Ugh…!
“It’s my turn, huh?”
With a 3.72x payout from Yena’s match, I exchanged it for 5 Level 3 Spirit Stones, gripping the bluish glowing nameplate as I stood up.
As I descended the stairs, I spotted Yena coming up from the third floor after her match, casually waving her hand at me.
But Yena seemed to still be on guard against me, huffing and promptly taking her seat.
[Ah]
[Ignored]
[Yena’s pouting]
[Pretty fierce]
[Shivering]
[Can Yena win?]
“I’ll give it my best shot.”
Whether it’s Yena or Ryuin, they’re both mountains I have to climb.
After all, neither of them is the final target; they’re merely hills I need to pass.
The real “mountain” was yet to come.
I threw all the Spirit Stones I had at the sulking Yena.
“What?”
Thunk!
Yena casually received the bracelet filled with 5 Level 3 Spirit Stones.
Her expression twisted in bewilderment.
“…What are you doing?”
“That’s for when I’m in trouble. Of course, it’s on my side.”
“Why’s that?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Have you forgotten our relationship? I might just take it and run!”
“That wouldn’t be bad either.”
It’d give me a reason to take a more active role with Yena.
Above all, if she gets stronger, the likelihood of breaking her ‘Level 1 Information Ban’ increases too.
If we can handle that, the dungeon’s difficulty will become way easier.
“If you want it, take it. It’s thanks to you that I even came to the arena and won this money.”
“I’m really gonna take it! This is no joke!”
“Even if you take it, make sure to bet it with me. Got it?”
“No way! I’ll bet it on my opponent, not on Lily!”
“Then you’ll lose all the Spirit Stones you collected. What a shame.”
“Profit…!”
[LOL]
[Yena’s losing the argument…]
[Non-attachment spirit, Lily, haha]
[Yena…]
[You wouldn’t really bet against me, would you?]
[If you lose, let’s break everything!]
Crack.
While Yena gritted her teeth, I went down to the arena for my match.
My opponent was a Level 5 Sorcerer, the same as Yena’s.
■
“……”
The audience seating in the arena was mostly empty.
Well, not completely empty; there were still quite a few spectators around. But for some reason, 6th grade sorceress Yena felt utterly isolated.
In her hand was a bracelet tossed to her by someone—possibly Lily.
Level 6 Sorcerers spent their entire lives unable to acquire precious Level 3 Spirit Stones.
Just one would be astonishing, and she had five!
There were as many as five of them.
“…Why, meow?”
At first, it was just a question.
Although she was a Level 6 Sorcerer, Yena had the talent to manifest Ling, the Black Cat, known as the deity of the Catkin tribe.
Her spiritual power might have been lacking, but her talent was comparable to that of a Level 1 Sorcerer.
With her innate abilities, she felt a strange sensation the day she met Lily to hunt ghosts.
‘…Is it different?’
Though she had been friends with Lily every time, today, she felt oddly different.
It wasn’t that her power, spiritual energy, or appearance had changed.
Such ‘visible’ things certainly confirmed her claim of being Lily.
However, in the unseen, ‘sensory’ aspects, Lily felt completely different.
It was as if she merely wore a shell, and the vibe of the Lily she knew was absent. When she mentioned losing her memory, Yena decided to observe her for now.
She tried to act as normal as possible, not raising any suspicions.
But whoever had taken over Lily’s body had no intention of hiding the fact that she was not Lily.
She shamelessly claimed that after losing her memory, she had gained strange abilities and went on to toy with the two Level 4 Sorcerers, displaying nonsensical behavior.
Of course, Yena herself was not an average Level 6 Sorcerer, but the Lily she had known was truly ordinary.
Her doubts turned into certainty, and finally, when the imposter started discussing the Sorcerers’ Association’s top council and a powerful ghost sealed in a sword, Yena felt there was no longer a need to indulge her.
If she was no longer treating herself as Lily, then why should Yena treat her as Lily?
Certainly, the one inhabiting Lily’s body was powerful, but Yena also had a few secrets she hadn’t even shared with the real Lily.
The reason she was stuck at Level 6 despite having the talent to become a Level 1 Sorcerer.
The reason she was accustomed to freely drifting in and out of dangerous underground markets.
The reason she hadn’t shown her the core of the underground market, ‘that place,’ even though she had guided her around elsewhere.
If she were to use her hidden ‘real’ power, she could defeat even this changed Lily.
‘…But.’
“I don’t understand her intentions, meow.”
Swish.
When she shook out her bracelet, five Level 3 Spirit Stones appeared.
They were authentic.
Valuable spirit stones crafted from processing and refining gigantic gemstones of Level 3 and above.
Sorcerers capable of creating stones of this caliber were rare in this land.
With just one of these, if she did not indulge in extravagance, she could live off it for the rest of her life without doing anything.
And there were a whopping five of such stones.
All the spirit stones that Lily had just obtained.
‘…Why, meow?’
She definitely wasn’t Lily. So why did she so casually hand these over?
It definitely can’t be Lily. Why would she just pass this over so nonchalantly?
Is this mere spirit stone worth nothing?
Is it worth enough to restore my shattered trust?
But to casually hand over five Level 3 Spirit Stones would require the resources of a well-known family, at least a Level 2 or 3 one.
Yet, if she’s that much of a sorcerer, why is everything so complicated?
“Just taking it by force would be more advantageous, meow.”
She must have had plenty of chances to strike from behind.
– “Alright! The Blue Door Sorceress, Lily!”
Lost in thought, Ye-na suddenly felt the noise increase and turned her gaze down to the arena.
With her sky-blue hair and green eyes, Lily waved cheerfully.
In her hand was a hammer, which wasn’t the jewel Lily usually wielded.
If anything, it seemed to be used just for sealing ghosts or finishing off tasks.
Ye-na gripped the spirit stones tighter, growing more convinced of Lily’s identity.
– “The opposing Red Door Sorcerer is…!”
That woman is definitely not Lily. No doubt about it.
However, the way she hands over the spirit stones and occasionally shows those unusual sides feels strangely familiar.
And that familiarity seems to come from a ‘different Lily’ than the one she knew.
‘Maybe Lily is…’
Swish!!
All the Level 3 Spirit Stones are sucked into the paper.
I don’t care who Lily is.
If Lily has truly lost her memory, I’ll do whatever it takes to fix that; if she isn’t Lily, then I’ll smack her around until I get them back.
– “Then… let’s begin!”
If I couldn’t even handle something like this, I wouldn’t have made it out of ‘that place.’
“Deploying magic!”
“Deploying magic.”
As soon as Lily and the Level 5 Sorcerer began, they both activated their spells.
The Level 5 Sorcerer’s sharp bone chains aimed for Lily, who let out a small “Ugh” as she dodged.
At the same time, a rain of arrows spread from her, but they were all blocked by the bone armor protecting the Level 5 Sorcerer.
“Cackling! Go on, try more!”
“You’re strong…!”
‘…What on earth is this nonsense, meow.’
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The arena echoed while Lily’s futile attacks were blocked with laughter from the Level 5 Sorcerer.
What she’s doing is exactly the same as that boy, Ryuin.
It seems like she’s trying to get high odds for the next match with all that going on…
‘Wanting spirit stones so badly, yet you casually let go of the most valuable Level 3 Spirit Stones?’
Ye-na rested her chin on the table piled high with snacks, pondering Lily’s contradictory behavior.
“What’s her intention, meow…”
“What the hell is this…”
What exactly am I expecting from myself?
Yena turned her gaze away from the meaningless fight, and it had been about ten minutes.
– The winner is! Spirit Sorceress Lily of the Blue Door!
Thanks to her planned spiritual power preservation and spell development, along with the occasional jewel draining the opponent’s energy, Lily seized victory.
Since it wasn’t an instant comeback like what Yena and Ryuin had achieved, but rather a fight that went through its own ‘stages’, the audience seemed not to object too much.
‘Everyone could see it, yet they chose to overlook it.’
Swish!
“Ah.”
The spirit stones come in.
A payout of 2.01 times.
Obtaining nine Level 3 Spirit Stones and twelve Level 4 Spirit Stones, Yena blankly stared down at the stones.
If I just take these, nothing will happen.
It was said that whoever possessed them from the beginning didn’t mind taking them, and from this, I could grow stronger and achieve the revenge I’ve always dreamed of.
If I become stronger, I might be able to reclaim the real Lily too.
It might take some time, but someday…
“Ugh… That was tiring. It really isn’t easy to look all fancy.”
“……”
“But the payout wasn’t bad, right? Did you bet everything on the spirit stones?”
“……”
“Miss Yena?”
“…It really won’t work.”
*
Thud.
The beaded bracelet flew through the air.
The bracelet landed back into Lily’s arms, and it contained all the spirit stones she just collected.
“I don’t believe you. You’re not Lily. No matter how well you imitate her, the Lily I know isn’t like that, and that’s the truth. This fact won’t change.”
“……”
“So… I’ll just give it back.”
Had it been the real Lily, she would’ve shared in the profits.
They were friends, and no matter how tough things got, they always shared whatever came their way.
But the opponent in front of me wasn’t Lily.
“Miss Yena.”
“I’ll return all the other spirit stones. Once you prove you’re a friend later, then I’ll give you—”
“That’s a bit lacking. The payout was clearly over 2 times, so there should be ten Level 3 Spirit Stones…”
“……”
“Just kidding. You know about the fees, right? The fees.”
Yena cried out.
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