NOVEL NEXT Chapter 40
I stared blankly at my trembling hands.
This shake wasn’t a physical malfunction. My body was as healthy as a horse, thanks to the perfect recovery in the infirmary.
No, this was just the weariness of my mind. I hadn’t had a break in nearly two months. My brain was already mush. The seed in my chest continued to spurt out magic intermittently and gasped for breath.
I’ve long gotten used to the disconnect between my body and mind. This hand tremble was just a minor side effect.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips. There’s a saying that overindulgence is worse than deprivation, and it turns out, that saying holds some weight. Who knew my ambition to earn points would turn into such a stress fest?
Of course, if I just maintained the status quo, this situation would eventually come to an end. It had been two years since classes started, so I just needed to hang on for three more years.
Then I’d be free. Although, I wasn’t entirely sure if I’d be able to hold out that long.
But perhaps it was because I was out for the first time in a while, my steps felt light as a feather.
Suddenly, I recalled last week. It was Professor Ilian’s ninth lecture. The treasure this time was something called “Claw of Twisted Thoughts.” It was said to be a remnant of a massive spirit, a tree that had died.
Before the lecture started, when she showed me the real thing, I was half mesmerized. As I stupidly approached, strange whispers assaulted my ears, stirring my mind into chaos.
In the midst of the dizziness, I could see a blade piercing through me. And it actually manifested in reality. The blade plunged straight into my chest.
If the professor hadn’t stopped it, I would’ve surely been a goner. Startled, I stumbled back, and Professor Ilian laughed heartily as she pulled it back.
The Claw had the power to manifest the user’s thoughts into reality. Of course, that power had its limitations, but she said that taking down a mage or two was a piece of cake. Aside from its tendency to lead its owner down a path of destruction due to its contamination, it was basically perfect treasure.
And thus, the lecture began, but once again, no one got the treasure this time.
In fact, aside from Jun, who snagged an item-eating box in the first lecture, no one obtained any treasures. This was largely due to the environment created by the professor, but even more so because the students were at each other’s throats.
Mages were hostile toward each other, and groups banded together for mutual gain also antagonized other groups. If anyone got close to the treasure, all the groups would join forces to drag them down.
As a result, it was common for everyone to get thrown out when the 24-hour limit was up. Throughout this process, hostilities toward each other didn’t even think about decreasing. By the end of this lecture, there was a full-blown war.
Jun’s group was interrupted by swordsmen, and fueled by grudge, they’d launched a widespread attack right after the lecture ended. That day, around twenty limbs were severed.
The ability for them to fight as they pleased was significantly supported by the existence of the infirmary. Since the second floor opened up, they always had access to the infirmary. After all, as long as they didn’t kill each other, what was the harm? Hence, their battles became quite fierce.
That war just wrapped up three days ago. Since the swordsmen had blockaded the infirmary and cut down anyone who approached, Jun was forced to surrender. It was a pity.
He must have thought he had amassed sufficient strength to challenge them, but the swordsmen turned out to be tougher than he imagined. Of course, I had quite the headache cleaning up after the mess.
The professor grumbled about their antics. She set traps upon traps to protect the treasure, but they couldn’t even reach them because they were too busy fighting.
During all this, the professor hadn’t once stepped out of her room. Whenever she went up to recharge the butler’s magic, she was always just sleeping. Recently, she seemed to be delving deeper into slumber.
How envious I was of her apparent leisure.
I promised myself I would possess such ease too. Reflecting on that, I glanced down at my feet. My shadow was poking its head out, dipping its arms into the flowing black river beside me. It looked quite relaxed.
It was time to head in now. I looked up at the looming black tower before me. The more I learned about my shadow, the more incomprehensible this tower felt. It gave me the sensation that something was watching me from within the darkness.
Brushing such thoughts aside, I stepped through the tower’s door. Darkness rippled around me, beckoning me inside. There were quite a few shadows moving around inside.
I made my way through them to the center of the tower. There, a black sphere floated in mid-air, casting shadows in every direction.
I saw several people approaching that sphere. Shadows that closely resembled them were standing beside them. They were the other students from class. They stepped directly into the sphere.
I followed their lead. Class would begin soon. The moment I stepped into the sphere, my shadow surged, wrapping around me. In contrast, I became its shadow, sinking into the ground.
This was how one moved in the shadow world. Maira said that if a living person entered this place, they would instantly have their physical body snatched away.
This world was like an ant tunnel made up of numerous pathways. Shadows writhed and moved everywhere — walls, ceilings, and floors didn’t escape their dance.
Dodging them, I slowly made my way down the familiar path. I spotted people moving ahead of me. Following them, I finally came upon a strange pit that gleamed like a mirror.
My shadow leaped into it. As a result, my position and shadow swapped, and I found myself standing inside the lecture hall. Many had already arrived and claimed their spots.
I quietly searched for a spot in the corner. It was the position I had always sat in.
After a short wait, the lecture time arrived, and Maira appeared through the shadows. Professor Heisen hadn’t shown her face since the first class. After that, Maira conducted all the lectures.
“Today’s test is… survival. The last person… standing… passes…”
As soon as her words finished, the lecture hall was engulfed in darkness. Feeling the sensation of my shadow intertwining with mine, I fell once more into the shadow world.
Survival, huh? What am I supposed to survive from? No need to think hard on that. It’s probably about surviving against the other students. All tests generally felt like this.
During this lecture, I could easily tell who among the students was strong. Those who passed before were the proof.
Among them, the standout was a guy named Boun. He ranked first in every test. If duplicates were allowed among passers, no one but him would have succeeded.
And the reason I remembered him was simple.
“Hey there, I’ll send you off quickly today too. Go rest.”
In an instant, a shadow fell before me. It swiftly lunged and tore apart my shadow. Therefore, he was the one who always eliminated my shadow first.
I was catapulted out of the world just like that. The shock made bile rise in my throat. When I opened my eyes, I was back in the lecture hall. I quickly bent over and collected myself.
For a moment, I almost lost my mind. Given that my exhausted mind just endured that shock, it hit me hard.
“You came 30 minutes earlier than last time…?”
A faint laugh echoed next to me. I raised my hands in submission. When I looked up, I saw Maira smiling at me.
“What can I do, I’m just weak.”
I forced out a bitter smile. I always ended up being the first to get knocked out. Not just Boun, everyone targeted me.
Points were awarded for each person caught during every test. To them, I was merely a walking point.
So, my shadow always ended up easily captured and torn apart. At least I was grateful it was just my shadow and not my body. It looked like it had already recovered; it wobbled back up into the lecture hall.
“Still… such a cute little friend…”
Maira poked at it. It reminded me of when she first spoke to me. It was after the third test. She had simply found my shadow fascinating. She said she had never seen a shadow recover that quickly. Of course, other than that, nothing special about it. Since then, she would occasionally strike up a conversation.
“So… how did it go this time…?”
She asked. I simply shook my head. Yet another failed experiment.
I thought it had some promise, but there was unexpected backlash. Calmly, I began to explain the outcomes of this experiment to her.
This time, I aimed to merge a doll with a shadow.
Dolls inherently had their own shadows. If you tried to forcibly attach another shadow, you’d encounter severe rejection. I discovered this in a previous experiment. In the end, the key was to ensure a natural blend.
However, the doll’s own shadow was quite weak due to the lack of time. With its innate power, it couldn’t even move the doll. Therefore, to assist the shadow in aiding the doll’s movement, I reconstructed the internal circuits to create a large shadow encompassing the magical heart.
I tried to create a shadow’s heart over the doll’s magical heart.
This attempt appeared quite promising. The shadow spread over the surface of the doll, transforming as if it became the doll’s skin. It moved according to the doll’s form as I had initially set it up, trying to lead its movements.
But then, the shadow began to reject the magic. It melted away, unable to handle the mage’s magic contained within the doll. Every time the doll moved, that rejection intensified, and soon the shadow dwindled rapidly.
Thus, overlaying a shadow on a doll had failed. It was time to move on to the next stage. I had to restructure the circuits again.
This time, I designed it in a way that shadows could merge more easily, melting them down to be part of the magical flow through the circuits.
Now the doll moved through the shadow’s power while minimizing magical consumption. It seemed successful for a brief moment. But soon, the shadow clashed with various magics present within the doll, causing the circuits to tangle.
This led to instability in the doll’s magic, ultimately resulting in an explosion.
The entire process took two months to conduct. But the outcome was horrendous. The shadow had not fully blended with the magical flow of the doll, and they clashed, resulting in an explosion.
The shadow and the doll’s circuits were completely incompatible. However, I did learn something valuable from this experiment. Shadows possessed a high degree of autonomy.
Thus, in cases of forced merging like this, the doll became unstable. Moving forward, I would need to be mindful of the shadow’s autonomy and aim for a method that harmonized with my magic.
That would be the theme for the next experiment.
Maira chuckled softly, covering her mouth with her hand.
“Such a cute… dilemma…”
To her, the results of all the efforts I squeezed out during my absence were merely cute? I felt a slight sense of emptiness.
But that’s why I poured my heart out to her. Besides Professor Heisen, no one knew shadows better than her.
It was all six months ago. When I first shared my concerns with her, I had almost no expectations of receiving a response. I just spoke as if grasping at straws.
But unexpectedly, she kindly replied. And so, every three months, whenever I was eliminated, I began seeking out her brief advice.
The last time, I even asked her why she was helping me like this. After all, there was absolutely no reason for her to assist me. To that question, she smiled and replied.
“You seem… likely to find yourself in a similar position as me…”
From that statement, I felt a gooey joy and excitement. It felt oddly twisted and grotesque. Something murky and unsettling was bundled within it. I shivered at the ominous tone of her words.
Anyway, her words were always helpful. Throughout the past year, I received immense support from her.
Even now.
She tapped her lips and took a moment to gather her thoughts. Finally, she opened her mouth again.
“Your research… was interesting. You can continue… with that…”
So, does that mean my direction wasn’t wrong? I nodded. Just her saying that helped immensely.
“Take a deeper look into the shadow world… That will… be helpful…”
She continued. Then, she melted away into the shadows. I cherished her words deep in my heart. I bowed my head deeply to express my gratitude to the space she left behind.
And then I collapsed onto my desk. All students had to stay here until a passer was decided. It was likely we still had quite some time before that would happen.
In times like this, a little rest would allow me to endure longer in the future. I quickly lost consciousness, drifting off into sleep.