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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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He pressed the password on the orb’s door lock within the dark forest.
A completely white space appeared before his eyes. The White Witch’s bedroom. Surely, living alone in a place like this for a hundred years would drive anyone insane.
He looked around for the White Witch, but she was nowhere to be seen.
“Where are you?”
The bed was covered with a lace canopy.
Was she sleeping again?
It seemed like she was always asleep whenever he saw her.
He approached the bed and lifted the white lace. As expected, the White Witch was asleep, covered by a white blanket.
“Hey. I mean, Witch. Wake up.”
“Mmm…mmm…”
He’d hoped she might be sleeping naked like last time, but perhaps because he’d told her he was coming back, she was wearing sleepwear.
“I said, wake up.”
Finally, the White Witch slowly opened her sleepy eyes. She was breathtakingly beautiful.
As a man with a healthy libido, he couldn’t help but have lewd thoughts. Especially after what had happened last time.
“…I couldn’t believe it, but you really came back.”
“I told you I would.”
“Even so, to treat my Multi-Dimensional Unique Barrier as if it were your own home… I can’t help but be surprised.”
‘Multi-Dimensional Unique Barrier my ass… It’s clearly a door lock. She’s putting on quite the act.’
It didn’t matter. Time was still flowing, and the night was deepening. Considering his sleep schedule, the night wasn’t long.
“As promised, you’ll teach me magic, right? We didn’t finish last time.”
“…I will.”
The White Witch finally sat up in bed. As she lowered the blanket, her voluptuous figure made him gulp.
He’d seen her naked before, and the image kept flashing before his eyes.
Even with clothes on, the White Witch possessed an undeniable allure.
“…”
“…”
“What, what are you looking at?”
“Nothing, really…”
“Don’t you dare think anything inappropriate!”
“…Don’t worry about unnecessary things.”
“…”
Perhaps because of the bed, the atmosphere felt strangely intimate, even though they weren’t doing anything. The White Witch’s figure was simply too alluring.
“I don’t have much time today, so please hurry, Witch.”
“You switch between informal and formal speech… are you mocking me?”
“Of course not. You’re my master, teaching me magic. I should naturally respect you.”
It was right to show respect when being taught something. Even if he would curse her out later when she didn’t teach him properly.
The White Witch got out of bed and put a robe over her sleepwear.
“Since you say you don’t have much time, let’s begin immediately. We tested your mana aptitude with the orb before. I confirmed your aptitude then. Honestly, even considering your late start, you have sufficient aptitude to learn magic.”
The thing that transcended the absurdity of this world was talent!
“You easily passed the first stage of sensing mana. That’s usually the part that requires the most sensitivity and talent. So, what do you think the next stage is?”
“…Instead of asking me, please just proceed, Witch. Damn it.”
She flinched.
“Ahem. I shall forgive your rudeness… Anyway, the next stage is accumulating mana. Now that you can sense mana, you need to create mana that you can control, don’t you?”
“Accumulate mana? Where?”
“Your heart. You can accumulate mana in your heart through breathing. Mana permeates all air. You will make that unowned mana your own. That is the foundation of magic.”
Accumulating mana in the heart through breathing. It was a simple method, surprisingly not complex or difficult.
“Don’t let a little talent make you arrogant. The path of a mage is not so easy that it can be walked with talent alone. The path of truth and achievement…”
Ignoring the White Witch’s nagging, he began to concentrate. Accumulating the mana in the air within his heart.
He hadn’t even considered that there was mana in the air. In a world where even mages were rare, how could he have imagined that mana was so common?
He closed his eyes and focused on his inner world.
The inner world was an image he had created.
For some reason, whenever he thought about magic, this inner world would naturally come to mind.
It was a world that was exactly the same as the reality he was in, but where something that shouldn’t be visible could be felt.
No, now he knew that the invisible something was mana. If he knew that, what he had to do was simple.
Focus.
He took a deep breath. He could feel, see, the blue particles in the air entering his body with his breath in his inner world. In his inner world, he saw himself from a third-person perspective.
He gathered the inhaled mana in his heart.
Magic was very systematic, but at the same time, it was also sensory.
It had to be. It was impossible to perfectly express the sensation of moving and feeling mana with numbers or words.
He now seemed to understand what the White Witch had said before.
Just as one couldn’t explain how one’s hands and feet moved, one couldn’t explain how to move mana. Those words fit perfectly.
It was a matter of whether or not one had the innate sensitivity.
And he clearly did.
He could feel the small, grain-like mana traveling through a pathway different from his blood vessels, reaching his heart.
Every time mana passed through his heart, it accumulated. He could tell.
‘He managed this on his first try…?’
The White Witch narrowed her eyes, observing Kerry. She was an Archmage. Although she couldn’t use magic in this space, she was still capable of observing how Kerry’s body was functioning.
‘Such talent at his age.’
Could she replicate this if she tried?
Such talent to grasp and implement a concept after a single explanation, after living 27 years without any knowledge of magic…
Even the White Witch, who had never doubted her own talent, couldn’t be sure she could match what Kerry was demonstrating.
After a while, Kerry opened his eyes, having steadily accumulated mana through his breathing.
“Is this how it’s done?”
“…Yes.”
‘This monster.’
The White Witch hadn’t taught Kerry an easy method. It was simply the standard practice.
But praising someone’s talent too much from the beginning would make them arrogant. Arrogance hindered learning. That’s why the White Witch remained silent.
‘No, there’s no reason for me to take this seriously for him. He’s a man who barged into my space without permission… and humiliated me greatly.’
Even though she thought that way, there was nothing she could do now but teach him magic.
“At this rate, I can practice this anytime, anywhere.”
“…”
“Let’s stop here for today. I need to sleep too. Thank you, Witch.”
“…Alright.”
Kerry disappeared as silently as he had arrived, returning to the outside world. The White Witch, left alone, murmured,
“Perhaps a mage who will be mentioned alongside my name in history has appeared.”
He returned after his intensive magic lesson with the White Witch.
The results were not bad. If training was possible just through breathing, he could train anytime, anywhere.
The person on watch duty seemed to have changed.
He casually explained that he’d just gone to the restroom, and they didn’t question him further.
As he was about to return to his carriage, he saw a human figure in the dark. What was that?
“Natasha?”
“H-Husband?”
“What are you doing here?”
“U-Um, i-it’s nothing! Waaah!”
Natasha ran away, her face flushed red, making strange noises.
Could it be that she hadn’t forgotten his magnificent member? Well, it was unforgettable once experienced.
He entered the carriage and lay down. Lina must be sleeping soundly in the carriage with the priestesses.
‘Tomorrow, I’ll finally see that goddess again after two years.’
What should he do to get his frustration out?
Should he throw a tantrum and demand to be sent back to his world, regardless of this world and its damnation?
If that goddess had any conscience, she shouldn’t have treated him with such disregard.
He calmly organized the questions he wanted to ask the goddess in his mind, so that he could address every single one.
Lost in thought, Kerry drifted off to sleep. And the next morning, they finally arrived at the temple.
“Thank you all for coming this far. This is the third branch temple of the Goddess.”
A rather impressive temple came into view. It looked like the temples he’d seen in Greek and Roman mythology comic books as a child.
“Please wait a moment. A priest will come to guide you.”
Priestess Tina, who had brought them here, bowed. It seemed as if her mission ended here.
For some reason, she stared intently at him at the end, but he didn’t know why.
As they waited, they were guided as Tina had said, and they were able to unpack their belongings.
“There will be an audience with the High Priestess shortly.”
An audience, huh? They sure liked grand words.
Lina waited with a serious expression, but he just wanted to receive his items quickly and return home.
Of course, after giving the goddess a piece of his mind.
“Preparations for the audience with the High Priestess are complete. This way.”
Following the priest’s guidance, they proceeded inside the temple. They passed by antique stone pillars and torches placed here and there.
Despite being unfamiliar, the interior was dark, and torches illuminated the gloom. For a goddess, she sure had a fondness for the shadows.
“Welcome to the Temple of the Goddess, chosen hero, and friends of the hero.”
A woman who appeared to be the High Priestess greeted them in a beautiful voice.
At the words “chosen hero,” Natasha looked a little flustered, then nodded after glancing at Lina.
‘Lina doesn’t seem to mind being called a hero. It’s not like they’re revealing that she’s a Regressor.’
The High Priestess was a young and beautiful woman.
Rumor had it that the High Priestess could communicate directly with the Goddess and even be possessed by her.
He wondered if the Goddess was just putting on a show, pretending to possess the High Priestess.
Since he had seen the Goddess in person, he would be able to tell immediately.
‘I’ve never forgotten that stupid goddess’s way of speaking and her face.’
The High Priestess bombarded them with formal and stiff questions.
Their kind Regressor politely answered each one, but he felt like shouting for the Goddess to just appear already.
“Ah… I can hear the Goddess’s voice now. The Goddess welcomes you.”
At that moment, the High Priestess’s body began to glow brightly.
The light was clearly visible in the somewhat dim temple.
‘So… it wasn’t a lie. No, wait. This could also be a trick using some kind of magic. I won’t judge until I see for myself.’
The intense light emanating from the High Priestess’s body subsided. She spoke with a strange smile, different from before.
“You have finally arrived, my children.”
‘That tone of voice… I’m sure of it. This is the goddess who sent me to this world.’
“Lina Knightly, I’ve been eagerly awaiting your arrival. Have my children caused you any discomfort?”
Lina knelt on one knee, showing respect to the Goddess. Natasha and the old woman, being less familiar with the customs, hesitantly followed suit.
He didn’t kneel. He wasn’t in the mood. The priests whispered to him to kneel, but he ignored them.
“It’s alright, my children. I’d rather continue our conversation.”
‘She tried to exclude me from the invitation, and now she’s openly pretending not to know me? Sigh.’
“The rest of you may rise as well. I didn’t call you here to receive stiff formalities.”
The goddess, mindful of her dignity in front of the priests. He knew better than anyone that it was a mask that could be easily stripped away.
“The reason I summoned you is this, hero. I have a request for you. As you know, a great evil lurks in this continent.”
Lina nodded, as if she understood well.
“You know your destiny as the hero, even without me telling you. I chose you because you carry this destiny.”
“…”
Unlike the benevolent Goddess, Lina remained silent.
It wasn’t exactly hostility, but she clearly looked uncomfortable.
He didn’t understand why Lina, who had received the gift of regression, wasn’t pleased with the Goddess, unlike him who had been dragged into this world.
“Lina Knightly, I understand that you are not pleased with me.”
“…”
He also didn’t understand why the Goddess acknowledged that.
There was clearly something between them that he didn’t know. Most likely something that happened in their past lives.
“Yes, you are still angry with me. It seems I was the only one who longed for this meeting. But it’s alright. I understand. Even so, you came to meet me because of my gift. Don’t worry. You won’t be disappointed with my gift.”
The Goddess, in the form of the High Priestess, brought her hands together.
A brilliant light emanated from her hands, forming the shape of a ring.
‘Is that the Goddess’s gift…?’
It looked like a simple ring.
It felt strange to use the Goddess’s Eye to examine an item given by the Goddess, but his curiosity won out.
‘Ah, she blocked it…’
At that moment, the Goddess glanced at him and smiled faintly.
It was an irritating smile. Then, the Goddess turned back to Lina and said,
“That ring will protect you from evil and darkness.”
‘I want something that good too… damn it.’
“It also has the power to detect evil, so use it wisely.”
“Thank you, Goddess.”
He couldn’t confirm the ring’s rank with the Goddess’s Eye, but judging by the Goddess’s confident words, it must have been a significant item.
‘This discrimination is too much. I can’t take it anymore.’
Kerry took a deep breath.
“Hey.”
“…”
“Hey!”
Kerry was clearly addressing the Goddess.
The Goddess, flustered by his attitude, replied,
“A-Are you talking to me?”
“Who else would I be talking to?”
The priests, frozen in shock, started shouting.
“Insolent! How dare you be disrespectful to the Goddess!”
“Even if you are the hero’s companion, that language is unacceptable!”
The surrounding priests were in an uproar, but Kerry was too enraged to hear them.
“You recognize me, don’t you?”
“…”
“Companion of the hero, you must be mistaken. I do not know you.”
At that moment, the last thread of Kerry’s reason snapped.
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