Awakening

Reflexively, I tried to get up, but a powerful magic pressed down on my body, stopping me.

,It’d be best if you stayed still. I don’t plan on killing you right now.”

Tarantara, wearing a soft smile, looked around and added.

,This isn’t a good place to have a conversation.”

As Tarantara waved his staff, trees grew from under the ground, swallowing the walls blackened by the fire and creating new walls.

Tarantara, who instantly created a clean room, immediately made a wooden chair and sat down.

,I was sad that there weren’t many people to talk about Rotten with. Shall we have a conversation for the person who left?”

Trying to suppress my anger at Tarantara’s nonchalant expression as he pressed his temple with his staff, I clenched my fist tightly.

,Why… did you kill Rotten? Why did you deceive me my whole life with the word ‘friend’…?”

Suppressing the urge to run to Tarantara and kill him right away, I struggled to continue speaking.

Tarantara rattled off in a monotonous voice.

,Because today was the last delicious harvest I could collect from Rotten. That’s all.”

,What…?”

As I unknowingly emitted magic at Tarantara’s words, which lacked any sense of guilt, he pressed down on my body with even more powerful magic. He continued speaking with indifferent eyes that showed no emotion at all.

,And… I think you’re mistaken about one thing.”

A monotonous, bleak voice.

However, that voice contained a power that seemed to crush me.

,I have never once thought of Rotten as a friend.”

The air froze at Tarantara’s chilling voice.

Cold anger began to surge up from the bottom of my heart.

,If you treat prey as equal to yourself, you must inevitably commit the act of hypocrisy. Therefore, I have never once thought of Rotten as a friend.”

When I, who didn’t understand Tarantara’s words, remained silent for a moment, he asked as if throwing a question.

,Did you want me to shed tears of repentance, feigning hypocrisy over Rotten’s death and saying I’m sorry?”

At Tarantara’s mocking expression, I answered immediately.

,You’re just a monster. A monster who manipulates others and destroys other people’s lives for your own benefit.”

At my voice, filled with seething anger, Tarantara opened his mouth with a faint smile.

,That’s a good compliment. Are you saying that because I’m similar to you?”

,Similar… to me?”

Unlike me, whose fingernails were digging into my palm and dripping blood as I clenched my fist to suppress my anger, Tarantara continued the conversation in a calm voice.

,I investigated you separately after meeting you. I had to check if Rotten’s suddenly appearing disciple would become a variable in the plan.”

Tarantara slightly raised his head, looking down at me kneeling on the floor with an arrogant gaze, and added.

,Just like you have a wall called Roel. I also had a wall called Rotten. Just like you, a dullard, entered Transcendence Academy with a special admission thanks to Roel, I was also able to belong to the Green Magic Tower thanks to Rotten…”

Suddenly, Tarantara’s words were interrupted by a scream coming through a hole that seemed to be a substitute for a window.

As time passed and the screams disappeared, Tarantara asked me with an interesting voice and a faint smile.

,So, are you curious? How I broke down the wall called Rotten and buried him deep underground. How I climbed to a place where the ground is not visible? Whether I can do that to Roel too, I mean.”

Thanks to Unyielding Courage, I didn’t lose my mind and rush in, but I felt my heart pounding with anger as if it would explode.

,I know… how you deceived Rotten.”

At my words, Tarantara, who had been wearing an indifferent expression, smiled brightly.

The sight was so full of pure joy that I felt nauseous with disgust.

,Haa, I’m glad I didn’t kill you right away. I really wanted to talk about this with someone.”

Wearing a malicious smile, Tarantara asked.

,How much do you know?”

I gritted my teeth at Tarantara’s appearance, asking with pure eyes like a child expecting a gift.

Despite his seemingly careless and arrogant appearance, Tarantara was ready to wave his staff at any time to subdue me with magic.

I opened my mouth, recognizing the spatial coordinates of the box Rotten left behind me as discreetly as possible.

,You introduced her to Rotten as a relative, but in fact, Rael is not your relative… Rael’s real name is Raphael. She was a prostitute in a certain city.”

At my words, Tarantara smiled brightly and rested his chin on his hand.

,You deliberately made Raphael approach Rotten. When Raphael became a precious person to Rotten under the name of Rael, you told him to buy her flowers to make him lose her. And you had a pre-arranged kid sell him flowers containing Platinang flowers. As a result, Rael became a statue.”

Avoiding Tarantara’s gaze, who was listening to my words with an interesting expression, I subtly released my clenched fist. I touched the Ring of Covenant with my thumb.

Rotten found a cure for Stone Thorn Disease. And the box containing Rotten’s research data and the cure was right behind me.

If so, the witch Splin’s vow to find a way to eliminate Stone Thorn Disease would have been fulfilled.

As expected, a message appeared before my eyes.

[ The witch Splin’s vow has been fulfilled. ]

[ You have earned 1P for fulfilling the vow. ]

[ You have earned an additional 3P. ]

[ The witch’s curse restriction has disappeared. ]

[ Current points: 4P. ]

I was finally able to solve the problem related to magic, which was my biggest problem.

Before Tarantara could become suspicious, I frowned as if I was angry and continued speaking.

,For his beloved Rael, Rotten devoted his whole life to researching Stone Thorn Disease. And you killed Rotten in the end to make his achievements your own.”

Was it thanks to Unyielding Courage? The anger that had been filling my heart slowly began to sink to the bottom, and my head began to spin quickly.

Pretending to suppress my anger, I wiped my face, erased the message that had appeared, and was about to look for the power related to magic that I had been trying to choose all along.

Tarantara’s voice was heard.

,It was a decent deduction, but it’s far from the correct answer.”

Frowning as if disappointed, Tarantara rattled off in a quiet voice as if he was teaching.

,It’s true that Raphael was a prostitute. Even before meeting Rotten. And even when she was his lover. She was a dirty prostitute who deceived Rotten and slept with me.”

Tarantara added in a mocking voice.

,Sleeping with countless men. Whispering love to Rotten, and secretly sleeping with other men… And who would have expected that Rotten, the genius of the Green Magic Tower and the heir to the Esselmond Count family, would feel the emotion of love for the first time for such an insignificant woman?”

I bit my lip at the voice that seemed to be ridiculing Rotten, and glanced at the status window without being noticed.

,I paid Raphael a lot of money to make her fall deeply in love with Rotten. It was only natural that Rotten, who had no experience with women, would fall deeply in love with Rael, who had a lot of experience with men. What broke down such a talented genius was not effort or magic, but a very simple emotion called love.”

Tarantara trembled slightly, wearing a malicious and joyful smile.

,Do you know what’s even more fun? Raphael was stupid enough to really fall in love with Rotten. Realizing her feelings, she cried and begged me. She said she didn’t want to hurt Rotten anymore and would stop. She said she would return all the money.”

I had no choice but to stop checking the status window at Tarantara’s continued words and look at him with hateful eyes.

,It seems she forgot that she was an insignificant prostitute, so I gave her drugs and forced her to sleep with men on days when she wasn’t meeting Rotten. On the day I threw Raphael, who was drugged, to the men as usual. Rotten came to me. Do you know what he said? He wore a happy expression and said he would marry her.”

Tarantara added in a calm voice, wearing a smile as if recalling a memory.

,That was when it was hardest to hold back my laughter.”

Tarantara, who was wearing a joyful expression as if boasting about a heroic tale, asked me.

,What do you think I did when I heard that from Rotten? Take a guess.”

I stopped glancing at the status window at Tarantara’s gaze, which was watching me as if observing, and lowered my gaze as if contemplating.

,You said congratulations… and laughed inwardly.”

At my answer, Tarantara slapped his thigh with his palm and laughed loudly as if he was delighted.

,That’s right. I said that and immediately went to see Sir Owell. I told him that Rotten was so engrossed in a woman that he was neglecting his research and might withdraw from the Magic Tower because he was thinking of getting married.”

At Tarantara’s words, what I had seen in the illusion came to mind. The reason why he broke the promise to lift the restrictions when the magic theory was completed… was because of Tarantara.

,The former Magic Tower Lord, Sir Owell, was a greedy old man. In the end, as I expected, the days when Rotten and Raphael met gradually decreased. Of course, Raphael had more days to sleep with men.”

,You crazy bastard…”

I could see in the illusion how much Rotten missed Rael. I couldn’t help but curse when I remembered Tarantara disgustingly comforting Rotten, who was even having a hard time.

,It’s correct that I told the child to sell Platinang flowers to Rotten. But I didn’t intend to give Rotten the pain of loss. I just gave Raphael a chance to choose.”

Wearing a wicked smile on his face, Tarantara added.

,Whether to commit suicide by being stabbed with thorns while carrying all the secrets, or to stab Rotten with thorns and survive alone… You don’t need me to tell you the result of the choice, do you?”

At Tarantara’s gaze, which was watching as if expecting my reaction, I silently raised my hand and consumed 4P to select [ Magic Amplification ].

=====

[ Ross ]

Age: 20

[Stats]

Strength 1.6 / ▲0.3

Endurance 1.5/ ▲0.2

Agility 2.4 / ▲0.2

Stamina 2 / ▲0.4

Magic 1.4 / ▲0.3

Innate Ability

Luck 1

Charm 2

Intelligence 8.3

[Talent -*Unyielding Courage]

*Activated by Geass

– You gain the courage to persevere and strive towards your goals without giving up in the face of any adversity, temptation, or difficulty. It is an armor of will and a fortress of reason.

[Talent -*Magic Amplification]

*Activated by Geass

– Temporarily and explosively amplifies the magic you currently possess.

[Personality]

◇Inferiority Complex

[Authority]

◆ Check ‘Yonghari’ Setting Book

– Incantation: Yonghari

=====

Just like moving my hands and feet freely, I naturally realized how to use the talent called Magic Amplification.

,What are you doing?”

Looking at Tarantara, who was watching my actions with a puzzled look, I unleashed the anger I had been suppressing and said.

,I’m going to… kill you.”

At those words, messages began to appear before my eyes.

[ Geass is activated due to the vow. ]

– Kill Tarantara.

[ Unyielding Courage is activated. ]

[ Magic Amplification is activated. ]

Intense magic emanated from my body, pushing back Tarantara’s magic that had been pressing down on me.

Tarantara immediately waved his staff and fired magic, but I opened a dimensional entrance at the spatial coordinates I had recognized in advance, took the box Rotten had left behind, and escaped by recognizing the spatial coordinates outside the house that looked like a hole.

Upon landing, I safely put the box in the space warehouse and took out the Spear of Destruction.

Kwaaaang-!

With a loud noise, the house Tarantara had made was destroyed, and Tarantara revealed himself with thick magic.

,Do you think you can escape?”

I scoffed at Tarantara, who was speaking as if it was ridiculous, and replied.

,I said I’d kill you.”

,A dullard who doesn’t know his place… Foolish.”

As Tarantara waved his staff, the ground cracked and huge tree roots soared up to pierce my body.

The tree roots, which were rushing in with fierce momentum, disappeared without a trace at a simple swing of the spear.

,What…?”

Towards the flustered Tarantara. I drew out the full power of destruction and aimed the Spear of Destruction, whose blade had turned red.

,I will definitely kill you.”