Chapter 152

Chapter 150 – Verification

“Then, let’s整理 it all from the beginning.”

Nod, Nix nodded in agreement, and her chest shook along with it. I gathered the information I had in my head and threw out a question.

“First. The magic you cast on me is twofold. One is a spell that deteriorates my physical abilities, and the other prevents me from feeling fear beyond a certain threshold while keeping me calm at all times. Am I right?”

“Yes.”

Nix opened her mouth to respond. That much she could answer. I confirmed that fact and moved on to the next question.

“Second. Is there a possibility that you erased my memory or altered it?”

“If it were a spell that corrupts the mind, I wouldn’t know, but a spell that touches the memory… hehe.”

Nix trailed off with a silly grin. She could answer that, too.

Well, considering I can clearly recall events before being here, it seems my memory hasn’t been tampered with.

The four Knight Commanders and Aurora think I’ve lost my memory, but that’s just because I can’t spill the whole truth about this situation. I plan to come clean later.

“Third. You and I were acquaintances in a past life—”

“Reincarnation, yes.”

“…Right. In a past life. Anyway, does that mean we had a connection in that life?”

Nod, nod, nod! Nix vigorously nodded her head with a brighter expression. Her chest shook even more than before.

‘This is serious.’

That’s what I concluded.

Not only does she have a split personality, but she also seems to be suffering from delusions, believing we were acquainted in a past life. Her mental state was more than a bit concerning.

If I leave her be, who knows what kind of backstory might pop up next. She might even randomly throw in that we were married in a past life.

‘What does it even mean to have met in a past life?’

Was this personality from the Mod’s influence, or was there another reason? Nix firmly believed in her delusion that we had ties in a past life.

“Okay. Let’s assume, for the moment, that you’re right and we knew each other back then.”

“…I’m not assuming… it’s the truth… and we weren’t just acquaintances, but truly, truly deep in our relationship…”

Noticing that I didn’t believe her at all, Nix shrank down immediately, glancing at me shyly while fidgeting her fingers in front of her chest. I ignored her and continued speaking.

“Then why did you use magic on that ‘acquaintance’?”

THWACK!

With a ferocious sound of teeth clashing, whatever Nix was about to say fell silent again. It was such a loud sound that it made my mouth hurt just from watching.

“…”

Nix shook her head from side to side. That meant she couldn’t speak.

Clearly, she knew something, but there was no way to figure it out. Even if I tried to convey it in writing, her arms stiffened up completely, making it impossible for her to write.

She herself claimed this has never happened before, so it was obvious there was some overwhelming power blocking my access to the truth.

What that overwhelming power was, I had no idea.

I leaned back in my chair. I had collected unnecessary information about this witch’s mental state being far more serious than I had imagined, while I hadn’t gained anything about the core issue.

It matched the game’s fact that I had been cursed with a spell that deteriorates physical abilities, but the problem arose from there.

The reason Nix, who has special feelings for me to casually say such things, used dark magic that’s almost a curse on that special person.

Then, to top it off, she used a black magic that prevents me from feeling fear and keeps me calm. I couldn’t figure out either reason.

I found out the type of magic used, who did it, and when it was cast, but not knowing the reason was ridiculous.

I had solved one question, and in its place, a new question popped up. Ultimately, it was like I hadn’t moved forward at all.

“…Alright, I got it.”

I stood up from the chair. Nix, seeing me approach, instinctively flinched and started fidgeting nervously.

Then, she tightly closed her eyes and lifted her head toward me. Her lips slightly pouted forward. I stared at her with a dumbfounded expression. It was too obvious what she was thinking.

It seemed she thought that because I had placed my hand on her shoulder, I would kiss her. If she had checked my expression, she would know that wasn’t the case.

“You don’t have to keep your eyes closed for a kiss; you can open them.”

“Eh? E-heeheehee…”

Nix cautiously opened one eye. Noticing my incredulous expression, she nervously looked around and shrank back while fidgeting her fingers again. I sighed inwardly.

At one point, I thought that as long as this NPC didn’t have that annoying personality, everything would be fine, but Nix was proving that even if she had feelings for me, some situations still wouldn’t work.

As long as she kept scrutinizing my every move, I couldn’t help but feel like the bad guy in this situation.

“So, you came to see me just to look at my face? No grand purpose or anything?”

“Yes, hehe…”

At first, I thought she had come seeking something important, but she only wanted to see my face.

Three times, to be exact.

Initially, she had discovered I was at the Imperial Palace and went to Minerva’s shop, but it turned out she wasn’t on good terms with Minerva either, so she was stuck in a corner until she met Kaiquilia.

With a split personality, it seemed as if she had two lives; she had even boasted about our deep relationship right in front of Kaiquilia, only to be thrown out after a severe beating right before she was knocked out.

Now I understood why she was wearing the combat outfit that doubled as formal wear when Kaiquilia called for me.

Regardless of whether she realized her words were a delusion, she must not have taken the act of boasting about our relationship in front of me lightly.

Considering the Empress had shown interest in me and her fierce personality, it was a miracle she hadn’t lost her life after that.

‘At first, I heard she sent a clone instead to avoid causing panic among the townsfolk, so she doesn’t seem to be as annoying as the NPCs in the game…’

Right after returning from the Imperial Palace, Lana had reported to Aurora that the woman with purple and green hair looking for us was none other than Nix.

She didn’t come directly but sent a lookalike clone instead. She probably understood that if she came herself, the city would go haywire due to fear, and she wouldn’t receive answers she sought.

While I didn’t have to deal with clones during boss battles in the game, I figured she had learned from her acquaintance with Minerva.

And this was our third encounter.

Feeling like I should treat her better since she came to see me three times solely out of that intention felt weird, especially since that motivation was rooted in a delusion.

“Huh.”

As our eyes met, Nix beamed a wide smile.

Strangely, if she adjusted her expression, wore normal clothes, wasn’t a split personality, didn’t have delusions, tidied up her hair, and got rid of her gloomy aura, she’d just look like a small, cute pet.

‘Ah, so she’s like other people, then?’

“Um…”

Fidgeting her fingers continuously, Nix finally opened her mouth cautiously.

“What… are we going to do now?”

“What are we going to do?”

Honestly, I already had a near-certain answer.

Unless I had discovered something, I had learned nothing essential; it was just a bunch of strange details.

I could aim to uncover the identity of that golden magic she had cast, but at this point, I couldn’t even guess what it was—so that seemed futile.

Then, was there anything else I could do? I had to finish what I had wanted to do before.

“I should go hunt some monsters. Why?”

“Hehe, then…”

[Stats]

[Level] 65(+3)

[Health] 1

[Mana] 10

[Faith] 4(+3)

[Endurance] 5

[Skill] 1

[Power] 25

[Magic Power] 10

[Divine Power] 10

[Defense] 7

I finally confirmed my stats, and after verifying it, I pulled my hands away from the ability confirmation orb.

Since I had obtained the Wingless Nightmare, it wouldn’t hurt to invest some stats into Faith. Given the performance of the Solar and Lunar Eclipses, unless I faced an enemy with divine resistance, I’d always get my money’s worth with it.

‘I’ve hunted every boss in this area… Should I go a bit farther?’

I was nearing the limits of leveling up just by hunting bosses. The bosses from the early zones barely provide experience compared to the elite enemies in the mid to late game.

Just so you know, I hadn’t even touched the mobs unless they came charging in first.

Since this area is still early-game, the enemies are all of a lower level, so defeating mobs around here wouldn’t even scratch the surface of my current level.

Meanwhile, I was still a one-hit kill, making it a really bad trade-off. That’s why I had been circling around, taking down only boss monsters.

“Welcome back, Commander. It’s been a while.”

As I exited the room with the ability confirmation orb, Laksia bowed her head as she saw me. From the timing, it looked like she had been waiting outside, having heard I returned.

It had been more than three days since I last roamed outside, so it was indeed a long-awaited reunion.

“Did anything happen?”

“No. Everything was events that could be managed by the guards.”

“What about Nix? Still the same?”

“…She seems to spend 20 hours out of 24 sleeping.”

Nix had asked to stay here, and of course, it wasn’t free; it came with the condition that she would teach dark magic to those in need.

When the witch mentioned moving in, both the deputy commander and the regular members, as well as Aurora, showed reluctance, but after I confirmed the conditions, I persuaded the others and eventually got permission.

If Nix were to teach dark magic directly, we wouldn’t need to go into the dungeon for necessary magic books.

In turn, a strict condition was enforced that she must never step outside the castle where the Dark Night Order resides alone, which Nix readily accepted.

And she kept that promise.

Too well, in fact.

Nix had holed herself up in her room since the very first day she moved in, and eventually, after three days had passed, we had to open her door to check if she had run away through the window.

The involved party was sleeping soundly, curled up under the blanket.

I learned she’d sleep around 18 hours, lollygag for about 4 hours, and spend about 2 hours researching magic before going back to sleep. Her behavior matched her appearance perfectly.

“So if she’s only sleeping, that means she isn’t causing any trouble.”

“That’s correct. It’s not a bad situation for us, but… are you feeling alright?”

Laksia glanced at my left arm.

I nodded nonchalantly. Dark magic doesn’t require a medium like a staff or Sacred Catalyst. It can be wielded just through the user’s hands.

As I needed my right hand to wield the sword, it was natural to use my left arm for dark magic, so she was concerned for my left arm. This was due to the nature of dark magic, which consumes stamina when used.

After I had spent three days outside promising to test it the very day I learned it, it was understandable she’d be worried.

“Isn’t it obvious since I came back alive?”

“I believe so. And here, a letter for you.”

Laksia fished out a letter from her pocket and handed it to me.

“A letter? Who’s it from?”

“I don’t know either. But judging by the seal, the sender’s identity is quite certain.”

Curiously, I tore open the letter. It was packed with ornate phrases as if it had been sent by a noble family. I began to read through the sentences carefully.

‘…Huh?’

And then I stopped.

Unbeknownst to me, the main story had progressed further.