Ch.6763 – Proof of Existence

BOOM-!

Water is the source of life. Yet, violence disguised as vitality devastates the land.

As soon as one spell ended, Vice Dean Jin Chronicle descended to the ground to engage in close combat.

The clashing sound of a sword wrapped in water-source mana against a mace echoes through the air.

NoName, adorned with iron chains, nimbly deflects Jin’s sword and exploits an opening.

“NoName, I’ll help you…!”

CLANG-

But Jin wasn’t defenseless. Her critical strike repeatedly blocked by his steel pocket watch as he continued his assault.

Chronicle’s sword glowed with blue energy. The blue mana became like a ferocious hound, eager to tear at NoName’s waist.

NoName quickly rolled forward. Simultaneously, she pulled her flail head, and the trailing chain wrapped around his sword, sealing his weapon.

“Watch out for the beam above-“

Somehow, the pocket watch had already reached above NoName’s head.

The sickening ticking sound disorients the ear.

The charging sound of the watch was the precursor to a slash that would steal the life of everything in a straight line.

As NoName rushed toward Chronicle again, he positioned his sword diagonally and retreated.

The forest keeper’s beam-breaking formation left her defenseless.

When caught in this certain dilemma, he planned to surely take her life.

WHIRR-

As expected, NoName stopped in her tracks and activated a magic circle to destroy the annoying pocket watch behind her.

Her abdomen was clearly exposed.

Chronicle dashed toward NoName with large strides.

“Behind you! Look behind!”

Adella’s urgent scream erupted.

NoName belatedly swung her flail, but she clearly thought her response was too late. It had to be too late.

CRASH-!

But even before Adella warned her, NoName’s flail had already struck Jin’s head.

NoName’s attempt to destroy the pocket watch was a feint.

She had instead cast an optical magic circle to disrupt the position of her flail, based on a prediction bordering on foresight that Chronicle would target her.

“Ugh…!”

It seemed the boss fight was ending as the last of his health depleted.

-This is so unnecessary lol

-Poor Adella takes hits for attacks that wouldn’t have landed because of that guy

-If you’re going to interfere, why are you even standing there?

-Suspiciously good magic use for a streamer

-Is she actually a professor? I’m getting suspicious

-Her pure physical skills are insane too

-When she dodged that beam with a side tumble and perfect landing? Like watching a parkour movie lol

-Something’s definitely up…

-Stop using normal attacks and use skills!!!

-Fact: Priests don’t learn any attack skills until Part 1 ends

-Why play such a trash character then?

-In normal difficulty, you can easily cheese boss fights by just healing from behind while teammates do everything

-That’s why I always recommend healers to people who want to clear the game for the first time

WHOOM-

The flail head spins round and round.

Despite taking a direct hit to the head, Professor Jin Chronicle was still conscious.

“In all my days… to young greenhorns…”

The professor, with his arms, one leg, and skull completely mangled, chuckles maniacally.

“Kuh kuk. If only I had the laurel.”

He looked completely defenseless, not even having the strength to pick up his monocle from the floor.

If they were going to end his life, now was the opportunity.

“Laurel. Laurel. Laurel. Laurel. Laurel. Laurel. Laurel. Laurel. Laurel. Laurel.”

NoName unwound her chain and threw her weapon, striking his back from a distance.

CRUNCH- The unpleasant sound of a spine breaking reverberated.

“Laurel. Yggdrasil? Yes, pitiful woman. I will mark the end of days yesterday. One day’s pleasure is six seasons of destruction.”

His mouth wouldn’t stop, fragmentary words scattering in the wind.

Then his body stood up stiffly like a wooden puppet.

“Adella.”

He softly calls his daughter’s name.

“My beloved Adella.”

“Wha- What?! Suddenly!”

The fragment of the laurel that had been bound to him floated up again.

Hundreds of fireflies illuminate the night sky.

“…!”

The fireflies slowly surrounded Adella.

She reached out her hand, but sadly couldn’t catch them.

“Adella, run away now!”

“What?”

“Too late, descendant of Yggdrasil.”

Professor Chronicle’s cloudy eyes regained their vitality.

“Huh? Why is my body like this?”

Adella staggered and collapsed to the ground. Her legs had given out.

“The Laurel of Life. Truly an incredible thing beyond words.”

-??????????

-Phase 2?

-What’s going on? The pattern was phase 3 earlier!

-Health is clearly at 0, but still?

The concept of phases that backstab players doesn’t usually come after combat has completely ended.

Conventionally, they appear when health is reduced by a third or half, at regular intervals.

That’s why Chronicle’s current behavior was puzzling.

[Freezing Prison]

108 ice pillars rise in concentric circles around NoName.

“You’re not Jin Chronicle, are you?”

“Was my acting poor? Well, it doesn’t matter.”

Ignoring NoName trapped in the ice wall, he kindly extended his hand to Adella who had fallen on her backside.

“I’m sorry for startling you. But it was necessary for me to awaken.”

“Who… who are you?”

“Right now, I am nothing. So I cannot answer your question.”

He’s gentle. That makes it all the more strange.

“I know you, Adella. I highly value your talent.”

Adella tightly gripped the dagger hidden in her bosom.

But the man showed no openings. Her instinct warned that he would easily block any strike she attempted.

However, Adella denied her instinct.

A quick strike aimed at the man’s carotid artery.

PING-

Not even a scratch appeared on the man’s neck. That’s why he didn’t even bother to block it.

The difference in power was clear.

“Your effort, your courage, your will, your patience, your perseverance, and even your existence. But because of the curse placed on your body, you will never fully bloom.”

“What… what are you talking about…”

“Your father foolishly placed a curse on you. So that you could say goodbye to the world in the year of your nineteenth birthday. Look here. Isn’t there a cursed mark on your heart?”

Adella glances down at her chest.

A blue symbol that wasn’t there before had appeared.

“What is this, why!”

“Look, even now, doesn’t it hurt when I do this?”

Black energy rippled from the man’s hand.

The symbol engraved on her chest resonated and emitted light.

“Hnnngh…!”

“You are a being that shines brighter than anyone, Adella. But because of a mere foolish creature, you spend nights on cold stone floors, and chew on hard bread soaked with your saliva. Resent your father. It is right to resent him.”

“It hurts…”

“But Jin Chronicle is already dead. Are you disappointed you couldn’t kill him yourself? No, revenge is inherently empty and hollow. Now that it’s over, do you truly have no regrets in life? No, you are inherently a greedy woman.”

“What do you want me to do… So what…!”

“Don’t you covet that child’s talent?”

The man asked, pointing at NoName.

“I will grant you a new life. Take the forest keeper’s body.”

The devil’s temptation whispered.

The pillars trapping NoName twisted like snakes.

Four pillars opened their mouths wide and bit her limbs.

No matter how much NoName struggled, the hardened ice wouldn’t release her.

Now would be the time to completely take over the forest keeper’s body.

“The warm food you want, a warm home, and even academy life. You can start everything over from the beginning.”

From the beginning, you become a forest keeper who came from Arsheria to enter the academy.

Instead of a dirty, grimy body, you can possess a heavenly body chosen by the gods.

“A body bestowed by Yggdrasil is a blessing in itself.”

When the man withdrew his power, the pain in her chest disappeared.

“What do I need to do… What are you telling me to do…”

“We want just one thing. It shouldn’t be a bad offer for you either.”

The fireflies gathered around Adella’s head.

They formed the shape of a glowing laurel crown.

“Become our new god.”

“God…?”

“Yes. Yggdrasil is a false god. We need a new god.”

“I… don’t know about that.”

“No. It’s easier than picking a nobleman’s sleeve. Go and stab the forest keeper’s heart with your dagger. You don’t need to feel guilty because you’re not killing her. You’re just borrowing her body.”

“I… I… Haa… Hnnngh!”

The fireflies glowed again.

Adella collapsed, clutching her head in agony.

She realized the true nature of the laurel, Yggdrasil, and the fireflies.

At the same time, Jin Chronicle’s body fell limply to the ground.

Taking advantage of her weakened body and mind, she had already been absorbed as part of the ‘entity’.

“You all… were demons.”

Adella sheds tears.

Her abominable hand refuses to let go of the dagger. Is this her true heart?

Her heartbeat quickens. Strength returns to her legs.

[You are a being worthy of blessing.]

Adella approached NoName one step at a time, slowly.

Today, the weapon she held seemed particularly unfamiliar.

Was it always this sharp? A feeling of fear wells up.

“I’m sorry, forest keeper.”

Another step, two steps.

“I’m really pathetic, aren’t I?”

NoName’s face showed clear confusion.

“I just… hic… I just wanted my father to acknowledge me. I don’t know why things went so wrong.”

She wants to prove her existence. She wants to be a necessary cog in the world.

She was so afraid that if she died like this, no one would remember her, so she wanted recognition from anyone.

“Did you hear? I’m going to die anyway… in less than a year… Why did my father keep me alive then? He should have just killed me when I was born…!”

Throughout her life, she constantly craved attention and affection.

To get it, she interrupted Alperion with trivial conversations when he was busy, and even stole Ciciella’s favorite clothes.

“I know… even if I live like this, the world won’t pity me. Because I’m useless. Because I’m Adella, whom everyone hates.”

That’s why she envied the forest keeper called NoName even more.

The sociability to mix with strangers at once, a beautiful body as if crafted by god, inexhaustible mana and endless knowledge.

In comparison, all Adella had left was the perseverance to reluctantly continue living.

“I’m sorry… Why did you try to be nice to someone like me? You didn’t trust me much either… hic… sob…”

Tears blur her vision; Adella’s tear ducts were like broken faucets.

Even as she’s doing this, the forest keeper doesn’t say a word.

What could have created such coldness in her?

Adella had no way of knowing.

Her hand trembles more than when she committed her first murder. She lacks even the basics of a sword user.

“I didn’t want to be born this weak. I wish everyone would look up to me. No, actually I don’t need any of that. Then what did I want…”

Although the dagger was already half-destroyed from numerous battles, the cut surface was still enough to sever the lifeline of a weak life.

Her sobbing subsided.

It meant she had made her decision internally.

“Yeah… I think I understand a little. I needed a friend.”

Was her purpose for entering the academy truly to gain her father’s complete recognition?

With just one meeting, Adella realized that Jin Chronicle could never be such a person.

She had been envious deep inside.

When she was wrapped in robes stealing in back alleys, she envied the academy students who punished ruffians harassing merchants, who saved children from being hit by carriages and received praise…

She wanted to belong to that group. She wanted to be praised. She wanted to mingle with them.

She wanted to feel the warmth of people that she had never experienced in her life.

She tells the forest keeper trapped in the ice wall about the days she has lived.

“I guess I wanted to live like them too.”

She raises her dagger high.

“Thank you for everything… This is really the only way. I’m sorry, it’s all my fault… Will you grant me one request?”

All the energy of the fireflies gathered into the dagger.

The demon had completed all preparations to plunder NoName’s body.

“Don’t ever forget me… forever… Being forgotten is too scary… Keep thinking of me, remember me, live with the knowledge that a wonderful person named Adella was here… Oh, and say hi to Mr. Gestalt for me too. Hehe… That’s two requests…”

Adella grinned brightly and gripped the dagger in reverse.

“You’ll listen, right?”

The path of the dagger suddenly changed.

The blade that was meant to pierce the forest keeper’s heart was now aimed at her own heart.

The fireflies, sensing danger, tried to escape from the dagger, but Adella’s arm was faster.

Eventually, crimson blood splattered on NoName’s face. Adella vomited blood.

The ice melts.

NoName belatedly rushed to catch Adella’s collapsing body.

Thousands of fireflies, having lost their host, rise to the sky and disappear.

The red dawn shines, bringing vitality to the cold earth.

But the body of the girl who burned her insignificant life to choose the noblest death remained motionless and cold.