Chapter 166: The Fire Spirit’s Pendant [1]
[You’re no different from Nox. Yoochan is Nox. Nox is Yoochan.]
[The two are the sa person.]
[My one and only child…]
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The mont my consciousness fades, the pure white monitor disappears. But I knew for sure.
I am… Nox von Reinhaver. From the beginning. Yes, from the beginning.
Now, the outline finally seems to look clear. On the once-blurry path, rails are laid, and a train is placed upon them.
Destination. The end of the story. To reach that place, I busily pour my ti into it.
Yoochan and Nox von Reinhaver are the sa person—— The voice that sinking into my consciousness told so.
The sa voice that rang directly in my mind when I first opened the letter. The voice that welcod my return reaches .
Heh. A chuckle escapes . The waves of emotion filling have been focused into one. Excitent, fluttering, and such positive feelings. At that mont, I was able to reflect on who I really am.
So that’s it. From the very beginning, I was envious of Nox.
That’s why I wandered, hesitated, and still drew a faint line among the people around .
At one point. The truths I had suffered and ignored raised their heads and looked at . You’re not Nox. You already know, no? Everything you possess, the connections. They aren’t yours. The nightmares that ca every night. The habits that ford after coming here. The constant thought that I was nothing more than an outsider in this place. Because of that, I couldn’t completely accept myself. Sotis, I hated the character called Nox.
It was because I could feel in here, the family I desperately longed for, the warmth of people who cared for you. Nox, that ruffian, had so much more than . This silent scream kept repeating in my mind. Because that was all I could do.
It just keeps repeating like that, suffocating .
But. Now, the fact that I no longer need to do that lifts my spirits. If the infamous Nox von Reainhver is mine, then I’ll gladly accept it. and use it to survive whatever it takes.
For this, I don’t care no matter how many tis I have to risk my life.
Dragon’s breath.
The last condition to master it. I’ve reached the end of opening my lower dantian.
I’ve arrived at my ntal world—the white room too. I can now see a glimpse of the secrets that had been haunting through that mysterious voice. Even though my body is collapsed and I’m in no condition to use magic, I know it.
The mana I’ve exhausted…. is connected to upper and middle dantian.
Once I open the last lower dantian, I can overco all penalties and rise again. Though I’ll have to face the risk of death in return, at this point, I don’t think such things hold much aning anymore.
At so point, it’s like I can hear Astrid’s lazy voice in my ear
— It’ll take at least a year to open the lower dantian.
— Of course, it’s not that there aren’t faster ways to open it, but
I asked, what is that way?
— Stop your heart. And not just your heart. You have to stop all your body senses. Stop all of your breathing.
— After you’ve exhausted all your mana, If you do that… Naturally, you’ll either survive using the mana in the lower dantian or you’ll die. Just one of the two
Those casual words she said. Perhaps, with her [Tender Feelings] trait, Astrid must think it’s an act that absolutely shouldn’t be done. But with the normal thod, I, Yoochan. and Nox von Reinhaver wouldn’t be able to survive.
Because that’s how this character was designed from the start.
I began to stop all of my breath, all of those monts. The inhalation and exhalation intermittently escaped through my nose and mouth. The pounding heart. Even suppressing the weak pulsation of every blood vessel in my body.
[3 seconds until the player’s heart stops.]
[2 seconds until the player’s heart stops.]
[1 second until the player’s heart stops.]
My consciousness drifts far beyond to a place even I don’t know. What was at that end? Even as my heart stopped beating, I felt the illusion of a throbbing pulse. And then, with a system ssage ringing in my ears, my heart stopped precisely. In order to make it beat again, my final gamble will have to succeed. But, despite that, it was still fortunate. If others had been here, especially if Rona or Zitri were on my side, they would have been greatly shocked. From that perspective, Though I feel a bit bad, but I’m glad that soone like Eleanor, who’s cold and detached, is outside.
Soone who can’t help but hate .
Because she’s soone who can’t help but detest , she might be able to beco even more ruthless. If anything, it’s because she’s soone who weighs profit and loss, I find I can trust her transparently. As my consciousness gradually sinks, I focus on everything I have.
From now on, not a single mont of mistake will be allowed. I am Nox von Reinhaver. Even if I’ve never felt that way before, just for a mont, I need to be arrogant.
I am a genius with two [Genius] traits. Because I’m terminally-ill, I don’t fear death and am able to face it calmly. That’s who Nox von Reinhaver is. I defined him that way at that mont.
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He’s soone who despised . No, he’s soone who saved twice. The two thoughts clashed, but in the end, it leaned toward the latter. Otherwise, there’d be no reason for him to risk his life to save multiple tis. As I think of Nox von Reinhaver, who is collapsed now, my vision blurs as I face the dragon in front of . No, that’s not the right expression. I’m just being beaten one-sidedly. Blood pours from my abdon, one arm is completely unusable, and I’m barely stopping the bleeding. The only reason I can still survive is because I’m smaller than the dragon, so I can barely hold on in this tight space.
Either way, I’ll die today. No matter how much I step up right now, I can’t face a dragon.
It’s because I’m weak.
It’s a helpless reality, but it’s the truth. But I don’t regret it. Why? I don’t really know either. The only one thing I do know for sure is.
‘This is sothing I’d never do under normal circumstances.’
Just that.
[I told you—— move aside——!]
The dragon’s furious roar. Even though my body is a wreck and barely able to move, I still do not back down. I can’t let the enemy get past .
If I’m going to die anyway, I’d rather die here together. Now even gold, flowing gold coins. They no longer have aning. I just want to talk to the person who believed in , the one who saved . I want to thank them and ask for forgiveness for my mistakes.
[You can’t even dodge anymore now. How pathetic.”]
I know that too. Now, there really is no way out. I can’t avoid it. For the last ti, I wanted to say goodbye and thank Shane too, but… He was the one who genuinely saved , so I trusted him. In this harsh world, maybe genuine was a luxury for . Maybe I was drawn to that kindness and beauty, swayed here and there like a moth.
But… Even saying that goodbye seems not easy for . I squeezed out my remaining mana to leave my final words
[Shane… if you ever hear this later, please listen and don’t be too surprised.]
As if the enemy didn’t want to even allow to give a proper farewell, attack ca flying. Smooth stance and movent. There’s no doubt, it’ll be over if it hits.
I know. Now, I no longer have the strength to dodge.
In the last mont when my life flashes before my eyes, I am swept up in the illusion that ti is blurring. With tears running down my face, I close my eyes and bite my lip tightly.
[Thank you… for protecting … So please, you must live…]
[Such farewell]
It was at that mont. In the silence where I could hear nothing, suddenly, the dragon’s swift attack beca vividly clear to my eyes again.
Pang—— she could hear a sharp sound.
‘Does he wake up just now? If so, I need to ask him to protect Nox…’
[Shane…. I have a request. Please, save Nox! He’s at the back of the cave…]
[No. There’s no need to save him.]
A strangely different tone of voice. Even Eleanor, who had been shouting frantically, sensed sothing off.
Whoooosh!
A massive fla erupted. At the sa ti two lines were drawn, the ground caved in. Eleanor looked up. There, standing boldly, was soone who had blocked the dragon’s attack with a sword. Her pupils narrowed.
How? The question didn’t last long.
Silver hair, lavender eyes. The person I hated, no, I deceived myself that I had to. Nox von Reinhaver.
He stood before once again.
[There’s no need to save him.]
With those words, sothing strange began to happen. The pendant I had began to glow. The keepsake from my mother, the sa one I had given to Shane. It was the item she told to give when I found soone I loved. An artifact that can confirm each other’s location when equipped.
I haven’t been able to use it yet since it requires a higher rank, but…
At that mont, as I lifted my head and looked at Nox’s neck. It was just a coincidence.
And that coincidence turned into inevitability for .
“That necklace… You … don’t tell …”
“Yeah.”
Around Nox’s neck hung a pendant. The one I had handed to Shane.
The item I thought no longer mattered now, why was it in Nox’s possession?
The answer was already clear.
The stance when they drew their sword, the two flickering swordsmanship, Even though both of them had different personalities, but when they coexisted, Nox looked weakened. Habits, and behavior patterns.
Everything told the answer.
“You were… Shane, weren’t you?”
“I’ll apologize for deceiving you later.”
At that mont, sothing powerful, almost overwhelming, surged from Nox’s body. A shocking amount of flas erupted.
It was more fitting to express it as a blaze. Flickering.
It was beautiful like a flutter of a mayfly burning its life.
Behind Nox’s back, a dark effect appeared, and soon a single crimson pupil erged.
The bright red flas soon turned black, responding to Nox’s dark magic. As the sword in Nox’s hand sliced through the dark flas, it looked quite different from the one he used before.
“You’d have to keep quiet about this.”
Moonlight Sword. First form (Transcend)
The shimring sword, holding a sharp edge, was nothing like the glow of the Stormbringer. It was engraved vividly. That’s… it belonged to Shane.
The sa one he had used to help . I had seen it often.
But now wasn’t the ti to dwell on the suspicion. Nox just remained focused.
Moonlight Sword, Second form (Full Moon).
— Player has activated [Light Step].
— Step 1.
Nox lightly took a step forward, completely disappearing from the dragon’s vision in an instant.
[Sure enough, it was you who woke up after all!]
The ice dragon spoke with excitent. I searched for any trace of Nox, who had vanished. He reappeared outside the cave, gradually pushing the dragon back as a faint smile spread across his face.
“You woke up and made things annoying as you please… Die.”
Then, a brilliant white light began flickering before my eyes. Nox’s white hair, like moonlight, scattered as he shot forward toward the enemy.
Moonlight Sword, Third form (Moon Split).
With swift footwork, Nox’s sword aid directly at the dragon, hitting it precisely. I couldn’t help but be stunned.
It was a shocking scene. Where was that enormous black fla coming from? And that crimson vertical pupil. what exactly was that?
Before I could even finish thinking, Nox’s sword, now blazing with entirely different power, slashed toward the dragon’s weak spot. Then.
Ssshhk! The sword sliced cleanly through the ice dragon’s shoulder, cutting through the wing joint with the ease of slicing tofu, despite its notoriously thick hide.
What… what is this?
Before that, I couldn’t help but think. How did Nox, Shane, wake up from such a terrible condition? Why did he save three tis?
When this battle is over, he’ll give a chance to ask it. I know that too.
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