episode_0143

Globally and simultaneously, a strange change occurred.

It was difficult to express in words what kind of change it was.

One of the first to feel this change was the mercenaries.

“What’s going on? The monsters seem a bit weaker, don’t they?”

“Is it just my imagination?”

“I felt weaker too.”

During their dungeon conquest.

The mercenaries sensed that the monsters’ power had weakened.

It wasn’t a drastic change. It was just a very slight decrease, but the mercenaries who risked their lives in a moment’s notice noticed the difference without difficulty.

“Well, that’s good.”

“Lucky us.”

Most of them didn’t think much of it.

It was too insignificant of a decrease in power to be considered meaningful, and it was actually a good thing for the mercenaries.

“Ah! Ugh!”

“What’s wrong, Sogong!”

“My head… my head…”

In a deep valley in the northern continent.

Sogong, who had been training in a deep cave, collapsed while complaining of a headache.

Although Gwiho rushed over in surprise, he couldn’t do anything as he didn’t know what the problem was.

No matter how much he examined, there was nothing wrong with Sogong’s body.

It wasn’t a curse or magic either.

All Gwiho could do was watch.

“Something is ominous. Ominous…”

Gwiho looked up at the sky blocked by the cave ceiling while holding his disciple.

An unknown sense of foreboding enveloped Gwiho.

He couldn’t shake off the feeling that something huge was approaching.

“Make excuses all you want. You found Eugene, but you couldn’t catch him because you were scared of the pet spider he was carrying around, right, Banggu?”

“Ah!”

Meanwhile.

While kneeling and receiving a lecture from Yerina, Transylvia’s eyes widened.

Something felt like it was disappearing within Transylvia.

She didn’t know what it was, but it was something that had been ingrained in Transylvia for a long time.

Although it disappeared, it didn’t bring about any significant changes for Transylvia.

Deciding it was insignificant, Transylvia decided to ignore it.

“Hmm?”

On the other hand, in the Leaf City.

Linda’s movements, as she sorted through the mail, came to a halt.

While sweeping away the trivial mail from Cornelius to one side, Linda’s circuits began to warp.

“Oh… this is… dangerous.”

Linda’s words began to falter as she felt the seriousness of the situation.

She began to feel a ‘will’ within her.

It was a familiar sensation.

It was the same will that had contacted her when she fell into the dungeon before.

But this time, a different amount of will was flowing in.

It was enough to distort and transform her circuits into a different form.

If left unchecked, the same thing as before would happen.

Coming to a conclusion, Linda made a quick decision.

“I’m sorry, Master.”

Crack!

Linda’s blade pierced through her chest’s engine.

Blue coolant sprayed out, and Linda’s movements gradually stiffened.

After that, Linda never moved again.

“?”

And in a plain far from Kueren.

The eyes of an unconscious Mijeong snapped open.

A confusing sensation filled her vampire body, causing it to contort.

“What’s happening!”

Even while half asleep, Eugene, who had been on alert, immediately reacted and rushed to Mijeong.

And with a mysterious pain, Yujin placed his hand on his forehead and listened to his breathing.

“Darn it. Why is this happening.”

He carefully laid the unconscious Mijeong down.

Yujin devoted all his efforts to examining Mijeong’s body.

However, there was nothing unusual to be found.

Her body was still cold.

There were no abnormalities in the flow of magic or mana inside her.

Mijeong’s body was perfectly normal.

Yujin closed his eyes, holding the suffering Mijeong.

Apart from massaging her body and feeding her blood continuously, there was nothing else he could do.

“Please, wake up. Please.”

“Ugh…”

And so, the night passed.

In the early dawn.

Mijeong closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Yujin, unable to hold on any longer, also fell asleep.

In his sleep, Yujin thought he heard a voice.

Mijeong’s whispering voice.

“…Forget me. Please.”

He didn’t hear everything, but that one sentence lingered faintly in Yujin’s mind.

“Yujin.”

Tap, tap.

A rhythmic tapping on my shoulder.

And with a gentle voice, I woke up.

Wait a minute.

A gentle voice?

I opened my eyes in surprise.

I remembered Mijeong suffering suddenly last night.

But I didn’t know what was wrong, so I just held her hand to comfort her.

After that, I don’t remember anything.

I tried to stay awake until Mijeong regained consciousness.

But it seems I couldn’t hold on and fell asleep when I saw that Mijeong was deeply asleep.

“…?”

But when I opened my eyes, Mijeong was not in my arms.

Startled, I turned around.

I felt a suffocating sensation as if my breath was being cut off.

“You’re awake now?”

“Uh… Mijeong?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“What… what is that?”

“Apron? I found it in the bag and tried it on. Doesn’t it look fancy to wear this when cooking? More importantly, come here quickly! I made vegetable porridge!”

“…”

Mijeong, laughing cheerfully, ran towards the fire where the pot was boiling.

She held a ladle in her hand, something she had never held before.

She tied the apron neatly with a ribbon at the back.

Various emotions showed on her face.

And her voice, which had been hoarse, became soft.

Seeing this unfamiliar sight, I could only come to one conclusion.

“Who are you?”

“Eek?!”

This is not Mijeong.

Could it be the work of Velfegor’s magic?

I quickly ran to restrain Mijeong’s arms and examined her body.

“Huh?”

But I couldn’t feel Velfegor’s magic inside her at all.

I was confident in detecting it before.

Or maybe it’s Luna’s doing?

Strictly speaking, Mijeong is a corpse.

So Luna could use necromancy.

But there was no trace of necromancy in Mijeong’s body.

“Um, Yujin… It’s a bit embarrassing…”

“Who are you really?”

Mijeong bit her lip as if truly embarrassed.

I was utterly bewildered.

There was nothing wrong with Mijeong’s body.

In other words, this is indeed Mijeong…

Perplexed, I released Mijeong’s wrist that I had been holding.

There was something else I needed to confirm.

“Wait. Let’s check something. Where did we first meet?”

“I don’t know the name of the area… but we definitely met in a dark, dingy slave market warehouse. But why are you asking this?”

“Just answer. What was the name of the person you beat to death with a club?”

“I don’t know. I can’t remember.”

Try to remember.”

“I don’t know! I don’t want to think about killing someone! I remember that he was someone important in Cologne… Other than his unfortunate face, I don’t know!”

“…”

I remember everything.

Every journey I’ve taken with Mijeong.

Still, just in case, I threw out a few more questions.

I thought Mijeong had good memory, so there was no way she wouldn’t remember.

Due to our changed personalities and lack of cooperation, the Q&A session was difficult.

But as the questions and answers continued, I became more convinced that this was the Mijeong I knew.

“Mijeong, it’s you, right…?”

“Yeah! It’s me! How many times do I have to say it for you to understand?”

“Why… Why did you change like this…?”

“I don’t know. I just went to sleep and woke up like this. But Yujin… Do you dislike this new me?”

“…”

Suppressing my awkward feelings, I meet Mijeong’s gaze.

Her eyes are full of vitality.

Full of emotions.

This sight is so unfamiliar to me that I involuntarily look away.

“It’s not that I dislike it, but shouldn’t we know the exact reason for this change? It might not just end with emotions resurfacing.”

“Can’t we just keep it simple? I’m just happy that I can finally think and feel like a human being, like Yujin…”

“…”

While I worry, Mijeong seems confident and content.

She’s been insisting I try the vegetable porridge she made.

I took a bite without much expectation.

“Is it good?”

“Right? Hehe!”

Honestly, it’s quite tasty.

It’s not restaurant-level cooking, but the seasoning is just right, and the balance between rice and vegetables gives it a homely feel.

This skill couldn’t have come from just cooking a few times.

It must be a habit ingrained in her body from her past life.

I’ve never seen Mijeong cook before, so I never knew she had this talent.

“I won’t give you any. Go away.”

“Why? Give a bite to Anonymous too.”

“Ugh…”

“…”

Suddenly pouting, Mijeong puffs up her cheeks and feeds a spoonful of porridge to Anonymous.

“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”

Anonymous nods vigorously, claiming it’s delicious.

Or is it too hot?

I’m not sure.

“What if they finish it all and there’s none left for us…?”

Mijeong wipes Anonymous’s mouth with a handkerchief, then takes a step back and looks at them…

I wonder.

“Do I really need to fix this?”

Although I don’t know the cause, Mijeong’s change from being robotic to this must be a positive one.

There’s no need to find a way to fix it.

In fact, this is normal.

Tran Sylvia also expresses her emotions well without any issues.

The resurrected vampire, despite only being a body, retains the personality of their past life, just like a living person.

So, this current Mijeong is the personality she had before becoming a vampire.

Maybe I overreacted.

Maybe this is okay.

I think.

“This is right. This is how it should be.”

It’s time to organize my thoughts.

The past was abnormal.

This is normal.

I must accept it.

But only for a moment.

I soon realize a serious problem.

[Stats]

[Strength: 19 (-5) *Penalty for Guardian Knight applies]

[Endurance: 44 (-5) *Penalty for Guardian Knight applies]

[Mana: 50 (-5) *Penalty for Guardian Knight applies]

[Agility: 25(-5) *Penalty for Guardian Knight applied]

[Luck: 10(-5) *Penalty for Guardian Knight applied]

“Huh…?”

The initial trait that always activated when I was with Mijung, ‘Guardian Knight’.

It’s not activating.