Upgrade?

“Hmm. So there’s a Witch’s Workshop, you say?”

“Yes! I’ll guide you right away! I don’t know the exact location, but I can probably figure it out once we get there!”

Amel was able to hear about the Witch’s Workshop from Mew.

Yuha had said there was a Vampire somewhere around here, but the reason Amel hadn’t seen one wasn’t a matter of timing, but of location.

“Just tell me the location and go back.”

“…Yes.”

The opponent was a Vampire.

If she got caught up in this and became a Vampire…

‘…Considering that possibility, would it be safer to bring her with me?’

If she was within a range where Amel could protect her, it might be safer than some unfortunate incident happening in a place Amel didn’t know about.

After all, if the enemy was only at the level of the Vampire Count she’d dealt with before, Amel could rescue Mew even if she were taken hostage.

‘…Forget it.’

Was there really a need to go that far?

It was no different than bringing along a nagging worry. What a sight, worrying about an NPC in what was just a game.

Amel rebuked herself, forcing her mind to treat her concern for Mew as mere over-immersion.

Lately, she had been feeling it in her bones—the growing sense that she was starting to accept the game as reality.

Through self-suggestion, Amel had mastered the know-how to quickly detect her own changes. She sensed the shift in her psyche and cut it off beforehand.

“Haa…”

How did it come to this?

She had to escape the game.

Climb to the 100th floor.

See the game’s ending.

For now, that was the most straightforward and worthwhile escape method to try first.

“….”

Amel glanced over as she watched Mew return to the Magic Shop. Nearby, the Tower of Trials stood tall, piercing the sky.

She could go there right now, but she had a job from Yuha.

Yuha was a person from the real world, so she couldn’t ignore her words.

‘Protect them…’

What a ridiculous notion.

There should be a limit to over-immersion.

Still…

‘A purpose that lets me enjoy the fight.’

To enjoy the game, she would protect the NPCs… the NPCs she wanted to protect.

And on this street, a wicked Monster was plotting a scheme that would ruin the tournament and bring danger.

She started walking.

‘(….)’

She arrived at the place Mew had mentioned.

A certain building came into view.

It stood in contrast to the angular buildings around it; this one was cylindrical.

The roof was cone-shaped, and at a glance, it gave off the feeling of a witch’s house.

The moment she saw it, a thought crossed her mind.

‘Is this a Dungeon?’

A strange atmosphere hung in the air, and the entire building emanated an odd feeling. As she examined it, she understood why.

The traces of Magical Power were ‘less’ noticeable than the surroundings.

As if it were veiled.

Of course, the surrounding buildings and objects also possessed faint traces of Magical Power, but normally, no one would be able to detect them.

‘(My senses are going crazy.)’

That’s how Win had described it, so it was probably true.

‘(…Ever since the Sword God incident, your already good magical detection has gotten even better. Sensing the Magical Power of ordinary objects is impossible with current technology.)’

‘Is that so?’

‘(Watching you do it so easily shatters my world every single time.)’

Win chuckled.

‘(Well, thanks to that, I can share your senses, so I like it. The Physical Magic I developed recently owes a lot to your senses, you know.)’

Physical Magic. Starting with Magic Missile, that’s what they called the spells that converted Magical Power directly into physical force.

Physical Magic included the Mana Bullet, which was a Magic Missile, as well as Mana Enhancement, Mana Jump, Mana Acceleration, and so on, but…

Anyway, that wasn’t what she needed to think about right now.

The witch’s house.

The Witch’s Workshop.

Amel knocked on the door.

Knock, knock.

“….”

‘(…Guess no one’s home?)’

Knock, knock.

There was no response.

She extended her Magical Power to survey the interior.

It was one thing when she didn’t know about the Witch’s Workshop, but now that she did, she could see it. There was something hidden in the basement of this house.

She grabbed the doorknob… no, she grabbed the left and right sides of the door with each hand and pulled.

CRACK.

She tore the door off its hinges,

and set it aside.

The interior was pitch-black.

It opened into a living room with a rocking chair and, in front of it, a fireplace filled with ash. A deer head mounted on the wall showed its eerie silhouette in the darkness.

Even though it was dark, her senses were sharp, but Win used Suggestion Magic anyway.

Her vision became as bright as day.

It was a two-story house, and a staircase attached to the wall led up to the second floor. There, three beds were pushed together side-by-side.

From what she’d heard from Mew, there were three witches.

Myun, Dune, and Yoon.

What’s with these names?

Win had said that Minor Witches’ names were typically one syllable, Formal Witches had two, exceptional witches had three, and Grand Witches could extend their names to five syllables.

‘Is a name some kind of rank insignia?’

‘(Names are important. They are the very words that decide one’s fate.)’

It sounded like nothing but an overreaction.

‘You have a single-syllable name too.’

‘(I like Win. It’s pretty, isn’t it?)’

Whatever you say.

She changed the subject.

‘More importantly, there are no stairs leading to the basement.’

She tapped the floor with her foot, but there was no hidden staircase.

Not in the kitchen,

not in the bathroom,

not in the laundry room,

and not in the storage room.

Ugh. A glass jar filled with frog eyeballs. She made eye contact with an eyeball.

‘Should I break it?’

‘(You’re so violent in your thinking. This is a witch’s house. They may be Minor Witches, but this house was made by elites who learned Magic at the Witch Academy. Of course they’d hide it with Magic, right?)’

‘So?’

‘(Hold on. Give me some Magical Power.)’

Amel did as Win instructed.

She stood in the center of the living room,

and handed control of her Magical Power over to Win.

The living room floor responded.

This…

This sensation was…

‘Teleport.’

‘(Teleportation is a witch’s specialty.)’

A floating sensation as the entire space was moved.

She felt the inertia as she descended into the basement.

She was pulled down.

The inertia subsided,

and her feet touched the floor.

‘So it’s a physically sealed-off space.’

‘(One hundred meters underground. No one can enter unless they’re a Witch.)’

‘….’

‘(No, you’re not thinking of destroying the street, are you? The only way to get down here instantly without causing any damage is to destroy the street. Stop trying to turn weird things into a competition.)’

She hadn’t said a word.

It seemed Win could read even the thoughts that didn’t surface to her conscious mind.

‘Scary, so scary.’

‘(I won’t read them if you don’t like it.)’

‘Do whatever you want.’

‘(I’m not a fan of your denial, but I really like how laid-back you are.)’

The Witch’s Workshop was bright.

As bright as day,

and there was only one room.

It was a wide room, but the ceiling wasn’t very high, only about three meters.

There were five people visible in the workshop. Three of them were women in witch’s attire, their faces resembling Mew’s, as befitting her sisters.

Of the other two, one had the face of the woman from the screenshot Yuha had sent.

They immediately became wary, and the Minor Witches aimed their staves at her, but before they could fully take aim,

Amel launched herself forward.

She closed the distance in an instant, arriving right in front of the woman with the [Vampire Count] information window floating above her head. She reached out and grabbed her by the neck.

Holding her, she slammed her into the wall.

“Just one question.”

She didn’t kill her.

There was something she wanted to ask.

“What is that thing?”

“…I see.”

The [Vampire Count] let the strength drain from the hand gripping Amel’s wrist, as if in resignation.

“So it was you? I heard you were pretty, but I wondered how I’d recognize you from that alone. Now that you’ve said that one phrase, I see it’s more than enough.”

“It’s a given that I’m pretty, but will you answer my question first?”

“What is that? There’s nothing I can tell you. Keuk…”

She tightened her grip slightly.

“…Kill me.”

“Are you some kind of knight?”

Even in a situation where she could die at any moment, the [Vampire Count]’s expression only crumpled slightly in pain, but the light in her eyes never died.

There were five people in the workshop.

Three were Minor Witches.

Their faces had turned deathly pale when Amel suddenly blew past them and grabbed the [Vampire Count] by the throat.

One was the [Vampire Count],

and there was still one left.

She was contained within a glass tube.

Inside a glass tube large enough to comfortably hold a person, a woman floated serenely in an orange liquid.

If that were all, Amel would have just let it be and left the judgment to Yuha, but,

‘(Whoa… whoa… whoa… that’s…!)’

Win recognized the woman inside.

‘(B-But she can’t be here, can she?)’

‘Do you know who she is?’

‘(You don’t recognize her? That woman is…! No, you haven’t seen the video yet, have you? Wait, no? You saw it too.)’

Had she?

She turned her head to glimpse the back of the woman in the glass tube.

She tried to recall the face of the woman floating in the liquid with vacant eyes, but she couldn’t remember.

‘(You know! The Dream!)’

‘Dream?’

‘(That giant Dream! You still don’t know even after I’ve said this much?)’

‘…No, I know what you’re talking about, but did she look like that?’

The one Win was talking about was none other than [Dream].

‘(I saw her during the Raid. Her face, her body, all her features are the Dream I know!)’

‘…The Vampires are resurrecting Dream?’

‘(That’s… probably not it. But even so, she looks so similar… she’s identical! Amel, I’m going to pop over to Cappuccino for a second!)’

‘Go ahead.’

Her mind grew quiet.

Again.

Her gaze shifted from the woman (Dream?) back to the [Vampire Count].

“I don’t know what it is, but it looks like fun. Can’t you let me join in?”

“What utter nonsense.”

“You’re saying it’s okay for me to kill you and smash that thing, right?”

“Do it, if you can.”

Hmm…

“But smashing it could be your goal.”

“So you won’t smash it? You’re a coward.”

“….”

Whatever they had prepared.

She was confident she could win.

But this was the basement of Gospel.

The basement of the Weaponry District.

If she caused a commotion for no reason, Gusta, Gumiho, and Mew would all get caught up in the accident.

“….”

At times like this, there was only one thing to do.

<I>
[Should I break it? Or not?]

<Cassandra>
[Break it.]

The reply came instantly.

She released the [Vampire Count] from her grip.

The moment she was free, the woman swiped at her, her nails wreathed in a blood-like Magical Power, but both of her hands missed Amel and fell to the floor with a thud.

The Bloodstained Dagger had severed both of the [Vampire Count]’s arms.

She held up the Bloodstained Dagger, showing it to the [Vampire Count] as if to make a point.

“Keh… Keheheh.”

“….”

She laughed unsettlingly.

What a waste of a pretty face.

Ignoring the [Vampire Count], Amel turned her back, and the Minor Witches stared at her with tense expressions.

The one who seemed to be their leader stood as if to protect the other two, but,

they were outside Amel’s interest.

She looked at the glass tube.

And aimed the Bloodstained Dagger.

The moment its tip touched the glass, crack.

The glass shattered with a crash, and the orange liquid inside poured out like a flood.

SPLAT. The sound of flesh hitting the floor echoed, but the woman was nowhere to be seen, having vanished like an illusion.

Instead,

“This is.”

Only a right leg remained.

The Bloodstained Dagger grew hot.

Like a sleeping child waking up and sleepwalking to the refrigerator for a snack, the awakened will of the Bloodstained Dagger desired that right leg.

“….”

She went over, held the Bloodstained Dagger in a reverse grip, and stabbed the right leg.

Sluuurp.

It drank the blood of the right leg.

It shriveled,

leaving only skin,

then only bone,

and then even the bone turned to sand.

Having absorbed it to the absolute limit, the Bloodstained Dagger finally grew quiet, as if sated.

‘…An upgrade?’

She didn’t know what it was,

but one thing was certain.

The Bloodstained Dagger’s Magical Power was much better than it had been just moments before.