far it could go.
'This is a chance. The perfect opportunity!'
It wasn't just Adora seizing an opportunity.
Park Chan-woo had one too.
No matter how painful or potentially deadly, he couldn't give up.
'There are almost no ways to increase mana regeneration.'
Especially 'Mana Regeneration'—something all mages coveted.
No spell, tool, or equipment boosted it.
Leveling up the 'Mage class' gave a tiny bit, but it had clear limits.
"...Again?"
Adora was beyond disbelief, now in awe.
He was clearly not sane.
The agony was obvious, yet every time he woke, he asked for another shake.
"Can't you?"
"......No, I can."
But Adora knew she couldn't avoid it anymore.
The Witch of Death, Adora.
Taught directly by the Black Witch, with astonishing talent.
Failing to control even her own death would be utter folly.
A hand as cold as ice.
A hand that called forth death, devoid of any warmth.
'Kuhk!'
How many times after that did Park Chan-woo faint?
But it was okay.
Adora had handled the hunting herself anyway.