Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Choi Seo-hyun (1)
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In an era when this world still belonged to those who were not quite human ■, an object was forged, infused with immense mana and unbreakable laws.
People call it a 'relic'.
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[Mental Protection activated!]
The Light Priesthood's archbishop.
His appearance felt closer to a machine than a human.
At the same time, for some reason, he was fused with relics.
Five of them, no less.
It was already hard to call him a living creature.
Creak!
The archbishop turned his head toward me.
"To exist or to vanish—that is the question of life."
Every time he opened his mouth, a mechanical whir echoed through the air.
"Yet all truth resides within this."
The archbishop lifted the Human-skin Holy Scripture as he spoke.
Clap!
Clap!
Clap!
The ten hands sprouting from his back clapped in unison.
"So why have you chosen to become 'kindling'?"
Flash!
The Human-skin Holy Scripture in his hand glowed brilliantly.
"?"
I glanced sideways. Pinky was already on her knees, deep in prayer.
But I was perfectly fine.
"…."
"…."
The puppeteer and the archbishop stared at me intently.
The archbishop's lips slowly curled into a grin, and his twelve arms began clapping wildly.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
"I pay my respects to you."
Clap!
.
.
.
When I came to, I was back in the original spot.
Beside me, the pink-haired girl was still praying.
"Heh heh heh heh."
"Uh, hello?"
"Keh heh heh heh."
"Fuck."
"I've realized it! The core of mana!"
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.
.
About a minute later, I could finally have a normal conversation with the pink-haired girl.
"Sorry…."
"It's fine."
The pink-haired girl was sniffling, on the verge of tears.
Her already pitiful face looked even more wretched now that it was damp. Staring at her too long made me feel like I'd sink into depression.
"Well, I'll be going then."
"W-Wait!"
As I turned to leave, the pink-haired girl grabbed me.
Then she slapped her own cheek as hard as she could.
"That's weird… it doesn't hurt…."
It was behavior no normal person would call sane.
If an ordinary guy had seen it, he might've collapsed in terror and burst into tears.
Suddenly, she seized my right arm with both hands and said something unbelievable.
"Wanna give it a try?"
"?"
Her face looked deadly serious.
But I'm a normal guy. Perverted stuff like that isn't my scene.
"Wait!!! Don't go!!!"
Surprisingly, the pink-haired girl's grip strength was beyond imagination.
"It's weird! I don't feel a thing when I do it myself!"
-Just smack her and be done with it.
Tyrfing offered its advice.
Hmm… sounds about right.
"What do I need to do?"
As I relaxed my arm, the pink-haired girl nearly toppled backward before steadying herself and speaking.
"Here, hit the spot I just smacked."
The pink-haired girl placed my hand on her arm and said.
She really wants me to do it?
I stared at her in disbelief, but she nodded.
Fine, whatever….
Slap!
"Aaaargh! It hurts!!!!"
Fuck!
You said you had no sensation!
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Yoo I-seol secretly followed Lee Han-su.
Some random stranger had called him out of nowhere—it felt off.
'Do well.'
Seo Ji-ho's words to Lee Han-su.
It was plenty open to misinterpretation.
'?'
As she trailed him stealthily, Lee Han-su suddenly vanished. Moments later, he reappeared.
'Where'd he go?'
At the same time, a pink-haired girl with an intensely excited expression came into view.
The girl was on her knees before Lee Han-su.
'Wha… what…!'
Not satisfied alone anymore…!
Then, as he tried to leave, she started self-harming to hold him back.
Yoo I-seol nearly collapsed in horror.
It was that disturbing a sight.
The pink-haired girl mumbled something, and then Lee Han-su…!
He didn't slap her face but smacked her shoulder with his palm.
It didn't look that hard, but the pink-haired girl rolled on the ground screaming in pain.
Yet her expression was smiling.
Lee Han-su stared in utter disbelief before fleeing the scene.
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'….'
Yoo I-seol glanced at Lee Han-su sitting right beside her.
'….'
A torrent of thoughts flooded her mind.
"?"
Lee Han-su turned, sensing her gaze.
'Ugh, stared too long.'
But at the same time, a strange curiosity stirred.
Lee Han-su was her friend.
Even if she'd glimpsed some shady secret today, understanding as a friend mattered.
She hadn't confirmed anything properly—just spied. Jumping to conclusions felt unfair.
'Hmm.'
Yoo I-seol tapped Lee Han-su's shoulder.
"?"
As he looked her way, she hiked up her uniform sleeve, exposing her snowy white wrist.
"Wanna hit it?"
At her words, Lee Han-su stared at her like she was insane.
She could feel the contempt in his eyes.
"… Just kidding."
"…."
Maybe she'd misunderstood after all.
He didn't seem the type to enjoy hitting people.
Choi Seo-hyun rubbed her reddened shoulder and sniffled.
"Sniff sniff… it hurts."
Hitting herself produced no sensation, even at full power….
Just in case, she'd asked her classmate Kim Yeo to hit her, but still nothing.
'Why.'
Why did only that first-year's hit restore her sensation….
After some time passed, even her shoulder felt numb again.
"Seo-hyun… eek! Why's your skin so cold?!"
Her friend Kim Yeo approached and exclaimed in shock.
"Cold?"
"Yeah, are you sick or something?"
Hearing that, her skin did feel icy.
There was definitely a problem.
Should she go to the hospital….
But if the hospital couldn't fix it….
It had all started after she gained the ability to steal 'warmth'.
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After classes ended, Choi Seo-hyun siphoned the warmth from the mana drifting around her.
A cozy sensation settled in her palm.
Her chilled skin warmed slightly, and her pallid complexion began returning to normal.
But something was still missing.
"Uu…."
Choi Seo-hyun's face crumpled into a pout again.
Was she doomed to live like this forever….
Was there no solution….
Unconsciously, Choi Seo-hyun caressed her shoulder.
"…?"
It was warm.
[Space of Prayer]
The archbishop and the puppeteer walked off somewhere.
They finally arrived at a place with five glowing jewels.
The red jewel, assembled from the 'fragments,' shone brightly.
"Today, we grant him the qualification."
"Understood."
The archbishop pointed to one jewel, and the puppeteer nodded.
I flung myself onto the bed.
'The archbishop.'
A figure you only see in the late game.
Honestly, calling him a 'person' felt wrong—'monster' suited him better.
Relics hold power too vast for humans to wield.
Special-grade relics that impose laws on the world, or 1st-grade ones capable of shifting national balances of power.
Though managed by the World Relic Management Association, compliance is spotty at best.
If you can possess one without detection, you're already strong enough to handle it.
The Light Priesthood's archbishop.
Five relics fused into his body.
"…."
'Fused' was more accurate than 'embedded.'
Truth be told, by the late game, he's not that tough an opponent.
He appears if you meet certain conditions right before the final boss.
Story-wise, there's scant info on him.
A character existing solely for one battle.
Still, he has a bit more screentime than Han Sia.
That was when it happened.
-Someone's here.
The air slowly tore open, and an arm protruded.
Grab!
It seized my ankle and yanked me into the rift.
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[Entering ???]
Fuck.
No chance to react—I got dragged right in.
I quickly scanned my surroundings.
A corridor of stone walls lined with red carpet. Torches were embedded in the walls, illuminating the path.
-This is a gate.
Tyrfing said, as if it had figured something out.
Mana oozed thickly through the air, and the atmosphere felt oppressively stagnant—like a gate.
-Squeak!
Suddenly, a monster approached from afar.
A Big Rat, 8th-grade monster.
Its bulk was impossibly massive for a mere rat pup.
"Ah."
Big Rats hunt in packs.
-Squeak!
-Squeak!
-Squeak!
Ten man-sized rat pups charged straight at me.
I swiftly went to draw my sword….
No equipment on me at all.
Slither!
But black tendrils materialized, shaping into a sword that gripped itself in my hand.
-Use this.
Damn! Tyrfing! I knew I could count on you!
It was already unsheathed and ready.
Shing.
KABOOOOOM!!!!!
-Squeeeeeak!!!!!!!!!!
The ten Big Rats were bisected in an instant.
Slither.
Their corpses dissolved into light and vanished.
"Huh?"
Normally, monster corpses remain.
And magic stones drop from them.
But no corpses. No magic stones.
That left two possibilities.
Either this gate has that property by nature.
Or this place is an illusion.