SWNOVELXO Chapter 116
I had a long dream.
I was lost, wandering the mountain.
The stars that used to decorate the sky had all vanished.
The sky, the earth, and the trees were all painted in monotone, adding to the unreality of the scenery.
And through the gaps, a red full moon ominously illuminated the world. No, the light shone only around me. I was fully bathed in a red spotlight.
I ran down the mountain without a second thought.
Strangely enough, I felt no sense of danger at all.
I stumbled over stones and fell off cliffs, but each time I found myself back at the mountain’s peak.
Eventually, when I was ready to give up and sit down, a door suddenly appeared at the mountain’s summit.
Unable to contain my curiosity, my hand instinctively reached for the doorknob like a magnet.
My racing heart missed a beat as the door easily swung open with a click.
Beyond the door, a familiar scene unfolded.
My room, the one I longed to return to.
A place no one could find, my very own sanctuary.
It was a dark room without walls or windows where not a single ray of light could enter, connecting in some way to the place I occupied.
I briefly pondered how I could see inside this room where neither electricity nor mana flowed.
But then, in one corner of the room, a child was curled up.
I couldn’t see or hear them, yet my instincts clearly told me there was indeed a child there.
The moment I recognized the child, the room was filled with light.
But instead of comfortingly going to the weeping child, I callously took my time to admire the room.
Vivid pictures seemed alive, replacing the wallpaper.
I absentmindedly plucked one picture from the chaotic tangle and gazed at it.
A red-haired girl with a cone hat wore a bright smile, while the brown-haired boy next to her seemed visibly troubled.
This time, another photo album flew into my hands, as if demanding attention as if it were claiming to be special too.
The reason I called it a photo album was because it contained more than one photograph.
I casually flipped through the thick photo album’s pages.
A man with a jawline skillfully carved by a craftsman and dark shadows under his long eyelashes was truly a sight to behold.
Turning the page with my left thumb, I witnessed the boy gradually growing younger. With a flip of my right thumb, I saw him age, and his gaze deepened with maturity.
What caught my attention was a photo from his childhood.
A girl with similar curly hair was always there, playing beside him. Like a painting, they seemed incomplete without each other.
Thud-
Suddenly, the child in the corner grabbed my hand and slammed the photo album shut, cutting off further admiration.
Wiggle-wiggle-
She shook her head vigorously, and each time, her golden hair slapped my arm, stinging a little.
Amused by her innocent demeanor, I called out her name.
“Long time no see. My Jealousy.”
Nod-
She replied with a simple nod up and down.
How cruel.
[Cast: Cerebral Cortex Reconstruction]
[High Tier Cast: Lateral Septum Activation]
[Decode: Neuropeptide Y Receptor 1]
[Unique Magic – Estasha Type II – Schadenfreude]
*
“What’s the deal with this dirty tentacle? In the end, it’s just a lump of tar, right?”
I couldn’t fully understand the monster’s emotions, but at least I could clearly read its panic from its eyes.
“Why? Does it annoy you that I’m taking what you used? Feel angry? I hope you do!”
[Clone: ■■■■■& %^$#$ Jin Chronicle]
Black tentacles, identical to the monster’s, sprouted from my back.
One by one, I erased the squirming octopus legs with the tentacles.
Bam!
Bam!
Each time its weapons slammed into the ground, it screamed as if nails were scraping across a chalkboard.
“Or how about this?”
[Clone: ■■■■■& %^$#$ Jin Chronicle]
The ticking sound of a clock echoed in my ears like a hallucination.
Tick-tock.
As the Mana swirling around me condensed into a point, it was then that—
Thud-
Clack- tick-tock—
Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock—
Bzzz-
The magic he had cast during his life returned to him just the same.
A blue beam of light rapidly formed a massive pillar that pierced through the monster’s abdomen.
As I walked slowly toward the beast, which had been sent flying by the shock, I could hardly contain my exhilaration at seeing a large hole in its stomach. My shoulders trembled in excitement.
“%$@%^$^%$^”
“No! It’s not enough! More!”
How disappointing.
It wasn’t enough. I still thirsted.
Like a rampaging steam engine, Schadenfreude endlessly gave birth to new magic circles.
This time, I was attempting a rather dangerous magic, but, oh well, why not?
[Clone: Hiasen Luminous de Kaizen]
[Cast: Le Kaizen Familia]
[System: Unknown command.]
[Run-time error ‘492 at 0x00f14ec1]
The 88 magic circles that protected the Kaizen Empire opened in parallel.
Normally, this would be a physically impossible casting due to time constraints, but Schadenfreude made it possible.
Though the Laurel tried to impede the deployment of the magic, the permanence and inseparability of the ‘Le Kaizen Familia’ unleashed by Schadenfreude stood in sharp contrast.
In that moment, from one magic circle that broke free from the constraints, the maw of a wolf deity was summoned and widely opened.
Thousands of sharp teeth, too many to count, chewed relentlessly at the flesh of the Jin Chronicle.
It wasn’t just its flesh that was being devoured.
It was as if a whale gulping krill and plankton swamped the surrounding earth, taking everything into its mouth.
The land split open with a terrifying crack, and the trees and buildings along the boundary crumbled.
“The demon’s…! The demon’s descent is inevitable!”
“Ahhh… yeah, this is it! So… very… all of it…!”
The monster’s cries gradually lowered in volume as it continued to be chewed up.
[■■■■■& %^$#$ Jin Chronicle’s health regeneration increased by 300%.]
[HP: 9471/666666]
[HP: 39720/666666]
[Error]
Every now and then, it would try to trigger a magical storm to disrupt the magic circle, seizing opportunities created by its health regeneration.
The last remaining tentacle began to make its final resistance.
From one tentacle, thousands of offshoots branched out, threatening to cover the sky. It shot out as if to swallow the streetlight and the moonlight.
[Clone: Ballum Benavons]
[Moonlight Waning]
The Chronicle’s tentacles bounced back like a pigeon hitting a glass window.
No matter how much it pounded and poked, the incorporeal dome would absolutely not break.
If you were going to capture me, at least bring some first-time magic like that woman did.
[■■■■■& %^$#$ Jin Chronicle’s health regeneration increased by ??00%.]
[HP: 8293/666666]
[HP: 59281/666666]
[Error]
The sludge, repeating the cycle of regeneration and destruction, had become so mangled that it could no longer be called a person.
Every time it crept up from the earth, I stepped down heavily on it.
The sticky tar stubbornly clung to my shoes, refusing to let go.
A chill crept up my spine from the intense desire it had to devour my flesh, and I momentarily threw my shoe into the still puddle.
Bloop, bloop.
Fierce bubbles erupted as my shoe oxidized.
I then took a seat not too far from it, starting to watch its demise.
It was terrified of death. Desperately clutching the Laurel of Life, trying not to let it go.
As I slowly savored the last remnants of its emotions, I couldn’t help but smile at an overwhelming sense of fulfillment.
This struggle was always a delight. The more hope appears, the greater the misery feels.
Right, NoName?
[■■■■■& %^$#$ Jin Chronicle’s health regeneration ????% increase is incomprehensible.]
…
…
…
…
[Vice-Principal of the Academy · Defeated Jin Chronicle.]
[System: Command already processed.]
[System: Abnormal access.]
[Error]
…
…
…
[Part 1: Remnant Academy Invasion Operation END]
[Part 2: The Infinite Yawn, The Overture’s Tale]
[Penalty has been reset.]