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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Do you know what an ankle monitor and my demon mark have in common?
If they’re discovered, you’re socially branded as a criminal.
At least with an ankle monitor, the worst that can happen is being looked down upon. But if my mark is discovered, I could be executed, so I guess I’m the bigger criminal.
The fact that you can’t get rid of the mark on your own is also pretty similar.
And there’s one more similarity.
Both the ankle monitor and my demon mark need to be charged.
The source of energy is different, though. An ankle monitor is charged with electricity, while my mark is charged with sunlight and air.
And during that time, my feet have to be planted on the ground, and the surroundings have to be open.
What a ridiculous condition.
Why the hell do I even need to charge it…?
It’s not like I gain some special demon power by charging it.
Ankle monitors don’t shoot lasers when they’re fully charged, do they?
The reason for charging it is also somewhat similar to an ankle monitor.
It’s to avoid risk.
If the battery on an ankle monitor dies, it’s a violation of the law, and the police come knocking.
In my case, if I don’t charge it, I get some unpleasant side effects.
It starts to itch around the horn mark, like I’m being poked with tiny needles.
And the itching gets worse the longer the mark remains uncharged. If I leave it for too long, it becomes a burning pain.
Well, it’s less like “charging” and more like “programming.”
It’s programmed to mess with me periodically if I try to hide my identity.
Experiencing this annoying symptom made me feel like I understood the mark’s intention.
Don’t hide the fact that you’re a sinner.
Your blood has been tainted by evil since birth.
Never dream of hiding among humans.
“Ugh, sh*t…”
Our demon mark is a troublesome friend. It can’t rest until it’s tormented its owner.
Honestly, I rarely experienced any itching before.
Charging it was only necessary every few weeks.
And all I had to do was go out, take off my shirt, and sunbathe.
Even in winter, I could just sit by the bonfire for a while and get some sunlight.
But lately, I haven’t been able to do that.
I never knew when those sneaky otherworlders might appear.
I couldn’t risk revealing my mark.
And several weeks had passed in that state.
“Haa…”
As a result, my itching was getting worse every day.
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The day after having a casual dinner with Yoo Chae-rin, Im Ha-neul lay down in the capsule and logged in.
Once her client’s ban was lifted, she would be busy again.
She wanted to meet him at least once while she had some free time.
She was a Player before she was an editor.
So she headed to the “Forbidden Forest,” equipped with a few items.
A Mage robe she had from when she was a lower level, a beginner Mage wand, a Fatigue Potion, and a few Minor Mana Potions.
These were all items she wouldn’t lose much if she died.
She was fully prepared.
“But how do I even enter…?”
Standing in front of the forest, she fell into thought.
Her level was over 60, but that wasn’t nearly enough to brute force her way through the Forbidden Forest.
And she hadn’t learned Stealth like the Rogue class, so she was stuck from the start.
“…Hmm.”
Of course, she hadn’t come here without a plan.
She had a solution, albeit a somewhat risky one.
She was a Mage who specialized in support magic, which was rare among Mages.
She was more adept at support and defense than direct combat.
And among support magic, there were a few skills that seemed interesting, even if they weren’t very efficient.
‘Flight,’ which she had learned recently, was one of them.
It consumed a lot of mana and wasn’t very useful in combat, but…
It could help her get through the Forbidden Forest.
‘It’ll work… right?’
Of course, she was anxious.
How would she maintain visibility below while flying above the trees? What would happen if she ran out of mana and fell?
‘It’ll work out somehow.’
She didn’t dwell on those thoughts.
If she calculated every single risk, she wouldn’t even be able to start.
He was a rare NPC, so it was a bonus if she could meet him, and no big deal if she couldn’t.
With that thought, she activated Flight, unaware of how vast the forest was.
A few hours later, she found herself falling from the sky in the middle of the forest, her mana depleted.
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Thud-! Thud-!
It was a day for chopping wood.
Even though spring had arrived and the weather was warm, fire was still necessary.
Humans needed to eat to survive, and to eat, they needed to cook.
And to cook, they needed fire.
My stockpile of firewood was running low.
The bonfire I had been burning throughout the winter had consumed a significant amount of wood.
I thought I had gathered a lot, but it was already running out.
Now that I had Kim Mari’s beautiful axe, I decided to spend the whole day gathering firewood. It was easy to find wood; the forest was full of trees.
Thud-! Thud-!
“…Ugh.”
But there was a problem.
Every time I swung the axe, my right collarbone itched.
The mark, which hadn’t been charged for weeks, was acting up.
A prickling itch tormented my right collarbone.
It felt like I had a vibrator implanted under my skin.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if it was just a momentary thing, but it had been going on for weeks, and it was incredibly stressful.
The sensation was getting stronger; I couldn’t ignore it anymore.
Especially at night, when it was quiet, it sometimes felt like a burning pain but I tried to ignore it and continued chopping wood.
I had to get things done.
I even tried to distract myself and clear my mind, like I did during Type B.
Thud-! Thud-! Crack-!
The sound of wood being chopped echoed through the forest.
In this silent forest, even that sounded loud.
The weather had gotten warmer, so I started to sweat after moving around for a while.
Sweat dripped from my forehead, soaking my clothes. My thin T-shirt was getting damp.
I continued chopping wood…
Itchy, itchy.
“Ugh!”
Thud-!
I threw down the axe, unable to bear the constant itching any longer.
I couldn’t live like this!
I would die from stress before the knights even found me.
Even if I died, I had to get rid of this itching.
I left the axe where it was and ran through the forest.
I headed to the back of my cave, the place where I had hung my laundry.
As I mentioned before, it was the place with the most sunlight.
So, I sometimes hung myself out to dry there instead of my clothes.
After running for a bit, I reached the spot.
There was a patch of sunlight in the world where the leaves blocked out the sky.
As soon as I arrived, I prepared to take off my shirt.
“Haa… haa…”
I was a bit impulsive, but I wasn’t going to recklessly expose my mark.
I was as cautious as I could be.
I looked around, heightening my senses to the limit.
The rustling of leaves, pebbles rolling on the ground, the sound of wind brushing past my ears… I took it all in.
Even if someone had Stealth, it couldn’t conceal everything.
There would be traces. Footprints, the sound of leaves rustling, something.
After observing my surroundings for a while, I realized there was no sign of anyone.
There was no living being in my immediate vicinity.
Good! I could charge my mark for a bit without any problems!
With that thought, I took off my shirt.
My lean muscles, honed by the harsh forest life, were revealed. A cool breeze blew, cooling the sweat that was dripping down my body.
As if the sun was scratching an itch, the itching gradually subsided.
I sighed in relief, feeling refreshed.
“Haa…”
This must be what sex felt like. This was so good, it could be considered sex.
I basked in the sunlight, savoring the moment.
And because of that, I didn’t notice.
I didn’t realize that the presence I had been searching for wasn’t on the ground, but directly above me.
“Huh?”
I tilted my head at the strange sound…
“Kyaaaa…”
And then, I saw something plummeting towards me.
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The idea of traversing the forest with Flight… seemed like a mistake.
If it was possible, the Mage NPCs would have already conquered this forest. Why didn’t she realize that sooner?
It was too difficult to traverse this vast forest with the mana-intensive Flight spell. The wind was too unpredictable.
Im Ha-neul only realized this when she reached the middle layer, her mana completely depleted.
As the trees grew taller, she had to fly higher, which increased her mana consumption significantly.
She had already consumed three Mana Potions, but her mana was still depleting rapidly.
To make matters worse, she was out of potions.
Whoosh-
A gust of wind shook her.
Being high in the sky, the wind was much stronger.
She frowned.
At this rate, she would die from a fall before even meeting that NPC.
“Tch!”
She had no choice but to make an emergency landing.
It seemed like it would consume less mana to fall than to maintain her balance while flying.
She might get hurt, but there was no other option.
She deactivated Flight, gathered her mana, and cast another spell.
The feeling of weightlessness disappeared, and gravity weighed her down.
The ground below was approaching at an alarming speed.
She felt a surge of fear, but she forced herself to focus and complete the spell.
She cast Mana Shield and a Wind spell.
She used the Wind spell to slightly reduce the speed of her descent and then, she enveloped her body in a shield. It didn’t matter if it broke.
It just had to lessen the impact!
The ground was getting closer. There was a primal fear that came with falling, and she couldn’t help but scream.
“Kyaaa!”
She crashed into the ground.
Boom!
Dirt and dust billowed up with a loud crash.
The impact pierced through her 15% Synchronization Rate. Thankfully, the shield she had prepared worked.
She regained consciousness quickly.
“Ow…”
She clutched her head and looked around, and then she saw him.
The NPC named Yor, staring at her with a pale expression.
And his perfectly sculpted upper body.
He was shirtless, for some reason.
“…Huh?”
Her face flushed red.
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wow what a coincidence
And then they f***, the end