The Shackles That Refuse to Break
"So does this mean we're equals now?" Ju Joyeon asked Sirius after the contract was finalized, just to confirm.
"You could say that."
"Then take these off!" Joyeon shouted, pointing at the shackles and iron ball binding his legs.
"They're way too inconvenient! I've been wearing them for over a month, so I've gotten somewhat used to them, but now that I'm not planning to run away and everything's settled, I really want them gone."
"Impossible."
Sirius shook his head and flatly refused.
"What?! Why?!"
"Sorry, but this thing never had a key to begin with. You should know that by now, right?"
"No... I knew there wasn't a keyhole, but can't you just use magic to remove it?!"
Sirius continued to deny Joyeon's suggestion.
"There is magic like that. But this was made to be impossible to remove from the start. It's a shackle engraved with a curse."
"A cursed shackle...?! You used something like that on me?!"
"I used it because it's you. You're not even my subordinate—just some stupid kid."
"Ugh...! Take it off~! Please take it off!"
Joyeon threw a tantrum, venting his frustration.
"I already told you it's impossible. There's a reason—"
"Jack! Take these off for me!"
Joyeon shouted at Jack while acting spoiled. However—
Clack.
'Removing the shackles is impossible, but I believe I can break the chains.'
Jack gave a serious reply to Joyeon's words.
"Really? You can break them?"
Clack.
'I think it might be possible. I've learned how to use my strength now.'
"Hey. What kind of nonsense are you two spouting?"
Even though Sirius couldn't understand Jack, he could roughly grasp the situation from Joyeon's words and tried to stop them.
"Alright! Smash it!"
Joyeon plopped down on the floor and held out both legs toward Jack.
Clack!
'For my master's sake, even if these hands shatter!'
Flash!
Jack's eyes glowed red as he answered.
A follower has responded to their master's 'command.'
Death Aura LV1 has been activated for the successor to aid the follower.
Along with the notification window, a black aura rippled from Joyeon's body and began spreading widely across the ground.
"H-Hey. What are you suddenly trying to do...!"
Shiver!
Sirius, who was within range, suddenly felt goosebumps.
Exposed to Death Aura LV1.
You feel a chill. Your body shrinks back.
'What the hell is this?!'
Sirius was flustered by the sudden situation. In contrast—
Due to the effect of Death Aura LV1, the follower's stats have increased.
The black aura had a beneficial effect on Jack, transferring through his pristine white bones to his hands.
"W-Wait, stop!"
Sirius realized something was wrong with Jack's condition and hurriedly tried to stop him, but Jack didn't halt. He swung his reddened hand down with all his might onto the chain connecting Joyeon's shackles and iron ball.
BOOM!
"Uwah!"
The floor shattered, sending dust and debris flying. May quickly wrapped herself around Joyeon to protect him from the fragments.
"Did it work?"
More concerned about the state of the chain on his legs than the dangerous debris, Joyeon asked Jack.
Clack.
'There's potential. The chain has been bent out of shape.'
"Ooh!"
Just as Jack said, one of the chains struck by his hand was grotesquely warped. Jack's hand, unlike before when even wolf fangs couldn't scratch it, now had a large crack running through it.
Clack.
'I'll definitely break it with this next strike!'
"Fighting!"
Jack raised his hand once more.
"Stop, you crazy bastard!"
Sirius shouted at Jack again, but without a direct order from his master, there was no way to stop Jack.
CLANG!!
Jack's hand bone struck down once more, and fragments of what appeared to be part of the chain flew into the air.
"It worked!"
Joyeon smiled brightly at the sight of the broken iron ring flying away. However, that joy was short-lived.
The cursed item has begun draining mana to repair itself.
It is restoring the damaged follower's body.
"Huh? Uwaaah?!"
Before Joyeon could even question the two notification windows that appeared before him, what little mana he had began being sucked out of his body into the shackles and Jack.
Clack?!
'Master?!'
Jack's shattered hand seemed to be restoring itself with Joyeon's mana, but it quickly stopped.
Restoration of the follower's body has been temporarily suspended due to insufficient mana.
Because Joyeon's mana was completely depleted, he could no longer supply mana to Jack.
Death Aura LV1 has been deactivated due to insufficient mana.
The Death Aura, which had activated against Joyeon's will, was no different. But the real problem was the shackles.
"Aaaagh...!"
The cursed item has begun draining life force in place of the insufficient mana.
Unlike Jack, who had been revived by Joyeon's magic, the shackles didn't care about Joyeon's condition at all. They began draining his life force in place of mana. The broken chain was fully restored, and the two iron balls at the ends of his legs began to grow larger. The life drain showed no signs of stopping, and Joyeon's complexion grew increasingly haggard.
Clack! Clack!
'Master!'
Jack and the others, unable to find a way to resolve the situation, could only call out to their master anxiously.
"Damn it! I told you not to do that!"
In that moment, Sirius moved. He opened the lid of a mana potion he always carried and shoved it straight into Joyeon's mouth. Joyeon unconsciously swallowed the liquid that entered his mouth.
"Son of a...! Do you know how expensive this is?!"
The mana potion, which instantly restored mana upon consumption, was quite rare and expensive even in the magic world. Sirius had no choice but to use it on Joyeon. Thanks to that, Joyeon's body recovered its mana.
The cursed item has resumed draining the wearer's mana.
The shackles stopped draining life force and began sucking in the restored mana again. After some time passed and Joyeon's recovered mana was nearly depleted once more, the mana drain finally stopped.
"Ugh... D-Did I survive...?"
Joyeon's face was haggard as he asked Sirius once the sensation of mana being drained disappeared.
"There's no way a cursed item would come off that easily!"
Truly angry, Sirius shouted at Joyeon.
"I-I thought it would work..."
"You can't just go crazy without any limits! Even being reckless has its limits...!"
Sirius yelled again at Joyeon's absurd excuse before finally sighing deeply and giving up. Then he extended his hand toward Joyeon's shackles and cast a spell.
"[Appraise]"
Flash!
A small light from his hand scanned the iron ball, and a notification window appeared.
Name: Incomprehensible Shackles
Ability: Restraints that the wearer cannot remove. Iron ball generation state: Cursed (Even the one who equipped it cannot remove the restraints. If the iron ball is broken, it will repair itself using the wearer's mana and generate a larger iron ball.)
"Look at this. It's a cursed item. If it were a normal item, I might be able to remove it for you, but for cursed ones, you need to get it done at a temple first."
"No way..."
Joyeon's expression turned despairing as he stared blankly at the shackles.
"I'll teach you basic mana manipulation when I have time, so don't despair like that. Once you can control the mana in your body, something like this will be as easy to handle as a toy."
"Can I... even learn something like that..."
"You've got a title, so it'll work out somehow. Well, if it doesn't, you'll just have to keep dragging those legs around until we can go to a temple."
"......"
Thud.
Joyeon couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed unconscious.
****
Three weeks passed.
Joyeon's daily routine had changed quite a bit.
- Master. It's time to wake up.
One of those changes was waking up early in the morning, following the advice of Sirius and Jack's group.
"Ugh~! Just 5, 50 more minutes~"
Of course, he regretted it every single morning.
- Pardon me.
Creak.
May emerged from her 'grave' of her own accord. Unlike three weeks ago, she was wearing a proper maid uniform instead of rags.
Thud.
May gave Joyeon a slight bow and grabbed his blanket.
Clack.
'Master. It is time to wake up.'
May pulled the blanket to drag Joyeon out of the clutches of sleep.
"Ugh~~ Let go~~ It's cold..."
Joyeon clung to the edge of the blanket with all his nonexistent strength, refusing to let May take it away.
- Master. If you resist like this every single day, we cannot simply leave it be.
Creak.
Another presence emerged from the grave.
"You must recognize your position and conduct yourself accordingly."
Unlike May, this one spoke with a beautiful voice through vocal cords. Before death, she had been Jack and May's former master. The last survivor and only daughter of the Larasia family... the woman who once was.
"Lara- Let me sleep a little longer~"
Now a follower resurrected as a 'zombie' by Ju Joyeon's magic. The teacher who would instruct Ju Joyeon in the knowledge and history of the magic world. Former Lara Tia Larasia. Now Lara Tiasia.
Name: Lara Tiasia
Race: Undead (Zombie)
Cognomen: -
Abilities: Larasia Seduction Sorcery (E-Rank), Larasia Iron Wall Martial Arts (F-Rank)
Unlike the skeletons Jack and May, Lara Tiasia had been resurrected as a zombie. Her skin was pale without a trace of blood. Neat gray hair reaching her shoulders. And perhaps because she was a noble, half of her elegant and clean face was covered by a mask. She wore black high-waisted jeans of unknown origin, a white dress shirt, and black leather gloves that covered all her skin.
"Absolutely not. How much time do you think you've wasted in your life so far?"
"I've never once regretted using so much of my life on sleep."
Joyeon blurted out whatever came to mind in resistance to Tiasia's question.
"Having no regrets about your actions is good. But from now on, since we are here, we will make sure you never waste the time given to you."
"Nooo~"
Of course, it had no effect whatsoever.
Thus, every day, Joyeon was forcibly woken up early by the undead he himself had created, and his day began.
Creak.
"Huh? You're up?"
"Boss- Did you sleep well..."
Greeting Sirius, whose waking time was similar, had also become an almost fixed part of his routine.
"You look like you haven't slept well every time I see you."
"Well, that's because I'm being forced to wake up-"
"...You must have it rough, meeting such an incompetent master. Tiasia."
"Master simply hasn't decided on a clear purpose in life yet, so it only appears that way. Watch your words, Sirius."
"Lara. Don't bare your fangs at the boss like that. It's true that I'm incompetent."
"Yeah. In the end, you're the problem. I can't let the guy I invested in stay incompetent like this."
"...I was on your side, so why am I getting scolded..."