Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: That Which Does Not Burn Away
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After finishing a happy dinner, Irha returned to her room.
Unlike the despair-filled morning, it was a night brimming with hope.
While hurriedly showering, Irha thought of the two people she was so grateful for.
'Hehe..! Leader Ras, Teacher Rozali... I like both of you so much...!!'
Hope had been born.
The hope that Mirha, who had seemed doomed to die without fail, would live free of pain and healthy once more.
Ras had told Irha not to get too excited or expectant, but she had a good feeling about it somehow.
Even a fool like her who knew nothing... somehow it felt like everything would work out.
When she'd heard Emma's offer, instinct had urgently screamed 'Irha!! No!!' in her head.
But this time it strongly assured her 'It's all going to be fine!'
'Mirha..! Hang in there just a little longer. Your big sis is coming to see you with some amazing doctors.'
She wiped the mirror clean, and her own face reflected back at her.
Sure enough, even if she was a bit foolish, her beaming smile made her look cute and pretty.
As her heart settled and her mood lifted considerably, she suddenly recalled the brief hug she'd shared with Ras.
'Hehe.. Ras... his subtle muscles felt kinda firm... and he's so handsome tooo...'
She'd hugged him on impulse out of sheer gratitude, but looking back now, the slight firmness of his body came rushing back, flushing her cheeks.
Of course, she knew Ras was in a passionate romance with Rizli, who was known as the second prettiest girl in their year.
'But lately they haven't been hanging out together... he's spending more time with me..! And I even run bread errands for Ras..!'
Suddenly feeling an inexplicable swell of pride, Irha struck a little pose in front of the mirror.
All while thinking that maybe being a close, special underling was better than some everyday girlfriend you could find anywhere.
Lying in bed, Irha diligently reviewed everything Ras had told her.
'First, starting tomorrow, go around with a sad face again, looking utterly powerless... Sad thoughts. Sad thoughts. Such a sad liiiife...'
That night, Irha dreamed dreams that were profoundly sad if you were the type to get sad.
In the dream, Irha at the age of forty was still running bread errands for Ras.
But for some reason, the Irha in her dream was smiling happily.
After that Friday meeting with Irha, time passed uneventfully, and tomorrow was the day of the forest expedition.
It took about a day to get from Leone Academy to Maugendorf Forest, so all the first-years had set out together starting Monday afternoon.
By Tuesday afternoon, the students arrived at the campsite near the forest entrance, unpacked their gear, and set up base camp.
Since the move on Monday and all subsequent activities were conducted according to pre-assigned teams, Irha had stuck with me the whole time.
But now it was rest time after dinner, so she finally had a chance to go meet Emma.
"......"
I exchanged a quick glance with Irha, and she scurried off, eager for her "deal" with Emma.
On the surface, at least.
She'd probably come back with that lethal drug from Emma soon enough.
To avoid even the tiniest suspicion of collusion with me, Irha had started putting on an act of utter misery from Saturday onward.
Naturally, she and I had barely exchanged words for days, just blankly hanging around each other.
She'd sworn she could act well, and seeing a foodie like her stick to just one meal a day was heartbreaking, but her performance was top-notch.
This kid might be dim, but she shines in the moment without getting nervous, which is pretty impressive.
We'd put in this much effort because Emma and Rizli were cunning bitches with sharp instincts.
To fool those mantis-like wenches, airtight preparation was a must.
I'd had Irha join hands with Emma and Rizli because the poison Leon had prepared was no joke.
'Mongma's Tear'
The supreme poison and aphrodisiac, present only in trace amounts in the secret imperial vault—even regressed me could drop dead from a single sip.
Colorless, odorless, leaving no aftereffects once its potency faded, this was Leon's original trap for me.
In my past life, Leon's scheme had gone something like this:
First, Irha slips me the 'Mongma's Tear' at an opportune moment during the evaluation. Plenty of chances, like handing over water.
Then, dosed with the aphrodisiac, I rape Irha, and the scene gets live-broadcast outside the forest via surveillance magic.
The academy faculty and students watch it all live, and Ras's social life is over.
Thanks to the drug's properties, no traces remain, making it impossible to claim foul play—a brutal checkmate.
That's why Irha has to hold onto the 'Mongma's Tear' herself; only then can I control the situation.
If she'd rejected Emma's offer, someone else could've sniped me with it, and I couldn't dodge what my senses couldn't detect.
I knew about Leon's plot because, in my past life, he'd blabbed it all to me.
True to form as a garrulous villain, right before getting me expelled, he'd bound me and launched into a monologue about his brilliance.
That day, groveling before him as he boasted about his depraved genius, was the most humiliating of my life.
Of course, ten years later, I'd paid him back three times over, so it all evened out...
[Received!]
[Good job. Now meet up casually and chat about tomorrow's evaluation with the others. Keep it natural.]
[Yeah..!!! Hehe!!]
As I lightly reminisced on the past, a message came in from Irha.
I'd slipped her the communication magic tool I'd prepared, and she'd been over the moon about it.
Giving gifts to Rizli always got a lukewarm reaction, but Irha was genuinely thankful for anything.
Anyway...
Now the real endgame was upon us.
In my past life, things had gone exactly according to Leon and Rizli's plan right up to this point.
What happened afterward was something none of them could've predicted, and it drastically altered fates.
Dodging the Mongma's Tear snipe was simple now: just destroy it.
In this life, I'd originally planned to evade it by simply "not drinking it."
According to Leon's tale, the dose he used on me was his very last, so one evasion meant no follow-ups.
But the situation had shifted, leaving me unable to avoid "drinking" after all.
What, do I have a fetish for aphrodisiacs? No...
Past life or this one, the drug I actually ingested wasn't just 'Mongma's Tear'...
That's a drug for severe arousal, not one that cripples all five senses.
What I'd taken in my past life was... something else entirely...
Blink-
"Alright! Let's take a quick break here."
"Our group's doing way better than expected, huh??!"
I snapped back to reality to find the Maugendorf Forest exam in full swing.
Usterus, Shasta, Pio. Our stellar teammates were cheerfully enjoying the evaluation.
After a morning of scouring for items and monsters, lunchtime had arrived.
The three model students seemed to have bonded, chattering away happily.
Kids, you still gotta keep watch ahead... First-years gonna first-year.
But that worked in our favor—we could do what we needed without interference.
After all, the exam wasn't what mattered to me and Irha right now...!
I pulled out a bottle of cheap recovery potion that glowed soda-pop orange and uncapped it.
This low-grade recovery potion was basically a mild stimulant that restored a bit of stamina and mana.
Cheap junk—on the battlefield, this soda-colored stuff was the grunt's best buddy.
"Irha, your time now."
"Yeah..! So what do I do?"
I posed a very important question to my innocent underling.
"Suppose, Irha, you were trying to feed me that drug. Would you make me drink the whole bottle?"
She thought hard about it, then answered.
"Thinking about it, since it's bad for the body, I'd probably only give a tiny bit...!"
Yeah... she's the same in past and present lives.
"And if it were you... you'd mix it with something helpful instead of giving the bad stuff straight, right?"
"....!!! Exactly!! Ras, are you me or something? You're the leader for a reason. Hehehe... are we soulmates maybe.."
Ignoring Irha's mumbling, Ras Etgard's reverse-engineering was just one final step away.
"Then, how about mixing Emma's drug into this recovery potion 'conscientiously'? That's your job."
"Piece of cake!!!"
She took the potion bottle, then pulled out the 'Mongma's Tear' she'd transferred into a water bottle.
"Hehe. Back when I was sick, my mom used to give me meds like this—exactly three drops mixed into sugar water. Here you go!!"
'Ah...! Madam...! Why'd you instill such 'common sense' in this girl...!'
Hearing the origin of her bad habit, I let out an inward sigh.
And so, before my eyes appeared the ultimate forbidden technique: 'mix whatever'—a nameless, horrific abomination.
The worst poison, its tonic-amplifying effects cursed me with a constitution that set me ablaze from within.
Yet at the same time, the immense yang mana it contained became the eternal elixir that let me survive hell.
Stronger from this quack remedy, I gained the power to incinerate all creation.
It allowed me to melt the ice flower in Mirha Livingston's heart without a trace.
Reaching that realm had been excruciating, and even in this life, it'd be no picnic—though less severe—but the dice were cast.
One thing I'd tell everyone... Don't casually mix and chug random meds.
I had to drill this into Irha for good. Potioneering basics: mixing shit at random spells disaster.
Gazing at the iridescent potion, I drifted into old memories.
"Ahaha..! Ras, what did you say you ate? A mixture of recovery potion with a dash of 'Mongma's Tear'?"
"Argh..! Don't laugh!! It was seriously agonizing back then. Ow!!!"
Thwack-!!
I threw a tantrum, and stars exploded. This woman was the prettiest in the world but had filthy strong hands.
"You can't glare at your master with those axe eyes, Ras. Won't you open your eyes all pretty and cute?"
Tch...! After one knuckle-rapping, not wanting a second, I quickly relaxed my eyes.
Just you wait..! I'll get stronger and pay you back.
Semele Raupe—the world's most erudite woman—stroked my forehead and continued.
"But now that I hear it, your peculiarities make sense. Survival must've had no other path."
There was a hint of pity in her voice. Honestly, even I thought the old me was pathetic.
I could laugh it off now, but the pain from first swallowing that nameless 'hybrid' was beyond imagination.
Vomiting, fever, chills, coughing blood, heart stopping... all nonstop for about ten days.
Without Professor Rozali Berhart's devotion, I'd have died then.
When I woke, my mana circuits were scorched beyond repair; if she hadn't poured holy power on me, I'd have combusted.
I figured post-recovery it'd be smooth sailing... how naive.
Once consciousness fully returned, my body started breaking down for real.
All five senses perpetually scorching like ashes dumped on coals, mana incinerating the moment I gathered it.
My temper was always riding flames of rage and terror.
Falsely accused of rape and cornered, I couldn't even mount a proper defense.
Actually... by then, my body was doomed to die within months, so I'd half-given up.
But after losing everything and being mocked by Leon, my dying embers reignited.
Because I'd found it: something unburnable, that could burn eternally by fueling itself.
My final treasure, discovered after losing all material possessions.
"Ras. You are a once-in-millennia genius who can stand with even me. Mediocre powerhouses cling to the frail prison of flesh. But you... burned it all yourself...."
The voice of the mightiest under heaven—seductive, flickering like flame—reached me.
"Flesh, mana, senses—all turn to ash. Yet the flame of the mind alone burns ever fiercer. In this world, the only thing limitless is the heart's image."
Semele now held an old tome in her hand.
"Thus, to you who awakened the heart realm, I shall give the perfect gift. This is an ancient art containing the power to scorch the nine heavens with karmic fire."
The name inscribed on the martial arts tome I'd received from the queen of witches.
"Burn even brighter red, my dear child. I shall await you above the heavens."
Semele's lips burned redder than I'd ever seen.